Purpose Fulfillment

1-12-2013 by Boyd Bailey “I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose to me.” Psalm 57:2 Providence has a personal purpose for His people. Our gracious God guarantees a grant of wisdom into His ways. He wants us to experience His eternal aims for His glory. Paul stated this principle of providential purpose fulfillment crystal clear when he stated with conviction, “…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). His purpose fulfillment started when we placed our faith in Jesus. This was our contract with Christ that placed the responsibility of fulfilling His purpose at the feet of our Heavenly Father. Our Lord finishes anything and everything He has begun since our belief in Him. Whatsoever the Lord takes in hand, He will accomplish. So we trust the Almighty with the fulfillment of His purpose for our life. Therefore, it is imperative that we intercede to understand Him. Prayer positions us to harvest heaven’s purpose for our life. We cry out to the Most High because there is nothing, or no one, any higher. He is at the top. He is the divine decision maker. He is our Maker. There is no one else we can go to for an understanding of the purpose of providence for our life than the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is not dumb. We pray because we believe there is a better way than our very limited wisdom. We can get by with the wisdom of the world, but we can thrive with the wisdom of Almighty God. We cry out to Christ because He has adopted us. He is our Heavenly Father from whom we define our purpose by His purpose for us. Prayer pulls out His purpose front and center. Prayer to God is proof of our trust in God. When we send our prayers to heaven, God will send help down from heaven. Unless we pray, as well as trust, our trust will fail us. Trust can become trivial if persistent prayer does not back it up. Prayer brings trust into the reality of God’s promises and purpose for our life. Prayer is potent because it aligns us with the purposes of Almighty God. Moreover, once we understand His personal purpose, we can rest assured of His follow through of its fulfillment on our behalf. Furthermore, put pen to paper and prayerfully define your God-given purpose. Use this definition as a filter for decision-making. This becomes your accountability to God and others to say ‘no’. Lastly, lean into the Lord to lead you in His purpose for your life. Once you have established His purpose for you, leverage that for others. Use your strength of position to help others discover their God-given purpose. Have them list their gifts, skills, passions and experiences. Pray with them of how God wants to collate their assets for Christ. Assure them that their Heavenly Father will fulfill His purpose for them, as He did with His own son at just the right time (Galatians 4:4, NASB). Be patient in the implementation of God’s purpose for your life. Remember you are living His purpose now. No season of life is insignificant in the Lord’s eyes. Don’t wish away where you are today. By faith, you can be sure that Christ is currently fulfilling your purpose. Make sure your goals are God-given and then trust Him with their fulfillment. A prayerful purpose is patient with God!

Youthful Courage

1-10-2013 by Boyd Bailey “But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.” 1 Samuel 17:34-35 Courage created in youthful days is most likely appropriated in later days. David, under the authority and canopy of God’s creation, learned courage as a shepherd, the protector of the sheep. Teenagers placed in challenging situations like sports, academics and standing alone morally have an opportunity to be courageous for Christ. These early life lessons become memories of God’s faithfulness etched into their moldable minds. Courage gives confidence. Be careful not to overprotect your child, so that they miss out on seeing the Lord work through their courageous acts of service. Perhaps you encourage them to get a job, so that they can learn how to be like Jesus in the workplace. Or, you allow them to attend public school, so under your prayerful support, they become salt and light to their fellow students and faculty. Better for a teenager to learn courage in your accepting home, so that you can coach them. Challenges are courage builders. “And don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity.” 1 Timothy 4:12, The Message Have you lost your courageous edge for Christ? What are you attempting that is risky for the Lord? Maybe He is calling you back to get a graduate degree, though its been over 20 years since your college graduation. Your moral courage can become a flood light of faith in spiritually sterile academia. Take heart and courageously keep your marriage commitment or your volunteer assignment. Setbacks are meant to bring us back to bold dependence on God. Be bold for Him! Ask Christ to give you the courage to overcome your fear of rejection, your fear of public speaking or your fear of death. Courage from within understands it's all about Him, not you. You risk misunderstanding and mistreatment for the sake of the gospel, but Christ was courageous for you. Remember your bold initiatives for God right after you tasted His grace for the very first time. Use the memories of your youthful courage as a conduit for boldness. Courage overcomes! “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me Your courage to take risks for You. Related Readings: 2 Samuel 7:27; 2 Chronicles 5:8; Ezra 10:4; Matthew 14:27; Acts 27:25

Sought By God

1-9-2013 by Boyd Bailey “But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler of His people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 1 Samuel 13:14 God seeks out men and women who are sensitive to His heart. Saul motivated by pride and fear did not keep the Lord's command, so God appointed David as the next King. A leader risks losing the Lord’s respect when he disrespects the Lord’s commands. An individual loses their positive influence on people when their influence with the Almighty wanes. God seeks sincere seekers, so He can entrust them with His favor. He recruits submissive star players for His team. Have you become too familiar with your heavenly Father’s commands? Has your familiarity with the Holy One bred unholy contempt? If so, you can return to God’s good graces with grace based obedience or you can risk being removed from your position of authority. Let your heart rest in the hand of your heavenly Father. You will endure under the mighty hand of God, but, out from under His authority, hope shrivels and His help fades away. So, submit to His authority. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9 NKJV Keep your heart tender towards God with constant cultivation in the commands of Christ. You remain useful to your heavenly Father by staying sensitive to the Spirit’s promptings. The Lord is not looking at your outward appearance, but at your inward beauty of integrity. Perhaps your mind needs cleansing from the seduction of the sensual and renewed with submission to the Spirit. Also, keep your pride in check with humble acts of service at home. Because the Holy Spirit seeks you out, you are wise to turn toward Him and move in His direction. Obedience to God always moves towards God, while disobedience to God always moves away from God. The Lord may be seeking you out to replace another unwilling servant of His. So, remain humble as opportunities to serve Him open up. Your added responsibilities make you more responsible to represent Christ well. So, surrender to God’s search for your heart. “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.” Job 22:21 Prayer: Heavenly Father, as you seek me out, I surrender my heart to You in obedience. Related Readings: 2 Chronicles 30:8; Isaiah 26:12; John 4:23; Philippians 3:3

New Book!!!!

Hey Everyone! I have a new book coming out in the next 45 days! "Stout Advice: The Keys to building self,people, and teams!" The primary reasons I wrote the book were for my boys and for others. For my boys: If anything were to happen to me, I want them to have something they can read to understand their dad and why they have the life they have. For others: I desperately want others to have life on their own terms like I've been blessed with. It's not nearly as difficult to achieve as people think.

Good Overcomes Evil

1-7-2013 by Boyd Bailey “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21 Free will is the culprit of sinful humans making evil choices. However, God is not absent in the face of a bad person and evil deeds. Almighty God works in and through atrocities to overcome bad with good. Good overcomes evil when courageous teachers shield innocent children from the bullets of an evil gunman. Good overcomes evil when first responders risk their lives to save lives in a collapsing building destroyed by evil terrorists. Good overcomes evil when hellish wars are fought in the name of freedom to protect the world from evil tyrants. Good overcomes! Yes, we stand astounded when evil captures the headlines, and we ask, “Where is God?”. However, because we exist God exists. He is always with us, Jesus said, even to the ends of the earth, “I am with you.” We leave Him in our self-sufficient pride, but He never leaves or forsakes us. The good in evil calls us to cry out to Christ. We need Him, oh how we need Him in the good days and in the bad days. Because we exist we encounter the evil of a sinner’s free will. “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:5:20-21 Hallelujah, the grace of God through Jesus Christ has overcome sin, sorrow and death! In the face of evil men Jesus laid down His life, only to come back to life and offer forgiveness to the ones who killed Him. Jesus is our model of overcoming evil with good. We lay down our life and in the process we give life. Our enemies scratch their heads--puzzled by grace--when we serve instead of fight. Evil can experience God’s mercy now or His judgment later, but we are His ambassadors for good. Like water over fire or light over darkness we use good to extinguish bad! You are a good goer for God, so go often and go boldly. Detachment from society is a scheme of the devil. Instead, engage evil with good and you will overcome. Detached you lose. Yes, love does guarantee suffering, but better to love often than for your soul to shrivel for lack of service. Just as an athlete leaves it all on the court, leave all your good deeds on the field of life. Heaven is a celebration of a life well spent on earth. Thus while you’re still alive generously do good and you’ll overcome evil. Like Jesus--overcome the evil one by God’s good word--holy Scripture. “Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” Matthew 4:10-11 Prayer: Heavenly Father, use me to be an ambassador of good for You. Related Readings: Jeremiah 1:19; John 16:33; Hebrews 12:14; 1 John 2:14, 5:4-5

Mentoring Young People

1-5-2013 by Boyd Bailey “At the window of my house I looked out through the lattice. I saw among the simple, I noticed among the young men, a youth who lacked judgment” (Proverbs 7:6–7). Most young people yearn for someone to invest time and wisdom into them. They know deep in their hearts they need help to handle heartaches. Their naïve knowledge has yet to graduate them from the school of hard knocks; so they need loving and wise instruction. Who in your circle of influence is a candidate for your caring attention? It may be a son or daughter, a colleague at work, or a friend from church. God places people in our lives for a purpose. Perhaps you prayerfully pursue a mentor relationship with a teachable young person. He or she can learn from your mistakes as much or more than from your wise choices. Mentors are not perfect, just wiser from failure and humbled by success. Look around and ask the Lord to lead you to a young person who may be edging toward the wrong direction. Reach out to that young person. By doing so, you will have returned the favor to someone who loved you. Indeed, mentors take time for others because they are eternally grateful for those who took time for them. Gratitude to God is a great reason to go the extra mile with someone younger. Read books together, maybe a book a month for a year. Meet over coffee to discuss how the book challenged your thinking and changed your behavior for the better. A young leader can preclude problems when she is able to model the wise habits of her mentor. Always invite an older adult into your life who can educate you in the ways of God. Moreover, the mentor process is valuable to both parties. It provides accountability, encouragement, love, and obedience to Christ’s commands. Mentor young people so they follow the right path, and in turn help someone else do the same. The Bible says, “Encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children…. Likewise urge the young men to be sensible” (Titus 2:4, 6 nasb). Prayer: Who is the young person in my life to whom the Lord is leading me to invest time, wisdom, and resources? Related Readings: Job 32:6; Psalm 119:9; Matthew 28:20; Titus 2:1–8

Single Focus

1-4-2013 by Boyd Bailey “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.” Philippians 3:13 Almighty God is the focus of the faithful. He is the One Thing who needs the attention from those attentive to Christ’s agenda. This focus of faith writes a beautiful script for a surrendered life--like a sharpened pencil it etches clearly, compared to the illegible scribblings of a dull point. A mind focused on what’s ahead is not encumbered with what’s behind. Single focus creates mental stamina. Indeed, focused thinking on God is not distracted by the world’s allure. Is Christ the central point of your plans? Do you anticipate what lies ahead? Your single focus on your heavenly Father’s heart will embolden your heart. Belief in Jesus is the bull’s eye on the target of trust. Always shoot your arrows of action toward the Almighty’s agenda and you will accomplish His purpose for your life. Take hold of Him and He will guide you by His good light. Take hold of integrity and you will walk securely. Take hold of prayer and you’ll hear His voice. “Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain? The one whose walk is blameless, who does what is righteous.” Psalm 15:1-2 We must beware of separating the sacred from the secular. Our life and work are not silos separated from the grain of God’s goodness. Our salvation is an acorn of faith that grows into an oak tree of mature discipleship. However, the pruning of adversity is necessary to keep us growing in grace. Everything we do is meant to move us toward the Lord’s one thing: progress toward perfection in Christ. Momentary affliction is meant to move us into His deeper affections. Therefore, do for one what you would like to do for many. Trust God that your single focus at home and work will create quality relationships that lead to a quantity of influence for good. Like a laser, your single focus to love can clear away the cloudy cataracts from another’s eyes of fear. Like courageous military personnel, your single focus on humble service can protect you and your family from pride. Your single focus puts fear in the enemy and faith in your heart. “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 Prayer: Heavenly Father, make my focus forward on You and Your priorities. Related Readings: Psalm 105:4; Luke 9:62; 10:42; Acts 2:25; 2 Peter 1:10