Multiplying Your Life

Sometimes old truths can become routine and neglected. Here is an old truth that is as young as today's news: It is God's intention for His own to be multipliers. We are to receive the Truth and then take the Truth to others by reproducing the life of Christ in others.
I never was a whiz at higher math; calculus sure wasn't my favorite subject. But I do understand multiplication. Our LORD uses basic multiplication to build His kingdom. You see, this relationship called Christianity isn't intended to be a theoretical religious exercise. It is about multiplying new disciples.
Here's how Chuck Swindoll explains this multiplication: "Jesus chose a few people with whom He could build a relationship and in whom He could pour His life so that when He was gone they could turn the whole world upside down."
However don't assume that this is easy multiplication. Making disciples is difficult. It can be messy and long-term. Everyone is part of this big dysfunctional family called the human race. Each person brings their personal baggage to the multiplication process. That is why relying on His Spirit is essential in reproducing followers of Christ.
I love how Chris Adsit says it" "The primary objective of discipleship is to bring your disciple to the point of "digging his own well" (to drink from the Word) and lose his dependence on you."
May our multiplication skills increase.
Now that's the Heart of the Matter.

What People Really Want

Over the past three years I have been conducting an admittedly non-scientific, yet reliable poll. I frequently ask persons who may be struggling with some life issues this question:

" What do you want that you don't have?"

The overwhelmingly most frequent answer might surprise you. Do you think the answer might be "More money"? Wrong. How about, "Better health or a bigger house"? Nope. Maybe, "A trimmer waistline or better physical fitness"? Wrong again. Is the answer "A better portfolio or financial security"? Likewise no - not even close.

Far more often than not, when I ask this question the answer is, (drum roll please)...

"Peace"

Odd huh? Of all the answers to that question, "peace" is by far the most frequent. People most desire peace. It's a fleeting possession with millions of people who may be well healed, well positioned or in well health. Yet they long for peace. When peace is absent in any relationship, even our inner relationship with ourselves, life becomes miserable. Perhaps that's why, when Jesus appeared to the disciples in a locked room after His resurrection, the first thing He said to them was, "Peace be with you" (John 20:19). Jesus knew what they most wanted above all else: Peace. We all need peace. It can't be bought, traded for, inherited or earned.

Do you like the origins of words? Interestingly the New Testament word for "peace" is nearly synonymous with the salvation brought by the Messiah. If you want peace it can be found only through Him.

Peace be with you during this Easter season.

The Obsession With The World's End

A mega trend of our time is the interest in the end of the world. Both Hollywood and pop culture have recognized this trend as they capitalize on the "End Times Market". Global thermonuclear war ... a collision with a giant asteroid ... an invasion by menacing extraterrestrials ... Hollywood and television producers never lack for creative ideas about how the world will end. A popular current myth is that the Mayan people predicted the world's end in 2012. (Interesting that the Mayans themselves are now extinct.)

I grew-up in a similar time; during the Cold War, when Americans were preparing for a Russian nuclear invasion. At age ten I watched neighbors dig bomb shelters in their backyards, prompting me to be a little nicer to them - just in case the big blast came. We had "bomb drills" at school, and practiced sheltering under our desk tops when the bomb was launched. I never understood how that desk was going to save me from destruction, fallout and death, but we practiced nonetheless.

Amid all those fears about the end then, my mother uttered some profound logic: "Why are so many worried about the end of the world? After all when you die, it's the end of the world for you, so you better be ready."

That was good advice then and is good advice now. Don't want to spoil your day, but we are all in the process of approaching the end. We need to be ready. Contact me if you aren't sure if you are ready.

Now that's the heart of the matter.

Hurry Up by Slowing Down

Here's the way John Maxwell says it:

"A minute of thinking is often more valuable than an hour of talk or unplanned work."

Never in the history of humankind has there been so much access to so much information in so little time. A byproduct of the incredible technology revolution is that information and opinions on any topic are literally at our fingertips. There is no information that can't be immediately accessed on your computer or the world wide web on your cell phone. Nor is there a shortage of voices that can tell us just about anything we want to know on any subject. (If you don't agree with me, ask yourself when you last visited the research section at your local library to find information on a topic. Or....when was the last time you opened a World Book or Encyclopedia Britannica to learn some information about a topic?)
Living in the midst of this wave of information sure has its advantages. Yet as with most good things, there can be a bad side to all this. Independent thinking is quickly vanishing. Taking time to think through a matter almost seems wrong in light of the new emphasis that we have on the speed of gathering information. When God spoke through the psalmist the words "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10, He was saying it's good to cease from personal efforts and frenetic schedules and simply take time to slow down. When we do that He makes Himself known to us. One minute of quiet thinking can rumble with the thunder of good decisions.
Now that's the heart of the matter.

"Now I Get It"

C.S. Lewis once said that the first words we will utter in heaven will be, Oh! Now I see! Lewis understood that there are events and issues in our lives that are part of an unknown, divinely planned, bigger picture. There are some things, according to Lewis, we won't understand until we are glorified in heaven.
We want explanations for everything. I often encounter people looking for a key answer for why bad things happen in lives. My best advice is that on this side of heaven we may never know. That goes for personal tragedies and yes, for national tragedies, such as what we are witnessing in Haiti. In recent days there has been a plethora of possible explanations for the horrific death and destruction left by the earthquake in Haiti: Global warming, a Haitian pact with Satan and the neglect of the 3rd World are a few of the desparate attempts to explain how 200,000 people could die in this tragedy.
Here's what we know: We don't know why it happened, but we are called to help. Later on we might "get it"; right now our response as Christ-followers is to be a part of the soloution, not the explanation.
Now that's the heart of the matter.

Monuments To Ourselves

King Saul of Israel was one impressive dude. He came from one of the best of families and possessed the best of looks. Considered the most handsome man in Israel, his good looks were impressively accentuated by his tall stature. 1 Samuel 9:2 says Saul stood head and shoulders above everyone else. When you took-in Saul, you looked up, and his appearance didn't disappoint.

Had there been an Israelite Idol television show, Saul would have been the hands- down winner. When the people demanded a king, there was therefore little surprise that it was Saul that the prophet Samuel anointed. It was as if this gifted and skilled military victor was destined for that role. He was "The Man".

When we read about King Saul in 1 Samuel 14, he has his priorities strait. After some early successes as Israel's leader, Saul does the right thing: He builds an altar to God (1 Samuel 14:35). Saul knew who was responsible for his achievements - God alone.

Saul soon neglected the Source of his success however.

Twenty-eight short verses later, in 15:12, King Saul built a second monument. This monument wasn't a monument to God, but a monument to .....well .... Saul. Success can cause us to build personal monuments - perhaps just in our minds, but monuments nonetheless. Saul got caught-up with himself, his great victories and the hero worship of those around him. His personal dependence on God was replaced by his personal pride. He went from building monuments to God to erecting monuments to himself.

Sadly, Saul's success dropped like a rock from that moment forward. His genius lost its luster. His popularity suffered. His emotions got out of control and his reign became a total disaster. He lost his blessing, his success and his life as a result of his pride. It all started when the first brick of his monument to himself was put in place.

May we learn from Saul's mistakes.

Now that's the heart of the matter.

People Pleasers

Looking for a sure recipe to failure and frustration? Try being a People Pleaser. It's a dead-end street. These sad folks have an insatiable and habitual desire to try to please everyone --an impossible quest. They eventually become approval addicts who may even try to become someone other than who they really are in order to please others. They obsess with seeking approval, which in turn compromises their convictions and leaves them with unhealthy boundaries. The ultimate outcome for people pleasers is misery.

The Pulitzer Prize winner, Henry Bayard Swope said, " I cannot give you a formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: Try to please everybody."

The root cause of people pleasing and approval addiction is a misplaced effort to satisfy deep needs. Everyone is created with 3 God-given needs - the needs for love, for significance and for security. All of us have those needs. Guess what? People can't meet those needs; only God can:

"God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 4:19)

So how to move from being a people pleaser? First admit the truth to yourself and significant others. Second accept personal responsibility for your happiness and peace - Don't let your happiness be dependent on others' happiness. Third, stop focusing on what the other person is doing and focus on what you are doing, (that can be a little scary-- especially the first time). Fourth move to emotionally safe relationships. Finally and most importantly, get your approval priorities straight:

" Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God?
Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to
please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."
(Galatians 1:10)

May we all care less and less about what people think, and more and more about what God thinks.

Now that's the heart of the matter.