By Every Word

Your Words

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Jun 212010

If you died today, what would be wrote about you by your family and friends in the newspaper.

This is an old practice people do to discover what they want to accomplish in life- and a very good one. Let’s make this a little harder than normal- because I can’t let you off easy by writing the usual “devoted father or mother, loving husband or wife…” No this is about you getting serious about your future and determining whether you’re on the right track to get there. Get critical with yourself.

So let’s look at a few common ones that I have created.

Hard worker all of his life until he died at the age of 61.
Went from job to job never really finding his true passion.
Ate a lot of fast food, read 2 books a decade and
loved being a hermit. He leaves behind 3 children
and $35,000 in debt.

She was a very stressed person through life. She took
every comment to heart and let it rule who she was.
Started to write a book once but let someone who
she knew was always negative destroy that dream.
Because of stress she slept everyday after work and
napped most of her weekends away. She leaves behind
an unpaid for house and a well used bed.

How do those make you feel? Blah…

We have people figures in our life that we raise up on a pinnacle of greatness and rate their status as being unachievable to us mortal beings. I am being dramatic, but if we actually stated our literal thoughts about these people it would be pretty close.

So what are your words about your life? Have you accomplished your dreams or settled for stability? Settling is an unsatisfying feeling. It’s the resolution that says “This is the best I can do.” I believe we quit striving for excellence in our life because our concepts of being successful are marred. They’re marred because of our culture of instant communication through the news, social media outlets, and the internet in general. Every day there is ‘new’ news. Some scientific breakthrough, some new trend, a new remarkable book, some new innovation, or some new discovery. There is always something new coming out- and we’re so busy reading about them that we sometimes don’t implement in our own life. We get overwhelmed by these daily announcements of huge successes, that we can easily get this concept that these ‘new’ things were developed between the last news broadcast and the one your watching.

We have to get up- NOW- and act. Plan then Do! We have to get away from trying to fit the mould everyone wants us in and bring out what we were born to do. Success is not instantaneous- and success is only a mile marker on the way to the next one. I love hearing about all of the ‘new’ breakthroughs, but I’m more concerned about the doing. The key is diligence.

There is great power in diligence. Diligent leaders convert the critics because eventually the critics realize they’re going to achieve results because they don’t give up. Now I know I sound contradictory to my It’s Time To Quit post- but that still applies. The secret to endurance is in the knowing- knowing whether something is dead, knowing whether this contributes to purpose. Purpose never changes- our methods or plans to fulfill purpose might change but vision is always consistent. So it’s important to know when to change tactics and when to dig your heels in and press onward.

I love stones out of a river brook- they are so smooth. I can’t just break the rock in two with my hand- it’s rock, it’s hard. But the constant moving of water across the rocks surface shapes it, carving away any edges of the rock because of a diligent flow of water. The same is true in caves- a rock under a stalagmite dripping water will leave an impression on that rock. So get rid of the mindset that you cannot create, design, invent, innovate, or deliver something great to the nations. You may not have the funds to get the best designer for your website, you may not have the connections to find the best graphic designer, you may not know how to even begin to bring out the potential that’s in your head- but the most important thing is to start! It’s not about the biggest “Grand Opening” to a project- it’s not even about the unveiling of the product. It’s about the work. The story that is untold behind every breakthrough and news flash is the years it took to develop. Today’s headlines were deep in development five years ago while other discoveries were being announced. Your work is never ending, it’s always in development, it’s always being innovated and you never retire from your work.

So… where are you in your work? What will you leave behind that impacted the earth? What great things did God put inside of you to bring out for the kingdom?

Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children…

What do your word’s say about you now? Now the more important question- What will they say?

Why This

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Jun 172010

You want to start a business? Alright, so what is your business plan?

If you’re opening a restaurant- why am I going to come?
If it’s a clothing store- why do I want to buy from you?
If it’s a carpentry business- why do I want to hire you?

“Well, I want to open a restaurant with comfortable chairs and tables, and serve good food”

Oh WOW! That should be neat and BORING! Hey everyone let’s go eat at that place that’s like everywhere else!

Blah Blah Blah! People don’t eat at places just because you’re there… well maybe a handful of people who are lazy and hope your place is good enough so they don’t have to drive far. But you need more than a handful! You need people who will become regulars and will share with others who will become regulars- so what’s going to get them to come to your place?

You can’t afford to fit in with everyone else. You can’t afford to fit the standard mould. If you do, you’re just increasing your risk. That’s right it’s too risky to be normal. You’re not going to discover something new by fitting in, you cannot discover- or be innovative by trying to be like what you think people will expect. People don’t go to places because it’s what they would expect- absolutely not- it’s quite the opposite. They want to see something new, something exciting, something they’ve been searching for!

So why do so many businesses open up- and they’re just like the last one that closed down?

There’s a building on a very busy strip of road that I go down quite a bit. Several years ago it was a bar. I would see at the most 5-6 cars in the parking lot when I drove by. After a while it closed down and someone else rented it- and you know what they opened up? …ANOTHER BAR! This one stayed open for about the same amount of time before it closed. Then another tenant moved in and opened …yep, a bar- but this guy was smart, he put a sign up that said “Under New Management” …wow. Again it closed and the lease sign was back up. I have seen it reopen at least two more times since- once as another bar, and then again when someone got creative and made it a bar and grill. Why?

Why do we waste so much energy doing the same thing as everyone else? What’s our reasoning? What’s our logic? If we see someone doing it and they’re not getting the results they expected- why do we want to do what they’re doing? We seem so eager sometimes to fail in the same ways as others have, by choosing to replicate what didn’t work for them.

See if you do the same thing as everyone else and you fail like everyone else than you don’t stand out and you don’t get ridiculed. BUT, if you dare to be different, challenge yourself to discover what works, follow your passion, your vision of the result you want regardless of it not being what’s the norm- then you will get laughed at… at first. But when it takes off, you buy the property, and then open a second one- everyone says “Why didn’t I think of that?”

God has designed us and put something in us to be great at! We must discover it- and then ACT! Being afraid to fail is not the kingdom way. If you’re going to do something- you need to be passionate about it! If your restaurant is going to look like other restaurants, you better have a passion for service like no where else.

If you’re going to open a clothing store- pull out your passion while doing it- do something unexpected! Offer hemming in your store, without having to send it off. Offer custom designs to be embroidered on the clothes they buy while they shop. What if you put a runway right down the middle of the store with strobe lights that you could turn on when someone walked down it- offer 10% off for those who do! Give the sales associates cameras to flash when a customer does it- How fun an exciting would that be? What a fun place to go!

You might be laughing, but it’s the birth of new ideas that someone implements- that leads to success.

Whatever business you start- bring out your passion in your work, have fun with it. Think about what everyone would expect to see then make sure to stay away from that, and bring out the unexpected.

Work It

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May 272010

How busy are you? How much more can you fit in your agenda each day? It may feel like you barely have time for a restroom break- no need to even consider adding to your day.

It’s amazing though what happens when we line up with the kingdom. When me and my wife turned to the Lord we didn’t think we had enough money to buy even a box of Nutty Bars at the store- let along pay tithes. But we knew it was the law so we followed it- even if it meant having the power turned off. All of a sudden we had more money than before and were able to pay extra on our debts. (Which is another kingdom culture- being debt free)

There is always a resistance to kingdom culture. When someone starts trying to have the Word manifest in their life, the enemy comes against it. He knows once you understand a benefit of the kingdom he cannot hold you back from that anymore because after all- culture is just normal- your lifestyle- it becomes a right. But satan also knows that activation of these rights in your life is a product of belief. You have to believe that you are supposed to live debt free, or be in good health, or prosper as your soul prospers.

One of the things I want to focus on in this post specifically is your work. One of my favorite quotes by Dr. Myles Munroe is “Your job is what they hire you to do, your work is what you were born to do. You can be fired from your job, but you can never be fired from your work.” Your work, which is your purpose, is what satan fights against the most. He sidetracks us by thinking it’s just about keeping you out of heaven. What he really doesn’t want is God’s purpose being revealed in His children and the kingdom of Heaven being manifested in the earth. If you get saved and you die and go to Heaven (by the way we’re coming back to the earth) then that affects just you. However if you get saved and seek out God’s purpose for you and you spread your seed, your gift, your work- then you ultimately affect tens of thousands, millions or even billions of lives. So which of these scenarios impacts the earth with the kingdom? See to carry out God’s purpose in your life is to “BE A PRAISE” to God.

Now for the resistance to your purpose. The enemy will try to keep you so busy and overwhelmed that you feel you don’t have time to do anything else. No time to work on starting my own business- I’m busy enough with my job. I can’t go to school to further my education- I don’t have the monetary resources or time. Can’t work on my dreams, I’m too busy with reality.

Listen to me- Life is more than just keeping a job to pay bills, adding to your savings, so you can retire and die. If we think we have to keep a job or we will not eat- we missed a kingdom concept.

Matthew 6
26) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

So the enemy keeps us preoccupied with trying to provide these things all of our life and keeps us from our real purpose. There is a WORK that is inside of each and everyone of you that God wants to bring out of you. God doesn’t make anything without a purpose- it’s there. The thing is we have to work out purpose. We say “God has great thing’s in store for me” but we don’t work towards it. We say “The Lord has a better tomorrow for me” but our lack of work shows a lack of faith. After all if it’s already been established- might as well work on it.

If I was cooking and I realized I was missing an ingredient, and I called a neighbor to ask them if they might have it. They tell me “sure, I’ll be right over.” I don’t sit on the couch and worry, fret and cry thinking “Are they really coming with the ingredient? I know they said they were- but will it really happen? What will I do if it never gets here!?!” Noooo- I continue on with my recipe and prepare as if I already have the ingredient in my cabinet because it’s on the way. Why waste time waiting for everything to be here when I know it’s coming? Isn’t God more faithful to His word, than another person is to theirs? So why do we show more faith in people’s promises than to God’s? IF HE SAID IT’S YOURS – IT’S YOURS! Start working as if it is. This is active belief. It’s showing faith through works. Because without works faith is… (James 2:26)

So work it! Work out your gift. Don’t let the enemy remind you how hard your day was when you get home. Be about your work. The job is temporary- your work is permanent. So why let the temporary keep us hostage from our work? God gave you the job, so do it- do it well (after all you are a kingdom representative)- But when you get home get busy on your work. Remember the enemy wants to keep you busy, or tired, or overwhelmed- this is all overcome by reading of God’s Word and prayer. Remember this is the same as knowing and understanding the laws and promises of the kingdom so you will know your rights- and then bringing your petitions to God’s courtroom and presenting His evidence- so you know you’re going to win.

Look at this scripture…

Ecclesiastes 11
6) Sow your seed in the morning,
and at evening let not your hands be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
whether this or that,
or whether both will do equally well. (NIV)

Whew! Work it! One of them is guaranteed to succeed…(I could shout right there.) One is guaranteed to prosper you- but it might even be both! What a blessing. His word says “you don’t know WHICH one will succeed” So something is going to succeed. But let’s not shout before we understand the key. Sow your seed in the morning, so do your job God has given you- and at evening don’t let your hands be idle, so work on your purpose. Eventually the work will out perform the job and you’ll have to quit your job to do your work. How awesome is that? Man I love the kingdom!

So don’t be lazy, don’t get tired- Get to work! Seek out your purpose- you will never be happy, never be fulfilled until you find your purpose. Seek out purpose, seek it out daily- then WORK IT!

Study

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May 202010

I know it’s a simple title, but it is something we really need to realize whether we give enough attention to or not. Let’s look at some definitions.

application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading, investigation, or reflection: long hours of study.
the cultivation of a particular branch of learning, science, or art: the study of law.
Often, studies. a personal effort to gain knowledge: to pursue one’s studies.
research or a detailed examination and analysis of a subject, phenomenon, etc.
a written account of such research, examination, or analysis
a well-defined, organized branch of learning or knowledge.
zealous endeavor or assiduous effort.
the object of such endeavor or effort.
deep thought, reverie, or a state of abstraction

These definitions come from Dictionary.Com

I really love the second one- “the cultivation of a particular branch of learning.”

A farmer will cultivate his crops in order to promote growth in them. He will give much labor and attention to them in order to get the best result. Can you say you cultivate your self for the kingdom? Do you give much attention to who you are supposed to become?

You know I’ve never met a wealthy person who got rich by being lazy.

Proverbs 10:4
Lazy hands make a man poor,
but diligent hands bring wealth.

Do you think “Being wealthy is ungodly!”. That’s not what God says. It’s in the bible! So this scripture needs to be looked at two ways: Physical wealth (money, property, assets)- and most importantly mental wealth (knowledge, wisdom, understanding).

Remember lazy hands make you poor -in every area- but diligent hands bring wealth -in every area-. If you are diligent in your studying you are GUARANTEED to be wealthy, and not because God likes you… Think about that. You are guaranteed to be wealthy because it’s God’s word and remember a king is bound by his decrees.

God spoke these things for our benefit, but so many times we choose to let them work against us. How? By being lazy. Waiting for God to do a miracle. Expecting God just to MAKE you smart, make you intelligent, make you rich. That’s not what God said in his word. Where do we get these concepts?

Read God’s word, study it, and make it work for you. Citizens know the laws and benefits their country provides- yet we choose to ignore the laws of the kingdom of God which are the most rewarding benefits any country has ever provided for any citizen ever! So study-study-study! Cultivate your mind with knowledge of God’s word.

God will reward those that diligently seek Him. He will reward your efforts of diligence in every area of life if you understand this concept and put it into practice. You will ‘do a little thing for a long time’ and then BOOM! God comes gives you a supernatural increase in that area of study. We’ve all had it happen. We’ve worked hard at something and then all of a sudden we get a boost in a short period of time that reaps more results then all the work we had done up to that point. That’s called a Breakthrough! Remember- one plants, one waters, and God gives the increase. He’ll give you an increase in your job knowledge, your skill of expertise, your business, your relationships- everything! You just have to show you mean business and put forth effort. God will give you such an abundant increase because He wants people to see you and see what it’s like to be in His kingdom. God wants His citizens to represent what it’s like to be in the kingdom of God.

Study – Study – Study – Cultivate – Cultivate – Cultivate and watch the Lord work!

Mondays Are Awesome

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May 102010

Do you ever hear anyone say this?
Rarely. In today’s society it’s a badge of honor to hate your boss, hate your job, get aggravated in traffic, complain about your wages, and to “just get by” in life. It means your ‘normal’. You fit in with everyone else- well most people. Since elementary school you were reformed into believing if you could be like everyone else you would be alright.

But the truth is being like everyone else is horrible. Being like everyone else is easy. It’s the path of least resistance. It means you’ve settled. Settling is boring and gives nothing in life. What really stands out are the ones who challenge. Challenge themselves, the system, the normal ways, and standard convention. These are the ones who do something worth remembering, who make things exciting, who improve the standard, and who get the most attacks. That’s right… attacks. After all you’re not in line with the rest of the lemmings.

What would life be without these kinds of people. If it wasn’t for these kinds of thinkers, America would still be a colony of Britain. Anyone can fit in- it takes risk to achieve great results.

I like to start off any project or implementation of an idea with the thought of “What is the absolute worst thing that could happen?” When I face these realities, it doesn’t sound as bad as if I didn’t say it out loud and I let it loom in my mind as ‘the end of the world’. It’s not. It can’t be.

I love Mondays! See for me, it’s just another day in the kingdom, and everyday in the kingdom is a good day. So what can I change today, who can I encourage, what can I influence, what area can I impact? Ask yourself these questions. Do you like your life? If not, then change it! Change it all up. You are in control of your life and where you are. Think about this statement…

You are in the position you thought you were worth.

You either need to be where you think you should be in life, moving towards the place you should be in life, or making a change of your direction to go where your purpose is. That’s where true self worth is- fulfilling your calling, exercising your gift, and loving every minute of it.

That’s Kingdom!

It’s Time To Quit

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Apr 212010

This sounds horrible doesn’t it? …Why?

“BECAUSE YOU SHOULD NEVER QUIT!” – That’s what most say right?

Well that’s absolutely not true. The obvious thoughts about good things to quit would be to quit smoking, using drugs, drinking, unhealthy eating habits, etc. Right?

But what else? Think of one of the most valuable resources we have… “time”. You cannot get time back. You can lose money on some stupid deals, or blow it on ridiculous stuff- but you can always get more money. We sometimes become “cost conscious” but we can easily fall back into excessive spending if we are not responsible. However, we spend one of our most valuable resources so loosely. If I could sell time back to peoples lives- I would be the richest man on earth. The most wealthiest of people would give me everything they had earned in a lifetime for another year of time on their death bed. So why do we waste this valuable resource? Well I have several truths on this subject, but I’m only going to cover this one thing for now. QUIT WASTING TIME!
Life is too short to waste time. Do you realize you have something you were born to do? A true purpose in life. It’s true! God makes nothing without a purpose. But we are easily distracted. Well- it’s time to Quit! That’s right Quit!

You should quit something if it is not your calling. You should quit things that are keeping you from your purpose. You should quit things that are not profitable in your life. (This is not referring to just money)
You should quit things that are pointless.

So should you quit a job? How about a profession? How about a ministry?
Hmmmm. These can be tough questions to deal with. But the answer is within you. You have to analyze where you are in life and realize or not if you are fulfilling God’s call in your life; If you are fulfilling God’s purpose that he put in you, by bringing out the potential that is waiting to come out.

It can be hard to deal with, but think about this. What if Billy Graham had decided to be a physician instead, …or a basketball coach. I know you may be thinking… pfffttt.
It’s easy to see where someone is or what they have become but what you don’t see is all the things they went through to get there. The night’s of praying for purpose. The constant seeking for purpose. The rough roads on the way. You will never be happy unless you find and fulfill your purpose. Billy Graham may have been able to be an awesome physician or even a champion basketball coach- but look what potential he would have given up. What true purpose would have never been seen.

Oh yeah! This works both ways too. Let’s go ahead and get it out of our minds the incorrect and dangerous separation we have with people. We sometimes put people in two groups. People in ministry and everyone else. There are nurses, athletes, and artists that are fulfilling God’s purpose in their lives and successful in ministry far more than some of those that label themselves as “IN” the ministry. The thing is God doesn’t see people this way. How do I know? Well He is the creator; He designed you, molded you, and made you. He knows exactly what He put in you to come out in life. He put potential in you to be birthed for the kingdom in this world. He wants to see it come out. That’s why God is so patient with us. He wants to see you reach your full potential. He will clean you up along the way- He just wants you to turn to Him, acknowledge Him, accept Him and return back to His kingdom and He will restore you and bring you into the full glory of His nature.

The thing is God knows what he is doing. He wants what is best for us and knows what will give us joy. It’s in our purpose. He is more pleased with one of His kids who is a firefighter (because he called them to this area of occupation), then if “THEY” decided they want to be a pastor. Ouch! Does that hurt? It hurt’s if you are in something that you have no business being in. That is God did not design you for it.

What’s better? An “OK” surgeon- or an “AWESOME” family counselor. In the book 48 DAYS TO THE WORK YOU LOVE, by Dan Miller, he tells a story of a struggling pastor. After several unfulfilled years as a pastor he was struggling with where he was in life. I mean he loved the Lord, but the thing was he was never called to be a pastor. After talking with Dan Miller they discovered he was an artist and had a ‘passion’ for it. The man went on to paint in people’s homes some of the most beautiful artwork, borders, and amazing pieces you’ve ever seen. He makes a ton of money, does what he loves to do, and has touched more people’s lives with his ministry now then ever before. This has become a gateway into people’s hearts. They have him come in and do his work, which he loves to do, and it opens up communication with this individual that he may have never had the chance to deliver had he been behind the pulpit. What is your calling? passion? purpose? If you don’t know- you need to find it!

That is when it is GREAT to quit! Make a commitment to quit doing things that lead to dead ends. Quit doing things that are not what God made you for. Quit strategies that are not working. Quit doing the things you were not called to do. I want to fulfill purpose in my life. I want to fulfill the things that I was born to do. I don’t ever want to be caught in the cycle of the daily grind that I cannot fulfill my work. I refuse to do it. I’m too busy about kingdom business to be bothered. See, you may not be in your final place of employment, but it’s just your current assignment. There is a reason God has you there. Something you are there to do. So be an example for the kingdom while you are there- and fulfill your duties and be about your work. But if you are in a position that has no purpose, no growth, no potential… If you are in a position at an assignment that ended years ago- You are wasting valuable precious time. It’s time to realize how important you are, and how much more needs to come out of you and “Quit” wasting time!

If you don’t chase after what you love to do- you will always have a JOB- but you will have never found your WORK… and you will leave this world with something that God put you here for. The bible says before you were formed in the belly He knew you. Who better to bring out your potential, then the creator.