Friday, 25 February 2011
Andy Elmes
Good morning, Champion. Live with an ex-rated heart Daniel 6:3 (The Message)
But Daniel, brimming with spirit and intelligence, so completely outclassed the other vice-regents and governors that the king decided to put him in charge of the whole kingdom. Let us finish the week where we started off, with Daniel and the topic of living with a spirit of excellence. When people met Daniel, they encountered a spirit and heart marked with a big X. His heart was truly ex-rated, and so should our hearts be in the purest sense. Our hearts and lives should be: • Expectant: His Spirit is the atmosphere of faith; His residency causes us to dream and think big. Be believing for great things today, independent of what you are currently going through or facing. • Excited: let your passion for your God and His plans for you flow out of you like a river today. Believe in what He has promised you and get excited. Be positively infectious to others in your world (that’s called evangelism). • Extravagant: live big, especially when it comes to God; give big and live big. Live to do more than enough and not just 'what will do'. Give the best of your worship – indeed, your life – and not what is left at the end when everyone else has had their bit. • And, of course, live Excellently: as we said yesterday, don’t live trying to do what you can’t with what you don’t have, but do the very best you can with what you do have! Sadly, too many times when people meet christians they meet people who are negatively ex-rated. They experience and encounter people who are Exhausted, Extinguished and even seemingly Exhumed (just dug up from the grave!), but never let that be us. Let’s purpose to live to turn their heads for Jesus! Have an awesome day of influence and impact. God bless,
Andy Subscribe today FREE! If you've been sent this e-mail by a friend, and enjoyed having a fresh, inspiring thought delivered to your Inbox, then we'd love for you to subscribe to Breakfast of Champions so that you can receive it every morning.
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Andy Elmes : Purpose of Life
Good morning, Champion. What’s the purpose of your life? Acts 13:36-37 (NIV)
For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. There can be no greater testimonial to a life well lived than this statement found in the book of Acts. Our days are like currency, precious coins kept in the purse of our existence. Our days, as with natural wealth, can be numbered in amount, though no man knows the amount each of us have left but God. When the coins (days) of our life are spent they are gone, and there are no refunds. This sobering thought should motivate us to live with cause and passion. What is important is not to fear them being spent, but rather make sure we are investing each one of them wisely. When they are spent it is what was purchased or accomplished with them that determines their worth or success. This should motivate us all to spend our days well. Believers should not fear death because Christ has beaten it. Rather, death should inspire us to live our lives well and on purpose.
Many people spend their lives on purposes that have no benefit to anyone outside of themselves, that carry no eternal significance or reward. In this life they may have much, but in the life to come they could find themselves bankrupt. Mark 8:36
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? As followers of Jesus we have chosen something far better than living for riches – we have chosen to spend the currency of our days, as David did, for the purposes of God. As we do this daily we release the kingdom of God, changing people’s lives for the better and, at the same time, we get to live a life worth living. Live on purpose – don’t drift through life, like a boat on the ocean without a rudder, but walk with bold steps of divine purpose today. Live for Jesus and the advancement of His kingdom on the earth. Live on purpose today, Champion. Andy Subscribe today FREE! If you've been sent this e-mail by a friend, and enjoyed having a fresh, inspiring thought delivered to your Inbox, then we'd love for you to subscribe to Breakfast of Champions so that you can receive it every morning.
Monday, 7 February 2011
Andy Elmes: Breakfast of Champions
Good morning, Champion. The world starts with your world Mark 16:15-16 (NKJV) And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned". When you read this commission – that we all have in common – it can seem very daunting, especially if you read it in one of the older translations of the Bible. I want to take a couple of days to break it down and make it more do-able for everyday folk. Firstly we need to remind ourselves that this is the Great Commission not the Great Suggestion. Jesus has commissioned us (His body) to be busy with the incredible honour of introducing others to Him and helping them to be His followers too. If this is important to Him it should be important to us. But again, it should be something that is fueled by desire from the heart not obligation from the mind. So let’s start at the very beginning: "Go ye into all the world". How huge and seemingly undoable is that? Let’s re-look at it to make it something that we can all get busy with. Before you pack and set sail for Africa or the remote regions of China let’s consider your individual world. After all, the disciples were told to go first to their city, Jerusalem, then to surrounding areas, then finally to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). We must all realise the first world we need to be passionate to represent Jesus in effectively is the one that is unique to us right now. Without going anywhere you have a very real world that is unique to you, made up of your friends, neighbours, people you work or go to school with. The first people we need to go to with the good news of who Jesus is and what He has done is surely them, because if you don’t take responsibility for them who will? This personal world can actually be the most demanding one – let’s face, it in many ways it is easier go to the ends of the earth and stand up for Jesus with people that do not know you! You can project anything or impersonate anyone. But with the people in our everyday world you have to live it out too, because they know you and will be watching to see if you live it or just talk it, right? This does not need to be a negative reality but rather a strength to you. As you purpose to live out the new life God has given you in an authentic way you will catch the attention of those who know you; the changed life you live out before them will prompt the questions that you want to be asked. So don’t read the Great Commission and think you have to rush out and buy an air ticket for a mission trip some place far off; rather, ask the Holy Spirit to show you the people in your Jerusalem (immediate world) that need God, and ask Him for the courage to reach out to them on a daily basis. When the life you daily live matches the words that come out of your mouth, that will turn some heads for sure. GO INTO YOUR WORLD God bless, Andy
Saturday, 5 February 2011
If you really knew me
If you really knew me you would know that I cry myself to sleep most evening. I think I am a waste of space and don't want to tell anyone I am depressed. (by young person in school)
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