Solomon Survey Part II

Welcome back to the "Solomon Survey!" It's time to do a series of post based on a survey that will help us align our lives with God's Will. If you would like to read the first installment of this series, please click here: The Solomon Survey - Introduction

Many times we ask the question, "Where is God and why is He silent?" I have written some thoughts below that have helped me come to get a grip on what is really going on during times like these...

Still Gotta Eat

I know it may sound like a broken record or an inspirational bumper sticker that reads, "God is shaping you through times of struggle," or that "God is working behind the scenes"...I know it's frustrating because during these times of struggle and character development we still have to eat and pay for gas...but it is MEGA important to analyze and dissect the fact that God really is up to something in your life. God is never still. He is always working. In fact, John 5.17 says this:

Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."

Back To The Basics
So here is the deal. It is time to get back to the basics and understand our core principles of what and who we really believe. Ask your self these two fundamental questions:

A. Does God exists?

B. Does God care?

Because we can answer yes to both of these questions, we must continue the process of increasing our relationship with God so that He will prepare us and then use us for His Glory.

So the first thing I need to understand and I pray you will understand is this: We are not accidents. God not only exists, but He also cares enough for us that He sent His Son to bleed and die for us.

The next postings on "Solomon's Survery" are going to be sets of questions from different aspects of our lives, such as relational, vocational, listening, accountability, etc in order to find the way to properly align ourselves with God's plan for us. The first survey coming from the understanding that we are not accidents!

The Source Of True Life

Carefully guard your thoughts

because they are the source of true life.

(Prov 4.23 CEV)

Be careful what you think,

because your thoughts run your life. (Prov 4.23 NCV)

Other translations use 'heart' instead of 'think' or 'thoughts...'


What are you thinking about today? What is in your heart (i.e. the center of your soul?)

Relationships:Chapter 3

Welcome to Chapter 3 on applying the '3-2-1'(3 Principles, 2 Insights, 1 Question) Framework to what I learn from "How To Win Friends And Influence People" written by Dale Carnegie. Click the following links if you would like to view chapter 1 and chapter 2. Next, read below to see how these pearls of wisdom from chapter 3 apply to The Teachings of Christ from over 2000 Years ago:

3 Principles
A. Influencing others is about what they want and showing them how to obtain it.
B. Always think about the other person's perspective, as well as your own.
C. People want to feel as though they are buying, not being sold.

2 Insights
A. Arouse a desire in others.
B. It's about mutual benefit, not manipulation. This way the other party and you benefit.

1. Question
What does the other person want?

Quotes:
"People who can put themselves in the place of other people, who can understand the workings of their minds, need never worry about what the future has in store for them."

~ Owen D. Young ~

If you do not raise your eyes you will think that you are the highest point.
~Antonio Porchia, Voces, 1943, translated from Spanish by W.S. Merwin ~

Teachings Of Jesus
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” ~ Matthew 20:28 (NLT) ~

"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." ~ Matthew 5:48 (The Message) ~

Now think about this...you want others to do for you and others want you to do for them. These next two Scriptures talk about 'Insight #2" listed above about mutual benefit....

Matthew 7:12 (The Message)

"The Golden Rule" - "Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get (Emphasis added).

Matthew 25:34-40 (The Message)

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.'

Leadership Secret: King Leonidas

Quote from James Whitley's book: Duty, Honor, and Glory:

"Experts began studying leadership in the early 1900s, but, as Leonidas showed us twenty-five hundred years ago, it REALLY ISN'T ALL THAT COMPLICATED. GRAB A SWORD; STRAP ON A SHIELD, AND LEAD." (emphasis mine)

May your sword be God's Word and your shield be your faith in Christ Jesus, the Warrior of all Warriors!


"...take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one...take the...sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." (Ephesians 6:16,17; NIV)

*see Whitley's book and website here

All or none!

Christ says, "Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want YOU. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there. I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think are innocent as well as the ones you think are wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: My own shall become yours."

—C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

WELL?

The Solomon Survey - Introduction

You feel as though you have faith, you have read Scripture, and you have prayed Prayers. So you ask, "Where is God and why is He not answering me?"

I have found when I am at these points in my life, the problem is not with God, it is with me. So I have developed what I call "The Solomon Survey" in order for me to hold myself accountable instead of always blaming or questioning God.

God's Playbook, Our Obedience
Think of it like a "playbook." A football player may know his plays back and forth, the coach could be setting him up for glory, but then the player does not execute. There is nothing wrong with "God's Playbook" (i.e. The Bible), sometimes it's our obedience, or shall I say, our lack of obedience, of following His commands and Textbook on life that is causing us to have a stumbling block to our Prayers.

The Solomon Survey
In (1 Kings 3.5-15), we come across an amazing piece of Scripture. God straight up comes to Solomon and asks him what he wants. Solomon's answer is to obtain Wisdom in order for him to lead his people. Notice how his request was not only for personal gain, but so that he could make those around him better! God was so pumped up about Solomon's request, that He not only gave Solomon wisdom, but He also granted him so much more...God being the Amazing God He is, also granted Solomon....Riches•Respect•Greatness•Long Life!!!

Put Yourself In "God's Shoes"
I don't think God is playing a game with us, but we must seek Him in the correct ways and ask Him for the right blessings. In other words, we must check our motivation. Is what we are asking of God pleasing to God? Do our requests pump Him up? And are we allowing God to trust us with our request? Again, I don't think God is playing games with us, but if you are a parent an employer, or a coach, a leader of any kind, then I think you can relate to God in this context...In other words, put yourself in "God's Shoes" for a moment...You give to those whom you know you can trust with what you give....

Are you allowing God to trust you with what you are asking of Him? See the next post for the survey and please ask yourself the questions. Be honest with the answers because I know the hardest thing for us to do is admit we are in the wrong, but again, we must hold ourselves accountable and make sure we are doing our part, because I know God is always doing His!

So "turn the page" and tune in to the next blog post to answer "The Solomon Survey" and see if there is something you need to do in order for God to not only grant you Wisdom, but to also hear The Carpenter Of Creation say to you, "As a bonus, I will also give you.....!" (Author's Translation)

Are You Listening?

You are searching and wishing, wanting, and waiting. You need advice, you beg for vision, you seek direction. The question is, "Are You Listening?"

Look through Scripture, all of the studs who made something of their lives, all had one thing in common: They LISTENED to God!

From Mundane To Magnificent
Before Gideon listened to God, he sifted wheat...not on a hilltop, but down in the valley. After He listened to God, he defeated the mighty Midianite army with only 3oo men.

Before Moses listened to God, he was a shepherd who thought he had a lack of speaking abilities. After he listened to God, Moses delivered the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery, Raised his staff and witnessed God split the Red Sea, and received the Ten Commandments directly from The Hand of God!

I could go on and on with examples like this, so go ahead and take a look through the stories of Jeremiah, Gideon, Moses, Joshua, etc and you will see phrases such as...

Jeremiah (Chapter 1)
"This is what God said, God told me, God reached out, touched my mouth, and said,"

Moses (Exodus 3 &4)
"God said to Moses, Believe Me, God said to Moses, God said to Moses, God said to Moses."

Gideon
By the time you get to verse 9 in Judges 7, we see the phrase, "God said to Gideon," five times!!! And then look at what Gideon does right before he leads his 3oo men to defeat the Midianite army....Gideon "went to his knees before God in Prayer."

Joshua
Joshua is the stud that God chose to be Moses' successor and to lead the Israelite's into The Promise Land...listen to what the people say under Joshua's leadership in reference to God, "We will worship God. What He says, we'll do."

The Common Theme: Each of these studs had specific dialogue with God and they LISTENED to God. There is nothing wrong with the, "Lord please Bless Me" Prayer....by all means, Pray these Prayers with Heart and Soul, I know I do....but there must come a time where you and I get specific with God....be honest with Him, come to Him in extreme detail, and most of all.....LISTEN TO HIM.

A parallel with Apple Computer
You know why companies like Apple Computer are becoming so successful. They listen to their customers....take a look....

In presenting the iMac, Jobs outlined the top three requests of customers and how that feedback drove the engineering of the updated iMac. (The requests were, in order of importance: 1. More flat screens. 2. Make more use of the G4 processor - in the new iMac, the G4 is standard. 3. Make more use of the Apple Superdrive, a combination CD-RW and DVD-R - now part of the high-end iMac.)

Do you think Apple would have been able to create amazing computers if they just wanted all their needs met instead of meeting the needs of their customers? God has needs to be met and He wants to use you to be an answer to His Prayer!

So instead of just coming to God with a 'bless me' grocery list of your desires, take time to listen to what God has to say.

Speak God. I'm Ready To Listen
In 1 Samuel 3.8-10, Samuel has one of the best phrases found in Scripture..."Speak, God. I'm your servant, ready to listen."

Samuel had the right perspective, He needed to listen to God. Here is the funny thing that I know I have experienced....It took God FOUR times to call on Samuel before Samuel finally took the hint!! Are you like Samuel in this context? I know I am... God has called and called and called and called me and I have finally taken the hint!!! Praise be to God for His Holy patience!

Best Example of All
Jesus, a carpenter, The Son of God, became The Savior of The World. He listened to God. In Luke 22:41-42, Jesus says these famous words as He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Do you want to take your life to the next level and go from the mundane to the magnificent? Here is your game plan to do so: Listen to God!