Archives For discipleship

BALANCE: My one word

January 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

Courtesy of Wordle.net

So, we’re well into the new year, and I’m still trying to refine my personal goals. First though, I must make a true confession:

I am not Superman. I am human.

Sure, you’re probably not overly surprised by that. However, at some level I’ve been acting for far too long like I am somehow Superman. Although I’m a minister and understand all too well the dangers of compassion fatigue, I have allowed my life to become completely and totally unbalanced. How do I know?

MY PROBLEM

I work an ungodly number of hours each week, often ‘forgetting’ to grab lunch and frequently staying up until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. to work on a project. Sometimes I don’t make it to bed at all.

I don’t spend sufficient time with my family — totally focused and engaged with them. Sure, we’re often in the same room, but the ‘electronic leash’ called the iPhone manages to occupy my time and compete for my attention. And I frequently find myself browsing the internet on my phone while browsing a separate page on my laptop. That’s insane.

I don’t take good physical care of myself. We’ve already determined that I don’t always eat meals as I should. What I do eat is usually not that great for me nutrition-wise. We’ve also determined that I don’t get adequate sleep and rest. And I can’t overstate how much of a toll that takes on me in a multitude of ways. It’s no wonder that I’ve developed a number of health issues over the past several years. Fortunately, there’s nothing real serious going on that I’m aware of, but the stress of life exacerbates every little problem. My doctors have warned me that I must slow down and take care of myself.

MY SOLUTION

All of this is just to say that rather than listing a whole lot of resolutions that I’ll probably just end up breaking after a short while, like many people, I’ve decided to focus on just one word for this year. That word is BALANCE.

Now I’m sure that sounds all well and good. I’m sure you’re all for me making some changes. However, this perfectionist is going to have to accept some stark realities. So are those who associate regularly with me.

MY ACTION STEPS

In order to achieve my goal of leading a much more balanced lifestyle, I am going to have to make some choices that — for me — are pretty big ones:

      • I will disable the audible e-mail alert on my phone.
    • I will not bring my phone to the dinner table. It cannot be welcome there.
    • I will not always get work done with the speed and level of detail to which I and those around me have become accustomed. We’re all just going to have to deal with that disappointment.
    • I will make a concerted effort to get proper nutrition, exercise, and rest.
    • I will delegate some responsibilities to others who are perfectly capable of doing the work.
    • I will take time to slow down and spend quality time with my wife and kids. (It’s a well-known fact that ministers often have some of the most dysfunctional children. May that not be my legacy as a father.)
    • I will learn to tell people ‘No’ — especially when their need simply evidences poor planning or lack of forethought. Not everything is my problem.

MY EXAMPLE

I am committed to doing whatever it takes to restore balance and health to my life. After all, how can I effectively counsel others to live balanced lives if I’m not modeling that kind of lifestyle? This is not about will-power; it’s about making good choices — one after the other — with God’s help.

BALANCE. It is absolutely non-negotiable for me. I must never let myself get to this point again. Ever.

IT’S YOUR TURN!
What word do you need to focus on during this calendar year?

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Did you like this post? If so, you might also be interested in these previous posts:

• A life without regrets?

• Some help with resolutions

• 10 secrets to keeping those resolutions

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3 lies the devil can’t wait for you to believe (and how to beat him back)

January 12, 2012 — 3 Comments

Growing up in a church-going family, I learned early on that the devil was a very real part of life. Of course, it didn’t hurt that in the deep South, certain oft-repeated phrases served as a healthy reminder of that fact . . . things like:

    • ” . . . scared the devil out of me!” (whenever somebody got really frightened)
    • ” . . . the devil whippin’ his wife” (whenever rain and sun were present at the same time)
    • “The devil got into him.” (whenever one succumbed to the temptations of the evil one)

Scripture teaches us that the battles we wage as believers really are largely battles of good versus evil. Too often we let evil have victory in our lives — in the so-called ‘little things’ that perhaps don’t make much difference. Or so we say.

The truth is that Satan, while extremely shrewd, is also limited. There are only so many tricks he has up his sleeve. The sad thing is that even though we can spot his arsenal pretty much anywhere, we still let him have his way far too often without so much as a whimper, let alone a fight.

For those who are in Christ, the best hope the devil has is to discourage our hearts, distract us from our mission, and define us by our past. He knows that Christ has already won the victory, and the pages of history are just playing out according to God’s perfect plan. Therefore, Satan focuses on us with laser-like precision in a battle for our minds. You see, if he can get us in a mental tug-of-war, we’ll never be effective for the Kingdom of God.

HERE ARE THREE LIES SATAN CAN’T WAIT FOR YOU TO BELIEVE:

1. “You don’t really belong to God.” With this lie Satan aims at the very heart of our faith. He challenges us to doubt our salvation experience — and pulls out lots of ‘evidence’ from our emotional pile of dirty laundry. “If you belonged to God,  you wouldn’t do these sinful things,” he whispers. Reality Check: Not all doubts are necessarily from Satan. However, while salvation is a point of decision/acceptance of God’s gift to us through Jesus Christ, personal discipleship is a process that will not reach completion until we meet Jesus face to face

2. “God doesn’t really care about you.” This is a real manipulative power play that has only one goal: confusion. In this mode, Satan brings all our problems to the forefront of our mind: debt, health issues, relationship and intimacy problems, dissatisfaction with work, etc. I think some of Satan’s chief channels for communicating this ridiculous message are the proponents of the ‘health and prosperity gospel.’ That’s not to say that those individuals are not believers — but to point out that Satan can use even believers to bring about confusion. We live in a fallen world. Problems come. People die — which in most cases involves developing some sort of health issue — no matter how faithful they are to the Lord.

3. “This is as good as it gets.” Every now and then, Satan tries to convince us that the Bible is just one big fairytale. He tells us there’s no God, no heaven, no abundant life. In this line of attack, the devil strives to drive daggers in our very hope. If we begin to think there’s no hope, then we’ll certainly not be sharing the Good News with others.

I believe that everyone has doubts from time to time; otherwise, there would be no need for faith. However, when those doubts arise, the only proper response is to confess them to God (He already knows what you’re thinking and feeling), challenge them with Scripture, and command in Jesus’ name that Satan have no power over your mind.

And always hold on to the powerful truth of Scripture:

“This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:2-4, NIV [emphasis mine]

IT’S YOUR TURN!
What are some other lies that Satan tells you? How do you handle those times when doubts arise?

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Did you like this post? If so, you might also be interested in these previous posts:

• God is in control

• It’s time to get serious!

• The process of becoming

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