Coming Into Focus

Today's talk was about Vision:

Main Verse - Hebrews 2:1

We all need to get our vision checked periodically.
To fulfill God's vision for my life, I need to:

1. Dream a God Dream
• Adage that "whatever the mind can believe, it can achieve" isn't always the case
• My dreams are inherently "me-focused"
• God's dream is bigger and better than any dream of mine
  
• God's dream may involve pain, challenges, and waiting (may be best for me, but not something I'd choose for myself, which is why it has to be God's dream instead of mine)
2. Expect God to Act
• Matthew 9:29b (NIV) - "According to your faith it will be done to you."
• Build faith by hearing God's word (preaching), reading God's word, and being around people of faith
• I can't please God without depending on Him
• God's dream should scare me because I can't do it on my own
3. Refuse to Give Up
   
• Sometimes, I just have to wait patiently
• The enemy tries to distract me and discourage me so that I will give up
4. Always Love People
   
• God has a plan: I need to seek it out
• Trust Him
• Love other people
  

Showing What You're Made Of

I was reading chapter 2 of the book of James this morning, and it struck me that, really, this is what volunteering to help out at church is all about. The chapter talks about your faith in God enabling you to show His love to others. This is exactly what's going on, whether you're greeting people when they first arrive at church, teaching their children about God in Kingdom Safari, or running the sound board to make sure everyone can hear what's being said without being overpowered. You're showing your faith in Jesus by loving the people he loves (all of us) and providing a service to them. We show God's love in our hearts when we treat everyone equally, treat them well, and give of our time and/or talents to serve them.

By the way, for another church's thoughts on volunteering, the chapter also reminded me of this post by pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring Church.

Trouble Listening

A couple of weeks ago I posted the following as the "Refrigerator Verse of the Day" on my personal blog:

Hebrews 5:11 (NLT) - "There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen."

Obviously (I hope), I meant it to be funny that one might put that on their refrigerator as an inspirational verse, but I really posted it because that morning, I felt like God was speaking to me in a gentle reprimand about how long I've known Him versus how spiritually mature I am. I'm a world-class procrastinator, late to bed, and late to rise (aside: consequently, I'm not always healthy, and I'm still working on the wealthy, and I guess I'll leave the "wise" to be determined by the reader). Therefore, it has taken me a relatively long time to develop a daily habit of spending time alone with God (reading the Bible, praying, and listening). Now that I've finally gotten to the point where I've made this a daily commitment, I can't believe how long I did without it. I can't believe HOW I did without it. I crave this time, and if I don't get it, it's so much harder to get motivated about anything else. On the other hand, when I do get this time, I feel much more peaceful when I head out the door for work.

All that to say, if you've committed your life to Christ, and especially if you're serving in the church in any capacity, I would really encourage you to spend time alone with God every morning. The more time I spend with him, the more passion I feel about serving him and serving the folks that go to our church.

Notes of the Living Debt

Today's talk was on dealing with the Attack of the Uncontrollable Wallet:

1. Pay Attention (keep records)
   
• "Riches can disappear fast..." Proverbs 27:23 - As it turns out, the Bible is true.
• "You can't win a battle when you don't know what's going on"
  
• Know
  
• what you own
• what you owe
• what you earn
• where it goes
2. Tell My Money Where to Go (budget)
   
• Money talks: it says, "Goodbye."
• A spending plan is you deciding where your money's going to go
• Financial Freedom is not about earning more and more money, it's about learning how to control what you spend
• Joe Sangl is passionate about setting people free
• "Winning the lottery is not a good financial plan."
3. Plan of Future Surprises (save)
   
• Debt is saying, "I can't afford this now, but I'm sure I'll be able to afford it later."
• Debt is taking the future's resources and pulling them into today, it is borrowing against the future.
• "The wise man saves for the future." Proverbs 21:20a
• Last year
• the average Japanese family saved 25%
• the average European family saved 18%
• the average American family saved -1% (spent 1% more than they earned).
4. Put God First (tithe)
   
• Tithing is putting God first with your money.
• In any area of life where you want God to move, you must put Him first
• His ultimate goal is to set you free: one area of freedom is financial.
• Everything belongs to God; let him take care of it.
• Plan should be 10-10-80
  
• 10% Give to God
• 10% Save for the future
  
• 80% Live on the rest
5. Enjoy What I Have (contentment)
• Need to appreciate what God has given me
• Our work doesn't equal a living; Our work + God's blessing = a living.
• If you borrow from Visa, you have to do what Visa says.
• "I wish someone like that would follow me around and keep me in line. He's like a huge Jabba-the-Hutt version of Jimmy the Cricket!" (sic)
  
• "Why work hard for something that doesn't satisfy?" - Isaiah 55:2b
  
• If you'll walk with God and do what he says, he'll take care of you and bring you out of financial struggles.