Nine-tenths determined?

 Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed. (Cavett Robert)

You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say. I have followed your commands, which keep me from following cruel and evil people. (Psalm 17:3-4)

Determination is good - without it, we might just wander this earth without a care in the world, but with very little to show for all the wandering in the end. Character is forged in the times we might not 'want' to do something, but 'choose' to do it anyway. Obedience is nine-tenths determination and one-tenth action. We must overcome the desire to just 'lollygag' through life and focus on what God desires for us. When our focus is determined, our actions are more likely to be less 'idle' or 'aimless'!

We anticipate the new year with some hope things will be different as we rip that last page from our last year's calendar, don't we? We determined to make it different, but right about now that determination is probably not as strong as it was ten days ago! Following God's commands is more than 'determination' and 'good planning'. It is willing oneself to act upon what we know to be right even when we desire something easier or less 'focused'. If obedience is nine-tenths determination, we may want to look at what we allow to form our determination - it could be we are listening to a stranger's voice and not the still, small voice of God's Spirit within!

Cavett also said, "Any person who selects a goal in life which can be fully achieved, has already defined his own limitations." God doesn't ask for lofty goals, but he does ask for those that will stretch us just a bit beyond our present comfort zone. If your goals for this new year don't stretch you a bit, you are likely aiming at what you already know you can achieve, and you won't need his help to do it! The one that stretches us a bit outside of our comfort zone will require not only his help, but our continual 'refocusing' of our priorities to see those goals met. Just sayin!

Have a goal, but...

 "Give light and the darkness will disappear of itself." (Desiderius Erasmus)

You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You can’t see him now, but you believe in him. You are filled with a wonderful and heavenly joy that cannot be explained. Your faith has a goal, and you are reaching that goal—your salvation. (I Peter 1:8-9)

We have not seen Christ, yet we trust his coming was genuine, his undeserved grace beyond wonderful, and the hope he gives of a future spent with him throughout eternity magnificent. He walked among believers many, many years ago, and he still 'walks among us' through the power of his Spirit within us. Our faith does indeed have a goal - our ultimate salvation - eternity in his holy presence.

Without goals, we kind of drift, more or less just choosing whatever feels like it might be good for the moment. Scripture puts it this way, "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but happy is he who keeps the teaching." (Proverbs 19:18) In another translation, it is put this way, "When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful." Are we listening to the voice of God? Do we merely 'hear', but not 'obey'? Goals involve not only plans, but execution!

Wherever darkness has invaded a life, causing one's life to 'mirror' that of this world so closely that it is hard to tell if Christ dwells in that man's heart, light is needed. The more 'light' we get into our lives, the less room there is for darkness of any kind to dwell. Light comes from the word of God, his Spirit's guidance in our lives, and the testimony of those who also walk in the light. We may look for light in all different ways, but there is only one true source of life-giving light - Christ Jesus.

Love God with all your heart and you will actually yearn for his guidance - you will not be content to wander this earth without it. That discontent drives you into his word, compelling you to soak it in, then it helps you to embrace it and act upon it. Goals are always good, but execution is best. Salvation isn't a stagnant thing - it is a growing, developing thing. Allow his grace to grow the seed that was planted in your heart, and you will see darkness soon pushed away from you. Just sayin!

List or no list?

I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. (Philippians 3:12-16)

Dewey reminds us, "Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another." A life lived without goals, a target in mind, is kind of like being set adrift on the open sea - hoping for the best, but totally unprepared for the worst! When I have large projects in mind, I usually write out a 'pick list' of sorts - telling me the supplies I will need to gather, large purchases I will need to make, and certain steps that I must take to ensure the project will go well. When I have something small in mind, like washing the dishes, I don't need a list - I just need to do it! Some of our actions need a bit of structure, like the list, while others are just going to happen because they are part of our habitual practices. We need both - some things being bigger and harder to undertake than others.

Have you ever just headed somewhere, but not been too sure where you were going? On occasion, my BFF and I like a day out, just going from hither and yon, in search of treasures. We may not have a specific 'place' in mind, but we 'set out', allowing the yard sale signs to guide us. We could not live all of our lives that way, though. We'd be in chaos if we did. We need some structure and 'pre-planning' to our lives. Focus is what helps us stay on track with our goals. Development of focus is something we must allow in our lives, but we must be cautious about 'what' or 'who' does that development within us. If it is the Holy Spirit, illuminating scripture, prompting us to take certain actions, then we are likely to be aiming at the correct target. If it is the influence of the world, through things we see and hear, then the target may be kind of a wishy-washy one.

The 'right track' is something we need the influence of the Word of God and the indwelling Holy Spirit to help us with. There are lots and lots of tracks we can choose - knowing which one is right for us to take today is not always clear. I have lots of projects in mind - knowing which one will yield the right outcome in the right season of my life is harder. Clear paths are not just 'found' - they are learned because there is a consistency in traveling them. God may ask us to take the same path over and over again until it becomes 'habitually traveled', but there will be times he will set a target out before us that seems a little 'less traveled'. That is where we need the clarity of his still small voice, confirmation of his direction through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and the assurance of the Word of God to guide us. Just sayin!

Face value is seldom real value

Good guidance comes sometimes through the quietest voices.  If you have ever listened to the loudest voice, you might just have realized the loudest is not always the clearest!  It just got your attention!  As we have been studying our way through the Book of Proverbs over the past couple of days, we have discovered there is good advice which awaits those with hearing ears and a responsive heart - but it is not always the loudest voice we hear!  The instructions of a father's heart are of value to us in making us ready for what life sends our way.  We are reminded - follow them and you will live; learn from them, and you may not have to experience everything for yourself; love the, for wise words will guide us when times of trial come our way.  

Dear friend, take my advice; it will add years to your life.  I’m writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way, I’m drawing a map to Righteous Road.  I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys, or wasting time making wrong turns.  Hold tight to good advice; don’t relax your grip. Guard it well—your life is at stake!  Don’t take Wicked Bypass; don’t so much as set foot on that road.  Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth. Make a detour and be on your way. (Proverbs 4:10-15 MSG)

We have discovered getting wisdom is the most important thing we can do - for wisdom is not a thing, but a person - Jesus.  Coming into a personal relationship with him begins a journey of wisdom's development within.  Along with wisdom, we need to develop good judgment - learned and practical knowledge go hand in hand.  A life guided by wisdom keeps us from limping along or stumbling along the way.  One of the most prevalent warnings in the first four chapters of this Book are those which warn against keeping company with evil doers and the wicked.  The luring calls of those who would desire nothing more than to trip us up, pull us away from the stillness and peace of deep, intimate fellowship with Jesus are to be avoided at all cost.  

We avoid the places they hang out - because the surroundings we frequent soon become the "norm" by which we do our business.  Interestingly, the focus is not on the people in the surroundings as much as the influence the surroundings can place upon us.  There is a "place" of influence in all our lives; we just need to figure out where that is!  The way of the righteous - the place of their "influence" - is like the gleam of the first dawn.  Dawn does something dusk does not.  Dusk begins to "cover over" the things we find it so hard to avoid in darkness - things which cause us to stumble and fall.  Dawn actually begins to shed light on what once was hidden - dispelling the fear of the unknown.  

Our advice today is to guard good advice - guarding your heart against the dark places, the surroundings which will only entrap and trip us up.  Really, I think God may be telling us to guard our intellect - for all action begins with thought.  We begin this process of "guarding" by testing all teaching - not all teaching is worthy of our attention, nor our embracing.  Face value is often not the "real" value of something. I learned this when I had a Canadian Grandmother who would send a new two dollar Canadian bill to me each birthday.  I thought I was rich until someone told me the "value" of the bill was about sixty cents on the dollar!  

The face value of the bill made no difference - it was what was behind the bill - the backing of the Canadian banking system and government - all those things I don't really understand. If I had just gone on thinking I possessed two dollars, I might have been sorely disappointed when I counted on it to actually fulfill some payment down the road!  Too many times we count on something we had heard in our past, laid up in our hearts, to keep us safe later on.  Truth is - if we don't test it now, before we lay it up in our heart - we might just be disappointed in its ability to fulfill something we counted on to be there at a later time.  God's truth is of great value - but many distort truth with personal opinion, making it a little "grey" in areas.  We need to remember to test all truth - not just accept what we hear at face value.

Not only are we told to guard our intellect, but the heart encompasses our emotions, as well.  Two things which trip us up and get us into the wrong surroundings, listening to the wrong people, influenced by the wrong teachings quicker than anything else - not using our intellect, and responding to our emotions!  Emotions "sway" us - they are like those branches on the weeping willow - easily swayed by the lightest winds, gently brushing back and forth at first, but quickly whipped to and fro when the winds pick up speed.  Emotions have more power over our lives than we give them credit - they influence our "whereabouts" and our "think abouts" more than we'd like to admit.  Learning to place a guard over them is critical to avoiding the places we'd do well to avoid, the influences we'd do well to not be swayed by.

Two thoughts as we close today - we need to look straight ahead and we need to mark our a straight path.  Wisdom helps here - for keeping our gaze firmly fixed on the one who designed the path will ensure we don't lose sight of the goal.  Blinders on a horse serve a purpose - to direct the focus. Instead of being influenced by the things around him, he keeps his attention on the goal.  Maybe we need some intellectual and emotional blinders - helping us to think on the things which matter and then responding to those which will help us "stay the course", rather than being "swayed" by the course.  Just sayin!

Actionable and Measurable Plans

¹⁸ Form your purpose by asking for counsel,
   then carry it out using all the help you can get.

(Proverbs 20:18)

As the New Year dawns and all good people begin to share their "resolutions", I am reluctant to believe many of them as I have seen the results of "resolutions" in the past.  Most of us start out well, fizzle by February, and bemoan our ill-fated plans by March!  What happens?  We don't have well thought out plans that are truly "actionable" and "realistic". 

If there was one thing that was drilled into me over and over again in nursing school it was that our goals for our patients needed to be actionable and realistic.  In other words, we needed to be able to show how we planned to accomplish the care for our patient, each step outlined in detail, until the goal could be realized.  Why was this so important?  Simply put - a plan that was outlined with detail gave us guidance in establishing the best course of action that would get us as close to the results we desired.

Our passage today indicates that our "purpose" (PLAN) needs to be formed by asking for counsel.  First of all, asking for advice when formulating our plan for the year is important because we NEED the input of others.  Most of the time, we set out on plans ourselves without seeking the input of others because we think we have it all figured out.  Others may see things in a different way, lending a well-rounded approach to the plan.  When we have the wisdom of a counselor on our side, we may have more "actionable" steps to our plan.

The counsel we receive is only as good as the counselor we seek out.  In other words, if we want to succeed in weight loss, we go to somehow who has walked the path before us.  If we want to learn to invest our finances wisely, we need someone who can live on a budget and who is able to spend wisely.  When we come for counsel, we are seeking the opinion of that other person and we are looking for them to give us instruction that will affect our conduct.  So, it is important that we seek the best counsel as possible.

Every goal has to have actionable steps - those itemized increments that will get us to the goal.  No step in the process should be without some purposeful action.  If we are just including something into our plan because it looks good or sounds good, but really has no real purpose in aiding in the accomplishment of the plan, it is wasteful.  We spend energy on something that has no results.  When we do this, we "burn out" on the plan faster and then we don't realize our original goals.

What plans do you have for this New Year?  Have you sought wise counsel to assist you in formulating your plans?  If not, you might want to heed the advice of scripture.  The plans of a righteous man are ordered by God.  The plans of a righteous man are actionable and measurable because they have been submitted to the counsel of the wise.