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Questions About Your
Vision
30 Aug 2012
'The word of the Lord
came...in a vision.' Genesis
15:1
God promised Abraham, '...in
you all the families of the earth
shall be blessed' (Genesis 12:3
NKJV). That's a big vision! But
God knew Abraham had the
faith to embrace it. If you hate
what you have to do in order
to pursue your vision,
something is wrong. Examine
your motives. See if there are
inconsistencies between who
you are and what you're trying
to accomplish. Have you taken
ownership of the vision? Do
you have the heart for it? If
pursuing your vision causes
you to violate your values,
then you need to get another
vision. Maybe the problem is
your attitude. 1) Are you too
idealistic? You must accept the
way your vision is unfolding,
and change your expectations
concerning how long it'll take.
Ninety percent of all
disappointments stem from
unrealistic expectations. 2)
Have you stopped dreaming
daily? You must let yourself
dream a little bit every day,
explore possibilities and
embrace options. Be creative.
Continuing to dream actually
helps you to move forward. 3)
Do you appreciate each small
step of progress? One way to
feel fulfilled is to celebrate each
success. Recognise when you
pass milestones. Thanking God
for your progress will
encourage you to keep moving
forward. 4) Have you made
personal growth your goal?
The only way to fulfil a big
vision is to grow with it. The
bigger the vision, the bigger
you have to be to achieve it.
What is God revealing to you in
your current situation? How
can you grow? The greatest
reward of pursuing a vision-is
who you become as a result.
Bible in a Year: 2 Chron 1-4;
Luke 19:11-27; Ps 103:1-12;
Pr 19:12-16;

Weathering the Financial
Shake-up (2)
01 Sep 2012
'The Lord is my shepherd; I
shall not want.' Psalm 23:1
If you're in debt and worried
about your job: 1) Don't panic.
Turn to the source of all
wisdom and read these words:
'The Lord is my shepherd; I
shall not want.' Repeat it to
yourself throughout the day.
Tape it to your bathroom
mirror where you'll see it first
thing each morning. 2) Take
inventory. '...know the
condition of your flocks...
[finances]' (Proverbs 27:23
NIV). Many people don't know
how much they owe or what
their expenses are. List your
debts and fixed expenses, set a
goal to live on what you earn,
and put some toward debt
reduction. 3) Be disciplined.
Head off problems before they
arise by conquering the demon
of instant gratification. When
you don't know the state of
your finances you're less likely
to apply the brakes, and end up
spending money you don't
have. 4) Be creative. When God
created Paradise He watered it
with four different rivers, so
start looking for other streams
of income. Walt Disney was
fired by a big newspaper for
lack of ideas. After auditioning
him, MGM told Fred Astaire that
he couldn't act and wasn't
much of a dancer. Beethoven's
violin teacher declared him
hopeless as a composer! It
takes faith to see the
opportunities, and courage to
overcome the obstacles. 5) Be a
giver. Hard times are the
wrong time to stop giving to
God. During a famine a widow
gave what little food she had
to God's servant, Elijah. Result?
'...there was food every day
for Elijah and for the woman
and her family' (1Kings 17:15
NIV). It's hard to explain
rationally, but you're giving
turns on the tap of God's
supply.
Bible in a Year: 2 Chron 8-11
Luke 19:41-48 Ps 111

? Pr 19:18-202 Chron
8-11 Luke 19:41-48 Ps 111

? Pr 19:18-202 Chron
8-11
; Luke 19:41-48; Ps 111; Pr
19:18-20;

Weathering the Financial
Shake-up (3)
02 Sep 2012
'We have...enough...and
plenty to spare.' 2
Chronicles 31:10
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale was a
young minister during the
Great Depression. His salary had
been cut twice. He says:
'Everyone was frightened and
depressed. Businesses were
failing. Nobody could borrow
money. The pressure got
worse, and for the first time I
was terrified. I said to my wife,
We're in a desperate situation.
We can't pay the bills. What are
we going to do? Her answer
startled me: We're going to
start tithing! I said, With what?
It's impossible. Not impossible,
she replied, essential. We're
going to get by on 90 percent
of your salary. Tithing is an act
of faith and if we have faith as
small as a grain of mustard
seed, nothing will be
impossible. She was right, we
did get by. Money didn't pour
in, but there was always
enough. Furthermore, the act
of tithing seemed to calm my
fears and stimulate my mind.
There's an invisible reservoir of
abundance that's tapped when
you obey God's law.' The Bible
says, 'The blessing of the Lord
makes...rich...and ...adds no
sorrow' (Proverbs 10:22 NLT).
God's ability to bless you
doesn't depend on what's
happening in the economy.
When you honour Him with
your tithes and offerings, He
will 'open...the windows of
heaven and pour out for you
such blessing ...there will not be
room enough to receive...And...
[He] will rebuke the devourer
for your sakes' (Malachi
3:10-11 NKJV). In the Old
Testament when God's people
'began bringing their gifts to
the...temple' there was
'enough ...and plenty to spare.'
Why? Because the Lord had
'blessed his people.' Would you
rather depend on man's
economy or on God's blessing?
The choice is yours!
Bible in a Year: 1 Sam
16:1-23; 2 Cor 4:7 - 5:1;

Have You Lost Your Focus?
08 Sep 2012
'He prayed that he might
die.' 1 Kings 19:4
Sometimes after 'giving it your
all,' you can end up totally
drained. Look at Elijah. God
used him on Mt. Carmel to call
down fire from heaven on the
prophets of Baal. Yet he fell
apart under Jezebel's threats.
Fleeing for his life, he 'sat
down under a broom tree and
said, 'It is enough! Now, Lord,
take my life.' The moment his
focus changed from God to the
enemy, he became
overwhelmed. So God spoke to
him again. This time it wasn't
in a spectacular display.
Instead, He spoke in a 'still small
voice' (v. 12 NKJV), drawing
him aside to rest and spend
time with God. The next time
the nation saw Elijah he was
spiritually on top again. So
answer this: has your focus
shifted from God to all the
'stuff you have to do'? If so,
you need time out, time alone
with God. When He calls you
aside to rest, do it! Vic Pentz
says, 'Nothing fails so totally,
as success without God.' The
two-fold danger in the
aftermath of any success is:
First, spending too much time
listening to the accolades of
others; Second, presuming you
have what it takes to succeed
on your own. As a result you
disconnect from God, who is
the source of your strength.
David said, 'The Lord is the
strength of my life; of whom
shall I be afraid?' (Psalm 27:1).
Fearlessness is foolishness,
unless it's based on faith in
God. And one more thought:
God sent Elisha to assist Elijah,
and He can send the right
person to help you too. He
knows what to do to get you
moving again.
Bible in a Year: 2 Chron
29-31; Luke 21:1-11; Ps
78:9-16; ?Pr 20:11-14;

Living for Others
09 Sep 2012
'Through love serve one
another.' Galatians 5:13
Jacques Cousteau, the famous
French explorer, said, 'If a man
for whatever reason has the
opportunity to lead an
extraordinary life, he has no
right to keep it to himself.'
Jesus lived that way. He said, 'I
am the good shepherd. The
good shepherd gives His life
for the sheep' (John 10:11
NKJV). To be like Him, you must
live for something greater than
your own interests. In his book
Half Time: Changing Your Game
Plan from Success to
Significance, author Bob
Buford says, 'The first half of
life has to do with getting and
gaining, learning and earning.
The second half is more risky
because it has to do with living
beyond the immediate.' By that
he means living for a cause
greater than yourself, and for
others beyond yourself. The
great men and women in
Scripture were not great
because of what they earned
and owned; they were great
because they gave themselves
to people and causes that lived
beyond them. Their dream was
to do something that benefited
others. Only a rare minority of
people are able to hold closely
to their dream to make a
difference, and are willing to
give up everything to make
that dream come true. Of
people like that it will never be
said that when they died, it
was as though they had never
lived. Their dream lives on after
them, because they lived for
others. And it was in living for
others and not for self that
they found their greatest joy
and fulfilment. The poet wrote:
'Others, Lord, yes others; Let
this my motto be. Help me to
live for others, that I may live
for Thee.'
Bible in a Year: Ps 23; John
6:1-15;

Be Holy
10 Sep 2012
'Be holy in all you do.' 1
Peter 1:15
Holiness isn't a subject we hear
much about these days. So,
what does it mean to 'be holy'?
First, let's understand what it
doesn't mean: 1) It doesn't
isolate you from the world, it
insulates you against its
negative influences. 2) It's not
a scorecard for deciding who's
close to God and who's not. It's
having a heart that's aware of
your shortcomings and
praying, '...As the deer pants
for streams of water, so my
soul pants for you, O
God' (Psalm 42:1 NIV). Holiness
means to be set apart in a
special and exclusive way, as in
Holy Communion where the
bread and wine are set apart
from everyday use to honour
Christ's death. Or holy
matrimony, where a couple
promises to be faithful to each
other to the exclusion of all
others. Chuck Swindoll wrote:
'When I was a young husband
serving in the Marines eight
thousand miles away from my
wife, I knew Cynthia existed. I
could read her letters and
occasionally hear her voice on
the phone, but I couldn't see or
touch her. I'd only the memory
of our standing together three
years earlier before God and a
minister who'd pronounced us
husband and wife, setting us
apart exclusively to each other
for the rest of our lives. We
were wed in June 1955, but
regardless of how long ago it
was, we stood together and
committed ourselves to a holy
intermingling of our lives. To
be intimate with another
woman would break that holy
relationship, that exclusive
oneness. Remembering that
helped keep me faithful while
we were apart those many
months, and it still helps forty-
one years later!'
Bible in a Year: 2 Chron
32-34; Luke 21:12-24; Ps
78:17-3; Pr 20:15-19;

Take Control of Your Time
(1)
11 Sep 2012
'Walk in
wisdom...redeeming the
time.' Colossians 4:5
Nothing is more costly than
wasted time. Every minute lost
is gone forever. Today we
have more time-saving devices
than any other generation, yet
we seem to have less time. To
get control of your life you
must first get control of your
time. That means redirecting
each lost minute toward a
worthy purpose. We all have
things we want to do, plan to
do, and feel bad about not
doing. Understand this: the
difference in who you are
right now and the person you'll
be ten years from now, will
largely be determined by your
relationships and your reading
habits. And the first book you
should read is your Bible, the
world's greatest wisdom
manual. Here's a suggestion
that will help you: instead of
having an 'all or nothing'
attitude to Bible reading, seize
your 'in between time.' You'll
be amazed how the wasted
minutes in each day and week
add up to hours of productive
time. J. Oswald Sanders gives us
three great insights: 1) Stop
leaks. Let us not consider our
day only in terms of hours, but
in smaller areas of time. If we
look after the minutes, the
hours will look after
themselves. 2) Set priorities.
Much time is spent on things of
only secondary importance. We
give such undue attention to
petty details that matters of
major importance are squeezed
out. This is especially so where
spiritual things are concerned.
3) Start planning. Without a
plan we all tend to drift. So in
the attitude of prayer, ask,
'How can I best plan today?'
Buy up the spare minutes as
eagerly as a miser hoards
money.
Bible in a Year: 2 Chron
35-36; 2 Jn; Luke 21:25-38;
Ps 78:32-39; Pr 20:20-21;

Take Control of Your Time
(2)
12 Sep 2012
'Teach us to realise the
brevity of life.' Psalm 90:12
Gordon MacDonald gives us
some of the traits of a
disorganised life. See if you
recognise any: '1)
Appointments/messages/
deadlines missed. I know I'm
disorganised when there are a
series of forgotten
appointments, telephone
messages to which I have
failed to respond, and
deadlines which I have begun
to miss. The day becomes filled
with broken commitments and
lame excuses. 2) Unproductive
tasks. If I am disorganised I
tend to invest my energies in
unproductive tasks; there is a
tendency toward daydreaming
and avoidance of decisions
that have to be made, and
procrastination. 3) Lack of
intimacy with God.
Disorganised Christians rarely
enjoy intimacy with God. No
one has to tell them that time
must be set aside for the
purpose of Bible study and
reflection, for intercession, for
worship. They know all of that.
They simply are not doing it.
They excuse themselves,
saying there is no time. But
they know it is more a matter
of organisation and personal
will than anything else. 4)
Shallow personal relationships.
Days pass without a significant
conversation with my son or
daughter. My wife and I will be
in contact but our
conversations may be shallow.
I may become irritable,
resenting any attempt on her
part to call attention to things I
have left undone or people I
appear to have let down. 5)
Lack of self-esteem. When we
are disorganised in our control
of time we just don't like
ourselves, our jobs, or much
else about our worlds. And it is
difficult to break the
destructive pattern that settles
in. This terrible habit pattern of
disorganisation must be
broken, or our private worlds
will quickly fall into total
disorder.'
Bible in a Year: 3 John; Jude;
Luke 22:1-13; Ps 78:40-55;
Pr 20:22-24;

Take Control of Your Time
(3)
13 Sep 2012
'I must work...while it is
day.' John 9:4
Time is like money; it must be
budgeted. That means
determining the difference
between the fixed-what you
must do-and the discretionary-
what you would like to do.
What caused Jesus to be such
an organised person? 1) He
understood His mission. During
His final walk toward Jerusalem
where He would be crucified,
His ears picked up the voice of
a blind man and He stopped,
much to the consternation of
His friends. They were irritated
that Jesus did not appreciate
that Jerusalem was still six or
seven hours away and that
they would like to get there to
achieve their purpose, the
celebration of the Passover
(Luke 18:35-42). From where
they were standing, it
appeared that Jesus was
misusing His time. But from
where Jesus was standing, the
time was well spent for it
fitted the criteria of His
mission. 2) He understood His
limits. He knew what we so
often forget: that time must be
properly budgeted for
gathering inner strength and
resolve in order to compensate
for one's weaknesses when
spiritual warfare begins.
Knowing His limits, such
private moments were a fixed
item on Jesus' time budget.
And it was hard for even those
closest to Him to fully
appreciate this. 3) He had His
eye on the future. Jesus spent
the majority of His time
training twelve men. He said,
'...I will build my
church...' (Matthew 16:18 NKJV)
. How did He plan to build it?
Through others. So, the way to
maximise your time-is to keep
your life's purpose before you
at all times and evaluate each
decision in the light of it.
Bible in a Year: Jos 1-4; Luke
22:14-23; Ps 78:56-6; Pr
20:25;

The Joy is in the Journey
14 Sep 2012
'I have come that they may
have life...to the full.' John
10:10
Sometimes when we achieve
the things we strive for, we
find they're not very fulfilling.
As we look back we realise that
our greatest joy was not in the
goal we reached, but in the
growth we experienced on the
way to it. Scientist Koichi
Tanaka describes this
phenomenon and how it can
come about during the
enjoyable pursuit of a dream.
As he worked on trying to
create an ion with lasers, he
says: 'I failed for weeks and
months before I succeeded in
making an ion. Why did I
continue the experiment?
Because I enjoyed it. It was fun
for me to come to know
something that I had never
known before, and that fun
enabled me to persist.' That
persistence helped him to win
a Nobel Prize in chemistry. You
have the potential to make
many wonderful discoveries in
life, and none greater than
what you discover about God,
and yourself. One leadership
expert writes: 'The pursuit of
my dream has taken me out of
my comfort zone, elevated my
thinking, given me confidence,
and confirmed my sense of
purpose. My pursuit of the
dream and my personal growth
have become so intertwined
that I now ask myself, Did I
make the dream, or did the
dream make me?' When your
mind accepts a new idea or
learns a new truth, it's forever
changed. And once stretched, it
takes on a new shape and
never goes back to its original
form. When that happens, you
experience true fulfilment. No
wonder children's book author
Elizabeth Coatsworth said,
'When I dream, I am ageless.'
Bible in a Year: Jos 5:1 -
8:29; Luke 22:24-38; Ps
78:65-72; Pr 20:26- 30;

Gracious Words
15 Sep 2012
'Let the words of my
mouth...be acceptable in
Your sight.' Psalm 19:14
Mark Twain quipped, 'It takes
two years to learn to talk, and
the rest of your life to control
your mouth.' The Psalmist
prayed, 'Let the words of my
mouth and the meditation of
my heart be acceptable in Your
sight, O Lord.' A sin most often
tolerated in the church, and
sometimes even condoned, is
the sin of gossip. Jesus
condemns careless words,
saying they '...come from an
evil heart...' (Matthew 15:18
TLB). And how about words we
speak without considering
their effect on others? If you
think God just turns a blind eye,
think again! Jesus said, 'Every
one...is going to come back to
haunt you. There will be a time
of reckoning...take them
seriously' (Matthew 12:36 TM).
Your words create or destroy,
discourage or inspire, heal or
hurt, so choose what you say
carefully. Careless words are
often just the meaningless
chatter we engage in when
we've nothing worthwhile to
contribute. And the more you
speak them, the more likely
they are to deteriorate into
gossip and hurt people.
Solomon writes: 'Even fools are
thought wise when they keep
silent...' (Proverbs 17:28 NLT).
Would you trust someone who
had a frivolous comment for
everything? No? Then stop and
think about what comes out of
your mouth! Would you get
more respect and cause less
confusion if you kept it shut?
Or were more discerning about
the kind of stories you tell? Or
thought twice before you
'shoot from the hip'? The Bible
says, 'Let your speech always
be with grace...that you may
know how you ought to
answer each one' (Colossians
4:6 NKJV).
Bible in a Year: Jos 8:30 -
10:43; Luke 22:39-53; Ps 24;
Pr 21:1-2;