"How do you spell faith? R I S K"
John Wimber
4/22/08
4/1/08
God is Always on Time
God doesn't always come when you want Him to, but He is always on time.
I guess this is part of God working on our character versus our pleasure. It sure would be nice to be taken directly out of the furnace but if we were we wouldn't get to see God work His greatness and bring glory to His name.
I guess this is part of God working on our character versus our pleasure. It sure would be nice to be taken directly out of the furnace but if we were we wouldn't get to see God work His greatness and bring glory to His name.
Friends for Reason
"Some friends are for a reason, some friends are for a season, and some are for a lifetime".
wisdom given to Keith Craft by his son Josh.
My pastor Keith Crafthad someone leave the church he was pastoring not because of any division or because of any disagreement but because God had called him to a different place. Keith struggled with this because he felt close to this particular person. It was someone who had come to Christ through their relationshi. In his struggle with this friend leaving his son gave him some encouragement that has become part of his life philosophy.
As a kingdom minded believer, a business owner, a dad and a husband who has lived in multiple places and multiple cities during my 47 years it is almost impossible to keep up with all the relationships even the good ones that I have made in that time. This nugget of wisdom really has helped me get a grasp on this. I have some friends for a season. God has put us together for His purposes during a certain period of time. Other friends are for a reason. There is a God task that God has put us together for. And then there are a few that God has connected me to for a lifetime.
It is important to let go of friends that move or begin to move in different circles. We need to steward the relationships that God has put in our lives for the current season that are about encouraging the kingdom of God.
wisdom given to Keith Craft by his son Josh.
My pastor Keith Crafthad someone leave the church he was pastoring not because of any division or because of any disagreement but because God had called him to a different place. Keith struggled with this because he felt close to this particular person. It was someone who had come to Christ through their relationshi. In his struggle with this friend leaving his son gave him some encouragement that has become part of his life philosophy.
As a kingdom minded believer, a business owner, a dad and a husband who has lived in multiple places and multiple cities during my 47 years it is almost impossible to keep up with all the relationships even the good ones that I have made in that time. This nugget of wisdom really has helped me get a grasp on this. I have some friends for a season. God has put us together for His purposes during a certain period of time. Other friends are for a reason. There is a God task that God has put us together for. And then there are a few that God has connected me to for a lifetime.
It is important to let go of friends that move or begin to move in different circles. We need to steward the relationships that God has put in our lives for the current season that are about encouraging the kingdom of God.
3/31/08
Building blocks of Transformation
In our Christian lives the destination is transformation into the image of Christ. If the destination is transformation then the road to the destination would be called maturation. And there is a way of navigating this journey.
The Bible is clear that as we have become new creations we are to think differently. Here are some of the steps of that journey which I would call the building blocks of transformation.
1. Think kingdom thoughts
2. Saturate yourself by Meditating on the word day and night
3. which encourages you to Act upon Gods will
4. Which will develop Godly Habits in you
5. Which build strongholds of character in our lives
6. which leave kingdom legacies for others
As my pastor says "if you elevate your thinking you elevate your life". When Gods word empowered by the Holy Spirit dominates your thinking you are transformed.
The Bible is clear that as we have become new creations we are to think differently. Here are some of the steps of that journey which I would call the building blocks of transformation.
1. Think kingdom thoughts
2. Saturate yourself by Meditating on the word day and night
3. which encourages you to Act upon Gods will
4. Which will develop Godly Habits in you
5. Which build strongholds of character in our lives
6. which leave kingdom legacies for others
As my pastor says "if you elevate your thinking you elevate your life". When Gods word empowered by the Holy Spirit dominates your thinking you are transformed.
Beware of Great Victories
When God does something big in your life or uses you in a powerful way. Beware ! It is a time to be careful. Be careful not to take glory for yourself. Be sure your confidence remains in Christ, lest you don't seek the Lord and make a big mistake or fall to some temptation.
The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came in order that they might have life and have it in abundance. (John 10:10)
The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came in order that they might have life and have it in abundance. (John 10:10)
Schemes of the Enemy
If Satan can't take you to the depths, he will try and make you see your own heights.
2/22/08
11/12/07
9/24/07
Pray and pray again
“The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.” F.B. Meyer
enough said.
enough said.
9/23/07
A love that will melt your heart
"The heart is defenseless against two things: undeserved mercy and unreserved kindness. Jesus overcomes the heart and leaves it rent asunder by loving us where we are."
(comment by Allen Hood from the curriculum Excellencies of Christ, a course at IHOP in Kansas City).
When the human heart grasps the fact of the undeserved Mercy Jesus showed us in his life and death and the unreserved kindness he has toward us we melt. It is this great love that propels us towards trusting Him. This kind of love moves right past all the outer veneers in us and moves right to the core of our being.
...that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)
(comment by Allen Hood from the curriculum Excellencies of Christ, a course at IHOP in Kansas City).
When the human heart grasps the fact of the undeserved Mercy Jesus showed us in his life and death and the unreserved kindness he has toward us we melt. It is this great love that propels us towards trusting Him. This kind of love moves right past all the outer veneers in us and moves right to the core of our being.
...that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26)
9/14/07
Transformation
Throughout the years as I have taught on the subject of transformation and as the Lord has taught me about that a concept of how life growth happens and how it happens in various seasons of our lives has stayed with me.
The concept the Lord gave me was a picture of a first grader. When you enter first grade you are a bit timid, a bit lost, and maybe a tad scared. As you go through the year and get used to your teacher and the subjects you are learning you get more and more confident with what your doing. Ideally at the end of first grade you are confident in how life works and have a certain mastery over it. Then what happens ? You go to second grade and new challenges, new subjects, new fears. Our lives happen like this after we are out of formal school. There is the school of Christ where we continue to go on and have new challenges, new subjects, and new fears to overcome. We never get to rest on last year, there is always a new year.
We are changed from glory to glory.
The concept the Lord gave me was a picture of a first grader. When you enter first grade you are a bit timid, a bit lost, and maybe a tad scared. As you go through the year and get used to your teacher and the subjects you are learning you get more and more confident with what your doing. Ideally at the end of first grade you are confident in how life works and have a certain mastery over it. Then what happens ? You go to second grade and new challenges, new subjects, new fears. Our lives happen like this after we are out of formal school. There is the school of Christ where we continue to go on and have new challenges, new subjects, and new fears to overcome. We never get to rest on last year, there is always a new year.
We are changed from glory to glory.
8/20/07
8/10/07
Your Imprint is Unique
Every person has a unique fingerprint and every person has a unique God designed imprint to leave on this world. (I heard my pastor (Keith Craft) comment on this in a leadership series he did.
There is an amazing system in our country today that can identify a person by their fingerprint. I have heard a policeman say that even people who try to burn off their fingerprints leave a unique sort of print from their hand.
Like the fingerprint, no other person has exactly like the same unique blend of personality, gifting, calling, and life experience. The Christ that is in us is a unique glimpse of Him that leaves a unique imprint on those we come into contact with in the world. There is a taste of the kingdom that only you or I can leave.
You and I are needed by the community around us to be the unique Christ person that we are.
There is an amazing system in our country today that can identify a person by their fingerprint. I have heard a policeman say that even people who try to burn off their fingerprints leave a unique sort of print from their hand.
Like the fingerprint, no other person has exactly like the same unique blend of personality, gifting, calling, and life experience. The Christ that is in us is a unique glimpse of Him that leaves a unique imprint on those we come into contact with in the world. There is a taste of the kingdom that only you or I can leave.
You and I are needed by the community around us to be the unique Christ person that we are.
7/16/07
The process is about a good work
The processes we go through are about God doing a good work in us.
Ever have some processes in your life that are not enjoyable. I remember running wind sprints at the end of basketball practice my senior year. I can not think of any physical thing much less enjoyable than running wind sprints when you are already tired, but the coach put us through the process. I also remember winning many games that year in the fourth quarter. We would put a full court press on other teams that were not in as good of shape as we were and they would break down. The process was tough but it formed a good work in us as a team.
There are many processes we go through in our journey with Christ that are like this. But God has said 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; and His words are faithful. I am learning to embrace the processes even though they may hurt, trusting that God is all about doing a good work in me.
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
Ever have some processes in your life that are not enjoyable. I remember running wind sprints at the end of basketball practice my senior year. I can not think of any physical thing much less enjoyable than running wind sprints when you are already tired, but the coach put us through the process. I also remember winning many games that year in the fourth quarter. We would put a full court press on other teams that were not in as good of shape as we were and they would break down. The process was tough but it formed a good work in us as a team.
There are many processes we go through in our journey with Christ that are like this. But God has said 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; and His words are faithful. I am learning to embrace the processes even though they may hurt, trusting that God is all about doing a good work in me.
"Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved."
6/7/07
Plain Jane
"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us" NKJV
"We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives." Message
"We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives." Message
6/3/07
Prayer: Our focus is His focus
"Prayer is not getting things from God, but getting into communion with God"
Henrietta C. Mears
How easy to us is it to treat God like a divine Santa Claus and just send up our wish list when we pray. God heal me, help me, make me prosper, get me out of this jam, I need some money, yada, yada, yada. It is easy to have a me focus in prayer. That is not to say we shouldn't ask for God to meet our needs, He wants to do that. But these prayers are just one facet of our lives in prayer. The key is not to have a me focus.
I am often reminded by the Lord recently that giving my life to Christ means giving up my life and taking on a life with Him that is centered on Him and His kingdom. Jesus told us to "seek first the kingdom of God". As we grow in our walk with God, we pray as He taught His disciples, Lord your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As we pray each day we are asking, God, what is my kingdom assignment today ?
Prayer at it's true meaning is being in dialogue with God and listening for what He is saying and how He is leading. Our lives are about His purposes on the earth and the more we are in relationship with Him through prayer we gain ground in understanding His heart and begin to see life through the lenses of furthering the kingdom of God rather than the lenses of bettering our own lives.
Henrietta C. Mears
How easy to us is it to treat God like a divine Santa Claus and just send up our wish list when we pray. God heal me, help me, make me prosper, get me out of this jam, I need some money, yada, yada, yada. It is easy to have a me focus in prayer. That is not to say we shouldn't ask for God to meet our needs, He wants to do that. But these prayers are just one facet of our lives in prayer. The key is not to have a me focus.
I am often reminded by the Lord recently that giving my life to Christ means giving up my life and taking on a life with Him that is centered on Him and His kingdom. Jesus told us to "seek first the kingdom of God". As we grow in our walk with God, we pray as He taught His disciples, Lord your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As we pray each day we are asking, God, what is my kingdom assignment today ?
Prayer at it's true meaning is being in dialogue with God and listening for what He is saying and how He is leading. Our lives are about His purposes on the earth and the more we are in relationship with Him through prayer we gain ground in understanding His heart and begin to see life through the lenses of furthering the kingdom of God rather than the lenses of bettering our own lives.
5/29/07
Resources for growth
"Five years from now you will be the same as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read" Charlie "Tremendous Jones"
I understand this is not an all encompassing statement. I know that in Christ and through Him is how we grow, but I think these are two ingredients in life that help propel us to growth. They are two elements that help keep us from being stagnant.
Hopefully all of us want to grow in maturity. The Bible calls us to maturity in our Christian journey. I think this statement by Charlie Jones is true on two accounts. If you read the word of God primarily and then other great books such as biographies of famous Christians it will encourage you in your growth. This doesn't happen because you gain knowledge from those readings, but it happens because that knowledge can give you insight on how to be more intimate with the Lord and how to know His ways.
I have found also that the times in my life that were full of great community, were times of much growth. I use great community to describe people who had a hunger for God and were pursuing it. These were not perfect people, quite the contrary. They had all sorts of imperfections, but there was a common thread in them that they wanted to know Jesus and make Him know. I have found my life is affected by others. The people you are friends with influence your destiny. Look for communities of people or those people who are hungry for Jesus and connect yourselves with them.
I understand this is not an all encompassing statement. I know that in Christ and through Him is how we grow, but I think these are two ingredients in life that help propel us to growth. They are two elements that help keep us from being stagnant.
Hopefully all of us want to grow in maturity. The Bible calls us to maturity in our Christian journey. I think this statement by Charlie Jones is true on two accounts. If you read the word of God primarily and then other great books such as biographies of famous Christians it will encourage you in your growth. This doesn't happen because you gain knowledge from those readings, but it happens because that knowledge can give you insight on how to be more intimate with the Lord and how to know His ways.
I have found also that the times in my life that were full of great community, were times of much growth. I use great community to describe people who had a hunger for God and were pursuing it. These were not perfect people, quite the contrary. They had all sorts of imperfections, but there was a common thread in them that they wanted to know Jesus and make Him know. I have found my life is affected by others. The people you are friends with influence your destiny. Look for communities of people or those people who are hungry for Jesus and connect yourselves with them.
5/22/07
To Big to lead
"If you are too Big to serve then you are too small to lead".
Gods word says if a man lose his life then he will gain it. Losing your life is learning how to serve other people. If we are following the worlds ideology of maturity we would think that the older we get the wiser and richer we get and that other people should serve us because of our obtained place in life. And people following a worldly viewpoint have this mindset. In God's kingdom the greatest are the servants of all.
I love the above statement. In layman's terms it means your should never think so much of yourself that your not willing to clean the toilets. It is those men and women that learn how to serve well in the jails of life (Joseph), in the pits of life (Daniel), in the wildernesses of life (Moses) that God promotes to be in authority over many. Because these men turned their broken times into dependency on God. And in depending on God learned that their lives were in service of God and others.
Great servants are the greatest leaders in the kingdom of God.
Gods word says if a man lose his life then he will gain it. Losing your life is learning how to serve other people. If we are following the worlds ideology of maturity we would think that the older we get the wiser and richer we get and that other people should serve us because of our obtained place in life. And people following a worldly viewpoint have this mindset. In God's kingdom the greatest are the servants of all.
I love the above statement. In layman's terms it means your should never think so much of yourself that your not willing to clean the toilets. It is those men and women that learn how to serve well in the jails of life (Joseph), in the pits of life (Daniel), in the wildernesses of life (Moses) that God promotes to be in authority over many. Because these men turned their broken times into dependency on God. And in depending on God learned that their lives were in service of God and others.
Great servants are the greatest leaders in the kingdom of God.
Elevated thinking
Elevate your thinking and you will elevate your life.
This statement is part of the culture of our local church here in Frisco Texas. Basically what it alludes to is that if you will put Gods word in your mind and heart your life will prosper. God thoughts bring contrast to thoughts in our minds that are not right thoughts.
For example: When someone cuts me off on the freeway there are thoughts in my mind that say "you idiot" or thoughts that say to myself "let's go cut that person off so they can feel what I feel and have empathy for me". Gods word contrasts those thoughts with "bless those who curse you, do good to those who spitefully use you" or "pray for that person today that they will encounter the living God and be blessed". When I act upon Gods way of thinking I elevate my life. I put myself in a place to have a God kind of prosperity such as peace, love, and joy. I put myself in a place that Gods kingdom is the priority and I am in on what God is up to on the earth each day.
This statement is part of the culture of our local church here in Frisco Texas. Basically what it alludes to is that if you will put Gods word in your mind and heart your life will prosper. God thoughts bring contrast to thoughts in our minds that are not right thoughts.
For example: When someone cuts me off on the freeway there are thoughts in my mind that say "you idiot" or thoughts that say to myself "let's go cut that person off so they can feel what I feel and have empathy for me". Gods word contrasts those thoughts with "bless those who curse you, do good to those who spitefully use you" or "pray for that person today that they will encounter the living God and be blessed". When I act upon Gods way of thinking I elevate my life. I put myself in a place to have a God kind of prosperity such as peace, love, and joy. I put myself in a place that Gods kingdom is the priority and I am in on what God is up to on the earth each day.
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