Bytes of Wisdom

    Dave Kraft shared these lessons from his blog, Leadership from the Heart. It was written by a leader and addressed to leaders. However, as I was reading it, I realized that much of the wisdom that was being shared is applicable to everyone. Here are a few nuggets:

1. Tough Decisions Become Tougher

This is true as you get older and have more responsibilities. What do you need to stop doing or start doing? People are sometimes paralyzed to take take action because they are afraid to make big mistakes. Dave Kraft points out that one's destiny isn’t a mystery. Your destiny is determined by the cumulative decisions you make. What tough decision do you need to make? What are you waiting for? Start taking the little steps and you'll get there.

2. Negativity is cancer. Kill it or it will kill you.

Christians ought to be the most positive people in the world. We place our faith in God who is for us, graciously gives us all things, works all things for good, and whose love for us is everlasting and stronger than anything in this world (Romans 8:31-39). We rejoice in the Lord always and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Negativity is not of faith but is a symptom of unbelief. Indeed it is a cancer that will kill you. So kill it.

3. No Margin = No Vision.

Dave Kraft warns, "If you don’t control your calendar, your calendar will control you." A doctor once said,

"We must have some room to breathe. We need freedom to think and permission to heal. Our relationships are being starved to death by velocity. No one has time to listen, let alone love. Our children lay wounded on the ground, run over by our high-speed good intentions. Is God now pro-exhaustion? Doesn't He lead people beside the still waters anymore?" - Dr. Richard Swenson

We need to put margin in our lives. In the end, being overloaded and overworked accomplishes nothing. If we make no room for reflection and rest, it kills our creativity.

4. Don’t just dream big. Think long.

Dave Kraft points out :

We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in 2 years, but we underestimate what we can accomplish in ten years. Zoom out. Your mantra shouldn’t be “as soon as possible.” It should be “as long as it takes.” Your vision isn’t just too small. It’s too short.

5. Work like it depends on you. Pray like it depends on God.

Dave Kraft says it so well :

Failing to plan is planning to fail. So plan away. And loving God with all of your strength = a great work ethic. So work hard. But I believe in prayer-storming more than brainstorming. Prayer is the difference between you fighting for God and God fighting for you. If work is the engine of success, then prayer is the high-octane fuel.

Loving Your Spouse

    We attended two beautiful weddings this weekend. The first was held in a beautiful garden where a couple, who happen to be our friends, renewed their vows after 10 years of marriage and 2 kids. The next day, a young couple, also our friends, finally tied the knot after years of friendship. So, this post was naturally coming.

    The Biblical description of love in marriage can be defined with one word : sacrificial. "Love is willing self-sacrifice for the good of another that does not require reciprocation or that the person being loved is deserving," according to Paul Tripp.

Read more »

Ponderings

Ponder: To reflect or consider with thoroughness and care.

1. Tim Keller : The Acid Test of Being a Christian

How can you tell if you're a Christian or just a moral person?


2. Eric Liddell 

His life is an example of offering your body as living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). Pastor Alistair Begg tells the story in his book Made For His Pleasure:

    When Liddell went to the 1924 Olympics in Paris, he was thought to have his best chance at a gold in the 100 meter race. But when the schedules were posted, that race was to take place on Sunday. It was well known that Liddell would not break the Sabbath, and great pressure was put on him to make an exception for this one event. He refused. If it meant that he would lose the chance at a medal, so be it. But Liddell was also scheduled to run the 400-meter race, and that race he entered-and won.

    Liddell had been born of missionary parents in Tientsin, China, and a year after his Olympic victory he returned to that country to begin missionary service himself....and in 1936 accepted an assignment to do evangelistic work in Siaochang. By this time the Japanese had invaded China, and in 1938 Liddell was captured by the Japanese and placed in an internment camp in China. Conditions were very severe, and on February 21,1945 Liddell died of a brain tumor.

Liddell's experience in the Olympics is told in the movie, Chariots of Fire. May our hearts be totally committed to the kingdom of Christ just like Eric Liddell.

3. Alfred Poirier : The Cross and Criticism

  He who doesn't listen to his critics is unwise.

John Piper : 5 Ways to Make God Known at Work

As a Christian, your vocation displays God's glory in many ways. This list by Pastor John Piper is especially significant for Christian believers who work in places where the Christian religion is restricted.

1.  First, the excellence of the products or services you render in your job shows the excellence and greatness of God.


2.  Second, the standards of integrity you follow at your job show the integrity and holiness of God.


3.  Third, the love you show to people in your job shows the love of God.


4.  Fourth, the stewardship of the money you make from your job shows the value of God compared to other things.


5.  Fifth, the verbal testimony you give to the reality of Christ shows the doorway to all these things in your life and their possibility in the lives of others.

Link to John Piper's sermon.

May the excellence of your work help others see the excellence of Jesus Christ!

HT: Josh Etter

Ponderings

Ponder: To reflect or consider with thoroughness and care.

1. Spiritual poverty :

- Living your life knowing only 10 verses in the Bible. For some, it's John 3:16 and not much else.

-Listening to a sermon where Jesus is hardly mentioned. But you get 10 tips on how to be successful and how to stop worrying.

-Going to church and doing ministry without ever knowing the good news in the Gospel.

2. Found this observation from a blog :

"Theology is practiced in most decision making processes, whether one realizes it or not.”


Everyone has a theology, even an atheist. Either he believes that there is no God, or isn't sure that one exists. That's still theology.

3. The Internet of Things  - In 2008, more "things" were connected to the Internet than people. This technology will change the world. And here's a video showing how:

Amazing isn't it? But for all its promise, we need to remember this :

"And though we have the technology for straightening roads and integrating information, it is beyond us to straighten and integrate human character. Man needs God for that."  - JI Packer

Ponderings

Ponder: To reflect or consider with thoroughness and care.



1. Jesus is my Savior. Is he my Lord?

2. I love Jesus. Under my own terms or under the gospel?

3. I'm all convinced that God is Sovereign. Am I just as convinced that he is good?

4. Sundays: entertainment-oriented or Bible-oriented worship?

5. Paradoxes in Christian living: suffering and comfort, humility and glory.

6. Government leaders : rant or pray?

7. AND LASTLY....

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

-2 Corinthians 4:7 (ESV)

Indiana Jones got his theology right. It's the carpenter's cup that is able to bear God's glory. Not the golden chalice of kings. Why? Because God doesn't want you to keep staring at the cup.

Video is in Spanish...can't find the English version but you'll get the story.

A Sign You Are Growing in Grace....

    Compiled by Timmy Brister, these are a series of tweets by Scotty Smith on "signs that you are growing in grace". I've selected a few that made me laugh and repent. For more go to Timmy Brister's blog.

How little we know and how much we still have to learn about living in the grace of God!

A sign you are growing in grace is that you are more disgusted with your critical spirit than offended by others’ sins.

A sign you’re growing in grace: As intriguing as iPhones, iPads and all things “i” are, only Jesus is compelling to you.

A sign you’re growing in grace is a commitment to pray for people you’d really rather gossip about.

A sign your’e growing in grace: If you don’t know, you don’t pretend you do.

A sign you’re growing in grace. The gospel still astonishes and humbles you. It’s not just cliche or the name of your tribe.

A sign you’re growing in grace is praying for our government rather than simply being cynical about our government.

A sign you’re growing in grace: The time span between your foolishness and your repenting has gone from days to hours.

Read more »

Faith Vs. Unbelief

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

- Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

Why is this so? I found this list to be helpful in making Hebrews 11:6 clearer.

From The Purple Cellar Blog by Lydia Brownback :

1. Faith believes the Word of God; unbelief questions it.

2. Faith sees God's promise to help; unbelief says, "How can that possibly be?"

3. Faith makes you see love in Christ's reproofs; unbelief imagines only wrath.

4. Faith helps the soul to wait; unbelief gives up if made to wait.

5. Faith gives comfort in the midst of fears; unbelief causes fears in the midst of comforts.

6. Faith finds sweetness in God's discipline; unbelief finds no comfort in mercy.

7. Faith makes great burdens light; unbelief makes light burdens heavy.

8. Faith helps us when we are down; unbelief throws us down when we are up.

9. Faith brings us near to God when we are far from him; unbelief puts us far from God when we are near to him.

10. Faith sees friendship with God; unbelief sees a hard taskmaster.

11. Faith puts man under grace; unbelief holds him under wrath.

12. Faith purifies the heart; unbelief keeps the heart polluted

13. Faith rests in Christ's righteousness; unbelief clings to the law.

14. Faith makes all our work acceptable to God; without faith it is impossible to please him.

15. Faith gives peace and comfort; unbelief gives trouble and tossing

16. Faith shows Christ precious; unbelief sees no beauty in him.

17. Faith gives life in Christ's fullness; unbelief causes spiritual starvation

18. Faith gives freedom from the law of sin and death; unbelief shackles us to them.

19. Faith shows us excellence in things unseen; unbelief sees only this world.

20. Faith makes all God's ways pleasant; unbelief makes them heavy and hard.



Idols : we have them in our lives...it's just not what we think they are...

Extracted From Crossway Blog :

Surface Idols -

The more observable of the two types of idolatry, surface idols are often easily-seen offshoots of deeper, less obvious sins. Some examples include:


• Image idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I look certain way.

• Helping idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if people are dependent on me.

• Work idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am highly productive.

• Materialism idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I have a certain level of wealth, financial freedom, and possessions.

• Inner Ring idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am part of a particular social or professional group

• Ideology idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if my political party or social cause is in or gaining power.

Source Idols -

The more subversive idols are the ones that drive all the other types of idolatries in our lives. They include:

• Comfort idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I experience a certain quality of life or a particular pleasure.

• Approval idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am loved and respected by ________.

• Control idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if I am able to get mastery in my life over a certain area.

• Power idolatry- Life only has meaning / I only have worth if have power and influence over others.

21st Century Proverbs

1. God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.


2. Dear God, I have a problem, it's me.


3. Growing old is inevitable, growing UP is optional.


4. There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.


5. Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.


6. You do the math. Count your blessings.


7. Faith is the ability to not panic.


8. Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.


9. If you worry, don't pray. If you pray... don't worry.


10. As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home everyday.


11. Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.


12. The most important things in your home are the people!


13. When we get tangled up in our problems, be still; God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.


14. A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.


15. He who dies with the most toys is still dead.


16. We do not remember days, but moments. Life is moving too fast - so enjoy your precious moments.


17. Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it's just hearsay.


18. It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.


19. Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk taking. Learn from the turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.


20. Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

My Top 5 List - Praise and Worship Songs

I recently borrowed a book at the public library titled, The Book of Lists which for all purposes, gave me an inspiration for a new category of blog posts. This book by the way contains largely useless information. Don't spend too much time reading it.

So for my first list, here's my top 5 praise and worship songs. They are not listed in rank. I've chosen them for various reasons but the bottomline is that these songs have spoken to me with such deep profoundness. Hope you enjoy listening to them. What about you, what's on your list?

1. Who Am I - Casting Crowns



This song will humble any soul. Man is not mighty and in fact the Bible likens us to a vapor or to a grass that withers (Psalm 37:2). Still the Lord through His great mercy and unmeasurable love wanted to reconcile us back to Him. It is a love that we didn't deserve but He did it anyhow.

2. Your Name - Paul Baloche



I found myself including this song in multiple master songlists in my role as a worship leader at aLife. It speaks about an eternal truth - there is power in the name of Jesus. What an awesome confession of faith during worship!

3. You Never Let Go - Matt Redman



This is also a song that I found myself including in multiple worship songlists. The year 2008 was a difficult year for many, Christians included, because the economy was tanking. California was hard hit with the mortgage crisis. It was in this context, that I introduced this song to aLife and felt compelled to repeat it several times to comfort and encourage the people of God. I find this song comforting in my present situation because my mother was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Like I said in the previous blog post, when the going gets tough our faith must get going.

4. You Are God Alone - Phillips, Craig, & Dean



I often think of this as a classic, a powerful song of confession that can be easily included in any worship master song list. I love the bridge, "You're unchangeable,You're unshakeable, You're unstopple, that's what You are". What an awesome declaration! Now that is giving God the honor that only He is entitled to have.

5. Amazed - Jared Anderson



Introduced to me by Anton (our worship ministry leader), I was amazed that despite the simplicity of the song, it speaks volumes. Music is the language of the soul and this one speaks out the wonder and awe that true followers of Jesus have for their Savior. Each time we sing this at church, you'll always see someone get all teary eyed.

Blessings!