Sunday Inspiration: To Know Where You’re Going, Evaluate Where You Are by RIck Warren

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” Romans 12:3 (NIV) The first and greatest barrier to change in any area of your life is pride. The fact is, nobody has it all together. I don’t have it all together. You don’t have it all together. The Pope doesn’t have it all together. The Bible says there’s nothing perfect on Earth except God’s Word. Everything on this planet is broken because of sin But we walk around trying to impress people and pretend like we’ve got it all together. The problem is, if you want to have lasting change in your life, you first have to humbly assess your current state and admit that you don’t have it all together. You have to admit you have a problem with your finances, with your health, or whatever area you struggle with in your life. Romans 12:3 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you” (NIV). Are you willing to ask the people closest to you, “Where do I need to change?” Do you have the courage to ask other people to be honest about you and with you? Why is this so important? Because you can only manage what you measure. If you don’t know the measure of your faith, you can’t grow in your faith. If you don’t know the measure of your health, you can’t develop and grow in health. If you don’t know the measure of where you are financially, you can’t set goals financially. If you don’t know the measure of where you are spiritually or vocationally or relationally, then you can’t grow in those areas. You can only manage what you measure. It’s also important to record your progress in any goal in a journal or a record or whatever you want to do. If you’re going to set some health goals, financial goals, or any other kind of goal, record your progress throughout the year so you can measure your growth and your progress. Evaluate where you are so that you can know where you should go. Talk It Over Who are the people in your life with whom you can share openly and honestly? What areas of your life do you need to evaluate so that you can set realistic goals for change? What are some ways you can keep track of your growth and progress?

Sunday Inspiration: Hold Your Blessings with an Open Hand

HOLD YOUR BLESSINGS WITH AN OPEN HAND

by Rick Warren

"There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it.”  1 Timothy 6:6-7 (NRSV) God is more interested in your character than your comfort. He's not going to give you things if you haven’t learned the principle of contentment first. Contentment is not a lack of ambition. It's not a lack of goals. Contentment means your happiness doesn't depend on your circumstances. How do you eliminate discontent? You eliminate the cause: comparing. We compare everything in this country — lawns, cars, husbands and wives, clothes, the education of our kids (we even put "My kid was Student of the Month" on car bumpers). Whenever you compare, you're going to become discontent. You've got to learn to stop comparing yourself to others. Paul says in Philippians 4:12, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (NIV). Contentment does not come naturally; it is something you have to learn. If we do this, God promises to meet all our financial needs. The Bible says, "There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it” (1 Timothy 6:6-7 NRSV). One of the greatest secrets in learning to be content is to realize that you don't really own anything. It's all on loan to you for about 80 years! You didn't bring a single thing into this world, and you're not going to carry anything out of it, either. You just get to use it while you're here on Earth. The Bible calls that stewardship. You are the manager or steward of what God allows you to have while you're here, but it's not really yours. When you understand that you're just a manager of the blessings God allows in your life and you hold them with an open hand, you won’t be uptight about losing them. So what if you lose things? God can turn off one faucet and turn on another just as easily. Learn to be content, because things don't last. God is more interested in your character than your comfort.