On Time and On Purpose
I want to remind you of your true identity. Galatians 4:4 (NKJV) says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,” Now listen to what that means for you. (more…)
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In All My Years
I recently had a conversation with my seven-year-old grandson, Max. He was telling me about putting together a gift I had just given him for Christmas. He said to me, “In all my years I never had one of these.” (more…)
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An Accurate Picture Of Serving
I’m Dr. Bob and for just a Mentoring Minute, I want to challenge you with a simple, accurate picture of service to the Lord. Here it is. Serving God is an uncompromising, highly principled, often costly commitment to value and care for others. It is sacrificial in its foundations and character. It leaves no room for avoidance or an exit strategy. You just serve without regard to relief or rewards. Serving carries your personal decision for sacrificial action. Acts, Chapter 9, records that Saul of Tarsus has a life-changing encounter with Christ. In Verses 3-6 (NKJV) it says, “As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. {4} Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” {5} And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” {6} So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Regardless of what life brings, service in obedience to God refuses to devalue its commitment to Him. This requires your refusal to devalue the Lord’s call to serve the people He gives you to serve. Servanthood is a reflection of the heart of God. Christ came to serve those He loves (which is the whole world), in spite of the reality that we do not deserve His sacrificial service. Serving others is the platform upon which God’s abundant blessings stand. These blessings are designed to be part of our service to each other and those less fortunate than we are. God’s blessings will multiply themselves in the midst of your commitment to serve. Be true to it and expect your greatest blessings will be your opportunities to serve. One more thing; the test of God’s servant is found in how he or she reacts when treated like one. I’m Dr. Bob and that is a look at a biblical principle that is truth and will set you free. You can listen to additional Mentoring Minutes at www.mentoringministry.com/blogs.
An Accurate Picture of Serving
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The Drive to Win
I’m Dr. Bob and for just a Mentoring Minute, I want to ask, How strongly are you are motivated to claim the fullness of your destiny? I am talking about every bit of it. You are, after all, a winner and champion for Jesus. You have a championship destiny. Is your drive to win stronger than your fear of losing what you have? In other words, are you aggressively chasing your destiny… or simply trying to protect the comfort zone in which you presently live. What is driving you today? Is it security and comfort, or the desire to fulfill the will of God as you discover His best? I love Caleb’s attitude. In Joshua 14:12 (NKJV), he said, “Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.” My advice is not to let fear or timidity deny you your mountain. With God, all things are possible, including the fullness of your destiny, with all its fruitfulness, satisfaction and joy. Go ahead. Get your mountain. I’m Dr. Bob. That’s a Mentoring Minute you need to own for yourself. You can listen to additional Mentoring Minutes at www.mentoringministry.com/blogs.
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When We Get Hurt
I’m Dr. Bob and for just a Mentoring Minute, I want to speak to you about when we get hurt, disappointed, or frustrated. Many times when this happens, we try to lower our expectations to fit our experiences. This is because we fail to understand the potential within the problem. It all depends on how you look at it. You can take the negative point of view, or, if you truly believe in God, you can see what looks like a problem as a waiting opportunity. Think of yourself as an answer to someone’s question and a solution to someone’s problem. Think of how you can turn your problem into someone else’s possibilities for great blessings. Well, I just shared a secret for success with you. God called you and created you to be the catalyst for someone else’s success and perhaps even their salvation. Never loose sight of the truth that in Christ, “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” That’s Romans 8:28 (NKJV). Oh, one more thing, the Apostle Paul said it best when he wrote, in Philippians 4:13 (NKJV), “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Oh yes you can! I’m Dr. Bob. Take hold of God’s Word as you take a positive approach to your opportunities… and even those that have looked like such negatives. You can listen to additional Mentoring Minutes at www.mentoringministry.com/blogs.
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Choices are the Hinges of Your Destiny
I’m Dr. Bob and for just a Mentoring Minute, I want to share some thoughts I have regarding something my pastor, Dr. Tom Peters recently said. Listen carefully. He said, “Choices are the hinges of your destiny.” When I heard this, the Holy Spirit immediately spoke to me. He burned the words that Dr. Peters spoke deeply into my heart. It was clear, and it was powerful. Think about it. The choices you make will be the hinges of your destiny. Let this truth speak to you. Let it encourage you. God has an amazing future for you that is full of amazing blessings. Like many of God’s blessings, those you can receive may be conditional. There is likely to be a big “IF” attached to them. “IF” you will make right choices, chief among which, in my opinion is to do as Jesus said in Luke 9:23 – to choose to deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow Him. When you do, amazing things beyond what you could hope for or dream of will chase you down and bless you. I assure you, these amazing things hinge on the choices you make. Now, don’t try to argue with this powerful truth. You can argue about many things, but there are two with which you can never argue. First, never argue with a man’s experience and second, never argue with the Word of God. I’m Dr. Bob. What I just shared comes from both what I have personally experienced and from what God declared in His Word. So… make the right choice. Be an uncompromising, determined Luke 9:23 Christian. You can listen to my previous Mentoring Minutes at www.mentoringministry.com/blogs.
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Your Story Makes You Dangerous
I’m Dr. Bob and for just a Mentoring Minute, I want to assure you that, like every child of God, you have a story that makes you dangerous to the devil. Your story is your unique testimony. It has the potential within it to cancel Satan’s destructive plans. Your story carries within it the seeds of encouragement and faith. In spite of what you may have gone through, or perhaps are going through now, you have a story that will encourage someone just when that person needs to hear it. Psalms 126:3 (NKJV) says, “The LORD has done great things for us, And we are glad.” If you rightly discern the Lord, that will be your testimony. Here’s the truth. The devil hates when you see beyond your own trouble and let your story tell of the faithfulness of God. Your story is that the Lord is there with you through all you experience, regardless of whether it is good or bad. What you need to do is open your mouth and tell someone about what the Lord has done. Then prophesy over your story. Tell someone about what He is going to do. I have found that when I tell someone about the faithfulness of Jesus in my life, and testify by faith of His continuing faithfulness in my future, it encourages me at least as much as it does them. I’m Dr. Bob and that’s a Mentoring Minute worth hearing. You can listen to previous Mentoring Minutes at www.mentoringministry.com/blogs.
Your Story Makes You Dangerous
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Go Where Anything is Possible
I’m Dr. Bob and for just a Mentoring Minute, I want to ask if you are headed in the right direction? Or, are you going where only disappointment and discouragement await you, perhaps even failure? When you look ahead, do you see yourself headed for mediocrity and fruitlessness? Well, why don’t you pick a new direction and walk into your destiny. Go where anything is possible. Go where God says you can go and do what He says you can do. When you make possibilities your destination, you can be sure that you can get there, because with God, all things are possible, and nothing is impossible. In today’s world, that is better assurance than a bucket of gold or a stack of silver. In fact, trusting God for His wisdom for the journey is invaluable because it is like “apples of gold in settings of silver.” The difference-maker is that it is God’s gold and His silver. It never tarnishes or devalues because it is divinely sourced and full of His wisdom. It is timeless and without price. I’m Dr. Bob. Listen to my pervious Mentoring Minutes at www.mentoringministry.com and I know they will bless you.
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Swim like a Salmon
I’m Dr. Bob and for just a Mentoring Minute I want to share some thoughts on the determination of salmon as it strives to reach its spawning ground. The salmon has enjoyed the freedom of the ocean. Now must fight the strong currents riding over the rocks. This presents it with life’s great challenge. It must fight upstream to reach its destiny and then reproduce itself. Have you seen video of the bears wading in the water, with salmon jumping all around them? Many of these salmon will become breakfast for the bears. Within the salmon’s danger-filled journey, there is a picture of a principle we all need to understand and highly value: If you are to reproduce what God has made you to be, you must determine to strive to finish, regardless of the difficulties, risks and effort it entails. Acts 20:24 NKJV says, “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” My friends, destiny awaits those who make the effort and accept the challenges. I strongly suggest you keep your heart turned toward your destiny. Do not quit. Focus on your purpose, not the bears or rocks of life. When it seems to be beyond your reach, just keep going. Just do it. You will make it. I’m Dr. Bob and that’s my Mentoring Minute. You can listen to previous Mentoring Minutes at: www.mentoringminutes/blog/.
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Love is Grace Released
I’m Dr. Bob and for just a Mentoring Minute, I want to point out to you that it is easy to recognize genuine love. A great deal of the trouble in our lives comes from failing to recognize and understand the life-changing, life-saving value of love. This value is clear to see in love’s simplest, focused definition, which is that “love is grace released.” I want to assure you that if you think you love or are loved, but the love is defined by feelings alone, or driven by selfish motivations, it is not love. It cannot meet the definition. It is just a counterfeit that will disappoint, damage and possibly even destroy you or someone else involved with it. To decide whether love is real, ask if, when released, it becomes the delivery vehicle of God’s grace. When you demonstrate unselfish love toward others, your actions release a divinely designed dose of God’s grace into their lives. Most of the time, this release of His grace depends on your willingness to provide it, even knowing it might cost you. If you hold love back, or selfishly substitute something you deliberately disguise as love, someone will miss the grace. However, as you release a demonstration of real Christian love, God’s grace lands squarely on the need it has been designed by heaven to fill… only because you cared enough to love enough. I’m Dr. Bob and that’s a Mentoring Minute. You can listen to previous Mentoring Minutes at http://www.mentoringministry.com/blog/.
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