The last two weeks have been busy ones for me. My job keeps me busy to the tune of 40-50 hours a week. We are just 3 weeks away from the official launch of our small groups. I've been busy coaching and mentoring our group leaders for a successful fall semester. Throw in a couple of counseling sessions with families, a funeral and a Sunday morning where I preached and played bass...not at the same time..:)
Whew!
In the midst of it all, I have (re)learned something incredibly important. The glory of it all is in the inglorious, seemingly insignificant things...our daily activity. What we do, how we do it and when we do it all matters. Often, I weigh success on the big, noticeable moments...good or bad. But success is more of what we do and what we choose between those big, noticeable moments.
(1 Peter 2:12)
one love...one life.
Guy
Follow.
"Follow me."
'He got up, left everything and followed him.' (Luke 5:27-28)
It was that easy. An invitation was given, and the invitation was accepted. In two words, Jesus invited Matthew to a life totally contrary to the one he was currently living as a tax collector. And that life was a pretty good one, at that. He had a lucrative career, hated by some, but profitable for himself. Not only that, but people had to give him business. They had to pay their taxes.
How did Jesus convey the wholeness of this invitation...so much so that Matthew left everything to follow a man he did not know? What was his angle, strategy and marketing plan?
He just invited Matthew to follow him. Really that is it. Jesus did not promise him a position as a leader, did not talk to him about pursuing purpose or passion, didn't tell him that he was unique and put here on earth for a specific reason...he didn't promise him anything. Jesus simply invited Matthew to join him.
When you invite others to join you, you are, in fact, giving them the opportunity to re-evaluate their life and make a change. Change must be perceived, but more importantly, something worth joining or following must be detected.
Simply invite others along.
Invite them to follow Jesus, not join your church or cause.
Invite them to live a new life.
Invite them to leave who they are to be who God created them to be.
In order for them to accept your invitation, they must see evidence in your life. In other words, they must see something worth following.
Today, go and invite. Go and lead.
one love...one life.
Guy
'He got up, left everything and followed him.' (Luke 5:27-28)
It was that easy. An invitation was given, and the invitation was accepted. In two words, Jesus invited Matthew to a life totally contrary to the one he was currently living as a tax collector. And that life was a pretty good one, at that. He had a lucrative career, hated by some, but profitable for himself. Not only that, but people had to give him business. They had to pay their taxes.
How did Jesus convey the wholeness of this invitation...so much so that Matthew left everything to follow a man he did not know? What was his angle, strategy and marketing plan?
He just invited Matthew to follow him. Really that is it. Jesus did not promise him a position as a leader, did not talk to him about pursuing purpose or passion, didn't tell him that he was unique and put here on earth for a specific reason...he didn't promise him anything. Jesus simply invited Matthew to join him.
When you invite others to join you, you are, in fact, giving them the opportunity to re-evaluate their life and make a change. Change must be perceived, but more importantly, something worth joining or following must be detected.
Simply invite others along.
Invite them to follow Jesus, not join your church or cause.
Invite them to live a new life.
Invite them to leave who they are to be who God created them to be.
In order for them to accept your invitation, they must see evidence in your life. In other words, they must see something worth following.
Today, go and invite. Go and lead.
one love...one life.
Guy
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comments
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Invited to push the limits...
Our lives are lived mostly inside the lines. We drive in between two lines; punch in and out at work; wait in line at the supermarket; follow the flow of pedestrian traffic at the mall. We think beginning and end, start to finish and young to old.
There has to be more to your life. There is more to your life. It's outside the lines that you live in. To get outside the lines, you have to push the limits.
Just last week I was driving (just as a side note, I'm always driving...to the tune of a 150 miles per day!) and thinking about the dreams that God has placed in my heart. Quickly, my schedule and priorities began to deflate my dreaming/praying session. By the way, dreaming is praying without words. With the weight of what I had to get accomplished looming overhead, I unknowingly and quickly dismissed what God was developing in my heart.
Days went by. I accomplished quite a bit of work. But then I was reminded again of what was most important. A year from now, im not going to remember those 'important' things that I had to complete. But when I accomplish what God is leading me to do, I'll remember that on my deathbed...and so will my kids. You see, I believe that we were each created for a purpose. We dream of living lives that make a difference. In order to live that difference, we must push the limits.
There is always a level of risk in pushing the limits.
What if those around you give up?
What if those around you think you've gone too far?
What if you fail?
What if, in pushing the limits, you succeed?
In Matthew 25, Jesus uses a story of 3 servants who received different amounts of their master's money according to their ability and experience to handle it. Two of the servants used their ability and experience to accomplish something and returned even more than they received back to their master. But the last servant did very little, almost nothing with what his master left him with. The master called the last servant wicked and lazy, not because he failed to do something, but because the servant did not live up to his capacity. Instead of pushing the limits, he played it safe. Safety, comfort and predictability should not be our goals in life.
Let nothing stand in the way of living up to your capacity and your pursuit of the God-sized dreams in your heart.
Living a life beneath our divine capacity is dishonoring God.
one love...one life.
Guy
There has to be more to your life. There is more to your life. It's outside the lines that you live in. To get outside the lines, you have to push the limits.
Just last week I was driving (just as a side note, I'm always driving...to the tune of a 150 miles per day!) and thinking about the dreams that God has placed in my heart. Quickly, my schedule and priorities began to deflate my dreaming/praying session. By the way, dreaming is praying without words. With the weight of what I had to get accomplished looming overhead, I unknowingly and quickly dismissed what God was developing in my heart.
Days went by. I accomplished quite a bit of work. But then I was reminded again of what was most important. A year from now, im not going to remember those 'important' things that I had to complete. But when I accomplish what God is leading me to do, I'll remember that on my deathbed...and so will my kids. You see, I believe that we were each created for a purpose. We dream of living lives that make a difference. In order to live that difference, we must push the limits.
There is always a level of risk in pushing the limits.
What if those around you give up?
What if those around you think you've gone too far?
What if you fail?
What if, in pushing the limits, you succeed?
In Matthew 25, Jesus uses a story of 3 servants who received different amounts of their master's money according to their ability and experience to handle it. Two of the servants used their ability and experience to accomplish something and returned even more than they received back to their master. But the last servant did very little, almost nothing with what his master left him with. The master called the last servant wicked and lazy, not because he failed to do something, but because the servant did not live up to his capacity. Instead of pushing the limits, he played it safe. Safety, comfort and predictability should not be our goals in life.
Let nothing stand in the way of living up to your capacity and your pursuit of the God-sized dreams in your heart.
Living a life beneath our divine capacity is dishonoring God.
one love...one life.
Guy
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comments
Friday, August 7, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wait!
Waiting is not a passive response but an activity of trust.
(Read Isaiah 40:31)
It's more than a good-things-come-to-those-who-wait mentality where you sit around until something miraculously changes. Waiting is an activity not easily mastered, mostly because we are not in control. In the midst of difficulty or unchanging circumstances, waiting is usually not welcomed and unwanted.
Something happens during these times...you change. You are forced to commit your trust to something: yourself or God.
Proverbs 3:5 says, 'Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not upon your own understanding.'
Simply, in all situations, both familiar and foreign and at all times, both good and bad, leave no room in your heart for any other response but to trust in God.
one love...one life.
Guy
(Read Isaiah 40:31)
It's more than a good-things-come-to-those-who-wait mentality where you sit around until something miraculously changes. Waiting is an activity not easily mastered, mostly because we are not in control. In the midst of difficulty or unchanging circumstances, waiting is usually not welcomed and unwanted.
Something happens during these times...you change. You are forced to commit your trust to something: yourself or God.
Proverbs 3:5 says, 'Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not upon your own understanding.'
Simply, in all situations, both familiar and foreign and at all times, both good and bad, leave no room in your heart for any other response but to trust in God.
one love...one life.
Guy
1 comments
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Moment
Today I had a strong sense to not lean too heavily on yesterday's revelation and successes. These times are important milestones, but they are behind, not ahead. The goal is to continue to progress and develop. In order to do that, I need to live in the moment, not for the moment. We truly live in the moment when our lives are affected and influenced by the future. What spoke to you yesterday will not necessarily carry you through tomorrow.
It's easy to get comfortable...too easy. I have heard it said often that you are most vunerable after significant victory, or success. Your guard is down and your senses are dulled. Celebrate important times, but don't live for that moment forever. Move on. There's much more for you to do.
Be content, but don't become comfortable.
It's easy to get comfortable...too easy. I have heard it said often that you are most vunerable after significant victory, or success. Your guard is down and your senses are dulled. Celebrate important times, but don't live for that moment forever. Move on. There's much more for you to do.
Be content, but don't become comfortable.
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Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
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