Mar 13, 2023
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Change
Share about separation
In a spiritual war for the last 6 months
Denial, negotiating attempts with God and others,
counseling
Come to a few conclusions
It doesn’t matter what portion of this situation is from my
actions vs someone else, in fact it’s futile and you could say to
devote any energy to something you cannot control other than
turning it over to Yah in prayer is foolish
Where my primary focus should be is to change what I can
change, ie what I actually have the ability to change, and that is
pretty much limited to my own personal thoughts, words and
actions
But if I stopped there I would be only in the realm of the
world, of Babylon, the world of self-help, self-improvement or
taken to the extreme the goal of self-actualization, which is right
in the devil’s playground.
An earlier low point in my life, I responded that
way-self-help the worlds's way-13 traits from Benjamin Franklin-put
up post-it notes and repeat each trait for a week. Exhausting
Looking back to that season in my life, the true lasting
positive changes I made was limited to the following: 1. I married
a woman who was much farther along in her faith journey and in her
commitment to her faith than me 2. I got plugged into a vibrant
church and men's ministry as well as an evangelical mindset with a
lot of discipleship opportunities and started a journey of
sanctification which resulted in a number of positive changes: the
removal of the majority of really stupid, really obviously bad
outward sins of the flesh. Also I started thinking about what
I could do to share with others what little I had learned in my
journey. Some results of that included me writing a book
about faith at work as well as starting this podcast.
What I’m partially realizing now that I did not change was
what Yeshua said was the most important thing to change and that
was my heart, and that I may have short-circuited my heart change
by launching into sharing with and helping others, not to mention
my motivation for writing the book and doing the podcast had a
large element of pride which only hindered the heart change I
needed.
Back to the point of surrendering, if I do what I did nearly
20 years ago and just try to do a Christian version of self-help, I
will still be self focused and my efforts will be in vain and will
fail. This is true regardless how great those efforts of mine
are (and trust me I can put out some great effort when I put my
mind toward a goal).
The only true path to change is to surrender to the most High
and let His Holy Spirit change me from the inside out. Now don’t
get me wrong I believe it’s important to identify what needs to
change and to be purposeful toward that specific area of change,
and to be mindful and aware of when we are not living our lives in
line with that desired change. But the way to change is not through
us but through Yah.
To be specific and personal with you, My 3 areas of change I
need most are to be:
1. Be positive not negative 2. Be encouraging not critical 3.
Be content not discontent
What does this mean with regard to this podcast I'm not
sure. I know I really enjoy doing these episodes and I'm
praying they are some benefit to those of you listening to
these. I believe I can continue to do these while still
focusing on the personal growth that is most important.
I plan to be more selective in the interviews I do, focusing
on issues that I think are most critical to me and to other men,
issues that men don't talk about much but are very important.
That will likely mean I deal with topics that aren't necessarily
just about faith and work, but we'll see.
I also continue to feel led to talk about things I've learned
on Messianic/Hebrew roots side of things but haven't decided if I
will incorporate that into this podcast or do a separate
podcast.
That's it for now on what's on my heart.
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Coworker said in the Maint shop he was over 3 important
machines, someone joked that he keeps those Machines going so he
can bring home a paycheck and he responded that actually by running
those 3 machines he was allowing us all to bring home a
paycheck
Reminder of
Value of our work, not just as a good witness to others by
doing good and living a life that is respected by others But by
doing good work in a very practical way we are blessing others. By
being effective our organization we are a part of are better able
to succeed in their goals which results in everyone in the
organization prospering.
This time of here my employer gives out bonuses based on
individual performance as well as performance as larger
organization. This year much lower than in past and than expected
primarily due to factors outside of the organization, issues with
the economy including inflation. This was a reminder to me that
there are some things in our lives and our work lives that are
outside of our control, but just as bonuses are calculated by both
individual and corporate performance, there are some things that
are in our control. Past retreat talked about “focus on your zone”
meaning your area of influence.
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Appreciate different laughs. I’ve noticed how different are
the sounds of people’s
Laughs, more so maybe even than the sound of their voice when
speaking. Just another aspect of diversity and how God us all
unique and special in so many ways. This also reminds me that in
the past I have made judgements about people’s
Laughs. Some I like to hear and some are annoying to me. I’m
not OK work that about me. I should not be annoyed by someone’s
laugh any more than I should dislike looking at the color of their
skin. I’m quite sure that God is pleased with the sound of each one
of our laughs and so should I.
My final thought on this that we won’t know how unique each of
our laughs are unless we actually laugh, so I encourage you not to
just appreciate the uniqueness of the laughs of your coworkers, be
someone who laughs and also someone who through their actions and
words encourages and leads others in your workplace to laugh as
well.
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But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect,
establish, strengthen, and settle you.
1 Peter 5:10 - NKJV
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Week 11 Day 4