I press on toward the goal.
Philippians 3:14
If you want to become a change agent, you yourself must change!
And you're never too old to do that.
Change has nothing to do with your age and everything to do with your attitude.
"Well, I'm just getting too old," you say. How old is too old? Have you died? "No," you say, "I'm still alive." Good! Then learn - or you'll die mentally.
Older people can be excellent learners. Somewhere along the line we've taken in the mistaken idea that you can't teach an old dog new tricks - which is true if you're teaching dogs and if you're teaching tricks. But you are not in the business of either one, are you?
Some folks in their 20's are dead in the head, while others in their 80's are plugged in and going places.
The apostle Paul was.
Near the end of his life, when most people are looking for rocking chairs, he wrote: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me" (Philippians 3:13-14 ).
Paul was neither impressed by his successes nor intimidated by his failures. He learned from his past, but he refused to live in it. His goal was always before him. And he was just as properly related to the present.
He said, "I press on."
Every day when Paul's eyes opened he thought, "It's a new day full of possibilities; Lord help me to max every moment!"
As they say, "The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune" - but only if you keep practicing and stay in shape!
Monday, December 11, 2006
A Word To Teachers (2)
Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
Luke 6:40
Stop growing and you stop teaching! The truth doesn't change, but your understanding of it should.
Peter writes: "Grow in … grace and knowledge" (2 Peter 3:18 ). This requires the attitude that you haven't yet "arrived." Those who apply this principle are always asking, "How can I improve?"
Dr. Howard Hendricks writes: "When I was a college student… I worked in the dining hall. On my way to work at 5:30 each morning I walked past the home of one of my professors. Through a window I could see a light on at his desk. He was poring over his books. One day he invited me home for lunch and I said: 'Would you mind if I asked you a question? What keeps you studying? You never seem to stop.' He answered 'Son, I would rather have my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pool.' He was one of the best professors I ever had - a man who marked me permanently." Do you teach others? From what are you drinking?
Jesus said, "Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."
Those words should either excite you - or drive you to your knees! If you want to touch others you must first ask God to touch you. He desires to work through you, but He can't until He works in you. He'll use you as His instrument, but first He wants to sharpen and cleanse that instrument so it becomes a more effective tool in His hands.
So, if you want to strengthen your teaching, do everything in your power to strengthen the teacher - yourself!
Luke 6:40
Stop growing and you stop teaching! The truth doesn't change, but your understanding of it should.
Peter writes: "Grow in … grace and knowledge" (2 Peter 3:18 ). This requires the attitude that you haven't yet "arrived." Those who apply this principle are always asking, "How can I improve?"
Dr. Howard Hendricks writes: "When I was a college student… I worked in the dining hall. On my way to work at 5:30 each morning I walked past the home of one of my professors. Through a window I could see a light on at his desk. He was poring over his books. One day he invited me home for lunch and I said: 'Would you mind if I asked you a question? What keeps you studying? You never seem to stop.' He answered 'Son, I would rather have my students drink from a running stream than a stagnant pool.' He was one of the best professors I ever had - a man who marked me permanently." Do you teach others? From what are you drinking?
Jesus said, "Everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher."
Those words should either excite you - or drive you to your knees! If you want to touch others you must first ask God to touch you. He desires to work through you, but He can't until He works in you. He'll use you as His instrument, but first He wants to sharpen and cleanse that instrument so it becomes a more effective tool in His hands.
So, if you want to strengthen your teaching, do everything in your power to strengthen the teacher - yourself!
A Word To Teachers (1)
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life.
2 Timothy 3:10
If you want your teaching to have impact, you must do these three things:
(1) Know your students.
And that takes commitment and time. This is where we lose a lot of teachers. There's no magic formula. Good teaching has a price tag: you've got to be willing to pour out your life for others. If your students have to trip you up on your way out of class in order to have a moment with you, you're not going to reach them. People don't care how much you know, until they first know how much you care.
(2) Earn the right to be heard.
Walk out on the street and tell the first guy you meet that you know what his problem is - and he'll probably give you a piece of his mind. Even if you know what his problem is, you won't get through to him. Credibility must precede communication. And our celebrity society has never figured that out. You must earn a hearing!
(3) Be willing to become vulnerable.
It's the broken who become masters at mending. Don't be afraid to let people know what you're struggling with, and what you've struggled with through the years. People tend to see us in terms of where we are now, rather than in light of where we've come from and what we've been through. They didn't see the process. So tell them about the God you know personally, and what He's brought you through. That'll impact them every time!
Want to be a teacher who "gets through?" Practice these principles.
2 Timothy 3:10
If you want your teaching to have impact, you must do these three things:
(1) Know your students.
And that takes commitment and time. This is where we lose a lot of teachers. There's no magic formula. Good teaching has a price tag: you've got to be willing to pour out your life for others. If your students have to trip you up on your way out of class in order to have a moment with you, you're not going to reach them. People don't care how much you know, until they first know how much you care.
(2) Earn the right to be heard.
Walk out on the street and tell the first guy you meet that you know what his problem is - and he'll probably give you a piece of his mind. Even if you know what his problem is, you won't get through to him. Credibility must precede communication. And our celebrity society has never figured that out. You must earn a hearing!
(3) Be willing to become vulnerable.
It's the broken who become masters at mending. Don't be afraid to let people know what you're struggling with, and what you've struggled with through the years. People tend to see us in terms of where we are now, rather than in light of where we've come from and what we've been through. They didn't see the process. So tell them about the God you know personally, and what He's brought you through. That'll impact them every time!
Want to be a teacher who "gets through?" Practice these principles.
Stay Sharp!
If the axe is dull and he does not sharpen its edge, then he must exert more strength. Wisdom has th
Ecclesiastes 10:10
Did you hear about the two lumberjacks who challenged each other to see which one could cut down more trees in a day?
At daybreak the first one began furiously chopping down trees. He worked up a sweat and by noon he had cut down 16 trees. Meanwhile the other lumberjack was way behind because he took the first two hours to sharpen his axe. As he sharpened it his challenger laughed at him thinking he was doomed to lose the race because of all that wasted time. That's when things got interesting. By early afternoon the first lumberjack was slowing down. It took him almost an hour to cut down one tree, while his friend was catching up fast. How could this be? Certainly he was as strong as his friend. Unfortunately, strength had little to do with it. It was all about whose axe was sharper. The sharper the axe - the quicker the trees came down. By late afternoon the second lumberjack who'd sharpened his axe had passed his friend by several trees and won easily.
There's an important lesson there for you. Your ceaseless activity may feed your ego and satisfy your need to be needed, but eventually:
(a) it will leave you dull Spiritually, emotionally and mentally;
(b) the people who need and applaud you now will discover it and go looking for someone sharper, leaving you feeling "used" and unappreciated;
(c) because you've lost your edge you'll be unprepared for what God has for you next!
So, stay sharp!
Ecclesiastes 10:10
Did you hear about the two lumberjacks who challenged each other to see which one could cut down more trees in a day?
At daybreak the first one began furiously chopping down trees. He worked up a sweat and by noon he had cut down 16 trees. Meanwhile the other lumberjack was way behind because he took the first two hours to sharpen his axe. As he sharpened it his challenger laughed at him thinking he was doomed to lose the race because of all that wasted time. That's when things got interesting. By early afternoon the first lumberjack was slowing down. It took him almost an hour to cut down one tree, while his friend was catching up fast. How could this be? Certainly he was as strong as his friend. Unfortunately, strength had little to do with it. It was all about whose axe was sharper. The sharper the axe - the quicker the trees came down. By late afternoon the second lumberjack who'd sharpened his axe had passed his friend by several trees and won easily.
There's an important lesson there for you. Your ceaseless activity may feed your ego and satisfy your need to be needed, but eventually:
(a) it will leave you dull Spiritually, emotionally and mentally;
(b) the people who need and applaud you now will discover it and go looking for someone sharper, leaving you feeling "used" and unappreciated;
(c) because you've lost your edge you'll be unprepared for what God has for you next!
So, stay sharp!
You Need The Church
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.
Hebrews 10:25
The Church is God's life-support system for individual Christians. Nobody expects a baby to grow on its own, and God never meant for us to grow and develop Spiritually in isolation. Spiritual growth is a group project, which should be good news to you because that means you don't have to do it all by yourself. You need to be surrounded by Spiritual fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who can help you. Adam's aloneness was the only part of creation that God said was "not good" (Genesis 2:18).
The universal church is made up of believers everywhere, the local church is made up of believers somewhere. The writer in Hebrews states, "Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do" (Hebrews 10:25 ).
You say, "But I don't need encouragement and I don't need help."
Perhaps not today, but what about next week or next month? And what about the people who need your help and encouragement?
There are two kinds of growth:
(1) Symbiotic growth, which occurs when two organisms both benefit by the relationship.
(2) Parasitic growth, which occurs when one organism feeds off another without giving anything back.
Paul describes the church as "God's household" (Ephesians 2:19 ) in which the members grow by being "fitted together" and by being "built together for a dwelling place of God" (Ephesians 2:21-22 ).
We are all to be part of something bigger than any one of us. There is no mention in Paul's words of individual growth apart from the church. We only grow as we connect, relate, contribute, and receive one from another.
Hebrews 10:25
The Church is God's life-support system for individual Christians. Nobody expects a baby to grow on its own, and God never meant for us to grow and develop Spiritually in isolation. Spiritual growth is a group project, which should be good news to you because that means you don't have to do it all by yourself. You need to be surrounded by Spiritual fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who can help you. Adam's aloneness was the only part of creation that God said was "not good" (Genesis 2:18).
The universal church is made up of believers everywhere, the local church is made up of believers somewhere. The writer in Hebrews states, "Let's see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do" (Hebrews 10:25 ).
You say, "But I don't need encouragement and I don't need help."
Perhaps not today, but what about next week or next month? And what about the people who need your help and encouragement?
There are two kinds of growth:
(1) Symbiotic growth, which occurs when two organisms both benefit by the relationship.
(2) Parasitic growth, which occurs when one organism feeds off another without giving anything back.
Paul describes the church as "God's household" (Ephesians 2:19 ) in which the members grow by being "fitted together" and by being "built together for a dwelling place of God" (Ephesians 2:21-22 ).
We are all to be part of something bigger than any one of us. There is no mention in Paul's words of individual growth apart from the church. We only grow as we connect, relate, contribute, and receive one from another.
How's Your Prayer Life?
Pray without ceasing.
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Prayer is not a monologue where one person does all the talking, or a ritual where we must say things in the right order, or a chore to get out of the way like brushing our teeth before going to bed. Jesus rejects this performance-based understanding of prayer: "Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace" (Matthew 6:6 TM).
For many, prayer has little to do with the realities of life. They think of it like the National Anthem at a game: a nice opening, but nothing to do with what happens on the field afterwards.
Other people treat prayer like a rabbit's foot you pull out and rub when things are tough: "A prayer a day keeps the devil away."
Paul writes, "Pray without ceasing."
That doesn't sound like something you do once in a while, or a flare you shoot up during a crisis. Try substituting the word breathe for the word pray: "breathe without ceasing" - doesn't that sound like a good idea to you? We don't breathe only when we feel like it. Or decide, "I'm not into oxygen today," and stop breathing. Or get frustrated and say, "This isn't getting me anywhere. I'm not going to do it any more." No, we cling to the breath in our bodies like it's life.
So, just as breathing is an indispensable part of your natural life, prayer is an indispensable part of Spiritual life. Without it you die Spiritually.
So, how's your prayer life?
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Prayer is not a monologue where one person does all the talking, or a ritual where we must say things in the right order, or a chore to get out of the way like brushing our teeth before going to bed. Jesus rejects this performance-based understanding of prayer: "Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense His grace" (Matthew 6:6 TM).
For many, prayer has little to do with the realities of life. They think of it like the National Anthem at a game: a nice opening, but nothing to do with what happens on the field afterwards.
Other people treat prayer like a rabbit's foot you pull out and rub when things are tough: "A prayer a day keeps the devil away."
Paul writes, "Pray without ceasing."
That doesn't sound like something you do once in a while, or a flare you shoot up during a crisis. Try substituting the word breathe for the word pray: "breathe without ceasing" - doesn't that sound like a good idea to you? We don't breathe only when we feel like it. Or decide, "I'm not into oxygen today," and stop breathing. Or get frustrated and say, "This isn't getting me anywhere. I'm not going to do it any more." No, we cling to the breath in our bodies like it's life.
So, just as breathing is an indispensable part of your natural life, prayer is an indispensable part of Spiritual life. Without it you die Spiritually.
So, how's your prayer life?
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