How do yo measure success? Who comes to mind when you hear the word “success”? Do you think of someone like Steve Jobs of Apple Inc.? Henry Ford? That business man with the big house down the road? Most of us generally measure success by the amount of money, popularity, or influence that one person has. However, this is counter intuitive to how God measures “success”.
In the Kingdom of God, success is gauged in the complete opposite fashion. Jesus lays it out quite plainly in the sermon on the mount;
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven... Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Later in Matthew, Jesus states “...the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Success in the Kingdom of God is not money, its not popularity, and its not influence. God is not measuring us by these exterior criteria. Success in the kingdom is the giving away of money rather than hoarding it, success in the kingdom is the shedding of popularity for meekness, success in the kingdom of God is the giving up of persuasive influence for a submissive heart.
One of the biggest lies that we can buy into as Christians is believing that our worldly success is directly linked to our closeness to the kingdom of God. Don't feel that your lack of wealth, power or influence are a result of your lack of faith. Instead, wear these “shortcomings” and “failures” with a badge of honor. Because we're all destined for small things in this life, and grand things in the next.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Zero % Chance of Rain
Zero % Chance of Rain
Zero % chance of rain! That’s what the weather report said on my computer yesterday morning. I was happy about this because a number of my friends from Crossroads Napoleon and I had our first motorcycle ride scheduled after church. I was so confident in the blissful weather report I included it in my Sunday morning announcement reminding folks about the ride. “It’s gonna be a great day to ride”, I exclaimed with enthusiasm. “The weather man says there’s zero percent chance of rain.” Several of us arrived at the church parking lot at 3 PM as planned. A friend looked at the grey clouds above and said, “Zero % chance of rain right?” “It’s not going to rain”, I said confidently. (After all…..the weather man said, “Zero % chance of rain.”) To make a long story short we had a great ride but we did get wet….really wet. When I got home I received a text from a friend from Crossroads that read, “Zero % chance of rain huh? You need a new weather man.” I can’t argue with that. As I think about it. My problem wasn’t so much looking at the weather report as it was putting so much confidence in the weather report. Sometimes weather reports are spot on and at other times they are way off. As humans we often make the mistake of placing our confidence and trust in the wrong sources. No doubt we live in uncertain times. Adam and Eve and everyone in between have lived in uncertain times. Things happen, times, change, we’re hit with the unexpected. Too often we place or confidence in other people, in books, articles, websites, or in our own abilities. While other people, books, articles etc. can occasionally be “spot on” at times they’re “way off”. The OT prophet Jeremiah has some good advice on what we can expect when we put our trust in anything or anyone other than God.
Jeremiah 17:5&6
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for strength and whose heart turns
away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wasteland; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.”
On the other hand, take a look at what happens when we put out trust and confidence in the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:7&8
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
I don’t know what you have going on in life right now. By all means take advantage of all the resources God brings your way to help you navigate through life. However, be sure to place your ultimate confidence in the Lord and His word. Unlike my weather report He won’t steer you wrong.
Wes
Zero % chance of rain! That’s what the weather report said on my computer yesterday morning. I was happy about this because a number of my friends from Crossroads Napoleon and I had our first motorcycle ride scheduled after church. I was so confident in the blissful weather report I included it in my Sunday morning announcement reminding folks about the ride. “It’s gonna be a great day to ride”, I exclaimed with enthusiasm. “The weather man says there’s zero percent chance of rain.” Several of us arrived at the church parking lot at 3 PM as planned. A friend looked at the grey clouds above and said, “Zero % chance of rain right?” “It’s not going to rain”, I said confidently. (After all…..the weather man said, “Zero % chance of rain.”) To make a long story short we had a great ride but we did get wet….really wet. When I got home I received a text from a friend from Crossroads that read, “Zero % chance of rain huh? You need a new weather man.” I can’t argue with that. As I think about it. My problem wasn’t so much looking at the weather report as it was putting so much confidence in the weather report. Sometimes weather reports are spot on and at other times they are way off. As humans we often make the mistake of placing our confidence and trust in the wrong sources. No doubt we live in uncertain times. Adam and Eve and everyone in between have lived in uncertain times. Things happen, times, change, we’re hit with the unexpected. Too often we place or confidence in other people, in books, articles, websites, or in our own abilities. While other people, books, articles etc. can occasionally be “spot on” at times they’re “way off”. The OT prophet Jeremiah has some good advice on what we can expect when we put our trust in anything or anyone other than God.
Jeremiah 17:5&6
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for strength and whose heart turns
away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wasteland; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.”
On the other hand, take a look at what happens when we put out trust and confidence in the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:7&8
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
I don’t know what you have going on in life right now. By all means take advantage of all the resources God brings your way to help you navigate through life. However, be sure to place your ultimate confidence in the Lord and His word. Unlike my weather report He won’t steer you wrong.
Wes
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
His Will Be Done...Not My Own.
Welcome to Crossroads Napoleon's blog,“Finding God In Napoleon”. This blog is dedicated to sharing thoughts on being in a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus Christ from day to day.
Recently, I was in Gaylord Michigan with the staff of Crossroads Church. This small staff retreat provides a chance for staff members to bond and to refocus on their respected ministries. Both of the Crossroad staff retreats that I have been apart of have offered a time of refreshment, and refocus on the ministries that I have been entrusted with. This year we focused on prayer, and how we can improve our own prayer lives.
Now, I am afraid that I have to confess something. Pretend for a minute that I'm in a confessional booth and you, as the reader, are the priest. I confess that my prayer life is terrible! I pray somewhat often, but in the most shallow capacity. More often than not, I am praying for what I want, for how I want a situation to unfold, for a person to do what I think is right, and for myself to prosper.
Now the bible does tell us to pray expectantly;
Matthew 7:7-8
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
However, this is under the presumption that we are earnestly seeking God. Praying for our own betterment is not earnestly seeking the heart of God. We should follow the model that Jesus lays out
in Matthew 6:9-13
“This then is how you should pray, ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
Jesus, the son of God, doesn't even pray “...your kindgdom come, MY will be done...”, but I think we all have been guilty of praying that before. We need to shed this and we need to pray earnestly to the King asking that His will be done, in spite of our own.
Just this weekend, I learned of a practical way to improve my own prayer life. I will be using this to make sure that I am not praying out of selfishness. Its called the ACTS model, which is an acronym for;
A dulation (meaning “to praise”)
C onfession
T hanksgiving
S upplication (to pray for others)
This is a great model for our prayer. But however you decide to pray, be sure that you are praying for His will, and not your own.
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