Living Intentionally

Many years ago a man by the name of Charles Hummel wrote a pamphlet entitled “The Tyranny of the Urgent.”  The main idea of the writing was that all too often we “sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent.”  Hummel reminds us that we are easily derailed by good things often at the expense of the best things.  

The last several months I have made a commitment to what I call “intentional living.”  I am prayerfully asking God to shape my purpose and priorities and I am beginning to base my decisions on those things that He shows me matter most.  I am sure it is not a minister’s-only malady to get so distracted with so many things that we have little time or energy left for those things most important.  

How many of us live our lives with a clear sense of the specific purpose to which he has called each of us?  Sadly, most people occupy their days dealing with what lies in front of them, spinning plates, putting out fires, and just trying to stay one step ahead of life.  

How would your life be different if you knew God’s purpose for each phase of your life?  Would decisions be different if you considered God’s purpose for your family role?  Would your job take on new meaning if you began to see it as the place God strategically placed you to affect people for Him?

God has divinely ordained your stations in life not by accident but INTENTIONALLY.  How can you then INTENTIONALLY invest yourself by choosing the important over the urgent and the best over the good.  I invite you to come with me as we live our lives ON PURPOSE.

Paul’s prayer for the Philippians, and my prayer for me and for you:

…so that you can approve the things that are superior and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ… – Philippians 1:10

Tomorrow’s blog:  Help for setting priorities.  

The Simplicity of God at Work in Us

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And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. – Philippians 1:6

One of the reasons followers of Jesus lose hope is that we forget that God is at work in and around us.  Specifically God is doing a GOOD work.  What happens to us may not seem good, feel good, or appear good, but because God IS good and because God IS sovereign, what is happening to us IS good.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28

Another reason we lose hope is that we fail to recognize WHERE God is at work.  He has begun a good work IN you, not to you, around you, for you, or about you… IN you.  God is much more interested in our holiness than our happiness, more interested in our character than our comfort.  God is in the process of conforming is to the image of Jesus.

For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. – Romans 8:29

Since God is working IN us, what then becomes our role?

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. – John 15:4

Each day, spend time in God’s Word allowing Him to use that word to interpret our circumstances (not vice-versa) and to transform us into who He wants us to be.  

Yes.  It really is THAT SIMPLE.  Dig into God’s Word, observe our lives, learn how to apply God’s Word to the circumstances of our day, and over time God transforms us into the image of Christ. No shortcuts.  No gimmicks.  God’s Word applied to everyday life.  We do our part, God does His part.  We bear fruit and God receives glory.  I encourage you to start today.  Let the good work begin.

By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples. – John 15:8

Are You Living in Your Sweet Spot?

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Pretty much every concern of life falls into one of three categories – things I cannot control, things I can control but shouldn’t, and things I can control and should.  How I choose categorize the daily cares and responsibilities of my life will determine my attitude and eventually my attitude will determine my effectiveness.

Many things fall into the category of things that I cannot control. For most of us, many things lie outside of our control – the weather, others’ actions and opinions of us, the ebb and flow of daily events, just to name a few.  Trying to control the uncontrollable only leads to frustration, anxiety, and ultimately burnout.  We need to remember to trust God and follow His leading in these situations. (Matthew 6:33, Proverbs 3:5,6)

When we try to control things we can but shouldn’t, we can overload ourselves with too many responsibilities.  In doing this we can rob others of the joy of accomplishment, or enable those who should be taking responsibility to continue to shirk their responsibilities.  Even more dangerously, we may grow resentful over increased responsibility rather than joyful in the Lord.

When we learn to discern and concern ourselves on with those things we can and should control, we enjoy the freedom to live joyfully and enthusiastically.  We enjoy what Max Lucado in his book Cure for the Common Life calls “living in your sweet spot.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11)

Be mindful today of the things you do and why you do them.  Do you live from a sense of purpose and calling or do you live out of obligation and a sense of “if I don’t do it no one else will”?

Choose to live on purpose, intentional, and in what Christ has given you to do for this day.

My Clock Is Ticking

The sudden and tragic death of a church member has laid a question heavy on my heart: “Am I a good steward of my life?”

My clock is ticking.  There are 86,400 seconds in every day. How do I use them? Do I spend them or invest them?  Do I major on the things that really matter, or squander away those seconds on things that will not matter in time?  Those 86,400 are counting down.  I am not guaranteed a fresh clock tomorrow, so have I fully invested today’s allotment?

What if we get to the end of it all and found that we accomplished some tremendous things, we collected some nice toys, but we built this beautiful life with the wrong materials and it was all for naught? What if we succeed at pleasing ourselves or others only to find at the end of our lives that God is not pleased with us?

So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

Take care how you use your 86, 400. Live with passion, intentionality, and purpose. Focus on what REALLY matters.  Each day is a gift from God to you; how you use that day is your gift to God.

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. – Philippians 1:9-11

Preaching My Own Funeral

Since preparing to make some remarks at the home-going celebration of a dear saint of God last week, one question has stuck with me, “What do I want the preacher to say about me at my funeral?” 

In the chorus to their hit song “A Good Man,” country band Emerson Drive sings this lyric:

I want to be the one when all is said and done who lived a good life, loved a good wife and always helped someone in trouble, on the day they lay me down I want everyone to gather ’round and say, “He was a father, a brother, a neighbor, and a friend… he was a good man.” 

Preaching in the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia, Paul had the following to day of King David: 

For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption. – Acts 13:36

We can find a plethora of good things with which to occupy our lives. It is a noble intention to be good spouses, parents, teachers, workers, friends, and citizens.  In the end, however, will we be able to say honestly, “I have served the purposes of God for my lifetime”?  Have we lived our lives in a self-serving manner, doing what we want, when we want, and how we want to do it; or have we given our lives to discovering and fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives?

Take some time today to ponder the direction your life is going.  God has set your life on a trajectory of His choosing.  His purpose for our life has both “big picture” elements as well as everyday carpe diem elements.  Ask God to reveal what He wants from you today, and set about serving His purpose.

A Lesson from The Other Father Who Had Two Sons

We are all familiar with Jesus’ parable about the man who had two sons: the younger who wasted his inheritance playing and partying before repenting and returning home, and the older son who childishly pouted over his brother’s coming home party.

You can read about another father with two difficult sons in Matthew 21:28-32.  The gist of the story is that the man told both of his sons to go work in the vineyard.  The first son said NO, but later felt bad about that, and went to work as his father requested.  The second son told his father that he would do it, but never did get around to it.  Jesus asked the crowd around Him which son actually DID what the father requested.  Of course, the answer is the first son who initially refused but finally went.

The immediate context of that parable is the failure of the religious establishment of Jesus’ day to do God’s will and the openness to God’s will of the ones those religious people considered vile and sinful.  An overarching principle, however, emerges that challenges us in our relationship with God.  The greatest value arises not from what we say we will do, what we think we should do, or what we want to do, but from what we actually DO.

So, let me ask you.  Not what are you saying about it or planning to do about it, but what are you actually DOING about your walk with God?  Are you reading you Bible?  Are you praying? Are your serving God? Are you exercising an increasing amount of faith?

What has God told you to do that now is the time to stop thinking about it, praying about it, and considering it, but to start DOING it?  Live intentionally. Start yesterday.

3 Non-Black-Eyed P’s to Start 2014

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…  Ecclesiastes 9:10a

As 2014 begins, you may have already made some New Year’s resolutions.  You may even have already broken some New Year’s resolutions. In the scripture above, I find three challenges for the coming year.

Be proactive.  The verse suggests that our “hands” can find something to do.  Too many times we sit back and wait for things to get better, or wait for opportunities to present themselves.  Choose a course of action and will to follow it.  Do not be distracted or derailed by unfavorable circumstances.  In Matthew 7:7, Jesus said we are to ask, but then we are to seek and knock.  Quit waiting for God or for others to do what is yours to do.

Be purposeful.  The verse encourages us that when our hand finds something to do, simply to DO IT. Life is best lived intentionally.  Thomas Edison famously said, “Success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.”  We can often “overcook” opportunities by not seizing them when they arise.  In 2014 – less talking…more doing.  Like the Nike slogan says, “just DO it.”

Finally, be passionate.  The verse above says that we should do these things with “all of our might.” Life too easily slips into a comfortable routine. “Routine” is “rut” with four extra letters.  We go through the motions most days of our lives lacking passion and zeal.  Andrew Carnegie said, “The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work.”  Romans 12:11 challenges us: “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.”   May God give us a strong aversion to the mundane, mediocre, and milquetoast. 

Three questions for reflection, answer them with specifics:

  1. What needs to change in my life?
  2. How do they need to change?
  3. What am I going to do foster those changes?

What Does Your “Big Picture” Look Like?

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Successful organizations and teams master the art of keeping the big picture in view.  What about you, as an individual, do you have a big picture for your life?

Without a sense of purpose, our lives are a series of loosely connected daily events and circumstances.  Without a big picture for our lives, we become a slave to the immediate or urgent.  The big picture helps us avoid decisions that drain our energy and waste our time, and make sound decisions based on purpose rather than immediacy.   God created each of us with a purpose in mind (Jeremiah 29:11 and Psalm 139:16), and we would do well to live our lives ON PURPOSE as well.

Today, I encourage you to work prayerfully on your GPA.  Take some time to think about the following areas, search Scripture, ask God for insight and wisdom.

GOALS.  Over the next few months, how do you desire to please God spiritually, in your family, on your job, with your health, and other areas God may point out to you?  What is the BIG PICTURE for your life?

PRIORITIES.  Given the goals you have set, what facets of your life need the most attention?  Where do you need to focus your attention and energy?  Does the way you invest your attention, time, and resources reflect the goals you have set?  Do you need to re-appropriate values in your life?

ACTIONS.  How are you going to align your daily activities to reflect God’s priorities for you?  What changes will you make to get control of your life so that you can offer it back to God as a gift of worship?

Once you’ve spent some time pondering, write a purpose statement for your life.  Share it with some people who will help you be accountable to what God has shown you, and begin setting priorities and making decisions that accomplish the BIG PICTURE.

Comments are open.  Thoughts?  Ideas?