What Would A Miracle Look Like?

Feeling desperate and out of choices is a place almost everyone has visited.  Being pitted against hard deadlines or quotas can really take you to the edge of your resources.   How many times have your looked up to heaven and said, "God.. I need a miracle?"

I have! Ok.. more than once or twice or... well, you get the picture!
But I can remember one occasion as though it were yesterday. 
I looked up from a project and said, "God I need a MIRACLE!"  I was at the end of my line. And almost the next second I heard him speak back and say, "If I gave you one, what would it look like?"  OUCH!  It was a chastisement.  It was like he was telling me NOT to use that request line unless I was serious about what I wanted!

Jesus did miracles.  He did them a lot. And on occasion he would ask, "What would you have the Son of Man do for you?"  He wanted an answer!  He wanted THEM to think it through and identify the result they were looking to receive! 

Another writer of the epistles said, "You have not because you ask not, or because you ask amiss.?  Amiss.  Get it.  A-miss.  You didn't aim.  You were not specific.  You missed!

Is the message saying that he wants us to aim our request;

• Do you need a miracle of more clients who pay monthly?
• Do you need a miracle of qualified staff who have skills in particular?
• Do you need cash-flow relief?
• Do you need a quick decision from an prospect?
• Do you need a change of attitude from a superior?

He does miracles... and they often start with us being specific.

So order your miracle.  You're not waiting on God; He is waiting on you!

He Stuck to His Mission

Jesus knew his mission statement, and did not deviate from it.  He declared that his mission was, in essence, to teach people about a better way of life... now and in eternity.  He saw himself as a teacher and a healer.

An ancient adage says, "If you want to defeat them, distract them."  In the wilderness Jesus was given several "business opportunities" that did not relate to his mission.

Each of these opportunities was related to talents that Jesus had, and used, in some form or another during his tenure.  But he resisted them because they did not fit his mission statement.

Pause for a moment and consider the things Jesus did not do.  Here is someone endowed with limitless power from on high.  He could have done literally anything.  Yet he did not build a temple or a synagogue.  He did not write or distribute books.  He did not even heal all the sick people in the world.  He did not go down to the graveyards and raise everyone from the dead.  He did not build shopping malls.  His mission was very specific.

Jesus stuck to his mission.

QUESTIONS

1.  What is your mission or primary responsibility? Can you define it in one or two sentences?

2. Do feelings stir inside you that suggest you might contribute to a better way of life for others?

3. Can you list opportunities currently in your path the might really be distractions?  What are they?

(Adapted from Jesus, CEO by Laura Beth Jones)

He Did Difficult Things

One definition of a professional is a person who does things even when she or he does not feel like doing them.  In other words, a professional is not blown about by the winds of the moment.  Professionals stay focused on the successful accomplishment of their mission, and do the difficult things.

Many charismatic and popular leaders get into trouble when they cease doing the difficult things in order to win approval or be liked.  Politicians who depend on opinion polls to determine their actions do not last very long as leaders.  Unfortunately, if you run your management program based on opinion polls or popularity contests, you will not last very long as a leader, either.  "The tendency of the masses is towards mediocrity," said Aldous Huxley, and opinion polls are a very poor source of vision.  Failing to do the difficult thing eventually will get you in trouble.

A once popular televangelist had charisma, a clearly popular product or service, and a tremendous following.  However, because he failed to assess and recognize the fiscal priorities and responsibilities, he wound up in jail.

Maintaining that connection with your own inner knowing is so important.  Doing the difficult things means not letting public opinion sway you from what your heart, gut, spirit, or instinct is telling you.

Peter tried to stop Jesus from going to Jerusalem.  He sensed danger there, and he was right.  However, Jesus knew it was part of a larger plan.  So, he "set his face towards Jerusalem," even knowing the consequences.

Perhaps the true mark of a leader is that he or she is willing to stand alone.  It must have been difficult for Jesus to say no to people.  The whole essence of his being seemed to say yes.  But he did say no.  He said no to the ambitious young man who wanted to follow him.  He said no to his mother when she was trying to  interrupt his teaching.  He said no to Judas about turning to politics.  He said no to temptations in the wilderness.  He said no, at times, to himself:  "No, I will not run from this.  I will drink the cup that is placed before me."

Leaders must have not only vision and communication skills but also tremendous personal resolve.  While leaders attract followers, at any moment they must be able to walk away from them, lest they become followers themselves.

Jesus did the difficult things.

QUESTIONS

1. What difficult things are your instincts, right now, telling you to do?

2. Are you willing to do them, even if it means standing alone?

(Taken from Jesus, CEO  Laurie Beth Jones)

CEO Divine Had Internal Anchors

Jesus said, "Why do you seek after people's approval but do not seek the approval that comes only from God?"  He was an effective leader because he had internal anchors. He did not get his approval from external mechanisms. His actions were not based on what Peter, John and James thought. He didn't come unglued when John the Baptist began to doubt him. He didn't care whether Cesar smiled or frowned.

Have you ever experienced that euphoric bubble when you finally reach a decision that you know is right? People have various names for it - feeling centered, being right on, being in a state of grace. Those who have experienced this feeling say there is nothing to compare to it. One woman said it was like being at sea and hearing only silence, even though she could see people waving their arms on the shore. Here is how she described it: "Nothing mattered as much to me as that still, silent point of being. Everything else seemed meaningless...almost like it was just a puppet show." She said she had never felt closer to God, even though the decision she made upset many people around her.

CEO Divine leader has a backbone like a rod of steel when it comes to doing the right thing. You may have to search for it, but once you hit the harmonic "C" - the note that matches perfectly with your soul - you, God and destiny will be one harmonious sound. And others will stop, perk up their ears, and begin to gather around.

Jesus had internal anchors.

1. What are your internal anchors?

2. From whom do you seek approval