Here are today’s winners:

Rich Abraham
Kimbi352
@mark_runs
@mattmcmorris
Kevin Twombly

Send me your address and I’ll send the books.

Congratulations!

I had the privilege of meeting the late Bob Briner several years before his death.  Briner was a leading figure in professional sports management and an Emmy Award-winning television producer, but he was also a prolific writer.  Through the years, with Briner in my schema, I have heard dozens of influential people share testimony to his influence in their life.

In addition to being a successful leader, Bob Briner was a sold-out believer in Jesus Christ.  Today I am giving away one of his books that I have given to dozens of people over the years, because of how simple and influential it has been in my own life.  You can read this book in a matter of hours, but the principles will greatly shape your leadership paradigm towards the greatest leader the world has ever known.  Today I am giving away 5 copies of the book “The Management Methods of Jesus” by Bob Briner.   The title speaks for itself.  You need to read this book and share it with others.

To win a copy of this book:

1. Tweet this (or something similar)  It’s Free Fridays and @RonEdmondson is giving away another great book today, Details here: http://bit.ly/agOGex
2. Comment on this post with your name and/or Twitter name

I will choose 5 winners using Random.org after 10 PM CST tonight.

Best wishes!

As an added part of this post (though not required to win), what about Jesus’ style of leadership impresses you the most?

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” John 5:8 NIV

In order to appreciate the value of Jesus’ command, you need to consider the culture of the day. Today, although some may feel we don’t do enough, there are limited opportunities for the physically handicapped to work and lead productive lives. In Christ’s time on earth, the handicapped were outcast. They lived off handouts they could obtain from begging.

In the above instance, the man had been crippled for a long time. Probably the only possessions he had were the clothes on his back and the mat on which he lay. The mat was almost a symbol of the only hope in his life. His existence was one to be pitied. There was no known cure for what ailed him (except Jesus), and even if there had been, he certainly couldn’t have afforded it.

Jesus had sympathy for the man, and with the spoken word, the man was healed. Jesus told him to “Get up!” take his mat and walk. Obviously, this was a gift greater than anything money could have bought.

Whenever I read this verse, this question comes to mind:

What mat am I holding on to today? What mat are you?

This man was holding on to his mat. It had surely become a treasured possession to him. He slept on it, rested on it, and watched the world pass by on it. He couldn’t have imagined facing the day without it. Jesus tells him to pick it up and walk. When Jesus was finished with the man, he didn’t need the mat anymore. It would take faith to trust Jesus and attempt to walk, but the victory was worth it all. Instead of a mat of hope, this man had the hope of Christ!

What would Jesus have you and I pick up today? What are you holding on to tightly as your hope?

Are you drowning in your sorrow, because you refuse to completely trust God? Are you moping about the setbacks of your life, because you have failed to accept His grace? Are you suffering from the sin that has wrecked everything around you, because you won’t submit yourself to accountability? Do you hold back from committing to God because you are afraid He won’t accept you?

Whatever you are holding on to tighter than your faith, I believe Jesus would say, “Pick up your mat and walk!” Trust Him with that in which you currently trust the most. Permit Him to see you through the difficult days of life. Allow Him to carry your burdens, strengthen your walk and brighten your hope for the future.

Jesus wants to help you. Listen for His command to pick up your mat and walk!

What is that one thing you’ve never been able to let go of, but know you need to do so?

But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started again. Jeremiah 18:4 NLT

Sometimes God starts over with our life. Just as the potter squashed the jar he was working with and started again, God, too, will sometimes begin a new work in our life. Ultimately God is working towards an end goal. For illustration purposes, if God was a potter and He was making His masterpiece out of our life, He would have a picture of Jesus in clear site, because the final destination for our life is to mold us into the image of the Son. (Romans 8:29) Sometimes that process involves radical changes in our life. He doesn’t remove our experiences from the equation; in fact He uses them as a part of His work, but the end product will never look the same when God finishes His work. (Thankfully!)

About 8 years ago God broke every idea I had about how I was going to spend the rest of my life. I never dreamed my career would change from the business world to the ministry, but God squashed old dreams of mine in order to create a new work in my life. My life today is so different from my life then. I can see how those former experiences play into my life today and help me be the pastor I am, but my life is radically different.

God may do the same with your life. God may have extreme changes in mind for your life. You may be in the midst of that process of change now. He may take away your health, break a relationship, change your career, but He will do whatever it takes to further shape you into Christ’s image and the plans He has for you.

Don’t be afraid of change if God is controlling the potter’s wheel. You are in safe hands!

Have you seen God radically change the plans for your life? Share it with us!

(For the other posts in this series, click HERE, HERE and HERE.)

I have been asked numerous times about a seeming contradiction in the Bible. Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament, wrote that we are to “pray about everything” (Philippians 4:6), “pray continually”, (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and “be in constant prayer” (Romans 12:12).  Paul seems to have believed that something in us could live in a state of continual prayer and that we should keep talking repeatedly to God.

Here’s where the seeming contradiction comes in the Bible to some people.  In Matthew 6:7-8 Jesus says, “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” Jesus almost appears to be telling the reader NOT to pray continually.

The verses do not contradict each other.  We must consider these verses in the context of the entirety of Scripture. Throughout the Bible we realize that God is always more concerned about the heart of a matter than He is actions we take (1 Samuel 16:7), so it helps if we examine this subject with that understanding.

When Jesus said not to babble in prayer, because God already knows our needs, He was speaking to people who tried to impress others with their flowery words.  That is not what Paul is suggesting to us in his writings.

Paul’s encouragement for continual prayer, in action at least, is obviously not even possible. Some people have a hard time walking and chewing gum at the same time.  Expecting people to pray while they do anything else is a challenge. Paul is not referring to an action as much as he is an attitude. He’s encouraging our heart to be in a continual spirit of prayer; a constant journey of seeking our Father’s will and communing with our Heavenly Daddy.

This is made possible with the help of God’s Spirit, who “intercedes for us”. If our heart is firmly set on Christ, we can be “continually praying”.   If we go to the marketplace, Christ goes with us in prayer. If we are driving a car, Christ is with us in prayer. If we read a book to our children, if Christ is in our heart, we can be in an attitude of prayer, because God’s Spirit intercedes for our spirit.

Put your heart and mind firmly on Christ today and you will continue to live in a spirit of prayer.

Do you have any specific prayer requests? Leave them here.  I’m finding my readers really do pray for others.

Do you ever struggle with questions about prayer, such as why, how, when, how much to pray, etc.? If so, you are not alone. In this message I addressed some of the main questions we have about prayer. Watch the message and see the questions below that I addressed and references I referred to in the message.  (It may be helpful to listen to last week’s message first.  You can do that HERE. )

Questions posed and References Used:

What is prayer?
Psalm 39:12
Psalm 5:2
Psalm 130:2
Luke 16:15

Why do we pray?
Matthew 6:5-15

What do I need to pray about?
Ephesians 1:16
1 Samuel 12:23
Matthew 6:5-15
Matthew 5:44
Matthew 9:38
Psalm 122:6
James 4:2

How do you remember details to pray for people and what if you forget? Will God make up the difference?
Romans 8:26

How much do I need to pray?
1 Thessalonians 5:17
Romans 12:12

How do I pray?
Romans 8:12-17

Can Satan hear my prayers and use them against me?
Romans 8:9-11
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
1 John 4:4

How do you develop patience while you wait for God to answer?
Galatians 5:22-23

Does prayer make a difference?
James 5:16
Psalm 37:4
Mark 9:14-29
(You’ll have to listen to the message for some of these references to make sense.)

Then I closed with this question:
What in your life is never going to be solved until you commit some time to prayer?

You might also want to read THIS POST.

What does it mean to be adopted into the family of God?  I believe learning this principle about our God relationship could change the way we live our entire life…

If you attend Grace Community Church and/or you follow our podcasts, you may need to listen to this message before you hear tomorrow’s message on prayer.  I think they should go together as essential truths of our faith.

Watch this message I recently delivered at Grace Community Church

When He had said this Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” John 11:43-44 NIV

This event triggered the Pharisees to crucify Jesus. Lazarus had been dead four days. Jewish tradition prompted the family to bury soon after death, but the Jews also believed the spirit hovered over the dead body for up to three days. This time too had passed. Lazarus was a fully dead man! It was a real miracle to bring him back to life, and this was too much for the Pharisees.  What the Pharisees underestimated was that this power would continue to be exhibited in the life of Christians for thousands of years to come. If you are a child of God, you have been brought from death unto life.

Jesus had raised Lazarus from the grave. We should love the story because it shows the power of the Savior. We can know that if He can raise the dead to life, we can trust Him to help us make our house payment or whatever struggles our life may hold.  We need to remember that today. Since Jesus has power over death, is there anything in your life that He can’t handle?

Jesus came to give us life! Jesus told Lazarus to take off His grave clothes, to quit “living” like he was dead. Shouldn’t we do the same thing? Have you received Christ as your Savior? Is your name recorded in Heaven as a child of God? Have the angels sung “Glory” over your salvation? Have you personally, without reservation, believed that Jesus died for your sins, and that the only way you will enter Heaven is through the grace of His shed blood on the cross?

Well, TAKE OFF YOUR GRAVE CLOTHES! Quit “living” among the dead. Look alive! Jesus saved you by grace, through faith, not unto death, but unto life! Shouldn’t that make a noticeable difference in your life today? SO LIVE! Don’t let this world steal your joy. Don’t let Satan rob you of your peace. Stop worrying over tomorrow.  Start living!

Take off your grave clothes and LIVE!

What’s one huge request of God that you’ve been praying He will do? (Do you trust that He can?)

Happy Easter!

 
I have to be honest.  I am not an expert on the celebration of Lent. It wasn’t talked about a lot in the church I grew up in and it’s not been a huge tradition in any of the churches where I’ve served. When I was growing up the only friends I knew of that celebrated lent were my Catholic friends.  I understand the concepts and principles involved and I realize it is gaining in popularity in today’s church culture, but it’s simply not been something I’ve practiced a great deal.

Lent is a practice of celebration 40 days prior to Easter that allows believers to prepare their hearts to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Basically, the person practicing lent gives up something they would regularly do during the season of lent. I’ve heard of people abstaining from caffeine, sweets, television, or smoking, among other things.   Today being what is called Ash Wednesday, the start of the lent season, I have received enough questions about it that I felt it was worthy of my addressing the issue.

My understanding of Scriptures is that the Old Testament practices and traditions are no longer required, but, at the same time, disciplining ourselves is always a good thing, if done with the right motive and purpose.  For that reason, I would encourage the practice of lent by giving something up of value during this period to spend more time focusing on the true value of Christ. I see great opportunities in this to build family traditions, celebrate Christ together, and personally build a person’s character in Christ.

Since I believe we are no longer bound by rules, but are now bound by grace, if a person wants to practice lent, I think they should write their own rules for their practice of lent based on what they want to accomplish and how disciplined they need to be. The key, however, is more about taking on than it is giving up. The end goal is to take on more of Christ as one gives up something of value.  This is actually a good discipline to have throughout the year.

In my opinion, if a person is concentrating more on the discipline and his or her ability to keep a rule then he or she is still living under the law system.  If, however, one is concentrating on the focus of Christ then he or she is truly living by grace.  That should always be encouraged.  However we celebrate or don’t celebrate Lent, let’s all take time preparing our hearts for Easter and reminding ourselves of the sacrifice Christ gave on our behalf.  That has to be good for all believers.

Lent experts, I’d love to hear your thoughts… Educate me (and my readers).  What am I missing?  How do you celebrate Lent?

 

I meet so many people that have been injured by failure, hurt or disappointment, to the point that they refuse to take a chance again. Jesus used parables to teach life applications. Recently one of Jesus’ parables reminded me of some important principles regarding life’s difficulties and the process we go through seeing our dreams come true. I realize Scripture has only one meaning, but for me this parable has a new application.

The parable is Mark 4:26-29

Here is the encouragement I received:

Plant – One important step after a failure is to get started with life again. You have to at least plant something. Many times people never get started again pursuing their dreams. It’s impossible to harvest a crop you never planted.

Plant the right seeds – Remember, you will reap what you sow. If you have made mistakes, learn from them and plant new seeds. Head your life in the direction you want it to go.

Understand You Can’t Control Circumstances – The farmer can’t control the weather. You and I cannot control other people. Once we plant, we can’t control all the circumstances. You may have to take a risk again, even though there are few guarantees.

Harvest – Trust the harvest will come. If you head your life in the right direction, and wait on God to work His will, eventually you will experience success. Don’t let impatience keep you from waiting on God’s perfect timing.

Have you been holding back because of fear or worry? Maybe now is the time to get back to farming!

I meet many people frustrated with their spiritual life. Often I find they are measuring the wrong things. They tend to measure their day-to-day activities, rather than their progress over time. My intent with this post is to encourage you to measure outputs, not inputs when evaluating your spiritual life.

If you measure only inputs of your spiritual growth…such as…

• How many times you read your Bible
• How many minutes a day you pray
• How many people you invite to church

You’ll often feel like a failure in your spiritual life.

If you measure the outputs of your spiritual growth…such as…

• Are you becoming more patient?
• Are you learning to love people that are hard to love?
• Do you desire to be more like Christ today than you once desired?

You can discern if you are really growing spiritually.

It is much harder to put numbers on intangibles, but deep down you will usually know the answer.  When I try to measure the inputs of my faith, I grow disappointed, because it seems I can never do enough. When I measure the outputs, the results of my faith, I can truly determine if I am growing to be more like Christ. (Thankfully, I can see huge progress over the course of my life.)

Discipline helps develop spiritual fruit, and I believe in practicing private disciplines that help grow your faith (inputs), but the discipline is not the goal, the fruit is the goal (outputs). Jesus didn’t say His followers would be known by the number of disciplines they can keep. Jesus said we would be known by our fruit.

What would you add to the list…what input do you tend to measure to judge if you are growing spiritually? More importantly, how are you doing over the course of time?