Why is winning important for a Christian?

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The Apostle Paul had a competitive spirit. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, God revealed to Paul his mission, and Paul strategically worked out this unique mission throughout his life to be a winner for the cause of Christ.

The details of Paul's mission:

1. He felt the call of God on his life to preach the Gospel. Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16).
2. He was called to be an apostle to the Gentiles. I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry (Romans 11:13, NIV).
3. He had a personal ambition to only preach the Gospel where it had never been heard before. He felt the call of God to be a pioneer evangelist. It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation (Romans 15:20, NIV). ...so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man's territory (2 Corinthians 10:16, NIV).
4. He had specific places in the Roman Empire that he desired to travel in order to spread the Gospel. He had big, hairy goals he wanted to accomplish for the Lord. Both northern Turkey (Asia) and Spain were on his agenda to visit. Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to (Acts 16:6-7). But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while (Romans 15:23-24).
   

Why was the Apostle Paul so committed to his mission and goals in spreading the Gospel in the known world? He knew that God had a prize waiting for him in heaven. What this prize is, we're not exactly sure, but Paul had a vision of striving to attain something incredibly wonderful. Perhaps the prize was being with Christ for all eternity. Once Paul's race was over, He would be able to stand before his Lord and Savior and hear these beautiful words, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21, NIV).

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:14, NIV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24, NIV).

No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:27, NIV).

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions (Colossians 2:18, NIV).

Creating your personal mission statement

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Creating a personal mission statement is not very difficult, but it will take some time to fully think through God's plan for your life and craft something that energizes you to live life to the fullest. In God's Word we read that "life is a vapor." Life is extremely short, so now is the time to invest a few hours to determine the mission God wants you to pursue.

Who should have a mission statement? Mission statements aren't just for businesses anymore! Everyone should have a mission statement, especially born again believers in Jesus Christ.

What a mission statement is not:

1. A list of goals
2. A statement of a career path
3. A to-do list
   

What should be included in a mission statement?

1. God's mission for your life.
2. A statement of service to others.
3. How your God-given time, spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, personality, experiences, and money fit into your overall mission.
4. Your passion. What gets you fired up to get out of bed in the morning?
   
5. Your community. Who were you meant to serve?
   
6. Your contribution to the world.

What resources are available to craft a strong mission statement? Here are a list of books I can recommend as excellent resources as you discover God's plan for your life:

1. Jesus CEO, Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership by Laurie Beth Jones
2. The Path, Creating Your Mission Statement For Work And For Life by Laurie Beth Jones
3. Game Plan, Winning Strategies for the Second Half of Your Life by Bob Buford
4. Half Time, Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance by Bob Buford
5. Your Best Life Now, 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential by Joel Osteen
6. The Success Journey, The Process of Living Your Dreams by John C. Maxwell
7. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren

Where should I write my mission statement? Anywhere you desire! Find a quiet, comfortable place where you can be alone with your thoughts. Once you have you completed your mission statement, post it in 2-3 places where you can view it on a regular basis.

When should I write my mission statement? There's no better time than NOW! The sooner you have a handle on God's plan for your life, the sooner you have a direction in which to head. As you work on your mission statement, be sure to focus on the task before you when you are at your best energy and concentration level.

How do I go about writing my mission statement?

1. Set aside 30 minutes to an hour a day for a couple of weeks to generate your thoughts and ideas.
2. Spend time in God's Word and prayer, asking God to reveal to you what His plan is for your life.
   
3. Utilize morning pages or a journal to get your thoughts and ideas down on paper.
4. List your spiritual gifts.
5. List your God-given talents and abilities.
6. Determine what you are truly passion about.
7. Focus on a statement of service to others.
   
8. Figure out who your target audience or community is.
9. Determine why your mission is important.

Why should I spend time writing a mission statement? God wants you to be tuned into His plan for your life. Spending time now in determining your mission is time well invested to create a clear direction for the rest of your life.

The credit belongs to those who are actually in the arena, who strive valiantly; who know the great enthusiasums, the great devotions, and spend themselves in a worthy cause; who at best know the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if they fail, fail while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. -Theodore Roosevelt

My Personal Mission Statement

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If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else. - Yogi Berra

Direction in life is critical if you desire to be used by God for great and mighty things. Most people don't have a clue where they are going. They head off in all directions without taking the time and energy to determine the purpose God has for their life. A life mission statement is a great tool to give your life a roadmap; a sense of direction.

Over the last 15 years, I have created 3-4 personal mission statements. As I have grown and developed in my spiritual, personal, and professional life, I have noticed that my mission has evolved over time due to this growth.

In the last few weeks, I found myself reviewing my current mission statement and realized that it no longer reflected who I had become as a follower of Jesus Christ.

I have created a new mission statement that I believe now reflects the person God has shaped me to be, especially over the last 5 years. My new mission statement reads as follows:

I was created to serve God's people to become proactive in using to their fullest potential possible, their talents, abilities, money, and assets for Kingdom purposes.

Here's a breakdown of why this wording is unique to the calling God has placed my life:

• I was created - my life is not an accident. It did not happen through chance circumstances. God created me with a specific plan and purpose in mind. Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him (Isaiah 43:7).
• to serve - life should be about serving others. There are so many people wandering through life engaged in hedonistic pleasures, without feeling truly fulfilled. If you look at the great leaders of the Bible, whether they be Moses, Joshua, David, Paul, or Jesus himself, they all had a servant's spirit.
  
• God's People - I feel uniquely called to helping believers go higher in their lives.
  
• to become - we can all become better in every important area of our lives with God's help.
  
• proactive - the definition of this word is "acting in advance to deal with an expected change or difficulty." In order to serve God and others in a greater capacity, we must act in advance. Make change happen for you; do not let things simply happen to you.
• in using to their fullest potential possible - we cannot imagine the possibilities we have before us if we will just extend our realm of personal potential.
  
• their talents, abilities, money, and assets - most people have untapped resources within them or accumulated over time that are just waiting to be released. I have a unique calling in both worship ministry and stewardship where I am encouraging believers to use their musical talents to worship God as well as creating a culture of generosity within the entire church body.
  
• for Kingdom purposes - our ultimate mission in life should be moving the Kingdom of God forward for the glory and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33).
  

In my next post, I will discuss the process of creating your own personal mission statement.

The mission statement of the Prophet Isaiah

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THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound, To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, To grant [consolation and joy] to those who mourn in Zion--to give them an ornament (a garland or diadem) of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, the garment [expressive] of praise instead of a heavy, burdened, and failing spirit... (Isaiah 61:1-3a, AMP).

The prophet Isaiah had a clear vision of what God's mission was for his life. God had given him a difficult assignment, preaching and prophesying in the final remaining years of the Kingdom of Judah before God allowed Judah to be taken captive by the Babylonians.

Isaiah had clarity in his mission for 2 reasons:

1. He knew that God's Spirit was on his life (v. 1).
2. He had been anointed and qualified by the Lord for his special mission (v. 1).
   

Isaiah knew the specific details of his mission:

1. Preaching. He was to preach the good news to a target audience - the meek, poor, and afflicted (v. 1).
2. Healing. He was to bind up and heal the brokenhearted (v. 1).
3. Proclaiming freedom. He was to proclaim liberty to physical and spiritual captives as well as open up the prison and eyes of those who are bound (v. 1).
4. Prophesying. He was to proclaim the year of the Lord and the day of vengeance (v. 2).
5. Comforting. He was to bring comfort to all who mourn (v. 2).
6. Providing beauty, gladness, and praise. He was to provide for those in grief (v. 3).

Isaiah's mission was very similar to Christ's own mission - helping people.

If you truly desire to be successful in life, contemplate how you can use the gifts, talents, abilities, money, and resources God has blessed you with in order to help more people. Ask the Father for the Holy Spirit to have full control of your life so that you can discern your own unique mission.

Thoughts over circumstances - Part 2

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In my last post, I wrote about the wisdom from God's Word regarding controlling our thoughts. Here are some additional tips on ways we can control our thoughts in difficult circumstances:

1. Analyze your thoughts. Take time to really dissect the thoughts that run through your mind on a regular basis. Try this exercise: take a pad of paper, pen, and one free hour, then write down all the thoughts you encounter on a daily basis. Uncover the source of these thoughts and classify whether they are destructive or empowering ones.
   
2. Decide in advance to stop the thoughts. Now that you have a written list of destructive thoughts, write down a new list of empowering thoughts to replace the destructive ones. Through Scott, The Name Tag Guy and The Complete Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, I discovered a great way to get negative thoughts out of my brain first thing in the morning - morning pages. Try this, it really works and is extremely therapeutic.
   
3. Seize the thoughts as soon as they arise. In the moment you first recognize one of your recurring, negative thoughts, mentally grab it and don't allow it spiral out of control into additional, negative thought patterns.
   
4. Focus on something else. When your negative, destructive thoughts arise, consciously plan on focusing on something else. Read your Bible or other uplifting book. Call a friend. Check your Facebook or Twitter page. Listen to some music. Take a walk. Do whatever it takes to shift your focus from bad to good.
   
5. Choose a positive attitude. Dwelling on negative thoughts doesn't help anyone, especially you. Choose, in advance, to be positive and upbeat.
   
6. Recognize and replace the thoughts that have been "pre-programmed" from your past. If you have completed the exercise in #1, you have not only uncovered your negative thoughts, but their source as well. Many of these thoughts have been ingrained in our minds at an early age and run on autopilot. Replace these pre-programmed thoughts with new, empowering thoughts until they run on autopilot.
   
7. Control the verbalizing of negative thoughts. Once we have these negative thoughts running through our minds, it is extremely easy to regurgitate these thoughts verbally on to those around us, especially those we love the most.
   
8. Pray. Prayer really works. Ask the Lord to help you release the grip of negative, destructive thought patterns.
   

Thoughts over circumstances - Part 1

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"Thoughts lead to feelings. Feelings lead to actions. Actions leads to results." - T. Harv Eker

It's easy to allow difficult circumstances in which we find ourselves to influence our thoughts. Although it may be challenging to turn off these initial thoughts, it is certainly possible to control the thoughts, feelings, and actions which follow.

God's Word contains valuable wisdom to help us in controlling our thoughts:

1. Fix our thoughts on Jesus. Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess (Hebrews 3:1, NIV). The focus of our thoughts should be on Christ alone as we navigate difficult circumstances. Our Lord can help us through any trial.
   
2. Allow God's Word to penetrate our thoughts. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12, NIV). Consistent, daily reading of God's Word will penetrate our heart and mind, allowing us to think and feel differently about our circumstances.
3. Be stimulated by God's Word to wholesome thinking. Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking (2 Peter 3:1, NIV). In this verse, the Apostle Peter reminds his readers that the purpose of his two letters (God's inspired Word) was to move them to wholesome thinking.
   
4. Take every thought captive and obedient to Christ. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have the divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NIV). The world's way of thinking is a spiritual battleground for a believer that can be overcome with divine power. The Apostle Paul depicts this worldly thinking as soldiers that need to be made prisoners of war. In order for this to happen, Christ must reign supreme in our minds.
5. Prepare your mind for action (be proactive). Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled... (1 Peter 1:13, NIV). We must prepare our minds in advance for action as well as practice self-control in our thinking.
   
6. Think like an adult. Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults (1 Corinthians 14:20, NIV). In this passage, the Apostle Paul encourages believers to be naive like children when it comes to sin, but in our overall thinking to think like an adult. Adults formulate a plan of action and follow through.
   

It's the Climb!

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My daughters are big Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana fans. We often listen to Radio Disney as we drive around town, and their favorite song has to be Miley's latest hit, The Climb. This song has great lyrics and a great message.

I can almost see it
That dream I'm dreaming but
There's a voice inside my head sayin,
You'll never reach it,
Every step I'm taking,
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking but I
Got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes I'm gonna to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing,
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes they knock me down but
No I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on, cause

There's always going to be another mountain
I'm always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain't about how fast I get there,
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

Keep on moving
Keep climbing
Keep the faith baby
It's all about
It's all about
The climb
Keep the faith
Keep your faith

It's easy to get ahead of ourselves in life. We desire to achieve the mountaintop experience and what is waiting for us on the other side, but we want it to come easy and quickly. Some of the things we desire in life, though, won't come easily or quickly.

This is a good thing. It's only through the struggle of getting to the top of the mountain that we learn and we grow. We need to embrace the process of change in our own lives. The process of change that occurs within us when we attempt seemingly impossible goals such as writing a book, raising Godly children, building a business, or healing a broken marriage.

What's your mountain you're climbing, today? Keep on moving. Keep climbing. Embrace the challenge. Embrace the change that is taking place in your life!

Course corrections

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In my last post, I outlined 7 ways we can be thrown of course from God's Big Idea for our life. In this post, we will look at ways in which we can make course corrections.

An airplane autopilot automatically does the thousands of tiny little corrections required to keep an airplane headed in the right direction (and at the right altitude, if so equipped) without the pilots having to constantly keep adjusting the course from second to second as atmospheric conditions keep bumping the airplane around, usually almost imperceptibly.

If you could look behind you in an airplane and see the path you have taken through the air with the autopilot engaged, you would see a zig-zag path of many slight corrections the net result of which is the desired course [source: Yahoo Answers].

So too in life, we are under a constant threat of being blown off course in our life's Big Idea. So how do we make course corrections as we travel the course that God has laid out for us?

1. The Word - God's Word is the ultimate authority in a Christian's life . We need to always be comparing our life direction, purpose, and goals with what God tells us in His Word. Any direction in our life that doesn't line up with Scripture is not His plan for us.
2. Prayer - God wants us to talk to Him and tell Him about our challenges, difficulties, and struggles. He wants us to be fully dependent on Him as we travel our course through life.
3. Christian Friends - We should seek out positive, Christian friends that can hold us up during difficult times and spur us on to greatness in our mission. The best friends we can have are the one's who will tell us straight to our face when we're heading in the wrong direction.
   
4. Mentors - Our course in life is more easily traveled if we follow after someone who has already done what we feel God has called us to do. They can share with us not only what to do but what not to do. We can learn from their mistakes and victories.
5. Christian Life Coach - Unlike traditional "therapy", [Christian] coaching connects clients in a mutual exploration of possibilities, motivations, values, empowering beliefs, skills, and capabilities to develop ecological goals, action plans, and contingency planning [Source: thechristiancoach.com].
   

7 Ways we are thrown of course

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Now that we have our life purpose and big goals in front of us, we will have a tendency to drift from them as a result of various problems and distractions. Much like a ship at sea or plane in the air, the turbulence of life will throw us off course.

Here is a list of possible life distractions that throw us off course from what God has designed for our lives:

1. Sin. I would say this is the number one area in life that will cause us to stumble and fall in accomplishing God's Big Idea for our life.
2. Idols. No, I'm not talking about the worship of gods of wood and stone, but anything that we have allowed in our life to take a priority over God Himself. These idols could be anything from money, business, career, hobbies, or family.
   
3. Family. Not everyone in your immediate or extended family will be enthusiastic with your life's mission. Under the guise of good intentions, they will attempt to talk you out of it, or worse yet, sabotage you.
   
4. Friends. Just as our family will try to talk us out of God's plan, so to will our friends that don't understand our mission.
   
5. Work. We all have to make a living, right? If our life purpose is not currently interconnected with our work responsibilities, we will have the tendency to allow the stress and pressure of the workplace to consume our time and thoughts, taking our focus off of God's purpose for us.
   
6. Daily living. We all have stuff to accomplish during the day. There are errands to run, sports games to attend, grass that needs mowing, and life to be lived.
7. Good opportunities. From time to time, we are all presented with various opportunities that on the surface seem good and right to pursue. We must be cautious to filter each opportunity through our life's Big Idea.
   

10 Ways to keep your purpose and goals in front of you

Keeping God's Big Idea for your life always in the forefront of your mind can be a challenge to say the least. So many good things are pulling for our attention at all times that it's easy to get sidetracked. You become reactionary instead of proactive.

Here are some ways you can keep your goals always in front of you:

1. Be sure your life purpose and goals are clearly written down.
2. Be sure to always have the end in mind. What does God want to accomplish through me in His Big Idea for my life?
   
3. Review your purpose and goals regularly, even daily.
4. Rewrite your purpose and goals, daily.
5. Post your purpose and goals in large print where you will see them each day. I have mine posted on my bathroom mirror.
   
6. Create a visual storyboard. This could simply be pictures cut out of magazines on poster board all the way to digital pictures that come up regularly on your computer. Be creative in ways that speak to you.
   
7. Make yourself accountable to family and friends that will encourage you along the way.
8. Hire a life coach who will give you a kick in the pants when you need it.
9. Keep a life's goals journal.
10. Break down your big goals into smaller, easily achievable action steps.
    

If you help enough people...

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"If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want." - Zig Ziglar

If you want to win with God's Big Idea for your life, you must think in terms of helping people.

Consider Jesus' own ministry here on Earth. He came to:

1. develop disciples (fishers of men) for the Kingdom. He invested time in creating leaders of His followers. (Matthew 4:19)
2. teach and preach (Matthew 4:23)
3. heal the sick (Matthew 4:23)
4. call sinners to the Kingdom (Matthew 9:13)
5. offer spiritual rest and comfort (Matthew 11:28)
6. serve others (Matthew 20:28)
   
7. give His life as a ransom for us (Matthew 20:28)
8. do God's will (John 6:38)

Jesus ministry was all about helping others and impacting their lives in a powerful way. His ultimate "big idea" was sacrificing himself for all of humanity and rising from the dead. Our Lord's business was people and He was victorious in His mission.

So, who are you helping, today?

The Michael Jackson Estate - saved by the power of residual income

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In my previous post on Michael Jackson, I had mentioned that Michael had become the poster child of what not to do with your money due to his almost $500 million of debt at the time of his death.

Since his death, Michael Jackson's Estate is now becoming a shining example of the power of residual income.

Over the last week, Jackson's album sales have soared to over 2.3 million digital downloads. Experts state that if this trend continues, his estate will easily climb out of debt and be worth millions, if not trillions of dollars over the coming years.

Residual income is a great place to be at in life if you can get there. Residual income is defined as: recurring payments that you receive long after the initial sale is made, usually in specific amounts and at regular intervals.

Examples of residual income include song writing, recordings, books, information products, network marketing, and affiliate programs.

As you move through careers and business opportunities, always be on the lookout for ways to leverage your time and money through creating vehicles of residual income.

My take on Jon and Kate plus 8

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Over the last several weeks, I have watched the TV news with interest regarding what has been happening with the marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin. On Sunday night, I had the opportunity to watch the most recent episodes regarding their separation and pending divorce. Based on the separate and combined interviews they have both given on their show, here's my take on what's going on with their marriage:

1. Jon wants out of the marriage and doesn't seem to want to work through their issues.
2. Jon needs to "man up" and admit where he has failed. His beautiful children deserve a strong, humble father.
   
3. Kate seems to desire an opportunity to heal the marriage.
4. In a situation such as this, both husband and wife need to have the desire for reconciliation . Otherwise, the marriage is doomed.
   
5. Jon needs to grow up. He's acting like a 20-something who wants his freedom to live the single life, again.
6. Kate needs to back down and stop being such a control freak. I'm a control freak myself, so I understand her mindset. Wives need to allow their husbands to lead in a marriage. This is God's plan according to His Word.
   
7. They need to stop using their 8 children as an excuse to separate and divorce for the sake of peace in the home.
   
8. Peace at any price is not always the best thing.
9. Their marriage is actually more important than their 8 kids.
10. Their 8 children will have greater security growing up with both of their parents in the same house.
11. In the past, they have both claimed the name of Christ and have spoken to many churches. Allow Christ to heal the marriage.
12. Seek out the best, Christian-based counseling that money can buy.
    
13. Kate loves doing the TLC show, but Jon doesn't seem to desire the spotlight, anymore. Maybe Kate needs to end the TV show for Jon's sake?
14. Marriage is difficult even in the easiest of circumstances. Having 2 sets of multiples, a hit Cable TV show, a mom who travels a lot for book tours and speaking engagements, and the paparazzi following you around is a recipe for disaster.
15. It is possible to heal the relationship even after a divorce takes place.