Get Moving!

“In Africa every morning a
gazelle awakens knowing that it
must outrun the fastest lion
if it wants to stay alive.

Every morning a lion wakes up
knowing that it must run faster
than the slowest gazelle or
it will starve to death.

The point is, it makes no
difference whether you are a lion
or a gazelle: when the sun comes
up, you better be running.”

— Unknown

Proverbs 12:27 A lazy life is an empty life, but “early to rise” gets the job done. Peterson, E. H. 2003. The Message : The Bible in contemporary language . NavPress: Colorado Springs, Colo.

Living with Purpose

“Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb. You may never reach the summit; for that you will be forgiven. But if you don’t make at least one serious attempt to get above the snow-line, years later you will find yourself lying on your deathbed, and all you will feel is emptiness.” -- Huch Macleod

"Those who do not create the future they want must endure the future they get." -- Draper L. Kaufman, Jr.

“The biggest mistake people make in life is not trying to make a living at doing what they most enjoy.” -- Malcolm S. Forbes

“Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out.” -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice

"A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder." -- Thomas Carlyle

Authentic Faith

"Let God make you who you are: When you are expending energy imitating someone, you can forget to be like Christ. God honors authentic faith. Be who you are. Be the person God called you to be, without apology. But let me warn you: Some people will really like you and others really won't. Never forget that Jesus had the same experience. So don't apologize for who you are. Long to be recognized by Christ. Long to be authentic with Christ. Imitate, assimilate, and process the power of God in your own life so that the genuine person God has created will emerge." Igniting Passion In Your Church. Steve Ayers

How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us. What else will distinguish me or your people from all the other people on the face of the earth? Exodus 33:16

Authentic faith...being the person God created me to be. There are days that I'm not sure who that is, and others that I am comfortable with who I am. And yet, I am always striving to be better. How do you tell the difference between a healthy desire to change and an unhealthy push to be different so people will accept you? I guess it probably looks the same on the outside, but the motive is different. Is my motive to look better, be more appreciated, have greater stature in the church, or is my motive to become more Christlike - to bring glory to God through whatever I do? God, what will distinguish me from all the others? I want it to be your presence in my life. I want others to see you working through me. Help me to become the person you want me to be...a person who reflects the glory of God.

Growth

For those who are sometimes discouraged and impatient with their personal improvement progress, as I often am, Dr. Stephen Covey offers the following metaphor.


"There is a certain species of the Chinese bamboo tree that, when you plant it, you see nothing for four years. Just a little shoot our of the ground and that's it. You weed, water, cultivate, nurture and do everything you can do to make it successful, but you see nothing. In the fifth year, this particular species of the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet. In its initial stages, all of the growth went underground in the root. Then, once it had its roots in place, all of the growth went above the ground and was visible..."

So...keep working, the results may not be visible, but they will come!

Maturity

"There are no shortcuts to maturity. We are obsessed with speed, but God is more interested in strength and stability than swiftness. We want the quick fix, the shortcut, the on the spot solution. We want a sermon, a seminar or an experience that will instantly remove all problems and release us from all growing pains. But real maturity is never the result of a single experience, no matter how powerful or moving. Growth is gradual...

'Our lives gradually become brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him.' 2 Corinthians 3:18b The Message.

...Although God could instantly transform us, he has chosen to develop us slowly. Why?

• We are slow learners
• We have a lot to unlearn
• We are afraid to humbly face the truth about ourselves
• Growth (change) is often painful and scary
• Habits take time to develop

Great souls are grown through struggles and storms and seasons of suffering." The Purpose Driven Life Day 28

Don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well developed. James 1:4 The Message

The road to health and freedom is hard and painful. It is easy to see that getting physically fit takes time and exercise and sometimes pain. Exercise is not fun at times, but we endure it because we want the physical results. Are we willing to endure the emotional pain to get healthy spiritually and psychologically? The choice is ours. We could stop at any moment. But, if we really want to be mature we won't settle for the quick fix. We will hold and learn the lessons that make us more and more like Christ.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NIV

Grace

"The good news of the Gospel is that in spite of our total moral bankruptcy, God keeps on doing business with us. Notwithstanding the hopelessness of our predicament, God has found a way to bridge the gap, restore us to a relationship with Himself, and to bring healing to the damaged areas of our personalities.

Where sin abounded, grace abounded more. Romans 5:20 NIV

That same grace can make you strong enough and brave enough to take off your super self mask and begin to look at your real self. For it's your real self which God loves and for which Christ died. Your real self with all its sins and flaws which He has always known and never stopped loving." Healing Grace: David Seamands (pg. 121)

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 heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13b-14. NIV

Forgetting does not mean losing all memory of our sinful pasts, but leaving it behind as done with and settled.

But sin doesn't have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it's sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. Romans 5:20 The Message

He breaks the power of cancelled sin, He sets the prisoner free. O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing Charles Wesley