Almost Christmas...

I should be saying something kind of "Christmas-ey."  So, I'm not going to.

Recently a good friend was challenged by the idea of success.  So I have thought, about that...a lot.  

What really makes us successful?

Let’s talk about the world’s view of success compared to God’s view.  

According to the dictionary success is "… the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors, the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or stuff like that".  -- This definition of success is based on tangible things and what other people think of you.  (O.K. I added the "stuff like that part.")

However, there is a path to success that is TRUE and FOUNDED upon God’s word.

1 Kings 2:3  (NIV)

3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: (1) Walk in obedience to him, and (2) keep his decrees and commands, (3) his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go

Success for the believer is based on the Word and not attempts at gaining worldly popularity or material gain. 

When you grasp the first three principles of success, a fourth principle becomes obvious.  If we read 1 Kings 3 - you discover what God adds. God asked Solomon, “What do you want?” And Solomon requested wisdom.

To be a successful Christian, we need to keep  three points in focus — what to eliminate, what to retain, what to evaluate — if we do that God will add a measure that will allow us to be successful with excellence.

In 1 Kings 2, Solomon had already shown wisdom. This is an example of spiritual giftedness being used as natural ability.

Spiritual ability and sensitivity is what the Holy Spirit gives beyond our natural ability. So ... Solomon gets to use his natural wisdom in 1 Kings 2, and his faithfulness results in the giving of supernatural wisdom in 1 Kings 3.

Once you've been as fair as you know how, let God direct what comes next.  The ultimate discernment for what you should be doing lies with God and the wisdom He provides to us all...that is true success!

Joshua 1:8  (NIV)

8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Hey friends...let go, - Let God - and you will always be a success!  Can I get an amen?

...and I am just sayin'...

- Kelly

The Storyteller

It's Christmas - time.  Time - to tell the story of Christmas.  No...not the story of crushing lines at Walmart, nor the story of a great meal prepared.  This is the time to tell the story of Jesus. Remember this..."I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.  I love to tell the story...because I know 'tis true..." Is this true for you?  I like to tell a good story...it's a lost art.  What if we told a good story...in the community of faith.  Remember - we used to tell stories ...some would call them testimonies. Revelation 12:11 (NIV) "They triumphed over him,  By the blood of the Lamb, And by the word of their testimony..." Sharing our faith, "our story" publicly is a step in spiritual growth and personal ministry. There is a great peace and joy that comes by honoring God with your life and your words.  You are The storyteller. We build up the church when we hear about God's working among His people. We gain strength from hearing about how God saw someone through a challenge. Our faith grows and our doubts are dealt with.  Our stories build the body of believers. The listener who identifies says, “Their story sounds like my story.”  In some way our lives connect with the storyteller.  Somehow what was shared gives hope where the listener thought there was no hope. They are not alone, they know now. Someone else has been through what they are going through. "I don't know Jesus..." proclaims the listener who is lost.  If I don't know Jesus, I have now heard how I could know Him. If I have not heard about how he can change lives, now I have heard it is possible. If all I have known about Jesus was political or tainted in some way, I can now balance that out with a true story according to a person like me. Tell the story of Christmas...."because we know it's true...." And by the way...I'm just sayin'. See Ya' Soon! Kelly

Don't Miss This

Do you remember your "bestest" ever Christmas, or your worst ever?  Do you remember when you could hardly wait for Christmas?

Advent is a time to wait, listen and think about the awesome wonder of God - a God who sent his only son as a baby to save us. I wonder if we should pause and spend some time this Christmas season reflecting on God's gift of incredible love. 

The season of Advent is a time for prayer and the reformation of our hearts.

Isn't it interesting that it comes at winter time?  Fire is a fitting sign to help us celebrate Advent.  If Christ is to come fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer.  Our worship and devotion will have to stoke the kind of fire in our souls that can truly change our hearts.

The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… .

What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you.  And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God fade into the distance.

This Christmas...

Stay.  Sit.  Linger.  Tarry.   Ponder. Wait.   Behold.  Wonder. Cool your jets!  There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing.

For now, stay. Wait. Something, SOMEONE is on the horizon!

...and you know me, I'm just sayin.'

See Ya Soon

Kelly