What's required???

You have what's required!!!!!

This last week, I had the honor to begin our 2nd year of Merge College. It was a nice start to a new year. I have been praying for a situation for one of the students, and I believe I witnessed a miracle. We should never be amazed, when God answers our prayers. I am so excited to see the journey for each one of them this year.

I was reading, when David first arrived at King Saul's palace he was a simple, unknown shepherd boy. But he had an impressive resume'! And God, in essence, said, "I saw you kill the bear and the lion; I was watching when you didn't realize it."

Solomon wrote, "A man's gift make the room for Him." Proverbs 18:16

David's gift may have been only a slingshot, but it opened the door to his future as Israel's king. So even though what you've got doesn't seem like much--give it to God. Then step back and watch what He can do with it.

All God requires is that you show up, say yes, and make yourself available. When you give God what you've got, He gives you what He's got; that makes your odds unbeatable. You can never say, I don't have the right credentials or the right training.

Benjamin Franklin had less than 2 years of formal schooling. Yet at 25 he founded the America's first library, at 31 he started its first fire department, at 36 he designed a heating stove that's still in use today. At 45 he founded the nation's first university, and at 75 he invented bifocals.

He was economist, philosopher, diplomat, inventor, educator, publisher, and linguist who spoke and wrote in five languages.

Chances are, you already have more education than he had when he was your age. Add to that these 2 promises, "The Lord is my helper" (Hebrews 13:6), and "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and you have what's required!!!!

Always keep moving forward and not backwards.........

Merge students your future looks extremely bright and exciting!!!!!

"CORE Strengths"

"Bring me seventy......who are known.....as leaders."

Numbers 11:16

Sometimes when I can't sleep which is quite often........I find myself just channel surfing.

There is a lot of informercials about everything throughout the night.

When I was turning the channels one got my attention,

it was a exercise program that works on your CORE.

As I laid on the couch, and as someone who needs to work

on my CORE (stomach muscles).

I watched it for a few minutes and even felt like I should get up

and exercise BUT........that motivation lasted for about 1/2 of a second.

Then the word "CORE" got inside of my head.

One of the definitions of CORE is - the central, innermost, or most essential part of anything.

"What if we spend so much time on our weaknesses,

and never develop our CORE strengths."

Then I recalled this story:

A group of neighborhood kids built a tree house and formed their own club. When the grownups were told who had been selected for which office, they were astonished to hear that a 4 year-old boy had been elected president.

"He must be a born leader," one dad observed. "How did it happen that all you bigger boys voted for him?"

His son replied, "Well, he can't very well be secretary because he doesn't know how to read or write. He couldn't be treasurer because he can't count. He would never do for sergeant-at-arms because he's too little to throw anybody out.

If we didn't choose him for anything, he'd feel bad. So we made him president."

Life usually doesn't work that way!!!!!!

You don't become successful by default,

you must work from your God-given strengths.

In life, your purpose is always connected to your giftedness.

God doesn't call you to do something you've no talent for.

God told Moses, "Bring me seventy...who are known to you as leaders."

You cannot grow to your full potential if you continually

work outside your CORE strengths.

Improvement is always related to ability.........

Do you know what happens when you spend all your time

working on your weaknesses, and never develop your strengths?

You will work really hard and claw your way up to mediocrity,

but you'll never get beyond it...........

Economic pressure and family responsibility may require you to work

for a season outside the area of your CORE strengths,

but don't settle there..........

We should always seek guidance, sharpen our gifts,

be patient (which for me is hard in some situations),

and God will open doors for you................

So, for myself these are 4 qualities could strengthen my CORE............

1) Submission

Only a leader who has followed well,

knows how to lead others well.

"Connecting" with people becomes possible

because you've walked in their shoes.

Leaders who've never submitted to authority tend to be proud,

unrealistic and high-and-mighty.

2) Self-discipline

To make consistently good decisions requires character

and self-discipline. To do otherwise, is to lose control of ourselves.

British writer, John Foster wrote,

"A man without decision of character

can never be said to belong to himself.

He belongs to whatever can make a captive of him."

3) Patience

Leaders look ahead, think ahead, and want to move ahead.

That's what makes them leaders.

But the true goal of leadership is not to cross the finish line first,

but to take as many others with you as you can.

For that reason you have to deliberately slow your pace,

stay connected to your people, keep them informed and inspired,

enlist the help of others to fulfill your vision, and keep going.........

And you can't do that if you're running too far ahead of everybody.

Solomon writes:

"Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride." (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

4) Accountability

Many people feel that accountability is a willingness to explain your actions. Real accountability begins long before you take action.

Most wrong actions come about because we are

not being accountable early enough.

So, besides needing to exercise and work on my CORE (stomach)........

These 4 CORE qualities is something to think about

to make us stronger leaders........

Probably, the number one CORE is learn to VALUE others -

the "salt" and "light" principles that Jesus taught calls for us

to INFLUENCE and ILLUMINATE others for GOOD and for GOD.......

"You must earn and grow, in order to give and guide."

Vision

Scott and I recently went out for dinner. Scott with his serious face looked at me and asked this question, "Where do you see us in 3 to 5 years?"

I found myself for once with the answer, "I don't know......"

I have always been one that likes challenges and I have goals. But it has bothered me because I am not sure what is next in my life.

George Barna: Vision for ministry is a reflection of what God wants to accomplish through you to build His kingdom.

Nobody can give you a vision for your life, but here is some thoughts that I came up with.........

1) Look within you.......What moves me??? What am I excited about???

Paul said, "I am compelled to preach" 1 Corinthians 9:16

Or today we may say "I am driven to preach" or whatever your passion may be..........

2) Look behind you......What has life taught me???

Experience provides us with wisdom......

The meaning of wisdom is clear enough—"the art of reaching one’s end by the use of the right means" Predominantly the "wisdom" thought of is that which comes through experience or old age.......

3) Look around you......

Rom 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.

Paul spoke of those who worked with him. Finding your full destiny requires having the right people in your life. When the gifted offices work right and the saints are properly equipped, there are increased maturity and greater intimacy in our experience of God.

4) Look ahead of you......One of my favorite quotes - Helen Keller said, "The only thing that's worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision."

The best is yet to be … you see, our God still has more up his sleeve for us. Our God always has something more for us to do, and it may well be that despite our feeling that our powers are diminishing, despite our sense that we are a little tired and run down, God may yet have our best years and our best work ahead of us......

"Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of faith is to see what we believe." St. Augustine

5) Look beside you......If your vision is not bigger than you, it's not of God. And the greater it is, the more resources it will require.

Cultural, personal, or circumstantial obstacles are bound to stand in the way of anyone who wants to become mature in Christ.

Without maturity we cannot:
Become all that God wants us to be.
Neither can we know all that the Lord wants us to understand.
Furthermore, we cannot do all that our heavenly Father wants us to accomplish.

6) Look above you......Jeremiah 23:16 "They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord"

We need to be People who do not lack direction, and lack discernment.......

We are "called according to His purpose," not according to the need, or the fact that the door is open, or that our talent will be appreciated and well rewarded.

Your vision must fulfill your God-ordained destiny, nothing else..........

So, I am asking myself, do I need to recognize the vision, resurrect my vision, or simply just refocus my vision............

William Carey, who is considered the father of modern missions, gave up comfort and fortune to go to India and introduce the gospel. One of his most memorable quotes, "Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God!"

But you can only say that with confidence when you know what God has called you to do.....When you know God has given you a vision for your life, you trust Him, even when you can't see any way to bring it to pass.......