Be Passionate About It (2)

'As an eagle stirs up its nest...so the Lord...led him...' Deuteronomy 32:11-12 NKJV

A mother eagle knows that if she waits for her young to get out of the nest and fly on their own initiative, it'll never happen. So she pushes them out! That's radical, but they learn to fly and fulfil their destiny.

John Maxwell says: 'To succeed in life we must stay within our strength zone, but continually move outside our comfort zone. Have you ever accomplished anything of significance while you were in your comfort zone?' ...the answer is 'no', isn't it? 

We don't like moving outside our comfort zone.
We resist it.
We like to feel safe and secure.
We don't want to look foolish or fall flat on our faces.

And as we get older we tend naturally to become more and more complacent. That's a problem, because complacency kills passion. It reduces us to average. It clips our wings and keeps us from soaring, no matter how much we want to. It takes initiative to succeed at anything in life. 

It requires us to take risks. 
Playwright George Bernard Shaw asserted, 'I'm sick of all the reasonable people: they see all the reasons for doing nothing.'

Passion...

prompts us to leave our comfort zone and cross the threshold of our doubt. It pushes us out the door, so that we can get going on the journey in life that God designed for us. It's said that when you get to the door of opportunity you're not supposed to knock - you're supposed to push!' 

So step out in faith, take the initiative, and believe that God is with you (Deuteronomy 31:6).


Soul Food: 2 Thes 1-3, Matt 4:1-11, Ps 90:7-17, Pr 1:5-9

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Friday, 3 January 2014

APPS available here

Be Passionate About It (3)

'Press toward the goal for the prize...' Philippians 3:14 NKJV

Albert Schweitzer said,

'Success is not the key to happiness, happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.' When you feel passionate about something and allow yourself to pursue it, you position yourself to succeed in life.

The majority of people in the world don't follow their passion; 
as a result, they're frustrated and unhappy. And you can see it in how they live their lives. 

Publisher Malcolm Forbes said,

'The biggest mistake people make in life is not trying to make a living at doing what they most enjoy.' As a result, they simply endure their working lives instead of making the most of them. They live for the weekends. They try to hang on until retirement.

That's a shame, because your chance of success is directly proportional to the degree of pleasure you derive from what you do.

Tommy Lasorda, manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, said, 

'The best day of my life is when I manage in a winning game. And the second best day of my life is when I manage in a losing game.' 

In other words, every day he was involved in the game was a day he was living his dream. Are you?

Dreams come true when gifts are set on fire with passion.

The best career advice you will ever receive is to discover your God-given passion and follow it.

Logan Pearsall Smith said, 'There are two things to aim at in life; first, to get what you want; and after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.' So 'press toward the goal for the prize.'

Soul Food: Lev 1-4, Matt 4:12-25, Ps 10:1-11, Pr 1:10-16

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Saturday, 4 January 2014

APPS available here

Develop a Passion for Your Work

'...he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.' Colossians 3:25 NKJV

John Ortberg writes: 

'My friend Andy Chan headed up the placement office for Stanford School of Business, helping graduates find work. He says that some day he wants to write a book called The Myth of Passion. This is the myth that somewhere out there is the perfect job, the idealised calling that fits my soul the way a key fits into a lock. And if I could just find that job, torrents of passion would cascade out of my heart like water going over Niagara Falls.'

We have this romanticised idea that we will find 'job-love at first sight.' 

But what if you are in a job that doesn't excite you? 

Ortberg writes: 

"Passion for our work is not usually a subterranean volcano waiting to erupt...It is a muscle that gets strengthened a little each day as we show up - as we do what is expected of us, and then some.'

Paul wrote:

 '...obey... not... as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality' (Colossians 3:22-25 NKJV). 

Maybe it would help to put a sign up on your desk: 

'For God's sake - do your best!'

Why? 

For two reasons: 

(1) Because you represent Christ in the workplace.  

(2) When you are faithful in small things, He will promote you to greater things (Matthew 25:21).

Soul Food: Rev 10-14, Matt 19:1-12, Ps 136:1-12, Pro 6:30-31

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Friday, 7 March 2014

APPS available here

Be Passionate about It (1)

'...I am doing a great work...' Nehemiah 6:3 NKJV

Nehemiah was passionate about rebuilding Jerusalem's walls. 
So when his enemies tried to sidetrack and discourage him, he answered, '...I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down...'

Passion is the starting point for all achievement.
There has never been anyone who achieved anything of value, who wasn't passionate about it. It's the energy that fuels your dream.

The road to success is cluttered with detours, problems and disappointments. 
And if you don't have the right mindset, your dreams can die there.

Indeed, there are days when the needle on your passion meter will be on empty. On those days you need to remember that God gave you your dream to begin with; go back to Him and ask for the strength to keep moving toward it.  

The Psalmist wrote, 'For You will light my lamp; the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. For by You I can run against a troop, by my God I can leap over a wall' (Psalm 18:28-29 NKJV).

Who gives you the power to run and leap? God! 

But you can't sit back, fold your arms and think that He will do it all for you. Between your dream's inspiration and its manifestation, there's going to be a lot of perspiration. As every new parent finds out - it's much harder having and raising a baby than conceiving one.  

But if you have the passion for your dream, the price tag won't stop you. You'll get up every morning, draw on God's grace and take one more step in the direction of the thing you know God put you on this earth to do.

Soul Food: 1 Thes 1-5, Matt 3:13-17, Ps 90:1-6, Pr 1:1-4

Written by Bob & Debby Gass
Thursday, 2 January 2014

APPS available here