Tag Archives: Jesus

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Entitlement – Whose Problem Is It?

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You give and give and give. You do your best to say, “Yes” to any reasonable request from them. Then one day, you have to say, “No.” That’s when things go south quickly. While it may sound like I am describing my experience as the parent of teenagers, I am actually talking about entitlement among employees and coworkers!

entitlement

Entitlement In The Workplace

Have you ever experienced this kind of situation before? Maybe your experience with entitlement is limited to one or two employees or coworkers over your career. Maybe it is something you learned how to correct long ago. It might be something you are dealing with right now.

Whatever the case, entitlement is an attitude or mindset that is prevalent in our culture these days. Most likely, you have had to deal with this disease at one time or another in your career. While I wish I could say our society has improved in this area, I actually think it has become more of a problem than ever before.

In fact, I have heard multiple conference speakers talk about how the new generation of young adults (Gen Y) coming up has this problem worse than any other generation in memory. I know we have seen our share of entitlement show itself in our business. I am betting you have as well.

Answer This Question

Now that I have you worked up and thinking about the specific employees or coworkers that you think have the most extreme cases of entitlement, I want you to answer one question…

When did YOU last get frustrated when something did not go your way?

Wait a minute! Weren’t we just talking about all of those other people who have the problem with entitlement? Weren’t we all agreeing how bad our society is and how tough it is to deal with entitlement in the workplace? How did the focus turn back to us?

Remove The Log

Well, I guess those are fair questions. My answer is that we must first eliminate entitlement in ourselves before we attempt to address it in others. If I recall, Jesus said something about removing the log in our own eye first (Matthew 7:5). I think that applies here as well, don’t you think?

In case you need a refresher, entitlement is defined as the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment. At first glance, you may not see this behavior in yourself. That’s understandable. However, I would like to linger here a moment and let you think on a deeper level.

Taken For Granted?

Think about the daily conveniences that you (might) take for granted. When you flip the light switch, the light should come on. When you go to shower, there should be hot water. At least, there should be water, right? Your “fast” food should be fast…and hot…and available. I could go on…

To be fair, I must admit that I just returned from a 5 day mission trip to Haiti.

On this trip, I witnessed the worst poverty I have ever seen. I was not only shocked at the depth of it. I was completely and totally overwhelmed at the breadth of it. I saw almost nothing but extreme poverty. If you have never experienced it, you will not truly grasp what I am saying. I thought I knew what poverty looked like, but I had significantly underestimated it.

Joy In Harsh Conditions

You want to know what else I saw? I got to spend four days with 34 orphans that lived in the toughest conditions but exhibited more joy and gratitude than those who live in the luxury of the US. I cannot adequately describe to you the distinct difference between their mindset and that of American children their age – even American adults of ANY age.

In fact, their attitudes would blow your mind.

As I said, I cannot possibly describe my experience in a way that completely communicates the experience. Instead of attempting it, I will simply move on to my main point for this post.

Self Assessment

We are all spoiled and, to some degree, guilty of entitlement ourselves. Forget the employees or coworkers that frustrate us with this behavior. There is more than enough opportunity for improvement right here in the mirror to last for a while. If this is not true for you, then I congratulate you. You are better than me.

However, if you have a sneaky feeling that you might be guilty of entitlement, then I encourage you to stop and take an inventory of your feelings. Pray about it and ask God to reveal the truth to you…slowly, so you can handle it. If He dumps it on you all at once, it can be difficult!

Where do you see entitlement in your own life?

Do you see the need to remove it?

What do you see as the antidote to entitlement?

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Have You Set Your Eternal Goals?

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I am sure your first thought is to ask why I am talking about goals when we are so far past the first of the year! Isn’t that a topic for January? Haven’t most people given up on their goals for the year already? You may also be asking what I mean by eternal goals. Good questions! Let’s see if we can answer them!

eternal goals

Goals In March?

First of all, I am talking about goals in March because some of you have already given up on your goals for the year. Maybe you have not completely given up on them, but you are likely getting into the messy middle in some of them. In others, you never got out of the starting blocks.

Whatever the case, we are going to talk about goals because you need to talk about them. If you are stuck, then this is the perfect time to jump back in with a renewed energy! I am hereby holding you accountable to those goals and encouraging you to get back in the game.

Eternal Goals?

At the same time, I want to know – how many of your goals for this year are eternal goals? To be more clear, how many of your goals for 2015 have an eternal consequence as the motivation for the goal? Still not tracking with me? Let me explain.

I am assuming you are in business and you have a strong desire to integrate your Christian faith into your business. That is great, but WHY do you desire that? Hopefully, you recognize that God is the true owner of your business or job and that you are simply a steward for a time.

Purpose Of Business

Sure, your business has the purpose of providing for your family’s food, shelter, clothing, education, etc. It can also provide for your enjoyment of this life God has given you, right? But that is not where it stops. He gave you this business for a bigger purpose. He wants a return on His investment (Matthew 25:14-30)

Hopefully, you want to bring Him an eternal return because you realize that He does not need a material or financial return. He already owns it all! Therefore, you know that the only way to bring God the return that He does not already possess is to impact other souls for eternity by pointing them to Him.

Goal Alignment?

If all of this makes sense to you, then how well are your 2015 goals aligned with this ultimate measure of your work here on earth? Which of your annual goals can also be labeled eternal goals? Which of your goals, if achieved, will have an eternal impact on those around you now and those to come after you are gone?

If some of your goals are easily categorized as eternal goals, then congratulations! You are certainly on track to have the eternal impact God has in mind for you. If not, please do not get frustrated or lose heart. You are not alone!

Reasons For Lack Of Eternal Goals

In fact, there are many reasons why many of us have not already set eternal goals. Below is a list of some of these reasons. See if any of these apply to you and your situation.

    1. I have never thought about it.
    2. I really don’t know how to set eternal goals.
    3. Eternal goals are too tough to measure.
    4. I can’t know for sure if I have hit them.
    5. These goals are not normal or cause abnormal behavior.
    6. Eternal goals conflict with my current goals.
    7. I cannot fully control the results of these goals.

What Will You Do About It?

I am sure you can think of additional reasons, but I think this list is a good start. So now that we know why we have not set eternal goals, what are we going to do about it? Surely we won’t just stop here and say, “Oh well. Maybe next year.” It’s not too late to take action, is it?

I am so glad you asked! In my next post, I will try to respond to the above list of reasons by using examples from my 2015 goals. I will walk you through my thought processes and see if you can gain some perspective that will help you set your own eternal goals!

Do you already set your own eternal goals every year?

What process do you go through to do this?

If you have never thought about eternal goals, what is your next step?

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Is Your Life Like Your Closet?

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I recently had to clean out my closet at home. After ten years without doing it, the accumulation of stuff and clothes that no longer fit had finally gotten out of hand. I finally recognized the need and set aside the time to clean it. In the process, I was reminded of a truth about life that all Christians need to learn. If you cannot see the connection between a clothes closet and a life truth, then read on!

closet

Organizing My Closet

Obviously, I first had to go through everything in my closet and determine whether I would keep it, give it away, or trash it. I went through work clothes, play clothes, socks, shoes, etc. I think you get the idea.

Once I did that, I figured I would take the opportunity to reorganize the entire closet. I know, that may be a little OCD, but I liked the idea and ran with it. I went to WalMart and bought a couple of cheap cloth baskets for socks, tshirts, etc. I placed these in line on my shelves.

I moved my work clothes to one side and put my casual clothes to the other side. I made sure my work shoes were easily accessed while the others were off to the side. My ties (fewer now because I got rid of those with stains or those too wide!) were placed on the tie rack in the corner and my belts moved to the other corner.

Each Had Its Place

When I was done, I stepped back in pride. I had found a nice, neat area for each type of clothing and accessory. While my closet may not win any HGTV awards for creativity or design, I had achieved what I had set out to do. I had compartmentalized the area and each part had its place.

As I stood there, I remembered the life truth I mentioned at the beginning of this post. If given the opportunity, many Christians will do the exact same thing with their faith as I did with my socks. Stick with me and I think you will see what I mean.

Separate Life Compartments

Too often, we as Christians compartmentalize our lives. We have time for our family. We allocate time for our work. We may prioritize some time with friends and/or hobbies. We also make sure we give time to our faith. Each area of our lives has its own time allotment.

Some of these areas overlap at times (friends and faith, family and hobbies, etc.), but for the most part they are each kept within their own compartment. This is especially true of our faith.

Maybe we have friends at church, but it is unlikely we are regularly and intentionally meeting with them to grow in our faith together. We don’t talk much about our faith with some of our other friends or family because they might get offended.

Faith And Workplace Separate?

We don’t allow our faith to enter our workplace for the same reason. Or it might be that we feel our faith will limit our ability to do business profitably. Surely God would not want that, right? Work is for Monday through Friday, family on Saturday, and we give God our Sundays. That is the way it has always been.

Unfortunately, the way it has always been is wrong. God does not want our Sundays (only). He wants our Mondays through Saturdays as well. He wants our time with family and our time with friends.

God Wants Our ALL!

God wants to be a part of our hobbies and our social lives. He wants to live in our workplace and direct our business decisions. There is not a single part of our lives that God does not want. He wants it all. Want proof?

Let’s just ask Jesus. He should know the answer, right? Jesus, what is the most important truth for us to remember in life?

Love the Lord your God with ALL of your heart, with ALL of your mind, and with ALL of your soul. This is the first and greatest commandment (emphasis mine).
Matthew 22:37-38

God IS Our Closet

Folks, we may need to compartmentalize our closets, garages, or work desk. Separate areas for separate items can be helpful for an organized mind. However, this is not true for our lives when it comes to our faith and our relationship with God.

In life, our faith in and relationship with God IS our closet. It IS our life. Everything else can have its separate place WITHIN our faith, but nothing we have or do should be separate from this faith. Our relationship with God permeates every aspect of our lives.

There is no other way to live out the Greatest Commandment.

What About Your Business Life?

Take a look at your business or work life. Reflect on how God is a part of this area of your life. If He is, what can you do to allow Him to be more involved. If He has not yet been allowed into this part of your life, then pray about how you can turn it over to Him.

The ultimate goal is for Him to fully control this area (along with all other areas) of your life, with you as the passenger and Him as the driver. That is a tough position to reach, but the more you prepare for it, the easier it becomes.

Is your life compartmentalized like your closet?

If you changed it at one time, has it drifted back?

What action do you need to take next?

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4 Little Known Qualities Of Godly Leaders

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Anywhere you look these days, you can find a book (or a dozen) on leadership. Everyone feels they know what it takes to be a leader. I am not going to pretend that I have some secret sauce or silver bullet on what it takes to be a great leader. If you are looking for that, keep looking. It may be even tougher to find the same for godly leaders. I personally do not think you will ever find it.

godly leaders

Courtesy of Flickr/Simoes

Qualities Of Godly Leaders

At the same time, I believe it can be very helpful for us to find many true and healthy perspectives on the characteristics and qualities of godly leaders. I believe the more we can learn about what great and godly leaders look like, the better we can hope to mimic them.

It is for this reason that I take notes anytime I hear a description of godly leaders, either as individuals or as a group. I then take what I learn and pass it on through this blog. Today, I would like to share what I learned about great, godly leaders from Dr. Crawford Loritts, a pastor in Atlanta, GA.

Loritts talked about four qualities or characteristics of great, godly leaders during his segment in Dennis Rainey’s Stepping Up video series. Even these are not commonly found in leadership books, I believe we all need to seek these qualities. If we do, I believe God can better use us to point others to Him. I will tackle the first of these qualities today.

Quality #1 – Brokenness

The first little known quality of great, godly leaders as described by Dr. Loritts is brokenness. There are not many leadership books that mention brokenness as a quality of a great leader. In fact, I think very few of us would come up with this quality at first glance.

At the same time, after considering what Dr. Loritts had to say, I would have to agree with him! Before I go further into what he said about brokenness, let’s talk about what the opposite would mean.

Opposite View?

When I think of someone who is NOT broken, the characteristics I come up with are whole, strong, confident…they have it all together. These characteristics may actually be the ones you would find in a leadership book. This actually sounds more like a leader than one that is broken, right?

So let’s take a look at what Dr. Loritts said. First, he said that one who is broken has come to the realization that life is not about him, but is instead about God.

Think about that.

Broken Leader

A broken leader is one that is fully aware that alone, he is not whole or strong. Alone, this leader is not confident. Nor does he have it all together. This leader has come to the place where he acknowledges that he alone cannot be a leader after God’s own heart. He realizes that leadership is about much more than him!

As a result, Dr. Loritts continues, this leader has a healthy reliance on God. He knows that he cannot accomplish God’s plan on his own. He is not capable on his own and therefore relies on God for everything.

Cracked Leaders?

Some of us have partially come to this point. Call us cracked (but not yet broken)! We rely on God for the tough stuff. We rely on Him when we don’t know what to do. We rely on him when we face a situation that confuses or scares us.

But the rest of the time, we do our own thing. We are NOT yet broken.

Fully Broken

The great, godly leader has seen missed opportunities and failed endeavors when he tried it on his own in the past. These cause him to break down and cry. He has even mourned over good results that could have been miraculous if he had relied on God and not himself.

This leader is fully broken because his experience has shown him the futility of leading on his own. He knows there are possibilities that he cannot even imagine IF he will rely on God. He is broken because he is no longer willing to settle for less than miraculous results. He is wholly and fully committed to relying on God.

What About You And Me?

How much of this describes you and your leadership?

If you are like me, this is convicting. I know I understand this because it resonated with me. At the same time, I am completely guilty of trying to do it on my own too often. My prayer is that we will stop seeing ourselves as needing to be so strong. Instead, may we heed God’s words to Paul in 2 Corinthians.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12:9

Have you considered brokenness as a godly leader quality?

Do you see yourself as possessing the quality of brokenness?

What do you think are Dr. Loritts’ other three qualities of godly leaders?

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Your Job Does Not Matter!

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Wait a minute. Do I really believe that what you do does not matter? Is it really my opinion that your job is irrelevant? I don’t even know what you do, so how could I say that? Well, I guess you will have to hear me out to decide whether you agree or not!

job

Stuck In Your Job?

In my last post, I discussed how so many people feel stuck in their jobs. They are not excited to go to work. Too many people have lost their passion for their work – if they have ever had it.

Maybe you have felt like this. Maybe that is exactly how you feel right now.

If that is the case, then I have good news for you. There is an answer to this problem and I believe I have it. What I am about to share with you has transformed my work life and I believe it can do the same for you.

Go To Scripture

The first thing I want to do is take you to Scripture. I believe that all of our answers are there if we are just willing to take the time to look and study. The verse I want you to read and absorb is this one from Paul in his letter to the Colossians.

And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.
Colossians 3:17, 23-24

Whatever?

Focus on that word, “whatever,” and tell me what it means. Think about it before answering. Ready? It actually means “whatever” – as in anything, everything, etc. The point here is that it really does not matter exactly what you do, you should do it in the name of Jesus and do it for Him.

Are you a teacher? Then teach for Jesus. Are you in business? Then do business for Jesus. Do you design software? Then do that for Jesus. You get the idea…

WHATEVER you do, do it for Jesus.

We Serve Him

So, my first point is regarding the job you have. The specifics of it are irrelevant. All possibilities fall under “whatever.” Regardless of what you do for a living, the Bible says you are to do it for Jesus. You serve Him. Does that make sense?

The problem is that the moment most people truly absorb this idea in their hearts, they think they have to leave their current job and go into ministry. The truth is that only part of that is right.

True And False

The true part is that they need to go into ministry. This is absolutely true and should not be left up to paid church staff members. We ALL should be doing ministry!

The false part of the earlier statement is that they have to leave their current job. I personally tried to walk away from my job because I thought this way. Fortunately, God straightened me out and that has made all the difference for me.

Ministry Where You Are!

See, the truth is that you need to do ministry, but you need to do it wherever you are and in whatever you are doing! This is the whole idea behind the business as ministry movement. This is why I write this blog. People need to know these two ideas:

    1. Everyone is called to do ministry for Jesus!
    2. Everyone can do ministry right where they are!

So let’s go back to the original problem – you have lost the passion for your job. If you have been approaching your job as a means to a paycheck, you need to change that approach. If it has simply met physical needs and that is the way you view it, change your glasses.

New Set Of Glasses

Now, put on the set of glasses that shows you a new “Why” for your job. Rather than seeing your job as a burden, begin to look at it as a means to doing ministry. Instead of seeing your job as something that you have to do to eat, start looking at it as a way to serve God and others for His sake.

What does your job look like now?

Begin The Process

Please know that I realize this process takes more time than the 2-3 minutes you need to read this post. I cannot convince you in 800+ words that your job now has a completely new meaning and purpose. At the same time, I can encourage you to start praying about this.

The end result, if you are diligent, is that God can put a new passion in your heart for the job you are now doing. He can give you a “Why” that gives you a feeling of excitement every time you head to work. “What” you do is not important, but having the right “Why” can change everything!

Please share your experience with this idea in the comment section below!

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Do Not Ask WWJD!

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Charles Sheldon’s book, In His Steps, introduced Christians to a powerful question more than 100 years ago. Since then, Christians have been asking “WWJD?” (What Would Jesus Do?) when faced with difficult choices or deciding what action to take. I am a huge fan of that book and it is on my recommended reading list. In fact, I believe every Christian should read it, but it is my recommendation that you NOT ask this question. Let me explain.

WWJD

Sports Hero?

In an effort to create a visual illustration of my thought process, I want you to think of your favorite sports figure. Picture in your mind a scene where they are exhibiting the height of their skills in a single move.

Maybe you are picturing a wide receiver in football making an unbelievably acrobatic, one-handed catch while diving for the end zone. Maybe it is a batter in baseball reaching for the outside curveball, getting just enough of it to send it over the infield and into the outfield before dropping to allow the game-winning run.

I could go on with examples, but I believe you get the picture. The idea here is that this athlete is doing something that you would love to imitate. If you could, you would put yourself into his or her position and do the same thing, right? Haven’t you dreamed about something similar at one time or another?

You Are Not Prepared

Here is the problem. You and I are not prepared for that situation. We have not put in the hours of practice, workouts, stretches, and training that this particular athlete has given. The move or play that you saw them make was the culmination of thousands of hours of preparation.

For you or me to be given the exact same opportunity and expect to be able to make the same play as our favorite athlete – that is somewhat crazy, don’t you think? While I am perfectly okay with a fantasy like this, I do think we need to recognize that it is just that…a fantasy.

Hours Of Work Required!

The only way you or I could truly be ready to execute the same play would be to prepare in the same way, right? We really would need to put in the hours of hard work, practice, and training if we wanted to be able to direct our bodies to respond the same way.

This idea is no different in business, right? It would be naive for us to expect to be able to have the insight or acumen necessary to identify and exploit a huge profit opportunity in the market without having the years of experience and learning in that particular industry.

Why Different When Imitating Jesus?

So why is it that we think we can simply ask the question, “WWJD – What would Jesus do?” and get the answer we need? Why do we think we can wait until the heat of the moment when faced with temptation, tough moral choices, or other decisions before we ask this question?

Put Jesus in the place of the athlete in the earlier illustration. Like them, He prepared for a lifetime. As a man, He spent his life seeking the will of His Father. He was constantly withdrawing to a quiet place to be alone with His Father and pray. He was totally and completely focused on living out His mission on earth, not allowing distractions.

More Than Asking WWJD!

In the same way, if we truly want to imitate Jesus, we must do more than simply ask what He would do in any given situation. Instead, we must be willing to dedicate the time, energy, and effort necessary to prepare as He prepared.

If we really want to run our businesses the way Jesus would run them if He were the boss, then we must focus our minds and hearts on learning all we can about Him and His actions. We cannot simply hope the answers will appear just because we ask the WWJD question.

Disciplined Discipleship!

We must commit the time in the mornings to read His Word. Studying the Bible and how it applies to each of us today is critical. We must memorize Scripture so that we can quote it in the face of temptation, just like He did.

We have to prioritize time alone in prayer with our Father the way Jesus did. If we are not constantly communicating with God in a way that allows us to become intimately familiar with His overall will for our lives, then we will have no clue what Jesus would do in a given situation.

Time With Sinners?

We also need to spend our time around sinners and those in need. While you may not immediately see how this can be helpful, I promise that it is. First of all, this is something Jesus did so that is really all you need to know. If you will just do it for a while, you will begin to see why it is necessary.

But since you are impatient, I will tell you that spending your time around these people will increase your sensitivity to the needs of the world around you. You will be better able to see that this life is not all about you, but is about God and communicating His love to everyone. Doing this will enable you to feel the compassion Jesus had for those around Him.

Answers From Preparation

When you combine all of the above over a period of time, you will find that the answer to your question (WWJD) will come more easily. The more you prepare like Jesus did, the more you may find you don’t even need to stop to ask the question – the answer will already be there.

What are your thoughts about asking WWJD?

How prepared do you feel you are to ask the question?

What should be your next step in preparation?

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Prayer: Voicemail Or Live Call?

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I have a confession to make. I am not good at prayer. I am not someone who is consistent with long, meaningful prayer time on a daily basis. Sure there are times when I pray more than others, but more often I struggle with doing it at all. While this may surprise you, I am betting many of you struggle the same way.

prayer

What Is The Problem?

So what is the problem? Why is it so hard for us to pray? Why does it feel so dry at times, like it is one-sided rather than a conversation between friends or a father-child talk?

Since I am one that struggles with this, I will go ahead and tell you that I do not have all of the answers. I do not have a simple 3 step plan that will turn you into a prayer warrior. If that is what you were hoping for, then I am sorry to disappoint you.

What I will do is walk through my thoughts on the roots of the problem. Hopefully, something I say will help you move closer to a more meaningful prayer life. If so, I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comment section.

Prayer Is A Privilege!

First and foremost, we have to realize that prayer is an incredible privilege. It is not meant to be a burden to us, but a remover of burdens. It is not to be an item on our daily “To Do” list that we simply check off. Instead, it is the unimaginable opportunity to speak directly with our Creator!

Prior to Jesus, only a select few (priests) were allowed to pray on behalf of the people. Now, after the curtain has been torn during the crucifixion, we are given the freedom to approach God as individuals. We are no longer forced to make our requests or give our praises through someone else as our mouthpiece.

We are His children with the right to approach Him directly! Until we see God as a Father that loves us more than we can imagine, we will struggle to pray. Until we recognize that He wants a personal relationship with us, we will see prayer as a burden.

Prayer Is Live!

Along that same line of thinking, we have to recognize that prayer is not like leaving a voicemail for God. We do not have to call and leave a message for Him. We are given the freedom and opportunity to call Him anytime…and we get Him live! He is listening to our every word, observing the feelings in our hearts, and speaking back to us.

Sure, I agree that it would often be a lot easier if He would simply speak audibly and give us the instructions on what we are to do. It would make life simpler if we heard His voice in a back-and-forth dialogue!

At the same time, we must remember that God’s goal is not our ease or comfort. His goal is to conform us to the likeness of Jesus. He is not interested in making everything easier for us. He is more interested in our growth.

Through His Word

Instead of speaking to us audibly, God has already given us His Word. If we would treat the Bible as His Word, spoken directly to us, to be learned, internalized, and followed as we live our lives, I am convinced we would find prayer to be less of a struggle.

I do not think it is a coincidence that I see my times of least effective prayer to be happening at the same time I am also struggling to spend focused time studying the Bible. I think there is a direct relationship between our confidence in prayer and the amount of time we spend reading God’s Word.

Practice Required!

Finally, I think we cannot ignore that sometimes we simply have to keep doing something for a while before we become “good” at it. Whether it is giving presentations, analyzing reports, or interviewing candidates, nothing is normally easy and comfortable the first few times we do it.

It takes commitment and dedication to the practice of prayer before we feel natural when doing it. We must realize there are going to be dry spells. There are going to be times when we feel our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. We are going to experience days when it feels like we are leaving a message after the beep.

Despite this, we must continue to try. We need to spend more time in God’s Word and begin building our relationship with Him, one brick at a time. Over time, I think we will see our prayer muscles begin to develop and we will see more fruit from our efforts!

Do you approach prayer like voicemail?

Do you see the connection between effective prayer and being in His Word?

How much effort are you actually giving to extended time in prayer?

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Is Your Plate Too Full Or Too Small?

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You have most likely heard the expression (and probably used it many times), “My plate is too full!” Maybe you used the “full plate” as an excuse to say no to someone recruiting leadership for your industry’s state association. Maybe it was something else. Either way, I think your perspective is off.

full plate

Not More Tasks!

First of all, this is not a post about taking on more tasks or duties than you can handle. I am not a proponent of over-scheduling and hoping for the best. That “full plate” behavior is probably one of the most detrimental to a sane quality of life. I promise I am not advocating that at all!

Instead, I want you to think back over the past several months or years. Do you remember any ideas, thoughts, or urges coming to mind that excited you, but as you looked at all you were already trying to do (with not enough success), you decided your plate was too full?

If you took the time to get away and really brainstorm some of these types of ideas, do you think you would come up with any that would just seem too big given your current circumstances? Maybe they would require too much time, energy, or resources?

Can’t See Adding To Full Plate?

Do your dreams sometimes get brushed aside because you are looking at a full plate and cannot see a way to add to it without something else falling off? If you have had these thoughts, then you are not alone. Fortunately, I think I know the problem (and solution!).

As you look over your “full plate” and see it crammed full of stuff (some of it is really good stuff!), you are likely doing some sort of math in your head and quickly determining that your time, energy, and resources (the size of your plate) will barely hold your commitments. Sometimes you even realize you are overdrawn!

Your Plate Is Too Small!

The problem is not that your plate is too full. The problem is that your plate is too small! You heard me, you simply have to get a bigger plate. If you could only snap your fingers and dramatically increase the size of your plate, then you could suddenly be able to handle more. Your dreams could be bigger and your accomplishments could multiply.

If your plate was bigger, your eternal impact could be greater!

See, I told you I knew what the problem was! Aren’t you glad I shared that with you? Now you can run right out and get a bigger plate, right? You might want to try Bed, Bath, and Beyond or even Home Depot or Sam’s Club. Don’t you think they would have them?

Okay, you are right. That is not going to help. So, what is the real problem? And what is the real solution?

You Are The Problem!

The problem is right there in the mirror. You are the problem. You are the problem because you are only considering your own time, energy, and resources when you determine the size of your plate. You have decided that your plate is effectively the same size as the sum of your time, energy, and resources.

That thinking falls short of the truth. Sure, you need to consider your own resources, but there are infinitely more resources available to you if you are just looking for them. And no, these resources cannot be purchased at the local big box retailer.

God Is The Solution!

The solution I am talking about is God. Quite simply, your full plate is too small because you are only considering your own resources and not including those of an all-knowing, all-powerful God.

Assuming your goals and desires are aligned with His will, then the solution to your problem is to begin enlisting God in your efforts. While that seems overly simple, it is the truth.

Instead of assessing a task, strategy, or dream based on your own ability to achieve it, begin asking God if it is what He wants you to do. Forget the fact that you feel like your plate is full. Trust Him to lead you in the direction He wants you to go and watch Him provide the necessary resources to accomplish it.

Allow God…

If you will begin allowing God to inspire your dreams and trusting Him to accomplish them THROUGH you, the size of your plate will grow exponentially! Of course, then you had better buckle up! The ride is about to get wilder than you can even imagine!

The real problem is with the size of our faith. Like I said in an earlier post about “practical atheism,” we don’t often back our talk of faith with a real walk in faith. Too often, we say we believe, but our actions suggest that belief is not strong enough to take us very far.

Reconsider Your Dreams

Take some time and think about your recent (and not-so-recent) dreams. Did you brush them off due to a full plate? If your plate suddenly tripled (or more) in size, would you reconsider those dreams? If so, start praying that God will build your faith in Him to the point where you can accept the plans He has for you!

Has your full plate kept you from following God’s leading?

Do you see how your full plate could simply be too small?

What would you do with a larger plate?

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Why Are We Surprised At Trials?

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Not too long ago, friends of mine went through an intense personal experience that completely shocked them. They were not expecting to ever have to deal with this particular issue, but there it was staring them in the face. As we talked about the issue and the possible outcomes, none very pretty, I thought about why we are surprised at the trials we face.

trials

Protected Life?

It’s is as though we think life should be smooth once we accept Christ. We look at the world outside of our faith and believe that “they” (non-believers) are unfortunate because they have to live in such a messed up world. On the other hand, we think we are immune to the problems associated with a fallen world.

Sure, when pressed, we will admit that we know God sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous, but we really don’t think the worst will come to our door. We somehow believe we have a pass that keeps the big stuff away from us. Have you ever felt that way (even if you haven’t realized it)?

So, what is the truth?

There Is An Enemy!

The truth, as found in Scripture, is that there is an enemy. He is real and he passionately desires the destruction of anything and everything related to God. He does not work alone.

Just so you don’t take my word for it, take a look at the following Scriptures:

For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.
Ephesians 6:12

However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.
John 15:19

You will have suffering in this world.
John 16:33

Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you as if something unusual were happening to you.
1 Peter 4:12

Truth Can Be Uncomfortable

For some of you, this is not comfortable to read. I get it. I am not comfortable writing it. Unfortunately, that does not change the truth. And if we continue to ignore this truth, we will continue to experience trials and challenges that shock us.

This is a big deal – not because of the surprise of the trials, but because we can do something about them in advance…if we are willing!

When it comes to trials in business, we can prepare with increased cash reserves and strategic emergency plans. When it comes to spiritual trials, the preparation is not much different – at least in theory.

Preparation For Trials

If we accept the existence of a spiritual enemy that is bent on our destruction, we can begin preparing our defenses as well as emergency plans. Ongoing prayer, Scripture memory and Bible study will build faith and wisdom reserves that will sustain us during the storms we will face.

Building relationships with fellow believers – both those that are ahead of us in their faith journey and those coming behind us – will create sources of wisdom, comfort, and prayer support that we will certainly need when the trials sweep over us.

We Must Face The Truth

The bottom line is that we cannot continue to ignore the fact that there is a war going on and we are on the battlefield. Under these conditions, there should be no shock when we are hit with the “fiery ordeal” mentioned above. Instead, because we have prepared, we should immediately execute our emergency plan.

Drawing on our own faith and wisdom reserves while seeking the guidance and support of fellow believers, we begin our difficult walk through whatever it is we are facing. At the same time, we should also “consider it pure joy” that we are facing these trials because we know that God is using them to make something tremendous out of us!

Have you ever been truly surprised at a significant trial?

Do you agree that we should actually expect trials in life?

How do you prepare for the trials you know you will face?

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The Success Edge – Marketplace Christian Podcast!

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In place of a post today, I am sharing a link (below) to my first Marketplace Christian podcast. Actually, I am just a guest on Tyler McCart’s podcast! Tyler has a website called The Success Edge where he uses interviews of people from all walks of life that also happen to be Christians in the marketplace. He sees his goal as helping Christians in the marketplace be inspired, be a light, and succeed! Here is his intro video:

Meeting Tyler McCart

Tyler and I met through LinkedIn and he invited me to be a guest on his podcast. Folks, I can tell you he was professional from the very start. I was very impressed with his preparation and the way the entire process went so smoothly. He is truly driven to excellence in what he is doing…and this is not even his full time job!

I encourage you to click over to his website (thesuccessedge.biz) and check out all of his interviews. I think you will be impressed with what you find! Here is a summary (from his site) of what you will find:

We look forward to bringing you podcast interviews from successful Christians in the marketplace as they share their business victories, failures, turning points, ah-ha moments, and more!

You will also find topical podcast episodes to help you grow in your Christian walk and career. Thank you for joining us on this journey, and as we say here at The Success Edge, we’ll catch you on the flip side!

Of course, I also would like for you to check out Episode 53 in which Tyler interviews me. Let me know what you think by commenting below! [CLICK HERE for podcast!]

We had a good time! I am sure you see immediately that he has a lot of energy and passion around what he does. Make sure to spread the word about what he is doing so more of us can learn from his efforts!

You can connect with Tyler here (click on each to connect):

Itunes Podcasts

Stitcher Radio

Facebook

Twitter