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Pour out with Purpose!

No matter who we are or what we do, this is a fact: We only have so much to pour out until we become empty. I was reading in 1 Sam.16 about Samuel anointing David. Each of his brothers had to "pass by" Samuel, and the Lord would tell him, not that one, not that one, until he finally reached David. It is funny because as soon as Samuel saw David's oldest brother, "he thought" this must be the one. But God said, "I don't see what man sees." Did you catch that? God does not see people, opportunities, ministries & time the way we see them. We must let every opportunity,and every person pass before us, and wait to hear God's voice, "no not that one", or "yes, that one. Arise and pour into that one."

Everyday we are offered up a plethora of opportunities & people to "pour into." The question cannot be, which of these is the good one, but which one is the God one. And there really is only ONE, GOD ONE! The rest may seem good, but the good one is the greatest enemy of the God one! We must let each opportunity and person pass before us, pause and let God, test it through His eyes, and then listen for His voice, "yes or no." He must make the call, not us.

You only have so much to pour out...do it in God's purpose. We don't want to waste one moment, one word, one action, one thought or one ounce of energy outside of God's purpose and call.

I don't know about you, but today I am going to let everything, and I mean EVERYTHING pass before God, and pour out at His command.

How about you? What are you going to pour into today?

10 attributes of a GREAT LEADER'S heart!

So his armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.” (1 Samuel 14.7)

This is an account of a leader with six hundred men following him on a surprise attack mission to defeat an enemy with an exponentially greater number of men! What trait, what training, what kind of mind control did this leader exhibit that would cause those men to have courage to follow him on what seems to be a suicide mission? 

He had a godly leader's... HEART! From my vantage point, those are rare these days. We don't see many valiant attempts to move followers on great campaigns for God at great risk! My suspicion would be that there is no lack of missions for God. But a lack of great leaders that cause those around them to march and charge against a strong enemy with the right heart in order to advance the Kingdom of God!

I have seen some great leaders with such hearts and they have many of the same characteristics. Here are just a few...

1. They never move until they have definitively heard from God to go.
2. They unconditionally love those that follow, and the followers know it!
3. They live a lifestyle of personal faith that inspires others.
4. They look for opportunities to bring others along on the journey.
5. They always speak words of life, hope & victory to those around them.
6. They greatly honor other leaders and listen to their counsel.
7. They walk humbly with their God, never looking to take the credit.
8. They intentionally create an environment of trust, honor & fun!
9. They demonstrate a true spiritual balance of ministry & family.
10. They never allow "naysayers" to steal a vision or harm a follower!

Remember, great leaders have great hearts! If you look around you and see that people are ready to follow you to the very gates of hell, at risk of life and limb, it's not you, it's your heart. 

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4.23)  

Great Leaders get GREATLY Aroused!

"Put out your eyes, and give them to me." This was the cost of not being killed, and being allowed to serve as a slave to the king of the Ammonite's, and they were about to do it! (1Sam 11) However, when the newly anointed King Saul heard the news,  

...they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused.

Great leaders become "greatly aroused" at the injustice done to those around them. Here is the cool part, it's done "in the Spirit"! That is called righteous anger. When we, as leaders, become angry in the Spirit about injustice, we become angry because it angers God.

If Saul had not become "greatly aroused" in anger, they would have been defeated and enslaved by their enemy. As leaders, we must be careful to listen, recognize injustice & error, and be willing to take a bold stand against it! We must be leaders of ACTION, not just listening leaders who react in some passive form to just keep peace and not offend anyone. 

This is my question, if you are a leader, when was the last time you were "greatly aroused" in anger by the prompting of the Spirit? DId this prompting of the Spirit compel you to act in the defense of the defenseless?

If you can't remember, you may need to spend some time in repentance for listening to the voice of apathy, rather than the voice of God!

Go! Follow the Jack-Ass!

I love the story in 1 Samuel 9. Saul's dad loses his donkeys and sends Saul to find them. Saul and his servant look for days and never find the donkeys. But, when they reach a city where the servant knows Samuel the prophet is staying, the servant says, "let's go ask the man of God." So they gather a little money to give to Samuel and approach the Prophet.

They didn't know, the day before, God told Samuel this very thing would occur, and that Saul should be anointed as King over Israel! Much to Saul's surprise, Samuel was expecting him, told him all what he was doing and what he WOULD do. He was anointed as king!

Here are some things I gleaned from this story:

1. Never complain about the path you are on.
2. Though you may not find what you are looking for, you may get what God wants you to have!
3. Be patient. You may feel lost, but over the next hill may be a divine encounter with the power of God.
4. Always be open. God moves you to where He wants you to be. And it's typically not the path you thought!
5. Saul did the right thing by seeking help & guidance from God, and from a man of God.
6. Your greatest destiny and greatest anointing from God may very well occur when it seems like all you are doing is chasing a Jack-Ass!

So. Go! Follow the Jack-Ass! Who knows what great things God has in store for you just over the next horizon. I'll bet you will be surprised!

Does what you're saying really matter?

Jesus said, "from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Mt. 12.34). Think about that verse for just a moment. Your words reveal what is in your heart. The thoughts that were allowed to be planted there are then watered by our meditation and then manifested for all to see by what we say. So in other words, if you really want to know if someone has the right heart, and are thinking along with God and guided by the Spirit, just listen long enough and you will hear the answer! Then the question becomes, "does what they're saying really matter?" 

Today is MLK Day. A day we celebrate the life of a man that forever changed the landscape of American culture, and whose values continue to have impact today. He was a man that understood this principle very well. We must put into our hearts the things that matter to God, meditate on those things, and they will in turn be proven by the words we say. Then and only then, will what we say will really matter!

Proverbs 10:19
"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."

To make what we say really matter, impactful, genuine, loving, powerful & life changing, we start by letting our thoughts come as an overflow of our passionate love affair with God! Then we will know our thoughts matter, we will be meditating on what matters, and what comes out of our mouths will matter!

OUR LIVES BEGIN TO END THE DAY WE BECOME SILENT ABOUT THINGS THAT MATTER (MLK)

It takes "crazy" to change things

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." 

— Apple Computer Inc.

Sounds like something the Apostle Paul would have said at a leadership conference! "Come on guys, we are going to turn the world upside down." Are you guys crazy? Yes, we are. We believe we have a divine calling, divine power & divine destiny to change the world for the Kingdom of God! We will not rest, tire, lose focus, or be defeated until our destiny is fulfilled. 

I believe and live by that everyday of my life! If that is a crazy man's life, then so be it! I am a CRAZY man. And in the infamous words of Cramer...

"I'm out there, and loving every minute of it!"

Repentance. The key to getting it BACK!

I was reading this story this morning in 1 Sam. 7. The Israelites were practicing a horrible sin. Idolatry. Before you think you may not be involved in the same disgusting habit, you need to remember the simple definition of idolatry is putting ANYTHING ahead of your relationship with God! And yes, Christ Followers can certainly be idolaters! In fact, we may be some of the worst offenders because we know the Truth. 

The story in 1 Sam. 7, tells the story of how the Prophet Samuel challenges the people to repentance, they repent and turn to God. Immediately God defeated their enemies (the Philistines), and "the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored." Is there anything in your life that you feel has been taken and you need it restored? Could it be that you need repentance? I know this is not warm and fuzzy, but it is the Truth, and if you walk in the Truth you will be FREE INDEED! 

 

There are several things I have to check myself on, to make sure i'm not walking in a way that is not pleasing to God. Not putting anything above Him. Just a few good questions to ask yourself:

• Is there anybody I really want to "avoid" right now? (Sin of Unforgiveness)
• Over this past week, was I defensive with someone? (Sin of Offensive)
• Did I try to force someone to "change" to my own way? (Sin of Manipulation)
• Did I withhold a compliment or kind word, when deserved? (Sin of unloving)
• Did I use my words to bring pain or hurt to someone? (Sin of Cursing)
• Did I use my time with someone to just promote "me?" (Sin of Pride)

These are just some of the issues I have to deal with from time to time, and they are generally not thought of as being the really "big" sins, but they will rob you of things in your life that God intended you to have.

If you see yourself in any of these, take the time to stop and repent, and ask God to return to you anything that was taken because of your sin. 

Repentance is the key to getting it back!

HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?

A new study (http://ow.ly/V90d) says there is a growing number of Americans that are "practicing" & "combining" several types of religion and spiritual beliefs to find satisfaction.

What a tremendous scar on the face of the American evangelical church. What have we done, said, preached, written or practiced that would give anyone such an idea; that being a "Christ Follower" could be just one of the selections & could be mixed with other offerings at the "spiritual life" buffet? This kind of practice will make you lose your mind. I'm serious... "You will lose your mind, up in here, up in here..."

Lest we find ourselves being a contributor in any form or fashion to someone losing their spiritual prowess, let's look at some sure fire signs that if you or your church are practicing you are contributing. You are helping people lose their mind if...

1. You change your "strategy" monthly based on the hottest thing
2. You make people feel like crap because they aren't as righteous as you
3. You let everyone know, humbly of course, how much good you are doing
4. You say you love God, but those _____ "are just not right"
5. You make following God as complicated as, "some assembly required"
6. You are known for the "we don't" and not the "we do"
7. You think unity is the same as conformity
8. You think acceptance is the same as approval
9. You consider ANYONE an "untouchable."
10. You read this list and get pissed off...because it describes you!
11. P.S. You don't want world peace. (Just in case)

HAVE A HIGHLY BLESSED DAY!

Take the right weapons to a battle

 

Man allegedly threatens neighbors with slingshot http://ow.ly/TFaA

This guy is 65 years old, gets mad at his neighbor and decides to get his "weapon" of choice... a slingshot! Listen, if you are going into battle, choose the right weapon, or you will get your butt kicked! This holds true in any arena of conflict and struggle.

We all have an arsenal of weapons at our disposal. Just think for a moment of some of the things you can use: Cutting words. Slander. Manipulation. Judgement. Criticism. Lying. Laziness. Backbiting. Quietness. Revenge., etc.

But the most powerful weapon you have is real, sincere, unabridged, unconditional LOVE! Love's weapons are formed in the shape of: GRACE. FORGIVENESS. ACCEPTANCE. HUMILITY. COMPASSION. SACRIFICE. TEARS. PRAYER. SERVICE. SUBMISSION. FAITH.

Of all the weapons you can pull out today, to fight all the battles life will throw at you, remember this... THE GREATEST OF THESE IS LOVE!

Believe it or not. Take real love into your battle today. And you can really kick some serious butt! P.S. That's what God uses

Is this SUPPOSED to be this hard?

 

I don't know? 

• I guess so. 
• Well, maybe not.
• It depends on how you look at it. 
• It depends on what you are looking at.
• It depends on how long you look, when you look at it
• It depends on what you are thinking when you look at it
• It depends on what you look at, and how long you look at it.
• It depends on what, how long, what you think, when you think long at it.
• Bottom line.
• It depends on me & God.
• It depends on me hearing God.
• It depends on me hearing and obeying God.
• It depends on me hearing, obeying & following God.
• It depends on me hearing, obeying, & following God with Joy!

Is that SUPPOSED to be that hard? YOU BET IT IS. 

That is why so few succeed! Try it today. It's HARD! But well worth the effort!