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Showing posts from April, 2010

Encountering Others

Here's another good principle I picked up from the Quint Studer seminar. Our interactions with others should always better their lives, not just better our self or simply accomplish our job. As a believer, the end result of every encounter we have with others should be to enrich their life with Christ. I think we mistakenly think our "Job" as a Christian is to evangelize and get people saved. We then either don't do that at all or we interact with people just to get them saved. No wonder people are turned off and don't want to buy what we're selling. That and the fact that a lot of times we don't really believe it or live it ourselves. Our "Job" is to live Christ-like and let Him be salt and light in a dying world. My life should be so full of Christ and structured upon His Word that when I come in contact with others they see Jesus lived out in those situations. Religious Christianity is ultimately self serving, but true Christ followe

Brennan Manning

Brennan Manning is definitely one of my favorite authors and I have blogged on a few of his books before.  I'm currently working back through "Abba's Child". Here is a powerful video I found

The Changing Environment

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"The external environment will always change faster than the internal environment" - Quint Studer This statement is true for most any organization.  If an organization wants to succeed, they need visionary leadership who see the external changes coming and prepare the internal structure in anticipation of the changes.  This has been especially true of the church in the past decade or so.  The external culture is shifting and changing all the time, and the church seems to always be internally reactive and unable to adapt quick enough.  Because of this, the world sees us as irrelevent and out of touch.  So whats the problem? I believe for the most part the "Church" has grown accustomed to walking by sight and not by faith.  We (They) have grown accustomed to seeing with natural eyes, using their own intellect, and relying on their own abilities.  The Holy Spirit is well aware of every detail of the history of mankind from eternity past to eternity future.  He is ne

"Optionality"

I had the priviledge of hearing Quint Studer speak last week.  He is a nationally recognized speaker in the healthcare industry.  As he was speaking I coudn't help but see the relevance of his principles to the church world. One area he spoke about was "Optionality".  When we make things optional we get inconsistency.  Is it any wonder why there is so much inconsistency in the church today.  Too many "leaders" and "Pastors" think wholeheartedly following Christ is optional, or knowing and obeying the Word is optional. Obviously everyone finds themselves at different stages of maturity, but when we think its optional to partially obey God's Word or we think its OK to follow God some days and ourself the next, then there's a problem. In the business world if an employee thinks its optional to follow the directions of the organization, they receive corrective counceling or termination if they choose not to comply.  I think we need to follow t

Words of Wisdom

Here are a few words of wisdom Warning:  Truth makes you accountable.  Truth requires obedience. #1- Life is not all about you - Too many people approach life from a me centered view point.  I would also say this is the unbiblical viewpoint.  Don't be chronically late to everything.  Be a person that people can trust and count on.  Commit yourself to serving others, to being last so that Christ may lift you up.  Give up your desire to be right all the time and have people think well of you.  Let the Lord vindicate you in His time.  Be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in situations in spite of your own plans. #2 - Life is about giving - Giving is one of the most powerful tools God has given us, yet is is seldom used.  If your not a giving person, then you have not aligned your life with the Word of God.  Giving is not all about money, but for most of us this is the most difficult area to give in.  Money is a source of trust and security for many people.  Who need

Leaving a Legacy

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What kind of legacy will we leave for generations to come?  Since my grandmother passed away last week I've been thinking about that question.  As I look through all the pictures of the past I realize how short life is.  My grandmother was 86.  She lived a long and healthy life, but now her time here is done and she is with the Lord.  We all get a limited amount of time in this life and we can spend it however we want, but only whats done for Christ will last.  My grandmother knows now what the eternal impact is of the countless times she gave selflessly and generously to so many people.  Now she receives her eternal rewards.  Now she knows how the Lord has received her small but meaningful gifts and has multiplied them a thousand fold. Why do we so easily trade our moments of time for trivial things of no lasting value?  Why do we struggle so hard to accumulate wood, hay, and stuble which will one day fade away?  I am determined to be intentional about how I spend all my moments

Number 274

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Its a priviledge for me to be involved with XA Network and see first hand the powerful things God is doing in the next generation.  God is stirring in them new methods, new creative ideas, and a new passion for Jesus Christ.  If you have a chance, check out Pastor Terry's posts on a Lost Generation . Sometimes as I'm praying for my children or I see them playing or interacting with others, I am overwhelmed by the endless potential that awaits them.  They will stand on mountain tops and rule over nations in God's Kingdom.  I've heard alot lately about the previous generation and the next genration.  I think most of us could put ourself in both categories.  At (almost) 40, I feel I'm still part of the next generation.  There is much in the next 20+ years that God has for me to do.  Like Samuel, I hear my Lord's voice and with all my heart I say "Speak Lord, your servant is listening".  Yet at the same time, I am already provisioning and preparing my so

The Imposter Self

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Been a while.  I need to start posting more because this is my 274th post and I want to get to 300. I had an opportunity to teach Easter Sunday at LHB on the Counterfeit Identity .  It was a challenging word, but a good one.  Sometimes you can really feel how much the Holy Spirit wants us to get it.  He wants us to just catch one glimpse of this amazing, glorious Jesus that we serve.  Just like one touch of the hem of his garment brought healing, so one glimpse of Jesus will change our life.  Jesus requires us to let our life fall into the ground and die.  There is no other option as much as we would like there to be.  In reality, the life Jesus has for you probably looks nothing like the life your leading right now.  Maybe there is just a shadow of it, but the greatness and fruitfulness of His life for us is too often supressed by our own will and a desire to remain fearful to the prospect of absolute surrender.  We cannot even fathom what God could do if we would allow Him to take