It’s my strength, Nehemiah says… the joy of the Lord.
It’s the result of an exchange, according to Isaiah’s prophecy. The Spirit of God anointed Jesus to exchange my mourning and ashes for beauty and joy. Surely you don’t think somewhere along the way He’s lost that anointing, do you?
Jesus later told his disciples that they would mourn (at his death), but that their mourning would be turned to joy when they saw Him again (after His resurrection). News Flash! In case you missed it, He’s still alive.
Moreover, Jesus said, as they asked in His name, they would receive, and their joy would be full. So about that asking…
Joy is the fruit of the Spirit because joy is one expression of the character and nature of God.
It’s here that the Lord gets a bum rap. [click to continue…]
I love photography for two reasons. First, I love capturing light and images and special moments that I can share and re-live. The one to the left is a recent sample.
Second, taking pictures puts me on the right side of the camera. As long as I can stay away from that nosy lens, I can imagine that I actually look the way I do when I look at myself in the mirror. No awkward angles. No unflattering poses. No ruthless inventory of how I really look.
The same kind of thing happens in the spiritual realm. There are plenty of ways to pose so that we get a flattering, but dishonest look at ourselves. That’s unhealthy for two reasons. First, it can put us in denial of something that can really hurt us in the long run. Second, it can produce shame that blinds us to our great, great value to God and to the world.
How would you like a strategy for taking an honest inventory of your heart and soul?
Wait.
Maybe I should phrase that a different way…
Do you need a strategy for taking an honest inventory of your heart and soul? I don’t really care whether you want it or not.
Here are eight questions that can turn the lights on in your spiritual life. They can be used alone or together. You can go through them in 15 minutes, or an hour, or an entire day. The questions are based on Paul’s energetic series of charges to the Thessalonians:
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22).
Take a few minutes or however long you can. Get alone with a journal, legal pad, or an electronic tablet and write down some notes based on your first response to these questions: [click to continue…]
This morning I have the privilege of preaching at Shadow Hills Baptist Church here in Lubbock. After dreaming about hearing John Piper preaching in my head all night long that “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him” (and I’ve never actually listened all the way through to one of his messages), I believe the Lord was “instructing me in the night watches” (Psalm 16:7) to preach on joy, and specifically how we can lose it. Here’s a quick summary of what I’m sharing there…
The most joyful people on the planet are believers in Jesus Christ.
The most joyless, miserable people on the planet are Christians, too.
Those who don’t have a relationship with Christ don’t know any better, and as they say, “Ignorance is bliss.” But those of us who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, then somehow lost that sense of His presence, know there is something missing.
I’d like to show you how that’s possible. How can someone who has experienced this amazing joy suddenly find themselves without it? [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on July 3, 2013
in Ability, Consumers, Esteem, Five LV Laws, Insight, Leadership, Life Currency, Love, LV Alter-egos, Money, Photos, Pleasers, Principle of Freedom, Time, Words
Of all the nations who have drawn some borders and set up shop, perhaps none has a shorter and more mixed (some would say mixed up) pedigree than the United States. If the planet was populated by nothing but dogs, we’d be the mixed breeds – the hardy, loveable mutts who may not be able to point to a long pedigree, but will probably live the longest, love the hardest, and fight the fiercest of anybody in the pound.
To be an American is to be a delightful, maddening mix of contributions and contradictions, possibilities and problems. We’re a living demonstration of what can happen when you let “the help” run the kingdom.
To be an American is to believe in the power of the people. Your people, that is. It is to believe that authority resides in the will of the majority, even though at any given time the Commander-in-Chief was elected by less than 21% of the population. Or if that doesn’t work, maybe power can reside in the rulings of some Federal judge who can see things your way until the majority gets with the program. [click to continue…]
Sitting on the back porch this morning, watching Thomas G. Glavine. Not the famous pitcher for the Braves and some other nameless team, but the yellow-striped cat named in his honor. The G. doesn’t really stand for anything – that’s just something we tossed in there for good measure.
Glavine is a world-class mouser and extraordinary bird hunter. He’s almost 11 years old and may have lost a step or two, but don’t tell the birds that. A dove was sitting on top of the 10-foot fence this morning, and Glavine went to work. His tail started swirling back and forth. He waited and watched for the perfect moment. Then he made an epic, heroic leap off the patio table and landed eye-to-eye with the bird, tail still swirling.
Well, the dove flew off and lived to see another day, and the cat went on the prowl for other prospects. And the Lord and I had a little talk about what I had just witnessed.
See, before his feet made the leap to the top of the fence, his heart was leaping at the sight of the bird. [click to continue…]
Standing in the gap for you, as expectantly as I can, I am praying that on this day like no other, you know the extraordinary comfort of ordinary faithfulness. I pray that you would experience:
Times of “dull” rest, where both your body and your mind can enjoy the stillness of a peaceful heart after a productive day… [click to continue…]
Want to increase your expectations? Increase your options.
Robin and I celebrated our 30th anniversary yesterday. To be honest, it started with little-to-no expectations. She had been feeling really bad pain-wise, then got a cold on top of that. The day was a work day for both her and me, and we both had a lot to do. So we said all the right things and assumed we’d plan some other celebration later.
The one thing we planned, sort of, was dinner.
But there was one option we didn’t consider – the option that she would actually feel very good at the end of the day.
The cold was much better, she had less pain and more energy, and we had a really nice evening together. Fortunately in this case, when the new realities presented themselves, we were able to act on them.
The evening was made all the more special by Ralph, our server at the Longhorn Steak House. Ralph saw his job as being more than taking orders and serving food. He increased his options by becoming a celebration facilitator. I actually heard him ask the table next to us, “Are you guys celebrating anything special tonight?”
Ralph saw to it that since we were there to celebrate, we would have a celebration. [click to continue…]
So… we took an extended weekend road trip for my niece’s wedding, and let me just say, it was an adventure in flying (yes, it was our plane that turned around and kicked an unruly passenger off), driving (we arrived in Mobile at 4:30 am after a late-late arrival in New Orleans), a wonderful wedding, and an equally-bleary-eyed trip home.
Along the way, our lives were enriched by the profound wisdom of the flower girl – none other than The Sasster, Laura Kate Wiley. She was good enough to share some of her deep insights, proverbial-level wisdom, and of course, contagious joy with us. Well, and with whoever else happened to be around. Enjoy…
How to Make an Impact
SWA Gate Agent: You’re Mister Wood?
Me: I am. [Thanks for holding the plane for us.]
SWA Gate Agent: I believe you have a granddaughter on this flight?
Me: Believe I do!
SWA Gate Agent: Cute little blonde?
Me: Yep, that’s her.
SWA Gate Agent: Well, she’s pretty excited that her Grammy and Papa are going to be on the plane.
Me, to Grammy and Aunt Sassy: He’s met Laura Kate! [click to continue…]
Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret (John 18:20).
Want to lead like Jesus?
Stop hiding your agenda. [click to continue…]
by Andy Wood on June 17, 2013
in Ability, Consumers, Conversations, Exploring the Possibilities, Five LV Laws, Insight, Life Currency, LV Alter-egos, LV Cycle, Principle of Increase
(A Conversation)
Don’t confuse your business with your delivery system.
What do you mean?
Your “business” is the value you bring to people. Your delivery system is the way you deliver it.
Okay… I’m still not sure I get what you’re saying.
Okay, let illustrate it. Let’s pretend it’s the year 1900, and you own one of the dominant businesses of the day – a railroad company. What’s your business?
Railroads?
AAAANNNNK! You lose. Twenty years from now you’ll be out of business and replaced with trucks. Anyway, who gets up in the morning wishing somebody would give them a bunch of steel and cross timbers? Let’s try it again. What business are you in?
Uh, transportation?
Good. You may survive this after all.
Okay that makes sense, I suppose. But I’m not a business owner.
Of course you are. [click to continue…]
It’s my strength, Nehemiah says… the joy of the Lord.
