Together is better

We had a sermon on prayer tonight. Our pastor talked about the first church and how they prayed. That got me to thinking about the people in Belize that we met. First of all, we walked this village to pray with people and they were very poor. But there wasn't any prayer requests for any kind of material things, only for relationships and physical healing for others. Not one kind of material thing at all. No trying to manipulate God for this or that. Here are people so needy, yet they were not; they really knew what mattered most.
The second thing I thought about was the Spanish church service that I visited in Belize; where the first thing everyone did when they came into church was to go up front to the alter and pray. Can you imagine what would happen if all of God's children did that? It was a powerful service. I never thought of it before, but if God loves to hear his Children calling out, how does he feel when we do it unified together? I bet He really enjoys it. I'll bet it is like a concert to Him.
Taking it to the street:
1.) Pray
2.) Pray with others.

Pressing On with Excellence!!
Keith

Momentum

We all get off track once in a while. One of the things I do to get back on track is to practice excellence in the little things. Do more than what's expected, dig a little deeper and see what you can do to improve a situation. Do it without condemning others though, just because they are not practicing excellence. Most people don't and it is easy to slip into prideful thinking. Do the best you can and leave the consequences to God. In Mt 25:21 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" I think this applies to us as well. When I get off track spiritually I have noticed that I slack off in the little things and slip back into mediocrity. One of the quickest ways to get back on track is to practice excellence in the small things. Like when you empty a roll of toilet paper, put on a new one. Or, if you see some trash on the floor pick it up. Or putting the shopping cart back in the buggy parking space instead of leaving it in the parking lot. It is funny how doing this helps you to get back on track and stay on track spiritually. I think it has something to do with thinking about others first.
Taking it to the street:
1.) Ask God to help you to see the things where you are practicing mediocrity.
2.) Think of something you can do above and beyond the normal, then do it.
Pressing on with excellence!!
 Keith    

You Only Live Once

YOLO has been the theme of our services for the past few weeks. This is a great way to start your thinking for a new year. Because you only live once, you don't want to have your priorities out of whack. This is easy to slip into, especially in America where everything is about everything except what really matters. Don't believe me? Look at the commercials on TV. You can't be satisfied because you don't have the newest I-phone or the right vitamins or the right suit or whatever. In a world that continuously bombards you with the thought that you can't be satisfied with your life unless (fill in the blank) ______. It can be easy to get your priorities messed up. One thing that can help is to look at the idea that, if you knew you were not going to be here next year or in the next six months, what would matter most? What if you knew that your best friend would not be here next year? What would matter most? We think we can't live without a bunch of stuff, but those things don't matter so much when you are going to lose your life or someone you know loses theirs. What matters most is their salvation or yours! In the light of eternity, where someone spends it could change your priorities.
Taking it to the street 1.) Ask God to help you to discern his priorities for your life.
                                2.) Think about what would be most important if you were not going to be here next year. Because you only live once, make it your best.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

My Biggest Sin

I filled out an application for church leadership to be a small group leader at our church recently. One of the questions got me to thinking. The question was, do you have any recurring sin in your life? I wanted to answer this honestly, but I also want to lead a small group. I don't want to be disqualified by answering the wrong way. So, I decided to answer the question honestly and let the chips fall where they may. My answer was that I have a tendency to use profanity when I'm not allowing the Holy Spirit to control my mind. You can ask my kids; they have, I'm ashamed to say, heard some terrible things come out of my mouth. Especially when I'm working on a car. I don't know why that is. I used to think that you could judge how hard  a job was by how many swear words came out, not how many hours it took. I still struggle sometimes with that although not as much as I used to.
My biggest sin is living a life of mediocrity. Slipping back into old habits is more of what Satan would want me to do than what God wants for me and my life. I wasted too much of my life living in mediocrity; no more. I will not let my fire for Him go out. I want more than ever to be effective for Him. To see others come to know Him. To be in a position to see God at work in their lives. I have a passion for Him and His ways. I know that if I let up, I will soon be going backwards. So never, never, never, give up.

Taking it to the street: 1.) Bring glory to God with what comes out of your mouth this week.                  
                                  2.) Practice excellence is the small mundane things you do this week.
Pressing on with excellence!!
 Keith        

Subtle Influence

So, I have been writing  lately about the Holy Spirit's power in our lives and how we can tap into that power. What I want to point out is that the Holy Spirit's job is to transform us into the likeness of Christ. 2Co 3:18, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (NIV) Are you reflecting the Lord's glory? I know that is a tough question; my answer is sometimes more than other times. Even though I'm far better than I used to be, I still have a long way to go. So, once again this week, I noticed that what you allow into your head affects you and your closeness to reflecting the Lord's glory. I was driving the company truck and I usually change the station, but I didn't Thursday morning. It was on a classic rock station and I allowed myself to listen to some music from the past. I got a song stuck into my head and caught myself singing it the rest of the day; Elton John's, The Piano Man. I remembered most of the words, but I didn't think too much of it. But I did notice that I had a hard time controlling my mouth. But today I listened to the radio and got  the Christian song: Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher stuck in my head and had a much easier going day. I felt more at peace and had noticeably more self control over what words came out of my mouth. I'm reminded again that what you put into your head does affect you good or bad.
Taking it to the street 1.) Be careful of what you allow yourself to listen to or to watch.
                                 2.) Ask the Holy Spirit to control your mind.
Pressing on with excellence!!
 Keith

Time Management

Our pastor brought up a point about Jesus and his day planner. Jesus made a daily habit of spending time with God. I have thought about that before. We have all heard about tithing our money where you give  ten percent to God. What if you were to give ten percent of your time to God? Do you think that would make a difference in your life. That would be 2.4 hours a day or 16.8 hours a week. Time is the great equalizer, what I mean is that rich or poor, skinny or fat, short or tall, smart or stupid, we all get 24 hours a day and it is what we do with that time that will make a difference in your life or others. What would your life look like if you got into the habit of investing some time with God. In prayer, in studying his word, in praising him,and in helping others.
Taking it to the street: 1) Take an inventory of where your time is going and put it down on paper.
                                    2) See where you can make adjustments to invest more of your time with Him
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Everything

So I was sitting in church tonight and we started singing a song that talks about God being everything. How we give everything for him and that nothing else matters but Him. I wondered if we, who were singing, really believed this. What if we really did believe this? What would our life look like if we really did believe this? I would like to think that nothing gets between myself and God. I must be A.D.D. because for myself it seems that there are lot of things that come between me and God. Even though I may not want them to. I get distracted by the little things and seem to lose my focus often. It's a good song, but I found it hard to sing because I know that it isn't true for me all of the time. I know that I'm far better than I used to be but it challenged me. Thank God for his grace while we wander. Over time though, I do realize that God is much more real and closer than He used to be to me. The more I surrender everything to Him the more I see Him at work.

Action step: Try giving every little thing to God and see what happens.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Pray for Moore, OK

I want to take some time to send up some prayers for the folks in Moore, OK. This tornado was devastating to a lot of people and I think they could use as many prayers as possible. Especially for the families that have lost loved ones, and the relief effort, and the workers that are there helping, and those that will be going out to help them. I can't imagine what it would be like. Nature may have had her fury, but this didn't take God by surprise.  He is more powerful and we can trust that he is. Psalm 46:1 says "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." God Bless you all, Moore, OK. We will be praying for you.
Pressing on with Excellence!!
 Keith

Others

Do you ever wonder if you are having an affect on others? I know that if you want to, that it starts with a relationship. People are more apt to take your advice if you show you really care. I met a lady where I work about four months ago and she is a sweet lady. She had a physical problem and had started to let herself go down hill. They moved her from independent living to assisted living and she developed some resentment. I had been in to do some work for her and had given her a few rides to get her hair done and had developed a friendship with her trying to encourage her through this time. She had been eating alone and not cooperating with the care givers and kind of bitter. Last week I took her to get her hair done and on the way back she asked me if I thought she should go to physical therapy. I told her that she should go every chance that she got. Since then, only because I told her to, she has been going and all of a sudden she is starting to eat meals at the dining room instead of in her own room. She is having better days and is more cheerful. I believe God works through us to affect others. Most of the time we don't even know it, but once in a while he gives us a little glimpse and it
has an affect on us also. What relationships are you investing in?
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith
   

Passing it on

 I wanted to comment about what we talked about in the last post. One of the things that I learned over the years is that, left to my own devices, I cannot change anything on my own. No matter how much I wished I could change, I could not do it myself; the power wasn't there. I have learned to allow  the Holy Spirit to control my mind. When the Holy Spirit controls my mind, then I act differently, almost without trying. It just happens. So when it comes to my kids I teach them to do this to the best of my ability. I only have them for a little while. I teach them how to make good choices to the best of my ability. What I'm trying to do is to prepare them because I know someday they are going to be put in a position to choose for themselves. I pray they will make the right decision, but, ultimately, it is their decision to make. To do that they will also need to learn to trust Him. If you know that God loves you, and is with you, and cares about you. Then you can have confidence that what is happening to you is for His glory and good. The best I think we can do is to prepare them for that day. If they screw up they will at least know where they can turn. If they learn how to allow the Holy Spirit to control their mind and are guided by the Spirit then they are in good hands and I don't have to worry about their future. Are you passing it on if so how?
Passing it on with excellence !!
Keith 

Can't Compartmentalize

One thing I believe is that if you do not have a relationship with God, then by default you’re against him. What I mean is; it is no wonder why our defects of character, our relationships with others, and our lives are messed up. We were running opposite of God, getting further and further away from what we were really meant to be, ideally.

  It may not be intentional, but without His help it is impossible to continue to become better and better. Therefore you stagnate and are never able to progress further in any area of your life. Each area of your life affects one another. For example if you have a resentment against one person, then it will effect other relationships in your life. You may be intolerant to your wife or kids. It is impossible to compartmentalize different areas of your life from each other. One thing that is cool is, when you, with God’s help, start improving in one area of your life, it affects all the other areas of your life. For example, if you start improving in physical fitness it may effect how you feel about yourself and your self esteem. If your self esteem improves, you may be more tolerant with others. One of the most revolutionizing things in my own life, that held me back for so long, was unforgiveness of myself. I don’t think I realized that I had a resentment against myself (you know you have a resentment against yourself when you use the guilt club on yourself.) Anyway, when I started forgiving myself, I found that my relationships with others improved. I was able to overlook others wrongs and I drew closer to God which gave me more peace. 

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith

Balance

It really amazes me how much all areas of my life affect one another. For instance, if I don't get enough sleep throughout the week then my relationships suffer. My attitude starts going downhill and I don't feel like giving my all. If I'm not spiritually on track, meaning I don't invest enough time in prayer, meditation, and reading the Bible or other devotional material, that also will have an affect on my relationships, my attitude towards work, or even my physical life. Is there such a thing as balance in one's life?

I know that I need 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night or I get cranky. So, that's 49 hours per week of sleep that I need. I also believe that I need to invest time with my work. I've been averaging about 53 hours per week, so that leaves me 66 hours per week out of 168 to divide up between physical activity, family, relational, and spiritual. I tithe with my money, so why not tithe with my time? Give God 2.4 hours of every day and that still leaves me 49.2 hours to invest into working out, family, and getting my to-do list done. 49.2 hours seems like a lot of time, but my kids are still begging for time with me. And do I really invest 2.4 hours every day with God?

Where is my time really going? Do you know? Do you have balance?

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith

What Motivates You?

Last week I blogged about stewardship in my life. I have been thinking a lot about what motivates me to be a good steward in all areas of  my life. The first thing that I looked at was the end result. What do I want to be known for? As a Christian I have a two-fold goal to be Christ-like and to bring glory to God. Those are the two main things I'm shooting or striving for. These are why I want to do better and better. Being a good steward is the "how to". If these are my ultimate goals, then I should have plenty of motivation to do better and since I'll never be perfect I'll always have room for improvement in every area of my life.

Romans 14:5-8 talks about doing things as unto the Lord. This also should help me to become more motivated in every little detail of my life. If I'm working as unto the Lord, then, no matter if I like my job or not, my attitude should be good. If I'm eating as unto the Lord, then I probably shouldn't be stuffing my face with a bunch of unhealthy stuff. What about negative thinking? Can I do this as unto the Lord? I highly doubt it. They just don't go together. How can I be Christ-like and bring  glory to God unless I do things as  unto the Lord? So ask yourself, "am I doing the absolute best as unto the Lord? Is this how I would act if he were standing by me right now?" He is.

Pushing towards Excellence,

Keith