...And Then Some

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Having the right attitude is to see through the eyes of faith. Attitude, I have learned, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, more important than education, more important than money, more important than circumstances, more important than failures, more important than successes, more important than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, more important than giftedness and more important than skill.

It will make or break a company, a church. a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can change and control is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. Winston Churchill once said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

Attitude is more important than reality.  Hebrews 11:1 tells us “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 says: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

The kind of attitude that I have been writing about this week is a synonym to faith. It is not what is seen that determines our future; it is what is unseen. The reality of our circumstances may not be pleasant or conducive to our success. But the unseen attitude of our spirit is what really matters. I ran across this a few years ago, and can't remember where I got it (I say that to let you know it is not original with me), but it is so true.


The secret to success is found in three little words. Those three little words are "And  then  some." They are the difference between average people and top people in most companies. The top people always do what  is expected...and then some. They are thoughtful of others; they are considerate and kind...and then some. They meet their responsibilities fairly and squarely...and then some. They are good friends and helpful neighbors... and then some. They can be counted on in an emergency...and then  some. Their spirit of service is summed up in these three little words...and then some.  


I want to close with a statement that is not intended as a guilt trip, but rather as a challenge. If the above secret to success is true, could it be possible that we could adopt the same mantra for success in our relationship with God...do what the average Christian does...and then some! I don't want to define what and then some may be for you. I just want to explore what can I do to be success in my relationship with God....and then some!

Your Total Attention

Jesus says in Luke 13:24 (NKJV), “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able”  Strive! That’s a very powerful word. It means quite literally “to contend, to struggle, to fight, to labor fervently.” To go the extra step, the second mile, over and above what is expected, to raise the temperature one more degree! I have to admit, I don't remember the last time I struggled, labored fervently, or contended to raise my level of commitment to the Lord or His Body.

“Strive,” says Jesus, “to enter through the narrow gate, for many...will seek to enter”. Jesus indicates that they will begin, they will start, they will have great intentions, they will set out to live the Christian life, to be God’s man, to be a woman of faith, to walk with God in victory, but they “will not be able,” they will not be successful, they’ll not be victorious, they’ll not make it. I will readily admit, I don't understand completely where that all fits into the doctrine of salvation by grace, but I do believe the line between failure and success is incredibly fine.

Here is how Eugene Peterson translates this verse in The Message. “The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires your total attention.” At the risk of sounding judgmental (I don't think I am; first, I am including myself, and secondly, I have no one in particular in mind), I'm not sure I know many people that give their total attention to the way of life! If it does not have my total attention, wouldn't you agree that Jesus is challenging us to turn up the heat?

I am aware that my reformed friends may challenge me to compare Scripture with Scripture, and to weigh this verse in the light of others concerning salvation and acceptance with God by grace alone. I really do believe that doctrine! But I am feeling the challenge to discover how to to give the way to life - to God...my total attention.  And I think the word Peterson used is that it is vigorous. That usually involves some work.

What do you think?

212 Degrees

At 211 degrees, you just have really hot coffee or tea...however, at 212 degrees you can move a train from the steam that is created. Just one more degree makes all the difference.

Tiger Woods won a  major championship by just one stroke...but the difference in that stroke was over $500,000.00 in prize money from first to second place. Just one stroke makes all the difference in the world.

The average margin of victory between a gold medal and the silver medal in the Olympics 100 meter dash is less that 1 second. But that one second determines who will be remembered as an Olympic champion and who will be forgotten as an also-ran. That one second makes all the difference in the world.

The average margin of victory at the Indianapolis 500 is just over 1 second. But that 1 second makes all the difference in the world.

One degree, one stroke, one second...it is very minuscule, but it makes all the difference in the world.

Vince Lombardi, one of the most successful football coaches who ever lived (in fact, the Super Bowl trophy is named the Vince Lombardi Trophy), once said that “inches  make  a  champion.” Inches! Seemingly small things in life can make a tremendous difference.

Jesus talked about going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, blessing those who curse us. He said one time in Matthew 5:40-41 (NCV), “If someone wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. If someone forces you to go with him one mile, go with him two miles.”  Or, in other words, go above and beyond what is expected! The second mile! The extra degree! The additional step! Can you imagine if the members of one congregation in America would determine to do just a little more than the average American church member for the kingdom of God and for their local family of believers? Could we see as dramatic a difference as the above example? Could just one more degree of effort make the difference between really hot coffee and powering a steam engine locomotive?

We are going to be talking this week about turning up the heat on our level of commitment, passion, and enthusiasm in our relationship with God. One of America’s greatest  philosophers, a man by the name of Elbert Hubbard, once wrote: “The line between failure and success is so fine that we...are often on the line and do not know it. How many a man has thrown up his hands at a time when a little more effort, a little more patience, would have achieved success. A little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.” (as quoted in The Search for the North Pole (1896) by Evelyn Briggs Baldwin, p. 520).

While many would say that the concept of grace eliminates the need for effort, we will discover this week that Jesus certainly talked about the role our effort plays in the kingdom of God. So for this first post on the subject, let me just say..."let's turn up the heat!"


The video below was the sermon introduction this past week. I hope it will challenge you to turn up the heat!

As It Turned Out...

As I wrote yesterday, when you start taking first steps of faith, you open the door for good things in your life. You open the door for what what Steve May calls God-ordained coincidences. Those are the moments that initially seem to be a coincidence, but once you have the time and the perspective to look back on the events, you realize that the only way the events could have lined us was for God to be involved in it.

That’s what happened to Ruth. Ruth 2:3 says, “So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz...”  As it turned out? You can also translate this phrase as, “And so it happened,” or “As luck would have it...” The writer of Ruth used this phrase to emphasize that this is one of those coincidences that aren't really a coincidence.

When you take the first step, you also open the door to God bringing the right people into your life. It was because Ruth was willing to work in the field, a hard and dangerous task, that she met Boaz. Boaz owned the field where Ruth was gleaning. He showed up that morning, took one look at Ruth, and apparently, she became all he could think about.

Verses 5-9 state, “Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?" The foreman replied, ‘She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.'’She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.’ So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”

Then we read in verses 14-16; “At mealtime Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar.’ When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, ‘Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her.”

Boaz' actions are affectionate and even...romantic. He goes out of his way to make sure she is provided for.

There are people out there who can be a blessing in your life, but they will never find you if you are hiding at home, hiding in your insecurities, hiding in your reticent personality. Take the first step. Take the initiative. Start moving in the direction of God’s blessings. That way, seemingly insignificant encounters can take on extraordinary significance, because God is behind them.

Taking A Step Of Faith

Ruth 2:2 tells us: “Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.’” Remember, the harvest was just beginning when Ruth and Naomi arrived back in Bethlehem from Moab, so the fields would have been full of reapers cutting down the stalks of wheat and tying them together. The Old Testament law declared that poor people could follow behind the paid workers and pick up whatever bit of wheat was left behind. The term was called gleaning. It was hard work. There was no salary involved. All you got was the wheat that you could pick up that was left on the ground.

Not only was it hard work, it was unsafe work for Ruth as well. She would be working in a field surrounded by transient workers who didn’t have a high regard for a woman anyway. Ruth was very vulnerable in this situation. It was hard and risky work. But it was what Ruth could do. So she took the first step. 

Many people, when they need something from God, think it is enough to “just pray”. Prayer is the most important thing we can do, but it is not the only thing we should do. If you want to experience God’s provision, you have to take the first step.

Gleaning wasn’t a permanent solution. Harvest would end eventually. It wasn’t ideal work. But it was something she could do at the time. Gleaning wasn’t an end to she and Naomi's financial problems, but it was a step in the right direction. And just as important, it was a step she could take. Sometimes you may need to do something that isn’t a permanent solution to your problem, but it may be a first step.

When we are needing God’s provision, while it is a necessity that we take it to the Lord in prayer, we should also ask ourselves, “What can I do get the process of provision started.” Even if it is not a permanent solution to the problem, we need to ask ourselves what we can do to open the door to new possibilities.

You see, when you start taking those first steps of faith, you open the door for good things in your life. You open the door to what has been called by author Steve May, God-ordained coincidences.  These are those moments that initially seem to be a coincidence, but once you have the time and the perspective to look back on the events, you realize that the only way the events could have lined up was for God to be involved in it. However, for today, please remember, those moments often occur when you have taken the first step. When you have begun to glean in your circumstances.