Transformational Thought
We all experience storms in our lives. Maybe you are currently in the midst of a storm...maybe multiple storms. Unfortunately, storms are a certainty in life and we often have little control over that. But we do have all the power over how we react to these storms, with peace or panic. Even though uncomfortable, scary, and potentially dangerous, storms are tremendous opportunities to learn a lot about ourselves.
One key lesson is, "where do I get my confidence, guidance, or hope from?" Put another way, "When I am in a storm at sea, do I want a small flashlight, or do I want the brightest Lighthouse? When we get upset in a difficult situation, it is because we are usually getting our confidence from ourselves, or sometimes from others. A constant battle goes on inside our heart. We strive to be independent, master of our destiny, take care of our own needs, and not be reliant on anyone else. This protects us from being hurt, let down by others, and just seems more efficient to cut others out of the loop when I need something. But this strategy breeds a false sense of confidence, a reliance on myself, my abilities, my assets, or what I can use from others.
You see, my skills are like a flashlight, God is a Lighthouse. Instead of getting my confidence from me and relying on myself, God desires me to turn to Him, accept His protection and provision for me, and let Him grow us. He will grow us quicker, more efficiently, and with less pain than we can grow ourselves. We really need to get our confidence to handle the many everyday situations from knowing who God is, what His promises are, and what His word teaches. When we see situations and act based on our confidence in God, life, and especially storms, are so much easier to handle and actually become tremendous growth experiences.
Looking back, I see the major storms in my life actually changed my direction, pushing me onto a better path of becoming Christ-like and helping me develop the Mind of Christ. More importantly, these storms provided the opportunity to look for and find God as my Lighthouse, where the only real and ultimate safety and guidance is for me, and all of us.
Today, as a believer you will find that your ultimate Lighthouse, God, will not only show you your path forward step by step, but God will also lead you to a place of refuge, a place of shelter to endure your storm. Meet today's storm...or your next storm (for surely they will come) with peace, not panic. Take the opportunity to look for your personal Lighthouse of guidance and sanctuary in His perfect and infinite promises and character, not in your own finite and imperfect resources.
Prayer
Father God, when I meet the storms of life, help me to go through them with peace, not panic. I know that to get to where You want to take me, I must go through certain storms. In Your wisdom, You designed the storms to push me to You, to know You and Your loving provision, shelter, and calm. It is not in the calms of life where I realize that I will not go under, but during the storms. Allow me to get my confidence, hope, and assurance from You, and not me, because I know I am limited, weak, and not capable of controlling everything like You can. Thank You for being my Lighthouse during the storms. Thank You that during all of life's storms there is a perfect place of refuge...a fortress of Divine grace to see me through. I pray in the name of the one endured the greatest storm so I could have eternal safety, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children say - AMEN!
The Truth
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver me.
Psalm 91:1-3
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4
as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Philippians 1:20
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reflections. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Stepping Stones: Your Ultimate Lighthouse
Transformational Thought
We all experience storms in our lives. Maybe you are currently in the midst of a storm...maybe multiple storms. Storms are a certainty. How do you react to the storms? With peace or panic? Even though uncomfortable, storms are tremendous opportunities to learn a lot about ourselves.
One key lesson is, "where do I get my confidence, guidance, or hope from?" Put another way, "Who is going to be my Lighthouse - me, the world, another person, or God?" When we get upset in a difficult situation, we are usually getting our confidence from ourselves, and sometimes from others. A constant battle goes on inside our heart. We strive to be independent, master of our destiny, take care of our own needs, and not be reliant on anyone else. This protects us from being hurt, let down by others, and just seems more efficient to cut others out of the loop when I need something. This breeds a false sense of confidence, a reliance on myself, my abilities, my assets, or what I can get from others.
Instead of getting my confidence from me and relying on myself, God desires me to turn to Him, accept His protection and provision for me, and let Him grow us. He will grow us quicker, more efficiently, and with less pain than we will grow us. We really need to get our confidence to handle the many everyday situations from knowing who God is, what His promises are, and what His word teaches. When we see situations and act based on our confidence in God, life and especially storms, are easier and actually growing experiences.
Looking back I see the major storms in my life actually changed my direction pushing me onto a better path of becoming Christ-like and developing the Mind of Christ. More importantly, these storms provided the opportunity to look for and find God as my Lighthouse, where the best and ultimate safety and guidance is for me.
Today, as a believer you will find that your ultimate Lighthouse, God, will not only show you your path forward step by step, but God will also lead you to a place of refuge, a place of shelter to endure your storm. Meet today's storm...or your next storm (for surely they will come) with peace not panic. Take the opportunity to look for your personal Lighthouse of guidance and sanctuary in His promises and character.
Prayer
Father God, when I meet the storms of life, help me to go through them with peace, not panic. I know that to get to where You want to take me, I must go through certain storms. In Your wisdom, You designed the storms to push me to You, I come to know You and Your loving provision, shelter, and calm. It is not in the calms of life where I realize that I will not go under, but during the storms. Allow me to get my confidence, hope, and assurance from You and not me, because I know I am limited, weak, and not capable of controlling everything like You can. Thank You for being my Lighthouse during the storms. Thank You that during all of life's storms there is a perfect place of refuge...a fortress of Divine grace to see me through. I pray in the name of the one endured the greatest storm so I could have eternal safety, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children say - AMEN!
The Truth
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress: my God; in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver me.
Psalm 91:1-3
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-4
as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Philippians 1:20
Friday, January 1, 2010
Stepping Stones: Guarantee: Time Passes – What Will You Do?
Transformational Tip
Happy New Year! Seems like last year was Y2K and all the commotion about street lights going crazy…retirement funds being depleted…financial chaos on Wall Street…no water and food being available…people reserving generators over one year in advance. Then 9/11/01 and the economy crashing. Wow! This decade has blown by quickly.
I’ve never met anyone who thinks time has passed slowly. Really, the only thing we are guaranteed in life (assuming the Rapture doesn’t occur), is this…Time Passes! Unless you die, time passes, and as we’ve noted…time passes, quickly.
So here’s my point…Putting the above observations together, we are guaranteed that Jan 1, 2011, will be here very quickly. Just preparing you. The question you need to ask yourself, “Do I want to be in the same positions, shoes, state of mind, level of maturity, degree of impact on family and friends, as I am now?…or do I want more from myself!” We all want to grow. In fact, God commands us to mature, to go from milk to solid food. If you aren’t going forward, then you are going backward. Life is much easier and more fulfilling when we are growing.
Growth starts with setting a goal…then realizing where you are now, and developing a strategy to navigate life from where you are now to progress to your goal. To make growth happen, self-reflection and assessment are key. 12/31 is a time most look back and assess, but it is hard to assess one year in a just a few minutes. That’s just lazy and shortsighted. You didn’t get this way overnight and you don’t assess it in a few hours.
Today, write down who you want to be on 1/1/11. Be very descriptive about your spiritual, emotional, thinking, and relational world. Then commit to 15-30 minutes per day of some serious self-reflection/assessment. The return on this small investment will be life-changing. WITHIN REACH will give you a unique and powerful strategy to bring dramatic growth in all areas of your life. Click here to share with the Stepping Stones community your thoughts on 1/1/11.
Prayer
Dear Father God, You are so Holy and amazing, I am in awe. Thank You for not giving up on me a sinner, and actually wanting to come along side me, bear my yoke, be my Counselor, and grow me to be Christ-like. I know You want to finish the work You started and have promised You will. Show me how to use your Holy Spirit, instruction, and understanding of who You are, to transform my mind and life. I pray in the name of the one who who started this tansformational revolution, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children said - AMEN!
The Truth
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
Ephesians 4:1
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:23-25
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16,17
Happy New Year! Seems like last year was Y2K and all the commotion about street lights going crazy…retirement funds being depleted…financial chaos on Wall Street…no water and food being available…people reserving generators over one year in advance. Then 9/11/01 and the economy crashing. Wow! This decade has blown by quickly.
I’ve never met anyone who thinks time has passed slowly. Really, the only thing we are guaranteed in life (assuming the Rapture doesn’t occur), is this…Time Passes! Unless you die, time passes, and as we’ve noted…time passes, quickly.
So here’s my point…Putting the above observations together, we are guaranteed that Jan 1, 2011, will be here very quickly. Just preparing you. The question you need to ask yourself, “Do I want to be in the same positions, shoes, state of mind, level of maturity, degree of impact on family and friends, as I am now?…or do I want more from myself!” We all want to grow. In fact, God commands us to mature, to go from milk to solid food. If you aren’t going forward, then you are going backward. Life is much easier and more fulfilling when we are growing.
Growth starts with setting a goal…then realizing where you are now, and developing a strategy to navigate life from where you are now to progress to your goal. To make growth happen, self-reflection and assessment are key. 12/31 is a time most look back and assess, but it is hard to assess one year in a just a few minutes. That’s just lazy and shortsighted. You didn’t get this way overnight and you don’t assess it in a few hours.
Today, write down who you want to be on 1/1/11. Be very descriptive about your spiritual, emotional, thinking, and relational world. Then commit to 15-30 minutes per day of some serious self-reflection/assessment. The return on this small investment will be life-changing. WITHIN REACH will give you a unique and powerful strategy to bring dramatic growth in all areas of your life. Click here to share with the Stepping Stones community your thoughts on 1/1/11.
Prayer
Dear Father God, You are so Holy and amazing, I am in awe. Thank You for not giving up on me a sinner, and actually wanting to come along side me, bear my yoke, be my Counselor, and grow me to be Christ-like. I know You want to finish the work You started and have promised You will. Show me how to use your Holy Spirit, instruction, and understanding of who You are, to transform my mind and life. I pray in the name of the one who who started this tansformational revolution, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children said - AMEN!
The Truth
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
Ephesians 4:1
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:23-25
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16,17
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