Share Some Sunshine!!
I find myself complaining a little too much. It is so easy to slip into the mode of complaining. If we’re not careful, we get to the point where we will find fault in everything and everyone.
Negative people are everywhere. Have you noticed that they have a sixth sense? They will sniff you out and find you to complain about something. Surely you know what I am talking about…have you ever been around a really negative person? You know the ones I am talking about – they whine and complain about everything! If you give them just two minutes of your time, they will manage to tell you what is wrong with their job, their family, their kids, their neighbors, their church, etc…Everything in their lives is negative.
I find myself wondering what happened to that type of people to make them so mean and critical. Why do they look
I find myself wondering what happened to that type of people to make them so mean and critical. Why do they look
at everything with a dark cloud instead of the sunshine. Why is their entire life colored gray? Their glass is always half empty and if you give them a chance, they will even pour water out of your glass!
I do know that some people have had a difficult past, a rough childhood or a really negative situation that has left them bitter. That is the root of their dark cloud. I understand that there are things in life that we cannot control. But your critical, complaining, grumbling attitude is not one of them!
Do you complain too much? Do people avoid you because you are so negative? Do you avoid certain people because you know their critical spirit and negative attitude will pull you down? I do! Really, I do! Life is too short to be consumed by those kind of people. There are four kinds of people in everyone’s life. Those who add, those who multiply, those who subtract and those who divide.
I try to surround myself with fun, positive, “let’s go change the world” kind of people. Stay away from those people who take away from you or pollute you. Jesus said a house divided cannot stand. Get away from these kind of people. If you are around that type of negative influence, you will soon become one of those negative people yourself!
Do you complain too much? Do people avoid you because you are so negative? Do you avoid certain people because you know their critical spirit and negative attitude will pull you down? I do! Really, I do! Life is too short to be consumed by those kind of people. There are four kinds of people in everyone’s life. Those who add, those who multiply, those who subtract and those who divide.
I try to surround myself with fun, positive, “let’s go change the world” kind of people. Stay away from those people who take away from you or pollute you. Jesus said a house divided cannot stand. Get away from these kind of people. If you are around that type of negative influence, you will soon become one of those negative people yourself!
Stay positive and be the kind of person that people love to see coming their way. Share some sunshine, don’t bring the dark cloud! Ask God to help you clear up that dark cloud in your life. The sunshine is much nicer!
Move On, Start Swinging!
Every person’s life is filled with mistakes, errors and failures. Failure isn’t the problem. We all fail. How we interpret failure is the problem. How you view failure will be one of the most important life altering practices you ever put in place.
Failures do not reflect your overall character, competence, intelligence or identity. You are going to fail…you are going to make some major blunders. I certainly have had my share of misjudgments, bad decisions and emotionally driven rationalizations. Failure is a part of life; it’s a part of the learning process so make the most of your next failure! Learn from it! The key is learning from our mistakes.
There is a major difference in “I failed” and “I’m a failure.” If you are not careful, you will wallow in past failures and never recover. You can allow what happened to you a year ago, five years ago, even 20 years ago to affect the way you live right now. You must move on! Failure if not fatal and it is not final!
Let me share a great story that deals with failure: It happened on baseball’s opening day in 1954. The Milwaukee Braves and the Cincinnati Reds played each other, and a rookie for each team made his major-league debut during that game.
The rookie who played for the Reds hit four doubles and helped his team win with a score of 9-8. The rookie for the Braves went 0 for 5.
The Reds player was Jim Greengrass, a name you probably haven’t heard. The other guy, who didn’t get a hit, might be more familiar to you. His name was Hank Aaron and as you know, he went on to become one of baseball’s biggest legends.
You need to start swinging again. Stop allowing your history to control your destiny. Every past failure is preparation for some future opportunity that God has for you. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” That is an incredible promise!
If you think you are finished and there is no life after failure, let me assure you…there IS life after failure! Jesus said, “I have come to give you – LIFE!”
You blew it, it was major, it was bad, really bad, so repent and claim I John 1:9 where Jesus says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Move on and start swinging again!
Live a Life of Purpose
“The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder; a waif, a nothing, a no man…” Thomas Carlyle 1795-1881
Many people don’t have a clear sense of purpose and direction for their life. They don’t know who they are and why they are on this planet. Everyone needs a strong sense of purpose and mission. Do you know what you are supposed to do with the one life – the ONLY life you have to live? Every moment of our lives has value, and every decision we make either adds to our purpose and mission or takes away from it.
The Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:12, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. “ Paul understood why Jesus took hold of him…do you? Our task in life is to “lay hold of that which Christ laid hold for us.” My purpose is to make plain the gospel so that people can enter into a relationship with Christ and grow to their full potential. I love waking up each day knowing why I have been created. I have a spring in my step and a smile on my face because not only do I know my specific purpose, but I am living it every day.
What is your purpose? Who and what are you living for? When you know your purpose, you live with energy and passion. Knowing what is truly important and living that way is a powerful position.
What changes in your life are you going to have to make to live out your purpose? You are going to have to be more intentional in what you do with your time; what you say “yes” to and what you say “no” to. I am not saying that it is going to be easy because it’s not. Please don’t wake up one day and discover that you lived your life for years but not according to your purpose!
Here are some things for you to do right away:
1 – Discover your purpose
2 – Develop your purpose
3 – Deploy your purpose
Take a Risk
All through the Bible, I see men and women of God stepping out and taking risks. When you read about the life of Jesus, you will not see “safe and predictable.” You won’t see boring or mundane. I love what Henry Ward Beecher said, “A man looking at the present in light of the future, and taking his whole being into account, maybe contented with his lot; that is Christian contentment. But if a man has come to that point where he is so content that he says, ‘I do not want to know any more, or do any more, or be any more; he is in a state in which he ought to be changed into a mummy.”
Jesus save you to be a mummy. He saved you to live a life that brings glory to Him and many times, that life involves risk.
There are three kinds of people regarding risks:
1. Those who take risks and succeed.
2. Those who take risks and fail.
3. Those who don’t take any risks at all.
Don’t be that person who is afraid to fail so they never lay it out there and take a risk.
There are many ways to become a failure but never taking a chance is the biggest. Many people sit and contemplate while others take action by stepping up, stepping out and taking a risk.
Many people are afraid of looking foolish or afraid of being out front. Joe Stillwell said, “the higher a man climbs, the more his rear is exposed.” That is so true! What is it that is keeping you from taking a risk? Is it embarrassment or rejection? Is it uncertainty of the outcome?
Step out like Peter did in Matthew, chapter 14…take the risk and if you fall or start to sink, Jesus will be there to catch you!
God’s Work Out Plan
The Bible says to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” The Bible doesn’t say to work for your salvation but to work it. We are to work out what is already in us.
The word “work” means to carry something out to its logical conclusion; work to full completion. It speaks of constant energy and effort to finish a task. The reason so many Christians are ‘up and down’; in their spiritual lives is because they are not working out what God put in. Most people I speak to are living in roller coaster relationships with God. Their lives are a series of ups and downs. The Bible says our lives should be a process of ins and outs.
Too many people are working it up instead of out. They attend church on Sunday mornings ready for their “fix.” They hear the music, hear the Word of God preached, get all excited and pumped up but then by Tuesday, they are flat.
When He says to work it out, it is a picturesque word that speaks of working a mine – getting out all of the valuable items in the mine. We have to make a continuous, sustained effort to work out the ultimate completion of what God has put in. You are saved by grace and not works, but your salvation works when you get grace.
“Let go and let God” is a great statement in the context of trusting Jesus but not in living for Him. You must do your part! Stop pushing the snooze button, get up and read the Word of God! Pray – out loud. Cry out to your Heavenly Father. Empty yourself and get filled with the Spirit of God. Get dressed in the Armor of God. Worship, praise and adore Jesus. Fall deeper in love with Christ by spending time with Him every day. Be consistent in church attendance, don’t slide in twice a month. Get involved in a Small Group, do life together with other believers. Find a place and serve somewhere – use your gifts and passion to serve the Body of Christ!
You have to work out what He put in! I promise you it is the best work out plan you will ever experience!
Running
Not a week goes by that I don’t talk to someone who is running from God or whose relationship with Jesus is at a far distance. They know better and they want better but they find themselves in a spiritual funk.
Perhaps they have been hurt by something or someone and they allow that situation (or that person) to discourage them or distract them to the point that they actually get disillusioned with God.
When a person gets in that state of mind, he/she starts to run from God and lives his/her life for himself/herself.
Have you ever deliberately disobeyed God when you knew for sure that He was telling you to do something?
It is amazing how easy it is to get off track. We know that God is trustworthy and faithful. We know that He is a good God and that He loves us but we do not obey Him, listen to Him or follow Him.
Did you know that you can know your Bible, yet live exactly the opposite of its teachings?
Where are you at in your life today? Close to Jesus, clean and enjoying His presence or cold, callous and walking at a guilty distance?
Let me encourage you today – no matter what has happened in your life or how far you have drifted, you can come back! Run into His arms, they are wide open to receive you! If you are running away, stop! If you are drifting, take note – run to Jesus…He is waiting.
A Heart For the World
17 years ago, my Pastor promoted and brought a public challenge to be involved in missions – locally and internationally. I am so grateful for that challenge because I took it and as a result, God has given me a heart for missions.
I went on my first mission trip 17 years ago and have continued to travel all over the world teaching, preaching the Gospel, training Pastors, working in Orphanages, schools and communities and basically just trying to fulfill the Great Commission found in Matthew, chapter 28: 19-20: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
There are so many exciting things about being involved in missions.
#1 for me is seeing people come to know Christ. Watching someone pray to receive Jesus through a translator is an amazing experience.
#2 – I love to encourage pastors. Most of these men work tirelessly, love the Lord with all of their hearts but receive few earthly rewards and little or no encouragement. To have the opportunity to pour into them just a little is a tremendous blessing for me.
#3 – I love the relationships that have been formed through my mission trips. I have been blessed with many pastor / missionary friends all over the world through my travels. Building relationships with people who are “different than you” is a wonderful thing. Look over your FaceBook friends and your cell phone contact list and see how many people are “not like you”. You will quickly notice how limited your relationships really are.
#4 – One of the most rewarding things for me personally is seeing people from our church come along with me and develop a heart/passion for missions. We just returned from El Salvador with a team of 12 people – 4 of them had never been on a mission trip. It was incredible to watch these men and women love on the El Salvadorian people, share their testimonies and lead people to Christ, serve, encourage, pick up trash, paint, feed hungry children, etc…Their lives were impacted!
#5 – Two members of our El Salvador team were my own children. As great as it was to see church members get turned on to missions, I cannot even tell you what it feels like as a parent to watch your own child develop this passion.
My youngest daughter Kirby has actually made a couple of mission trips to El Salvador in the past, and she was even part of a ministry called Global Year where she and a group of 7 other high school graduates lived there for 9 months. She fell in love with the people and the country. Her heart is on fire for missions and I will not be surprised to see her go back for good.
My son Andrew was part of our team and it was his first mission trip. It rocked his world! The kids there loved him and were always hanging out with him. He shared his testimony publicly a couple of times; he served and loved the people; he was used to make a difference for the Kingdom of God! It was incredible!
I love so many things about missions. Have you ever gone somewhere and experienced something that you could not wait for your family and friends to experience? That is exactly how I feel every time. I love the thought that God can take you out of your comfort zone to another area, fill you with His Spirit, give you “holy boldness” and use you to tell people about Jesus!
Our next foreign mission trip at New Season will be July 16 – 24 to Kenya, Africa! We will be sharing Bible stories in the slums; visiting orphanages; discipling students and teaching them how to to take the gospel to unreached peoples; and visiting the safari. The cost is $3500/person.
You can sign up at www.newseasonchurch.com. There will be informational meeting about this trip – March 4th after both services. Pray about going…step out and take a risk. Get out of your comfort zone!
Across the street and around the world – get involved in missions!
Don’t Quit – Rise Up!
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 1:6 says, “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Romans 8:31 says, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
One of my all-time favorite quotes is this one by Napoleon Bonaparte. I really try to live believing this. I don’t believe in quitting or giving up…throwing in the towel or the “three strikes, you’re out” mentality. Maybe that is true in baseball but not life. Don’t take no for an answer , don’t quit on your dream, your family, your work or your life.
I have been at the point of exhaustion, burnt out and complete total frustration. Who hasn’t been at this point? All of us have come to the same fork in the road where we ask, “what will we do; will we give in, give up, let go, lay down and play dead or will we rise up, take that situation by the throat and say ‘no,’ I will not go out like this. I will not visualize the regret of failure, I will visualize the reward of success for staying in the game.
Pat Riley, NBA coaching legend says, “In every contest, there comes a moment that defines winning from losing. The true warrior understands and seizes that moment by giving an effort so intensive and so intuitive that it could only be called one from the heart.”
I am not saying your situation is easy and I am not saying that I understand exactly what you are going through but I will say to you, don’t quit! Hang in there and get fired up thinking about tomorrow and your future, all that God has for you. Get enthusiastic – God is not finished with you!
A.W. Tozier said, “God dwells in a state of perpetual enthusiasm. He is delighted with all that is good and lovingly concerned about all that is wrong. He pursues His labors always in a fullness of holy zeal. No wonder the Spirit came at Pentecost as a sound of a rushing mighty wind and sat in tongues of fire on every forehead. Whatever happened at Pentecost, one thing that cannot be missed by the most casual observer was the sudden up surging of moral enthusiasm. Those first disciples burned with a steady inward fire. They were enthusiastic to the point of complete abandon.”
Wow, did you get that? Don’t quit – rise up! I am praying and believing in you. You’re no fool, do the impossible!
