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What Can You Control?

Sean Cronin — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Home > Blog > What Can You Control?

What Can You Control?

By Michael Kelley

The Bible tells us the truth. It tells us the truth about God, about the nature of the world, and – perhaps most uncomfortably – about ourselves. We might, in fact, think of the Bible as a pane of glass. And glass can have two primary functions – you can either look through it, or you can see yourself in it. The Bible does both.

We can look through it as a window in order to see a true representation of that which is outside of us. We can see God, the gospel, sin, and the nature of the world around us through this lens. But we can also gaze into it and see ourselves. And if we do not do both, then we aren’t really having our minds transformed into a biblical way of thinking.

On the subject of seeing ourselves, I’d call your attention to one verse in particular today:

The heart is more deceitful than anything else,
and incurable—who can understand it? (Jer. 17:9).

This is indeed an uncomfortable truth. It’s a decidedly different truth than the version of truth we find anywhere else in the world. While movies, Hollywood, and self-help gurus will tell us to follow our own hearts, the Bible says we should follow Jesus. While the world tells us that the source of truth is within us, the Bible tells us that our hearts are liars. While the world says that we can’t go wrong if we trust in ourselves, the Bible tells us that a sure way to go off track is to trust our own feelings.

This is a hard truth, but it is nevertheless a gift – the gift of being able to actually know ourselves. To know what we are capable of. And to find a source of authority far more trustworthy than ourselves.

Friends, I can’t trust myself. And you can’t trust ourselves. Our feelings will mislead us. Not all the time, but at least some of it. These feelings are blind guides and deceitful leaders. We follow them at our own peril. Problem is, we by and large can’t control what we feel on a given day.

Think about it personally. What do you feel right now? Do you feel hopeful? Sad? Happy? Excited? And now ask yourself whether you decided to feel that way. Probably not. Instead, you just feel what you feel at a given moment. Sometimes it’s motivated by the circumstances around you. Sometimes there is no valid reason for those feelings at all. But in the end, you feel what you feel. We all do.

You can’t control what you feel. But you can control what you look at.

The psalmist was one who recognized this:

I will set no worthless thing before my eyes… (Ps. 101:3, NASB).

Now while we might typically think about this verse in terms of something like pornography (which we should), there are all kinds of worthless things we might set before our eyes. But why the resolution not to put anything before his eyes? I mean, it’s only looking, right? Except for the fact that the psalmist knew that where we look determines where we focus. And where we focus often will determine what we value.

By that logic, then, if we are resigned to the fact that we are going to feel what we feel, and that those feelings might not be right, then the most proactive thing we can do is to make sure we are looking at the right thing. To make sure, even in the midst of feeling what we know we should not, that at least our gaze is on the right place.

And so then we turn to the New Testament, where we find that which ought to be ever before us. That which, if our focus is right, will determine the way we should go and what we should value:

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:1-2).

Christian, you may or may not be feeling rightly today. Regardless, make sure you are “looking” rightly.

Source: What Can You Control?

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Ecclesiastes Can Help Us Emerge From Quarantine

Sean Cronin — Wed, 12 May 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Home > Blog > Ecclesiastes Can Help Us Emerge From Quarantine

Ecclesiastes Can Help Us Emerge From Quarantine

By Michael Kelley

In Ecclesiastes, we find an almost scientific reflection on every pursuit ultimately leaves one disappointed. Our natural propensity is to find something that brings us the slightest amount of joy, the slightest amount of comfort or happiness, and we give ourselves fully to it. We lay down our lives for it. We worship at its altar only to find that our thirst is not truly quenched; our desires are not truly satisfied; our longings are not truly fulfilled. In the end, that which promised us happiness leaves us with a gaping kind of inner sickness:

I said to myself, “Go ahead, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy what is good.” But it turned out to be futile. I said about laughter, “It is madness,” and about pleasure, “What does this accomplish?” I explored with my mind how to let my body enjoy life with wine and how to grasp folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom—until I could see what is good for people to do under heaven during the few days of their lives (Ecclesiastes 2:1-3).

Futility. Madness. Emptiness. This is the constant refrain of the Teacher as he soaked the marrow out of pleasure, work, time, knowledge, and even wisdom itself, and with each one, found it wanting. Meaningless! Vanity! Each and every time.

Now how does that apply to us right now? It is because we have, or soon will have, a multitude of opportunities at our disposal. The ability to do things, to do places, to experiences that which we have not for a good amount of time. And as we come upon those opportunities, it would be a healthy exercise for us to remember the Teacher’s experience in Ecclesiastes as he pushed every thing the world could offer him to its end.

Each and every one of these aspects of life were obliterated. Destroyed. Crushed under the weight of his expectations. With each one, the Teacher found that they couldn’t provide the kind of satisfaction that we desire. Work never truly satisfies. Pleasure is never really enough. Knowledge is never really fulfilling.

That’s the bad news of Ecclesiastes. Whenever we look to anything under the sun for fulfillment and satisfaction, we will eventually cry, “Meaningless!” as it is crushed.

But that’s also the good news of Ecclesiastes. This is more than just disappointment – it’s disappointment by design.

God has made these things in such a way that they will crumble. Each and every one. And with each and every crumbling, we are reminded of the vanity of everything under the sun when we put too much weight on it. And as we are reminded, we are also reminded that we must look out from under the sun for meaning. For purpose. For fulfillment.

Here is a book for now, because we will soon be in a time when we will want to live. To do. To experience. To drink in. But here is a book that reminds us that we are stricken with the disease of falling perpetually short in our pursuits. It’s not that we are pursuing the wrong things; it’s that we are pursuing those things to the wrong ends and in the wrong ways. When everything under the sun disappoints, we have no other option to look out from under the sun for what truly satisfies, before it’s too late:

Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the waters; and you without money, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost! Why do you spend money on what is not food, and your wages on what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and you will enjoy the choicest of foods. (Isaiah 55:1-2).

Before we start to drink deeply of everything the world has outside to offer, let us remind ourselves of what it does not. And move cautiously forward, having placed our expectations in the right place.

Source: Ecclesiastes Can Help Us Emerge From Quarantine

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Manna Church’s Multisite Strategy

Esther Ritchey — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 09:00:32 +0000

By: Portable Church Industries

Manna Church’s Multisite Strategy

Multisite |

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Whitepaper #2 on unique Multisite Strategies.

(See the first whitepaper featuring Life.Church here).

Manna Church based in NC was featured in Outreach Magazines Top 100 list on all three of their categories, Fastest Growing, Largest and Top Reproducing Churches. This is their incredible story discussing their multiplication strategies.

We sat down with Senior Pastor Michael Fletcher and downloaded his wisdom. We ended with this resource jam packed full of insight on how Manna Church through trial and error finally landed on a multisite strategy that works for their church and their unique calling.With a vision to see a church at every large military base, Manna has fine tuned their strategy to create 15 successful campuses across the US in addition to a number of home churches and more in the works. The ‘why and how’ they capture this vision is incredible.

Here are some of the main takeaways from this resource (to name a few).

In this whitepaper Micheal speaks to the challenge of ministering to members of the military due to frequent redeployment. All churches deal with turn over, but due to Manna’s high percentage of military congregants they experience much greater than average losses of people. Manna flipped the script and changed the high turnover rate instead into an average growth rate of 18%.

Another key lesson from the whitepaper is how they internally identify, train up and send new leaders to launch and run new campuses. They use a very unique approach that they have found great success with (you’ll have to download the whitepaper to see what it is :)). Pastor Michael also dives into the why and how launching ‘portable campuses’ is a key strategy of their growth and sustainability (and why they choose Portable Church®!)

Again, there is even more to the resource than what we’ve listed, but we hope this intrigues you enough to read this short, 6 page resource about one of the leading multisite churches in the United States.

*When our team sat down with Pastor Michael, we were so blessed and amazed by his perspective. And guess what… we recorded our conversation so you can listen and be blessed too! We weren’t expecting as much as we were getting so we started the recording a little late, but we strongly encourage you to check out this story and the recording. Let it inspire you to move into the unique calling God has placed on your church.

If your church is considering multiplying or adding another campus check out the video here and make sure you download the resource for the full story!

Complete this quick form for instant access to the Manna Church story:

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Source: Manna Church’s Multisite Strategy

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The Most Valuable Asset You Possess

Sean Cronin — Thu, 07 May 2020 09:00:07 +0000

The Most Valuable Asset You Possess

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by Brandon Cox: As I confessed in another recent devotional, I sometimes tend to be a know-it-all. In other words, I’m afraid of not having the answers, so I’m tempted to fake it and make something up if I can’t answer the question. What’s even worse that being a know-it-all is actually knowing what to do and not doing it.

The most valuable asset you possess isn’t your house, your retirement account, or a business you own. Your most valuable asset is wisdom.

Wisdom is essentially knowledge put into action. And the Bible tells us it’s incredibly valuable.

Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.
She is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her;
those who hold her fast will be blessed.

~ Proverbs 3:13-18 NIV

In the world of finance, an asset is usually considered anything you own that has monetary value, like your house. But I tend to agree with Robert Kiyosaki that an asset is actually something that produces income. In other words, sometimes what you think is an asset is actually a liability. Your house may not earn you money, but it does carry the cost of a mortgage, maintenance, insurance, and taxes.

In the same way, knowing a lot of things seems like an asset, but if you don’t put your knowledge into practice in life, it’s actually a liability. Notice that the writer of this proverb says wisdom is “more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.”

In other words, wisdom can be invested by putting it into practice. When you put wisdom to use in your life, you’re creating value and you’ll see a return. That might mean healthier relationships, a longer life, or financial stability.

Don’t just learn facts and study the Bible like it’s a boring textbook. Collect wisdom that you can put to use as you navigate the twists and turns of life.

Life is always better when you’re applying wisdom along the way.

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Source: The Most Valuable Asset You Possess

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Be Wise About Your Faith Journey

Sean Cronin — Sat, 14 Dec 2019 10:00:55 +0000

by Discipleship.org: Four people were on a plane when it suddenly lost power and started falling toward the ground. The pilot got on the radio to announce an even bigger problem: “There are four of us, but only three parachutes. It’s my plane and my parachutes, so I’m going to take one of them.”

The three who were left—a professor, an elderly pastor, and a young traveler—were faced with a dilemma. The brilliant professor jumped to his feet and said, “I am one of the greatest minds in the country. I must survive. I’m taking one of the parachutes.” The others agreed and he launched himself out.

The pastor turned to the young traveler and said, “I’ve lived a long life and I don’t fear death. You take the last parachute.” But the young traveler stopped him mid-sentence by saying, “No, it’s fine. That brilliant professor just jumped out with my backpack strapped on!”

Wisdom means seeing more than just what is right in front of you. If we want to live as wise men and women, we must see things from God’s viewpoint. As you grow in your knowledge and understanding of the principles and precepts of God’s Word and apply to them to real-life situations, you will become more skillful and successful in your responsibilities.

One of the ways we can see ourselves from God’s viewpoint is outlined in Hebrews 12:1-3. Notice that, according to the author, we are runners in God’s race.

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

As we consider this passage in this blog series, we will notice that there are three aspects that we need to focus on if we want to run our race wisely:

Preparation for the Race
Perseverance In the Race
Priority During the Race

This blog is from our partner Replicate. Sign up here to get updates sent to your inbox about ministries like theirs so you can grow as a disciple maker.

We Must Prepare for the Race

Running requires all kinds of training, discipline, and a rigorous protocol of diet and sleep. In the same way, our faith journey requires a single-minded, wholehearted devotion and determination if we are to run the race with endurance.

Verse One shows us two things we need to watch out for:

Every Hindrance

The writer of Hebrews tells us that if we want to endure and finish the race God has set before us, we must set aside every hindrance or “weight” that could drag us down.

Throughout Hebrews, the author repeatedly tells us that “Christ is better.” So as he writes to the Hebrews, one of the things Christ is better than is the Old Covenant. He admonishes them to lay aside this weight and embrace the new and living way that Jesus provides. His new covenant—accomplished through His blood—is superior to the old one!

We can do this two ways today:

Lay aside the law and embrace grace
Lay aside anything that hinders our faith journey

There are things in our lives that hinder or distract us from running with a single-minded devotion to Christ. They may not be bad in and of themselves, but they keep us from pursuing Christ with purpose and power. In your own life, what is something that keeps you from running full-force toward Jesus?

But weights aren’t the only thing we need to watch out for. We also need to scan for things that might trip us up.

Things That Ensnare Us

For the nation of Israel, “the sin that so easily ensnares” was unbelief. Unbelief may not be the besetting sin in your life like it was for the nation of Israel, but the truth is that we all have these. Everyone has something that they struggle with the most.

David, the “man after God’s own heart,” constantly sinned against God—and it cost him dearly. Sin does the same for us.

Sin dims the eye and clouds your spiritual vision
Sin deafens your hearing so that you cannot discern God’s voice
Sin dulls your taste so that you no longer hunger and thirst after God.

What sin is constantly pulling you back toward it that you need to lay at the foot of the cross?

The author of Hebrews implores us to identify both the weights that tie us down and the pitfalls that could trip us up and prepare for them beforehand so that as we run, we can do so with excellence. Draw near to God so that He can train you to run the race you’re already running well.

Originally posted on Replicate’s blog here. Used by permission.

The post Be Wise About Your Faith Journey appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Be Wise About Your Faith Journey

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5 Signs The Enemy (Not God) is Winning In Your Life and Leadership

Patrick Bradley — Sun, 02 Dec 2018 10:00:18 +0000

by Carey Nieuwhof: Only the crazy people believe in evil and an actual Enemy, right?

Well, that’s kind of what I used to think too.

As a young Christian, I believed that what the scriptures taught about evil was accurate, but accurate in a this happened thousands of years ago kind of way. And most people who talked about evil today were, well, a little off balance or just didn’t understand science well enough.

Then I got into church leadership. And all of us a sudden what I read on the pages of scripture about a battle between Good and Evil started to feel like last Tuesday. Not every day, but some days.

Maybe you’ve felt that too.

You’re not alone.

Talking about the work of the enemy is not an easy task.

The challenge, I think, lies at the extremes. There are some Christian leaders who never talk about Satan and others who talk incessantly about him. You know what I mean. In the case of the latter, every time the toast burns or something doesn’t go their way, Satan is behind it and it’s time for an exorcism. Neither extreme is particularly helpful.

In a similar way, the greatest mistake I believe you can make with evil is to overestimate or underestimate its influence.

It doesn’t have ultimate power, but it also isn’t powerless. Evil is active. And in some way, it’s probably influencing your thought life, ministry, and family right now. At least that’s what the scriptures claim. And Jesus himself acted as though evil was very real.

…

The post 5 Signs The Enemy (Not God) is Winning In Your Life and Leadership appeared first on CareyNieuwhof.com.

Source: 5 Signs The Enemy (Not God) is Winning In Your Life and Leadership

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Finding the Pathway To True Wisdom In A Land Of Relativism

Patrick Bradley — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 10:00:51 +0000

by Jim Putman: What is wisdom? The dictionary defines wisdom as the ability to discern what is true or right. This is a problematic definition for me because our modern culture believes that what is right for you is right for you and what is right for me is right for me. So–how do we discern what is right and true when there is nothing that is absolutely right and true?

The problem with this line of thinking is that it leaves us with people competing for their own version of wisdom. In that case, wisdom would be whatever I think I want and what will get me there the quickest and the most efficient way.

So how do I learn or discern what is right or true as I see it, what gets me to what I want?

Well, first of all, that is not the definition of Biblical wisdom. When we define wisdom as Christians we define it in this way. “Seeing and understanding what God thinks is right and true.”

When we became disciples of Jesus – that meant that we understood that we needed to be saved from sin as defined by God. God gets to define sin. And as God defines it, sin is bad, righteousness is good.

So when we understand that God gets to decide what is right and wrong, what is true or not, we surrender to that. We recognize that God took sin so seriously that he sent his Son down here to die on a cross to pay for our sin. God thinks sin equals death. As Christians we recognize that we missed the mark of righteousness as he defined it – and we accept Jesus as the payment for our sins. We now not only accept that Jesus is our Savior, but we step down off the throne of our own hearts as a disciple and say Jesus teach us your way. Teach us your perspective.

…

Written by Jim Putman

This was originally posted on Jim Putman’s blog here. Used with permission.

The post Finding the Pathway To True Wisdom In A Land Of Relativism appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Finding the Pathway To True Wisdom In A Land Of Relativism

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wisdom Archives - Passion for Planting

What Can You Control?

Home > Blog > What Can You Control?

What Can You Control?

By Michael Kelley

Ecclesiastes Can Help Us Emerge From Quarantine

Home > Blog > Ecclesiastes Can Help Us Emerge From Quarantine

Ecclesiastes Can Help Us Emerge From Quarantine

By Michael Kelley

Manna Church’s Multisite Strategy

Manna Church’s Multisite Strategy

Whitepaper #2 on unique Multisite Strategies.

Manna Church based in NC was featured in Outreach Magazines Top 100 list on all three of their categories, Fastest Growing, Largest and Top Reproducing Churches. This is their incredible story discussing their multiplication strategies.

Here are some of the main takeaways from this resource (to name a few).

Complete this quick form for instant access to the Manna Church story:

The Most Valuable Asset You Possess

The Most Valuable Asset You Possess

Wish to Support This Ministry?

Be Wise About Your Faith Journey

This blog is from our partner Replicate. Sign up here to get updates sent to your inbox about ministries like theirs so you can grow as a disciple maker.

We Must Prepare for the Race

Every Hindrance

Things That Ensnare Us

5 Signs The Enemy (Not God) is Winning In Your Life and Leadership

Finding the Pathway To True Wisdom In A Land Of Relativism