Discovering Your Potential And Living It (Part 3)

Adventure is an attitude that we must apply to the day to day obstacles of life - facing new challenges, seizing new opportunities, testing our resources against the unknown and in the process, discovering our own unique potential. John Amatt No one fulfils his purpose, develops his potential, or consistently help others without goals. Your goals determine your priorities – and your priorities determine whether you’ll reach your goals. John Maxwell Nothing is more effective when it comes to reaching potential than commitment to personal growth. John Maxwell Continuous effort -- not strength or intelligence -- is the key to unlocking our potential. Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British prime minister during WWII I’d rather reach 90 percent of my potential with plenty of mistakes than reach only 10 percent with a perfect score. John Maxwell To keep moving to a higher level and reach your potential, you… have to be willing to… trade security for significance. John Maxwell We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential. Ellen Goodman 

Discovering Your Potential And Living It (Part 2)

HOW CAN YOU LIVE IT? - By setting life and project goals - By drawing a roadmap for set goals - By holding yourself accountable for living out your potential - By adopting a steward’s posture toward your potential, knowing full well that you will have to give account to God, the Depositor (remember the parable of the talents) - By making the most of time and opportunities, and wasting none - By giving of yourself whenever occasion demands

NOTABLE QUOTES ON POTENTIALS

Success is…knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others. John Maxwell The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. Eddie Robinson The potential for greatness lives within each of us. The key to achieving greatness is found when we discover and then develop our dream. John Maxwell The potential consequences of any task or activity are the key determinants of how important it really is to you and to your company. Brian Tracy A dream without a positive attitude produces a daydreamer. A positive attitude without a dream produces a pleasant person who can’t progress. A dream together with a positive attitude produces a person with unlimited possibilities and potential. John Maxwell Adventure isn't hanging on a rope off the side of a mountain.

HOW TO MAXIMISE YOUR POTENTIALS (PART 1)

WHAT IS POTENTIAL?

Dictionary Definitions:

Capacity to develop: the capacity or ability for future development or achievement. – Microsoft® Encarta® Dictionary

Natural abilities or qualities that may possibly develop and make someone or something very successful or useful. – Longman Dictionary

The inherent capacity for coming into being. – WordWeb Dictionary

A Personal Definition:

Potentials are the gifts, the talents, the endowments, the riches, the resources as well as the blessings inherent in a human that are yet to be expressed in his/her actions, interactions and works. Once these find expression, they cease to be called potential and then become skills and abilities.

HOW CAN YOU DISCOVER YOUR POTENTIAL?

¡ By self-examination and reflection

¡ By self-expression in various activities

¡ By being adventurous, and learning from trials and errors

¡ At formal trainings such as workshops, seminars, conferences etc

¡ Through informal interactions with families, friends, colleagues etc

¡ Through divine revelation

¡ By chance and unpremeditated happenings

¡ During a coaching session

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (PART 6)

Monday, February 11, 2008

NUMBERS 27 Vs 1-4: The bravery of the DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD; they did not keep to themselves, mourn their lot, nor resort to murmuring and castigating the injustice of God and men in silence. On the contrary, they took their case, on the inheritance of their father, to Moses and the whole congregation of Israel and presented their case dispassionately. Vs 1-5: A lesson in LEADERSHIP: Moses did not make out to have the answer to the question of the daughters of Zelophehad. He simply took the matter to God to know what He had to say about it. This is a show of humility, it requires humility on the part of a leader not to try and show/prove to his people that he has all the answers to their questions at his fingertips. Vs 6-11: What came out of Moses’ session with God was the LAW OF INHERITANCE, a body of regulations which state who can inherit someone’s inheritance after his death. Vs 12-14: God’s grouse against Moses, that prevented him from getting to the Promised Land, was that he allowed the strife of the congregation to get to him and so rebelled against the command of God by not hallowing Him in the eyes of the people. Vs 15-20: THE HEART OF A LEADER: Moses knowing his time had come to die asked God to give the people someone else who would lead them to the Promised Land, and not leave them without a shepherd. Note that Joshua had been Moses’ PA for some time, but that did not make him the automatic choice for the leadership position until God Himself chose him. Vs 18-23:

The INAUGURATION OF JOSHUA as the successor of Moses. Vs 18: Joshua was one of the few individuals in the Old Testament who had the HOLY SPIRIT Vs 20: it was not all the AUTHORITY OF MOSES that was passed on to Joshua at the time of his inauguration. The Bible records that it was some of Moses’ authority that was transferred to him. Vs 20: AUTHORITY is needed for a leader to command the obedience of his people. Joshua was conferred with it in order for him to command the respect of the people of Israel. 

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (PART 5)

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

NUMBERS 28 Vs 1-2:

God is particular about OFFERINGS due to Him being offered at their APPOINTED TIME, and not at the convenience of the person. Now offerings to God may not necessarily be money. Vs 16: THE PASSOVER is on the 14th day in the first month of the Jewish calendar. Vs 17: The FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD starts the following day, that is the 15th day, and it is a seven-day affair. Vs 3, 9, 11, 19, 31: God is also very particular that WHATEVER is offered to Him is WITHOUT BLEMISH. In fact, this is one phrase that is recurrent whenever a reference is made to an item to be offered as an offering to God. The story of Cain and Abel was a classical reference to lend credence to God’s disposition where offering is concerned. 

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (Part 4)

A MAN is bound by his VOWS. In other words, the word of a man is his bond. 3-5: A WOMAN’s VOW, on the other hand, is subject to the ratification of her father (if she is not married) or that of her husband (if she is married) for it to be valid in the eyes of God. 6: God recognises that women are more prone to spontaneous EMOTIONAL REACTION in the heat of the moment than men, and this could lead to them making rash utterances, hence His provision for a review of the vow of a woman by her father or her husband for it to be valid. Unfortunately, men do not have this privilege, and therefore must be very very cautious in making a vow before God if they do not have the will to fulfil it. (Compare Ecclesiastes 5:1-6) 9: A WIDOW or a DIVORCED WOMAN is bound by her vows because she does not have the covering of a man to ratify it. 10: However, if the WIDOW’s or a DIVORCED WOMAN’s VOW was nullified while she had a husband, then it is no longer binding on her. 14-15: By DELAYING TO NULLIFY HIS WIFE’s VOW immediately if he does not agree with it, only to do so a day after or much later, a man will end up bearing the guilt and the consequences of the woman’s failing, and she will be absolved of all blame. 

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (PART 3)

MOSES’ LAST ASSIGNMENT was mobilising of the army of Israel to go to war against the Midianites, to take VENGEANCE FOR God for using feminine seduction to draw the hearts of His people away and thereby positioning them against Him. 12-18: Dealing with the outward manifestation of a SIN will not be as effective as dealing with the real cause or SOURCE OF THE SIN. Moses was angry with the army of Israel because they spared the women of Midian, who were the ones that lured them into sin against God in the first place. They had to be killed in order to forestall a re-occurrence. 19-20: SELF PURIFICATION for the army of Israel after the war, a 7-day exercise. 21-23: PURIFICATION OF OBJECTS: Only the items which can endure fire, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead shall be put through fire for purification. The ones that cannot should be put through the water. 25-31-47: Another of GOD’S RECOMMENDATION FOR SHARING: He commanded that the booty gained from the war with the Midianites be divided into two and that the army who went to war took one half while the whole congregation of Israel shared the remaining half. Then to cater for the Levites who did not fall into any of these two categories, God instructed that one out of every 500 of the army’s booty be given to the High Priest as a heave offering to the LORD, while one out of every 50 of the booty accruing to the congregation be given to the Levites as their own portion. Isn’t the LORD simply wonderful and so thoughtful? 48-54: The APPRECIATIVE HEARTS of the LEADERS of the arm of Israel; without being prompted, they came on their own to offer a thanksgiving offering to God after conducting a head count and discovering that NONE of the soldiers whom they took to war died in the battle.

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE (Part 2)

WHAT TO DO WITH THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND of Canaan; they were to be dispossessed and driven out of the land, and their engraved stones, moulded images and high places destroyed. 54: God instructed a DIVISION of the land BY LOT as an inheritance among the families, and then a PROPORTIONATE ALLOTMENT of the land to each family according to their sizes. 55: The consequences of NOT ELIMINATING ALL THE INHABITANTS of the land/territory one is to take over. The remnants will eventually constitute irritants in one’s eyes, thorns in the flesh and a source of harassment to the person. This is also applicable to one’s habits after being born again. Those habits/indulgences that one did not get rid of will constantly be the Achilles’ heels that the devil will use to get one to fall. 

Wednesday, February 20, 2008 NUMBERS 32 1-3: SELF DETERMINATION is very essential for the expression of self and fulfilment in life. The children of Reuben and Gad saw what they wanted – a good pasture for their large livestock – in the land of Jazer and Gilead, and they went to Moses to seek his permission to allow them settle there, as there was no point for them to go further with the congregation across the Jordan when they had already seen all they needed for sustenance before the Jordan. 9: DISCOURAGEMENT, either external or internal, can prevent one from making the necessary move to take possession of what God has given one. 11: NOT FOLLOWING GOD WHOLLY, that is with unflinching dedication, can also prevent one from ATTAINING THE PROMISE. It halted a whole generation of Israel from attaining what had been given to them by Divine Promise many years before they were even born. 15: TURNING AWAY FROM God can lead to Him abandoning one in the wilderness (the vicissitudes of life), and this might lead to the destruction of the person. 6-33: There is a PRICE TO PAY FOR GETTING WHAT YOU WANT. In the case of the children of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh, it was patiently enduring the castigation of Moses and resolving to go with the army of Israel across the Jordan to fight the battle that would make them the sole occupants of Canaan. 39: For there to a POSSESSION, there must first e a DISPOSSESSION. The children of Machir had to fight and dispossess the Amorites before they could possess their land.

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (Part 1)

THE STARTING POINT for the children of Israel on their way out of Egypt to the Promised Land. 3b-4: What a contrast of fate! As the Israelites were marching out of Egypt, their land of bondage, with boldness, the Egyptians were all downcast and in great mourning burying their dead firstborns! Only God can wreak such CONTRAST OF FATE when a former downtrodden slave can saunter confidently while his hitherto haughty master looks on morosely. 38: AARON died at 123 on mount Hor on the first day of the fifth month (Jewish calendar) in the 40th year of the journey of the Israelites. 50-53: God’s charge to the people of Israel on

EXAMPLES OF PEOPLE WHO MADE NEGATIVE CHOICES IN THE BIBLE AND THE CONSEQUENCES

Eve chose to listen to the reasoning of the serpent against the instruction of God Adam also listened to the lures of his wife. CONSEQUENCE: They both ended up being banished from the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3) The wife of Lot looked back in spite the angels’ instruction not to do so. CONSEQUENCE: She became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19) Isaac stayed in Gerar in obedience to God, in spite of the great famine there CONSEQUENCE: He prospered beyond all human reasoning. (Gen 26:1-14) Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of porridge. CONSEQUENCE: He lost his father’s blessings as a result. (Genesis 25:29-34) The ten spies chose to see the negative things in the Promised Land and therefore brought an evil report about the place to the Israelites. CONSEQUENCE: They never got there. (Numbers 13 & 14) King Saul chose to go against the counsel of God by sparing the life of Agag, the king of the Amalek, and bringing home the best of the land. CONSEQUENCE: God rejected him as king over Israel. (1 Samuel 15:1-28) David chose to stay home at a time when kings go out to fight wars, and got involved with Bathsheba, impregnated her, and killed her husband to save face. CONSEQUENCE: He brought curse and blood upon his own household as a result. (2 Samuel 11-12:14) Solomon married heathen women who influenced and led him astray from God CONSEQUENCE: God tore the kingdom of Israel from him and gave it to his servant. (1 Kings 11:1-11) Rehoboam chose to listen to the advice of youths on governance over the ones given him by the elders. CONSEQUENCE: The kingdom of Israel was divided into two during his days, with only two tribes left for him to rule. (1 Kings 12:1-19) This prophet of Judah disobeyed the prior instruction of God not to stay in the land. CONSEQUENCE: A lion killed him on his way. (1 Kings 13:1-24) Lesson: You alone, and no one else, are responsible for whatever instruction God gave you. Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, went to Namaan to collect some money without his master’s knowledge. CONSEQUENCE: He inherited Namaan’s leprosy as well. (2 Kings 5) Queen Vashti chose to disregard her husband’s invitation to come and show herself to the nobles CONSEQUENCE: She lost the queenship of the kingdom of Persia to Esther. (Esther 1) Hamaan chose to be bitter about Mordecai’s perceived insolence to him, and earnestly sought to take his life and wipe out his people, the Jews, as well. CONSEQUENCE: He ended up being hung on the gallows he prepared for Mordecai. (Esther 5 & 6) Judas, after betraying Jesus, chose regret over repentance. CONSEQUENCE: He went to hang himself. (Matthew 27:3-5) Ananias and Sapphira connived to lie to the church. CONSEQUENCE: They paid for it with their lives. (Acts 5)