STOP!

        As we come closer towards the end of another year I try and evaluate what has “crept in’’ over the course of the last twelve months. So many extra things can get added to what we had set out to do, and often these are the very things that can tip us over the edge and cause us to then feel tired, worn out, and lacking in passion as we settle in for the home stretch to Christmas.

I don’t want to grow weary so there are some things I need to stop – maybe you could stop a few things also.

10 Things You Need To STOP Doing… Right Now!

    I.        Stop placing your job above your family.

  II.        Stop doubting yourself.

III.        Stop believing the lies.

IV.        Stop settling for second best.

   V.        Stop procrastinating.

VI.        Stop making excuses.

VII.        Stop standing in awe of the success of others.

VIII.        Stop tippy-toeing on that line of sin.

IX.        Stop being consumed with what other people think.

   X.        Stop saying “I Can’t!” – Remember: can’t never could!

When Boys become Men

I'll never forget a conversation I had with my Granddad when I was just a young boy. Like most boys I was intrigued by war stories, of heroes and overcoming impossible odds.

One thing he said that hung in the air as he said it and has stayed with me since. He said, “We went over as boys and came back as men. “

So what does it take for a BOY to become a MAN - does he need to go war for this to happen? Surely not!

Most of us have heard the words BE A MAN. Maybe your own Dad spoke it over you, or perhaps you have said it to yourself or a friend has challenged you in a time of need to BE A MAN.

But often two really important things are missing?

•         A clear, grounded, intentional & Biblical definition of Manhood.

•         A well-defined process that challenges the Boy to embrace the clear definition.

We need men to rise up and know who they are.

Not boys in bigger clothes, not trying to still prove themselves against undefined set of scales that fail to inspire or equip.

So, what is it about a man that makes him a man?

1 Corinthians 15 – Two men who serve as a snapshot of manhood.

Adam and Jesus Christ.

Paul refers to them as the first and last Adams.

1 Corinthians 15:45

And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

Every man will end up drawing his masculinity from the Adam of Genesis or from Jesus Christ. This is a great passage of Scripture to work your way through and meditate on.

A man is someone who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously and expects a greater reward.

Robert Lewis.

Our society needs men who will take a stand for moral absolutes – but where are these men?

Jesus was more of a man in the manger than Adam ever was in the garden! – He laid aside all his ‘rights’ and gave ALL for what He stood for.

Adam, when faced with his moment to shine and protect and cover his wife, just stood by and watched the serpent unfold his plan.

Real manhood begins with a decision to reject social & spiritual passivity when it almost seems natural and effortless to simply follow the crowd.

Leadership demands that men have the COURAGE to master their passions and emotions and arm themselves with Biblical truth.

The courage to lead with truth rather than surrender to feelings always separates the men from the boys.

A boy, a good boy knows how to follow.

A man, a real man, knows how to lead.

CARING, when it hurts

1 John 3:16-17 (message)

This is how we've come to understand and experience love:

Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves.

If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

If God has called us to love others then there is a richness to discover in the process.

When God opens up our hearts it hurts – but play your part; and allow God to bring you through.

I promise the view from the top of the hill after the valley will be worth the journey.

“Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience and we shall soon see them in their proper figures”. – Joseph Addison (essayist, dramatist 1672-1719)

Don’t let the pain of yesterday steal the joy of tomorrow.

Stay the noble course and refuse to end up being defined by your circumstances – that is always your choice.

You don’t need to be thankful ‘for’ something, but you can stay thankful ‘in the midst’ of whatever challenge you find yourself.

‘What seems nasty, painful, evil, can become a source of beauty, joy, and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognise it as such. – Henry Miller (author, writer 1891-1980)

This is the great call for Christ Followers – anyone can care when it is easy, when the pressure is on someone else.

But to care in the midst of the great challenges, the injustice, and the betrayal – that is divine.

Whatever you are going through – choose to keep going through and don’t stop!

Remember whatever life throws at you, you have a choice to be bitter or better – CHOOSE LIFE! 

RESILIENCE

WHY do some make it, while others seem to fall?

WHAT do I need to bounce back from a set back?

What are the keys to be adaptable but anchored, to be flexible but focused. We need RESILIENCE.

One definition of resilience is ... 

A process of positive adaptation despite adversity...

 - If it is a process then this means – YOU CAN LEARN IT.

RESILIENCE IS BUILT THROUGH PROBING THE BOUNDARIES OF YOUR EXPERIENCES.

Maybe you are not totally to blame for ending up where you are today, but you must understand that you are the only one who can keep you from moving forward.

Resilience is built from a foundation of taking responsibility.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (CEB)

²⁶ So now this is how I run—not without a clear goal in sight.

I fight like a boxer in the ring, not like someone who is shadowboxing. 

²⁷ Rather, I’m landing punches on my own body and subduing it like a slave.

I do this to be sure that I myself won’t be disqualified after preaching to others.

What if the goal was not to always be looking for a way out of the struggle, but rather looking for the way through? Trouble always comes, tough times happen to us all, but we need to remind ourselves there is more in us and more for us.

We are not defined BY our circumstances, but to a large degree we are defined IN our circumstances – in other words, take another step, get up one more time, just keep breathing …. RESILIENCE is building, and you are becoming so much MORE.

I am currently doing a series on RESILIENCE and covering some ‘must have’ keys to building resilience and setting yourself up to overcome the pressures of life, to minimize stress, and limit anxiety. Grab hold of the 4 messages and get equipped to live life to the full.

BREAKTHROUGH

“Possessing your future changing somebody else’s is all dependent on what you do and what you will invest and give in the now!”

Ps. Mark Ramsey

Have a quick read through Matthew 25:14-28, the parable of the talents.

Too many people worrying about what they don’t have – rather than making the best use of what they do have!

People are so often so busy looking at what other people have, or what they want – they fail to see the way forward is to use what they already have!!

Opportunities aren’t lost; they are just given to somebody else.

God never asks us to do something we can’t do, or to give something we don’t have.

The question is always – what will you do with what you have?

If you want God to move you into your future, you will need to do something, give something in your present! Look at what you have – you do have time, you do have some gifts and talents, you do have a little treasure.

Everything we possess is a starting point for the future.

Whatever we have is enough to move us to another level.

Even though it seems a little – in His hands it can achieve much! What are you going to do with what God has blessed you with today?

Daddy's Girl

My daughter turned 18 the other day. I have been through this before with my son who is now nearly 20, but for some reason, this was different.

Maybe, it’s because there is something seriously wrong with this world – we objectify women and turn love into lust, desire into depravity, concern into coveting, and serving into selfishness. Our failing morality is at the cost of someone’s little girl ... how can this be?

Or, we expose them to a world they are not ready for, they grow up too early, expectations are unrealistic, standards are set by pop culture, and opinions shaped by the masses who are fickle at best.

Let me share a tiny portion of a letter I wrote to my little girl.

She is turning 18, oh wait, it has happened already, so soon,

I wasn’t ready.

I remember when you were so small, so dependent, so helpless,

You were looking out of those big beautiful eyes at a world before you, with wonder and amazement.

You embraced life from the start with a passion and zeal, you danced in the rain, you sang your own song, and ... you were my little girl.

Cheeky, but focused; playful but purposeful. Each new task, each new day an adventure. I watched you grow so quickly before my eyes.

... and then this at the end ...

So how do I feel? Happy, proud, sad, blessed, expectant, alone.

I only have one little girl and in my heart that will always be, but as I look; As I steal a glance there is a young woman standing where my little girl used to be.

Be that woman of God and leave a legacy that changes your world for the glory of God.

Dad’s go hug your sons, love your daughter’s. Mother’s don’t miss a moment to encourage, inspire and embrace them. For soon, so soon, they will be grown and you will hold your breath as they step out of the nest to fly. Pray you have done a good job, pray they are ready, pray they live a life that glorifies God and make a difference.

PRAYER

Here are a few thoughts on prayer / great to reflect upon.

Prayer is more than simply communicating. It is more than the dictionary meaning or the frail understanding of humanity.

Prayer rises through the defiant lips of the one who stands in the gap for breakthrough. It shouts with declarations of faith and victory in the midst of overwhelming odds.

Prayer whispers in the recesses of emotion of what could be, if only.

Prayer bubbles out in the tumult of sorrow that threatens to engulf. Not always manifested by cleverly constructed phrases, but at times evidenced by groaning and unknown words from the breaking soul.

Prayer grows in the background conscience of the one caught in a web of their own destruction, as they desperately try to navigate through the closing darkness. No longer to be contained it seeps through in simplicity as a cry from the lost soul to a known or unknown creator.

Prayer celebrates the journey and petitions for the path untravelled. It rises around to bring hope and comfort, direction and clarity.

Prayer shows us what is and what could be, it opens us to another perspective and reveals us as we really are. It strips down the layers and builds up wholeness.

Prayer is breathing out the cares and distractions of this world and breathing in the grace and peace of God.