There are two aspects when it comes to getting a word from God.

1. Listening
2. Doing.

God is so willing to give us direction, but we have to be at a place of willingness to do what He says because there are consequences to hearing a word from God and not obeying. An example of this is the prophet Ezekiel.

God called Ezekiel to be a prophet of warning to the people of Israel.  God spoke to him in a powerful (and strange) vision and told him about Israel impending judgement if they did not change their hearts.

Here’s the important part!

God was extremely specific in His instruction to Ezekiel. Here is what God said would be the consequenses if Ezekiel did not do as the Lord said:

Ezekiel 3:18-19

¹⁸ When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. ¹⁹ But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

When God speaks, we are to act. We have a responsibility to quickly listen to the voice of God, because if we do not, the consequences not only affect us, but those around us.

What is God speaking telling you to do?

Are you moving or sitting still?

There is more at stake than we realize..

Life is tough…

We are all going to face hard times, but in these times there is something important to remember, and that is the importance of desperation.

There is a story in Isaiah about a king who was against overwhelming odds.  His name was Hezekiah. The army of Assyria was sweeping through the land and overtaking every kingdom in sight. Hezekiah’s was next.  The Assyrian king sent a messenger to tell the Israelites to surrender, and thus, not be destroyed. But the messenger mocked Hezekiah and his people.  In response, Hezekiah ran to the temple of the Lord and this was his prayer:

?O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.  ”It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God. (Isaiah 28:16-20)

There is a very important principle here for any God-fearing leader.  At our point of desperation, we must run to the feet of our deliverer, just as Hezekiah did. He alone can set us free and bring us to the point of looking down at our problems in victory.

Ask yourself today: Are you facing what life is throwing at you with your own strength, or are you running in desperation to the feet of the Most High, because it is when we are desperate that God can best use us.

One of my favorite things to think about is how to make connections between all the different things we experience in life.  One thing that I see as a constant is this one simple truth: Nobody really knows what the heck they are doing in life. Now, personality plays a large role in the way a person looks at life such as the difference between a “type A” personality, who by nature looks for things to do, and a “type B” personality, who by nature is more laid back; but regardless of the personality type, life is one of the few things where there really seems to be no clear direction.

I have seen a common thread that runs through the way most people live their life and I describe it as this: everybody wishes to succeed in some fashion, but since there is no clear way to get there, most result to playing a type of real life poker in the hopes they have been lucky enough to get the right cards. “Life is really all about chance,” they say, “and I am going to put myself out there and hope that everything works out in my favor.”

And sometimes, this formula works. These “lucky ones” are able to make it, or at least put on the appearance of making it. But these people are few and far between.  The reason most people are so unhappy and angry about their life is because they feel cheated and robbed, and I say that they are right.  Since the beginning of man, we have had an enemy that has wanted nothing more that to take our joy of living and cause us to only exist; but we are called to much more than that.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10 NIV)

God is after the small things in our life. The reason most Christ followers miss the mark and end up just like every other unhappy person is because they have missed the point of the relationship with the Father. As I push further in my journey with God, I realize more and more that at the end of the day, God is not all about telling me what to do, but telling me who He is. God does not want us to run to Him in our time of need to get the answer we seek, only to rush off once more and forget Him until He is needed again.

Instead, He wishes that we would remain with Him. We were built to exist in the presence of God, but through our sin have we lost that right. But still, He longs for us and we must long for Him.  There is still no one way to live our life that is universal for all.  That is why it is so imperative that we learn to not only run to God, but also remain with him.  In His embrace is where we belong.

Go and start living!

Chaos…

We live in a world of chaos and disorder. Our families are bombarded by it, we are surrounded by it at work; we just can’t seem to escape it.  Life is chaos.

There is a story about Jesus that I love to read.  Jesus, like us, was surrounded by chaos, unlike us, He knew how to calm it. Here’s the Story:

³⁷A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.³⁸Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” ³⁹He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. ⁴⁰He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4.35-40).

A few things to think about…

1. There will always be storms in our life, so instead of trying to avoid them, face them with a God-given fervor.
2. Jesus will calm many of our storms, but he has given us the tools to do it our selves. It comes down to an issue of faith.
3. This story was a time of training for the disciples which prepared them for larger storms ahead. Likewise, do not be disheartened by the challenges you are facing.  Instead, see each one as an opportunity to better yourself and strengthen your faith because you never know what great things God has in-store for you.

Find your faith and find your victory.

Recently, I was listening to a pastor speak about the desire to make your mark in life.  He stated that most, if not all, leaders wished to make their mark and leave the world better than they found it.  He also said that all leader will leave some sort of mark, whether they realized it or not.

This made me think.

We are surrounded by a sea of people who are trying to leave a mark on this world.  For example, you cannot log in to Twitter without seeing the description “Leader,”" World Changer,” or “Expert.” People are all clamoring to get their name out and have their voices heard; and many of them have great things to say.  But in reality, on a few rise to the top and become the real “experts.”  What separates them from everyone else?

Here is my hypothesis:
Those who have surpassed everyone else did not do so by focusing on who they were passing, but instread focused on each step ahead.

In other words – They focused on “the” mark instead of trying to make “a” mark

You see, there are two different “marks.”

- Making or leaving a mark means creating a name for yourself.
This will be forgotten because it is just a name

- Focusing on the Mark means changing the curcumstances around something to create a movement.
Focusing on the Mark takes movement.
Words are a waste of time, but the momentum carried through action is unstoppable.

Jesus’ legacy is not found in who He said He was, but what He did. Anyone could have said the things he said, but only the Son of God could DO the things he DID.

Talk is cheap, but actions are undeniable. I felt that God spoke to my heart telling me a very important principle:

DON’T MISS YOUR MARK WILL TRYING TO MAKE YOUR MARK.

Do not get carried away with try to be heard.  Let others watch you instead.

James says it well.
…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2.17)

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.  ~Ambrose Redmoon

Each new step in life requires courage.

• Going to high school for the first time.
• Leaving home for college
• Buying your first car
• Getting married (I’m about to do this one)
• Starting a new job
• Doing something that God has called you to do
• Leaving a good job to follow a dream
• Having kids
• Moving to a new place

This list can go on and on.  Moving into any new phase of life takes courage, we all know that, but many times we make the mistake of stepping out into each new phase with only enough courage to get by.

What I mean by this is that there is a big difference in getting the good out of a new experience and getting the best; and personally, I want the best. As stated before, I am getting married this summer and as me and my future bride enter into this new area of life, I want the best. I do not want us to settle for ok, or even good, I want the best.

I also should explain that there is a difference in man’s best and God’s best. I fully believe to get the most out of something, you must go to the source out it’s creation.  The creator and original visionary always knows and wants what’s best.  The same principle applies with God. He created us and if we are walking in agreement with His will, we are getting God’s best.

That’s what I want… God’s Best!

What about you?

So what does all this have to do with courage. It’s simply this: have the courage to trust God fully in each new phase of life and walk courageously into His appointed future for you.

Proverbs 3.5-6
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.