Success factors

I read the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell recently which looks into the behind-the-scene stories of successful people such as Bill Gates and Bill Joy.  Once you know their stories, you would recognise that they are not outliers or one in a hundred kind of occurrence.  But rather they are those who had been given opportunities and they "strike while the iron is hot".  It was also a combination of history, community and legacy as well.   It is an interesting read and I would recommend that you read it if you have not already done so.

There is a chapter on the 10,000 hour rule whereby he explored those who had the opportunity to hone their talent or craft by being at the right place and the right time.  The amount of time that Bill Gates and the Beatles were able to build up their computer knowledge and singing talent respectively totaled more than 10,000 hour before the age of 20.  And when they were at the prime of their life, they stood out and became famous.  This speaks, of course, about hard work and our willingness to hone our talent/skill when given the opportunity to do so.  Even though work may be hard but if it's accompanied by a sense of purpose (meaning) and satisfaction, the rewards will be great. 

The Bible mentions that whatever a man sows that he shall reap (Gal 6:7).  If we are prepared to cultivate the value of hard work in our lives and in the lives of our children, we shall certainly reap success, at least in the material sense.   The wise man in Proverbs made a number of proclamations concerning the diligent and lazy person:

"He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich."  Pr 10:4 (NKJV)

"The hand of the diligent will rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced labor."  Pr 12:24 (NKJV)

"The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich."  Pr 13:4 (NKJV)

Inasmuch as we put in effort in our study or career/business, likewise, we need to put in effort in our daily Word intake.  Paul exhorted Timothy (and us) to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." (2 Tim 2:15 NASB). The Word of God is able to guide us in our life's journey and our success in this life (and the life to come) is dependent on us meditating on Sciptures.  And mind you, the success God has for us is not necessary in dollars and cents.  It could be peace of mind, divine health and strength, and bringing people into the kingdom of God.

'This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."  Josh 1:8 (NASB)

May we learn to walk in the success and prosperity of God in 2013. 

Blessed New Year 2013!

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go."      Is 48:17 (NASB)

As humans living in time, this is the beginning of a new year based on the Gregorian calendar, used by most of the world. A new year usually marks a new beginning.  When the Lord instituted the Passover during the time of deliverance for the Israelites, he told Moses "This month (Nisan) shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you." (Ex 12:2).  The religious calendar introduced by the Lord signifies and foreshadows the great work of redemption and celebration He was about to bring to the world starting with the feast of Passover (Pesach) all the way to the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).   Even though God lives outside of time in eternity, He has planned times and seasons that would take place on earth to herald the second coming of Jesus Christ (Acs 3:19-21). 

In this new year, we may have plans or concerns relating to finances, health or relationships.  Surely, they are valid - without any source of income, it would be difficult to live and support ourselves and our loved ones; if we have to cope with an illness or support someone who does, it would also take a toll on us; building strong family and friendship ties are important, at the same time, we need to have the courage to break off unwholesome ties that have a negative influence on us (1 Cor 15:33).  Where relationships are concerned, it's important to be freed emotionally, that is, forgive those who have hurt us as well as recieve forgiveness from those whom we have hurt (Mt 6:14-15).  

Let us commit all our plans for the new year to the Lord (Pr 16:3).  Is 48:17 tells us that God is our teacher who will show us what is the best for our lives.  The wise man says that the plans of the heart belong to man but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord (Pr 16:1).  Yes, we can go ahead and make plans for our lives but we need to seek the Lord whether it is something that He wants us to do, otherwise we could be running in vain.  The second part of Is 48:17 tells us that God is our leader - He leads us in the way we should go.  There's no two way about it; either you lead or He leads.  To allow God to lead, we need to surrender our lives into His hands.   Submission and surrender to God should be a daily affair as we are prone to take charge of our own lives; to be self-sufficient as opposed to being God-dependent. 

The revelation of God being our teacher and leader (Lord) is also found in Jn 13:13-17 (NASB)
¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. ¹⁶ Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.     

The disciples of Jesus called him Rabbi and Master.  Noticed that Jesus reveresed the order - Lord and Teacher - to illustrate a point that if He is truly their Lord, then they ought to follow His example as no disciple is greater than the master.  As disciples of Christ, if we follow in His example, we shall be truly blessed!  This is how you and I are going to receive the blessings of 2013 - by following in the footsteps of Jesus.  I wish you Jesus, our Lord and Teacher, in this new year. 
  

No eye has seen, no ear has heard

As it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” - the things God has prepared for those who love him - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.  The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.  1 Cor 2:9-10 (NIV)

The apostle Paul quoted from Isaiah 64:4, "Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him."  He applies it to the wonderful hidden plan of God for mankind's redemption (the crucifixion of His beloved Son on the cross of Calvary), which has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.  Indeed, no human mind can possibly conceive crucifixion to be God's perfect plan for mankind's salvation.  In fact, the rulers of this world were also caught by surprise when they thought they had the upper hand when Christ was killed on the cross.  God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message (of the cross) preached to save those who believe (1 Cor 1:21; 2 Cor 2:7-8). 

I was flipping through the book Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne recently.  They argue that lasting success comes from creating 'blue oceans': untapped new market spaces ripe for growth as opposed to competing with those already in existence - red oceans.  The examples quoted that spawned multibillion dollar industries were mutual funds, cell phones, biotechnology, discount retail, express package delivery, coffee bars, home videos etc.  Just 30 years ago, none of the industries were in existence in a meaningful way.   The reality is that industries never stand still but continue to evolve with the changing times.  The strategy to create blue oceans is the key to unlocking the potential in the market places.  It takes vision, courage and experimentation to see beyond the current reality.  The story of two shoes salesmen on an island where nobody wears any footware illustrates this point well.  One exclaimed that there's no market for shoes while another saw immense possibilities. 

In the spiritual sense, the cross was God's blue ocean strategy to a (spiritually) dying world.  Nobody except God knew what He was doing.  The good news is that it is still applicable today.  We don't have to bring our wealth, achievements, prestige or status with us; they don't earn salvation for us.  We come to him just as we are - broken, contrite and repentant - believing and entrusting ourselves to a Saviour who is able to save us from our sins.   In today's world, where the thief comes to steal (our faith in God), kill (snuff out the lives of people) and destroy (family relationships), God extends forgiveness of sins to those who would come to Him in repentance and faith. 

Curiosity abounds regarding the future and especially in how our world would end as seen in the interest in the 21 Dec date of the Mayan calendar.  However, as believers in Christ we know from the book of Revelation, Satan and his emissaries would be eventually cast into the lake of fire.  Likewise those who follow him.  Preceeding this would be catalysmic events that would foreshadow the second coming of Christ.  The unfolding of these events is open to interpretation.  One thing is certain is that God had already in mind what He would do to usher in the second coming of Christ just as He did for Christ's first coming.  Certainly, we may not perceive with our physical eyes nor ears but we can through our spiritual eyes and ears like Simeon and the prophetess Anna, whom the Holy Spirit revealed to them concerning the baby Jesus, the redemption of Israel (Lk 2:25-38). 

The only way the church is going to perceive the unfolding of end time events is through prayer and fasting, just like what Anna did.  We thank God for the raising up of prayer warriors and intercessors all over the world coming together in prayer houses to intercede for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.  May you and I be part of this prayer movement to usher in the return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Maranatha!

God of the Impossible

"Is anything too difficult (wonderful) for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son."  Gen 18:14 (NASB)

Sarah was incredulous when this promise was given as she thought (rightly so) she was barren and way past child-bearing age (v 11); menopause having set in.  Her laughter brought about the above retort from the Lord.  God specialises in opening up barren wombs as in the case of Hannah and Elizabeth.  He is the giver of physical life.  The angel Gabriel told Mary, "For nothing will be impossible with God."  (Lk 1:37).
This was in relation to Mary's immaculate conception and the conception of John by Elizabeth.  As we approach Christmas, let's breathe a prayer of thanksgiving to God for sending Jesus into this world to become like us so that He can lead us back to God.  

God also specialises in giving new birth - spiritual life.  In responding to His disciples cry, "Then who can be saved?"  Jesus said, "With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."  (Mk 10:26-27). The disciples despair was due to the fact that Jesus had said it was difficult for the rich to enter God's kingdom because wealth can enslave a person, becoming his/her god.  This promise by Jesus should encourage our hearts as we reach out to some hard nuts who simply have no time for God or who do not acknowledge Him personally.  We need to rely on God and not in our own wisdom to save them. 

At the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed, "Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will." (Mk 14:36).  Even though God can do all things, yet there are things He would not do if it's not in accordance to His will.  The confidence we have in approaching a prayer hearing and a prayer answering God is that we ask according to His will (1 Jn 5:14-15).  God not only sees the desires of our hearts but the sincerity and earnestness of our hearts as well.

In response to the father's plea, "... if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" Jesus replied, "If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes."  (Mk 9:22-23).  Jesus ties in our faith with God's ability to act on our behalf.  Many times Jesus wasn't able to do much miracles because of unbelief in the peoples' hearts (Mk 6:5-6; Mt 13:58).   Where things seem hopeless and impossible, these are the kinds of situations that we need to exercise our faith in the God of the impossible.  Like the father of the child, we need to ask God to help our unbelief. 

Jeremiah the prophet prayed by proclaiming, "Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You."  (Jer 32:17).  Jeremiah was incredulous that the Lord spoke to him to buy field to plant and build despite the Chaldean invasion of the land of Israel and the scattering of God's people beyond their homeland.  The Lord replied, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?"  (Jer 32:27). As you read on, you would find that the Lord promised to restore the fortunes of Israel by gathering His dispersed people back to the land of promise (Jer 32:37-44). 

We have to stand in awe of Yahweh - the Creator of the heavens and the earth - from the tinest atoms to the huge universe.  He knows how the earth and the universe function, and above all, He knows how mankind functions.  When we begin to acknowledge God for who He is, He begins to work on our behalf (Heb 11:6).  God is mindful of our frailty but condescends to shower His lovingkindness upon those who fear Him.   
"For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass;
as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer. But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep His covenant and remember His precepts to do them."   Ps 103:14-18 (NASB)

Desires of our heart

"³Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.  ⁴Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.  ⁵Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."      Ps 37:3-5 (NKJV)

Don't we all have desires - some godly and some not so godly.  The wonderful promise that God will give us the desires of our heart is conditioned on us delighting in Him.  What does it mean then to delight ourselves in the Lord?  The verse preceding and following the promise found in verse 4 will offer a clue.  Both talk about trusting God; verse 3 adds that we need to feed on God's faithfulness, that is, we rely on God's character to fulfill what He has promised - He is a faithful God.  Trusting also means committing our ways to the Lord (v 5); this we do so through prayer.   When things don't turn out the way we envisage, we often give up praying and lose sight of His faithfulness.  Delighting ourselves in the Lord would therefore mean a continual trust and communication with God despite the circumstances of life.  God, who searches the hearts of all men, would grant us the desires of our hearts when He sees our total dependency on Him. 

Three OT patriarchs exhibit this quality of establishing intimacy with God with the result that God heard and answered their prayers. 

1. Abraham: he was called the friend of God because of his faith in Jehovah (Ja 2:23; Gen 15:6).  He believed God's promise regarding his descendants being as many as the stars of heaven despite Sarah being barren.  When God expressed His intention to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah due to the wickedness of the cities, Abraham interceded for Lot and his family.  He was bold enough to 'bargain' with God 6 times not to destroy the cities if there were certain number of righteous people present (Gen 18:23-33).  Unfortunately, there weren't 10 righteous people - Lot's family constituted only 4.  But the Lord was mercy; He remembered Abraham's intercession and saved Lot's family (Gen 19:29).   The desire of Abraham was granted.

2.  Moses: he spoke to God like a man to a man (Dt 34:10).  Of course, no one can see the face of God and live.  He must have seen the representation of God in various forms eg. the burning bush or a thundering voice.  He learnt humility through hardship and reliance on God.  Moses spent an inordinate amount of time in God's presence cultivating intimacy with Him.  He found favour in God's sight and as such when he requested God to show him His glory, God obliged by showing him His hind glory (Ex 33:12-23).  When Moses came down from the mountain, he face reflected God's glory so much so that he had to put a veil over his face (2 Cor 3:13).  Moses is another patriarch whom God delighted in, despite his sins.  We are told that God buried him in a valley of Moab and no one could locate it (Dt 34:6).    

3. Elijah: this prophet of God had developed such intimacy with God that by his word things are brought to pass. By his word, the armies of Israel were destroyed by fire (2 Kg 1:9-12).  This was so because he had a direct line of communication with God (2 Kg 1:3,15).   The many miracles that Elijah was able to perform attest to the great faith he had in God.  We are told in the book of James that Elijah was a man like you and me; he prayed earnestly and God answered him (Jas 5:17-18).  He prayed seven times before he saw a cloud the size of a hand in the horizon and knew that rain would follow.  Elijah's intimacy with God saw him taken up in a whirlwind by God, translating him from this earthly life to a heavenly one (2 Kg 2:12).  This is but a type of translation (rapture) that believers would experience when Christ returns. 

Do you have godly desires?  Then begin to delight yourself in the Lord, cultivating intimacy with Him.  
Abraham's desire was for the salvation (deliverance) of Lot's family from destruction.  We too can desire the salvation for our Friends, Relatives, Associates and Neighbour by interceding on their behalf.
Moses' desire was to see God's glory.  We too can desire and impart God's glory to others if we spend time with God. 
Elijah's desire was for God to send rain to a parched land.  We too can desire and experience the rain of the Holy Spirit in our lives if we earnestly seek after Him.

May God grant you the desires of your heart as you delight in Him!

Promotion

I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’ And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck’ For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another.  Ps 75:4-6 (NKJV)

Many of us associate promotion with getting on ahead in life; moving on and up to a larger responsibility and presumably a bigger pay package.  For the self-employed, promotion comes about by being successful in one's business and being able to extend or expand one's enterprise.  Now the way we get 'promoted' in life is important.  Some of us claw our way to the top by back-stabbing others and leaving a trail of unhappy people along the way.  Such people are usually the self-conceited ones whom the psalmist described above.  We need to be wary of people with such an arrogant attitude - they think too highly of themselves, bull-dozing their way in life.  They may get their way for a season but eventually God will put them down. 

In God's economy of things, He chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27-28).  God chose the way of the cross to display His beloved Son to the world, hung between heaven and earth.  This is indeed foolish to the Gentiles - a dying God on the cross who is unable to save Himself - very weak indeed!  But Paul proclaims that this is precisely the power and wisdom of God made manifest (1 Cor 1:22-24).  If we ever want to be exalted in God's kingdom, we need to humble ourselves by accepting the free gift of grace offered at the cross of Calvary.  We do this by inviting Christ to come into our hearts through prayer.  Those who have done so and have passed on in this life has been said to be promoted to glory.  I think that's the kind of promotion we should look forward to - one that would last for all eternity. 

Parenting Styles

Tim Elmore, a parenting expert, mentioned four parenting styles:

1. Helicopter Parents: hover over kids to ensure they get every imaginable advantage.  They can be too protective over their children that they don't allow them the privilege of learning to fail and persevere.  Such parents would also likely create tensions in school where the education of their children are concerned; finding fault with everyone else except themselves.  The issue with this parenting style is the controlling spirit.  The anti-dote is to let go and learn to trust kids more with freedom and accountability.

2.  Karaoke Parents: want to sound and look like thier kids to stay cool and hip.  They perfer to be a buddy to their children rather than be an adult figure to them with the result that there are no clear boundaries that build security and esteem.  Such parents would be too soft in handling kids' discipline.  The issue with this parenting style is low emotional security, needing to be loved and liked.  The anti-dote is to embrace one's own age and station in life; allow kids to relate with their peers and work to fulfill one's responsibility as a parent. 

3. Dry Cleaner Parents: drop off for experts (school, church, sports coach) to make them right.  They don't furnish children with the mentoring and authentic personal time required in raising them up.  They are probably too busy with work or some other things.    Such parents would usually leave school to handle their kids' problems, preferring a hands off approach.  The issue with this parenting style is inadequacy; unable to handle them.  The anti-dote is to build bridges with their children by making time to be with them. 

4. Monster Parents: trying to fulfill unrealised dreams through their kids.  They can transform into a rage when cornered due to an unhealthy past with unfulfilled dreams and aspirations.  We sometimes read of parents turning into incredible Hulks and physically abusing their helpless children.   Such parents can also put a lot of stress on their children.  The issue with this parenting style is having a baggage in life.  The anti-dote is to deal with it and don't pass it on. 

We need to be engaged parents who spend time interacting with our children, setting appropriate boundaries for them and giving them the freedom to fail, and learn from it.  Our emotions must also be managed and brought under the control of the Holy Spirit.  The apostle Paul reminds us in Col 3:21
"Parents, don’t be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up."   (CEV)

"Children have never been good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."    James Baldwin