What I love about this prayer is the way it helps me to remember just how big God is.  Sometimes when we pray, we get stuck in a one-track rut, don’t we?  We focus on God as our provider, or on Jesus as our friend and confidante.  When I pray this prayer, I’m talking to a God who is huge and complex: Father, Son and Spirit.  I’m praying to the God who built the universe, to the Jesus who brought me salvation and who calls me to take up my cross and follow Him, to the Holy Spirit who somehow makes his home inside of me.  When I pray this prayer, I’m reminded what I’ve signed up for: a life of worship, a life of radical self-sacrifice, a life powered by God’s own Spirit.

Not a bad way to start the day; you may want to try it?

John Stott’s prayer -

Good morning Heavenly Father, good morning Lord Jesus, good morning Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father I worship you as the creator and sustainer of the universe.

Lord Jesus, I worship you, Saviour and Lord of the world.

Holy Spirit, I worship you, sanctifier of the people of God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence and please you more and more.

Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you.

Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God, have mercy upon me. Amen.

It is evident that stress is an inevitable part of life.

What is stress?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, stress is a constraining force or influence. Stress is the way our bodies respond to perceived or actual danger. It is not the cause, but the effect of an event. You can divide stress into two categories:

1. Problem: A problem is something you can solve. You have a choice of whether you want to solve that problem or not and you can change your attitude towards that problem.
2. Fact of life: A fact of life is something you can’t do anything about. We must constantly recognize the facts of life, such as natural disasters, sickness and the past, accept them and live with them.

When you can divide your stress into the two different categories, you are able to decide how to handle them in a proactive way. If the stressful thing is a problem, then acknowledge it as a problem and take the necessary steps towards solving that problem or handling the predicament. If what’s stressing you is a fact of life, then acknowledge that you cannot solve the stress and accept it. This will change your outlook and in turn alleviate the stress.

Stress carrying capacity

Everyone’s capacity to carry stress is different, and knowing your maximum capacity is important. Realize what adds to your capacity and what takes away from it. For example, having an argument with your wife in the morning may take up 30% of your stress capacity that day, whereas having a quality conversation with her over breakfast can have the directly opposite effect. Her encouragement and faith in you can add much to your stress carrying capacity. Everyone’s capacity is expandable; figure out what adds to your capacity and exercise those things. It is very much like working out—the more you do it, the more you will build muscle and strength. When you exercise things that add to your capacity, the larger your stress carrying capacity will be.

Face reality

It is important to face the truth in life and then take everything one step at a time. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Document the facts of your life. How much money have you lost? What has changed? Which relationships are in trouble? You cannot change the facts of life so they are not the problem. You need to accept the things you cannot change.

2. Offload responsibilities until you are living within your stress limit. If the things on your plate surpass your stress capacity, take them out of your life until you are able to carry them.

3. Get help or advice where needed. Your friends and family are incredible assets to you. Share the stress load with people you trust. Don’t be afraid to ask them for advice when you need it.

4. Create vision. Look at the present from the future. Ask yourself what changes you need to make or what steps you need to take in order to paint your vision.

5. Protect what remains. Get prospective on life and appreciate what you have—the relationships, net assets, skills, virtues. Spend time with your friends and family and cherish these relationships.

Stress may seem like a bad thing, but once you’ve taken control of it, there are many opportunities for growth. You even begin to appreciate life and have a positive outlook on problems. Manage it, handle it, battle it, conquer it, rule over it—whatever it is that you decide to do with stress, don’t wait until tomorrow to start.

Also from this author: Increasing my Capacity for Leadership – How I learned to beat stress for good

Of course, there are several ways you could interpret that.  A bulldozer is an incredibly powerful piece of machinery.   It has the capacity to shift a huge load from point A to point B.  If something is in its way, a bulldozer will simply move it.  When I say, “be a bulldozer,” I don’t mean you should flatten whoever or whatever is in your path to get the job done.

Have you ever seen a bulldozer in operation?  A bulldozer works at peak efficiency when its load is overflowing.  Watch and you’ll see how it’s always losing a little off the sides.  The bulldozer operator doesn’t bother to stop and try to scoop up the overflow.  That would be an enormous waste of time.

When I say, “be a bulldozer,” I mean you shouldn’t worry about being a little overloaded.  Think of it as an excellent way to make sure that you’re spending your time and energy on the most important things. When a bulldozer isn’t overflowing, it’s actually underutilizing its power.  It’s the same with people.  If you keep your load too light, you’re probably not using your gifts and abilities to their highest capacity.

So if your load feels a little too heavy, try to see it as a good thing – as an opportunity to maximize your potential.  Focus in on your highest priorities.  Yes, some tasks and projects will fall to the side.  But if you’re prioritizing right, what gets dropped won’t be anything critical.  If it is really important, you can always get it moving again on the next load.  You may even realize that what gets dropped is a task you shouldn’t be doing anyway.

Keep in mind that even a bulldozer needs to stop and refuel, so make sure you have margins in your life for rest.  And if the load is really unmanageable, you may need to ask for help.  Two bulldozers are often better than one.

Leonard Buhler

On a rainy afternoon in Vancouver, in a room thick with pent-up emotion, I had one purpose: to share the Gospel with over 200 high-level entrepreneurs and leaders by talking to them about something they actually cared about.

Business.

“When people wrong you, do you ever wrestle with being angry and bitter?“ The entire crowd simultaneously moved towards me in their seats, as if in verbal agreement. It was the strongest reaction I’ve ever had from an audience. I almost stopped speaking. “Even though it is difficult,” I continued, “I’ve learned to forgive, because I understand God’s forgiveness for me. While others can live on in anger for years, forgiveness gives me the freedom to pursue the next adventure in life.”

Gathered around me on that afternoon were leaders finding themselves in a situation beyond their control: the downward spiral of the economy. Many were feeling anxious, alone, and even angry. They were on a spiritual journey looking for purpose in their lives.

As a businessman and entrepreneur myself, I have often been in situations beyond my control. However, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ gives me an identity other than my business that can not be taken from me, a strength of character and integrity that guides me through the tough times, and the ability to forgive, even when people don’t deserve it and the world thinks you have every right to hang on to resentment.

As I shared with those leaders how I went from a businessman who happened to believe in God, to a follower of Christ who happened to do some business, I asked them to consider doing the same. And many of them did. I left there that day convinced that in order to have any real kind of impact in the lives of people around us, we must connect their current realities of life – in this case, leading through tough times in business – to God, and show them the difference a relationship with Jesus Christ can make in their lives.

At Power to Change, our desire is to initiate relationship with love, identify with people’s current realities, and share with them the better benefit of God. It is simply compassion and love for people versus a confrontational spirit. Even our new name, Power to Change, tells that story. In John 14, Jesus says, “I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Jesus in you is the Power to Change the world. The question is: will you release the power of Christ that is in you?

As I shared the Gospel with those business leaders that day, I could physically see their pain and fear. People around us are longing for something more in their lives – even these leaders who had achieved so much success already. Jesus is the answer.

I am on a journey with Jesus that has changed me from the inside out. God has met my deepest needs and He gives me the strength to pursue life as an adventure. I invite you to explore our Faith Adventures and go on a journey with God. I promise you’ll never be the same again.

God bless you on your journey!

This week, take advantage of the Christmas season to connect with your neighbors.  Building a relationship is an important first step to evangelism.  Choose one or two neighbors you don’t know very well and drop by with a small gift and a card.  Tell them you enjoy having them as neighbors and wish them a wonderful holiday.  Make sure you don’t just leave it there; in the coming weeks and months, keep working on deepening your friendship and pray for opportunities to share your faith.

Keep in mind the heart of Christmas: “the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven, to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace” (Luke 1:78-79).  How incredible that God wants to use us to help shine Jesus’ light into our neighbors’ lives!

Serving Jesus together,
Leonard Buhler

Want to learn more?

  The Power of Purposeful Multiplication
Jesus planted the seed of the gospel in the lives of  11 men, and they faithfully planted it many times over. Could you imagine if  the power of multiplication took over, and we see its affects through our presence here today? You’ve got a lifetime ahead of you – how will you steward that seed that God has given you? Will you plant it in the lives of those around you and watch God multiply it in your world?

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:1-2)

Do you feel pressured to do more for God?  Many of us do.  Deep down we know that our lives should be about serving God – that they should matter in an eternally significant way.  But our days are so full.  Work, school, family, sports, errands, gardening – we look at everything we have going on and even though it seems impossible to fit more in, we feel like we should.  We should be doing more for God.  We should be volunteering at a soup kitchen, or helping out with the Alpha Course at church, or leading a mens’ group.

I need to shift my perspective more than I need to shift my schedule.  “Set your hearts on things above…  Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”  Paul is encouraging the believers in Colossae to see the world in a new way, to look at everything from the vantage point of heaven.  Yes, I could try to cram more into my insanely busy life.  Or, I could take Paul’s advice and shift my perspective.

Imagine what a difference this profound but simple shift could make!  We would begin to see every human encounter from a spiritual viewpoint.  Every stranger we bump into, every business meeting we attend, every customer we serve, every buddy we play hockey with would become an opportunity to express the love of Jesus.  We would begin to live a life that’s not about ourselves, but a life that’s about the people around us.

Take stock of your life.  Maybe you have plenty of time and energy to spare, and God is calling you to do something new for Him.  But maybe your schedule feels packed.  Ask God to help you look at your life with a new perspective – His perspective.  Let Him show you the needs and the opportunities that surround you all the time.  Then experience the incredible joy of joining Him in what He’s already doing.

Prayer:  God, I want my life to count for you.  Help me to set my mind and heart on heavenly things.  Help me to see every minute of my day and every encounter I have from your perspective.  Help me to shift my focus from myself to You and the people around me. Give me the courage and the faith to share Jesus – in word and in deed – with everyone I meet. Amen.

Christmas often makes us think of the baby Jesus in a manger.  But there’s another way to see it.  There’s the perspective of an Almighty God saying, “I’ve decided to go down there myself.”  What was He thinking?  What motivated Him?  He knows He’s going to be humiliated; He knows He’s going to die on the cross.  He knows all those things in advance.  And yet He comes to earth anyway.

I’m beginning to understand that.  I started my Christmas shopping a while ago.  I think about Mason, and then I go to Toys R Us, and I can’t buy enough.  I take everything off the shelf.  I bought him a whole bunch of stuff just yesterday.  And the day before that.  The Toys R Us clerk took one look at me, with my shopping cart piled high, and I could see it in her eyes.  “Not another out-of-control grandparent!”

It’s absolutely, completely, ludicrously ridiculous how much Debbie and I have bought him for Christmas.  Why is that?

It’s deep, passionate love.  I just love Mason.  I know that when he comes over, he’s going to wreck our Christmas tree, and puke on our floor and tear apart the house.  I simply don’t care.  I love him so much.

What motivated God to come to earth?  That same kind of love.  Deep, passionate, ridiculous love for you and for me.

Something else that hit me is this:  If Christ is living in us, then it’s impossible for us not to be that way too.  If it Christ is within us, then our love for others has to be as ridiculous as my love for Mason.

Can you imagine if the world could see Christians the way that Toys R Us clerk saw me?  Out of control with ridiculous love?

So may you know the ridiculous love of God this Christmas, and may you allow Jesus to grow that ridiculous love within you.

“Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;

I’m not the kind of man who likes to hide. If I’m in the middle of a conflict, “duck and cover” is not my first impulse. When I’m attacked, my first impulse is to stand and fight. A few months ago, I was under fire. My reputation, my abilities, my skills – they were all being questioned. I had people lined up against me, and what I most wanted to do was shoot back. Can you relate to that?

While this was happening, I came across Psalm 64. In this Psalm King David is under siege. His attackers aren’t coming at him with swords and spears, but with sharp words. David’s response is to cry out to his God with three requests: “Hear me… protect me… hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked.”

David’s reaction was significant to me. The first two requests make sense. You’d expect a frustrated warrior king to demand God’s attention. You’d expect him to ask for God’s protection. But the last request is a surprise. “Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked.” David asks to be hidden.

One thing I’ve noticed about being under attack is how much mental and emotional energy it consumes. Even when you’re not actively fighting, your enemies can get under your skin. Your mind becomes packed – full of the words you’d like to sling back, full of the anger and frustration you’re trying to contain, full of the moves and countermoves you could try next. In the middle of a conflict, that’s how most leaders aim to survive: by being fully aware of the situation at all times.

“Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,” David prays. This is not the prayer of a man who lacks courage. This is the prayer of a man who recognizes the danger of letting your opponents invade your soul. Conflict is a part of life. The important thing is not to avoid conflict, but to avoid being consumed by it. Because David was so confident that God heard Him and that God would protect Him, he was able to say, “I don’t need to focus on the enemy. You’ve got me covered, God. Hide me.” What enormous faith David had, and what an incredible encouragement to us when we’re surrounded by enemies.

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”

Do you feel pressured to do more for God?  Many of us do.  Deep-down we know that our lives should be about serving God – that they should matter in an eternally significant way.  But our days are so full.  Work, school, family, sports, errands, gardening – we look at everything we have going on and even though it seems impossible to fit more in, we feel like we should.  We should be doing more for God.  We should be volunteering at a soup kitchen, or helping out with the Alpha Course at church, or leading a mens’ group.

I need to shift my perspective more than I need to shift my schedule.  “Set your hearts on things above…  Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”  Paul is encouraging the believers in Colosse to see the world in a new way, to look at everything from the vantage point of heaven.  Yes, I could try to cram more into my insanely busy life.  Or, I could take Paul’s advice and shift my perspective.

Imagine what a difference this profound but simple shift could make!  We would begin to see every human encounter from a spiritual viewpoint.  Every stranger we bump into, every business meeting we attend, every customer we serve, every buddy we play hockey with would become an opportunity to express the love of Jesus.  We would begin to live a life that’s not about ourselves, but a life that’s about the people around us.

Take stock of your life.  Maybe you have plenty of time and energy to spare, and God is calling you to do something new for Him.  But maybe your schedule feels packed.  Ask God to help you look at your life with a new perspective – His perspective.  Let Him show you the needs and the opportunities that surround you all the time.  Then experience the incredible joy of joining Him in what He’s already doing.

Prayer:  God, I want my life to count for you.  Help me to set my mind and heart on heavenly things.  Help me to see every minute of my day and every encounter I have from your perspective.  Help me to shift my focus from myself to You and the people around me. Give me the courage and the faith to share Jesus – in word and in deed – with everyone I meet.   Amen.

In our minds, open doors and opposition do not belong together.  Have you ever heard that phrase, “God is opening a door?”  We often take it to mean that God is putting an opportunity in front of us, lining up all the circumstances just right.  All we have to do is open the door and walk through it. Whatever’s on the other side – a conversation about Jesus, a new job, an exciting project – will work out perfectly.  Nothing will stand in our way.

I’m standing in front of a door of my own.  My team is getting ready to launch a strategy that aims to begin a nation-wide movement of one million Christians committed to surrendering their lives and to reach their world for Jesus (see TheLife.com). Enormous amounts of time, energy, and money are being poured into this project.  Many people are making the commitment while other struggle with challenge. With the potential to impact the spiritual direction of our nation the stakes are high.

My prayer partner called me up a while back.  “I have some bad news,” she said.  “I have a strong sense that there is great opposition heading for you.”  She continued: “This is the verse that came to my mind.  ‘… a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.’”

In life with God, open doors and opposition often go hand in hand.  The apostle Paul could see God opening a “great door for effective work” right in front of him.  But he could also see obstacles and enemies up ahead, ready to oppose him.  Paul recognized that great opportunities often lead us right into fierce battles.  When we venture into work that threatens our greatest Enemy, we should not be surprised when he takes notice.

If you prayerfully stepped through an open door and now you’re experiencing opposition, be encouraged.  You didn’t misread the situation.  You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.  Remember that God never sends us into battle unprotected.  He sends us with full-body spiritual armor.  (Ephesians 6:10-17) When we put that on, we can walk through any open door – opposition or no.

Prayer:  God, when a door from you opens up, help me to remember that I can be right in the middle of your will for my life and still be facing opposition.  Help me to trust you even when circumstances aren’t perfect.  Please give me the courage to fight for You, and protect me with your armor.  Amen.