The Things I Must Do…Today!

I spent last week with a group of world-class people in the Real Estate and Mortgage industry.  In the aftermath of our time together at The Summit in Tucson, many people were challenged to look for ten things which will help us on the desired path.  I know I came away with three things that I will implement exactly for our work in Africa. This means there are some things that we have already discussed which will give us the greatest opportunity to reach our desired goals for Christ in our work in Ghana.

When thinking about this in the larger sense, I began to wonder “what are three things I can to do every day that enable me to face my friends and my foes with the greatest opportunity to impact them for the glory of God?”

There is not a single person I have ever met who did not realize the importance of living a life of peace, dignity, and purpose.

During the Summit I became keenly aware of why you are all coaches.  You possess, at least during those days, the absolute best of the 3G attitudes that we have been talking about for years.  You are willing and available to show generosity in gracious ways from a grateful heart with the students and coaches around you.  You are constantly pouring into to others what has been poured in to you.  I was so proud of each and everyone one of you on this call.

In retrospect, it reminded me that these three things are also important for us as we face each day and live a life of faith.  For me, I must remember that living the Christian life is never as much about climbing a mountain as it is about negotiating a mountain range. While it is fun to celebrate the Summit, we must never forget that we must come off the mountain top of victory and negotiate the coming valleys of defeat.

Are you familiar with the story of Jesus taking Peter, James, and John to the mountain to be alone with him?  It was on this mountain top that the bible says, “Jesus’ appearance was transformed, and his clothes changed to dazzling white, and then Elijah and Moses appeared and began talking with Jesus.” (Luke 9 & Mark 9)

On the Summit these disciples where awed and amazed at what they witnessed, so much in fact that they wanted to stay in this place forever, but the voice of God boomed from heaven that instructed them to listen to Jesus.  It was then that the Lord told them that had to come off the mountain and go down into the valley were the other disciples had been unable to help a Demon possessed boy.  In was only down in the valley that the power of God was finally seen by the multitudes when he healed this young boy.  It reminded me that the greatest victories are not won on the mountain top but in the valleys.

Today many of us are in the valleys of life.  What are three things that we can do to overcome and persevere through these valleys as we head toward the next peak in our journey?

First, we must have community with others.  The reason you were at your best during the Summit was that we were in community.  We knew we were never alone in the process.  Others were in the battles with us and there was strength of having a community around us.  As Christians, we must never lose the sense of community.  I love the opportunity to stand alongside you weekly as share in your life.  If you are not currently on a call with me, set it up, or find someone else with whom you can share the community of faith.

Secondly, we must stay connected.  During our time there, the only time we ever started to waver was when we decided we knew a better way than doing what we had been instructed.  The only source I have of complete truth is the Word of God.  There must be a scheduled time each day for us to spend reading and meditating on the Word of God.  When we fail to put the Word of God into our lives, we have no supply for the demands that come every day.  You must start somewhere.  Set aside a portion of time each day that you are allowing God to speak to you through his Word.  In addition to reading the Bible, this should be a time you spend talking to God through prayer.  There are other disciplines in life but none are as important.

Thirdly, we must stay committed to the process. For me this means being constantly aware of the three G’s – gracious, generous, and grateful.  Whenever you sense yourself moving in the wrong direction, get back to the center and start again.