Just Continue That Thought...

A thought by Leonard Sweet, (2012-01-03) from his book, I Am a Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus (p. 20). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.   (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I have been challenged by Leonard Sweet back to his first books on the church.   He brings things into focus and this thought does it for me again.   He shares, “Leadership is a functional position of power and authority. Followership is a relational posture of love and trust.”   And somehow it is imperative in our walk with Him to see that He is the leader and we are the follower.   The disciples show us how that worked.   They were chosen by Him just as we are and they accepted His call as we should and they walked and watched and followed Him wherever He went.   And that could be where our problem starts.   I mean they saw Him in person.   They could talk to Him, ask Him questions, watch Him but now we say that we don’t have that ability so we look to be

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 183). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. He already gave the ultimate gift for us even before we were born, ever before we knew we needed it.   He showed He loved us by giving His Son for us on the Cross.   So why would He do that for us? Andy says, “God desires that your life be a masterpiece that reflects His greatness and your uniqueness. But to create a masterpiece with our lives, we must submit ourselves to the hand of the Master. We must allow Him to influence each stroke on the canvas of our lives.” Now the problem in all of this is, we believe that we can make the masterpiece and we don’t need any help.   And many of us are doing a pretty good job and that is also the problem. One of the principles of Church Planting and I was a Church Planter, was that the people who were the most open to going to a new church were those who were going through some transit

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 165). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. And then he follows that with, “The fool is the person who convinces himself that he knows more than he really knows and doesn’t need to ask anybody anything. At the end of the day, the wise man breaths a sigh of relief; the fool, a sigh of regret.” And that is so easy to do in making decisions because it is built into us that we need to believe in ourselves.   Have confidence but it is also very important to have humility.   And humility means we have a true assessment of our abilities and we understand our limitations and our need to ask for help when we know we need it.   But pride gets in the way of humility doesn’t it?   So we tread in places where we convince ourselves that we know more than we really know and we don’t need anybody’s help.   That is where the sleepless, restless nights come in. But we are afraid to ask bec

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 159). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.  (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) My dad was a very wise man and he used to say a lot of short phrases that have stayed with me over the years.   One phrase was “Advice not asked for stinks.”   And I have followed that thought throughout my life.   I knew that if I gave it without something asking for it they wouldn’t follow it so why give it. I have people ask me to call someone and tell them what they need to hear and I always say, “No”.   I f they call then I would talk to them but the person had to ask. And James in the New Testatment understood God’s thought on this where in James 1:5 (CEB) he says, “But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought…”   The key here is, you have to ask.   He gives it without a second thought but you need to

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 108). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Andy continues, “If issues related to sexual impurity—adultery, the shrapnel associated with adultery, addiction to pornography, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, abortion, the psychological effects associated with abortion, sexual abuse, incest, rape, and all sexual addictions— were to suddenly disappear from society, imagine the resources we would have available to apply to the handful of issues that would remain.” But there is more to it than that.   Maybe one of these has hit you somewhere and you understand the great pain and deep regret that comes from the misuse of our sexuality.   And there is deep pain that comes even to the innocent with this misuse. It is something that we all need to come to grips with and do all we can to keep from it happening in ou

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 80). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. We will miss those irretrievable opportunities that matter most.   Now that hits at the heart of one who wants to maximize my time.   Time cannot be retrieved.   You may lose all your money and you can make more but when you lose time you have lost it. Andy says right before this thought, “If you aren’t on your guard, the culture will draw you into a lifestyle where your time is frivolously consumed rather than strategically invested.”   And then right after he says, “If you are not walking wisely, your time will be fragmented by a thousand urgent, disconnected opportunities and events. Such opportunities and events will seem important at the time, but when strung together they have no cumulative value.   But if you are willing to harness your time and appropriate it strategically, things can be different. You will be healthier phy

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-04-23) from his book, The Best Question Ever (p. 68). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle This is such a life changing thought that just doesn’t deal with exercise.   In the very important areas of our lives it isn’t just what you do one time that makes the difference but what you do over and over that shows great value.   As Andy says, “Exercise has a compounding effect. It is the consistent, incremental investments of time that make a difference.”   He then gives other example such as “dinner with the family, date night with your spouse, time alone with God, church attendance, one-on-one time with your children, praying with your family, small-group Bible study, going to bed at the same time as your spouse.” Take for example missing church one time won’t cause a problem spiritually but never going will make a major difference. Let’s say you never have dinner with your spouse and kids.   At some point they will come to real