A Personal Check Up (Pt. 5)

Our fourth check up question is:


 


4. How is your joy?


 


David tells us to serve the Lord ‘with gladness’ (Psalm 100:1-2. NKJV). What we do is important but just as important is how we go about it. God desires us to do life with an attitude of joy.


 


Why is joy important?


  • The joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
  • Joy is a sign of God’s presence (Psalm 16:11)
  • Joy is the essence of life (Ecclesiastes 3:22; 5:19)
  • Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5:22)
  • Joy is an attribute of God’s kingdom (Romans 14:17)
  • Joy is a witness to unbelievers (1 Kings 10)
  • Joy is a key to effectiveness in life and work

No doubt, joy is important. That’s why the enemy always tries to steal our joy away from us. What are some joy-robbers that you have experienced?


In the final analysis, joy is a choice (see Habakkuk 3:17-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; Philippians 4:4 and James 1:4-6). Joy is different from happiness. Happiness is based on what happens to us while true joy is based on our relationship with God and our belief that he is in control, regardless of our circumstances.

How is your joy level right now? What could you do to be more joyful as you go about your daily life and work today? What a difference joy makes!

A Personal Check Up (Pt. 4)

Our third question is:



3. How is your progress?



The Christian life is to be one of progress, growth and continual improvement – both in our relationship with God, our character, our relationships with other people, and ministry effectiveness (see 1 Timothy 4:11-15).



Progress is the end result of an intentional effort to develop yourself and your gifts. It doesn’t just happen through years of service or length of time in a ministry.



So, how do you grow as a person? Here are a few ways:


  • Reading – the Bible and other writers. What do you want to know or learn about or improve in? Buy a book from someone who is an expert in that area. Do whatever it takes to gain wisdom. See my blog posts on The Art of Reading and Some Recommended Reading.
  • Teaching – listen to leaders and experienced people [podcasts, CDs, Advanced Tracks, audio books, book summaries, etc]. Make your car a driving university. Formal training – get on a track of personal development and consider doing a course related to your career and/or ministry.
  • Mentors – find people with knowledge and resources that you don’t have.
  • Experience – the actual act of using our gifts and talents is part of the learning process. We learn most by doing.

When it comes to your skills and ability as a person, are you improving, plateaued or in decline? If you’re doing nothing, you’re in decline, because the world around us is changing rapidly.



What will you do to grow in the second half of this year? Make it a priority. Don’t get so busy producing that you don’t have enough time to improve yourself.



How is your progress?

A Personal Check Up (Pt.3)

Our second question is:

2. How is your passion?

Having a clear vision is important (seeing it) but having a passion or fire on the inside is also vital (feeling it). God desires that vision and passion be bound together in our lives.

Is your vision producing passion or has it lost its vitality? If its energy has died a little, meditate on it some more, ask the ‘why’ question again (not just ‘what, when and how’), etc.

In the world we live in, natural fervency or passion is often a key to success and impact. A study of great people was done looking for essential qualities of their success. It wasn't intelligence, gifts or talents, background or appearance. It was attitude (how they chose to think) and passion (how they chose to feel). Successful people have drive and enthusiasm (found in the heart not the head).

Nothing major in history was ever accomplished without zeal and passion. It is often THE deciding difference between successful and unsuccessful people in every field of endeavour. The fire on the inside affects everything on the outside.

Inspirational writer William Ward says, "Enthusiasm and persistence can make an average person superior while indifference and lethargy can make a superior person average."

The Apostle Paul puts it this way: "Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Paul assumes that we are all serving the Lord. Every one of us has a part to play in contributing to God’s cause in the earth. Yes, serving the Lord and fulfilling your purpose is a good thing. But how we serve and pursue our God-given purpose is very important. It requires fervency!

Of course, passion is not a static thing. It’s like a fire that we have to fuel and guard at all times. We have to be on guard against fire-fighters such as complacency, difficult circumstances, familiarity, or an unbalanced lifestyle.

How is your passion? Is it burning brightly or has it died out a bit? What can you do to rekindle it today?

A Personal Check Up (Pt.2)

The first question is:

 

1. How is your vision?

 

Bill Hybels defines vision as “a picture of a preferred future that produces passion.” Nothing much happens without vision. However, when someone gets a vision … something powerful begins to happen and significant movement takes place. Just study history. Whether it be William Wilberforce, the Wright brothers, Henry Ford, Billy Graham, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Jesus Christ himself, people who do significant things in life all have this thing called vision.

 

What about you? Do you have a vision? Do you have a dream? Do you have a cause that you’re living for and working towards? What’s your vision?

 

The writer of the book of Proverbs says this … “Where there is no vision, the people perish (KJV).” The Message Bible puts it this way … “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves.”

  

Even when we have a clear vision, we need to protect it. Why? Because vision leaks and mission drifts. We all easily get off course, or we lose focus as to what life is all about, especially in the busyness and the challenges of daily life.

Continue reading “A Personal Check Up (Pt.2)”