Along the way Scott and Billy shared ideas that are pivotal in the survival of any leader, particularly where the ‘foundations’ of an organisation are so dependant on the Leaders ability to guide through and not carry the entirety of the burden.

In the post Scott shared five things he learned from Billy. I am sharing with you the headlines and encourage you to visit Acts 29 to get the depth of the advice.

1. Never Complain

2. Adore Your Wife

3. Discipline Your Children

4. Take Time Off

5. Delegate Quickly

Continue the journey in the full post found here.

Sound familiar? Its very much the battle Paul talked about in Romans 7. Try reading from verse 7 onwards and see if Paul isn’t talking about your life?! I love Paul’s honesty as he deals with fleshly desires. Likewise he bring us back to Christ as the answer.

A long time ago (like around 10 years ago) a friend gave me piece of paper with six points on it. The paper I had didn’t have a name on it so I did some research and found it had come from Rick Warren. While I repeat the article here as a reference, it isn’t the total answer as our life doesn’t fall into six convenient categories.

To me the power over our flesh comes from having more of God in our life and less of self. I have been amazed lately how often the sin of selfishness is at the root of other sins. When watching a series of sermons on marriage by Mark Driscoll called Peasant Princess many of the problems experienced in relationships came down to the issue of selfishness and ‘wanting’ rather than ‘giving’. Its amazing how often we complicate our sin with excuses but when the rubber hits the road its plain old greed and selfishness.

I think John the Baptist summarised the ‘whole of life’ approach in John 3:30 when he said “He must increase, but I must decrease”. John was talking of the ministry of Jesus as others around him were concerned John might be ‘missing out’. In all our endeavours Satan seeks to see us fall the same way he did, by drawing attention to our own wants in order that like him we might fall through pride and self sufficiency. Through the word we realise our dependence must be on Christ and him alone.

These two verses probably sum up this thought. Firstly let Jesus have first place in our lives so that the there is no place for selfish desire;

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Romans 13:14

Secondly seek to grow in maturity so that the we can be fruitful in our lives and desires.

“5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” 2 Peter 1:5-7

SUCCEEDING THROUGH SELF-DISCIPLINE
By Rick Warren

High achievers usually have one obvious thing in common: personal discipline. Successful people are willing to do things that average people are unwilling to do.

I’ve observed that successful people express self-discipline in six key ways:

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE MASTER THEIR MOODS. They live by their commitments, not their emotions. People who do the right thing even when they don’t feel like it accomplish most of what gets done in the world! “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Proverbs 25:28

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE WATCH THEIR WORDS. They put their minds in gear before opening their mouths. “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.” Proverbs 13:3

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE RESTRAIN THEIR REACTIONS. How much can you take before you lose your cool? “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE STICK TO THEIR SCHEDULES. If you don’t determine how you will spend your time you can be sure that others will decide for you! “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil..” Ephesians 5:15-16

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE MANAGE THEIR MONEY. They learn to live on less than what they make and they invest the difference. The value of a budget is that it tells your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went! “Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.” Proverbs 21:20

SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE MAINTAIN THEIR HEALTH. That way they can accomplish more and enjoy their achievements. “that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.” 1 Thessalonians 4:4

Where do you need to develop more self-control? The disciplines you establish today will determine your success tomorrow. But it takes more than just willpower for lasting self-control. It takes a power greater than yourself. Think about this promise from the Bible this week: “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

The more I accept God’s control over my life, the more self-control He gives me!

Doing a ‘google’ on it I found it was previously written by Robert Fulghum. His book by the same title dominated the New York Times best seller list in 1989 and through much of 1990.

All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school.

These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work some every day.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup – they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK . Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all – the whole world – had cookies and milk about 3 o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

Wednesday, 10 November 2004

Help, God – the bottom has fallen out!…

Psalm 130:1 TM
If you burn the candle at both ends, you aren’t as bright as you think! In these times of working harder but achieving less you can get irritable and cynical and lose your sense of humour. David was there: “Help, God – the bottom has fallen out.” If that describes how you feel sometimes, here are two helpful suggestions:

1) Don’t go it alone. The Bible says that on the seventh day: “God…rested from all his work” (Genesis 2:3 TM). And rest is still one of His priorities for your life. But that can be a problem when you’re a one-man band. Check out Moses. He had trouble sharing out the responsibility for keeping two million Israelites happy in the wilderness! Finally, he told God: “I cannot carry all these people…the burden is too heavy…kill me…now” (See Numbers 11:14-15 NIV). Wow! Now that’s major burnout! And what was God’s response? “I never told you to do it all yourself. There are talented people all around you just waiting to be asked. Don’t be a plonker Mo’ – get them involved!”

2) Nobody’s perfect. Chuck Braun runs a company called Idea Connection Systems and gives all his trainees ‘a mistake quota’. It works like this: each person can make up to 30 mistakes during a session with nothing to worry about. If anyone uses up all 30, Chuck gives them another 30, then another. And the result? They learn to see their mistakes as a creative process and begin thinking of them as part of the learning curve. And you need to do that too!