"Intentionality" with Matt Warren

Recently I was talking to my 15 year old son about his approach and response to teammates in competitive moments.  The discussion led me to recall moments when I was his age and the struggles that I dealt with in competition.  I remember when either myself or one of my teammates were not performing as well as was expected there could be tension or frustration when the poor performance persisted.  I shared with my son (hopefully out of some maturity from almost 30 years more of life experience) how his response in those moments can make both a difference in his performance as well as his teams, especially if he encourages his teammates or persists in his own pursuit of improvement positively.

Then I was reading something that day from C.H. Spurgeon, "We should keep the image of God so constantly before us that we become conformed to it.  The inner love for righteousness must be the motive for Christian integrity in our public walk."

The Scriptures communicate that the image of God before us is the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ (John 1:14; Hebrews 1:1-3).  In my reasoning I know this to be true, but in my worship and daily living there can certainly be moments of disconnect.  The disconnect exists because I have exchanged what is best for things that might be good, or things that might even lead to compromising my faith.  I admit that I am often content with fleeting pleasures of sin instead of righteousness.

It is much like the athlete who has the ability to perform at a high level, be it in practice or game,  who finds himself practicing or performing at a compromised level.   The competitive side in me rises up and wants to call out, "Let's go man, do your best."  The coach in me would want to pull a struggling player aside and ask if there is a distraction or possibly an injury reducing the level of performance.  We know for success to occur there is a requirement on all of the team's part (coaches included) - intentionality.   Intentionality requires a focus on the goal, maybe even intensity (the Latin roots are very similar - intentus and intensus) in hopes of achieving the best performance.  In competition, success takes discipline and intentional, maybe even a relentless focus on the prize.

Herein lies the comparison: for the highly competitive athlete there must be an inner desire to perform consistently to the best of one's ability, despite any obstacle - INTENTIONALITY.  For the Christian, there must be an inner love for the righteousness of Jesus to be the highest regard - INTENTIONALITY.  This occurs not only in the realm of reason, but in the inner disciplines of devotion, prayer, and meditation as well as the outward life of worship, confession, and lifestyle evangelism (Romans 12:9-21).

I would hope and trust, as men who reason that the Scriptures are able to make us "competent and equipped for every good work, (2 Timothy 3:15-16)" that we not only reason about our faith, but we also connect the inner love, the affections and passions, for righteousness (not even merely the pursuit of it, for that will leave us short).  For if we love righteousness, the people in our lives . . . our wives (girlfriends or fiancee' as appropriate), children, co-workers, brothers in arms, etc, would identify the integrity of that commitment to inner righteousness through our public walk.  We would find greater joy, peace and intimacy with God and the glory of God would be revealed in us His sons.

So I must ask myself these questions, "Does my life reflect on a public nature the greatest thing I am competing for - an inner love of the righteousness of Jesus?"  That is what I am competing for in the midst of my day while denying the adversary, our opponent, the opportunity and ability to rob me of that righteousness I possess in Christ.  So will we together avoid cheap substitutes? Will we together rally at our positions?   Will we in unison race together so that we conform to the image of Christ and glorify our Heavenly Father?  I need committed men with me - INTENT on the same end, INTENSE for the same goal - loving righteousness, the righteousness of Jesus, above all else!

"How important is prayer?" by Chad O

Most Christians have to condition themselves to have a faithful prayer life. I have struggled with it all my life but I have found what works for me. I schedule it into my daily routine. Now before you question my sincerity, let me explain. Prayer at dinner, prayer with my staff, prayer before bedtime and prayer before meetings is not what I'm talking about. Those are great ways to invite God in and set the tone for the work we are about to do. Bedtime and before meal prayers are great as well, I'm talking about "Everyday Prayers".

I used to direct my prayers toward the large and important things until I was totally convicted by the verse, "you have not because you ask not." I felt like God gave us intelligence to handle the small matters. Boy was I wrong all these years. Even today I am reminded of God's promise: "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear."

Of course, I'm not talking about turning God into some kind of cosmic Santa Clause. But if we pray God-centered prayers, there is always a place for our personal needs. He who taught us to pray, "...your kingdom come..." also taught us to pray, "...give us today our daily bread..."

"In prayer, as in all of life, there must be a balance between daily bread and coming kingdoms. If we discipline ourselves to spend time in prayer getting to know God, thinking God's thoughts after Him, we will never be guilty of praying petty selfish prayers." - Richard Exley

So how do I do it?
- I set my alarm to wake up at the same time everyday [4:30am]
- In order to do that I have to discipline myself to go to bed at a decent time.
- (M-F) I pray from an ongoing list to keep me focused. (yes I open my eyes)
- On Fridays I pray for the specific needs of my staff, their kids, my church and church leadership in depth. (this is from a list as well)

When I'm in God's will the easy decisions of life come naturally and don't require me stopping to pray about every little detail. It's evident because I make great decisions and God blesses my efforts. However, if I try to do it on my own, He let's me know.

"Growth Stages" with Chad O

"Growth Stages"

I was reading something the other day about a person's growth stages from birth to adulthood. It's not that I learned something new but I was reminded of just how involved God is in the process. So what about "spiritual growth"? It's been my experience that we all relate to God on four basic levels. Recall when you received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. Take a spiritual inventory and discover where you are in your personal spiritual journey.

1st there is the "GIVE ME" stage. Virtually everyone starts here. Like Jacob we say, "...If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the Lord will be my God."

2nd level is the "USE ME" stage. It replaces the give me stage as our preoccupation with getting has now evolved into an obsession to be used by God. Now we regularly pray for empowerment, and we dream of doing great things for the Lord. People here usually have great zeal but little wisdom and even less love. (Spiritual loneliness in spite of one frantic involvement.)

As we continue to mature in faith, we develop a growing desire to be like Christ. This 3rd stage is the "MAKE ME" phase. It is our desire to be used by God balanced by a yearning "...to be conformed to the likeness of [God's] Son..."

The 4th and final stage is when our relationship is characterized by intense love and focuses on spiritual intimacy. "SEARCH ME" With the psalmist we plead, "Search me, O God, and know my heart..." Nothing is as important as knowing God and being known by Him.

In truth, the mature believer incorporates all four dimensions in his or her relationship with God. They trust God to meet their daily needs w/o majoring in the kind of demanding prayers that often characterized their initial relationship. True ministry flows out of who we are in Christ. I want to know Christ and be known to Him. Identify some ways you can enhance your spiritual growth.