Satisfied or Motivated

A few years ago my staff went out to lunch at a Chinese restaurant.  When the meal was over we all broke into our fortune cookies.  One of my guys read his which said, "Life could be better, but this is good enough."  The first response was laughter, followed by contemplation.  If you know that your life could be better why would you settle for good enough.

As we approach another new year and people are making their resolutions (most of which will be broken), do you want "better" or "good enough"?

• I know my job could be better, but this is good enough.
• I know my marriage could be better, but this is good enough.
• I know I could be in better shape, but this is good enough.
• I know I could be a better parent, but this is good enough.
• I know my retirement plan could be better, but this is good enough.
• I know that my relationship with God could be better, but this is good enough.
• I know my life could be better, but this is good enough.

Why do we settle for "good enough" when things could be so much "better"?

Jesus said that he came to provide a life that is so much better.  "The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give you life and life to the fullest.  (A Better Life) " John 10:10

What are you going to do to give yourself a chance for "better"?

So What Are You Going to Do About It

The Community of Changed Lives that worship on the Hill have just completed an incredible journey through the ABC's of Financial Freedom. The question running through my mind today is "So What Are You Going to Do About It?".  Yesterday Barry gave us Seven Secrets to Financial Freedom.  Let's review what we learned. 1) Your understanding of where it all comes from will either keep it coming or cut it off. 2) What you pursue will determine what you possess. 3) What you spend will always be more important than what you earn. 4) Your obedience will determine your abundance. 5) The discipline of saving is more important than the amount you save. 6) God will grow whatever you sow. 7) Sustained generosity will be the guarantee for your sustained financial success.

I want to land right in the middle on principle number four because it is huge!  YOUR OBEDIENCE WILL DETERMINE YOUR ABUNDANCE. Here is the deal.  We can read the book, cheer for the concepts, raise our hands in worship, and even sign a commitment card.  But if we don't do anything about it, it will soon be over.  We have to make some changes!

There are a couple of things coming to the Hill that will help you make positive moves forward.  There is a really good six week series that goes along with the ABC's of Financial Freedom that you can be done in LIFE groups or in your own family.  If you are interested please contact me at dhamlin@shelbychristian.org 

Another great step on this journey would be to enroll in Financial Peace University.  We will begin our next semester on Wednesday night January 9 at 6:30.  There is a $100 cost involved in this class that could easily be the best investment you ever make in your future!  The fee gets you the complete kit of materials from Dave Ramsey and many other resources, plus it helps you have a huge buy in to sticking with the program.  The new FPU is a nine week course.  It will give you a couple months to get into this new lifestyle.  What would you life be like moving forward if you were debt free?

So what are you going to do about what you have learned?    It can be a life changing experience or it can be just another experience in life.  The difference will be based on what you make of it.  Let's go for it and just keep on reaching ... God has something huge out there for you and for our church and for the lives of people that we intersect with in life.  

So what are you going to do ...

As I get ready to head to bed on Thanksgiving Eve I spent some time reviewing my sermon for Sunday and my friend Barry's book The ABC's of Financial Freedom.  This week's chapter ends with some ideas from the G.O.O.D. file (Get Out Of Debt).  Appropriately it pertains perfectly for many that are already out at the stores for Black Friday and millions more that are leaving tomorrow.

1. Don't let shopping take priority over worship.  If we do, we will miss the whole point of Christmas.
2. Don't get caught up trying to outbuy or outdo anybody else when you do your Christmas shopping.
3. Don't charge the gifts you buy for others. Yes, yes probably won't buy as much, but you won't cry much either later on when the bills come due.
4. Give practical, usable gifts that will help meet needs instead of wasting money on frivolous gifts that will go back in the box, in the closet, the attic, or the next garage sale once the holidays are over.
5. Make sure the Lord is at the top of your Christmas list.  Giving at the Christmas Eve service for your church is an excellent way to teach your children and model for your family what Christmas is all about.
6. Do take time to bake Christmas cookies, go see Christmas lights, watch a Christmas video, or some other activity that will help draw your family closer together.
7. Stay on target with your goal to become debt free.  Don't allow your emotions to get caught up in the "spirit of giving" to cause you to get off track and deeper in debt.
8. Be sure to take time to thank God for all of your blessings over the year.
9. Remember the best gift you can give, especially to your family is YOU!

I'm not sure if you avoid the malls like crazy on Black Friday or if you already there.  Maybe your temptation is on Cyber Monday.  Or maybe you struggle every day.  These are nine great points from Barry Cameron that we should all memorize!

Election Eve Thoughts

Tomorrow is such an important day for our country!  The presidential election tops all ballots, but there are many other important races and issues that people will have the opportunity to vote on across the nation.  I pray that the Christian portion of the country votes based on a biblical worldview.  This is made somewhat difficult this year, because while one candidate claims to be a Christian be believes, supports, and forces some very non-biblical principles upon society.  Most notably the belief in the pro-choice agenda.  The other candidate is of the Mormon belief, but his actions are more biblically based.  Bob Russell has written a tremendous document concerning this on his blog at BobRussellMinistries.org or by going directly to http://www.bobrussell.org/2012/07/22/should-christians-vote-for-a-mormon-for-president/

Early this morning my wife and I were on a chilly pre-dawn walk and she reminded me of the story Jesus told of a man with two sons.  It is found in Matthew 21, ²⁸ “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ²⁹ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. ³⁰ “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.³¹ “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” “The first,” they answered.  

Actions do speak louder than words!  I remember my father telling me that it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and a few bad decisions or even one fleeting moment to destroy it.  When I vote I never vote strictly on party lines.  It shouldn't be about the party.  Both parties are flawed because of the partisanship that they are tied to.  So the challenge in my mind is the question that many have been asking, "Are we any better off as a nation than we were four years ago?".  I can't find any logical way to answer yes to that question.

I googled the National Debt Clock today at http://www.usdebtclock.org 

The counter on that thing is spinning faster than my electric meter, and it is killing our country.  I am tired of hearing that it is someone's fault.  What is done in the past is in the past.  As long as we keep casting blame on previous administrations we will never get this fixed.  One candidate has built and led many corporations, the other one has never led a business of any kind.  His total leadership experience is in elected offices.  

The single issue of human life is something that I cannot ignore.  The greatest single privilege that we have as Americans is the privilege of life, which is slowly being stripped away.  It is being stripped away prior to birth and with the proposed health care reforms it will be stripped away in the decision of who is worthy of socialized health care because of their value to society.  

The next president of the United States will have the opportunity to appoint two Supreme Court Justices.  Those are lifetime appointments.  This election is HUGE.  Not just for the next four years.

As I wrote last week, I have many friends who will vote differently than I will tomorrow and as far as I am concerned I hope they still consider me a friend tomorrow night regardless of the outcome.  In my mind this election has nothing at all to do with race or party affiliation.  If people want to make it into those things that is their silly choice.  This is much bigger than those issues.  It is about this nation doing the right things, remaining one nation under one true God, indivisible with liberty and just for all.

What is #cuonthehill

For those of you who may not know what a “hashtag” is, I want to take a moment to explain and set up an interesting connecting point for all of us on "the Hill". Here goes:

Twitter gives this definition: The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically by Twitter users as a way to categorize messages.

The beauty of this little # is that it works on instagram as well. When you tweet or post your pic on instagram, if it has something to do with Shelby Christian, use this hashtag:

#cuonthehill

The fun starts when on Twitter or Instagram you search #cuonthehill. Now you can see what others are saying and posting about our church even if you don’t know them or follow them.

I stole this blog from my friend John.  You can check out what is happening at their awesome place at #communityhemet

Have fun and spread the love.

Changing Lives on the Hill

I get so excited about the change that I see in people's lives when they start to really get it about Jesus.  Early in His teaching He told his followers that they were to the light of the world and that a town built on a hill could not be hidden.   I love that our facilities are built on a hill on the east end of Shelbyville.  It is a reminder to me now every time I drive "up hill" to the building that we are here to make a difference and to be seen by men as a place where life change happens.   This new art work is just a reminder that we are all somewhere on the path to following Christ.  Some are just getting started and others have been running for a while, but we are all on a journey.  "The Hill" is just a stop on the journey, because our ultimate destination is heaven.

I also love hearing the stories of change that Jesus has made in people's lives.  I love it when part of the change happened on the hill.  I hope some of you will write about your change and add it to this blog.  I was introduced to a website last night by someone who is really growing in Christ on the hill.  He told me about www.iamsecond.com .  I really like the name, but I LOVE what is documented on the website.

Also if you have been touched by the ministry of Christ on the hill in east Shelbyville we have window stickers that you can put on your vehicle that might provide an open door to share about Jesus with someone.  We have them available at worship times, but if you have moved and want one let us know and we will send them to you.

So many lives have been changed, I can't wait to see what is around the corner.

The Basement or The Penthouse

You are moving into a new high rise apartment and the manager says you can have your choice of a basement apartment or the penthouse for the exact same price. Which apartment would you choose? The choice may seem obvious, choose the penthouse. But not everyone would make that choice. I wonder why would someone choose to live in a dark gloomy basement, when they have the opportunity to live on top of the world with a bright great view.

In an interesting translation of John 10:10 we might hear Jesus say, "There is a gloomy slum lord that wants you to live in the basement of this world so that he can steal from you, kill you and ultimately destroy you, but I have come to move you into the penthouse so that you can see forever and keep on reaching higher." It's your choice! What are you going to choose?

I struggle sometimes to keep on reaching higher. Sometimes Satan wins the battle and I find myself settling for the life that he wants rather than the life that Jesus came to give me. The abundant life that is available in the penthouse! Abundant life! Jesus wants you to live life abundantly, to the fullest, in the penthouse!

Where do you want to spend your life here on earth? In basements or in penthouses? It's your choice!