It is far too easy to fall into the trap of looking for God’s permission to do or act or respond when we really should be seeking His providential guidance. This is tricky – how do we tell the difference? How do we uncover what God would have us do in contrast to what He often allows us to do? Watch this short vlog then listen to the full podcast of the same name.
How often do we look at our experiences, determine what God’s will is for us and then notice it just happens to coincide with what we want? How do we uncover what God would have us do in contrast to what He often allows us to do?
Many of our life experiences are a result of small decisions that are actually a result of indecision. Lot hesitated when it came to godly choices and he constantly did “almost” enough when it came to godly actions. What can he teach us?
Whether we think about it or not, we all leave a legacy behind us as a result of our life and experience. Sometimes that legacy can be rich with wisdom, accomplishment and example, and other times our legacy can be a sad tale of unfulfilled potential, broken dreams and a trail of “if only” and “why didn’t I?” What advice do you want to leave your loved ones so that their lives could blossom with fulfilled potential and with true contentment? Watch this 2-minute vlog and then listen to the complete podcast to recenter your thinking about the influence you have on those closest to you.
In many ways we are daily in a fight for our lives. There are so many choices that present themselves to us each and every day, many of which can distract and derail us from what is most important. The biggest factor that determines whether we stay on track with life or go down some rabbit hole of distraction and disruption is simply...me. Yup, I am the decision maker - the gatekeeper of my own mind and body - and I alone have final say as to what kind of victory or what kind of defeat I will experience. Now, wait a minute! As a Christian shouldn’t I be subject to the will of God through Christ? Absolutely! Then why am I saying that I am in control? It’s simple! I decide how much influence the will of God will exercise in my life at any given moment and that makes ME my worst enemy! Great! Now what do we do? What do we do? We learn how to identify, fight and win the battle!
We make choices every day. Some are easy choices that we don’t even need to think much about and there are others that require some on-the-fly time and attention. Then there are the choices that can be difficult and even agonizing. These are the choices that can make or break a life or shape a destiny, or at the very least, alter the near future. These are the biggest choices we face, but they may not necessarily be the most important ones. We probably don’t think about how often our really big decisions end up being a sum total of many small and seemingly irrelevant choices we have made without much thought. The point is that all of our choices carry a measure of importance! So, what guides us in the choices we make? Are we most often influenced by how we feel about things or by what our friends or family will think? What are the most important factors in successful Christian decision making?
How do you decide what God would have you to do if the choices before you all have strong positives? Is there some all-inclusive formula to make a good decision?
All you have to do is look around – what do you see? There is knowledge, there is technology, there are people, places and things. We rush and we are impatient. We want what we want now. We text, but we don’t talk – we type but we don’t write. We have “friends,” but we don’t touch – we have families but we are not familiar. We build our dreams around ourselves, but we are lonely. Why is there such a massive and growing disconnect between our lives and our contentment? It is because we are not wise… We know we are smart, we are even savvy, but we are not wise and this is a problem!
If you ever want to go somewhere, it’s usually a good idea to know where you are going and what the path is to get there. The destination of pleasing and serving God is no exception. The problem is, that there are so many interpretations as to what direction to go and what to take along with you, that the average person asking the question, “What does God want from me?” will be overwhelmed by the variety of answers. So, “What does God want from me?” Stay with us and find out!
All of us who claim to be Christians would probably agree that Jesus is the centerpiece of our lives and that following him is our most important task. If we were to leave the conversation there, then it would seem to be a clear and easy conclusion. However, there is so much more to this story! What does it mean to truly follow him? What are “the words of eternal life” to which Simon Peter referred? Are they easy to find? Are they easy to follow? Are they available anywhere else? Stay with us as we look into these words of eternal life and example of Jesus to see if we are truly following him and no one else!
