Isaac Stokes

The stage is set. The curtain is drawn. Here comes Jesus on the greatest stage of history. His eyes are resolute knowing the hour at hand. Palm branches wave. Prophecies are fulfilled. In no ordinary fashion the King comes riding into Jerusalem with an acute awareness of the significance of the next few days and the rippling effect those days will have on all humanity. The King is heralded prior to His death. Determined. Humble. Around 2.5 million people crowd the city at that time. Mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, eyes fixed on one simple thing: Jesus. Their reason for gathering was simple- to see and to hail the King. Religious leaders despised this event because Jesus had the attention of the masses. It remains no different today.

Jesus was at center stage. Jesus was the focus of the people that gathered. All eyes were set on the King. They didn’t come to see the donkey He rode or just to fellowship. They came to behold one thing: Jesus.

I think the most profound things are often the most simple. Someone recently told me that no matter what we go through in life, nothing can change the nature of Jesus’ goodness and love. He is irreplaceable. He is irresistible. He nature remains the same as 2000 years ago. He is the only One worthy to now and forever take center stage. The cross remains the living demonstration of love in action on our behalf. His resurrection remains the living demonstration that life still comes from the same source – Jesus. My hope and prayer is that everything crowding for attention in life will subside and fade in the light of the King – the One born for center stage.

 I read a story several days ago told by Lyle Shaller in his book entitled, “Activating the Passive Church.” Here is the story he tells. A young couple rented a vacation cottage for a week. One afternoon the husband looked out a window at the swimming pool and exclaimed, “Let’s change our clothes and go get some exercise!” His wife, who was washing the dishes in the kitchen and looking out the window watching some people play tennis, quickly agreed. While she dressed for a tennis match, he put on his swimming trunks. The window a person chooses to look out at the world often determines that individual’s perception of reality.”

Perspective is a powerful thing. When we experience the difficulties and trials common in life – the death of a loved one, the hurtful comment of a friend, a personal business failure – you fill in the blank… lurking in those moments are opportunities to view our circumstances through the lenses of our own humanity or ask for God’s help to see our situations the way He does.

I like the way the Message Bible says it in Col 3:1-13: “So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. 2 Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ — that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. 

There it is: “see things from His perspective.” If you are like me, it’s easy to get wrapped up in a perspective that is focused just on the temporary; a focus that places self-interest at the forefront; a focus that might be easily discouraged or upset or negative about the reality that surrounds us. The Bible tells us the key to a right perspective is to set our sights on the reality of Christ… to shift our focus off of what surrounds us in the moment and to look to Christ.  In so doing, we gain a new vantage point on the reason we are going through difficulty. We are elevated to see that Romans 8:28 stands true when it says that “God causes all things to work together for good to them that love Him.”

When Paul writes this, the words actually mean “habitually set your minds” on Christ and the things of heaven. In other words, focus on Him and as we do, His perspective for our lives comes into view. May God grace us to exchange the lenses of our humanity at the cross so we can see our lives the way He sees them.

I remember in my high school years walking the golf course with my father. It was hard to keep up with his pace and focus. When my dad walked the golf course he walked as a man on a mission. The mission was to get 9 holes of golf completed in less than an hour and a half. Other golfers would stride up to their ball, take 4 practice swings, smoke their cigars and relax… not my dad. We were on a mission. We had fun every time we went out golfing, but my dad had focus. Occasionally, a friend or two would join us and, like clockwork, after the third or fourth hole they realized these nine holes of golf would not be a casual event. Our golf was no walk in the park. It was time to have fun, but when I was with dad, we were on a mission.

When it comes to life, Jesus calls us to be a people on mission. Jesus calls us to be a people that know and understand what His dream is for our life and then to give ourselves to seeing that dream or purpose fulfilled.

Think with me for a moment about the life of Jesus. Jesus was the most missional man who ever lived. He knew the purpose the Father had sent him to accomplish in His short years on earth. The life of Jesus epitomizes a life of focus. Jesus was very clear about the mission. He said in John 4:34-35, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.“(NASU)

The most exhilarating thing in life is discovering and living in the dream of God for our lives. While some might wander through life casually without a real focus or mission, that is not God’s design for His people. His design is that we discover His will and walk in it and enjoy Him in the process. It’s there where we have faith. It’s there where we experience favor. It’s there that we feel fulfilled. In the next blog post we will talk about practical ways to discover and walk in the will of God.

May God grace you on your journey of being a man or woman who knows the mission God wants you to fulfill to make a lasting impact on people’s lives in this short time we have on the planet.

In the imagination of an architect lies a concept, an idea, a thought in seed form of what can be built and the very purpose for the structure that will be built. A good architect knows why something is being built and has the knowledge to build it according to His design. In God, that same truth exists. God knows what our lives, our marriages, our careers, our families, our churches, our cities need in order to thrive. He knows how to build marriages that last, lives that prosper, careers that bring fulfillment, families that remain united, churches that grow and develop fervent followers of Christ, cities that flourish by putting Him first.

If God is the Master Architect and as the Scriptures declare, “the Chief Cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:7), then why so often do we experience less than His heart and intention for us? I believe there is one significant factor… Christ remaining the foundation. When we lose sight of Christ and attempt in our own effort to build something – anything apart from that “cornerstone” – the building pattern gets off base. When alignment of a structure is off, it’s a recipe for disaster. Though something could be built off of something not rightly aligned, it will lack longevity. When the pressures of life come, the building cannot stand. The same is true of God. Christ is the foundation for healthy marriages. Christ is the foundation for healthy parenting. Christ is the foundation for a fulfilling career. And if you are like me, it’s easy to deviate from that simple truth. It’s easy to think that I have a better way of doing things and I miss the foundation needed for blessing and fulfillment.

So, if we have in any way looked at our lives and not seen the fruit we desire and know that God has intended for us, how can we get back on track? Here are some practical thoughts:

1- Get back to the blueprints by reading God’s Word.

- Try a new version of the Bible, start a new reading plan, read through one book of the Bible in a week, etc.

2- Ask the Holy Spirit for revelation and illumination in God’s Word.

- He is the great Helper and knows where we might have gotten “off track”.

3- Start planning and building your life based on what the Lord shows you.

- Prayer without prayer is futile just as planning without prayer is futile.

4- Get help!

- None of us are called to walk alone. We need other trusted people around us to help us build a life that thrives and gives God great glory.

In the middle of one of David’s Psalms to God, the Lord declares, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Don’t be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

Watchful eyes are eyes that remain on the Lord for direction. Business interactions, deciding who to marry, losing sleep over which college to attend, transitioning from one city to the next, all sorts of daily life decisions face us and confront us every day. With all that we face on a daily basis, the promise of the Lord to us is that He will guide us along the best pathway for our lives, advise us and watch over us.

But the following verse is just as important. The admonishment is to not allow stubbornness to buck the guidance of God. Remaining humble, yielded and in a posture of dependance on Christ allows us to live in confidence that He will advise us. His Spirit will give us counsel to help us walk on His pathway for our lives.

The people of Israel were given a visible sign of knowing when the Lord was leading them from one place to the next or telling them to stay in their current location on the way through the wilderness. Today, the Holy Spirit remains faithful to take us by the hand and lead us for those that continually look to Him for direction and guidance.

I trust and pray that my eyes remain watchful on the great guide and author of my destiny. He knows the terrain and the best pathway for His sons and daughters to prosper. May God fill you with grace to keep a watchful eye on Him in the process.

Embarking on 21 days of prayer and fasting, our church is taking this season at the start of 2012 to seek the Lord. It’s during times and seasons like this that I often reflect on prayer. The past few months I’ve spent some time looking into the life of a man that lived and incredible lifestyle of prayer and wrote much about prayer as well. His name is EM Bounds.

In Matthew 11 where Jesus says, “Therefore I say unto you, all things whatsoever ye pray and ask for, believe that you shall receive them, and you shall have them.” EM Bounds comments, “Christ holds Himself ready to supply exactly and full all the demands of faith and prayer. If the order on God is made clear, specific, and definite, God will fill it exactly in accordance with the presented terms. Faith is not an abstract belief in the Word of God, nor a mere mental credence, nor a simple assent of the understanding and will; nor is it a passive acceptance of facts, however sacred or thorough. Faith is an operation of God, a divine illumination, a holy energy implanted by the Word of God and the Spirit in the human soul – a spiritual, divine principle which takes the supernatural and makes it a thing apprehendable by the faculties of time and sense.”

A deeper level of faith will lead to a deeper level of prayer. Faith, exercised in specific intentional times of prayer, releases God to move into impossible situations. Where there is faith, there is likely to be prevailing and persevering prayer.

This year I’m inspired and challenged to get more specific in my prayers, focusing on a God who awaits the prayers of His people to act on their behalf. What are you bringing specifically before God in prayer in 2012?

2012 is upon us… at that end of a year and the start of a new one I like to reflect and look forward – reflect on the past year’s successes and learn from my mistakes. I also like to look forward to the new year, setting some goals for the future.

I asked my wife to share with me what positive changes she has seen in me from the past year. After a long pause, I breathed a sigh of relief as she listed a number of things that she has noticed as positive changes in our marriage, in my parenting, and in my leadership. I was greatly encouraged by the fact that God’s grace has changed me in some tangible ways that were noticeable to those closest to me.

I love what Col 1:6 says – “This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.”

It’s the nature of the Good News and the wonderful grace of God to bear fruit and change the lives of ordinary people. No matter what your goals are for the new year, the Good News has the power to change lives in 2012 – your life, my life, the life of any person that remain open to God’s transforming power. It’s because of this that we have great hope in 2012.

Wishing you the best as you pursue God’s purpose for your life in 2012!

The main purpose of following God’s dream for your life is to bring Jesus into your working life. It expands your relationship with the Dream-Giver. Said another way, The Father calls you into His work by sharing His dream with you so that your work can become a sacred, set apart time to do things together with Him. Without a dream from God, your work becomes mundane. But if you get captured by God’s dream – His mission for you – one that connects with your deepest passions, that reveals God in a way that you never saw him before, then each day becomes a part of a journey to discover God’s purpose and to co-labor with Him in accomplishing His dream.

God’s dream for your life expresses itself as Tony Stoltzfus has said in His book, The Calling Journey, as a message to an audience through a task for an impact.

Message: the unique facet of Jesus’ character you embody
Audience: the people you are called to touch or serve
Impact: the way your message changes the lives of your audience
Task/Role: an efficient vehicle your message flows through to your audience

So God’s dream for your life involves the message you embody to an audience through a task or role for a specific impact.

I trust this will help as you continue partnering with God in your work in a way that inspires others to do the same.