Here's to Being Intentional

Did you make New Year goals this year? I didn’t...because it seems like every time I make these goals, I stop thinking about them way before March. So this year, I am going to be INTENTIONAL. Let’s be honest. To set goals, or resolutions, one must be intentional to see them through. Being intentional is the hardest part. So instead of actually writing goals for this year, let's focus on three areas where we can be intentional in order to mature as disciples of Christ.  

To be intentional as described by dictionary.com is to be done on purpose, deliberately. Three key areas to be intentional are spiritual growth, personal health and finances. Growth in each of these areas will allow us to mature as disciples in Christ by becoming better managers of our time, temples, and treasures. I know what you're thinking, "Those are large areas in my life. How will I be able to measure my growth?" You thought right. So how can these areas be measured? With Truth! What does Truth tell us about these areas, and how can we grow?

Spiritual Growth

How can someone experience growth in spirituality? Well, first you have to be INTENTIONAL. Let's use Jesus as our model. First, you need to evaluate how you did last year. Looking at Jesus as the model, you will notice that Jesus got up early and withdrew to a solitary place to be with the Father (Mark 1:35). One way to be intentional in spiritual growth is to spend time with Jesus early in the morning. Personally, I don’t think the specific time of personal time with the Lord matters. However, if Jesus modeled the time to be the first thing of your day, then that is what we should strive for.

One way to be intentional in spiritual growth is rising early each day to spend time with the Father. This will allow a personal connection with Jesus at the start of your day and will truly set the tone for the rest of the day! If you manage your time around Jesus, you're honoring the time He has given you. He will bless the additional time in your day to be productive.

You may be saying, “I already rise early and spend time in the Word.” Great! Continue to model Jesus! I would encourage you to strive for something that maybe you haven’t accomplished like reading through the entire Bible, studying the Bible, going deeper into the Truth. Again, time with the Lord will provide a foundation that won’t fail.  

Related: "Seven Steps - Change Your Life One Step at a Time"

Personal Health

Growing in personal health needs to be, well...you guessed it, INTENTIONAL. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are provided with self-control. Self-control is to have restraint over desires. In the flesh, self-control is challenging...do you know why? Because we are human! Look at Adam and Eve in the Garden. If self-control was easy, Eve wouldn’t have been deceived, and Adam would have had the self-control to resist the temptation.

With the power of the Holy Spirit, we are provided with the Fruit of the Spirit, one of which includes self-control. Self-control is given to help us resist temptation. Truthfully, if you do not make your personal health a priority, you're going against the Lord. We have to remember that our bodies are given to us on loan from Him. We need to be good managers of the Lord’s temple He loaned us.

Some ways for you to grow in your personal health could be eating the right food, drinking plenty of water, getting up and moving (not just walking around the office either). Really being active 4-5 days a week. All of these will require being intentional and leaning on the Holy Spirit to resist the temptation of bad habits. We can lean on the Holy Spirit and pray when we struggle with temptation. Look at Jesus as the model in Matthew 4. Jesus is being tested in the wilderness, but living on every word that comes from God. The Father has to be at the center of our lives to overcome any temptation whether it is food or something else in your life.  

Finances

Before really focusing on your finances, you should ask yourself, "Where is my treasure? Is my treasure in the world, or stored up in Heaven?" Being intentional in your finances will be no walk in the park. It takes work. If we try to do any of this on our own, we will not be successful. Through the power of Jesus you can overcome debt and begin living freely through your finances.

For my family, we have gained power through the Financial Peace University course. This course uses biblical Truth as the foundation. Build your foundation on rock! Need I say more? I would encourage you to pray about taking the FPU course and lay the right foundation for your finances. This course will change your life and your future!

Being intentional in your time, temple, and treasure will set 2018 apart from every other year. Is it going to be easy? Absolutely not! But having the strength of the Spirit of God is having a foundation that will not crumble under pressure. Here's to being intentional this year! 

Related : "Count the Cost" by Patrick Brannon

Seven Steps

I love the New Year! I love the New Year because it is filled with possibilities and potential. I get excited when the blank page of a New Year is ahead of me waiting to be written on. So much opportunity exists as the old year rolls into the new, and people begin making changes and taking on new adventures. 

I always think of the New Year as a chance to help people make desired changes in their lives. I see part of my role as a spiritual leader as helping people discover the adventure of walking with God. I always feel like part of my job is to help people take steps each year in becoming the disciples they were meant to be. This year is no different. As much as anything else I do as a Pastor, I would love to see every person in our church take as many steps as possible in their walk as a disciple of Christ. 

One of the first steps I would love to see people take is the step of membership in a local church. Membership gets a bad rap these days, but it is still important and still a much needed step in our spiritual growth. People who bash the idea of membership these days ought to ask a believer in first century Jerusalem if it was important. 

Another step I would love to see people make is becoming a consistent magnifier of Christ. Being a consistent magnifier simply means being a person that worships both privately and publicly. Never underestimate the importance of what a commitment to personal and corporate worship will mean to your spiritual growth.

The next step I pray that people will take is a step into maturity. Maturity is the process of growing from an infant in the faith to an adult in the faith. This growth or maturity process does not happen by accident. It takes an intentional plan and an environment like a small group to grow and get deeper in your walk with God.

A fourth step I hope people will take is the step of ministry. Wow! Imagine what could happen if the majority of people in our church took a step onto a ministry team? It would be incredible to see everyone in our church doing something, big or small, to serve God. I have to think Jesus would be pretty honored by that.

The fifth step I would love to see people take is the step into managing. In other words, being a good steward of what God has given them. If everyone decided to be a better manager of their time, their money, their bodies, or their abilities, it would make a huge difference in the growth of God’s kingdom.

A sixth step I encourage people to take is the step of becoming a messenger. If everyone in our church shared Christ with someone else in the coming year that would be incredible. Being a messenger just takes a willingness to let God use you to share with someone else.

The last step is to take the step into multiplication. A multiplier is someone who makes a disciple that makes another disciple. When we have a church filled with multipliers, Satan starts trembling in his boots. I would love to see more people making disciples than ever before.

So, what about you? Are you ready to take a step? Would you be willing to take more than one? Let this be a year of growth for you. Don’t keep crawling when it is time to start walking!

Where Are We Going?

I don’t like driving behind big trucks or really any vehicle that is bigger than mine! I don’t have a complex, I just like to be able to see what’s up ahead, what’s coming my way, and where I’m going. 

Most of the time I just want to know the big picture! If only the Lord would give me a download of the master plan, right?! Truth is, I just want to know if I’m going in the right direction and if I’m doing things right!

I usually take some time off between Christmas and the New Year. This time of year is perfect for spending some time reflecting on the past 365 days to see if “I’ve been doing it right,” and anticipating the next 365 days, so hopefully, I can go in the right direction!

Two healthy spiritual disciplines are looking back and “remembering” (Ps. 78, 105:5) the happenings of the previous year and spending time looking forward (Proverbs 4:25-27). There is a reason why the windshield is bigger than the rear view mirror…just sayin'!  

To determine where we are going, we have to know where we are, and where we are is largely determined by where we’ve been! I encourage you to engage in this discipline this week and as you do, here are a few suggestions to help you:

1. “Remember” ‘the works of the Lord’ from the past 365 days.

Write down as many things as you can recall that God did in your life, lessons learned, challenges, and most importantly, blessings!

2. Set some “F.R.E.S.H.” goals.

Write down two or three “where I would like to be” goals in each of the following areas: Family, Relationships; Emotions; Spiritual life, and Health. These will help keep you FRESH as opposed to living tired, stressed, and by pressure vs. priority.

Truth is, most of us wish the Lord would just tell us what His plans are. I have found He doesn't usually work that way nor would it require faith or dependence from me. We are on a journey, and we get to walk with the Lord. He tells us in His Word that He has a plan for our lives, and He will be the one who brings it to pass. He is a good Father, and He knows where we are going! Along the journey, we just have to show wisdom and be good stewards of each day (Psalm 90:12). In so doing, we end up being right where He wants us!! 

Related : "Fogged In" by Robbie Roberts

 

Hungry for God's Word

Do you have a certain food that you absolutely hate? We all have that one thing that it doesn’t matter who brings it to us or what the circumstances are, we are not touching that food. For me, it's most things green. I know what you are thinking, but yes, just about anything green is the worst food ever to me. But no matter how much I hate green foods, once I reach a certain hunger level I'm grabbing whatever I can find. We have all experienced this; the moment when you never would have eaten at that restaurant because of its reputation, or the food you swore you wouldn’t eat because you're trying to be healthier, but because you were hungry, you settled.

The same principal is true for your spiritual life. When you are hungry, you will settle for almost anything. Think about it. When we look back at past regrets, most of them were not made over night. No one wakes up one day and decides to make a decision that will ruin their lives. No, it starts small. Small compromises to go to that place but not partake. Small steps towards settling to just go on a date with that guy, despite his reputation, because after all, it's just a date.

How can we tell though when these moments are coming? Because if it starts small, that means we need to be able to see the small things heading our way. I believe it all begins and ends with God’s word.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 New Living Translation (NLT)

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

This means that when we are focused on what God has to say, it's easier to see when our thoughts and the words from others don’t line up with His truth. All of God’s word is here for us. Not to be a book on our shelf, but a word that we store in our hearts. It helps us realize what is wrong, and it teaches us to do what is right. This isn’t condemnation; this is loving correction from a loving Father who wants us to have a John 10:10 life.

John 10:10 New Living Translation (NLT)

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

That rich and satisfying life that we are all searching for, and that we so easily fill with other things, is available. We just have to stay full on God’s word.

Your Father Knows

Hi…I’m Mike and I’m an ‘approvaholic!'

I think I just made up a word, but hopefully you get what I am saying. For most of my life I have sought and desired the approval of others.

I don’t think I am alone in the desire to get others’ approval. In fact, I think a lot of people these days struggle with seeking the approval of others! How many times do we post on social media to be noticed or to get “likes"? I once heard someone say they read their Bible and books to see what they could post or tweet! How many blog writers add a “tweet” that's just one click away for you to promote their content? How many times do we think, “did anyone notice?”

Jesus confronted this when He told us to not do things in front of others to be applauded by them, or to be seen by them, or to be heard by them.

Jesus provided the solution to this approval issue when He simply said, “your Father knows” (Matthew 6:1-18). Our Father sees and isn’t that enough? Aren’t we suppose to only seek His approval? (Galatians 1:10) Jesus said that if we want and pursue the approval of others then we will get our reward, which will be just that - a very small temporary sense of pride. But if we seek to please our Father in Heaven, then He, who sees in secret, will reward us in secret, and His reward will always be more than what any person could ever give us.

I’ve learned a lot about my identity and who I am in Christ, but the struggle is always there. I still find myself wanting to be noticed, praised, and sometimes if I am honest, I will do things for the wrong reward…the praise and approval of men vs. the praise and approval of my Lord! The truth is, He already approves of me! I am His boy, and He loves His boy. There is nothing that I can do to make Him love me more or less. The same is true for you!

Your Father knows…and He approves!

To learn more about your identity in Christ,

check out "What Does God Say About Us?"

Walking as a Disciple

A man coming home from work noticed his neighbor struggling with a large box in his front doorway. Desiring to help, he parks his car and quickly runs to pick up one side of the box. The two struggle and fight with the box for 10 minutes until finally the helpful neighbor sets his side of the box down and proclaims, “Friend, I don’t think we will ever get this box in the house!” Frustrated and bewildered the neighbor in need barks out, “In the house? I have been trying to get the box out of the house!”

I can think of countless embarrassing moments in my life where what I thought was going to be a help actually wasn’t. Has that ever happened to you? Many times we as believers can see what we think is a need and charge in to solve it, but actually end up stopping all progress and keeping the Kingdom from moving forward. 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul lays down the tracks for how the believers are to live as the body of Christ.  

Ephesians 4:1-6

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

If we want to help the Kingdom of God move forward (help get the box where it is designed to go) then we must all understand what we are to do. 

We are to walk worthy

What does it mean to walk in a manner worthy of our calling? To be a disciple, a part of the body of Christ, a member of the church, is a high calling. It is something that we are not worthy of in our sin, and when we are called out of our sin to follow and walk with him, we are given something we could never buy. We become children of God! We are now no longer our own, we were bought with a price! Our lives are found in Christ, and we live our life through him! Our lives are rescued by Christ, and his calling to follow him changes the direction of every decision we make.

We are to consider others greater than ourselves

In verse 2 we are urged to be humble, gentle, and patient with each other. Showing love and maintaining unity causes us to think less of ourselves and more of others. In the letter to the Romans, Paul tells us to outdo one another in showing honor (Rom 12:10). This can’t happen unless we believe that others’ needs are greater than our own needs.

We are to trust God and love his Church

God is serious about the church. It is his chosen method of reaching the world. And the church will not change in its make-up and in its purpose, ever! We are a body of disciples who are focused on making more disciples. We have the promise that God is over all things, working through all things, and in all things. If we trust that God is working through his church, then we must trust the church and serve with everything we have.

Reminder of the goal (being and building disciples)

We must never forget that the greatest thing we can ever do or be a part of is the body of Christ. Our faith in Christ is the only thing we truly have that can never be taken from us. This same faith is what we take to the people around us. We pray that they will place their trust in Christ as well. We need to be disciples who build disciples. This is how we came to Christ, and it is our duty to do the same for others around us!

A challenge for your life

Are you a disciple? Have you placed your trust in Christ and begun to follow him? You can begin that journey today! Place your trust in Christ and follow his lead found in the Bible. Join a small group and get in an environment where you can grow.         

How are you being a disciple? What marks can you point to as evidence that you are a disciple? Could you be convicted in court of being a disciple of Christ?

Want to learn more about what it means to be a disciple?

Check out "Seven Steps" by Ken Adams!