Monthly Archives: November 2013

Goal setting for effective living
Posted on by

To live fully and not just exist we need to plan ahead and be proactive about the direction our lives should take. We should not wait for the future to come to us but we need to boldly approach the future. The concept of Goal setting falls within broader concept of life management and is actualised through a Personal Development Plan (PDP). Generating a PDP has been defined as “… the process of creating action plans based on self awareness, reflection, and goal setting for self improvement”. In this process the most important step is to define clearly what you want to achieve and improve in your life.

The Bible encourages us to make plans(Prov.20:18) and God himself is a planner(Jer.29:11) Jesus affirmed the significance of planning when he taught about counting the cost of being a disciple (Luke 14:28-30). There is nothing God-honouring about floating about in life, buoyed by every wave of activity without a clear sense of mission, direction and achievement. Every musician, athlete, teacher, speaker, actor businessman, and student who ever made a meaningful contribution has tapped into the power of goal setting backed by a life of continuous discipline.

However our plans and goals must not be products of mere strong wills and human motivation for our lives are not our own. The goals must be aligned with God’s purposes for our lives (Prov.16:9), forged out of prayerful consideration before God (Prov.16:3), while all the time acknowledging that our lives are lived under the overall oversight of a loving and sovereign God. Still we should not feel we are being presumptuous or arrogant by setting what Jim Collins, a management expert, has called-BHAGs-Big Hairy Audacious Goals.

For us to succeed in goal setting we must remember its essentials:

1.Goals are of three types; Short-term, Mid-term and Long-term goals.

2.Good goals should be SMART, reviewable and acceptable with regard to our values.

3.They must be written down not in tacked somewhere in our memory.

4.Goals are a statement of faith for they relate to the future and they help us to look forward.

Depending on your stage in life, you will need to set goals for different aspects of your life namely;Spiritual, Family, Financial, Career, Academic (for students), Social (relationships) Ministry Involvement, and Physical (health) aspects. In each of the above areas, you need to state clearly where you are before crafting as clearly and sharply as possible where you want to be both in the short, medium and long term.

 It may come as a surprise to some that the setting of such goals though critical, is not the hardest part of the process. Where the rubber meets the road is in giving legs to the goals so that they can walk and take you to where you want to go. To achieve this, three other disciplines are required:

 1. Write down the smaller steps required to fulfil each goal-the concrete initiatives for realising (reaching) the goals. Break the goals into smaller steps that build up to the main goal. Achieving these smaller steps gives you the psychological boost to tackle the other steps.

2. Review your progress regularly-Come up with a regular way of measuring and assessing progress. How will know you know you are making progress? > some of the helpful questions in this process include: Did I achieve my goals? what went right? what went wrong? what follow-up action is required?. Based on the feedback, you can either revise the goals or reset a new goal in that area.

3. Share with trusted confidants about your goals for accountability sake- We all need people who will prod, cheer and challenge us to achieve the goals we have set. Without people holding us accountable for the goals and the actions we have set for ourselves, we easily chicken out of or down size our goals when we face obstacles and challenges, something that will definitely happen from time to time.

 It is of course true that life will not come to standstill if we do not set goals for there are many people who do not and get by in life. However, when we want to get the most out of the opportunities and resources that God has given us and to bring out the best in us and maximize our productivity, we must embrace planning as a whole and goal setting especially both as individuals and organizations.

Have you set goals for the various aspects of your life or are you haphazardly doing any and all things that come your way?

Mentorship
Posted on by

“One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.”Psalm 145:4.
Mentorship, a derivative of the noun mentor, is extensively used by us all, ranging from children to senior citizens, at kindergarten or university. The word was previously synonymous with parents, teachers and supervisors but it has become the buzz word in all spheres of society and personal development.
There is a deep need for sound advice and learning from people with more experience and whose character and status befit the title of a mentor. In our current world where it seems almost impossible to lack sources of advice like Google, there is still a real need for personal touch with human beings as sources of advice and direction. Indeed the urge to seek and discover one’s purpose in life drives us to pursue meaningful relationships in order to discern God’s will in somebody’s life. Genesis 1:26-27 reminds us that we are created in the image of God and in His likeness. If we submit ourselves to His directorship, it is possible to help others discover their purpose in life in the process of navigating the treacherous course that life sometimes takes.
Sound advice is needed at the turn of every direction and fork on every road. People continue to need others to plug in, sacrifice time and journey together with them through all or some part of life. Apostle Peter in 1st Peter 5:1-5 exhorts elders (he being their fellow elder) to shepherd, exercise oversight and be an example to those under their charge. This should be done willingly, not for gain and not domineering.
Titus 2:3-5, specifically instructed older women to train younger women what is good, how to love their husbands and their children (I used to think this was automatic!), be self- controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their husbands. If he were to instruct older men, I doubt the expectations would be different. We all need help at every turn of our lives. We require someone to do it or else we lose direction.
Life poses the picture of two generations, torn apart by age, experience and perspectives. The separated generations are pulling to their side with distrust, disdain and distance. Given this situation, it is increasingly becoming an enormous task to bridge these generations. The popular cliché “Children of this Generation!” has continued to be flaunted at the expense of real focused engagement with the young people who are graduating from our high schools and universities.
This is where mentorship comes in. It is like building a bridge between the two separate generations. On one side, mentors have their wisdom of age, experience and good sense. On the other side, mentees match with the need for wisdom, advice, correction and godly discipline. They merge with the cement of humility to build the bridge of understanding.
It is only by doing so that we open up for a great adventure with God to learn from the wisdom of age and experience as well as relish in the joy of youth which are both divinely ordained.
The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 highlights that we go-take the step; make disciples, show people the way, direct, advice, teaching them – share your life both the formal and informal, to observe all that I have commanded you-your experiences and lessons from the past events, your new insight informed by your hindsight.
Take a deep look into your life, where would you have been without the deliberate input of someone more mature than you? You too can influence others. So go out, seek and make disciples.

Service to God
Posted on by

God has made you special. He gave each of us unique talents and abilities. How are you feeling God’s call on your life? Whatever your profession or job, God can use you. He might not ask you to give it up to become a preacher, as He did with Peter. In fact, another great Apostle, Paul, had a profession: he “lived and worked with [friends who] were tentmakers just as he was” (Acts 18:3). You can serve God right where you are, with the unique personality and abilities He gave you. As you spend time with the Lord and let the Holy Spirit’s power work in you, you too will be able to share about Jesus with others.
So what are you good at? Pray that God will help you to make good decisions as you serve and represent Him. “Whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17).

Repentance

REPENTANCE

Repentance is not just saying, “I’m sorry.” It’s turning away from the sin that separated us from God; reaching out, instead, to receive God’s forgiveness and the new life he offers. Repentance is necessary for salvation (Acts 3:19). We must agree with God about our sin and turn toward him. We do not need to be perfect before we come to God, and we will still sin while we’re in this human body. But too often we shrug off our sins by saying, “Well, God’s forgiven me, so I’m okay.” That is not repentance. Repentance puts action to our words. True repentance means letting the forgiveness you’ve experienced change your life.

FORGIVENESS

Throughout history, God has been merciful and forgiving to those who repent of their sin. But that doesn’t mean forgiveness is automatic. Because the penalty for sin is death, God’s law says there ca sins are wiped out, gone forever. It is true that we will still sin in this life, but God continues to forgive us when we come to him (1 John 1:9)