One of the things I studied in graduate school regarding church growth was "vision casting." The idea behind it was that, as a leader, you had to develop a vision of the growth in numbers or activity and then proactively transfer your view to the members. Once that was accomplished, you could then set goals and then assign tasks.
The idea is used not only in the church but in corporate America as well, where I think it is better suited. I say that because vision, in this context, is what we dream up. And then, as Christians, having decided what we want to do, we begin asking God to bless our plans. Do you see a problem here?
In corporate America, when God may not even be a consideration, personal vision is what one must rely on. But for the Church and the Christian, dreaming up what we want to do is antithetical to being a disciple or follower. To follow, one must know where his Leader is going or directing.
What this means is that, rather than dream up what we want and then ask God to bless our efforts, we begin by asking God what He wants and then ask for direction or revelation of His will. To do otherwise is to be self-directed: "Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint..." (Prov 29:18).
The problem with being self instead of God-directed is that "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death" (Prov 14:12). While we may give it our best thinking, we may still be way off the Mark of what God would have us do, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares The Lord" (Isa 55:8).
Listening for the Holy Spirit through prayer, Bible study, Christian counsel and personal circumstance, rather than developing a vision, is to invite revelation. The God can and will bless. Jus' Sayn.
Many years ago, I went through a class designed to help me discover my spiritual gifts. The thought being that if one is to serve God effectively, he should first find out how God has equipped him for service.
The way we went about determining our gifts was to complete a spiritual inventory, a psychological test designed to ferret out your bents, leanings and propensities. My top one was teacher, so preaching and teaching was where I was best suited. Of course, I was already preaching and teaching so I didn't discover anything ground-breaking. In fact, I don't think I discovered anything at all.
What I mean to say is that I only saw what I was already seeing. The inventory only revealed what I already believed as it reflected what I inwardly saw of myself. But, was that what God gifted me to be doing: teaching and preaching? If so, why is the primary ministry I'm involved in today encouraging and supporting people who are dying? I can preach and teach but that isn't what God led me to do in ministry in this season of my life.
God did lead me to preaching ministry and did equip me for the same but He has not been doing so lately. My point being that God's spiritual gifts and calls to ministry are not set in stone, they are molded in clay, which the Potter can alter at will: "But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him...like clay in a potter's hand so you are in my hands" (Jer 18:4-6).
Spiritual gifts aren't something you are born with or trained in that God considers when he calls you to serve. Spiritual gifts are something God supplies when he calls you to serve. You may be quite surprised where and to what He calls you. You may think that it is not your strong suit. But God doesn't need our strength or skills, just our willingness to serve and be molded. Jus' Sayn.
The prophet Jeremiah warned ancient Israel of their coming fall as a nation and the subsequent captivity in a foreign land. The reason for their demise was that they rejected the protective cover of God - "The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord ?’" (Jer 2:8). And the people themselves, "They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt?" (Jer 2:6).
They continued offering sacrifices, they maintained their religious cover, but it was void of The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; filled with ritual but empty of relationship. Prayers went up but their hearts remained unmoved. They wanted the blessings that come when one walks with God but didn't want to follow Him.
Aren't you glad we are not like them today? Isn't it good to know that we don't just send up a laundry list of blessings we want bestowed with no real desire to hear what God has to say to us?
Isn't it wonderful that we don't just attend a religious service to check off a set of rituals we're required to perform, but rather we are drawn into a worship experience where we encounter God?
Doesn't it warm your heart to realize that we, as a nation and as individuals are asking where The Lord is on national issues and where He is on our personal choices? Aren't you glad that we have come so far in seeking God and his voice in our lives?
Don't you wish we really did seek that personal relationship with Him? Don't you wish that we were as concerned with hearing what God had so say about our plans as we are in getting Him to bless them? Don't you wish that America and each of us as Americans would ask, "Where is the Lord who gave us freedom as a nation and as individuals?"
What do you wish? Are you seeking God's voice? Jus' Askn.
How great, how awesome, how mighty is your God? I ask that because it seems that so many address Him in such an off-handed manner. People use his name as a by-word, without any recognition of His majesty, saying things like "Good God man..." or "For God's sake" or the ubiquitous "OMG!"
Some don"t bother to come to Him in prayer at all. Others, when they want something, address Him like some kind of cosmic errand boy, "Get met this, do that for me, take care of this detail." Relatively few read His Word regularly and fewer still actively strive to incorporate it daily into their lives.
It seems that God is more of an after thought if indeed, He is truly thought of at all by far too many people, even individuals who regard themselves as Christians often live as if they, not God, were the Supreme Being over their lives. "It's my life, I can do what I want with it - it's nobody's business but mine how I live it!"
Really? You and I are the Supreme Authority in our lives? That thinking reminds me of an old bumper sticker, which was meant to express faith in God but revealed a very weak theology indeed: "God Is My Co-Pilot". If so, you need to change seats.
When God revealed himself to Isaiah, he debunked any notion that we are anywhere on the same level, "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me?" (Isa 66:1). How can the God of Creation be contained, how dare we try to pigeon hole Him, how is it that we think we can treat Him in such a cavalier manner?
How one approaches Bible study and prayer says so much about how they view God. While God can communicate directly or in visions or in dreams, The Bible and prayer are daily at our disposal to converse with Almighty God.
Who wouldn't want to take advantage of those daily opportunities, unless their view of God was something less or their view of self was something more than it ought to be? Jus' Askn.
Daniel and his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar. They were set aside for possible service to the king himself, provided they made the cut. If not, their future would have been bleak indeed.
An official was placed over them to prepare them to be presented to the king at the appointed time. He was responsible for insuring these slaves were at their best and a big part of that preparation was diet, believing we are what we eat (imagine that, eating healthy to be healthy, what a concept, huh, go figure),
Their concept of healthy eating included lots of meat, especially including the fat portions in order to overcome that rather gaunt, taken in captivity as a slave look they would have had - similar to how runway models look today.
Daniel knew the predicament they were in. The king would only take the best into court service, the rest would be common slaves if they were allowed to live at all. Conventional wisdom said to put your future into the hands of the experts, even if it meant compromising Hebrew dietary laws ordained for God's people.
Daniel, however, had no intention of compromising his faith: "But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine..." (Dan 1:8). He and his friends ate what appeared a rather Spartan diet but, because of his faithfulness to God, "the king found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah" (1:19).
You may be placed in difficult situations this year. You may be tempted to adopt the tactics of the ungodly who seem to have it all together. But true success lies in being true to God, keeping the faith and trusting in Him to deliver. As my wife so often says, "God's got this." Jus' Sayn.
When someone says, "I'm just as good as those people who go to church," they may well be right. The church, after all, is filled up with people who were sinners saved by grace and are now saints who struggle with their flesh, being sanctified by grace. So, you're just as good as people, who, in themselves, are not good. Jesus was quite clear in saying, "only God is good" (Mark 10:-8).
We can all feel pretty smug about ourselves, if we choose the right comparison group. I'm really young and vigorous compared to the folks in the nursing homes where I see patients daily. I'd dare to say that, even if we fudge on our taxes, drive over the speed limit and don't bother to vote, we are quite the model citizens compared to the inmate population in our country's prisons.
The truth is, however, as good as we may feel about ourselves, we know people who put us to shame. We know people that are "good as gold," people who have inspired us. People who never fudge, wouldn't take a nickel that wasn't theirs and would give you the shirt off their back. We're not as keen on comparing ourselves with them. We know, comparing ourselves to them, we could stand more than a little improvement.
Even so, they are not the standard mankind is called to emulate, they are not good. Even the apostle Paul wouldn't say "be like me." Rather, he said, "follow my example as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1). Jesus is the standard and that standard is awe-inspiring. Isaiah, upon seeing the glory of God, cried out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty" (Isa 6:5).
Thankfully, while we cannot replicate the standard of righteousness in our lives, we "are saved by grace through faith and not by works" (Eph 2:8-9). It is, however, as imperfect as they may be, in the company of Christians, followers of Jesus, that we are encouraged in that faith, which appropriates that grace. Jus' Sayn.
2013 is but a memory and we are hours into 2014, which, resolutions to the contrary notwithstanding, will come to a similar conclusion as last year: We will not likely have accomplished all we intended, improved as much as we hoped or kept all the promises we made.
Although I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, I think I can safely predict that all of us will, in various ways, miss the mark or as commonly referred to, "sin." What do think the odds are that I will be right? I would say infinity to zero, conservatively speaking.
Wow, Doc, thanks for the vote of confidence! Why should we even try to improve if we know we're going to fail? I say let's not! Let's not try to be better, more acceptable or more holy. In the words of Stars Wars' Master Yoda, "Try not. Do or do not!"
What in the world are you talking about? Good question. I'm talking about the true Peter Principle - not the one where you reach your highest level of incompetence but where you stop trying to improve yourself and just love the Lord, allowing him to embrace you and empower you by his Spirit.
Peter reached his highest level of incompetence when he denied Jesus (Luke 22:54-62) but when Jesus appeared to him after the Resurrection, he did not ask if Peter was ready to try harder or do better, he asked him instead, "Do you love me ?” (John 21:15). Based on his answer to that question, Jesus said, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:17).
Jesus knew Peter had failed and he knew that Peter would falter again in the future, but he knew that Peter loved him and that would make the difference. Love is the difference for God is love, and as Paul affirmed, we will not be put to shame "because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit" (Rom 5:5). Don't try, do love. Jus' Sayn.
