Month: May 2019

Is it possible to be both humble and great at the same time?  The answer is “yes” and today we’ll see how.  Today’s verse is from James 4:10 which says:

“Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.”

James wrote these words around 20-30 years after Jesus ascended back to heaven and, by this time, he was a legend in the early church.  He was one of Jesus’ actual brothers who didn’t believe in Him at first but later became one of His biggest fans.   His audience for this letter was Jewish Christians (which he refers to as “the twelve tribes scattered among the nations”).  These Jewish Christians, including James, were heavily persecuted and, in many cases, killed for being followers of Jesus.  His letter is intended to help them learn how to work together in community in order to fulfill the teaching of Jesus and, in part, how to survive.

According to this verse, when we humble ourselves, God will lift us up.  So what exactly is humility and how do we achieve it?

Dictionary.com defines humility as “modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance” but I think that is a terrible definition.  Lowering our opinion of ourselves is not the answer because the verse says He wants us to be lifted up.  I think a better explanation, or at least the one that makes the most sense to me, is that humility comes from understanding 1) God’s importance, 2) the importance that God places on all of His children & His creation and 3) our place in His plan.

So one of the ways, maybe the primary way, that we can achieve humility is to understand these points and to develop one simple habit and that is the practice of gratitude.  For example, see if the following statements make you feel more humble:

• I can turn a handle and get clean water any time I want to
• Even if my parents are dysfunctional, they gave me life
• I’m grateful for all of my mistakes and the lessons they’ve taught me
• Even though it is exhausting and frustrating at times, I’m grateful for the perspective gained from raising children
• I’m grateful for the lows in life because they help me appreciate the highs

Practicing gratitude counteracts pride and arrogance which helps us keep a more humble perspective.  Maybe it is just that simple then and gratitude really is the way to humility.

Questions:

• Do you agree that being humble isn’t the same things as lowering our opinion of ourselves?
• Today’s verse says that God will lift us up when we humble ourselves.  What are some of the ways God can lift us up?
• Do you agree that practicing gratitude is the way, or at least a major way, to become more humble?
• What are some things we can do to more regularly practice gratitude?

[Thanks to our guest writer for this lesson, Brad Wood.]

Today’s lesson is related to the Mentoring presentation Regi Campbell delivered at the men’s breakfast last Saturday and today’s verse is a command from Jesus about mentoring:

“Jesus, gave his charge: ‘God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life.”

Below is a funny story to explain the difference between acting the part of a Christian and actually living as a Christian:

Max Planck, after he won the Nobel Prize, went around Germany giving the same standard lecture on the new quantum mechanics.

Over time, his chauffeur memorized the lecture and one day said, “Would you mind if I gave the lecture in Munich and you just sat in front wearing my chauffeur’s hat?” Planck said, “Why not?”

After the chauffeur gave this long lecture on quantum mechanics a professor stood up and asked a complicated question.  The chauffeur said, “Well I’m surprised that in an advanced city like Munich I get such an elementary question. In fact, it is so elementary that I’m going to ask my chauffeur to reply.”

This humorous story can be tied back to how we live our lives.  It is easy for us to look and act the part of a “Christian” but in order to actually understand the meaning behind what Christians say and do we must make a genuine commitment.

As Christians we are called to live what Regi Campbell refers to as “this way of life”.  Below are the five things that Regi says following “this way of life” means to him:

• • • God is at the center of everything
    • Don’t worry
    • Be grateful for money, but never forget it all comes from Him
    • The first place I’m to “train in this way of life” is at home
    • Live your life for others

Regi believes that discovering what ‘this way of life’ means is different for everyone.  He says “Decide what ‘this way of life’ means for you. Write it down. Think about it. Pray over it. Talk to your wife about it. Commit yourself to it.”

Taking the time to really dig in and do all of these things is the difference between being a “chauffeur” Christian and committing ourselves to discovering what “this way of life” means for us.  Only then can we understand God’s plan for us and how He wants to move in our lives.

Questions:
1. As Christians, we all agree that it’s important to know WHAT to say but do you believe it is also important to think deeply about the real meaning behind the words we say?

2. Just as Regi listed five things that “this way of life” means to him, what are some things it means to you in your own life?

3. What are some things you can do to better understand and develop your personal “this way of life”?

4. What are some of the benefits that will come from committing the time to better understand “this way of life” for yourself?

Mother’s day seems like such a simple concept on the surface but for some reason it seems to trip us guys up more than it should.  Today we’re going to share some of our best and worst experiences & ideas to help us not just survive Mother’s day but excel!  Our verse for the day is from Proverbs 31:28 which says:

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her

Getting Mother’s day right is more than just about not getting in trouble with our wife and mother.  It’s about loving them in the way they want & need to be loved so that they are more at peace.  It is about being a thoughtful leader in our house and understanding what is needed most for our family to thrive.  It is about genuinely honoring those who brought us and our children into this world and provided nurturing, loving care.  At the heart of the day, it is all about love.

Women think about Mother’s Day very differently than men think about Father’s Day.  We are very happy if we are just left alone for most of the day and maybe allowed to play a guilt-free round of golf.  For women, it’s more than that.  Having never been a woman or a mother, I can only speak with a certain level of confidence on this topic but it seems like there are a few common desires shared by mothers on their special day:

• They want to spend time with their children but not as the care-giver; they want their children to dote on them and someone else to perform the care & feeding for one day
• They want someone to cook a nice meal
• Flowers and jewelry are always winners
• Until the children are beyond a certain age, wives expect their husbands to coordinate Mother’s day activities as well as the production of some hand-made gifts
• No cooking, washing, or cleaning for a day

Simple, right?  Sort of, but you can still mess it up.  It isn’t enough to just go out to eat…..you need to go to her favorite restaurant.  It isn’t enough for her not to have to clean or do laundry if it is just piling up for her to do the next day.  It doesn’t take a huge amount of planning but it does take some.  The good news is that the return-on-investment is very high!  Here are some questions to help us get Mother’s day right this year:

• Do you agree that we think of Father’s Day differently than women think of Mother’s day? If so, in what ways?
• If we get Mother’s day right, what are the direct and indirect positive effects on our wife & family?
• What are some good Mother’s day ideas you’ve had in the past or are planning to use this year?
• This is the flip-side of the last question – what are some things we should really try to avoid on Mother’s day?

Today’s verse is from Psalm 46:10 which says, “Be still and know that I am God.”

I had breakfast recently with a private investor who owns minority shares in a handful of small companies.  He said that over the past couple of years, it has become much more difficult to find a good opportunity.  He was sacrificing his health and family relationships in order to dedicate more and more time to finding his next investment.  But as his frustration grew and his health & relationships became more & more strained, he turned to God in prayer.  The answer he got was to relax, be patient, and acknowledge that God is in control.  For the past year, he has followed this path and everything is better in his life – and, as an added bonus, he’s realized that when there is an eventual market correction, he’ll be well-positioned to step in and assist companies in need.

Many of us are in a similar situation.  It is so easy to keep striving and grasping for the next rung on the ladder when, in the words of Stephen Covey, our ladder may not even be leaning against the right wall.  Maybe we should stop climbing from time to time to check in with God and see if our ladder is well positioned.

But that is not what our culture celebrates or encourages.  We celebrate leadership and achievement and material gains.  There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these things but, if they are our sole focus, we may indeed get to the top of the ladder and be disappointed.

Here are a few questions for discussion:

• What does “being still” mean to you?
• Do you routinely take time to be still? If so, what are the positive impacts?  If not, what are some of the potentially negative impacts?
• Do you agree with the ladder analogy? In other words, is there value in stopping our climb sometimes to check in with God?
• Why is it so hard for us to be still?
• What is one thing you would like to do differently as a result of today’s lesson?