Worship God

Today, I am worshipping God just because.  You want to feel better? come before God with your worship.  You have a concern on your mind? Leave it…come and worship.  Something not working out the way you had hoped? Today…don’t talk to God about it…come before Him with worship and adoration.

  

Psalm 95:6

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.

Today is not the day to ask God to bless you; it’s the day to bless God.

Psalm 34

I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

Have you failed God? Is your sin right before you? Don’t even let your sin our your failures block you from entering the very presence of God! Jesus has made a way! If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and have put your trust only in Him to save you from your sin and from death, you belong to Him! His precious blood that He shed on the cross for your sins covers you.  

Hebrews 10:19-22

 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,  let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

You too can approach a Holy, Righteous God and worship with no fear, no guilt, no shame! Because of His Son, Jesus.

Jesus, You are worthy of my worship.  Take my life.  Use me for Your Holy purposes.  I give to You today.  I adore You.  Nothing else in this world satisfies.  You satisfy over and over again, day by day.  You lead me in paths of righteousness for Your Name sake.  

You, O Lord are the focus on my attention, the center of my affection.  You have been so good to me.  I magnify You today.  It’s all about You.  I am here worshipping You in your presence.  

Matt's Prayer

Thank you, Lord for the good days - I look forward to them.

Thank you, Lord for the bad days - they remind me that good days are coming.

Thank you, Lord for strength - it comes from You.

Thank you, Lord for weakness - it forces me to rely on You.

Thank you, Lord for giving me purpose - it reinforces my daily agenda and it gets me up in the morning.

Thank you, Lord for sabbath - it quiets my spirit long enough to rest in Your love and Your power.

Thank you, Lord for speaking to me - I live by every word you impart.

Thank you, Lord for the times of silence - it builds my faith, and reminds me that You are working even when I can't seem to hear You.

Thank you, Lord for answered prayer - it proves Your faithfulness and Your generous nature.

Thank you, Lord for unanswered prayer - it teaches me to wait on Your timing.

Define the Culture

Jesus Christ is the greatest leader history has ever seen.  One reason I can make that claim is that He had the biggest and most lasting impact on mankind - Christianity.  What intrigues me is how Jesus accomplished this – through disciples – common people.  These men and women were NOT leaders, not nobility.  They were different from each other.  They had issues and struggles in their lives.

So, how in the world did one man, Jesus get a motley crew of common people to work as a team and follow His leadership? Jesus did not pay them a salary.  His task was not an easy one, nor had it every been done before.  The price to join His team was high, yet these disciples willingly gave up everything to follow Jesus – some eventually gave their very lives.  How did Jesus develop these undeveloped, undisciplined individuals into a team of powerful leaders that would build the greatest organization in the world?

The Answer:

- Jesus defined the culture with his people -

Define Your Culture

If you want to make an impact, if you have a calling in your life to accomplish something great and lasting, you will soon learn that you must partner with people. 

To enlist great people and to keep them, you must have a great culture.  YOU CAN build that.  YOU DEFINE that.

It takes nurturing, investing, feeding, celebrating.  My friend and Mentor, Kadi Cole says “you GET what you CELEBRATE.” You must be intentional at creating that culture.

There are three ways that I view the people around me - three ways I DEFINE the CULTURE:

1. A Winning Team

I want the people I work with to feel like we are all a team.  I clarify for each person what their role is on the team and how the part they play interacts with others.  I constantly point people to our shared mission.  I set goals for the team and then demand that team members set personal goals for themselves – all aligning with and accomplishing the mission.  I celebrate the team when we accomplish goals.  A great team loves to win the game.  I make sure to celebrate markers that show we are winning – we are accomplishing our mission – and, we are working together as a team! 

We work hard –  We play hard.   ....and we do it together.

2. Growing Leaders

A healthy culture is full of people that are growing.  Healthy things grow.  A sign of healthy people is that they are growing - and when they begin growing, they become motivated to grow more – to reach higher! When you help people around you grow, you are saying to them “You are valuable to me.  You are worth my time and investment.  I see potential in you.” People around you begin to realize that they are more than just a team member, they can expand their influence and have greater impact!

3. Loving Family

People’s deepest longing is their need to belong.  They want to be loved unconditionally.  When you build the culture of a loving family, you create a sense of belonging and security.  A loving family culture says “I care more about WHO YOU ARE than WHAT YOU DO.” John Maxwell says “People don’t care how much you know until the know how much you care.” The most worthwhile time you can spend is to take time to care for people around you.  That takes patience, and listening, and a desire to understand.

I want you to know something – 

YOU can define your culture.  

You can create an environment where great people are drawn to you and want to accomplish great things with you. 

Take a few simple steps this week to begin defining your culture.

Discipline > Correction

 Kellie and I have GREAT KIDS.  I’m sorry to be braggadocios.  But, what can you expect.  Every parent is proud of their kids.  J

We are so proud of Madison and Michael.  They bring us much joy and love. 

Kellie and I have had people comment on how mature and well behaved our kids are.  Both Madison and Michael do well in school.  Both have already accomplished a lot early in life.  Both have healthy relationships.  Both have learned the value of discipline and hard work. 

I would like to share a philosophy with you that Kellie and I have used to raise our children:

We have focused 90 percent of our energy on loving, accepting, and encouraging our kids, and 10 percent on punishment, scolding, and threatening.  Okay…may 70/30  JJ Our children have simply responded better to the positive more than to the negative.

The reason I share this is because I have encountered parents yelling at their kids or threatening them.  I hear parents tell me that they have had to punish their kids, or take things away from them.  I hear of special schools they send them to, or summer camps – all to keep their kids “out of trouble.” I’m just not sure that’s the best way.

I believe there is a difference between discipline and correction.  Though they have similarities, I see a distinction.

 Discipline is defined as training to obey rules.  The Latin Word trellis means rule.  A trellis is commonly used in landscaping when you want a plant to grow a certain way or in to a particular shape.  To grow the plant, you “train” the limbs of the plant around the trellis.  The trellis, or “rule” will help guide the plant to grow and flourish the way it is intended.

In my view, Discipline is a positive thing.  It is empowering, it is liberating! Discipline is a powerful tool that helps train children to follow rules – rules which protect, which bring focus, which enable achievement faster than living without rules. 

Discipline happens best as proactive.  Discipline works effectively with encouragement and positive reinforcement. 

Correction, on the other hand is always reactive.  Correction takes place when a mistake was made.  Correction is necessary when a child breaks the rules or resists the rules.  Correction must be communicated directly and clearly.  Correction feels negative to the child.

Let me stop and clarify:  Correction is necessary and appropriate.  I am NOT advocating all positive, love and encouragement.  We have certainly had moments of correction and punishment with our children.

My point is:

Discipline is more effective than Correction. 

Discipline > Correction

Let me encourage you to consider how you are using discipline as a positive reinforcement with lots of love and encouragement to train your child.  I have learned that being proactive with teaching discipline is much more effective than waiting to be reactive with lots of correction.  And, when you must correct your children, surround it with love, acceptance and encouragement.

Your Kids will rise to a new level – they love you and want to please you!