"I’ve always asked God to surround me with people who inspire me to walk more deeply in my pursuit of Him. In this, He has truly been faithful. I can’t say enough about the influence (positive or negative) people have on us. We usually become who we hang out with. Dan and Jimmy get this. WisdomWalks is a read you should check out.
TobyMac Grammy Award recording artist
Buddy Jesus
Written by Jimmy & Dan
Wednesday, 16 May 2012 12:13
Buddy Jesus Fearing God brings wisdom.
“Fear only two: God and the man who has no fear of God.” - Hasidic Proverb
Friend God or Fear God? As an eight year old, I thought God was going to zap me if I did something wrong. Yes, I had a large dose of the fear of God that kept me on the straight and narrow. Growing up in a strong Bible-believing church and home, I received the “fear-of-God teaching” early and often. However, when I got to college, I discovered that many of my Christian friends had absolutely no fear of God and saw God as their B.F.F. (Best Friend Forever). Jesus was just one of their buddies whom they could hang with. Actually, when they talked about Jesus, I thought they were referring to their roommate or classmate, not their Lord and Savior. There seems to be no fear of God in their faith.
No Fear? I understand the concept of Buddy Jesus: seeing Jesus as a friend. As followers of Christ, we should have a loving, consuming, passionate relationship with Christ. However, when we start calling Jesus our buddy, He is not being honored and respected.
“The Bible characters fell on their strengths, never on their weaknesses!”
- Oswald Chambers
Do you convert weaknesses into strengths? As leaders, we are constantly trying to get better by turning weaknesses into strengths, so that we can be the best we can be. Part of becoming a better leader means minimizing or improving weaknesses. NBA great, Michael Jordan, said, “My attitude is that if you push me toward something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.”
However, on the flip side, no one would ever think of turning his or her strengths into weaknesses. But beware, strong one. Your strengths can quickly become weaknesses without any warning, if you are not careful.
Our strengths might be the problem! Your greatest strength can become your greatest weakness. Said in another way, if you take a personal strength to the extreme, it can become a weakness. Often times you can’t see it, and tragically it becomes a blind spot. For example, my greatest strength is passion; however, when I have too much passion, I become overbearing. I can believe so much in where we need to go and what we need to do, that I crowd out the opinions of others. With my extreme passion, I don’t value others’ input and wisdom. When our strengths are out of balance or used in excess, they have a negative effect. It is troubling to think that the very thing that you are good at or the very gift that God has blessed you with can become a weakness.
“Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” – Peter Drucker
Olympians are extreme competitors. I can’t wait for the opening ceremonies this summer, because there is just something incredible about the Olympic spirit—that internal quest for greatness. The best of the best push their bodies, minds and souls to the limits, just to see what’s possible.
I’m challenged by their mental toughness and their internal voice that says, “I will never back down, give in or give up!” Excuses are unacceptable.
The greatest athletes in the world demonstrate the ultimate competitive mindset, focus and discipline as they take the center stage. They have sacrificed, pushed and suffered in the pursuit. Olympians take it to another level. When I watch the competition and hear the stories of how these athletes train, the adversity they have overcome and the obstacles they have cleared, all I want to do is train. They stretch what I believe is possible. It’s like a fire is ignited in my spirit to pursue excellence and to find that edge of what I am capable of doing.
The Bible teaches extreme living. Personal surrender, radical obedience, disciplined thinking, extreme serving, costly generosity, unconditional loving and supernatural courage are just a few of the extreme principles. Jesus was so extreme that thousands left him. His power was so extreme that dead men came back to life. His prayer life so extreme that he sweated blood agonizing over our sin.
“Few things are more infectious than a godly lifestyle. The people you rub shoulders with everyday need that kind of challenge. Not prudish. Not preachy. Just cracker jack clean living. Just honest to goodness, bone-deep, non-hypocritical integrity.” –Charles Swindoll
The God Squad In 1992, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes decided to form a lacrosse team to compete in the largest summer lacrosse tournament called the Vail Shootout. Being a part of that team, I was amazed to see how God used a last-second, thrown-together team to make a huge impact on the lacrosse community.
The lacrosse culture at that time was not open to a strong Christian influence. As a result of our tournament appearance, we were nicknamed the God Squad. God granted us success that summer, and we advanced to the championship game by knocking off three powerful teams. Even though we lost a close game in the Championship, we realized God used that ragtag team to begin a great work in the lacrosse world that summer that is still felt today—20 years later!
The team that doesn’t? During the tournament, it was interesting to hear the chatter about our team. It was mostly centered on the things we didnot do as a team: Those guys don’t drink. They don’t party. They don’t curse. They don’t … don’t … don’t. Yes, we were going against the grain, and it was noticeable. It is important to make a stand, but I wish they knew what we were FOR and not just what we were AGAINST. I wish we were known for what we DID and not just what we DIDN’T DO.
