Mark Conner's Space

One thing to change your world ...

What one thing could you change right now that would have the biggest impact on your life?

Is it starting to do something that you're not doing?

Is it stopping doing something?

Is it doing more of something ... or less of something?

Have a think about it ... then why not go ahead and make the change. Remember, what you tolerate, you will never change.

I pray that you have the courage and strength to do so.

P.S. For me, it's trying to consistently grab one full hour each morning to invest in my personal well-being - through prayer, Bible reading, exercise, and a healthy breakfast. If I could do this consistently, it would have the biggest impact in my life.

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.10)

Today we come to our final question.

Here it is ...

10. "How Can I Make Sure I Achieve My Top Ten Goals?"

One of the challenges in life is not so much knowing what to do but actually doing it. We often experience a knowing-doing gap.

One simple key to achieving your top ten goals is to keep them visible. Type or write them up on a single piece of paper and keep them in plain sight so you see them every day. Awareness matters. Reading them every day will grab your attention and stimulate you to action. 

Plan some small steps each week towards one or more of your goals. Start to gather the resources you need. Get whatever support you need. Who could hold you accountable?

Most of all, enjoy the journey. Make it an adventure. Regularly ask yourself, "What is the next step?" Measure your progress. Have a weekly or monthly review. Set up a system to ensure that you do what you want to do.

I pray and hope that you will have your best year yet!

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.9)

Have a look through the goals you listed under each role yesterday. Reflect on them for a while.

Then move on to our next question ...

9. "What Are My Top Ten Goals for This Year?"

With too many goals you will lose focus. Create a game plan that you can accomplish. That way you won't be discouraged by good goals that you don't get around to completing, even though you had good intentions to do so.

You don't have to eliminate any of the goals you wrote down. Just select ten that are the most important to you. You can still work on the rest of your goals and achieve them. But by selecting your top ten you are able to  focus in a laser-like way on what is most important. This list of top ten goals will be like a map for your journey. You'll be far more likely to reach your destination this way.

Before selecting your top ten goals, review your answers to the first seven question we've looked at. Remember what you have learned and what is most important to you. Think about what you'd really like to accomplish this year.

Look at your complete list of goals. Start to prioritise them. What will bring you the greatest return for your investment of time and energy? Maybe give them a rating, A, B, or C. Create your own categories. Whatever takes to think through what is most important.

Start writing out a fresh list now - your top ten goals for this year.

 

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.8)

Let's move forward now and build on the questions we've already asked ourselves and answered over the previous week.

Here is the next question ...

8. "What are My Goals for Each Role?"

People who have goals achieve more result in life. That's a fact. People who know where they're going have a better change of getting there. If you don't know your direction, you risk just going in circles, living a life in which you exist but don't really grow or make progress.

Education and intelligence are good things but goals are just as important. A goal is simply a specific and measurable result you want to achieve within a specific time frame. It directs you to a destination.

Have a look over each role. Re-read your values. Then ask yourself what you would like to achieve in each one of your roles this year. The more specific your goals are the more powerful they will be.

Write out a few goals for each role. Set goals that you are passionate about and that you will be committed to making happen.

P.S. For some more tips on goal setting, click here.

 

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.7)

 

Yesterday's question was about listing our various roles so that we get a full perspective on our lives.

Let's move on to our next question ...

7. "Which Role is My Major Focus for this Year?"

Could you create a potential breakthrough in your life by selecting one of your roles as your major focus of attention for this year? Other roles will have goals as well, but where would you like to see the most improvement or the biggest change right now?

Are there things that need adjustment? What is missing in your life? Is something getting too much attention? Or too little?

Take out your list of major roles and give them a rating from 1 to 10, 1 being 'not doing very well at all', 10 being 'I should write a book on this!' [No negative numbers, please!] Usually, the areas that receive our greatest time and energy are the ones we do the best in. Have a look at your low scores. What do they tell you? How do you want to respond to them? What would you like to be different at this time next year?

Focus is very powerful. If you can give some extra time and energy to one area, there will most likely be a positive overflow into other areas of your life as well.

Choose an area of major focus then write it down. Then think about what progress in this role would look like. What specific and measurable differences do you want to see? Paint a picture in your mind. What would improve? What would be different? How would you feel? Consider the benefits.

Your major focus is not the only thing you'll do this year, just the most important to you.

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.6)

 

Get another piece of paper and a pen to write with (or open up a document in your computer word processor)

Here is is our sixth question ...

6. "What Roles Do I Play in My Life?"

Answering this question helps you to get an overview of the various aspects and responsibilities of your life. It helps provide perspective and a holistic view of your life. Roles change over time and in different seasons of our life. Think about this year. Who are you? What are you responsible for? What are you accountable for?

Merge some of your roles so that your list is no more than 6 or 7 major roles. Then think about each role. What do you want to accomplish in each? What kind of a person do you want to be? What does God expect from you? What do you want to change? What do you want to be better at and how?

Think about the balance of your life. After all, succeeding in one area of life, such as work, but failing in or neglecting another, such as family, is not success at all. What will it take for you to do well in each of your roles this year?

Look at your list of values from question five and see where your values merge with your roles.

P.S. For more on 'roles', see this previous post.

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.5)

Let's continue with our series of ten questions, as we take some time to reflect on our lives together at the start of another year.

Our fifth question is ...

5. "What Are My Values?"

What drives you? Why do you do what you do? What's important? What matters most? What effect do you want to have on other people? What do you want to be remembered for? Who are you? Who do you want to be?

Take a piece of paper and make a list of your personal values. By writing them you strengthen your awareness of them. You can also evaluate whether your life matches what you say you value. After all, we want to ensure that our preferred values become our actual values. After all, behaviour is the best indicator of actual values.

P.S. For further thoughts on 'values' see this previous post.

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.4)

I hope you are taking time to think about and answer each question as we move through this process. This investment of time will pay some good dividends in your life for your future. Personal reflection is a valuable exercise.

A wise man named Socrates once said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."

Let's move on to our fourth question ...

4. "How Do I Limit Myself and How Can I Stop?"

Ultimately, our life is shaped by our own thoughts and actions, not by other people or the circumstances we encounter. Life is lived inside out. We are not victims. We are responsible human beings who have been given a free will by God that enables us to make choices as to what we will do with our life and how we will respond to what comes our way.

Take a piece of paper and prayerfully ask yourself, "How do I limit myself?" Write down whatever comes to mind. Examine yourself honestly and openly. Be as truthful as possible. There is power in owning up to hidden thoughts and attitudes. Expose your personal doubts and fears.

Then think about what these limitations have cost you. What impact have they had in your life?

Are you willing to change? Do you want to stop these limiting beliefs?

What areas of thinking do you need to change? What different stories do you need to tell yourself? What lies have you been believing - about yourself, others, and/or God? What truths do you need to embrace and live out from? What beliefs do you need to embrace if you want your life to head in a different direction?

Paul tells us that the key to personal transformation is the renewing of our minds or the reprogramming our thinking patterns (see Romans 12:1-2) and that we need to take captive every thought, making it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.3)

 

So far you've given a bit of time to reflect on your successes and your failures, joys and disappointments, victories, and defeats.

Let's move on to the third question now ...

3. "What Did I Learn?"

Look back over your answers to the first two questions.

Look at your accomplishments. What can you learn from them? What possible lessons do you see? What were some of the keys to your success? What worked for you? Why were you able to accomplish these things?

Now look over your answers to the second question - your disappointments. Any lessons there for you? What could have worked but didn't? Why? Is there anything you need to do differently this year based on your reflections? What advice do you have for yourself?

By taking time to examine your own life and your own journey you can gain wisdom for the future. After all, life is like your classroom. Be a good learner. Don't repeat the same lessons over and over unnecessarily. Live and learn. Turn your lessons into some personal guidelines for your future.

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.2)

 

Today, let's move on to our second question ...

2. "What Were My Biggest Disappointments?"

I know this is a bit like reviewing the bad news but it's an important step to take.

Pick up your pen and write them all down. Recall the times you disappointed yourself. Remember the times when others disappointed you. What dreams didn't come true? What expectations weren't fulfilled? What unexpected grief or trauma did you encounter? What didn't you get around to doing that you really wanted to do? Where did you fail?

Taking time to think about what happened is important. Tell the truth to yourself and acknowledge your hurt and pain ... and don't worry if this list is a little longer than the list you made in answer to yesterday's question! That's okay.

None of us can avoid disappointments. They are a normal part of life.

Look over your list again. Reflect on each item.

Then ask God to help you do three things with each one: (1) forgive (yourself or others), (2) forget (it's over now so try to move on from it), and (3) learn from it (take some lessons from it into your future).

You may want to share these things with a safe friend who can help you process them or even a counsellor, especially if there is a lot of pain still associated with anything on your list.

A New Year - A Fresh Start (Pt.1)

First of all, happy New Year! I hope it is a good one for you.

Over the next ten days, I'd like to take you through a process of standing back, taking stock, and then planning the next year of your life.

We'll be looking at ten questions aimed at helping you to clarify your thinking in order to ensure that you live your life in a way that reflects what really matters most to you. Pray about each of the questions and think them through as thoroughly as possible.

Here we go ...

Question #1 - "What Did I Accomplish?"

Let's begin with some good news ...

Take a piece of paper and write everything down that comes to your mind - what you did, what you got through, changes made, situations endured, jobs done, family experiences, work or school accomplishments, friendships, hobbies, new things learned, spiritual growth, etc.

Find some achievements to celebrate. It creates fresh motivation for the future. It's easy to focus so much on what we haven't done that we easily miss what we have done! Brain storm and make as big a list as you can ... then stop and reflect for a moment. It's okay to praise and appreciate yourself ... at least for a few moments.

Well done! 

7 Things To Do Before Christmas (Pt.7)

7. Plan Your Holiday.

Hopefully, you're planning on taking some time off around Christmas and the New Year.

Do something different and make it your best holiday yet.

Shut down, turn off, and enjoy your God, your friends, and your family.

I'm sure you have lots to do before Christmas, but hopefully these seven suggestions will be of benefit to you as you finish this year. All the best!

7 Things To Do Before Christmas (Pt.6)

6. Get Organised.

Clean your office. Make an appointment with yourself. Block out plenty of time for this.

Sort through any filing cabinets, shelves, or desk drawers.

Clean out your email folders.

Throw away as much as possible.

Get your 2009 diary or calendar up to date.

You'll feel much better for it!

 

7 Things To Do Before Christmas (Pt.5)

5. Do Some Pastoral Care.

If you are a leader of other people, take a few moments to reflect on the 'people flow' in your area.

Here are a few questions to ask:

• Who are the interested people who need hope and a vision?
• Who are the new people who need a welcome and some clear direction?
• Who are the core people who need some encouragement and affirmation at this time?
• Who are the disgruntled people who you need to take some time to listen to and help work through some issues that are important to them?
• Who are the people who have dropped out who you may need to go after and see how they are?

Are there any tensions or unresolved conflicts in your world? Make an effort to address and resolve them right away. Make it a priority. Tie up any loose ends before the year finishes so you can start with a clean slate.

7 Things to Do Before Christmas (Pt.4)

4. Do Some Planning for 2009.

Think about some of your main events or activities for next year. What's happening with - your life, your family, your friends, your work, and your church? 

Start doing some planning and organisation for the first quarter of the year.

Create some personal life goals for 2009. What would you be excited to have accomplished by the end of the year? What are you passionate about?

How about planning some holidays too! There's something energising about just planning some time off or away.

7 Things To Do Before Christmas (Pt.3)

3. Strengthen Your Team.

All of us do life, work, and ministry with other people. We are all part of some sort of team, maybe even as a leader of a team.

Spend some extra time with these important people before Christmas.

• Encourage them and express appreciation to them for who they are and how they have benefited your life. Remember, encouragement is like oxygen to the soul - we all need lots of it.
• Give them feedback on what they have done well.
• If you are a leader, coach people on your team a little by sharing some ways they can grow or improve.
• Talk about the future. What is the vision that you are passionate about seeing become a reality?

December is a busy time. Don't get caught up in only the things that YOU need to do. Be aware of the people around you. Connect and relate to them even more intentionally during this time. Finish the year well together.

7 Things To Do Before Christmas (Pt.2)

2. Evaluate Your Own Personal Effectiveness.

What are your priorities? Are you using your time to accomplish them?

How is the balance of your life? Consider areas such as your spiritual life, your family and friendships, your energy level, as well as your social and recreation life.

How is your joy? Your enthusiasm? Your love for people? Your vision?

How much are you growing personally? What new things would you like to learn? What training could you consider for next year? 

Take some time to think about your life and plan any necessary changes or adjustments for the coming year.

7 Things To Do Before Christmas (Pt.1)

We are into December now and it's only a few weeks before Christmas. I'm sure you've got a lot to do this month and the last thing you think you probably need is another list! But I thought I'd share with you seven things that would be good to do before Christmas comes - which I shared with some of our church staff recently.

1.    Evaluate Your Ministry or Career.

Take some time to think about how the various areas of life that you are involved in are going.

What's going well? What's not? Where are you heading?

Think about next year - 2009.

What needs to change? What do you need to do differently?  What do you need to do more of ... or less of? 

Refuel (Pt.8)

God has a purpose and a plan for each one of our lives. He wants us to fully understand it then pursue it with great passion. He wants us to live life to the full – enthusiastically and joyfully. For that to happen, we need to engage in regular times of refuelling – activities designed to help us replenish our spirit, soul and body. We all get tired and drained. We have limits. We are human. However, God desires to refresh, renew and revive each one of us.

Here are a few reflection questions for you as we finish of this study ...

1. What comes to mind when you hear the phrase ‘an emotionally replenishing person’? What qualities does a person like this have? How can you be one of those kinds of people for others?
2. Think about the best time together you ever had with your family. What made is so memorable?
3. Think about your most relaxing holiday? What made it so good?
4. What is more important - managing our time or managing our energy? Think about the difference.
5. Do you find ‘reflection and contemplation’ an easy and rewarding thing to do (Yes or No)? Why do you think you answered that way?
6. Read Matthew 11:28-30 (see below) and spend some time praying that God would refuel right now.

Jesus said ... "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." [Matther 11:28-30. The Message Bible]

Have a terrific day ... in sync with the 'rhythms of grace'!

Refuel (Pt.7)

Today, let's look at one more way to refuel ...

5. Invest Time in Reflection and Contemplation. The Sabbath was not only a time for rest and recreation. It was a time for stillness, reflection and contemplation about life, its meaning, its direction, and God’s activity within it. It was a time for spiritual renewal - to reconnect with the holy and recharge the internal batteries.

Jesus took regular time aside from the demands of the pressing crowd to connect with his Father and ensure that his priorities and his life’s direction were aligned correctly. Was Jesus a workaholic? No. Yes, he at times pushed himself to the limits, but not all the time. He set limits in his life and he took time to reflect and relax (Luke 5:15-16). Jesus often pulled out of the pressure and busyness in order to “centre” his life, spending time with his Father. This was his custom – his frequent pattern of action. As a result of regular reflection and contemplation, Jesus always knew what was important (his priorities), he learned to say ‘no’ to the unimportant, and he remained emotionally healthy.

These are the kind of benefits that can be ours when we take regular time for reflection and contemplation. Here are some good things to do while “reflecting”:

Refuel (Pt.6)

Let's look at another way to refuel ...

4. Plan Regular Time for Rest and Recreation. God didn’t design us to work constantly without rest. God worked for six days and then rested on the seventh. Not because he was tired or because he needed time off, but because rest (not working) is good. The Sabbath was established in Old Testament times for rest and relaxation from the busyness of the week’s work. Although, we don’t keep a literal Sabbath Day under the New Covenant, the principle of taking regular time for rest and recreation is still as true today as it was back then. God blessed both work and rest. Good quality rest can restore your good mood as well as your capacity to function. God made us spirit, soul and body. We often neglect our soul and our body thinking that these areas of life are not ‘spiritual’ or important. The truth is that we need a holistic view of life. God is interested in our spirit, soul AND body (1 Thess.5:23).

Jesus also, in all his busyness of ministry, took time aside to rest and to sleep when he was tired. Jesus, though completely God, was fully human. He experienced our physical limitations and he had to look after his physical body. This meant proper exercise, healthy eating and adequate sleep. A balanced diet, regular exercise and adequate rest give you energy, improve your health and extend you’re the length of your life. They help you to refuel.

Jesus also set limits and arranged for times of rest (Mark 6:31). In the same way, we need to learn to relax (“let go”) and rest without feeling guilty. Relaxation is a wonderful “stress buster”. It reduces stress. Relax hourly, daily and weekly. Force yourself into inactivity. Be quiet, get comfortable, relax your muscles and focus your attention. Like a rubber band, we are designed to be stretched but if we never have times of relaxation we will begin to crack. Regular times of rest and recreation are great ways to refuel!

Refuel (P.5)

Last week we looked at two practical things that help us to refuel, especially spiritually – (1) spending time alone with God every day and (2) participating in church gatherings every week. These practices are part of how God refuels us for our journey. God works through BOTH our personal relationship with him and our community with other believers. BOTH are important. One without the other will be detrimental to our faith and our well being. Let’s continue today with some additional things that can help us refuel, not just spiritually.

Let's look at another key way to refuel ...

3. Enjoy Your Family and Friends. God created for us for community – for meaningful relationships. No one was meant to do life ‘alone’. God himself is a relational God, existing as three persons within what is referred to as the Trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus, the Son of God come to earth, spent hours with a small group of people, his disciples, who he called his ‘friends’ – walking on along the road, rowing a boat, eating a meal (Mark 3:14). Then Christ’s followers in the early church spent much time together with each other. They “devoted themselves” to activities such as “fellowship”, which means close relationship and partnership together in life (Acts 2:42-47). This all goes to reinforce that life is all about relationships (“people”) not tasks (“things”). Yes, there are tasks to accomplish and things to do, but these exist to serve people. Relationship first, task second. How often we get it wrong.

Friends are a valuable gift from God. Don’t isolate yourself. When you’re stressed, you need your relationships more, not less. What a joy it is to spend time with ‘emotional replenishing people’ – those who pour back into us rather than draining us. Spend time with people you enjoy being around. The family is also very important to God. Love your family and develop warmth and intimacy with them. No one on their deathbed wished they had spent more time in the office. Plan special times and events together with your friends and family members. Learn to have fun, to recreate, to enjoy life and to laugh. Develop a good sense of humour. The more you enjoy life the healthier you tend to be. The Bible says that a “cheerful heart” is like a good medicine (Proverbs 17:22). Special times with family and good friends are a great way to refuel!

Refuel (Pt.4)

Before we move on, let's pause and reflect on what we've covered so far.

Here are a few questions you might want to think about today:

1. Do you think life is becoming more stressful? If so, what are some of the indicators?
2. Describe a time when you felt like you were ‘running on empty’. What did it feel like, what were some of the contributing factors, and what did you do about it?
3. Discuss the concept of ‘margin’. Why is it important and how do we create it in our lives?
4. What can we learn from the habits of Jesus? Read Luke 5:15-16 .
5. Read Jeremiah 2:13 and think about its application for us today. Why is it so easy to neglect time with God?
6. Think about a time you had alone with God that was personally impacting. What happened?
7. What are some of the benefits of regular church attendance?
8. What are some of the benefits of regular involvement in a small group?
9. What are some of the dynamics that occur when a follower of Christ begins to attend church only infrequently?
10. Discuss the metaphor of ‘refuelling’ – what are some other things you do to help when you’re feeling like you’re running on empty?

Next week, we’ll be looking at a few more practical ways to refuel, especially when it comes to our emotional world.

Refuel (Pt.3)

How else can we refuel?

2. Participate in Church Gatherings Every Week.

In addition to spending time along with him, God also wants us as his people to gather together on a regular basis. He has designed these gatherings to be part of his process for refuelling us for our journey. We live in a world that saps and drains us of our spiritual reserves. We need to be filled up again regularly – with his love, his Spirit, his hope, and his joy. Gathering with other believers is an important part of this becoming a reality in our lives.

We gather to worship God together, to receive spiritual input, to fellowship together, to be reminded of our vision, and to serve others with our gifts. This is all part of how God refuels us for our journey. It helps to keep our values aligned and our life headed in the right direction.

The truth is that the majority of people don’t go to church anymore and even many Christians can tend to be fairly slack in the consistency of their attendance, attending infrequently or hardly at all. No wonder so many people are feeling dry spiritually and lack spiritual passion in their life.

Why should we attend church regularly?

Jesus did (Luke 4:16), the early church did (Acts 2:42-47), God commands it (Heb.10:24-25), the Spirit works in special ways when Christ’s body gathers, your very presence is an encouragement to other believers and to the leaders of the church, and you are leaving a legacy for the next generation.

Gathering together with other believers on a weekly basis is important. Of course, just being together is one thing but HOW we come is even more important. If we want to see dynamic gatherings where God is at work then we need to come with expectation, faith, and a willingness to respond and to participate in what is happening.

Church attendance is not a spectator sport. It’s something that we engage in with all our heart and soul … and like most things in life we tend to get out of it what we put into it. Do you want to refuel? Make church gatherings a priority in your weekly schedule.

Refuel (Pt.2)

Let’s look at a few practical things we can do to refuel. First we’ll focus on some activities for refuelling our spiritual life. Then next week we’ll look at things related more to our relational and emotional health.

1. Spend Time Alone with God Every Day.

As followers of Christ, God is the source of our very life. As the apostle Paul said, “In him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). Yes, our very next breath comes from him. In a very real sense, we are to live our life ‘in God’s presence’ or with an awareness that he is always with us. We are to ‘do life’ together with God, involving him in every aspect of our daily life. ALL of life is sacred and God is interested in every aspect of our lives. However, there is something special than can occur when we pull aside from our daily activities and spend time alone with God, wholly focused on him.

Jesus, the Son of God, came to serve and give his life for others. Yet one of his habits was to regularly pull aside from the crowds of people and from the busyness of ministry. Jesus knew what it was to work hard but he also knew what it was to stop working and get aside with his Father (see Luke 5:15-16). If anyone could have avoided prayer and just kept going without ever getting to empty, it was Jesus. But, no – he stopped, he left the hustle and bustle of all the people around him, and he found a place where he could be alone and talk with his Father. If Jesus needed this, how much more do we! Often when we’re starting to burnout, it can be linked back to a drift in our time alone with God. Like Martha, we’ve become so busy working for God or doing life that we have neglected our time just sitting and being with Jesus like Mary did (Luke 10:38-42).

So what kind of things do we do when we are along with God?

• Enjoy God. Just be still and enjoy his closeness.
• Love and worship him. Express appreciation to him for who he is and all he has done for you.
• Talk to him. Open up your heart and tell him how you feel. Tell him your needs and concerns.
• Listen to God. Ask him to speak to you. Tune in to the ‘small still voice’ of his Spirit within you.
• Read his Word, which are his instructions for our life. His Word is like our ‘daily bread’
• Pray in the Spirit, using your ‘spiritual language’. In doing so, you pray according to the will of God (Rom.8:26-28) and you build up your own faith (Jude 20). It can be like charging your spiritual batteries.

Spending time alone with God can be like taking a long deep drink of fresh water when you’re feeling dry and thirsty. It energises you and refuels you for your journey.

Why would we not spend time with the God who created the universe and who desires the very best for our life? Why would we pursue other less important things, ignoring his offer! Oh, foolish thinkers we often are (Jeremiah 2:13)! How easily we get distracted by things that hinder us from investing our time in what is most valuable – a relationship with the living God!

Refuel (Pt.1)

Refuelling is not an optional extra for the Christian life. It is an essential practice and something that must be done on a regular basis. It is not just for the faint of heart or the weak. Even the strong tire and become weary. Even the young run out of energy.

Listen to what the prophet Isaiah had to say about this ...

Isa 40:28-31. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no-one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. NIV

Refuelling takes time and intentional effort. Most often it requires you to stop what you are doing and engage in a refuelling moment. But refuelling is essential if we are going to run our race well, let alone finish what God has called us to be and do. Pray and believe for the Holy Spirit to refuel you today. God wants to continually fill us with his love, power and wisdom for our journey.

More tomorrow ...

A Personal Check Up (Pt. 6)

Our final question is:

5. How is your love?

Love is the most important thing in our life (see 1 Corinthians 13). As someone once said, "People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!"

Christian love is a choice to do good to others.

Love forgives and seeks reconciliation. Have you been offended this year? Has someone hurt you? Have you hurt someone? How is it with your soul? Have you forgiven? Have you asked for forgiveness?

Enlarge your ‘circle of love’. Who is in your circle? Is it an open circle?

Jesus accepted everyone no matter who they were (see Romans 5:8). His ministry philosophy was “Come as you are … and be changed.” Is that ours too or it is more like the religious leaders of his day who basically said, “Change to be like us … and then you can come.”

Ask God to fill you afresh with His love … for all people.

How is your love?

Conclusion

How did you go with your check up?

What will you do about the results? After all, only YOU are responsible for these things. I know I have some things to work on. If we ignore the check up, we'll pay for it. However, if we make the necessary adjustments, we will see many benefits flow into our lives.

All the best for the second half of your year!

A Personal Check Up (Pt. 5)

Our fourth check up question is:

 

4. How is your joy?

 

David tells us to serve the Lord 'with gladness' (Psalm 100:1-2. NKJV). What we do is important but just as important is how we go about it. God desires us to do life with an attitude of joy.

 

Why is joy important?

• The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
• Joy is a sign of God’s presence (Psalm 16:11)
• Joy is the essence of life (Ecclesiastes 3:22; 5:19)
• Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5:22)
• Joy is an attribute of God’s kingdom (Romans 14:17)
• Joy is a witness to unbelievers (1 Kings 10)
• Joy is a key to effectiveness in life and work

No doubt, joy is important. That's why the enemy always tries to steal our joy away from us. What are some joy-robbers that you have experienced?

In the final analysis, joy is a choice (see Habakkuk 3:17-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; Philippians 4:4 and James 1:4-6). Joy is different from happiness. Happiness is based on what happens to us while true joy is based on our relationship with God and our belief that he is in control, regardless of our circumstances.

How is your joy level right now? What could you do to be more joyful as you go about your daily life and work today? What a difference joy makes!

A Personal Check Up (Pt. 4)

Our third question is:

3. How is your progress?

The Christian life is to be one of progress, growth and continual improvement – both in our relationship with God, our character, our relationships with other people, and ministry effectiveness (see 1 Timothy 4:11-15).

Progress is the end result of an intentional effort to develop yourself and your gifts. It doesn’t just happen through years of service or length of time in a ministry.

So, how do you grow as a person? Here are a few ways:

• Reading – the Bible and other writers. What do you want to know or learn about or improve in? Buy a book from someone who is an expert in that area. Do whatever it takes to gain wisdom. See my blog posts on The Art of Reading and Some Recommended Reading.
• Teaching – listen to leaders and experienced people [podcasts, CDs, Advanced Tracks, audio books, book summaries, etc]. Make your car a driving university. Formal training – get on a track of personal development and consider doing a course related to your career and/or ministry.
• Mentors – find people with knowledge and resources that you don’t have.
• Experience – the actual act of using our gifts and talents is part of the learning process. We learn most by doing.

When it comes to your skills and ability as a person, are you improving, plateaued or in decline? If you’re doing nothing, you’re in decline, because the world around us is changing rapidly.

What will you do to grow in the second half of this year? Make it a priority. Don’t get so busy producing that you don’t have enough time to improve yourself.

How is your progress?

A Personal Check Up (Pt.3)

Our second question is:

 

2. How is your passion?

 

Having a clear vision is important (seeing it) but having a passion or fire on the inside is also vital (feeling it). God desires that vision and passion be bound together in our lives. 

 

Is your vision producing passion or has it lost its vitality? If its energy has died a little, meditate on it some more, ask the ‘why’ question again (not just ‘what, when and how’), etc.

 

In the world we live in, natural fervency or passion is often a key to success and impact. A study of great people was done looking for essential qualities of their success. It wasn't intelligence, gifts or talents, background or appearance. It was attitude (how they chose to think) and passion (how they chose to feel). Successful people have drive and enthusiasm (found in the heart not the head).

 

Nothing major in history was ever accomplished without zeal and passion. It is often THE deciding difference between successful and unsuccessful people in every field of endeavour. The fire on the inside affects everything on the outside.

 

Inspirational writer William Ward says, "Enthusiasm and persistence can make an average person superior while indifference and lethargy can make a superior person average."

 

The Apostle Paul puts it this way: "Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord." Paul assumes that we are all serving the Lord. Every one of us has a part to play in contributing to God’s cause in the earth. Yes, serving the Lord and fulfilling your purpose is a good thing. But how we serve and pursue our God-given purpose is very important. It requires fervency!

 

Of course, passion is not a static thing. It’s like a fire that we have to fuel and guard at all times. We have to be on guard against fire-fighters such as complacency, difficult circumstances, familiarity, or an unbalanced lifestyle. 

 

How is your passion? Is it burning brightly or has it died out a bit? What can you do to rekindle it today?

A Personal Check Up (Pt.2)

The first question is:

 

1. How is your vision?

 

Bill Hybels defines vision as "a picture of a preferred future that produces passion.” Nothing much happens without vision. However, when someone gets a vision … something powerful begins to happen and significant movement takes place. Just study history. Whether it be William Wilberforce, the Wright brothers, Henry Ford, Billy Graham, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Jesus Christ himself, people who do significant things in life all have this thing called vision.

 

What about you? Do you have a vision? Do you have a dream? Do you have a cause that you’re living for and working towards? What’s your vision?

 

The writer of the book of Proverbs says this ... "Where there is no vision, the people perish (KJV)." The Message Bible puts it this way ... "If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves."

  

Even when we have a clear vision, we need to protect it. Why? Because vision leaks and mission drifts. We all easily get off course, or we lose focus as to what life is all about, especially in the busyness and the challenges of daily life.