What you have is more valuable than what you don’t have.

The thing you own is more useful than the thing you want.

Money in hand buys more than money still owed.

The grass is greener on the other side of the fence but it doesn’t fill your belly.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Faith pulls the future into the present or does it really pull the present into a better future.

God says He is the I Am not the I will be.

God asks Moses, ‘what is in your hand?’

Jesus says to the disciples, ‘the kingdom of God is near you’

Paul writes, ‘the word of faith is in your mouth and in your heart’

So why do we keep looking out there for what we already have?

Now go back and read this post again… it will make more sense!

God isn’t asking you for the greatest sacrifice, he’s asking for the greatest impact. Now it may be that the two are often synonymous but not necessarily.
I wonder how often we have missed the opportunity to make an impact because we thought we had to make a sacrifice.

I know that God’s call to faithfulness sometimes means sacrifice but let’s not forget the call to fruitfulness. It’s entirely possible to become a martyr when God called a conqueror.

I’ve seen people settle for things in their life, claiming sacrifice, acting the martyr but never acheiving God’s purpose for them. Even Paul pointed out that if there was no resurrection then we’ve sacrificed for nothing.

Sacrifice may be a virtue but it’s not always Godly.

The thing is, what are you sacrificing for?

Seek and you will find.

We’ve all heard that before. It’s been a rally cry for perseverance. If you search long enough and don’t give up you’ll find what you are looking for.

WRONG!

No matter how long you search you won’t find anything unless you are looking in the right place. Thebreward for seeking comes to the persistant but to the one who persists in the right place.

The other day we were in Madrid and decided to go on one of those double decker tour buses. We paid the person at our hotel reception and got directions. I understood that the pickup point was near the bullring we had visited the night before. So off we went map in hand looking for the double decker MadridVision bus.

The problem was I misread the map and turned left toward the bullring instead of right. We waited for the bus for thirty minutes. I asked a couple of people where the bus stop was but my limited Spanish gave very little help.

In the end I reviewed a street map for quite awhile until I realized we were in a completely different part of the city than where the bus stops were. So after walking another twenty minutes we finally found the right bus stop.

My point is this: it didn’t matter how long we searched for the bus we couldn’t find it because we were in the wrong place. We could have persisted all day and never found the bus.

So many people do the same thing in life. They look for answers in all the wrong places. They ask for advice from people who are no farther ahead than they are. They want someone to confirm what they already think not challenge them. If you want to find the solutions in life you need to ask someone who has already found some solutions.

Before you start searching, consider where you will look.

What do you think?

Been thinking…. about influence!

If we measure our influence within the span of our lifetime, is it really influence? I mean like how many facebook friends we have or how many twitter followers. Or how many people come to our church or how many subscribers we have to our blog, magazine or newsletter. All ways of measuring influence but is it really influence or just a fad.

by Yoni Lerner

I think real influence should be measured in generations not circulation. The most influential people in history may or may not have been hugely successful or had many followers in their lifetime. In fact the the most influential person in history had only 120 people show up to follow his last instructions. If Christ’s influence would have been measured by the popularity standards we hold to now, Ashton Kutcher or Oprah would have to be considered more influential.

But… and it’s a pretty big but, if we measure influence in generations, then Christ’s influence has outlasted anyone in history. In fact when we look back on history, the only real influencers are still remembered generations after they had their earthly sojourn.

So… my point is this: shouldn’t we spend more time living for the generations that will follow us and less time building for today? What do you think?

Wow! What a week!

Several hundred delegates flew, drove and hitchhiked (okay maybe not hitchhiked) to fill the auditorium of C3 Church in Atlanta and be part of the C3 Americas annual conference.

To get a bit of a feel for the conference checkout the #c3americas Twitter feed.

There were a few highlights for me. Well… maybe just a slight bit more than a few.

Phil Pringle’s session where he talked about faith and conscience had to be the absolute best teaching on that subject I have ever heard.

Phenomenal!

If it becomes available for download I’ll link it here. (which incidentally would be a good reason to subscribe to my RSS feed. Hit the link at the top right.)

The thing that constantly amazes me about Ps Phil is his ability to break down a difficult and controversial subject and leave you saying ‘of course, why didn’t I think of that before. It makes so much sense.’

“Your body is designed to be a temple, not an entertainment center! You were designed for God to inhabit!” Phil Pringle

“If your sincerity supercedes your faith you will find yourself living in performance.” Phil Pringle

But hey… there were many more speakers. Everyone shared absolute gold. Each one was completely unique. And Ps Chris Pringle’s session should rid you of any remaining religious devils OR make them manifest. Get the audio of the sessions if and when they become available. — hint rss feed (audio sessions are available here)

One of the many things I love about this family of churches is the freedom to be yourself. I mean really, how many of you are under constant pressure to be or act a particular way? Wouldn’t you just love the freedom to just be who God made you?

When you see the massive diversity of gifts, talents, personalities, capacity, training and experience of people throughout this movement you realize that there is a place for nearly everyone. Admittedly the religiously judgmental, the critically proficient and the defenders of tradition may find it somewhat harder to fit in… at least without a merciful reshaping of their fundamental values and insecurities. (…But God)

Oh.. did I mention the loud, worshipful, motivational, impartational, blow your mind loud, incredible, presence of God, forward looking, humbling, faithbuilding, honouring, really loud, can we do it again Stadium Night at Center Stage, Atlanta.

No?

I guess I didn’t. Why don’t you ask someone else who was there about it or if you were there, leave a comment below.

What do you think? Let’s talk.

You may teach what you know, but you can only reproduce what you are.

John 15:1-2 (New International Version) “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Lean is better.

Too many things going on causes clutter and reduces fruitfulness.

Fruitfulness is the litmus test of activity. What does it produce?

If an activity produces nothing measurable, perhaps it should be eliminated.

If a program produces limited results, perhaps it should be cut back.

Allowing all of your passion to flow in singleminded purpose results in the greatest fruitfulness.

Too much time is wasted trying to resurrect dead branches, dead works and dead activities and programs. Cut them off!

Don’t confuse efficiency with effectiveness.

Put your energy into fruitful activity.

Consider the ROI of your business ventures. Don’t keep pouring good money after bad.

It is a strength to know when to prune. It is a skill that you can develop.

Trim your life and you’ll be more productive and fruitful.

Philippians 3:13 (NLT) No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,