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Here we are: Already into the eighth article of this series. Some of you are itching to get on with the plan. Am I right? I know how you feel – fighting the urge to get something done.
So, step back from the edge and take a deep breath. You don’t want to go there. You really don’t. Be encouraged: God has it all under control. It’s more about the journey than the destination.
We are making progress. In fact, we are about to move on to the next phase – from positioning ourselves before God, to discovering His purpose.
Remember, patience is a virtue. It is also a necessity – assuming we are determined to find the center of God’s will in the good works He has created us to walk in.
Are You Ready to Move On?
God’s greatest intention, in calling us to more, is to better position us to hear, believe and obey His voice. Now is the time – in these relatively quiet beginnings – to establish that foundation. Doing so will protect us when the chaos of adventure arrives.
Therefore, we are going to take a pause here to check ourselves. Just how are we doing with our preparation? Important note: These are intended to be conversation starters… with God.
Read the rest of this entry »
You may recall from the beginning of this series that we are on this journey together. God has called me – and inLight Consulting – to more. Like you, I feel the tension of transition in the air. God is up to something.
Up to this point in the series, I have been introducing (and applying to myself) the basic principles that I share with other Workplace Leaders. This past week, God introduced something extra.
It is not unusual for God to add something particular for the person I am discipling. In this case, that person is me. I hope it will also help some of you.
Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Westminster Shorter Catechism
Motivation is a big deal in the kingdom of God. As we prepare ourselves to be transformed by the Holy Spirit for the more of God’s call, it will do us well to check our motivation.
Why are you following Jesus? Why did you say the “sinner’s prayer”? Why did you make that fateful decision? Why are interested in the more God is offering you? Read the rest of this entry »
As I mentioned in my previous article, God prepared my wife and I for His call to more – what we call “our house fire adventure” – with a few encouraging words. The last, and the one I want to focus on here, was, “You need to grieve”.
Of all He had to say to us, this is the word we would not have thought of ourselves; nor would we have imagined the impact it would have on our journey. We didn’t understand it at the time, but we chose to be obedient.
Once it was safe, my wife and I went into the house and assessed the damage. Every picture on every wall was destroyed. Smoke had found its way into every closet and drawer. It is absolutely amazing what high temperature smoke can do to treasured items.
So, we held each other and cried. Later, I led our children (individually) into their rooms. One of them grieved; the other got mad. One was able to move on from the tragedy; the other suffered for years.
Most only think of grieving in relation to the death of a loved one. It is the process we must go through to “get on with our lives”. In our tragedy, my wife and I learned that grieving is a grace of God for more.
Our response to God’s call to more requires our leaving something behind. Many times, it is security, long held beliefs, even people and places we have grown to love. Rarely does this call not involve a dying to ourselves.
So, there is grieving.
God’s call to more is His invitation to a higher level of glory. Responding positively, we soon experience the process of transformation (2Corinthians 3:18). The Greek word for “transformed” is metamorphoo: the death of a caterpillar, that a butterfly might emerge.
Grieving is not something most people readily embrace, because we associate it with negative events. I am encouraging you to see grieving as the grace God has provided for all His children. Knowing our weaknesses, He has given us grief that we might more easily and productively walk through His transformation. Read the rest of this entry »
Our Heavenly Father desires nothing more for His children than for them to become fruitful citizens of His kingdom. Our contribution is ultimately for His glory; for His name’s sake. However, He loves us with a father’s love; a love that desires the best for His children.
When God calls us to more, it is important to consider how we are thinking about the call. Is it a burden to us, or a privilege? An obligation, or an opportunity? Are we dreading the journey, or looking forward to the adventure?
On April 18, 2009, my wife and I watched helplessly as firefighters did all they could to save the house we had lived in for most of our marriage – the home where we had raised our children. The fire, smoke and water destroyed practically everything. It could have been the beginnings of a burdensome tragedy.
As we stood watching this tragedy-in-progress, God whispered three things into our hearts,
“I am sovereign. Nothing happens outside of my will.”
“I am a good God, I love you, and I have a plan for you.”
“Reckon these things to be true.”
And so began God’s call to more. As we settled into our first temporary quarters (the Holiday Inn Express), we turned to our Heavenly Father. Beth began, “Father God, whatever you have for us in this, we receive it.”
Praise God for His encouragement, in the prayers of a godly wife!
This was the surrender our Father was looking for; and it opened the storehouse of Heaven. With one word (our “whatever”), we had entered into the purpose of Almighty God. Our tragedy immediately became an adventure. Read the rest of this entry »
This series of articles is for those who sense that God is transitioning them into a new season – a season of more. Positioning ourselves before God is the prerequisite step in our knowing His purpose and plans for the coming season. It is also the place where He prepares us for our new assignment.
It is no coincidence that God has made prayer man’s most powerful weapon in the battle for the kingdom. This is the place where God is most intimate in revealing His plans and encouraging His children. As we battle with Him through prayer, He establishes His relationship with us. There is no more important thing we can do in our preparation for the next season.
Prayer (deēsis): Need, indigence, want, privation, extreme poverty; a seeking, asking, entreating, entreaty to God or to man. From deomai: to want, lack; to desire, long for; to ask, beg; the thing asked for; to pray, make supplications. Outline of Biblical Usage, BlueLetterBible.org
There are three things to notice about the definition of prayer. First, it is more about need than want. Second, that need is out of an extreme sense of poverty (i.e., it is humble). Third, prayer includes seeking and desiring – its relational aspects.
Changing the Way We Pray
Our common ideas regarding prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer simply as a means of getting things for ourselves, but the biblical purpose of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself. It is the only way we can get in touch with the truth and the reality of God Himself. To say that “prayer changes things” is not as close to the truth as saying, “Prayer changes me and then I change things.” God has established things so that prayer, on the basis of redemption, changes the way a person looks at things. Prayer is not a matter of changing things externally, but one of working miracles in a person’s inner nature. My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers
Prayer is difficult because our enemies do not want us communicating with God. Satan is a powerful being. An opposing power is needed – God’s power. Is it possible that our prayer life lacks God’s power because we do not pray in the way God has designed? Have we chosen our own way in prayer?
In his book, The PAPA Prayer, Larry Crabb discusses how many in the church turn to God in prayer as if He were Santa Claus sitting behind a vending machine. If we just put in the right change (our time) and push the right buttons (our requests), He will give us what we want. As Crabb laments, this approach has drawn us far from God’s intention in our prayer time with Him: To establish and nurture an intimate relationship. Read the rest of this entry »
In the postscript of the previous article in this series, I promised to share a method of positioning that has been particularly helpful to me. We will do that in (at least) two parts. We begin with the model for positioning that Jesus left us.
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.” Luke 11:1-4
Notice that the disciple did not ask Jesus “how to pray”. Interestingly, “how” is a very common word in the Bible. In fact, it appears 550 times in the New King James Version. So why is it absent here?
I am convinced, and I hope you will consider, that the disciple was asking for more than instruction in prayer. He recognized that Jesus’ way of prayer was so far removed from their own that what they had been calling prayer might as well have been called “apple”.
The disciple was asking Jesus to make them men of prayer. This He has promised to do – for them and those that desire to know God’s purpose and plan for this season of transition. Read the rest of this entry »
Do you feel like God has you in transition – that He has something else for your life? Jesus said we would do more. We cannot follow Him and remain standing in the same place. Running the race to win means covering new ground.
As mentioned in the introduction to this series, I personally know more than a handful of Workplace Leaders who are feeling God’s call to more – myself included. Responding to that call – particularly in this season – is critical, for us and those in our spheres of influence. So, for the next couple of months, we will be walking together through a discovery and response process. God bless you with ears to hear, and a heart to respond to His call.
There are three general steps in our process. We will call them: Position, purpose and plan. The order is important. If you are reading this, it is likely that you are someone that gets things done. You are not a pew sitter. That’s a good thing; but, it must not be the first thing.
Executing the plan before knowing the plan can lead to some dangerous presumptions. The same is true – to a greater extent and impact – for those that start making plans without first understanding God’s purpose.
I recognize that this is obvious to most of you. Still, it happens more often than we would like to admit. Why is that?
Most of us are simply too busy to stop and plan, much less revisit the purpose(s) behind the non-plans we are trying to follow. We fall into the trap of “flying by the seat of our pants”; and presuming the Holy Spirit is directing our steps. We are enamored by the success stories of those that claim to operate in this manner, and we quickly forget the failures.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all about following the Holy Spirit’s leading. I’m familiar with “man makes his plans, and God directs his steps”. That is a major step in the process. It’s just not the best first step. God has something more in mind. Read the rest of this entry »
It has been some time since I have been challenged with this question. Has inLight changed? Has God shifted, or expanded, our core purpose? How are we fitting into God’s will for the church in this season? Is He stirring up new desires/burdens?
These are some of the questions the leader of a ministry must ask from time to time. It is the same for other workplace ministries – including those that are embedded in the workplace.
Whether you are the president of a ministry, the owner of a business, a leader in another professional field (e.g., education, government, medicine) – if you are a church leader or home maker – it is good to expect change. If we are pursuing the will of God, we will be regularly called to a higher level of glory (2Corinthians 3:18).
Over a half-a-dozen people I know well are sensing God’s call to them for something more; that a transition is underway. Some have been through this before, and are familiar with the process.
Others, not so much. They are wondering how to proceed. How do they respond to God’s prompting? How do they discover God’s purpose in this season?
God has a process for answering these questions. It is one of the things inLight offers to workplace leaders. I am feeling that now is an appropriate time to apply what we teach to ourselves.
Perhaps it will help you to follow along – to learn the process for yourself and those you are discipling. In the meantime, you may come to understand how God intends to use inLight to help you discover and walk into your kingdom work. Read the rest of this entry »
Every organization has a structure. That structure tends to be hierarchical and based on worldly principles. Its primary purpose is to support organizational governance. We are all very familiar with these structures. I want you to ignore them for a moment.
Instead, I am encouraging you to consider a different structure – a structure that also exists in the place where you work. I am encouraging you to consider the spiritual structure that God intends to establish in your workplace.
Depending on the workplace, spiritual structures can be very hard to see; but, make no mistake about it: They are real. Spiritual structures do not readily align with hierarchical structures; primarily because they are organic in nature (think vine and branches). Spiritual structures do have an authority component, but the manifestation of that authority seldom looks like a worldly hierarchy (e.g., the greatest must be servant of all).
Point: Jesus is building His church outside the boundaries of meeting time and place. In fact, there is growing proof that He has turned His attention to the place where most of His followers spend most of their waking hours – in the workplace.
Point: Jesus gave gifts to the church; that we might grow up into the vision of the church He is building (Ephesians 4:11-16). Whether these gifts are real people or people that have these gifts, Jesus is working through designated individuals in the workplace.
Point: God is a careful orchestrator. There are no coincidences for His children. He has positioned leaders in the workplace to help assemble and supply a platoon there.
Question: What is your role in this movement of God? How has God defined and described your role? Are you an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher? Are you an elder; or a deacon? Is your role something more supportive; like watchman, or prayer warrior? Read the rest of this entry »
All followers of Jesus Christ eventually recognize that there is a fierce battle being waged for the kingdom of God. It is the responsibility of Leaders in the Workplace to wade into the battle with truth, faith and courage; while encouraging others to do the same. God has promised to go before them, and be their rear guard.
The Scriptures hold great encouragement in regards to the battle preparations that have already been made, as well as the weapons that have been provided for our participation. There is nothing to fear. Those that answer the call to war will discover that David’s Mighty Men are but a shadow of what God has empowered us to be as His Mighty Men, Women and Children.
This lesson explores the Bible’s great encouragements for those engaged in the battle, and God’s way for fighting our enemies. Read the rest of this entry »
inLight Adventure 