Life Perspective – Page 3 – "…because you matter!"

Focus – Look Where You Want To Go

From where do you draw your direction?

Where is it that you get your lead?

We live in a culture that bombards us and presses us to take our lead, our directives from what is before our eyes. It’s called advertising. It’s called ‘News.’ It’s called trending.

So, what is before your eyes?

Maybe, like a widely represented group in Canada, your answer would be social media or news media.

All too often I think we are cultured to fit, flow, and move with the pack. Given just enough information to ‘help us’ develop our opinion we move onto the next media onslaught.

Focus is everything in our context; where we are looking is where we are going. That may not seem like a big deal until you wind up at a place that is not okay then you scratch your head wondering how you could be so far off track.

The principle is ‘Look at where you want to go.’ This phrase is true in the Martial Arts; as my son has been instructing me, look at where you want that kick to land. It is also true in professional driving, ‘look to the horizon of where you want to go.’

Our look, our ‘set’ is paramount.

Why not set your eyes, your focus, and your vision now, before you find your life off course?

Maybe this blog finds you off course. You can change your trajectory with a new focus.

David, the giant killer/King, did it. Psalm 16:8

Paul, the Christian persecutor, found his focus and became the forgiven propagator and prolific author of the Christian faith. Philippians 3:13b-14

Maybe today you can find your focus, your set, and your target?

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Attitude, Get Ready

Get Ready

Everybody is ready for something.

Some people are ready to quit. Some are ready to exceed expectations. Some people are ready to leave, and others are ready to stay. A few are ready to go back to bed. Then there are those that are ripe-ready to get angry. (That would be someone else). Others are party-bursts waiting to happen.

What are you ready for?

Getting ready has an action attached even if you haven’t thought about it or don’t realize it.

If you knew that I was coming to pick you up for dinner, not just any dinner but we are going to dinner at your favorite spot with your favorite sports hero, or movie star, you would immediately start preparing.

Your preparation would start with your dreams then it would move to the order of your day and what has to happen and then it would be the practical steps to make yourself ready. Nothing has changed in your day up until this moment, just information. But you would immediately start your list in mind preparation. Immediately.

If I then showed up at your door at the appointed time with my sandals, t-shirt, and swimsuit only to inform you that we were going to the beach instead, you most likely would be angry. Why? You would be upset because you believed me and then took the appropriate time to get ready. You already were taking action for the dream that was playing in your mind.

Well, here is some enormously important information.

God has great plans for you. He wants to move you and your heart-dreams ahead. He wants you to prosper with no downside. He wants your heart to look ahead in hope to a bright future.

Jeremiah gave this promise in the middle of a prophecy to the people of Israel. They were in hard times and some of those times were going to get even harder.

Right into the middle of their pain, God speaks this promise through Jeremiah.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV)

I say, “It’s time to get ready!”

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Attitude

From Blessings to Hellholes

After living in his car in -10 degrees, $325.00 for a room and shared washrooms looked perfect for my friend in the boom town to which we had just moved.
These first answers in a long line of needs, job, permanent accommodations, and family separation just to name a few quickly felt like a windfall from the heavens. Several people that I met there and lived with could tell this same story.
I found it amazingly intriguing what transpired over the next few months.
These same people managed to find a job, start work. Their bank balance began to increase, their familiarity with their environment and system of the city, made them more comfortable, and they started to feel entitled to something better.
Now, they “Can’t wait to get out of this hellhole.”
How did these accommodations, though simple, change from a blessing to a hellhole?
Granted, they weren’t the newest, they were old. The accommodations weren’t the cleanest; they were old. But it was a far cry from the $700.00 others were paying for a single room, and it definitely was better than the back seat of a car.
Something changed for my buddy. What?
He had the same accommodations and great people living there. (Somewhat biased)
He had the same price.
He had the same people managing.
He was the same person evaluating.
There was only one distinct difference that I could find; my accommodation buddy chose a new attitude. Not good, not great; just new.
As I recall, things eventually worked out for all of us who shared this accommodation story.
If you are going to live through something anyway, why not live through it with a smile in your heart, not just on your face, but in your heart.
You can make that choice.

You Don’t Have To; You Get To!

Attitude, Change

Change Priority

What is it that causes me to have a can-do attitude? Why can I work at something and make it work while another doesn’t seem to have the heart or motivation? Why, conversely, can they see phenomenal success in an area that is entirely foreign to me?

Could it be simply that the area in question has not made it to the top of the list as a priority for them or myself?

Priorities are created in the privacy of our thoughts, the deep down places of the inner person. They receive the energy that others can observe as they get fleshed out and become visible.

It occurred to me today that the reason a person is not willing to make a change is because the need for change hasn’t yet tripped their priority list.

I am aware that some people don’t believe that other people can change. These same people assume that once you reach adulthood, you are what you are.

I once heard it said, “You will be the same next year except for the people you meet and the books that you have read.” There might be some merit to that. I also think that there may be one more ingredient to add to the change mix; the pressure you were put under to make a change.

We change when we get convinced in our inner thoughts; when the people we respect are modeling the attribute; and when life’s pressure reorients us to what is imperative.

What is the difference between a good idea and something that makes it to your priority list? A good idea is just that, a conversation piece, an elevated thought that receives attention.

A Priority means that you are choosing one over another; one thought, one action, one person, a set of values or lack thereof.

What are your priorities? What is your number one priority? What is it that holds value at the innermost core of your being? Is that a value worth keeping? If not, what is your strategy for real change?

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Confidence

Take a moment, consider.

Imagine for a moment that God actually will hear your request and grant your answer.

I think that more often than not we think exactly opposite. We tend to make a story up in our minds as to why he will not. We base it on performance modules like worth and mile-markers. We raise an impossible standard in our mind story, and it is usually just a little beyond our reach of stellar performance.

So when we come to God in prayer or request, we do not have the confidence that we will see success. We tell ourselves that he will take care of everybody else but will forget about us. Frankly we concede, ‘We don’t measure up.’ That might be true, but its role and strength are out of context.

The truth is we don’t measure up, but we were never supposed to. In the right context this thought propels us toward God but in this previous context, it steals our confidence before Him.

We don’t have confidence because somewhere our heart guard has been compromised. Either it is by something that we have allowed or something that has happened to us that has penetrated and hurt us.

We forgot the practical command, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23, NIV)

So how do you get your confidence back?

Start by recognizing that you somehow dropped your heart guard.

Confess this to God through prayer. Get that straight; get your inside world back in order. Remember we have a promise that if we confess he forgives and cleanses. The confession is for our awareness. He already knows all; it’s not new to him. Confessing helps us realign our private world. We openly let ourselves know that he knows.

Confidence is all about transparency knowing that there are no secrets, hidden agendas or manipulative tactics at play. There are no shadows or pockets of darkness lurking and planting fear. “Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God…” (1 John 3:21, NIV)

Come back into confidence. You have a God who loves you and wants that kind of relationship with you.

Just like in a great father-child relationship, I wouldn’t hesitate to jump up into my father’s lap, so that is what it looks like to come before God with confidence.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5:14-15, NIV)

There is a lap of acceptance waiting for you.

Go ahead and jump!

You Don’t Have To Live; You Get To!

Attitude, Sacrifice and Joy

Good Friday Joy

Kilroy

They looked with wonder and anticipation; they were not certain what they were looking at or for, but they knew they had a promise.¹ Like the image of Kilroy, they were here and desperately wanted to know, but there was a fence of their future that we now know as our history. They had the details, marked locations, and moments, but they didn’t, or rather weren’t able, to connect all the dots; they weren’t able to see it with our 20/20 hindsight.

Paul writes and calls it, “the mystery kept hidden for ages.”²

This mystery crafted the resolute joy in Jesus’ heart, so much so, that this is the reason Hebrews says he went through with the brutal, inhuman torture and death. It was, “For the joy that set before him.”³

Joy wasn’t just reuniting with the Father; that was his rightful place.

The joy came as he looked into the future, now our history. He saw the exponential outpouring of the Holy Spirit on all flesh, ⁽⁴⁺⁵⁾ the mystery of God accomplished. He had to die and rise again to get the job done. He saw an intrinsically thorough, life-transforming work that would happen everywhere all at once and would happen through anyone who believed, because of the price of his sacrifice.

That motivated him to the core. You and I are part of that motivational joy.

As you muse on the price paid, so that you can live in relationship with God, think about the joy that moved Jesus to accomplish his task.

Maybe it will motivate you to accomplish yours. Maybe it will commission you for your task.

You Don’t Have To; You Get To!

1) Ephesians 3:6 (NIV)

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

2) Colossians 1:25-27 (NIV)

I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

3) Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)

…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

4) Acts 2:16-17a (NIV)

No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

“‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people…”

5) Acts 10:44-45 (NIV)

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.

Attitude, Religiously Lost

Religiously Lost

Oh my ‘I’s’ were dotted and my ‘T’s’ were crossed, and I was doing everything right according to my religious protocol, but, I was missing the critical focus or component.

This focus wasn’t a thing or a ritual; this component was a person. I was missing (not getting) Him.

Until he had a private conversation with me and nudged me in my thoughts with the question, I was willingly unaware of my lack.

“Phil do you like me?”

I responded to my thoughts, ” I love you, Lord.” My mind went to my life that I built around church and service. I showed up with unbridled devotion, most of the time. I led congregations in worship, and I had spent hours in preparation for teaching and imparting God’s Word.

He nudged again, “That’s not what I asked. Do you like me?”

That question changed my life. I was religiously numb and conveniently occupied. I had to answer honestly, and my honesty bothered me.

God, who came to earth to bring people to himself, was good, but I was extremely uncomfortable with a Christ who spent time with untouchables, who went into places and situations where a ‘good religious person’ shouldn’t go. He did things that had I been present, I would have blushed at or hidden from, my religion wouldn’t approve.

He lived at his pace, not swayed by anyone or anything. Ya, I didn’t like the way he rolled. He wouldn’t get into my religious box. Shame.

Great questions change lives.

This issue changed my life. Maybe it will change yours.

“Hey there nice religious person, do you like me?”

You Don’t Have to Live; You Get To!

Renovation, Transformation

Painfully Beautiful

We have been renovating our house a little at a time as we have had the funds and time. We have started with the priority jobs and are working through our list as we can.

I have recently begun to complete the floor replacement. You see it is a project that I started three years ago and had been doing one room at a time. I have been able to do two rooms in the last couple of years and now have acquired the material to complete this flooring phase, so yes, I’ve started again.

The problem with flooring is it’s kind of foundational in that if you plan to move walls, add a fireplace or change a room size, you have to solidify those plans before you put the floor down, or you will have to redo the floor again.

Our plans have been morphing and changing as we have been in the process. These ideas though promisingly wonderful can also grow the costs and the work.

Renovations are very much like and are a part of Transformations. They begin one board at a time, one thought at a time, and one change at a time. You have to get rid of the old before replacing it with the new.

Sometimes when you uncover the old, you realize that it is itself a covering for something yet older. For your renovation, your transformation to be thorough, you need to get down to the frame; the plywood; the structure. In some cases, the structure may even need to be replaced or altered. Once you are down to the structure, the foundation of your job, you can begin the restoration process, bringing it back to its original, renewed form.

Transformation happens when you alter the original structure and do something new. That’s what happens when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. He transforms us to make us what he has purposed for us to be. Often his work is to the core and can look confusing while you are in the middle of it. That is what it looks like when you renovate and restore. The mess often feels bigger than life and begs the question of “Is it worth it?”

It is worth all of it and it is based on the prayer that Paul offered to God, for the Philippian believers, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6, NIV)

This life altering process is so painfully beautiful.

You don’t have to live: You get to!

Uncategorized, Worth

Worth

It’s a reach, a reach way back, but if my grade nine memory serves me correctly, I think that I remember the cost of our human body. When it all shakes down with all the water extracted all that is left are the minerals, I think that the price of the minerals was $7.00. If that is all that we are about, I think you would agree it isn’t much. It’s not even worth the time that it took me to write this paragraph or the time you took to read it.

Aren’t you glad, I mean super glad that our worth and value are not the same as the cost of personal minerals?

Value and worth speak about importance and meaning.

God decided to get involved with this human race, not because of minerals and water, but because of intrinsic value. He invested his life and reputation just to know you and to do life with you.

Not bad for a seven bucks.

You don’t have to live; You Get To!

Character

I am quite concerned.

It would seem that Character has become just an ancient word. Its significance is at best diluted, and at worst, disregarded.

In a fast-paced world of apparent transparency, openness and tolerance we have missed the on-ramp to Character.

Our modern quick fix, throw-away culture has lost the baking soda of character, to use another metaphor.

It would appear that all the necessary ingredients are in place, but in fact, everything lies flat.

Like baking soda, Character doesn’t display itself in the mix until the heat is turned up. Baking soda at room temperature doesn’t even appear to be effective. Character when submersed in an “everything’s cool environment,” appears the same. It is there, but its real usefulness doesn’t yet show itself.

It’s when the option of compromise is present; when the explosion of anger presents; when the action of integrity wanes, in the quiet of privacy, that’s when it becomes evident.

Character, like baking soda, shows through the tough work of Process. We only get it by allowing the pressure, the heat of circumstances to change us on the inside. But then, that makes sense.

The chief baker knows how our lives should look. He knows what the finished product we’ll be, and he knows how real purpose should look. He’s the one who will finish what he has started.

Don’t disregard the pressure or the heat. It’s making something beautiful.

If the timer hasn’t gone off, you are still in process.

You don’t have to live; You get to!