blog

​The key component of the word decision is “-cision”.

Cutting.

It means leaving something behind. Slicing off options.

It’s a bet on yourself and takes courage.

My suggestion?

Get comfortable with your sword and trust your gut. The best way to build confidence is to do some stuff.

​Pray. Then push if you get the okay from Heaven.

Often a “yes” is an absence of “no”. Sometimes God speaks through His silence on a matter. If He doesnt say no take it as a yes until otherwise directed.

You have the mind of Christ, so why doubt yourself before taking action on an idea?

Go with what’s real and pulsates in your inner man.

Make it a habit to trust yourself, also trusting that God is big enough to pull back the reins if you get off course.

For big decisions, seek counsel.

​“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14 KJV)

But choose your counsellors carefully. Not your social media feed.

Surround yourself with people who care enough to be real.

Take bold steps.

Jesus is on your side.

Selah.

To ask if God is real is like asking if I have a nose on my face.

It is self-evident.

I don’t “believe” in my nose. I know my nose.

It’s right there in front of my face!

In the same way, all of creation screams, “GOD EXISTS!”

Every cell, from the simplest (none are simple!) to the grandest design, speaks of His handiwork.

​“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.” (Romans 1:20 KJV)

​Upon this unshakeable foundation, all of life is built.

The qualifications for a favoured walk are not complicated.

1. Come

2. Believe that He is!

​“…he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)

​No hoops to jump, no boxes to fill.

Just the sure expectation that He’s a rewarder of those who know their nose.

This December I’m leading a guided advent-ure through the Word. 24 days digging into truths to impact your walk with God, setting you up for a year of success.

Like opening gifts on Christmas day, each thought will be full of surprises.

Like this one where Jesus says:

“He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit” (John 15:5 NKJV)

Did you know that the word “abides” (Greek: meno) means to live in a state of relation and expectancy. Abiding in Christ is not passive.

Active. Engaged.

Connected to the Source, expecting increase.

I call it friendship and fruitfulness.

In that order!

He is.

And He is a rewarder!

Never forget it.

Over the weekend, I was thinking about my creative process.

Two things came to mind:

Uncommon focus and consistency.

Uncommon focus helps me continually produce and ship new ideas into the world.

When an idea arises, I consider first whether it’s one I want to pursue.

Some I discard as potentially good ideas but not God ones. I leave those well alone.

For others, I press pause and let them stew a while before I pull any triggers. If the idea keeps bubbling up, I take it to prayer.

But once an idea hooks my heart, I think about how I can move it forward. First, I take time up front to think: “OK, if I choose to do this, how can it be easy?”

Complex things never get done, or stall before they are complete.

Simple things happen because resistance doesn’t have the same traction to kill the momentum.

And then I take action.

Uncommon Focus

I describe this as “uncommon focus”.

For a short time nothing else exists until the process or prototype is in a form that can be released and tested in the ‘real’ world. This is a limited window where ‘hustle’ makes sense to me.

Like anything that moves, the energy required to overcome the “static friction” present in a stationary vehicle is significantly more than what’s required to keep that vehicle moving. A burst of forceful energy is needed to get the wheels moving.

Consistency

Consistency then keeps the vehicle moving toward its intended destination. Smaller but regular amounts of attention and energy can now be applied to move the project or idea forward. A gentle press on the accelerator is often all that’s needed once the process is matured.

A recent example is my Faithful Creative Christmas Countdown. This idea had been stewing for a while, until last week, with the encouragement of my wife, I decided to roll with it (sidenote: listen to your wife guys).

Two days of uncommon focus then realised my thoughts into something that can help, bless and build others.

The ideas were already well formed as I’d chewed them over for quite some weeks, but the actual formation of those ideas happened in a flurry of concentrated energy that ensured they didn’t stay simmering as “one day maybes” and became “Today’s” reality.

Two of my favourite New Testament chapters are Hebrews 3 and 4.

Take note how many times “To day” is mentioned.

​“But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day” (Hebrews 3:13 KJV)

This verse was the fuel for my tank as I set time aside to create the Faithful Creative countdown for this year, a daily dose of focussed encouragment to build a prosperous creative life from a foundation of peace.

You can check it out here: https://christmas.teachery.co/go

And while you do take a listen to these chill new sounds: https://open.spotify.com/album/1N1cBtbqRN9O32pBnYWqJR?si=j2kdWawlRMqr5sxT2P6iUg

One of the keys that keeps me creating is counterintuitive.

I uncouple from outcomes.

Being assured of the end result once something is created is often the reason people don’t take the first step.

What if I write a book and no one wants to read it?

What if I try something new and it doesn’t work out?

It’s safer sometimes to stay shackled to the status quo. At least that way you cannot “fail”.

One of my favourite (and to me most thought-provoking) scriptures is direct from the lips of Jesus:

​“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:17 KJV)

Look at the sequence here.

Do and you will know.

Too often people want to know before they do.

They want to be certain that their efforts will be rewarded. They want guarantees that their ideas will land in the real world, or else why do it in the first place.

But often, especially in creative endeavours, we have to do before we know. The real test only takes place once the ideas are thrust into the world.

A book is tested when it’s read, not languishing on a harddrive.

A song’s metal is only known when it’s sung and heard by ears other than your own.

We have to learn to be willing to test and try. To make and create from a place of uncertainty.

A place that doesn’t require applause before we’ll act.

As Scripture so plainly states, the results sometimes belong to God. Our part is to obey.

​“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:6 KJV)

Learning to stand up (recognise the value of your ideas)

Step out (take action to make them tangible)

and sit back (commit the outcome of the work to God’s providence and faithfulness)

is a muscle worth developing.

One more sweet dripping word before we close:

​“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” (Psalm 37:5 KJV)

Stand up, step out and leave the outcomes to God.

Make something awesome today!

In the wake of newly minted trillionaires, eye-watering economic uncertainty, oligarchic political manoeuvering, and artificial intelligence (and all too real stupidity), it’s easy to be blindsided.

One could readily think that dollars are the measure of power and prestige.

But there are other measures you can judge by that are rarely in the news.

​“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6 KJV)

While the world chases “gain”, “greater gain” is waiting quietly in the wings.

As I often have to remind myself, “The richest man on earth is the one who is most content.”

A man who is content has discovered the gold.

He lacks nothing.

​“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Psalm 23:1 KJV)

​“The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” (Psalm 23:1 NLT-SE)

​“ADONAI is my shepherd; I lack nothing.” (Psalm 23:1 CJB)

The right metrics make all the difference.

Yes, rewards exist for your efforts, talents and work here on earth. Rightly so.

But the real and lasting rewards await those who don’t fall for the lie.

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” (Revelation 22:12 KJV)

He won’t be asking, “How much did you make?”

He’ll ask, “How much did you love?”

Selah.