The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me but always evil” (2 Chronicles 18:7).
If the guy who’s always right is also the guy who’s always talking about repentance or judgment, here’s a thought: repent and avoid judgment.
The solution is NOT to find a different collection of advisers who only tell you what you want to hear. [click to continue…]
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How do you gauge success?
Does being a Christian or being in ministry change that somehow?
I don’t know anybody who gets up in the morning and prays, “Oh God, make me a failure!” But there have been many times when I and many others have used bad gauges to measure it. Here are the three most common:
1. Do I feel good? Was the service pleasurable? Do I feel encouraged, energized, healed or empowered? Do I feel loved, important, or attended to? Do I feel the pleasure of other people or God’s pleasure?
2. Did I see something good? In church world that is measured by the countable things like noses and dollars and building funds. In the Christian business world, the same thing is true – it’s about profits and losses and tangible contributions to the community.
3. Do I feel good about myself? Do I feel affirmed? Do I look good? Did people tell me I performed well? Did someone thank me or praise me or ask for my help?
So what’s wrong with any of that?
Absolutely nothing. [click to continue…]
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I know what you’re thinking right now.
You’re thinking, “No you don’t!”
I know… scary isn’t it?
Know what’s even scarier? Anybody who knows you at all can follow you around for a week and know what you’ve been thinking for the past year. That’s based, of course, on the biblical principle, “As he thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7).
Your life today is the result of your thinking. It may not always affect your circumstances, but it always affects your character. Your disposition. Your emotions. Your perceptions. Yes, your faith.
If you have any intention of designing a compelling future, it’s time to accept responsibility for the role your thoughts play in creating it. After all, your thoughts have produced the person you are right now.
That’s why the Bible gives such attention to your thoughts. Jesus said to love God with all your mind. Paul talks about renewing your mind, and not thinking of yourself more highly than you ought, but thinking soberly.
Recently I reread a familiar old verse and it rocked my world a little. [click to continue…]
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Have you ever woken up first thing in the morning and realized you were in a museum?
And you were what was on display?
You may not have recognized the location at first because everything seemed so real. You were traveling through one mental display after another of your past life.
Names.
Faces.
Feelings.
Friends.
Sometimes the scenes are wistful and happy reminders of people and days gone by. Sometimes you’re reliving the glory days. But sometimes it plays out more like a horror movie or a disaster cleanup. It’s ugly – and you’re the reason.
It may be a new day on the outside, but in here you’re trapped in the old ones. [click to continue…]
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Thanks for spending the money and manpower to tell us, not once but three times, what we already knew from the rattling and bouncing of our vehicles.
Is it too much to ask you to actually solve the problem?
I guess if you can’t amaze us with the outcomes, you can always astound us with the obvious.
Hmmm. [click to continue…]
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Quick Question: What do the people you lead (and you do lead somebody) do when trouble shows up?
Quick Answer: They do what you lead them to do.
More Thoughtful Question: Do the people you lead (and you do lead somebody) run for the hills or cower in fear at the first sign of trouble, or do they courageously rise up to the challenge?
More Thoughtful Answer: They do what you lead them to do. Not necessarily what tell them to do or manipulate them to do. What you lead them to do.
That reminds me of a story. True story. About a guy named Eli. Now Eli was a soldier, and being a soldier, he had a Commander-in-Chief. And the reason Eli’s Commander-in-Chief was the Commander-in-Chief was because he was the biggest dude in all the land.
You know what the problem is with making the biggest dude in all the land the Commander-in-Chief? Sooner or later he’s gonna run into a bigger dude. And that’s what happened. Eli’s boss went quaking in his boots to the rear of the line because he was staring down the barrel of an overwhelming challenge.
So you know what Eli did? He quaked in his boots too. I’m talking, Give up now. Better fled than dead.
One day later – one day! – that’s Eli with his shield up, his sword drawn, charging headlong into the enemy’s camp and taking no prisoners. What made the difference? [click to continue…]
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In your Christian practice, do you find yourself drawn more toward law-based living or more to grace-based living?
Students in a class I teach deal with that discussion question. I always look forward to their answers. Nearly all of these students are pretty seasoned in their faith, so the overwhelmingly most popular answer is grace-based living. After all, that’s the “correct” one, right?
Nobody ever gets misty-eyed in church singing, “Amazing Law, how sweet the sound…
There are, of course, some brave souls who cop to law-based living. Some do it as an aw-shucks-pray-for-me kind of confession. Some try to reframe the question. “I prefer to think of it as obedience,” one student said recently. I like that.
Others crawfish a little more and ask questions like, “Now what do you mean by that?”
See, nobody wants to admit they’re a legalist. [click to continue…]
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Have you ever been in a situation where somebody hated you just for showing up? Maybe you did something really stupid or offensive. Maybe they hate everybody who shows up. Maybe they’re picking up somebody else’s offense or acting out long-held prejudices. Regardless of what set it off, the bottom line is, they don’t like you.
And what’s not to like, right?
Everybody with any intelligence can see how awesome you are. And yet some arrogant bozo (or bozette) won’t give you the time of day. Or worse, is outwardly hostile.
What do you do?
Do you out-hostile them? Or practice your own version of the Cold War?
Do you fire up your iPod with your favorite Willie Whiner and His All-Reject Orchestra tunes and have a pity party?
Do you ask God to whup ‘em or smite ‘em?
Or do you use this as an occasion to facilitate growth, understanding, renewal, and – dare I say it? – respect and friendship? [click to continue…]
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Ronnie Blair spent a lifetime waiting for the perfect moment. And he never seemed to find it.
He waited to ask Lisa Crane to the Senior Prom. Ricky Styles beat him it to it. Now they’re married with two kids and a third one on the way.
He waited to apply for the college scholarship from his father’s employer; didn’t want to appear too eager, he said. He missed the deadline.
He waited for the perfect job to present itself upon graduation, and in the process passed up three good choices. He wound up taking an entry-level hourly position not even in his field.
He waited for the perfect time to ask Leanne Wilson to marry him, and to her it seemed as though he was afraid of commitment. They wound up possibly the only couple in town who got engaged as the result of an argument.
In Ronnie’s life, the pattern was always the same. [click to continue…]
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Think fast! What’s the difference between a test and a temptation?
Fast answer: Nothing.
Slower answer: One comes from the devil and one comes from the Lord. But did you know that the same Greek word is used for both? Check out these familiar words: [click to continue…]
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