Excel Still More

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Today we conclude a short series on 3 Questions for ... Everyone, Leaders, and now Achievers. This is derived from a podcast called Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron.  Though he didn't mention God and we have modified the topics and questions to address our spiritual walk.

We started with "Believe to Achieve" which addressed questions about what you believe, why you believe it, and whether or not others are seeing it in your life.  We then addressed leaders, which most of us are in some capacity or another.  Are we communicating our vision to our people, and does the world see it in us (think - CHRIST! :-) 

Today, we address people who are engaged. This episode is not for someone who wants to get off the couch. This is for someone who has laced up the shoes and hit the streets. Now what? How do you be sure to keep it going?

- Once I have decided to be active with a passion, what next?

- How can I be sure to keep it going, especially when the new wears off?

- How is my time management?

- How do I self-coach through setbacks?

- Am I giving this maximum effort while I am actually doing it?

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Last week we looked at three questions all people must regularly consider. Did you spend some time on that?  Have you found your core belief?  If you missed that episode, we will have a short recap here.  Today, we push forward to leadership. Many of us are leaders:  of families, at work, over churches, or just in general among our friends. Leaders have a big responsibility. They not only pick a direction. They bring others along with them!  

- What are three questions each and every leader should consider often?

- How important is a clear vision of what matters to you and those you lead?

- Do I understand that others can only achieve what I convince them to believe?

- How well do you communicate that passion to the people you have under your charge?

- What do others experience when they come in contact with you group, your team, your culture?

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I was on a long drive back to Texas from Missouri this past week. A friend suggested a podcast called Chasing Excellence. It is secular in nature, but taps into the power to do greater things. But that power has to be in me. I must believe in something. Not because others do, nor because they tell me I should. That thing must be real to me. Once it is, and I can explain to myself and others why it is, I can draw from the power of that conviction to live an extraordinary life. But not in all things. Only in things in which I truly believe!

- Why must we believe in order to achieve?

- What happens when I pursue things I don't really believe in?

- What do I believe?

- Why do I believe it?

- If I told that to someone else, would they believe me?

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

Kids get jealous. It is obvious on their faces, or in their cries. It pops up fast and then is forgotten. Adults get jealous. They are much better at hiding it, but not so good at letting it go. Jealousy, coupled with pride, is a relationship killer. And saddest of all, it prevent us from getting better!  The very person who could help us is being judged by us. We can do better!

Let's talk about how jealousy works and why it is so powerful. Then, I want to add TWO WORDS to the episode title that can make a massive difference in your life and in the way you see yourself in comparisons to others.

- What is jealousy and why is it such a problem?

- Is it okay to compare ourselves with other people?

- How can I focus on differences that are changeable?

- What are the TWO WORDS that will make all the difference?

- How can the right comparisons bring us hope, even in another person's success?

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As people of faith, we know that God hears us when we pray. We know He cares and listens and answers. Sometimes we get a YES. Sometimes a NO. Sometimes a WAIT. But why don't we get more YESES? I mean, we are people of faith and love Him, right? 

It can be difficult to accept circumstances when you ask Him and He declines. Maybe an old country song can help today. Garth Brooks sang "Unanswered Prayers." I can relate to the lyrics of that song. Can you? 

Let's talk about that for a bit, and then settle into a passage of Scripture to give us guidance, gratitude, and confidence in our prayer lives.  Let's do the best we can, even though we are living life looking through a straw.

- Do you thank God for unanswered prayers?

- Why doesn't God give us more of what we ask?

- Have you thought about amazing it is that He listens to us at all?

- What must our attitude be about the life God has built for us to live?

- How can we align our prayers more with His will, leading to more YESES?

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

It has been a rough week in Texas and across most of the Country. The record cold and snow and ice and loss of power and water... quite a mess. I mean, it got below zero in East Texas! I was handling it fine, until one particular night. But I am thankful for that night, even with its weight and burden. I needed it. God knew we needed time together. I want to share that with you.

- What would God have us do with our anxiety and fear?

- But can I ask:  do prayers always work?

- If we just give God a few seconds of our time, do the burdens always lift?

- What does it mean to truly be in darkness praying for daylight?

- And how can emotional, longer, deeper prayers bring that light into your soul?

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

Fear is a factor for most of us. We have anxiety and concern about health and safety and COVID, and the government, and any number of things. To say they don't bother us would be dishonest. The question is, have you given these things the power to control your life? Or is your fear of God so absolute, so dominating, that everything falls victim to His control?

Erasing fears in this life are not always possible. But increasing fear of God, in every sense of the word can prepare us to render carnal worries powerful in our lives. And maybe we can even reevaluate our previous decisions to take them captive under the authority of God.

- What scares you?

- Is it fair to say that there are things in the flesh that make you fearful?

- How does that compare to your concept of God and His Power?

- What happens when our fear of God is greater than our fear of everything else?

- Are you willing to evaluate your carnal reaction to carnal things?

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

Let's talk Bible today! Specifically, and excitedly, let's talk Leviticus!  Okay, not everyone's favorite book. But we do know it, don't we?  God set aside priests, sons of Aaron, appointed by Him to do 5 special things. Most Israelites were not priests, but they came to them for help.

Then Christ came. He established a new holy nation, filled with royal priests!  We are all priests in Jesus Christ.  Every single one of us carries the role of priest in the church. But what is that role?  What does it mean to be a priest?  And why isn't everyone on board?

- What 5 things did priests do for God under the Old Law?

- Why did citizens have to lean on the priests to connect with God?

- What did Jesus change about that whole setup under the New Law?

- Are you a priest for God? And if so, what does that mean?

- What are 3 things we must each and all be doing in our priestly service?

Reach Out: Please include your email and I will get back to you. Thanks!

"I am discouraged" - Have you said that in the last 12 months? I have. What were you saying it about?  Who were you saying it about? Christians have used a lot of social media time and foyer conversations expressing things that disappoint them. Tensions are high. So, why is that happening in the church? Is there any excuse for it? And how do you match that up to the things that Jesus and His Apostles taught?

The truth is, we tend to be making two simple, but serious, mistakes when we are out of focus and down about life's circumstances.  In this episode we will go back to two old ideas, old ESM episodes, that still have the power to reshape your thinking and bring great JOY into your life!

- What are the top 39 things Christians are discouraged by?

- What did Jesus say about the attitude of Christians in trying circumstances?

- How can't the habit of Counting Blessings transform the way you see your life?

- How can Changing Pronouns break the gaze on self and see the world as God sees it?

- What is the daily power of J.O.Y. in the life of God' blessed people?