Are you Consistent or Passionate?

Are you Consistent or Passionate?  Wow is this an incredible question to ask when examining your heart (or when God does).

Excerpt from Revelations 2:1-7

² “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

This passage is a letter to the Church of Ephesus and has challenged and convicted me more than anything else I can think of.  Wrapped up in a few sentences God is stating this: 

I see you have labored, worked, and persevered.  I see you have done and said the right things.  I see that you have been consistent in doing what is right.  You have the right beliefs and right behavior . . . Nevertheless (BUT SO WHAT) you have lost your FIRST LOVE.  Where is you love and passion for me?  I am not examining your life, I am examining your heart.  Your life may look fine but I wanted your heart.  WHERE IS YOUR HEART?  WHERE IS YOUR LOVE? WHERE IS YOUR PASSION FOR ME? You have lost your first love.

Few thoughts/questions. .  .

1)    Have I lost my passion for you God?  Do I just live for the ministry or do I truly live for you?

2)    Am I just really consistent or am I PASSIONATE?

3)    I recognize that activity in the King’s business does not make up for neglect of the King.

God, I never want to lose my first love: my love and passion for You.  Forgive me for moments I was willing to sacrifice my life to demonstrate my allegiance, yet unwilling to offer my heart to reveal my passion.  Father, I acknowledge I have fallen short and need help in protecting my heart.  May it burn and be consumed by an overwhelming love and passion for You.

Integrity

God has really been challenging me in the area of my integrity.  Simply put he is challenging me with this question. . . “What if your inside (everything) became your outside?  What if everything were on the table and you could mask nothing? ” When faced with that question I am faced with an uncomfortable truth that I have some work to do.

I have learned three things that integrity requires:

1)    GUTS to make the right decision even when it is not the popular decision or will not be seen or challenged

2)    DISCERNMENT to understand when your actions violate the core principal of integrity

3)    BROKENESS before God to not allow pride, selfishness, arrogance, etc. to influence your behavior

God, in a world where integrity seems to be forgotten, help me see those times when I put mine at risk.  Give me the strength to ask for help and even more strength to listen.  I desire to be a person of integrity, where my “yes means yes” and my “no means no”.  There is no middle ground and no gray area.   

May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you.  – Psalm 25:21

What is the greatest gift of fatherhood?

Is it the incredible love you feel for your children? . . . Almost indescribable but no. 

Is the feeling that nothing else in the world matters when you holding your little one in your arms? . . . That is true but no.

Is it the joy you get when they jump up and down and scream your name when you get home? . . .  Makes me cry just thinking about it but no.

For me the greatest gift of fatherhood is a “glimpse” of love of our heavenly father loves us. Seriously, for me there was something that unlock in me when I first realized that even the overwhelming love I had for my child didn’t event compare for how God felt about me.  That is incredible!

God I thank you for the gift of love you have given to me!

God, Make Me Consistent

I am in Kansas City, MO for some FCA training stuff.  Went to IHOP last night. That’s the International House of Prayer (not Pancakes). September 19th will be 10 years of 24-7 prayer. Very Cool!

Sidebar. . . Now I want pancakes!

Anyway, thinking of IHOP who has continued round the clock prayer for 10 years straight reminded of a FCA Impact Play (devotional) I read a few weeks ago.  It asked the question…” Would you rather have one incredible sports season filled with recognition and awards, or five average seasons filled with good, solid consistent performances?”

How we answer that challenging question reveals how we are wired as competitors. Are you the type of competitor who looks for the next big opportunity or who digs in right where you are? In the sports world today, we see players jump teams mid-season, coaches leave great programs for bigger paychecks, and even entire teams change cities. The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence, doesn’t it? That is why we are quick to pursue the next big, great opportunity.

Something I learned with God is he doesn’t need, nor is he looking for today’s “superstar”.  All he needs (and what he really wants) is someone faithful and consistent.  God rarely (if ever) builds his ministry on the superstar.  Why? Because they often fade and are exposed. Truthfully, even in life we never remember the “one hit wonders” but the people who had the heart and the determination to stick it out for the long haul.

Quick point . . . Even though I say that this is something that I learned (and I have) the truth is it is much harder to be faithful and consistent than it is to become a “superstar”. My human nature often looks for the “bigger and better”.  My flesh knows it is simply easier to jump ship when things get difficult and there will always be another opportunity to connect somewhere else and be the “golden child”.     

Here’s my challenge and prayer to you and me: Commit for the long haul. Don’t bail. Be faithful. Dig in and make a difference. Sink your teeth into something, and be a competitor who is marked with consistency. Just start where you are and stay after it. You will be surprised what God can do with a commitment. IHOP is a simple example!

1.       When was the last time you committed to something for the long haul? How did God use you through that experience?

2.       Are you more prone to digging in or taking off? Why?

3.       How can God use you in your current situation (team, school, business, community) if you are willing to dig in?

4.       What is one area in which you can be more consistent?

Exceed expectations (or don’t bother)

I just established a new life policy.  Here it is. . . Exceed expectations or don’t bother. 

Seriously, why should I even bother doing something that is less than exceeding expectations?  Why do something unless I am going to show enough respect for myself or others to do better than they asked or expected?  What am I saying? That I am not going to even bother trying?  NO!  I am saying if I am going to do something, exceed expectations. 

God, please give me the wisdom and strength to exceed expectations.  Allow me to extend honor to you, myself and others in that way.

Becoming Proactive

I love hearing about people who live outside of “the box”.  I just read this story about a homebuilder who is “makin’ it happen” in a down market.  He asked himself, “If I want to sell a new house, why not offer prospective buyers help in selling their old houses? This “genius” sent his idle crews to prospective buyer’s homes to paint and do other important cosmetic fixes.  He filled their old house with the furniture he used in his model homes.  He got proactive and just decided I am going to sale this persons house so they will buy one from me. 

 

I want to be like this guy.  God, give me the grace to clear a path and let me go first!

We All Want Influence

I have a thought, so hang with me a minute. My last 5 years of ministry I have seen so much change in a short time. In today’s viral marketing (blog, twitter, facebook, etc.) everyone can have a voice, especially when it comes to ministry. Before only the pastors had a voice, a platform, a place of influence, but now everyone can get in the game and many have. So many of us want influence. We want our day in the sun. We want to be heard through our unique expression and thoughts. Here is what I have learned, we all want influence but influence is a byproduct of our relationship with Christ. We don’t create real influence by our marketing strategies, but we are graced with influence because of commitment to building and furthering our relationship with Christ. So here is my prayer. God, let me simply delight myself in you and let everything else will take care of itself. Replace my worldly desire to be heard with a heavenly desire to know and love you more.

Blog is the New Book

Three interesting statements I recently heard. . .

* 50 is the new 40

* Big is the new small

* Blog is the new book

 

I don’t know what to make of the first two statements, but I totally agree with the third.  Blog is the new book!  Seriously, what can be said in a whole book that someone smart can’t summarize in a few paragraphs or a series of 3 or 4 blogs.  I will admit it . . . I LOVE READING BLOGS!  Blogs take 2 minutes to read and the right one can change your life or at least change your thinking forever.  Half the time I spend hours reading a book I just realize I am disappointed that I did not learn more.  Maybe it is because the book wasn’t that great or maybe I just wasn’t smart enough to get more, but either way, I am not satisfied many times.  Blogs on the other hand are my friend.  Short, concise, to the point (better be anyway) and if I waste my time, then I just wasted a minute or two.  Blogs are the “MINI ME” to books . . . just as good but smaller.   Also, if God speaks something to me I can walk away and pray and ponder right there.  Books I feel like I need to get through so I don’t take the time to think about what I just read enough.  As far as I am concerned (for the most part) blogs have eliminated the reason for most books to exist. As a good friend of mine always says, “If BLOG (or what ever else we like) was a girl I would marry it.”

 

God, thank you for the “MINI ME” of books! 

Just Do One . . .

In my “glory days” I used to work out/exercise pretty hard.  I am currently trying to get back on the wagon of working out.  Mostly I want to return back my previous form of swimming 50 laps a day in the pool and working out in the gym.  I am not going to lie, it has not gone well in the past few weeks, but I received a great piece of advice the other day. . .  JUST DO ONE.  Just do one lap in the pool.  Just do one sprint across the field.  Just do one bench press.  Don’t set out to swim 50 laps or run 5 miles or spend an hour in the gym.  JUST DO ONE.

 

When I asked him (skeptically) what the value of one lap/bench press was, he explained:
“Well, one lap in the pool isn’t going to do much for you, that’s for sure.  But once you get in there you usually end up doing 20 or 30 at least.  And then you figure, hey, while I’m here, may as well do a couple more before I go home.  Before you know it, you’ve had a pretty good workout.  And it all started with one.”

 

I wonder how we could apply this strategy to some of the other things we never get around to doing, but know you need to?  Just get started, and often the rest will happen from there.  Getting started is the hardest part.  Confucius said a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.

 

God, give me the discipline to get there and JUST DO ONE.

My Biggest Mistake

I read an article today that described my biggest mistake.  The unfortunate thing is I didn’t realize it was my biggest mistake until just now.  The article made the argument that the first mistake marketers, companies, churches, organizations make is that they want more. More customers, more people, more donors, more supporters… Almost all of our actions are driven by the search for MORE.

 

The reason this is a mistake: it’s expensive.  Attracting a new customer, donor or supporter costs far more than keeping an old one happy. Not only that, but an old customer is far more likely to bring you new people than someone who isn’t even a customer yet.

 

I admit it. I have been influenced by a society to want MORE.  To drive for MORE.  To justify my actions for MORE.  But wait a minute, wanting MORE in and of itself isn’t wrong.  For instance, in Matthew 25 (Parable of the Talents) the “wicked and lazy servant” was punished for not creating increase (MORE) while the other two dudes were rewarded for increasing what was given to them. 

 

So where is my mistake?  Doesn’t Matthew 25 conflict with the articles argument?

 

I guess the answer to that question is “no”.  It’s just about balance.  If I focus too much on wanting more, but forget along the way to steward (take care) of what has already been entrusted to me, then I may lose what I already have.  I serve a God that says those who are faithful with what they are given will be given more.  Those who are not faithful, what they have been given will be taken from them and given to someone else.  Walking a fine line here aren’t we?

 

God help me to balance!!!  Help me to balance being a good steward of what has already been entrusted to me while I stay faithful to the call of increase.  Give me the perspective to know the difference and the awareness to keep the balance.