Friday, January 16, 2015

My Life: A Mess or A Master Piece?

(Submitted by Donnie O’Fallon)
Over the Christmas holidays I watched again, as I do each year, that wonderful old classic, “ It’s a wonderful Life “ with Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, in the leading role. All George wanted to do was to marry Mary, give her the moon, travel and get out of Bedford Falls. But it seemed at every turn he was delayed and prevented from accomplishing his dreams, his goals and his ambitions.  But with each hindrance, obstacle, and turn of events that hindered him from attaining his objectives, George seemed to always want to do and did do what was RIGHT.

As I watched it this year I thought to myself for the first time, “ as George was given the opportunity to look back over his life, George thought his life was a failure, a Mess, but it was really a Master Piece.”  Then I thought, as I stand at the threshold of a new year, what can I do to make my life a Master Piece for God and one that will make a difference in lives of others as well? How would you describe your life? Are you achieving what you desire and what God desires for you? Are you accomplishing the things that are important to you? Do you consider yourself a success? How do the prospects look for 2015?

Ponder with me the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3: 12, “ Not that I have already obtained all this, ( all  verses prior chapters 1,2,3 ) or have already have been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”  I believe our success as a Christian, in whatever your profession, is to honor God and to do that we must begin each day with Him. The scriptures teach us that, “it is in Him that we live and move and have our very being.” We must determine what our daily agenda is going to be. If you and I will make a few key decisions and then manage them well in our daily agenda, we can and will accomplish much to God’s glory and the good of others. Success doesn’t just suddenly occur one day in your life. For that matter, neither does failure. Each is a process. Every day of our lives is merely preparation for the next day if God gives it. What you become is the result of what you do today. You see, you are preparing for something,” A Mess or a Master Piece.” The way you live your life today is preparing you for your tomorrow.  This requires two ingredients! One is, you must make a decision and the other is discipline.   You must discipline yourself to do the right thing in order to in act change in yourself and others. Each of these is a byproduct of the abiding presence of God’s Spirit and leading in our lives.

As I watched, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” I was also reminded of something I had previously read in one of John Maxwell’s books which he called, “ The Daily Dozen.” See if the resonate with you as they did with me when I read them and sought to incorporate them into my life and ministry some years ago?
1.         Attitude: Daily, choose and display the right attitude no matter the circumstances.
2.         Priorities: Daily, determine and act on important priorities
3.         Health: Daily, know and follow good health guidelines. Remember, your body is the Temple of God Spirit.
4.         Family: Daily, communicate with and care for and minister to my family.
5.         Thinking: Daily, practice and develop good thinking habits. Too many of our actions and attitudes come from stinking thinking!
6.         Commitment: Daily, make and keep proper commitments.
7.         Finances: Daily, make and properly manage everything that God has entrusted to you as a Steward.
8.         Faith: Daily, deepen and live out your faith. Spend alone time with Him in His Word, prayer and meditation and with Gods people.
9.         Relationships: Daily, initiate and invest in in solid relationships. Remember life is about relationships!
10.     Generosity: Daily plan for and model generosity. With your money and your time spend some , share some and save some.
11.     Values: Daily, establish, embrace and practice moral, ethical and Biblical values.
12.     Growth: Daily, in some way seek to be a better Christian, husband, son, dad, neighbor, citizen, employee…etc.


Prayer: “ Father, you’re the potter and we’re the clay! We desire our lives to be a Master Piece and a blessing to you , our families and to others. So that we not make a mess of our lives and service to you, show those areas you desire to work in us, to change us. Let us decide and determine to be a better servant in 2015 than we were in 2014. Enable  and empower us to so discipline and yield our lives to you as change agents in our world which you use to allow others to see Jesus in us. Fashion us into your Master Piece. Amen!”

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