Tozer Devotional-Thinking Well

Thinking Well

The creative religious thinker is not a daydreamer, not an ivory tower intellectual carrying on his lofty cogitations remote from the rough world; he is more likely to be a troubled, burdened man weighed down by the woes of existence, occupied not with matters academic or theoretical but the practical and personal. The great religious thinkers of the past were rarely men of leisure; mostly they were men of affairs, close to and very much a part of the troubled world. Neither will the sanctified thinker of our times be a poet gazing at a sunset from some quiet secluded spot, but one who feels himself a traveler lost in a wilderness who must find his way to safety. That others will later follow the path he makes will not be primary in his thinking. Later he will understand this, but for the time being he will be all engaged hunting the way out for himself. To think well and usefully a man must be endowed with certain indispensable qualifications. He must, for one thing, be completely honest and transparently sincere. The trifler is automatically eliminated. He is weighed in the balance and found too light to be entrusted with the thoughts of God. Let but a breath of levity enter the mind and the power to do creative thinking instantly goes out. And by levity I do not mean wit or even humor; I do mean insincerity, sham, the absence of moral seriousness. Great thoughts require a grave attitude toward life and mankind and God.

http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer?id=681

How to Succeed in Business (1)

“Know the state of your flocks.”                                           Pr 27:23 NKJV

Sheep and cattle have to be handled differently. Sheep require tending. They need clear boundaries for their own protection, not to mention the shepherd’s potential loss if they are devoured by a wolf or fall off a cliff. Cattle do just fine when they’re given good grazing land and left alone. What’s the point? To fulfill your dream, you must “know” the people you work with. Whether they’re partners or patrons, bosses or colleagues, clients or constituents, customers or critics, people need to be identified and managed according to their talents and their temperament. So what kind of people belong on your team? John Maxwell writes: “Some people have a dream but no team—their dream is impossible. Some people have a dream but a bad team—their dream is a nightmare. Some people have a dream and are building a team—their dream has potential. Some people have a dream and a great team—their dream is inevitable.” Moses needed Joshua; Naomi needed Ruth. The idea of the self-made person is a myth. Whether they acknowledge it or not, all successful people had help along the way. Only when you can admit that you need help, will you begin looking for it. And that’s a crucial step in achieving success. The next steps are knowing people’s strengths, communicating your vision to them in such a way that they buy into it, bringing out the best in them and rewarding them. Chris Hodges says, “A dream is a compelling vision you see in your heart, that’s too big to accomplish without the help of others.”

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/how-to-succeed-in-business-1/

Living for Others

“Through love serve one another.”                                  Gal 5:13 NKJV

Jacques Cousteau, the famous French explorer, said, “If a man for whatever reason has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself.” Jesus lived that way. He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11 NKJV). To be like Him, you must live for something greater than your own interests. In his book Half Time: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance, author Bob Buford says, “The first half of life has to do with getting and gaining, learning and earning. The second half is more risky because it has to do with living beyond the immediate.” By that he means living for a cause greater than yourself, and for others beyond yourself. The great men and women in Scripture were not great because of what they earned and owned; they were great because they gave themselves to people and causes that lived beyond them. Their dream was to do something that benefited others. Only a rare minority of people are able to hold closely to their dream to make a difference, and are willing to give up everything to make that dream come true. Of people like that it will never be said that when they died, it was as though they never lived. Their dream lives on after them, because they lived for others. And it was in living for others and not for self that they found their greatest joy and fulfillment. The poet wrote: “Others, Lord, yes others; Let this my motto be. Help me to live for others, that I may live for Thee.”

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/living-for-others/

Are You Fulfilled? (3)

“I delight to do Your will, O my God.” Ps 40:8 NKJV

To keep your dream alive and find fulfillment in the pursuit of it, you must allow yourself to keep dreaming. God gave Joseph two dreams: in the first, other sheaves of wheat bowed down to his; in the second, other stars bowed down to his. Note, he dreamed progressively higher, from sheaves to stars. Most creative people intuitively understand the importance of dreaming as a process for inspiration, motivation and fulfillment. George Lucas, creator and producer of the movie Star Wars, says one thing that kept him and his colleagues going during the difficult times was this: “We were always dreaming of how it was going to be.” If you are not a naturally creative person, then you have to learn how to keep dreaming. And if you can do it with a sense of humor, that doesn’t hurt. There’s a story about a student riding a bicycle on a college campus. On his tee shirt was the message: “I am going to be a doctor.” On the bike was a sign that also had a message: “I am going to be a Mercedes.” That’s somebody who had learned to keep dreaming! Andrew Carnegie, who was a Christian philanthropist during the early 1900s, said, “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” In other words—keep your dream alive and it will keep you alive. When David said, “I delight to do Your will, O my God,” he simply meant you’ll find your highest fulfillment in doing what God put you on this earth to do.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/are-you-fulfilled-3/

Are You Fulfilled? (2)

“Do not throw away your confidence; it will be…rewarded.” Heb 10:35 NIV

Consultant Dan Sullivan talks about the difference between our “ideals” and our “actuals.” He says, “The ideal is a picture we create of future desirable events and situations that enables us to move forward in time. The ideal does not actually exist outside our minds, nor is it achievable.” Why? Because it depends on everything being perfect. Life is, at best, messy. It’s filled with surprises—both good and bad. If you need the ideal picture of your dream to come into being in order to feel fulfilled, you will never be fulfilled. That doesn’t mean you should cast aside your ideal vision. It is useful for helping you to establish goals, find internal motivation, and strive for excellence. However, you also need to temper it. Where idealistic dreams expect to be realized immediately, realistic dreams make you appreciate the time it takes for them to become a reality. Where idealistic dreams do not tolerate anything less than perfection, realistic dreams leave room for you to be human and imperfect. Where idealistic dreams set you up for disappointment, realistic dreams set you up for success. The man who never made a mistake, never made anything. Indeed, the man who never made a mistake probably gets his salary from the one who does. The reason God doesn’t whitewash His heroes in the Bible is to let you know that in spite of your flaws, He can use you to accomplish great things. You say, “But am I not supposed to work on my weaknesses?” Yes, but you’ll only succeed in what you’re called to do by working from your God-given strengths.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/are-you-fulfilled-2/

Are You Fulfilled? (1)

“In due season he will honor you with every blessing.” Ps 37:34 TLB

There is usually a huge gap between the birth of a dream and the achievement of that dream. The question you have to ask yourself is whether it will be a fulfillment gap or a frustration gap. If it’s a frustration gap you’ll be miserable most of the days you’re in it. And every day that you’re frustrated instead of fulfilled, you lessen the odds that you’ll be able to keep moving forward toward your dream. Author Seth Godin calls this gap between when you set out to do something and when you actually start to see significant results, “the dip.” The dip represents the adversity you must face, the learning curve you must go through, and the hard work you must be willing to invest between conception and realization. If the dip you are in seems to be a road without end, here are some Scriptures you need to stand on: “Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing.” “Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Heb10:35-36 NIV). “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2Co 4:18 NIV). God has promised you more than just the fulfillment of your dream; He has promised joy in each step you take toward it.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/are-you-fulfilled-1/

Courage (2)

“Rise up; this matter is in your hands…take courage and do it.” Ezr 10:4 NIV

Pastor Andy Stanley writes: “I keep a little card in my desk that reads: ‘Dream no small dreams, for they stir not the hearts of men.’ More than once that simple statement has kept me from retreating from my dreams. I know from experience that it’s impossible to lead without a dream. When leaders are no longer willing to dream, it’s only a short time before followers are unwilling to follow. So dream! Dream big. Dream often. Somewhere in those random ideas that flood your mind, is one that will capture your heart and imagination. And that seemingly random idea may very well evolve into a vision for your life.” Every great accomplishment begins as a dream in someone’s heart. All things are created twice: first in your mind, and then in your life. Dreamers allow their minds to wander outside the boundaries of what is, creating a mental picture of what can be. They are not always the most talented or best educated—just the ones who refuse to put brackets around their thinking or limit themselves to what others have done. Doing this requires courage, lots of it! On the heels of every dream there’s a demon of doubt. No sooner is your dream conceived than your mind is suddenly filled with all the reasons why it may not work. And there will be folks around you who‘ll be quick to confirm those fears. In spite of that, you must forge ahead and dream; otherwise you’ll spend the rest of your life fulfilling the dreams of others. “Rise up; this matter is in your hands…take courage and do it.”

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/courage-2/

Sharing Your Dream (1)

“That you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.”1Co 1:10 NIV

To fulfill your dream you must know how to share it with others. And to do that successfully you must be able to connect with them in four ways. First, you must connect with them logically. What people don’t believe, they don’t buy into. So your first step is to gain credibility. If you don’t, you will not be able to proceed any further. How do you do that? By communicating a realistic understanding of the situation as it is today. Every time you share your vision, one of the first things people will ask is “But what about…?” If they don’t ask it out loud, they say it to themselves. And they will keep asking it until you have addressed all their concerns. This requires being extremely thorough when sharing your dream, and not dwelling on its positive benefits to the exclusion of the challenges. Second, you must provide a sound strategy they can believe in. If a dream seems too large and unattainable, people will become discouraged and quickly lose interest. When big dreams are broken down into smaller pieces and different pieces are given to talented individuals, the task seems more attainable and each person involved has an increased sense of personal ownership and involvement. There is a real art to communicating all this effectively, without getting bogged down in details or boring people. You have to give enough information to satisfy most people, but not so much that you lose them. All this takes skill, practice and God’s help. But to share your dream with others, you must learn to do it.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/sharing-your-dream-1/