If my heart is always leaning towards having more, then I am selfish.
If my actions are about protecting what I already have, then I am selfish.
If I speak with a sense of entitlement for things, then I am in danger of becoming selfish.
Let’s be honest…it’s easily done.

What will I do with what I have got is perhaps the wrong way of thinking. If its about what I’ve got, I will probably feel like I haven’t GOT enough and I deserve to get more. However, if I just shift my thinking slightly and ask myself the question what will I do with what I have been given, then things have a chance to change.

In 1 Timothy 6:17-18 Paul writes the following words…
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”

This is the reminder. It’s not about money or wealth and certainly not about trusting in those things for my security. They can NEVER do that, however much of them I get. Instead, it’s about trusting God, putting my hope in Him, after all He provided me with all the stuff I have and He wants me to enjoy it all too. I just need to hold them loosely so I can be GENEROUS and WILLING TO SHARE.

What do you think? What are the challenges that you face right now that make it difficult to truly trust in God for your total well-being – including your money?

One thing I have learnt from reading the Bible is that as well as ticking off the days worth of scriptures, I MUST give some time to reflecting on what I have read. Maybe these questions will help…

Which scriptures have jumped out at me?
What questions do I have after all that I have read?
Where do I want to spend more time digging a little deeper?
How have I been challenged & how will I respond?

Tell us your story. What has God been saying to you…

Who am I to comment but I found the format of the book a great way to present the challenge of leadership – looking at what Owen considers a clear leadership framework. NOt to give the game away but analysing each of these aspects from the position of a leader within an organisation was refreshing and insightful. Much to think about, I underlined a lot. I am hopeful that having read the book I can put what I am learning into practice. To not do so would be foolish. This is a recommended read.

The Third Man Factorr by John Geiger. When I picked this book up from the library, read the summary on the back, I was intrigued. The whole idea of a ‘third man’ being with you, a guardian angel perhaps, mixed with the Shackleton story, it got my attention.

In one aspect the book did not disappoint – it was packed with stories, and I enjoy great stories but after a while, I just got bored. Maybe if I was a climber, explorer, someone who put themselves in places of extreme conditions and loneliness it would have connected with me more. I think the main disappointment was a lack of definitive opinion from the author, unless I just missed it.

It’s not often I say this but I would not recommend this book

Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick. To read a Pastor’s story is to share in their journey. The honesty, vulnerability, the trust they must put in God is challenging and encouraging.

‘If we have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to perform’. That is some opening statement. It captures the heart of the writer and makes you want to believe for the same. I need to pray more Sun Stand Still prayers.

‘Extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience’. It’s encouraging to think that I don’t need to be extraordinary. I just need to be me. I need to have the courage to ask God for the impossible – much like Joshua did.

‘A Sun Stand Still prayer should be so big that you could never achieve it on your own, but it shouldn’t be bigger than your ability to believe that God can achieve it’. For every Pastor, church leader and Christian, this book should be on the pile to read.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I haven’t read all of Gladwells books but enough to know what to expect. Excellent research which leads to some incredible stories that demonstrate the points being made.

The 10,000 hours of practice for the elite was eye-opening. How those at the top don’t work just harder or even much harder that everyone else. The truth is they work much, much harder. It’s not that you don’t know this but when you read the stories behind…it becomes SO obvious.

Hard work. The one thing we try and avoid but it does seem that if you want to succeed then it cannot be avoided. ‘If you work hard enough and assert yourself and use your mind and imagination, you can shape the world to your desires’. Great read and would recommend.

Get your copies here

Image plays a part.

So does IDEALISM. I would describe this as the pursuit of ones own ideals. That dream, that romantic view of how things should be, the perfect scenario of how God can use me. Extremely idealistic, just not very realistic.

Maybe the man in Matthew 25 given one talent had an idea of what he could do but as he thought about it more the need for everything to be right before he moved took over and eventually stopped him from doing anything.

You know the problem. Everything has to be ‘just’ right. Everything in its place. If it won’t work out that way, then why bother. Such an idealistic approach will put limits on me.

I think of the rich young ruler who had a perfect idea of what it meant to follow God. Jesus challenged this, made it messy and uncomfortable, maybe a little more chaotic. But that’s okay. To take the limits off may involve a change of thinking from ‘It’s not what I wanted so I couldn’t possibly’ to ‘It’s what God wants so I couldn’t possibly not’.

I need to be less idealistic and more realistic, let go of my need for things to be perfect and be intentional about doing SOMETHING and TRUSTING God for how it might turn out. I just need a VISION, an IDEA and to then start to work towards it.

INDECISION. The challenge of what to do & when to do it. That certainly effects my willingness to use all that God has placed inside me. Maybe the man in the story suffered from indecision and then as a last resort just put the talent in a safe place, to return when appropriate.

Indecision is the friend to missed opportunities. It’s fellow team players are doubt, procrastination, hesitation, wavering, uncertainty, ambivalence and dithering. It leads to laying on my death bed wondering what might have been. The thing with indecision is that while I stand still, someone else may possibly step in to take my place.

Esther 4:14
‘For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?’

There is a time to wait.
There are times to pray.
Then there are times just to step up & get involved.

The Apostle Paul uses a great phrase over and over again…

Acts 27:22
But now I urge you to keep your courage

Romans 12:2
Therefore I urge you, in view of God’s mercy to offer you bodies as living sacrifices, holy & pleasing to God…

Romans 15:30
I urge you brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ….to join me in my struggle by praying

1 Corinthians 4:16
I urge you to imitate me

2 Corinthians 2:8
I urge you therefore, to reaffirm your love to him

Ephesians 4:1
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received

Hebrews 13:19
I urge you to pray

1 Peter 2:11
I urge you as aliens & strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires….

Jude 1:3
I urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to you

Urgency cancels out indecision.
Urgency makes me act before I have too much time to think about what I am doing.
This is not a time for indecision. This is our ONE life & we MUST not let it pass us by.
None of us can afford to be indecisive. After all, Jesus simply says FOLLOW ME. He never said where to, what would be involved or how things would pan out.

Let’s take the limits off. What’s stopping you?

If 3 people are given talents and one of them just buries it then does that mean that 1 out of 3 people are doing NOTHING with what God has deposited within them. Am I just busy doing the wrong things? What reasons do I give that limit by ability to take a hold of every opportunity that comes my way?

Hear what the person says…
I knew you were are hard man
I knew you reaped where you did not sow
I was afraid
I thought to myself
I decided to bury it

‘I’ has a lot to answer for. It begins many sentences with excuses at the other end. As it did for the man stood with one talent, so we often do the same. I decided not to because of…

IMAGE
- the concern with how it will make me look

Culture influences image. TV is full of programmes telling us to look right.The cosmetics industry is worth over £37bn in UK – thats BIG business. It’s little wonder that we get concerned about how doing certain things will make us look.

Maybe for the person with one talent they became concerned with how doing things would make them look, after all, reputations are precious. They are hard to earn but can be easily lost.

There is a danger though for me as a Christian. If I base decisions on image then I put limits on what I can do. If my concern is directed more towards what others might think about me, then perhaps my focus is wrong. Surely my focus should be more on how God sees me. Isn’t acting in faith the better way to go?

Image = me centred
Faith = God-centred
Image = I look okay
Faith = God looks good
Image = concerned with own reputation
Faith = concerned with God’s reputation
Image = can affect our confidence
Faith = confidence is in God

If you look at God’s view on image He was more concerned with what was going on inside a person’s heart rather than how the outside looked. When King Saul acted because of how things were making him look, it cost him his kingship. While David, who was considered unlikely because he didn’t fit the part was described from God’s perspective as ‘a man after God’s own heart’.

Image should not be a reason to stop me but it sometimes it is.
Image can override my ability to trust God.
Image may stop me stepping out of the things I know and am comfy in, into areas where I don’t know everything.

I can’t play not to lose. I need to be more determined to do whatever I can, concerning myself less with how it makes me look and focus more on how it makes God look. That means I MUST exercise my faith in God – after all, he wouldn’t put things in me if he didn’t believe I could handle it.

[What other things can stop us?]

Enthusiasm burst forth. I’m gonna change the world.
Problem is I don’t know how to change the world. Challenge is to find the person who will lead the way. I would gladly follow someone else who knows what they are doing or can make things happen. Tell me what to do and I will do it. Unfortunately such a person doesn’t always exist so the enthusiasm swiftly dissipates and I revert to type, blend into the crowd. (Maybe they don’t exist because I am supposed to be that person but don’t want to admit it).

Excuses kick in. Too much, too far, too hard, too much time, too expensive, too dangerous, too hopeless, too weak, not from the right place. Excuses, excuses, excuses.

Don’t allow your enthusiasm for what you believe God would have you to do be overwhelmed by excuses. Don’t allow the difficulty of doing something dampen your enthusiasm for it.

Be like the Apostle Paul who was seemingly invigorated by the obstacles (2 Corinthians 11:23-28)

I have worked much harder.
Been in prison more often.
Flogged more severely.
Exposed to death again & again.
Five times received forty lashes minus one.
Three times beaten with rods.
Stoned.
Shipwrecked.
Night & day in the open sea.
Constantly on the move.
Danger from rivers, bandits, fellow countrymen
Danger in the city, the country, at sea, liars
Laboured without sleep.
Have know hunger, thirst, gone without food, been cold & naked.
Pressures from church concerns.

Now that’s some excuses to kill off any enthusiasm. Makes my poor excuses look incredibly weak in comparison.
Perhaps I could change the world. I’ll do it by starting to change my world, reaching out to those closest to me who are in need and seeing where God might take me as I am willing to be used.

No grand gestures.
No excuses.
Just one person becoming available.
Simple, small acts of kindness, whenever I can.

My prayer…
Lord, help me get over myself and use me. Help me to help others. To be an encourager, a listener, someone who brings hope, who has faith to believe YOU for some stuff. I don’t know where you might take me but I pray that you help me to be ready. Please don’t allow my excuses stop you from using me. Amen

KEEP MAKING PROGRESS

Some days, when all is well, this seems easy.
Some days, when stuff is going off, not so easy.

Wherever you find yourself today, have a mind to keep making progress. Keep doing the simple things, the things that you know are right for you to do.

PRAY. WORSHIP. PUT GOD FIRST. CONSIDER HIM. SERVE. READ THE WORD OF GOD.

In 2 Corinthians 4 Paul writes these incredible words:
‘We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body’.

Remember that your life in Christ is a window to the greatness of God for all those who watch your life pass theirs. To keep making progress shows off His goodness. Though in life we may be hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted or struck down REMEMBER that the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you. Every time you make another step, it brings glory to His name.

Fix your eyes on what is not seen. Fix your eyes on things eternal, not temporary. One step at a time. Who knows where that might lead you as you allow God to have His way, working through you.

How’s your progress?

It’s amazing how you take something like water forgranted. It’s easy it is to forget how incredible it is that water is pumped into our houses everyday, something we need to remain thankful for. It’s part of being a civilian of the westernised world. It is still something many others don’t enjoy the privilege of without greater inconvenience.

My girls were horrified that they would have to go to school still. After all, they hadn’t had a shower. We hadn’t had an opportunity to get refreshed and ready for the day. With the last water from the pipe we filled a sink and we splashed our faces, cleaned our teeth. The house was full of the haze of body spray for some time.

Later in the day, I had a thought. Maybe it was God, but it was definitely a gentle nudge…
Don’t take me forgranted.
Would you notice if I’m not there in the same way you did when there was no water?
Be as desperate for me in your life as you were about having water.

The beauty with God…there is no broken pipes. His love, mercy & grace are new every morning. His forgiveness of sins knows no bounds and I for one am thankful for that. Maybe we put stops in the pipe. Maybe we put other supposedly more important things in the way of God moving in our life.

My prayer…Lord, never let me take you forgranted. Let me acknowledge your greatness ALL the time. Help me to be aware of your presence in ALL situations. Please show me what I’m putting in the way. Change me if you need to God because I NEED to be as close to YOU as I can be. Life without you would be like LIFE without water. Amen

Worth a read for the 5 levels of leadership, the process of helping people progress along the leadership journey. It has certainly encouraged me to think more strategically. If the structure is right, then growth can occur because people are not only being released into ministry but they are also being developed as leaders too.

Six Thinking Hats by Edward De Bono. Didn’t know what to expect from this book. I had heard about it and was intrigued about this new approach to facilitating meetings. It seems so simple. Can it really make such a significant impact as described in the book?

The premise of parallel thinking as opposed to the more argumentative model that happens in meetings is easy to understand. The aim of focusing everyone on the same type of thinking means you don’t jump around, it’s not a battle ground, it’s less about who shouts the loudest. Plus everyone gets a chance to speak and offer thoughts. Creativity can increase. Problems can still be raised. Decisions can be reached faster, which means a better, more efficient use of time too. Looking forward to trying it out. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. Was keen to read this book after reading Primal and I wasn’t disappointed. The to be on a wild goose chase speaks of not really knowing where you are going and that is a great picture of living life being led by the spirit.

My life is not one of great adventure. I don’t feel that I have done any great feats yet. Reading the book certainly challenged me to become more determined to live life being on a wild goose chase. To allow God to take me where He needs to go. To let go of my plans and trust God more. To be willing to let go of an old identity in order to take on a new one. Makes me wonder where I might end up and what I’ll look like when I get there.

Building a Strategic Church by David Beer. I am naturally a thinker. I am more introvert, analytical and prone to planning. I don’t mind systems and processes. Due to this, I really enjoyed this book.

David Beer brings all his experience as a local church pastor in the UK to the table and shares a whole bunch of ideas that can help any leader to think more strategically. Loved the statement - ‘The church that doesn’t care who gets the credit, as long as people are ministered to in the name of Christ, is the strategic church and the church that God uses.’

The Empowered Church by Ian Jagelman. Leadership v Ministry is always an intriguing balancing act. Often the things that we enjoy doing as Pastors are more ministry based, the tougher stuff is more the leadership aspect. Both are important but one builds people, the other builds the church.

This made the whole issue of building the right kind of leadership team a higher priority. Ian Jagelman talks how the leadership team must be equally committed to a common task, goal and working approach. That each person must not be heard saying ‘this does not relate to me.’ If this is the case then you just have a working group, not a team. That’s a challenge when many are prioritising their own area of ministry but then that’s not the only thing you are looking for.

I would happily recommend all these books. Get your copies here.

We all work hard but do we work hard at the right things.
We invest our energies in so much stuff, the key is to reflect on whether its the right stuff.

It’s easy to get distracted.
It’s easy to start to drift.
It’s easy to lose focus on what is most important.
It’s easy to forget how much God has done for us.

Simple things keep us on the right track.
‘Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

Paul encourages us that in the light of this great statement we should do some simple things…
Stand firm.
Let nothing move us.
Always give ourselves fully to the work of the Lord.
Know that when you labour in the Lord it is not in vain.

When I read this I am challenged. This is the most simple and effective way to live life. I can labour hard and there is nothing wrong with that. However, to labour in the Lord, giving myself fully to the things that He has put in front of me – that is where the greatest rewards lay. That is the right kind of labour. A labour not in vain. One that brings the best results – to me, to my family, to those I do life with, to the Church, to the Kingdom of God.

It challenges me to make sure that I am focused on the right things.
It challenges me that I focus on the right things with the right attitude.

To remember that everything I do, I do as ‘unto the Lord’. Not for myself and what I can gain but recognising that God places me in certain situations, in front of certain people, providing opportunities for completing certain tasks…for His glory. To be ready to be all he needs me to be, not what I think He needs to me to be.

What simple things is God reminding you of as you read His word?