Go and Discover

Stupid and Strong

I learned a saying in the Navy, "If you're going to be stupid, you better be strong!"  This prophecy came true over and over throughout my military career.  A hasty plan, or an unthoughtful approach, would always increase our labor.  

2500 years ago an author penned this:

"If an iron axhead is blunt and a workman does not sharpen its edge, he must exert a great deal of effort; so wisdom has the advantage of giving success." - Ecclesiastes 10:10

Make your effort count and gain wisdom.  Fearing the Lord is the beginning of discernment and wisdom and our stubbornness will keep us from wisdom.  

If you are working really hard but not seeing the benefits of your labor, pray that you will trust in the Lord and ask He provide you wisdom so you prosper.  I promise - you will not regret this decision!

 

Forgive and Live Free

Envy that boils over unchecked will find a way to crucify an innocent person.  Envy burns bright when comfortable people are challenged by someone demonstrating change and having success.  Those comfortable people will condemn the new way.  They will discredit and shame the momentum and movement.

If you are discovering the life God has for you then you have a 100% chance of people shaming, ridiculing, and discrediting you. It will happen. For sure.

When these people lash out at you - smile and forgive them.  Realize they are proof you are really living in freedom.

Families

Beware of organizations who want you a part of their family culture.  Some organizations only want the benefits you bring.  They don't actually want to treat you like family. 

God views families differently than the relationships we have in our careers and the communities we live.

Matthew 12 verses 48 and 50 explain that God's family isn't limited to our relatives, but anyone who does God's will.  Relationships between Christians are sibling relationships, like our brothers and sisters in our families at home.  But relationships outside that family require a different approach.

Jesus told his disciples when he sent them out into the world to heal the sick, raise the dead, cure leprosy, and drive out demons, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.  Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Jesus was sending his disciples into the world to preach the gospel.  He warned them they would be flogged and jailed for upsetting the religious systems of the day.  He also didn't arm them with ransom money, weapons, or guards.  This is why Jesus said they were like sheep among wolves.  Jesus gave the disciples detailed instructions on how to handle people who wanted to kill them, as well as people who would welcome them.

If you're struggling with relationships inside or outside of your Church family, read Matthew Chapters 10, 11, and 12,  and ask God for help to understand.

Normal Supernatural

God gives supernatural abilities to very normal people to know things, heal people, discern truth, and other gifts to help us.   Normal, flawed, mistake-ridden, and sinful people receive these supernatural gifts regardless of behavior, education, or status.

We dismiss the insights and contributions of familiar people carrying these supernatural gifts.  But everyday God is giving answers to benefit our lives through normal people all around us.  This is why Jesus said, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." -John 4:10

Pray today and ask God to help you to notice these supernatural people in your life.  

Kill the Bear

Impatience brings out the bear in our personalities.  It's that commanding and impetuous personality that erupts when we're stressed and anxious.

Kill it.  The bear isn't instinct or Kingdom, and we don't need it.

What if we chose instead to stand on level ground and be mindful that God is unfailing and trustworthy?  What if we realized the bear never produces the results we want?  -Psalm 26 (NIV)

If you're battered with anxiety pray today that God teach you his faithfulness.  Stay patient and mindful of God to teach you.

 

God Hates This:

People who stir up conflict in the community (Proverbs 6:19).

The world around us has been, is, and will be driven by envy and selfish ambition to stir up conflict in our world, nation, cities and neighborhoods.  God hates it.  God hates it on every scale from stirring up disagreement with your neighbor to the atrocities in Syria.  

What's the response then?  We are surrounded by conflict on all sides and at all levels and we are witnessing everyday people of low-power and high-power conjure responses.  The wisdom now is to fight fire with fire, not be 'milquetoast'.  This is wrong.  It is folly. This response is driven by the same envy and selfish ambition that created the conflict.

The response has to come from humility.  Humility produces good deeds that are pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  

So don't just become another log on the fire by picking a side in this conflict.  Choose to approach the world with humility and you'll change it.

 

Why we wait

When God speaks to us it isn't just to us, but to creation.  What he promises us is part of a larger plan.  His plan unfolds day by day through doors that open, and doors that close.  

If you're frustrated in waiting, pray today that God show you where he was when a door opened for you.  Ask him to show you doors he closed for you.  And ask him to show you how far you've come in his plan.  

Wisdom

Wisdom has several characteristics including pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. - James 3:17

Today we tend to think of wisdom as a mixture of experience and knowledge to navigate a situation or get a particular result.  We apply wisdom to raise children, lead armies, diagnose patients, and judge cases.  But wisdom is accessible to anyone in our everyday lives.  For example, knowing how your company or organization should make decisions to grow and prosper.  In another example wisdom can help someone working for a city government to solve a tough problem that has plagued the jurisdiction for years.  Wisdom is the key to breakthroughs that can benefit you and the people around you.

The opposite of wisdom is arrogance, bravado, disorder, envy, ambition and many other characteristics such as these.  This false wisdom is a general lack of good sense - its what gets people and organizations in deep trouble.  We see it everyday.

"For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." - Proverbs 2:6 (NIV)

Ask God for his wisdom today.  Ask him to teach you to use the wisdom he provides for the good of the people around you.  God doesn't give wisdom for selfish ambition, but for those who are willing to learn the characteristics of his wisdom.

Peace

The world is increasingly complicated and chaotic.  Peace is rare and difficult to find in the world around us, but it is available to you.    

Peace comes when we hand over the chaos in our world to Jesus.  This is why Jesus said not to worry and explained, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." -Matthew 6:33

I've seen people do all kinds of things to battle chaos in their worlds.  People try to create a peaceful atmosphere, practice clearing their minds, participate in extreme exercise, and even undergo surgical procedures to reduce stress.  These tactics do not resolve the source of chaos.  They just treat the symptoms.    

A simple and effective way to cut the chaos out of your life is to just surrender this stress to Jesus each day and let his peace reign in your life.  

Intended Purpose

All people and things are created for a good purpose.  Everyone has an excellent purpose to their lives and all things in our lives are intended to serve an excellent purpose.  When people and things become corrupt they're impaired to serve that good purpose.  Corruption doesn't negate the purpose, it just obstructs it temporarily.  The fact is that we are all corrupt and struggle to fulfill our good purpose everyday.

But some people, governments, and organizations try to convince the rest of us that certain people, governments, organizations, and even nations are so corrupt they have no value or purpose any longer.  These are lies.  They'll use gossip, innuendo, sound bites, still images, and whispering to plant their perspectives and agendas on the rest of us.  This is how corrupt judges corrupt - though gossip.  

If you try to sort out a difficult situation from the foundation of these lies, you'll arrive at strife and division.  This is why Proverbs teaches, "A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends." -Proverbs 16:28 (NASB)

Start with the truth that all people and things were created for a good and excellent purpose and you're on the right path to find a solution that restores honor. 

This is hard to accept.  Pray that you can see the purpose in peoples lives over their corruption.