Walk the Talk

This week, I was thinking about my faith. I hear all of the time that people

should know Christians by the way we carry ourselves…by how we act and how we treat others. So that got me to thinking.  What qualities do I want to have that would point people to God? I know I can easily refer to the fruit of the Spirit to get my answer. Case closed. God already told me, right? Well, sometimes don't you need to take things down a notch?  Start small? So, I started making a list. Foolish, I know. How can I try and wrap up God in 3 key points?  Just to make it a little more inconceivable, I thought I would keep it short. Goodness knows that mastering 3 would be a stretch. 

I want to exhibit peace. I want the kind of peace that God describes in the Bible. I came across a quote from Zig Ziglar. It said, “A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.”  Haven't you felt that kind of exhaustion before? I know I have. God doesn't want me to live like that. It doesn’t mean that life won’t hit, push and press me. It doesn’t mean that I’m never expected to worry, be afraid, be angry, be sad or confused.  Peace means that I choose to hand those emotions over to God and trust that He will either handle the situation Himself or equip me to take care of it.  My level of peace is dependent on my level of trust.

I want to show joy. Joy isn't throwing jokes around everywhere I go. However, I have to say that I do love a good joke.  I value a good sense of humor. In fact, there is often a competition in my family as to who is the 2nd funniest...with me being the funniest, of course. With the people I work with, there are so many funny folks on staff that I refuse to rank everyone because I know I will not come in 1st...or 2nd...or maybe even 3rd. The kind of joy I'm talking about is embracing life with anticipation and gusto. It’s being excited about the day and the possibilities God brings my way. It’s acknowledging and savoring the moments I see Him working.  My joy is an outward expression of the level of peace that Christ brings to my life.

I want to extend kindness. God calls us to love Him and to love others. Sometimes, the word love can be a little generic.  We tend to over use it. I think love means being kind to people:  taking the time to go out of my way to help someone, to spend time with them or to encourage them. That's a big one for me because I usually have a task list and agenda that is my priority, but kindness isn't something that can be scheduled or manufactured. Can't you just see it? "Excuse me. Can I help you with that for the next 2.5 minutes because after that I need to get back to...?" You may think I'm kidding, but that's real life.

I praise God who continues to grow and expand my concept of who He is and how He wants to work in my life.  I embrace the Holy Spirit who never gets tired of tapping me on the shoulder to remind me what's really important and I hope that when others see me they won't have to guess Who I follow. 

My Pursuit

A multitude of voices call out to You. You are power, glory and love. My life, You chose. My life, You saved. Countless ones have the same story. I was lost; You sought me. I was hopeless; You saved Me. You chased me, pursued me and won me.

My beautiful Jesus.

Now, my pursuit of You is a response. It’s a response to Your unending and relentless pursuit of me. My pursuit means daily sacrifice. Sacrifice not because it is required of me to obtain anything, but in response to the love and the grace that has been given to me. The sacrifice I bring is my will and my desires: the me that is full of sin and the me that desires things that contradict Your plan for my life.  The sacrifice I bring is me.

I can never repay You for the new life You’ve given me. That is not something that You ask of me anyway, but I want to. I want to thank You, to honor You, to glorify You. So, I make the changes, the choices that reflect You and not me.  I know that when I push past the momentary space of spirit against flesh…and win…that feeling, that expression of RIGHTNESS so overwhelms me…that is my pursuit.

My pursuit is You.

Peace

We hunger for something that is just out of our grasp. Our fingers lightly skim and flutter the edges just enough to prove its existence yet it remains elusive.  Is there some trick or task we can wrangle to finally capture it or will it forever taunt us as it sits on the edge of our sanity?

We lean in to You. Breathe deeply the peace and rest only You provide. As our gaze centers on You, the cares and concerns of tomorrow fade away. You bring clarity and harmony in a world that magnifies confusion and stress. Our heart longs for You to permeate our very being. Overtake us.  May it pour out from us as evidence of our supplication, trust and commitment.

The Hunger

Growth can be excruciatingly painful at times. That's why it's so important that you hunger for growth. If you don't hunger for it, then you will resent those moments when God illuminates a part of your character or leadership that needs improving. Usually, those moments involve other people so you have the added pressure of responding with humility.

The battle then becomes between justification/rationalization versus truth/acceptance. It's not until we get to truth and acceptance that we are truly able to grow from the experience. It still doesn't mean that we have to like it, but it's owning the reality. Those are the moments that are a catalyst for exponential growth. 

Hunger for growth. There will be times when you feel extremely vulnerable and tender, but if you keep your focus on the hunger, then you will reap the benefits of the journey.

OS Updates

Romans 15:13

Our culture is fascinated with new technology and the potential it brings to make life more effective and seamless.  Over the last month, we have heard a lot of tech talk about the new iPhone 6 being released this week.  When Apple released the new iPhone, the owners of older iPhone models reaped the benefits of the upgrade also. They got the opportunity to update their current operating system.  People usually fall into one of two categories when it comes to their attitude about these updates:

1.        Apprehension and resistance.  You don’t like change and tend to get frustrated when things don’t run smoothly from the get-go.  You like consistency and knowing what to expect. Even if there is potential for something better, the risk of the unknown is a turn off. You often say, “What’s wrong with the current system?  I don’t need to improve it.  I like it just fine.”

2.       Anticipation and eagerness.  You can’t wait for the better operating system. You actively search out information about what’s coming and how it can benefit your life.  As soon as you hear about the updates, you are already envisioning how this tweak will make your life better. You embrace change and can’t wait to share the cool things in the update with your closest 100 friends.

We often view the work of the Holy Spirit in the same way. One of His roles in our lives is to sanctify us. That’s just a fancy word for making us more like Christ. Like our iPhones, the Holy Spirit’s work in us is performing an operating system update.  How we approach His work determines how receptive we are to His leading and guidance.  Are we resistant to change or are we eager for it?  Are we apprehensive about making the necessary tweaks He is calling us to make or do we approach these changes with eagerness and anticipation for the results they can produce? 

God loves us. Unconditionally. His love for us never changes. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us more. However, how effective we are in this life is determined by how much we allow the Holy Spirit the freedom to operate through us. It’s through the sanctifying work of His Spirit that we are made new.  Embrace His guidance. Search out His will with eagerness and anticipation for the great work He will perform through you.

Lean In

Don’t you just love how God teaches and guides us? Sometimes, it's like a whisper and we have to listen very closely and think about what He is trying to show us. Other times, it's so unmistakable that we can't help but be giddy because it's just so obvious. Whichever way He chooses to guide us, there is one thing we can be sure of:  He is constantly speaking to us, guiding us and giving us wisdom to tackle our everyday lives.

There is such comfort in knowing that we are not alone in whatever landscape we find ourselves. The key is learning to hear His distinctive voice and trusting His specific direction.  The more we lean in to Him, the better we are at discerning His voice. The more we are able to discern His voice, the more confident we become in trusting His guidance.  When we can trust Him, life becomes a more peaceful place. It doesn’t mean that life won’t hit us. It just means that when it does, it won’t have the power to shake us so much.  We can walk in peace and confidence that He has our backs.

Working Through Opposition

Greg DePriest, my pastor, recently stated this quote:  “I’ve learned to value people over being right. When self has to be right, it becomes self-righteous.” God has called us to leadership. Our work ethic and drive should be markedly different than someone who is not a Christian. It should be in our very nature to want to excel in all that we do because we are representatives of the One Most High.

However, when we strive to excel in life or perform our best, our idea of how we need to tackle a project, problem or task shouldn’t be the lone voice that we listen to.  Over achievers want to do things right the first time, on their own.  We don’t want to ‘need’ the input of others to be successful.  It’s okay for us to ask advice, but unwanted advice should be left unsaid.  Living in the façade that we are perfect is a better choice than taking unwanted advice that speaks truth and wisdom and reveals the reality that we need help.

When this happens, our first response is to react defensively.  We immediately reject, justify and counter attack.  When we react this way, we are choosing to reject a vital means by which God imparts wisdom.  God uses other people to grow us in invaluable ways. Sometimes, it’s not even about the project that we’re working on. It’s about valuing the insight of others. It’s about living with humility and accepting the knowledge and wisdom of those around you.  I once heard Jenni Catron say it very wisely:  "We are so busy doing our work that we forget that we are God’s work."  The next time someone offers you unwanted advice. Stop. Focus on not verbally reacting.  Listen and analyze the information. Is there any truth to what they are saying?  Respond with humility. Value their insight and thank God for the opportunity to grow.

Proverbs 12:15  Proverbs 19: 27  Proverbs 11: 14  James 1: 19

Tenacity and Persistence

As Christians, growth is mandatory. God is never satisfied with our status quo. He loves us. His goal is for us to become the individual He has predestined us to be: who puts Him first and loves others. There are times in our lives where we are actively seeking that personal growth. It’s during those times that we gain wisdom through God’s Word, prayer or the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Those are sweet moments with our Savior and we should cherish them.  However, sometimes that growth isn’t all roses and rainbows.  It comes from life’s troubling circumstances, trials or even some sin that we might carry.  It’s during these hard times that we often become burdened and weighted down by our on self-condemnation.  We focus so much on our inadequacies that we let negative self-doubt and dissatisfaction cling to us and that becomes our 'soul' focus.  We look only at our inadequacies of today and can’t see the possibilities of tomorrow. 

God wants us to grow out of love. He wants us to focus on Christ and His resurrection as we become more self-aware and propelled into action.  God gives us power, tenacity and the ability to be persistent. Tenacity and persistence are the keys to success. If we never quit, sooner or later, we’ve got to get it right.  Our job is to cling to the hope that through Him, tomorrow we can be/do better and in the meantime…accept the peace He offers us during the process.

Sustainability

Isaiah 40: 28-31

How do we maintain or sustain our faith in life?  Life continually hits up against and tries to beat our faith.  Oftentimes, faith seems like a boat in the middle of a storm tossed to and fro, unanchored, directionless. and hopeless. Trials, drama and unfairness seem to beat at our door continuously.  Choosing how to respond versus reacting in the moment is the mark of a life anchored by Jesus.  The constant pull of life circumstances can be draining and exhausting. Peace can seem like a distant object in the horizon, but it’s closer and more attainable than we realize. God’s Word is our avenue to hope.  It’s in His Word where we find strength.  It’s through His Word that He gives us power and it’s in speaking His Word that our strength is renewed.

Being successful in this life depends on our ability to invite God in to overtake our reactions, our feelings and our heart. How does He want me to feel? How does He want me to respond? He is inviting us to take those moments that seem challenging and using them as an opportunity to release our natural reactions and replace them with wisdom, discernment, direction, hope and peace so that He can renew our strength and give us power to fight another day.

Unstoppable

The most valuable tool we have when it comes to learning from others and their experiences are the words and stories given to us in the Bible. The Bible is our greatest asset when it comes to taking the messages, stories and experiences of others and using those things to grow us into more successful people.

 

What is THE THING that holds so many of us back from success and happiness?  We pray. We wait on God to move and then, while we wait, we do nothing.  Because we do nothing in the gap, we get so nervous that He won’t come through for us. We doubt and worry and speak words of negativity. When we pray, does that remove all responsibility from us? Is all of the responsibility at that point God’s?

 

Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”  The study notes say the following:  We must maintain a delicate balance of trusting God as if everything we do depended on Him while working as if everything depended on us. Commit your ways to God. Pray. Ask Him to direct your steps and give you favor in all that you do, but then GET BUSY and believe... have hope that He will actually come through for you. Pray. Work your hardest and hope that God will come through. Now, hope is not crossing your fingers that God will come through. The Biblical definition of Hope is Confident Expectation.  It basically believes that it’s a fact, so we need to walk around with that kind of attitude.

 

Prayer + Hard Work + Hope = Faith

(Talking with God/Reading His Word)  + Hard Work + (Waiting on God/Speaking Positive Things into Our Lives) = Faith

 

Learning to be proactive in life is essential to maintaining our peace.  Being proactive in our faith means cultivating a personal relationship with Christ that carries us through. Spending time in His Word arms us with ammunition to combat our natural reactions.   Talking with Him throughout the day connects us with His Spirit so that we can submit to His Will. It’s through His Word and our ongoing conversations with Him that we have the power to work our hardest to achieve the dreams He has laid out before us.

 

God has a divine purpose for you. He wants you to grow. He wants to give you favor and to be a blessing to others. Staying stagnant and the same in your faith is not an option. You’re His and He has great things in store for you. You need to move through life looking for ways to grow, and one of the best—easiest, non-painful and stress free ways to grow is by leaning in to His Word.  Working together with God, there’s not a more powerful force on the face of the earth. The two of you are a dynamic, unstoppable force.