2020-12-14
Proverbs 1:5 NIV
To succeed in life you must make personal growth one of your highest priorities. The fact is, you never stand still. You’re either going forward or backward, stretching or stagnating. Let’s take a moment and think about what happens when you allow yourself to stagnate.
You lose your influence. Do your friends seek your advice and then act on it? Do your coworkers value your opinion? If you’re not bringing new ideas and information to the table on a regular basis, people will start looking elsewhere and you’ll end up becoming marginalized.
Today’s businesses move at the speed of light. New ideas, technology, leadership techniques, financial models, sales principles, and ways to communicate are constantly being scrutinized, discussed, evaluated, and tested. Company leadership is looking for men and women who aren’t automatons. They’re looking for original thinkers, people who can look beyond normal everyday workplace interactions and find new solutions.
Become the “go-to person” when it comes to answers and ideas. Be the one who knows how to find new information, and who can provide innovative insights and perspectives. If you keep your eyes and ears open, your mind alert, and listen carefully, you’ll discover that great ideas are all around you. You’ll find a hundred people who can manage a good idea, for every one person who can come up with that good idea.
If you’re not influencing decisions, directions, or people, you need to implement a plan for personal growth – immediately! Solomon, who is often referred to as the wisest man who ever lived, apart from Christ, said, “Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance.”
Soul food: Neh 1-4; John 19:17-30; Ps 105:16-22; Prov 30:10-14
2020-12-13
Proverbs 4:18 MSG
Phil Cooke writes: “Growth is what we do with knowledge. Growth is where we take our knowledge, how we apply it, and how we use it in our everyday lives. Leadership expert John Maxwell taught me long ago to change my orientation from goals to growth. When he said those words, it was a revelation. I’d always learned that goals were important, and I tried and tried to use a system of reaching goals, but I’d always struggled with it. I could see that goals motivated lots of people…but reaching goals always left me empty and unsatisfied. But when John showed me how to focus my attention on growth, everything suddenly fell into place. The process taught me that goals are great, but when we reach a goal, we’re finished. But with growth, it’s a never-ending process – always learning, always moving forward, always achieving. I hope when I reach the end of my life, there will be a couple of good books on my nightstand. I want to learn and grow until my last breath…Look at the people in your circle of friends. Why do some succeed and others seem to stagnate? Why do some move to higher levels of achievement while others stay at the same place for years at a time? Many people blame the system, the company, or their boss. They blame society, their upbringing, or their past. But a lifetime plan for growth can break through barriers and overcome nearly any obstacle.”
The Bible puts it like this: “The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.” And the more they grow!
Soul food: Eze 37:1-14; Matt 27:50-53; 1 Thes 4:13-18
2020-12-12
Philippians 2:13 NIV
When it comes to doing what pleases God, there are two major hurdles you need to overcome – the “want to” and the “able to.” Relinquishing your own plans and embracing God’s will doesn’t come easily. Your old fleshly nature wants what it wants, not what God wants. And even when God’s will is clear, and you want what He wants, you lack the necessary ability to do it. Fortunately, that’s where God steps into your dilemma by working in you to give you the “want to” and the “ability to.” But the willingness and the capability both come from Him, not you.
You ask, “Since God is working in me, why is there such a struggle to know and to do His will?” The problem is, your natural mind is self-centered and tends to resist God’s will. So what’s the answer?
(1) Surrender your body and its appetites to God. “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1 NIV).
(2) Renew your mind. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2 NIV).
In the original Greek, “renewal” means to be “inwardly renovated” by aligning your thoughts with God’s – to intentionally think like He thinks. In other words, God initiates the “want to” and the “ability to,” and you cooperate by aligning your mind with His. When that happens, you can be confident “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6 NIV).
Soul food: Col 3-4; Philemon; John 19:1-16; Ps 105:8-15; Prov 30:5-9
2020-12-11
Psalm 142:4 NKJV
Women who feel isolated and lonely often look to their husbands to satisfy what has been called their “soul hunger.” It’s a role many men have never handled very well. And modern life hasn’t helped.
A century ago, great fellowship and camaraderie existed between wives and mothers. They cooked together, went to church together, and grew old together. And when a baby was born, aunts, grandmothers, and neighbors were there to show the new mother how to diaper, feed, and discipline.
But today the extended family has virtually disappeared, depriving women of that traditional source of support. Furthermore, modern families move every three or four years, preventing long-term friendships from developing. It’s also important for women to understand that some of their needs simply can’t be met by men.
In Anne of Green Gables, there’s a wonderful moment when teenage Anne says, “A bosom friend – an intimate friend, you know – a really kindred spirit to whom I can confide my inmost soul. I’ve dreamed of meeting her all my life.” She expresses a longing that’s common to women, but not so typical in men. It’s the need for intimate friendship. And it’s a key to understanding the depression that’s common among many women. The psalmist David captures it in these words: “There is no one who acknowledges me; refuge has failed me; no one cares for my soul.”
To combat this sense of isolation, it’s important for women to maintain a network of friends through such things as exercise classes, group hobbies, and church activities. The interchange between them may sound like casual talk, but the bonding that occurs makes life a lot more satisfying.
Soul food: Col 1-2; John 18:25-40; Ps 105:1-7; Prov 30:1-4
2020-12-10
Psalm 127:3 TM
Some people say it doesn’t matter how little time you spend with your children, as long as it’s quality time. But the logic of that concept seems suspect. Why do we have to choose between the virtues of quantity versus quality? We don’t accept that forced choice in any other area of our lives, so why is it only relevant to our children? We could illustrate it this way.
Suppose you’ve looked forward all day to eating at one of the finest restaurants in town. The waiter brings you a menu, and you order the most expensive steak in the house. But when the meal arrives, you see a tiny piece of meat about one inch square on the center of the plate. When you complain about the size of the steak, the waiter says, “I recognize that the portion is small, but it is the finest corn-fed beef money can buy. You will never find a better bite of meat than what we have served you tonight. As to the portion, I hope you understand that it’s not the quantity that matters; it’s the quality.” You would object, and for good reason. Why? Because both quantity and quality are important in many areas of our lives, including how we relate to our children.
They need our time, and the best we have to give them. The truth is, the “quantity versus quality” argument might be a poorly disguised rationalization for giving our children – neither. The Bible says, “Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift?” So when it comes to giving them time and attention, they deserve the best in both quantity and quality.
Soul food: Jos 22-24; John 18:12-24; Ps 150; Prov 29:22-27
2020-12-09
Psalm 127:5 TM
Dr. James Dobson once took his young children on a skiing vacation to California. Coping with two kids who were complaining loudly about the cold, and fighting over their gloves and scarves, was getting on his nerves. But on that trip he learned a lesson he would never forget: “After getting the kids located at the lodge, I parked the car and waited for a flatbed truck to take me back to the top of the mountain. About fifteen young skiers waited with me. I noticed a girl in her early twenties standing with the others. When she looked at me, I recognized that unmistakable appearance of mental retardation in her eyes. She was behaving strangely and repeating the word ‘whomever,’ without meaning. The other young skiers smiled and rolled their eyes.
Then I noticed that the man standing near her must be her father. He had seen the reactions of scorn on the faces of the other skiers. So he put his arms around her, looked down lovingly, and said, ‘Yeah babe, whomever.’ The compassion in his voice and his manner seemed to be saying, ‘Yes, it’s true. She is very limited in ability. She won’t write songs. She won’t write books. In fact, she’s already out of school. We’ve done the best we could for her. But I want you all to know something – this is my girl, and I love her. She’s the whole world to me. I’m not ashamed to be her father or to be identified with her. ‘Yeah babe, whomever!'”
Dobson says he apologized to the Lord for complaining about his kids, and looked forward to hugging them at the top of the mountain.
Soul food: Jos 19:24-21:45; John 18:1-11; Ps 148:7-14; Prov 29:16-21
