I have been reading the Bible through this year. I set it as a goal at the beginning of the year and though sometimes I fall behind, I am pretty sure that I will be done by December 31st. I was thinking about this the other day and the Lord started up a conversation with me. He let me know that the reason I was able to complete the Bible in a year is because I had a reading plan that I followed daily. This reading plan made it possible for me to accomplish this great feat.
He started asking me what would happen if I committed myself for one year in different areas. What if I set goals for next year and began preparing how I would accomplish them? I thought to myself "I would achieve so much!!!"
My best friend and I have decided to take on the challenge and to begin setting goals for next year and putting in place whatever we need to ensure that we follow through. One of my goals is health and fitness. That means that I have to begin working on meal plans and exercise regimes now. I am also psychologically preparing myself to commit to the plan I lay out for one whole year.
I would like to extend this goal setting challenge to you as well. Here is where we begin. Set 3 year goals.
1. Set 5 business and career goals (e.g. Raise my income by 30% by year 3, Save 250,000 of my income so I can start my own business 3 years from now, ...)
2. Set 5 personal development goals (e.g. read 36 books in 3 years, taking 5 courses at the British Council per year, Have my Masters by Dec 2012 etc...)
3. Set 5 personal goals (Health and fitness, reading the Bible through in a year, going out and making new friends, evangelizing two weekends a month...)
This is the first step. Then under each goal write out the steps you will take to achieve the goal. Make it manageable so that you are not overwhelmed. After that is done, Break it down year by year. What will you do in 2010, 2011 and 2012?
That done, take the year 2010 and break down your goals for that year into Months. e.g. Save 10% of my income per month, read 1 non fiction book per month etc...Set yourself Monthly targets.
Now take the month of January and divide it into weeks. e.g. work out 4 times a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 6 am - 7 am or Read 3 chapters of my non fiction book etc...
Take up the challenge. See how it goes. I bet you will make way more progress than you have ever made before. Don't live your life without purpose. Give it purpose by setting achievable goals that stretch you into the next level.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Your Current Assignment
I don't believe in fate. I think that God is too much of a thinker to let things fall where they may. Although the universe and our lives in general tend towards entropy when left on their own, I think God, being a master planner, had planned our lives from the start. If we tap into his thoughts by prayer, reading the word and meditating on it, we will surely find the path ordained for us from the beginning of days.
My friend Rose is a homemaker and a mother of 5. She loves being a homemaker and homeschooling her kids. She made a comment today that got me thinking about our lot in life. She said I sounded so accomplished and professional that she was almost afraid of me. I couldn't help thinking how accomplished she is, raising her kids in the ways of the Lord and running her farm in Indiana.
We all have our lot in life. But the most important thing to remember is that they are assignments. We are all working on the same thing: Building God's Kingdom. Whether that means raising a godly offspring or working in the marketplace. I consider my job and business my current assignment. That means that the assignment could change and within a few years I could be the homeschooling stay-at-home mom. Whether I am in the market place or at home I am building the Kingdom and that is the most important thing.
Here is a quick challenge for you. How are you building the Kingdom in your current assignment?
My friend Rose is a homemaker and a mother of 5. She loves being a homemaker and homeschooling her kids. She made a comment today that got me thinking about our lot in life. She said I sounded so accomplished and professional that she was almost afraid of me. I couldn't help thinking how accomplished she is, raising her kids in the ways of the Lord and running her farm in Indiana.
We all have our lot in life. But the most important thing to remember is that they are assignments. We are all working on the same thing: Building God's Kingdom. Whether that means raising a godly offspring or working in the marketplace. I consider my job and business my current assignment. That means that the assignment could change and within a few years I could be the homeschooling stay-at-home mom. Whether I am in the market place or at home I am building the Kingdom and that is the most important thing.
Here is a quick challenge for you. How are you building the Kingdom in your current assignment?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Laws of God
I am not a quantum physicist but I am beginning to learn a few things about the way God made this universe that are very exciting. The Bible always talks about the laws of God and I have always taken that to mean the written word of God. This is true but only partly. There are other laws of God that govern how our universe works. Better still, they are in operation whether we want them to be or not. It does not matter whether you believe they exist or not, they are still in operation and they are still affecting your life.
You have all heard about "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. Many Christians did not read that book because of the fact that it had quite a bit of new ageism in it. Wanting to know what all the hype was about I decided not to throw out the baby with the bath water and read it. I went a step further and watched the video. Severally. Sieving the information as I read, I found that there were many insights and many truths in the book. They rang true in my spirit and most of them aligned with my Bible. Where they spoke of the universe and the universal mind, I put in the word 'God' and realized that the principles taught in that book were very powerful.
Rhonda and her friends have discovered the laws of God, and put them to good use. True, they have eliminated God from the equation which we MUST NEVER do, but the information therein is priceless. Other laws of God that I have discovered include the law of habit, the law of belief and the law of cause and effect. Putting these laws in place and using them to change my life has become a wonderful thing. Best of all, God is helping me implement them and I am seeing results. I couldn't be happier.
You have all heard about "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne. Many Christians did not read that book because of the fact that it had quite a bit of new ageism in it. Wanting to know what all the hype was about I decided not to throw out the baby with the bath water and read it. I went a step further and watched the video. Severally. Sieving the information as I read, I found that there were many insights and many truths in the book. They rang true in my spirit and most of them aligned with my Bible. Where they spoke of the universe and the universal mind, I put in the word 'God' and realized that the principles taught in that book were very powerful.
Rhonda and her friends have discovered the laws of God, and put them to good use. True, they have eliminated God from the equation which we MUST NEVER do, but the information therein is priceless. Other laws of God that I have discovered include the law of habit, the law of belief and the law of cause and effect. Putting these laws in place and using them to change my life has become a wonderful thing. Best of all, God is helping me implement them and I am seeing results. I couldn't be happier.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Days of Our Lives
The role of the Holy Spirit in our lives is greater than we can ever imagine. I am amazed at what and who he is to me. The word of God is multi-dimensional. Every verse could mean 1000 different things. That is why you can read it forever and never cease to be amazed at the revelations God gives. I have read 1 Cor 2:6-16 many times before but today I got a new revelation on it.
The Bible says in Ps 139:16-17 (Which I have read many times before too) "Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"
Before any of us was created God saw us and knew who we were and what he wanted us to accomplish. He opened up a book and wrote the days of our lives in it. He wrote what you would be called, your sex, where you would be born, which tribe you would belong to, what your complexion would be, your color and race, the size of your nose, the color of your eyes etc… Then he wrote which schools you would attend and whether or not you would go to university. After that, he went on to write where you would work, who you would marry, how many children you would have etc… He followed his own advice in Habakkuk 2:2-3
"…Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie…"
Then he sealed the scroll in which he wrote your life story and awaited the appointed time for the opening of the scroll (Rev 5:1). This scroll holds the plan for your life. What you are supposed to do, with who, where…. The works!! Because of the fall of man, we cannot accomplish what is written on the scroll until we receive Christ as Lord of our lives. In fact, we cannot access the scroll without the blood of Jesus and accepting him as Lord of our lives. Rev 5:1-10
"And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals…no one in heaven or on the earth, or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it…no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it…Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, The Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals…He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne…And they sang a new song, saying: 'you are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals, for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth'."
When Christ died on Calvary he received the right to open up the scroll and see what was written in it and not just that, but by His Holy Spirit he reveals to us what is written in our scrolls so that we can truly be kings and priests to our God and reign on the earth. Only by walking out what God ordained for us before we were formed can we truly rule and reign on the earth. Anything apart from that means that we have missed the mark and can not fully fill the place God ordained for us.
Hence Jesus said in John 16:7 "…it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you."
Why is it to your advantage? Because "… when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth (the whole truth about who you are, what you are about, what your purpose and destiny is etc)…" vs 13 and according to 1 Cor 2:9-10 "…Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love him (because until now, the scroll has been sealed) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."
With Christ's victory at Calvary, and the unsealing of the scroll, the Holy Spirit can now search the scroll to see what is written in there about you and then reveal it to you so that you can walk out your destiny in God. Jn 16:14 "He will glorify me, for he will take of (receive and draw upon) what is mine and declare (reveal, disclose, transmit) it to you." Can you see it? The Holy Spirit searches the depths of God concerning you then he reveals it to you!!! The scroll written about you is full of the thoughts of God for you in particular!! The mysteries of why God made you are written in it. They mysteries of what you are to do now and in the future are written in it. But the only way to access the information therein is to receive Christ as Savior and Lord and then allow the Holy Spirit to come into your life and do what he needs to.
Oh Spirit of the Living God, my manifestation as a son of the Most High God is dependent on you revealing to me what is in that scroll for this season and the seasons to come. I cannot be all God wants me to be until I know what he has planned for me. The word says not to be ignorant but to know God's good and perfect will for me. Reveal it to me Holy Spirit. Draw from Christ and disclose to me the purpose and direction for this season in Jesus Name. Holy Spirit, I cannot make it without you. You are my senior partner in every area. Lord Jesus, sanctify me and remove anything in my life that is not in the scroll for me right now. Remove relationships, jobs, things, plans anything that is not in the scroll for me. I align myself with the plans of God for me before time began. I align myself with the thoughts of God for me in this season. I decree that my ears hear, my eyes see and my heart conceives what God has in store for me as revealed by His Spirit in Jesus Name. Amen!
The Bible says in Ps 139:16-17 (Which I have read many times before too) "Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!"
Before any of us was created God saw us and knew who we were and what he wanted us to accomplish. He opened up a book and wrote the days of our lives in it. He wrote what you would be called, your sex, where you would be born, which tribe you would belong to, what your complexion would be, your color and race, the size of your nose, the color of your eyes etc… Then he wrote which schools you would attend and whether or not you would go to university. After that, he went on to write where you would work, who you would marry, how many children you would have etc… He followed his own advice in Habakkuk 2:2-3
"…Write down the vision and make it plain on tablets that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie…"
Then he sealed the scroll in which he wrote your life story and awaited the appointed time for the opening of the scroll (Rev 5:1). This scroll holds the plan for your life. What you are supposed to do, with who, where…. The works!! Because of the fall of man, we cannot accomplish what is written on the scroll until we receive Christ as Lord of our lives. In fact, we cannot access the scroll without the blood of Jesus and accepting him as Lord of our lives. Rev 5:1-10
"And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals…no one in heaven or on the earth, or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it…no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it…Behold, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, The Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals…He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne…And they sang a new song, saying: 'you are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals, for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth'."
When Christ died on Calvary he received the right to open up the scroll and see what was written in it and not just that, but by His Holy Spirit he reveals to us what is written in our scrolls so that we can truly be kings and priests to our God and reign on the earth. Only by walking out what God ordained for us before we were formed can we truly rule and reign on the earth. Anything apart from that means that we have missed the mark and can not fully fill the place God ordained for us.
Hence Jesus said in John 16:7 "…it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you."
Why is it to your advantage? Because "… when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth (the whole truth about who you are, what you are about, what your purpose and destiny is etc)…" vs 13 and according to 1 Cor 2:9-10 "…Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love him (because until now, the scroll has been sealed) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."
With Christ's victory at Calvary, and the unsealing of the scroll, the Holy Spirit can now search the scroll to see what is written in there about you and then reveal it to you so that you can walk out your destiny in God. Jn 16:14 "He will glorify me, for he will take of (receive and draw upon) what is mine and declare (reveal, disclose, transmit) it to you." Can you see it? The Holy Spirit searches the depths of God concerning you then he reveals it to you!!! The scroll written about you is full of the thoughts of God for you in particular!! The mysteries of why God made you are written in it. They mysteries of what you are to do now and in the future are written in it. But the only way to access the information therein is to receive Christ as Savior and Lord and then allow the Holy Spirit to come into your life and do what he needs to.
Oh Spirit of the Living God, my manifestation as a son of the Most High God is dependent on you revealing to me what is in that scroll for this season and the seasons to come. I cannot be all God wants me to be until I know what he has planned for me. The word says not to be ignorant but to know God's good and perfect will for me. Reveal it to me Holy Spirit. Draw from Christ and disclose to me the purpose and direction for this season in Jesus Name. Holy Spirit, I cannot make it without you. You are my senior partner in every area. Lord Jesus, sanctify me and remove anything in my life that is not in the scroll for me right now. Remove relationships, jobs, things, plans anything that is not in the scroll for me. I align myself with the plans of God for me before time began. I align myself with the thoughts of God for me in this season. I decree that my ears hear, my eyes see and my heart conceives what God has in store for me as revealed by His Spirit in Jesus Name. Amen!
My Senior Partner
I took the day off today to meet with God about the way forward. He is doing great things in my life and I am truly blown away at the goodness of the Lord. He has an assignment for me that is greater than anything he has ever done in my life before. One thing is clear to me. That I am going to see a greater measure of the outworking of the Holy Spirit in my life affecting how I do business and everything else in my life.
1 Cor 2:1-5 says:
"When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling, my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."
This job that I now hold will require that I stand before men of great wealth, position and honor. That is enough to fulfill the weakness, fear and trembling part. However, God has been so kind to me and has put my mind at ease. Usually, when you want to make a presentation you want to use clever words and use persuasive speech in order to get buy in. God said that like Paul, I need to partner with the Holy Ghost. Mine is to make the presentation in plain speech and the Holy Spirit will do the persuading on my behalf.
It makes it so easy to know that I don't have to convince them to buy in. The Holy Spirit will do that. All I have to do is prepare my presentation, be informed and ready and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. I love knowing that he will be there with me, touching them and convincing them to buy into what I am selling. God is so faithful.
If you are out there either marketing, selling, branding, doing business in any way. Partner with the Spirit of the Living God and see what comes out of it. I am so blessed by God. It makes life so easy and lifts the burden of thinking 'I have to do a really good job of convincing them or I'm out.' Not so. Do your part and let the Holy Spirit, your senior partner do the rest. HE will bring about the desired result!
1 Cor 2:1-5 says:
"When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling, my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."
This job that I now hold will require that I stand before men of great wealth, position and honor. That is enough to fulfill the weakness, fear and trembling part. However, God has been so kind to me and has put my mind at ease. Usually, when you want to make a presentation you want to use clever words and use persuasive speech in order to get buy in. God said that like Paul, I need to partner with the Holy Ghost. Mine is to make the presentation in plain speech and the Holy Spirit will do the persuading on my behalf.
It makes it so easy to know that I don't have to convince them to buy in. The Holy Spirit will do that. All I have to do is prepare my presentation, be informed and ready and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. I love knowing that he will be there with me, touching them and convincing them to buy into what I am selling. God is so faithful.
If you are out there either marketing, selling, branding, doing business in any way. Partner with the Spirit of the Living God and see what comes out of it. I am so blessed by God. It makes life so easy and lifts the burden of thinking 'I have to do a really good job of convincing them or I'm out.' Not so. Do your part and let the Holy Spirit, your senior partner do the rest. HE will bring about the desired result!
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