Month: February 2019

Today’s topic is on the value of planning ahead instead of making decisions in the moment.  Today’s verse is from Proverbs 21:5 which says:

The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

There is a big difference between planning 100% of your life down to the last detail vs. leaving 100% of things to chance and making all decisions in the moment.  For example, if you personally design every step of your path then you won’t leave room for God to walk with you on your path and help guide your way.  But on the other hand, if you don’t think ahead at all, you may find yourself facing dangers that you otherwise could have avoided.  Today’s lesson focuses on the latter.

Think about what causes us the most trouble in life.  In a 2017 article from Psychology Today titled “Most Problems are People Problems”, it lays out the idea that our problems primarily come from the actions of others and from our responses to those actions.  While this is not a Christian publication, we can tie-in these concepts to help us become better Christian men.

For example, we know that when other people act in their best interest and we then respond by acting in our best interest, conflict frequently arises.  As tensions rise, we move farther and farther away from focusing on our primary calling of loving God and loving people.  So does that mean that we should roll over and let others win in every confrontation?  Absolutely not.  But there is a third way.

The third way involves planning ahead with the specific intent of avoiding distractions and finding ways every day to love God and love people.  For example, if we know that our wife always responds emotionally when we bring up a certain topic, don’t bring it up or at least find a way to repackage the message.  Or if our assistant hates being interrupted, plan ahead and keep a stack of things to discuss when they are ready.  Or if you know you always overeat when you go to Mexican, don’t go to Mexican.

On the positive side, if you put your exercise gear out the night before, it may make it easier to roll out of bed and workout.  Or if you don’t buy ice cream at the grocery store, you won’t eat as much ice cream at night.

So the bottom line is that it is important to think about situations in which you struggle the most and how you may be able to plan ahead so you don’t get off track.

Questions:

1. Do you agree that planning ahead can help make us better Christians?  Why or why not?
2. What about those who say it is all in God’s hands and when we plan ahead we are trying to put ourselves in his place?
3. What are some examples of pitfalls we may encounter by not planning ahead?
4. Give an example of something in your life that might go more smoothly with some forethought or planning.
5. Is there anything this lesson has inspired you to do to plan ahead?

Today we will continue with our “giving it up” series by discussing the idea of giving up negative influences and exposures.

Today’s verse is from Matthew 15:11 which says “it’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”

Jesus did a judo move on his critics here. They were criticizing him because His disciples didn’t wash their hands before eating which was against the Jewish law.  Jesus responded by saying that it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles you; what defiles you is what comes out of your mouth (things we say).  Jesus further explained that what comes out of our mouth starts in our heart.

So how does something get into our heart in the first place?  It starts with inputs and exposures, primarily received through our eyes and ears.  We have significant control over both but often choose to receive negative or unclean inputs because they entice us.

Maybe it is our favorite political site or other things we choose to look at on the internet that aren’t healthy.  Or having cable news on all the time.   Or allowing ourselves to associate  with gossipy, negative people.  Will any one of these negative inputs kill us or cause irreparable harm?  Of course not but they all add up.  And for every negative or unhealthy input we choose, we’ve passed up an opportunity to seek a positive input.

If we are running a race, every step counts; every step should be in the direction of the finish line.  Similarly, in life, every input counts and each one either takes us closer to becoming the man God created us to be or farther away.

Questions:

• Have you ever said something that you regretted and thought “that’s not like me; that’s not who I am”? If so, where did those words come from?
• What are some examples of negative or unclean inputs or exposures many of us encounter on a regular basis?
• How do the inputs discussed in question #1 affect us and those around us?
• What are some proactive strategies to help us avoid negative inputs
• What are some examples of positive inputs & exposures that will help us move closer to becoming the man God created us to be?

This is the first week in a series of “give it up” lessons.  The theme is about giving up things that are moving us away from God so we can move closer to Him.  This week we start with the idea of what can give up to become a better Christian man.

When we think about great Christians, we often associate them with things that they’ve done or accomplished.  Maybe they started ministry, preached to millions of people, or feed the homeless every week.  It is what they did or what they added that we give them credit for.  So, of course, in our efforts to become great Christians, we may be tempted to do something or accomplish something to prove our Christian worth.

But what if that line of thinking is flawed?  Is it possible that being a good Christian may be more about what we give up or don’t do than what we do or accomplish?  That is not to say that Christian accomplishments aren’t worthy goals but simply that, for most of us, it is premature to make them our focus.

If you buy new furniture for your house, you have to remove the old furniture before you move the new items in.  If you don’t, your house will be too crowded.  Or if you upgrade your entire wardrobe you should probably get rid of some things so your closet doesn’t become a disaster.

The Christian example of this message is that God has already given us new stuff and it just waiting at the door to be moved in but first we have to move the old stuff out.

 

Take patience for example.  Maybe if I wasn’t so focused on achievement or materialism or vanity, I might be a little more patient.  Another example is time that we give to friends, family, and charities.  If we eliminate some of our wasted time, we would have more time for others.  If we eliminate the bad stuff, God’s good stuff will have room to move in.

Here are some questions to further explore this idea:

• Based on today’s lesson, what are some examples of things that are good to eliminate from our lives?
• Do you agree with the idea that you can’t add the new until you eliminate the old?
• Do you have any examples from your own life that reinforce today’s message?
• What is an example of “God’s good stuff” that you would like to move in to your life once you move out some of the old stuff?
• Can you think of a verse from the bible that supports this idea?