All things to become THE AMAZING version of YOU!

Each of you should go on living according to the Lord’s gift to you, and as you were when God called you. This is the rule I teach in all the churches. 1 Corinthians 7:17 (TEV)

“If you are in a job that does not match the gifts, interests and abilities God gave to you, then give serious consideration taking steps to get out of it and into the job God has called you to.”
God does not expect you to glorify Him with gifts you don’t have. But He does expect you to glorify Him with gifts you do have. 

To fulfill God’s will for you life, you need work that expresses what God made you to be. If you’re in a job that is not using the talents, gifts, abilities, and interests that God gave you, you may want to pray about whether or not you’re in a mismatched job.

This is a serious problem and it’s a spiritual issue. It is far more important than you may think it is — because God has given you your gifts, talents and abilities, and one day He’s going to say, “What did you do with them?” And do you want to say, “Well, I spent my life at a job that didn’t use them.”

Now, I know this raises some questions, you may be saying, “Rick, what if my current job doesn’t express my gifts?” As someone committed to your fulfillment in life, living for the purpose God designed you for, I urge you toward this: If you are in a job that does not match the gifts, interests and abilities God gave to you, then give serious consideration taking steps to get out of it and get into the job that God has called you to by the very nature of who you are. 

It’s a very important issue for your spiritual life: Get into what God made you to be. The first step you need to take is some self-appraisal. You need to ask yourself, “What did God make me to be? And, as the Bible says, “… Try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith that God has given to you ….” (Romans 12:3, Phillips NT) During this appraisal, you may even discover that you are in the very job God wants you to be, and you can develop a new attitude about your work.

“Each of you should go on living according to the Lord’s gift to you …” (1 Corinthians 7:17, TEV) Pray about this - Are you in a job that doesn’t match who God made you to be, or are you exactly where God wants you to be?

“If you want to know what God really wants you to do, ask him … but if you don’t ask in faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.” James 1:5-6 (LB)

“Have you ever asked God for something and didn’t expect to get it? That’s why you didn’t get it.”

The Bible says when we ask God for guidance, we need to believe he will give us that guidance.

Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9 NIV). Ask, seek, knock—ASK. God wants you to learn to ask.

God is willing to give wisdom: “If you want to know what God really wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; but … if you don’t ask in faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer” (James 1: 5-6 LB).

God wants to direct you in life, but two things need to line up:  You have to ask the right person—God, and you have to ask with the right attitude—in faith, expecting an answer.

Have you ever asked God for something and didn’t expect to get it? That’s why you didn’t get it. God works in our lives according to faith. So many times we say, “God, please guide me!” and we walk away not even waiting for guidance. We just immediately start to work. We say, “God, I want you to give me wisdom, help me make the right decision.” But we don’t really expect Him to do that. We think it all depends on us.

God has promised to give us wisdom, if we will ask. Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view. Wisdom is the ability to make decisions the way God makes decisions.

Think about this: God never makes a bad decision. He never makes a mistake. He says if we trust Him and listen to Him, He will guide us. But we must ask in faith.

Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” John 6:8-9 (NLT)

Whenever you have a need, acknowledge your faith by planting a seed. In other words, take your focus off your need and look at ways you can provide for the needs of others, planting a seed in their lives.

This isn’t easy; it goes against our nature; it’s totally illogical. If I’m out of money, I’m probably going to think, ‘I can’t give away any money?’ Or, if I’m out of time, I’m probably going to think, ‘Why should I spend more time on something else?’ Or, if I don’t have any energy in a relationship, I’m probably going to think, ‘How can I give more energy away?’

Yet, God says this is exactly what demonstrates faith: when you have a need, you plant a seed.

You can see this principle imbedded in our blood. When you give away blood, you get more blood. You don’t end up with less blood; you end up with as much blood or more than you had before.

God often works through this harvest principle, that when you have a need, you give - and what you give away, God replenishes. Faith is like a seed, so it has to be planted - deposited.

Remember the story of the little boy who had five loaves and two fish? He gives them away, and God uses it to feed 5,000 people. Jesus takes what the boy gives; He breaks it; He blesses it; and He uses it.

That’s what God does in our lives.  He takes us; He breaks us; He blesses us; and He uses us. He multiplied a little into a lot because it was planted as a seed.

Do you wonder what to eat, snack on, drink? Are you making healthy choices with your snacks, beers (YES, BEERS), protein bars, etc.?  Take a look at the special Winter Olympics edition of “Eat This, Not That”,  video from The Today Show. David Zinczenko, author of “Eat This, Not That!”, shows Today’s Al Roker healthy alternatives when you’re on the go!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35407845#35407845

What is the key to losing weight? Well, it’s fitness, nutrition but most importantly, it’s a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. To be successful in your fitness goal, you have to change your habit. Out with the old, in with the NEW. What’s that mean?!? You have to develop a sensible eating and workout habits. Did you know it takes 30 days to develop a habit? Choose healthy eating and commit to a workout routine for 30 days, then it’ll become a habit. It needs to be engrained in your daily routine that you are unconsciously making those decisions. If you find yourself hungry before your meal time, let’s say you need a snack (feeling peckish), don’t ignore your poor tummy instead, make a whole-wheat turkey sandwich and eat half of it.  You are more likely to lose body fat and have more energy if you pay attention to that nagging tummy rumbling.

Today, I am reminded to always look to God for my opportunities. Read a gentle reminder from Pastor Rick.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 2 Corinthians 9:10 (NIV)

You must decide you will look to GOD ONLY as your source of supply. You need to tell God that you’re going to look to Him alone to provide for your needs and that you won’t look anywhere else.

We get ourselves in trouble when we confuse the channel with the source. God may use your paycheck from work as the channel to supply your needs, but your employer is just the channel for God’s provision - and he can shift to another channel anytime he wants.

When you start to look to something or someone else to meet you needs, when you begin to confuse the channel with the source, there is a clear warning sign: Worry!

Say you’ve started looking to your job as the source, instead of the channel. You may start worrying, “What if I lose my job?” You know what - the channel may have closed, but the source of your every need is still active and providing for you. When God turns off one channel, He can turn on another one.

Once you know what you’re lacking, you need to give God the right to choose whatever channel He chooses to fulfill the need. It may be a channel different than you choose; in fact, God may deliberately choose a different channel in order to teach you to keep looking to him for all your needs.

I have learned - as a Christian for nearly forty years - that it’s exciting to just to let God be God. It’s exciting to watch God meet a need in a way that you never thought possible or could have never thought up on your own.

God alone is the source of your supply.