Month: January 2012

Divert daily, withdraw weekly, abandon annually…

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It is good to work. But! Work is a great thing! I thank God for the opportunity to work. For He himself worked (Gen. 1:1). And He said that if we don’t work we won’t eat 2 Thess. 3:10). But the thing with work is that it can turn one into a workaholic. Therefore, we need to recognize that though God has ordained work for us, we must emulate his example – “he rested on the 7th day” (Gen. 2:2). Somebody once said, “work and no play makes jack a dull boy.” Actually it is a proverb –  and it means that without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring. So I took a little vacation this week – a week of complete rest and I am so thankful to the Lord for the opportunity to do this. I feel refreshed and energize for the weeks ahead. During my time away, I read a few articles and magazines – here is an excerpt of somethings I learned about recognizing and handling burnout: Preventing burnout” Having determined …

It’s a Lie!

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We hear it all the time The check is in the mail. I’ll start my diet tomorrow. We service what we sell. Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back. Money cheerfully refunded. One size fits all. This offer limited to the first 100 people who call in. Your luggage isn’t lost, it’s only misplaced. Leave your résumé and we’ll keep it on file. This hurts me more than it hurts you. I just need five minutes of your time. Your table will be ready in a few minutes. Open wide, it won’t hurt a bit. Let’s have lunch sometime. It’s not the money, it’s the principle. But it all a lie. Cute little phrases people use to disguise their lie. Today I would like to introduce an outline of 10 lies about God, faith and life. Ten lies cunningly twisted and crafted to cause you to doubt and question you faith, God and yourself. I am very sure that there are many more lies out there, but I want to share a …

Sweet hour of prayer

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 Nail a note to the cross today. Something you are struggling with – nail it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-15: And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the un-circumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.  Light a candle – embrace his presence – experience his glory and breakthrough in every area of your life Candle has symbolized the presence of the Lord from Old Testament times. The Israelites kept a flame burning in the tabernacle and we to let our light shine for all the world to see. When you light a candle it is an outward demonstration of an in-ward faith that is longing for the presence of God to take care of  every situation. As you light your candle pray that God will take control …

Too good to be true!

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The Romanticized ideals of Perfection Successful pastors and church organizations almost always seem cooler from a distance. But the closer you get to the pastor or the church organization, the easier it is to see all their flaws, blemishes, and failures. I am not talking about immoral or sinful behaviors. If you find yourself under such leadership it is more than okay to flee. I’m talking about things like leadership styles and flaws, relationship hiccups, poor conflict management skills, bad choices in the little things of life, etc… Usually people begin to flip out big time when their expectations of a pastor or a church organization doesn’t measure up with their romanticized ideals. They begin to become negative, slanderous, disrespectful, arrogant, rude and sometimes rebellious. A Personal Illustration For me, it happened when I was young and on a church staff. I didn’t know better, and I soon started flipping out when I began to see some things that I kind of disagree with. Every time we had a staff meeting somebody in the group will say …

Don’t Beat yourself Up!

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The next time you make a “mistake,” instead of directing energy to the past and beating yourself up, ask yourself, What is the opportunity in this experience? Use it to determine who you are and who you want to become. Hanna Goss Photo,  Courtesy  Nelson_Vargas