Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Risk Taking is a Necessity
God created you to live an exciting and powerful life. He created each of us with a purpose, and living out your individual purpose will be the most fun, most fulfilling life you could live. Many people never live out this purpose because they stay stuck in the past. Satan also wants to keep us in a static position. He wants to remind you of pain and failure, and fill you with fear to keep you stuck in your past. Satan wants to convince you that you can’t change or grow or be healed. Those are all lies. Wounded Heart p. 99
There is a saying that a person can be "like a deer caught in the headlights". Deer are beautiful animals but I don't think they are very intelligent. They live mostly by instinct. Deer often cross roads at night time because they don't understand the danger. When a car comes and the deer is in the middle of the road, something shuts down in them when a car comes. They actually freeze when they see the headlights of the oncoming car. They have the ability to escape but when they are paralyzed with fear, they often get hit and killed.
If we are not careful, we can be like that deer, paralyzed by fear and uncertainty of what is coming towards us in life. Just like that deer, we have the ability to move and be safe, but we must not get paralyzed with fear. I heard someone say that fear is actually faith in failure. I don't like failure but I refuse to let it paralyze me. I have decided to always continue moving forward even in pain and confusion. It is often as I move forward that God's presence and direction come into my situation.
Once you have clear direction from God, you are ready to go for it! This risk taking is a necessity to live life to the fullest! I refuse to be limited by my past or my present. An amazing thing happens as we struggle forward, most people never understand of see our struggle, they just see the results. When you fail, people just see that and don't appreciate the effort. When you succeed, they often assume it was easy! Either way, we can't live by what other people think or feel. Pray for direction, hear God's voice and go for it!
Prayer: Jesus, in Your Word, you declare that Your sheep hear Your voice. Guide me and direct me and help me have the courage to take wise risks according to Your will and in Your power! I pray this in Jesus name - amen!
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Abundant Life Means Taking Risks
Pain, failure and disillusionment can have a paralyzing effect. God has much more planned for your life. Jesus said in John 10:10, AMP, “I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)”. God doesn’t just want to heal you. He wants to make you whole, live in confidence and begin to take wise positive risks. Nobody ever achieves greatness without taking a risk. No one ever gets a new job or promotion or begins a new relationship without taking a risk. In fact if we want to achieve and experience the greatest things in life, we have to be progressively greater risk takers. Wounded Heart p. 98
Accomplishments require risks, great accomplishment's require taking great risks. It is easy to look at successful people and think that it was easy for them to achieve what they have done. I have learned that successful people have earned it. In my experience, people or the world don't just hand you things, you have to go get them!
I've come to a place where I applaud successful people because I understand the personal price they have had to pay to achieve things. Great marriages cost. Friendships cost. Any accomplishment worth having costs. Along the way are many opportunities to get side tracked, get tired, fail or quit.
But we serve a God that says we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us!!! (Phil. 4:13). I encourage to seek God daily, ask Him what He wants you to go after today and in the days ahead, and learn to rely on the strength of Jesus on a daily basis.
When we understand what God has created us to do and walk in His power, there is risk but there is also great reward!
Prayer: Jesus, I need your strength and wisdom today. Direct me today to what I should focus on and help me to see the big picture. Teach me to plan my life so that I can achieve all the purposes and the abundant life that you created me to live. I pray this in Jesus name - amen!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Key 11 – Be a Positive Risk Taker
Too many people live timid lives. They have been hurt and want to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. My experience is that many people who have gone through hard times or faced difficult situations will do the minimum to get by and get on with life. Past disappointment can make us fearful of taking risks or cause us not to try our hardest because of the possibility that there will be no benefit or reward at the end of the day. Wounded Heart p. 97
The devil plays games with people. He tempts them to do stupid things and then after that piles guilt and shame on them so they are afraid to try something new. The problem with that is that God is always doing something new. If we are paralyzed by the pain or disappointment of our past, we will miss out on what God has for us.
Throughout this book and the blog posts, we have taken many steps in the right direction. I am not talking about taking foolish risks or even unclear risks. I am talking about taking wise risks.
Wise risks are things like going for a promotion, writing a book, switching jobs, beginning new relationships but at the right time, in the right season and with both eyes open (and paying attention - LOL).
Jesus came that we may live life more abundantly and that will take some risks!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to be bold and take wise, positive risks. Lead me away from foolish risks and help me see opportunities to live life in a greater way. I pray this in Jesus name - amen.
The devil plays games with people. He tempts them to do stupid things and then after that piles guilt and shame on them so they are afraid to try something new. The problem with that is that God is always doing something new. If we are paralyzed by the pain or disappointment of our past, we will miss out on what God has for us.
Throughout this book and the blog posts, we have taken many steps in the right direction. I am not talking about taking foolish risks or even unclear risks. I am talking about taking wise risks.
Wise risks are things like going for a promotion, writing a book, switching jobs, beginning new relationships but at the right time, in the right season and with both eyes open (and paying attention - LOL).
Jesus came that we may live life more abundantly and that will take some risks!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to be bold and take wise, positive risks. Lead me away from foolish risks and help me see opportunities to live life in a greater way. I pray this in Jesus name - amen.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Importance of Family and Friends
Our Family is Part of our Support Team
For some, family is the most important thing in life. For others, it is not a priority. For many, family is important but the responsibilities of life can be overwhelming. I have seen studies where they attach microphones to small children and the average time that some fathers spend talking to their children is less than two minutes a day! Many people have also grown up in broken families or been raised by single parents and may have no idea of what healthy family life actually is. Whatever your situation, I encourage you to build your family in whatever ways that you can. You will be happy you did.
Friends –Finishing Off Our Team
We need good friends for many reasons: for support, encouragement, acceptance and just to have fun! Friends can supply a listening ear, loving advice and stability over time. We also often do the things our friends do. This is why it is important to have friends that have great values and goals in life. We will either soar like eagles or wallow through the mud with our friends. Choose your friends wisely. God built us for relationship with Him and with people. We need both. God has a great destiny for us, but we need a team around us that will help us reach that destiny. Life has risks and challenges. The greater the team we surround ourselves with, the more positive risks we will be willing to take and the greater challenges we will be able to overcome. Wounded Heart p. 95
When we invest in our family and friends, the payback is huge. Friends and family also can meet so many of our social needs and support and encourage us in both good and bad times. I have had to learn what it means to build a strong family and to stay connected with good people. Our culture can make both difficult but that means that we should focus on it more than ever!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to build solid life giving relationships with both family and friends. Teach me how to do this and how to change or break unhealthy relationships in my life. I pray this in Jesus name - amen!
For some, family is the most important thing in life. For others, it is not a priority. For many, family is important but the responsibilities of life can be overwhelming. I have seen studies where they attach microphones to small children and the average time that some fathers spend talking to their children is less than two minutes a day! Many people have also grown up in broken families or been raised by single parents and may have no idea of what healthy family life actually is. Whatever your situation, I encourage you to build your family in whatever ways that you can. You will be happy you did.
Friends –Finishing Off Our Team
We need good friends for many reasons: for support, encouragement, acceptance and just to have fun! Friends can supply a listening ear, loving advice and stability over time. We also often do the things our friends do. This is why it is important to have friends that have great values and goals in life. We will either soar like eagles or wallow through the mud with our friends. Choose your friends wisely. God built us for relationship with Him and with people. We need both. God has a great destiny for us, but we need a team around us that will help us reach that destiny. Life has risks and challenges. The greater the team we surround ourselves with, the more positive risks we will be willing to take and the greater challenges we will be able to overcome. Wounded Heart p. 95
When we invest in our family and friends, the payback is huge. Friends and family also can meet so many of our social needs and support and encourage us in both good and bad times. I have had to learn what it means to build a strong family and to stay connected with good people. Our culture can make both difficult but that means that we should focus on it more than ever!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to build solid life giving relationships with both family and friends. Teach me how to do this and how to change or break unhealthy relationships in my life. I pray this in Jesus name - amen!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Importance of a Church Family
The Church is not a building. It is the people who have made a choice to follow Jesus Christ. While there are many church buildings, in God’s view there is only one “Church.” This is not based on what man has established, but on what God has established. What makes a person a member of God’s church family is repenting from sin, putting all of their hope in the forgiveness of sin through the shedding of Jesus’ very own blood during the crucifixion and submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God established the Church for a couple of purposes. Community and friendship are two of the main purposes. The original words for “church” in the Bible literally meant a group of individuals who had no purpose and were given an individual purpose at the same time, connecting them with others for a purpose greater than themselves. There are many benefits to having a church family in addition to connecting with people who may share your faith but attend another church. Here is God’s advice to us:
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
These two verses, give us some great direction. First, we must purposely think about how we can encourage people to love one another and do good things for others. This lets me know that I may not demonstrate love and good deeds without the encouragement of others. Second, is that we need to purposely meet together. I’ve found out that if I don’t purposely schedule times to get together with people, it won’t happen. Wounded Heart p. 94
Fish swim in schools literally because they are less likely to be eaten! Our church family, our brothers and sisters are hugely important! We grow best in situations where we are loved, encouraged and supported. This is what the picture of our social circles and churches should look like!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to connect with people who will encourage and support me as I grow. Give them wisdom to help me grow into all you created me to be! I pray this in Jesus name - amen.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
These two verses, give us some great direction. First, we must purposely think about how we can encourage people to love one another and do good things for others. This lets me know that I may not demonstrate love and good deeds without the encouragement of others. Second, is that we need to purposely meet together. I’ve found out that if I don’t purposely schedule times to get together with people, it won’t happen. Wounded Heart p. 94
Fish swim in schools literally because they are less likely to be eaten! Our church family, our brothers and sisters are hugely important! We grow best in situations where we are loved, encouraged and supported. This is what the picture of our social circles and churches should look like!
Prayer: Jesus, help me to connect with people who will encourage and support me as I grow. Give them wisdom to help me grow into all you created me to be! I pray this in Jesus name - amen.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The Holy Spirit, Your Personal Coach
In sports, there are many coaches. In baseball, there are base coaches that watch where the ball is on the field and tell the runner to either stop at the base or keep running. In basketball and football, the coaches are always yelling instructions to the players on how to react to the current situation and discussing past and upcoming situations in the game during time outs and half-time breaks. If grown men and women need coaches to help them win a game, don’t we need a great coach to win life? God’s Word teaches us that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans 8:14). The word “sons” when literally translated means “maturing ones.” This means that those of us who are maturing in our relationship with Christ will be led by the Holy Spirit. And the more we mature spiritually, the more we will be led by the Holy Spirit. In the same way that sports coaches are more knowledgeable as an athlete proceeds through grammar school, high school, college and into the professional ranks, as we mature in our faith we get greater coaching from the Holy Spirit.
In the same way that a 10 year old would not be able to receive college level coaching, spiritually immature people are not ready for the type of guidance God really wants to give them. That is why ongoing spiritual growth is so necessary.
Many people spend their entire lives in church but don’t receive the guidance God wants to give them. That’s because they have not purposely chosen to spend time with God and discipline themselves to have a life of prayer and Bible study. God has all the direction we need. We just have to put ourselves in the position to receive it. The Holy Spirit is ready to guide us in the midst of everyday life. He also wants us to take some time-outs to receive advice and direction before we head back into the game of life. In sports, time-outs are often taken at the most important time or when there is a momentum shift for the other side. It’s just common sense then that during life’s most important situations or when our lives look like they may be taking a turn in the wrong direction, that we call a time-out and get with God. The difference is that it will probably take longer than a 30-second time-out to get all the direction we need. My advice is to take all the time you need with God, be patient and it will be worth it in life. Wounded Heart pp. 92-93
Prayer: Lord, I come to you asking for your guidance. Give me ears to hear your voice and your direction. Teach me to be patient, to listen and to follow Your direction. I pray this in Jesus name - Amen.
In the same way that a 10 year old would not be able to receive college level coaching, spiritually immature people are not ready for the type of guidance God really wants to give them. That is why ongoing spiritual growth is so necessary.
Many people spend their entire lives in church but don’t receive the guidance God wants to give them. That’s because they have not purposely chosen to spend time with God and discipline themselves to have a life of prayer and Bible study. God has all the direction we need. We just have to put ourselves in the position to receive it. The Holy Spirit is ready to guide us in the midst of everyday life. He also wants us to take some time-outs to receive advice and direction before we head back into the game of life. In sports, time-outs are often taken at the most important time or when there is a momentum shift for the other side. It’s just common sense then that during life’s most important situations or when our lives look like they may be taking a turn in the wrong direction, that we call a time-out and get with God. The difference is that it will probably take longer than a 30-second time-out to get all the direction we need. My advice is to take all the time you need with God, be patient and it will be worth it in life. Wounded Heart pp. 92-93
Prayer: Lord, I come to you asking for your guidance. Give me ears to hear your voice and your direction. Teach me to be patient, to listen and to follow Your direction. I pray this in Jesus name - Amen.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Jesus, Your Head Coach
Jesus is all about relationship. “Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:13-14). When Jesus chose a group of uneducated and unimpressive men to be His followers, He knew the great things that they needed to do. The secret to doing great things is not just education or going to church or being really smart, it’s developing the character of Jesus. He didn’t expect people to become more like Him simply by going to church or knowing about Him. He knew that in order for us to be transformed and changed, we must spend time with Him. Unfortunately, most people think that means just going to church and trying to be a good person. We should do these things, but that is a small part of having a relationship with Jesus. He not only wants to be with us, but also to lead us the right way in all of the complicated situations that we face in life.
In John 8:12 He says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” This is not only talking about eternity, but walking out our lives day by day. “Whoever” is one of my favorite words in the Bible because I fit the qualifications and so do you. Wounded Heart pp. 91-92
As we have journeyed through some pain. We have learned to trust God in the middle of pain. One of our goals at this point besides ongoing healing is avoiding future pain. I'm not saying that life will ever be pain free, but we can avoid almost all of the potential major crashes out there if we are wise and make right choices.
Much of our pain is because we have walked in darkness. Darkness are things like fear, pain, confusion, low self-esteem and lack of wisdom. Jesus can help us go through and overcome all of these and other things in our lives.
As we walk with Him, we will become more like Him. He will also lead us, all we have to be is a "whoever". Jesus is ready and willing to help us but just like a player on a team. If we want to win the game, we have to listen to the coach. Remember that Jesus is the all knowing, all powerful coach. In fact, we have the greatest coach to win the game of life!
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for accepting me as I am, and walking with me as I change and grow. I choose to follow you, help me to clearly hear Your voice and follow. I pray this in Jesus name - amen.
In John 8:12 He says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” This is not only talking about eternity, but walking out our lives day by day. “Whoever” is one of my favorite words in the Bible because I fit the qualifications and so do you. Wounded Heart pp. 91-92
As we have journeyed through some pain. We have learned to trust God in the middle of pain. One of our goals at this point besides ongoing healing is avoiding future pain. I'm not saying that life will ever be pain free, but we can avoid almost all of the potential major crashes out there if we are wise and make right choices.
Much of our pain is because we have walked in darkness. Darkness are things like fear, pain, confusion, low self-esteem and lack of wisdom. Jesus can help us go through and overcome all of these and other things in our lives.
As we walk with Him, we will become more like Him. He will also lead us, all we have to be is a "whoever". Jesus is ready and willing to help us but just like a player on a team. If we want to win the game, we have to listen to the coach. Remember that Jesus is the all knowing, all powerful coach. In fact, we have the greatest coach to win the game of life!
Prayer: Jesus, thank you for accepting me as I am, and walking with me as I change and grow. I choose to follow you, help me to clearly hear Your voice and follow. I pray this in Jesus name - amen.
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