Weekly Inspiration (10/22/16)

photo taken 10-3-16 at 7:06 P.M. in my side yard

The white "flower" is a weed.  The red leaves are from a vine that no owner wants in his yard.  These two create quite the Christmas contrast (only 63 shopping days left).

Remember that God can take the "undesirables" in your life and transform them into something that will bring Him glory.  That is His specialty.

My Thoughts Inexactly (04/30/16)

NOTES:

• Today's subject is the word 'why.'
• Investigating the word 'why' initially produces more questions than answers.
• When you do something without answering 'why', you can easily get into a rut.
• Don't change things just to say you changed them.
• If you don't know why you are doing 'this', then there is a possibility you shouldn't be doing 'this' this way.
• Allow the questions to lead you to better answers.
• As you investigate 'why', don't rush the process.

The Four Kings of Christmas (Magi) (Part 4) (Mt. 2:1-12)

Conclusion:

• The magi were curious, certain and committed.
• They were curious about the star's rising.
• They were certain about the star's meaning.
• They were curious about the king's identity.
• They were certain about their own responsibility.
•  They were committed to an inconvenient journey.
• They were certain about their noble purpose.
• The magi were curious, certain and committed, but they weren't changed.
• They made the right decisions, followed the right protocol, offered the right gifts and displayed the right posture in worship.
• Having satisfied their curiosity and fulfilled their commitment, the magi returned to their land.
• How we wish the account said that they were changed as a result of what they encountered!
• How we wish the account said that they quit their astrological pursuits!
• How we wish the account said that they became evangelists once they got home, spreading the good news about the birth of a Savior-King!
• None of those things are mentioned in the biblical account.
• We can assume that they went back to the way things were before they saw the star.
• What a squandered opportunity!
• How close the magi came to significant, lasting, spiritual change!
• They stopped short because they chose to manage Christmas.  Their management instinct said to get close but not too close.  Their management style said to be interested but distant.  Their management manual said to be polite and respectful while remembering to bow down and worship.  Oh, yes, and bring a good offering.  In other words, go only so far and no further. Don't get carried away.
• The magi did many things correctly, but they left the most important thing behind.
• They got the formality, respect, offering and worship posture right.
• In spite of the external things they got right, the magi did not get the internal thing, the ultimate thing, right.
• The ultimate thing, the internal and eternal thing, is this: What will you do with Jesus, now that you have encountered Him?
• What will you do with Jesus?
• You can do what the magi did – be religiously correct.
• You can settle for having attended, stood at the right time, sat at the right time, listened at the right time, closed your eyes during the prayer time, and put something into the offering.
• While those behaviors are commendable, they fall short of God's design.
• You can do what the magi didn't – surrender to Jesus, repent of your sin, and begin to live for Jesus instead of yourself.
• You can maximize the opportunity you had to be in church and to encounter Jesus.
• You can turn from your sin and turn toward Jesus.
• You can ask Jesus to forgive your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness, guilt and shame.
• You can invite Jesus Christ into your life to be your Savior.
• You can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, live for Jesus.
• You can have a new purpose in your life.
• God's design is that, when you meet His Son Jesus, your life would be changed.
• Change begins with repentance.
• Repentance isn't just a set of words to express but a lifestyle to pursue.

The Four Kings of Christmas (Magi) (Part 3) (Mt. 2:1-12)

Transition: The magi noticed the star's rising and investigated its meaning; they realized that this newborn King deserved worship; and they were willing to be led by God. Having considered the magi in such a positive tone, what was their deficiency?

SECOND, NOTICE ONE THING THE MAGI DID INCOMPLETELY (Mt. 2:12).

• THEY WENT HOME A DIFFERENT WAY THAN THEY CAME.
• That was true about their route, but not necessarily true about their lives.
• THE ENDING TO THEIR STORY IS ALMOST ANTICLIMACTIC.
• If we had written this story, most of us would have stopped at the end of verse 11.
• We would have preferred to end the story with the magi's worshiping Jesus.
• Instead, they had a dream and decided to bypass the interstate.  That's it?
• What happened when the magi returned home?
• Did they live any differently, having seen and worshiped Jesus?
• THERE IS A TEMPTATION FOR US TO PORTRAY THE MAGI DIFFERENTLY THAN THEY WERE.
• Yes, they sought Jesus.
• Yes, they bowed down before Jesus and worshiped Him.
• Yes, they presented costly gifts to Jesus.

However . . .

• There isn't any evidence that the magi stopped being magi.
• There isn't any evidence that those pagan astrologers had a conversion experience.
• There isn't any evidence that the magi became evangelists when they got home.

My Prayer (12/16/15)

Father in Heaven, I approach You in the Name of Your Risen Son, Jesus Christ. Would you grant my request that not one of us would leave His presence unchanged? Please send Your Holy Spirit to convince us that we must do more than be religious. When we encounter Jesus, we should bow down and we should worship, but we should also be changed. Help us to press in and stay engaged, that we won't miss Your direction and challenge.

Change Follows Obedience (2 Kin. 5:15, 17-18)

What a change in Naaman's thinking once he obeyed God's Word! There was an immediate generosity and sensitivity after his dip in the Jordan River. Naaman thought differently about his money, his occupation and his worship.

Remember that obedience comes first. Change follows obedience. Don't wait for your thinking to change before you obey God. Obey God and your thinking will change.

Change Follows Obedience (2 Kin. 5:15, 17-18)

What a change in Naaman's thinking once he obeyed God's Word! There as an immediate generosity and sensitivity after his dip in the Jordan River. Naaman thought differently about his money, his occupation and his worship.

Remember that obedience comes first. Change follows obedience. Don't wait for your thinking to change before you obey God. Obey God and your thinking will change.

Before and After (Mk. 5:15)

For context, please read Mark 5:1-20.

"From the age of 18, Pennie and I have searched for buried treasure in auction houses. When you collect the misfit and the broken, you quickly learn how to accentuate natural beauty and disguise the inevitable flaws. These are valuable skills for a marketing consultant.  There is magic in that moment between Before and After." (1)

Jesus doesn't deal in magic but He does deal in "before and after".  What a remarkable difference in this man!  Before Jesus came on the scene there was chaos, torment, isolation and harm.  Once Jesus arrived there was deliverance, freedom, hope and submission.

What difference has Jesus made in your life?  Is it obvious to others?

(1) Williams, Roy H.  "The Monday Morning Memo."  12.3.12

The Weber-Fechner Law

In his post titled "Overstimulated", Seth Godin referred to the Weber-Fechner Law.  "The more stimulus you're getting (light, sound, pressure, delight, sadness) the less easily you can notice a small change."

I thought about conscience.  The more you participate in something destructive, the less likely your conscience bothers you.  That doesn't make participation acceptable.  It only makes it seem less of a threat.  You fail to recognize one small change after another.  Small changes lead to big change.

Weber-Fechner also teaches about character.  The more you participate in something constructive, the less likely you'll think you're making progress.  Character is developed one step at a time.  Just because you don't see change doesn't mean it's not there.  It means you haven't settled, you haven't arrived, you're not satisfied.

Bottom line.  Every choice matters.  Makes good ones today.  Catch the little foxes (Song of Sol. 2:15).

Godin's post is at http://tinyurl.com/cs8enhv.  For more on the Weber-Fechner Law go to http://tinyurl.com/bt9nqdm. 

Talk about Change

"FaceBook had zero users in 2000, but 750 million in 2010, Wikipedia had no articles in 2000, but 19 million in 2010—it would take you 325 years to read them all. Active blogs have grown from 12,000 in 2000 to 141 million in 2010, tweets from zero to 25 billion, and iTunes downloads from zero to 10 billion. Daily emails have grown from 12 billion in 2000 to 247 billion in 2010, and text messages from 400,000 to 4.5 billion. Over 2.2 billion people are online."
http://ag.org/top/General_Superintendent/Ministers_Letter/2012_Issue_02.pdf (Accessed 04.12.12)

Breaking Barriers

Thoughts from Perry Noble's Leadership Podcast for April, 2011

• The secret to growth:  Listen to God and then do what He says.  Repeat.
• Discern your motive for wanting to break the next barrier.  Is it really because you want to see more people saved?
• God sends a harvest when you're ready to keep it.  Don't despise seasons of preparation.  Sometimes your current infrastructure can't handle all the success God wants to bring you.
• Before God does a great work through you, He does a great work in you.
• People won't champion a cause they can't understand.
• Your church is probably 2 to 3 changes away from doubling in size.

Thoughts on Change

• Though I may not have a nickel in my pocket, change is always there.
• I don't like change: it comes anyway.
• Change never asks my permission.
• Argue as I will, change wins every time. One way or the other.
• Everyone else is an expert on change. They "saw it coming," as they put it. I'm the last to know.
• Change is greedy. It is never satisfied, nor does it say, "Enough!"
• Forget economic inflation. The price for change is skyrocketing!
• The older I get, the more change I get and the harder it becomes.
• Change doesn't make appointments and prefers spontaneity.
• Only rarely does change affect just me.
• There is only one vaccine to prevent it: death.
• At least tax rates can go down.

Turnaround

Domino's Pizza is in a complete overhaul. Visit http://www.pizzaturnaround.com/ to view the video documentary of the process.

Churches may need a turnaround. What's your piece of advice for turnikng things around? After all, our "business" is more important and eternal than pizza.