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Vision hurts.
Don’t believe me? Try dreaming about something that is exciting and important to you, only to be disappointed. But the alternative to vision isn’t much better. Instead of dreaming, you could play it safe. Be complacent. Wish for nothing and hit it every time.
Doesn’t sound like much of a choice, does it? Heartache or boredom. Tightrope with no net or treadmill with no hope. How do you make peace with your dreams? How do you keep from hating the whole process? How can you avoid “optiphobia” – the fear of vision?
Okay, take your mark. You’re about to take off on a marathon. Your coach is the Lord Jesus, the Author of your faith. Under His direction, you’ve cast aside any weights that may hinder you. At His instruction, you clear your way of any sin that might entangle you. At His signal, you’re off! And following His wise counsel, you have focused your attention on him, because he’s the Finisher of your faith as well.
You lengthen your stride and settle in. You know this is no sprint; you’re in it for the long run. Before long your body, mind, will, and emotions, begin signaling you, this won’t be easy. But about the time you reach your first obstacle, God has a surprise for you. You are not alone! You’re surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses! And they’re “in the grandstands” cheering you on.
These aren’t just spectators. They’re your “friends in high places” – people who have run the same race and faced the same obstacles you face. In this greatness are models of faith and perseverance who
by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment (Hebrews 11:33-37).
These aren’t just dead figures from the past. Their faith – and witness – live on. They’re watching you. Pulling for you. Believing in you. Teaching you. They’re here to testify – that’s what witnesses do – that you, too, can influence a new generation. They also testify of the tools our Father uses to deepen your message, and enlarge your influence. Here are a few: [click to continue…]
Imagine the looks and the laughs. You’re a servant – socially, a nobody. You own no property, have little-to-no money. On a busy city sidewalk, you are nameless and faceless.
And yet here you are, in the local real estate office, looking for investment properties.
Or maybe sitting around the local JerusaBucks, sipping on a latte and asking some of the locals about business opportunities or stock market preferences.
You’re a legend in your own mind. But if anyone knew you, they’d laugh you out the door.
Version 2.0
Imagine the awkwardness and anguish. You’re a servant – socially a nobody. You own no property, have little-to-no money. On a busy city sidewalk… well, you get it.
And yet here you are, being asked by the most powerful man you know, to look out for part of his money – more money than you’ve ever seen, much less ever held in your hand.
Echoes of your parents’ proverbs still ring in your ear – stuff like, “A fool and his money are soon parted.”
Can’t he find someone else for the job? This is risky business, and you’re no risk taker.
Isn’t there some hole somewhere…?
Above Your Pay Grade?
How do you handle assignments that are, in the words of the president-elect, “above your pay grade?” [click to continue…]
Took a trip past Oprah a couple of years ago. She was interviewing Russian figure skater Tatiana Totmianina and her partner, Maxim Marinin. Oprah showed a tape of the world-renowned skating champions in which Maxim, as he lifted Tatiana into the air, lost his grip. Tatiana crashed face-first on the ice. It was horrific – all three times I saw it.
In case you missed it, here’s a video montage of her career, including the face plant in Pittsburgh:
Tatiana suffered a concussion but amazingly was back on the ice 12 days later.
“How hard was it for you to get back on the ice just 12 days after that?” Oprah asked her.
“Well, it was very hard,” Tatiana replied. “In the hospital when I woke up, I just realized how serious it was because all my life and career could be over… I wanted to get back on the ice right away because I have been skating since 4 years old. It’s my life.”
Amazing story, but when I heard that last statement, I must confess, I kicked into “preacher mode.” [click to continue…]
Stage 1: Allocate your resources.
Stage 2: Explore the possibilities.
Stage 3: Follow your passion.
Stage 4: Execute Your Plan
“Okay, people, settle down. This meeting will now come to order! You guys in the back, keep a lookout for tax collectors and terrorists.
“We’ve called you out today because we have a new arrival in town. This young man says he’s come from Persia, from the King’s palace. Says he’s one of us, but has an important message. Sir, you have the floor.”
“New governor, you say? I never knew we had an old one. No disrespect, sir, but you look a bit young to be a governor. How much government experience do you have?”
“Okay, so let me get this straight. You’ve never held public office. You’ve never been a governor, mayor, or even a public defender. You’ve never commanded an army or even seen a fight. Your one job has been to serve up wine to the king.”
“Well, okay, I’m impressed. It seems as if the Lord’s been opening up some pretty impressive doors. But again, with all due respect, sir, this dump ain’t Persia. Heck, we’re not even a city. And I appreciate the fact that you’ve been doing some crying and praying for us. But you’re not the first guy to try to rebuild this wall. We’ve been trying this for 40 years. So why don’t you scurry on off back to your cushy job? I’m sure the king’s a bit thirsty by now.”
“Wow. You’re serious about this, aren’t you? I’ve never seen anybody stand up to the entrenched politicians like that.
“You really believe, don’t you? I’ve never seen anybody with that kind of confidence in God, except ole’ Ezra, the priest.
“You’re going to actually do this, aren’t you? I’ve never seen anybody hold a weapon in one hand, and a building block in another.
Tense Truth: God promises a life of genuine security for His children. But those who seek security by hiding behind what is “safe” have no security at all. Security only comes as a result of bold obedience and courageous faith.
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Want to experience real security? Live dangerously. Seriously.
No, I don’t mean being a reckless gambler. But I do mean living with purposeful boldness and courageous faith.
Who was the guy who talked about the Lord being his shepherd, or who said with such confidence,
“The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” (Psalm 27:1)?
It was David, the giant killer. A simple look at his life, especially the younger years, reveals a life constantly protected, and amazingly powerful. A closer look also reveals that he seemed to skip from one dangerous situation to the next. He didn’t always go looking for trouble, but he never backed down from it, either.
Contrast that with somebody who so focuses on risk avoidance that they never really live. Like the guy (true story) who left California to avoid earthquakes and settled in Ohio – where his house was promptly leveled by a tornado. Or the wealthy Australian who foresaw global trouble brewing in the 1930s and decided to move to a safe place. So he settled on a tiny island called Guadalcanal!
A man goes on a long journey, so the story goes. He gives different amounts of money to three managers – amounts ranging in today’s currency from around $300,000 to upwards of $5 million. This ain’t chump change.
One day, the man returns, and asks the three managers a pretty simple question: How much value did you add to what I gave you?
Two of the managers had done similar things with the money. They started making trades. Making the money work for more money. They took some risks, added some work and ideas of their own, and increased the value of the initial stake.
Behind door number three, however, was a guy who buried his stake in the back yard. He did nothing with what he had been given. Assuming that somehow the landowner would be impressed, he beamed with pride as he returned the original stake.
Bad move.
You know this, of course, as a story that Jesus told. But some of the most important words are some of the first: “The kingdom of heaven is like this,” Jesus said.
So, while a lot of us imagine judgment as us standing before God while he counts the cusswords and dirty little thoughts we had, Jesus presents a different idea here. We will give an account to God for how much more value we have added to the gifts He’s given us. This is the LifeVesting principle of Increase:
I will receive an increase on my life choices in proportion to my willingness to invest and wait.
“Bruce likes to terrify himself.” So began a story years ago in Success magazine.
One day Bruce led some friends 9,000 feet up Mount Hood, and decided to show them how much fun it would be to slide down part of the way. While zipping down an ice field at 30 miles an hour, Bruce suddenly realized he had forgotten to remove his crampons – the spikes that attach to hiking boots. His feet were useless as brakes.
Uh oh.
Bruce had the presence of mind to realize that jabbing the spikes at the ice whizzing past him wouldn’t work either – that would risk breaking his ankles and hurtling off the side of the mountain. So as the edge of the cliff came rapidly into view, Bruce flopped over on his stomach and jabbed repeatedly, frantically, with his ice axe. He finally came to a halt about 50 feet from the edge of the cliff. He later said that the thing that kept running through his mind as he got closer and closer to the edge was, “Boy, this is a stupid way to die.”
Uh huh.
Oh, and just a thought – if it’s a stupid way to die, then maybe it’s a stupid way to live. But hey, that’s just me.
I don’t know if Bruce ever went ice surfing again. And for all I know, he may be the ultimate LifeVestor. But on this day, he was a gambler.
I’m sure it never went away, but it’s been back in the news over the last month. Banks are hoarding money. People worldwide are hoarding rice. Myanmar officials and residents are warned about hoarding aid.
People are scared, and when they’re scared, they hoard. OR, somebody else hoards and looks to make a killing off the really scared people.
In a previous post, I mentioned that there are four alter-egos to LifeVestors – consumers, hoarders, gamblers, and codependents. Hoarders are the most unique of these. While consumers live as if there is no tomorrow, hoarders live as if there is a tomorrow, and wherever/whatever it is, it’s gonna be ticked off. Hard. Terrible. And we have to plan for it today.
It’s one thing for literally starving people to make sure they have something to eat for the next few days. It’s another to live with a spirit of fear, even while you’re being wonderfully blessed.
It’s one thing to save and invest for retirement or a rainy day. It’s another thing to create an ongoing bunker mentality based on fear of the future.
Vision hurts. 
Okay, take your mark. You’re about to take off on a marathon. Your coach is the Lord Jesus, the Author of your faith. Under His direction, you’ve cast aside any weights that may hinder you. At His instruction, you clear your way of any sin that might entangle you. At His signal, you’re off! And following His wise counsel, you have focused your attention on him, because he’s the Finisher of your faith as well.
