Q3 2019 Refresh
I should probably start off by saying that this blog is not meant in any way to serve as a guide for increasing your productivity/efficiency in life. So take these words with a grain of salt as I share with you a lesser motivation for why this blog exists. Enjoy!
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8 The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.
Luke 16:8-9
Today marks the end of another quarter, the end of quarter 3 in the year 2019. I do not know if any of you take any time to just reflect on the past decade/year/quarter/week/day, but I have gotten into the habit of doing one every quarter. It has been a very positive experience for me since it forces me to really reflect on what it is that I have been doing in the past 3 months, what it is that has been working, and if I am moving in a direction that I is both God-honoring and personally satisfying. But before I get into the method that I take, I want to first give you some background as to why I have been doing this.
It all started when I was asked to reflect on my life. Not in a sort of existential way, but simply to reflect on who it was that I was becoming and what were the life goals I had at that specific moment in time. I knew, and still hold to the same conviction, that I wanted to continually grow in my knowledge and love of God so that I could lead well, counsel lovingly, and serve faithfully in all of the domains in my life. That meant I needed to be more disciplined. One way I can pose the question to you is like this: "If you were to repeat all of the same activities, tasks, things that you had done in the last 14 days for the next five years, what sort of person would you be?" Would you be exactly the same spiritually/mentally/physically? Or worse? Or better? Chances are if you are like the majority of people, putting the last 14 days on repeat would not cause you to grow very much, if at all. It is what is called drifting in life. Most people do not take control of their lives and simply just react every day without disciplining themselves towards any end goal, which is how I had lived for quite some time. That really disturbed me, which is why I resolved to live more purposefully.
Cutting this post short, I began to create goals and be more disciplined with my time. Over the past several years, I have continually refined my plans and goals and implementation methods to my current technique and it has yielded tremendous fruit in my life. I'd rather not share my technique, because this is not that type of blog, but what I do want to challenge you in today, as I spend it in reviewing and preparing for the next quarter, is to think about where it is that you are and where you are going (not after death, but what kind of person are you developing into). As Christians, it is true that we are not to over-prioritize the here and now over eternity, trying to live our best life now. But I think that a wrong reaction has been to fall into the other side of the ditch by minimizing this life too much. God is interested in how we live our lives on earth and we ought to strive to be the best in every discipline we are a part of. We should make it our aim to be influential in this world, without compromising on the Gospel.
Unfortunately, what I have seen too often is that many believers are simply content with living life without any goals other than to go to Heaven. And so, my purpose for this post is to encourage the saints to live intentionally. To discipline themselves and to advance in their domains, interests, and vocations, not for their own gain and glory, but for the glory of God. By the Spirit and the eternal wisdom of God, we have each been uniquely gifted and it would be an utter shame for us to go before the Lord on that day and say that we had neglected to fulfill our ministries because we were too fearful of making our talents an idol. As the parable in Luke 16 teaches us, we must live in this world wisely and be dedicated to using the worldly goods we have been blessed with to advance His kingdom. The sad truth is that many Christians are very, very poor at this and it is too our shame that unbelievers are so much better. We recognize that earthly treasures and skills and knowledge are temporary, but it does not mean that we cannot redeem them. So, I encourage you, as I will be doing, to take some time to reflect on this past quarter and where it is leading you. What kind of man or woman, will you end up becoming in the next 5 years? Are you actually on a path towards that desired end state? It is not too late to right the ship. Develop yourself and make goals, not just to have goals or just to be a better person, but so that you can redeem your time, your gifts, and your life to advance His kingdom.
Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez
It all started when I was asked to reflect on my life. Not in a sort of existential way, but simply to reflect on who it was that I was becoming and what were the life goals I had at that specific moment in time. I knew, and still hold to the same conviction, that I wanted to continually grow in my knowledge and love of God so that I could lead well, counsel lovingly, and serve faithfully in all of the domains in my life. That meant I needed to be more disciplined. One way I can pose the question to you is like this: "If you were to repeat all of the same activities, tasks, things that you had done in the last 14 days for the next five years, what sort of person would you be?" Would you be exactly the same spiritually/mentally/physically? Or worse? Or better? Chances are if you are like the majority of people, putting the last 14 days on repeat would not cause you to grow very much, if at all. It is what is called drifting in life. Most people do not take control of their lives and simply just react every day without disciplining themselves towards any end goal, which is how I had lived for quite some time. That really disturbed me, which is why I resolved to live more purposefully.
Cutting this post short, I began to create goals and be more disciplined with my time. Over the past several years, I have continually refined my plans and goals and implementation methods to my current technique and it has yielded tremendous fruit in my life. I'd rather not share my technique, because this is not that type of blog, but what I do want to challenge you in today, as I spend it in reviewing and preparing for the next quarter, is to think about where it is that you are and where you are going (not after death, but what kind of person are you developing into). As Christians, it is true that we are not to over-prioritize the here and now over eternity, trying to live our best life now. But I think that a wrong reaction has been to fall into the other side of the ditch by minimizing this life too much. God is interested in how we live our lives on earth and we ought to strive to be the best in every discipline we are a part of. We should make it our aim to be influential in this world, without compromising on the Gospel.
Unfortunately, what I have seen too often is that many believers are simply content with living life without any goals other than to go to Heaven. And so, my purpose for this post is to encourage the saints to live intentionally. To discipline themselves and to advance in their domains, interests, and vocations, not for their own gain and glory, but for the glory of God. By the Spirit and the eternal wisdom of God, we have each been uniquely gifted and it would be an utter shame for us to go before the Lord on that day and say that we had neglected to fulfill our ministries because we were too fearful of making our talents an idol. As the parable in Luke 16 teaches us, we must live in this world wisely and be dedicated to using the worldly goods we have been blessed with to advance His kingdom. The sad truth is that many Christians are very, very poor at this and it is too our shame that unbelievers are so much better. We recognize that earthly treasures and skills and knowledge are temporary, but it does not mean that we cannot redeem them. So, I encourage you, as I will be doing, to take some time to reflect on this past quarter and where it is leading you. What kind of man or woman, will you end up becoming in the next 5 years? Are you actually on a path towards that desired end state? It is not too late to right the ship. Develop yourself and make goals, not just to have goals or just to be a better person, but so that you can redeem your time, your gifts, and your life to advance His kingdom.
Grace and Peace,
Alex Galvez
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These articles usually follow the current Bible Reading plan for Overflow Ministries. If you would like to join the reading plan, simply download the plan here: Overflow Reading Plan
You may follow Overflow Ministries @ https://faithlife.com/overflowtx/activity
or on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/OverflowChurchTX/
These articles usually follow the current Bible Reading plan for Overflow Ministries. If you would like to join the reading plan, simply download the plan here: Overflow Reading Plan
You may follow Overflow Ministries @ https://faithlife.com/overflowtx/activity
or on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/OverflowChurchTX/
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