Check this out from the Old and New Testaments:

“Hear, O Israel:  The Lord our God is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
[Deuteronomy 6:4-5]

 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment
in the Law?” Jesus answered,
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
All the Law and the Prophets hang on
these two commandments.”
[Matthew 22:36-40]

Then Jesus came to them [the eleven disciples] and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  [Matthew 28:18-20]

I had to smile when our pastor summed up our collective purpose as:

1)      Love God.

2)      Love Others.

3)      Make Disciples.

There you have it. How easy is that?? So much angst over what we’re supposed to do with our lives and, voila, six simple words say it all..  Hmmm….simple?

Maybe not.

How do we love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind?  How do we live for the Lord full-time?

Loving God with all my heart means wanting to be in full relationship with Him. Not part-time. Full-time. It means being eager to share my joys, my challenges, my ups, my downs, with my Lord and Savior. It means keeping our relationship fresh and vibrant and keeping our relationship my top priority. It means allowing God’s love and compassion to flow through me to others.

Loving God with all my soul means continually listening to God’s voice. It means wanting my purpose to be His purpose—wanting His plan to be my plan. It means connecting through my soul to my Source on a regular basis to discern God’s will for my life.

Loving God with all my mind means loving God consciously, intentionally, with full and continual awareness. It means seeking to conform my thoughts to God’s thoughts and ridding my mind of all negativity:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  [Philippians 4:7-9]

Loving God with all my strength means pouring every ounce of energy into my relationship with God. It means loving God with my whole being, not merely with bits and pieces of who I am or who I think I am.

Loving others as ourselves
is a natural and logical outgrowth of loving God
with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.
So is fulfilling the Great Commission.

Take a moment to ask yourself: Are you living for God (that is, are you living out your God-given purpose) part-time or full-time?

If you want to get crystal clear on whom to serve and how to serve them (part of your unique/particular/specific call), focus  first on getting to know the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind. Live your corporate/collective/general call with joy and confidence.

Love God. Love Others. Make Disciples.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find Your Purpose. Fulfill Your Calling.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.”
[Proverbs 3:5-6]

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I was chatting with a friend of mine about recipes—not an activity I engage in frequently as my family will assure you.

This conversation intrigued me.  If you were to create a recipe for success, what ingredients would you include?

According to Dictionary.com and Wikipedia.org, “success” may be defined as:

• The favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
• The attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
• The achievement of an objective/goal.

Thinking….thinking….what ingredients would I pour into my mixing bowl to create personal and professional success?

• Clarity. If I’m not clear about who I am and where I’m headed, I can’t navigate my way through the storms. Shoot, if I’m not clear about who I am and where I’m headed, I’m likely to wander off course on a sunny day!!  I need clear vision.  Clear purpose.  I need an internal GPS.

• Courage. A key ingredient for sure.  I need to take risks.  I need to face my fears and embrace the unknown.  In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”  Will do, Mr. Emerson, provided I can muster up enough courage to sustain me on my journey!

• Commitment. How many of us begin something only to pack it in when the going gets tough?  Sometimes, sometimes, quitting is the right thing to do. (Read Seth Godin’s The Dip and you’ll know what I mean.) If we’re on our most purposeful path, however, we need to remain committed to our cause. “The Greats” can teach us a thing or two about commitment—about perseverance through times of grief, hardship, and despair. Think of Moses. Queen Esther. Mahatma Gandhi.  Mother Teresa.  Martin Luther King, Jr. The Apostle Paul.  Nelson Mandela. William Wilberforce.  Susan B. Anthony.  Yet so can “the lesser knowns.”  Joni Eareckson Tada.  Jennifer Rothschild.  Perhaps your neighbor next door.  We all need models of commitment to encourage us to keep going when the inevitable storms arise.  Who are yours?

• Competence. We must attain the requisite training, knowledge, skill, and experience. Without competence, our success soufflé will undoubtedly fall.  But remember the aforementioned ingredients. And remember the “failures” of Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincoln. Competence includes clarity, courage, and commitment to success…even when light bulbs don’t light and elections are lost.

• Calling. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)  “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understand. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6) The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Thank you for loving us, Father God, and having a plan for our future…a plan we can choose to follow…or not.

OK, I’ve got it.  My ingredients for personal and professional success must include clarity, courage, commitment, competence, and a decision to find, follow, and fulfill my God-given calling. If any of them is lacking, my soufflé sooner or later will fall. … And when it does, I’ll know which ingredients to add to the bowl the next time!

To your success,

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Jory Fisher, host of Heart & Soul for Women of Faith, specializes in helping Christian women entrepreneurs integrate calling, confidence, and clarity into their business so they can serve the people they’re meant to serve and glorify God through success. Before opening her coaching and consulting firm in 2008, Jory had worked 15 years as an attorney focusing on family, juvenile, and criminal law; four years as an assistant professor and associate dean of Liberty University School of Law; and three years as the Executive Director of the Child Abuse Prevention Center in Central Virginia. She holds professional certifications from the International Coach Federation, the Institute for Life Coach Training, the Career Coach Academy, the Christian Coaches Network, and the True Purpose™ Institute. She and her husband Dave live in Lynchburg, VA and are the proud parents of seven purposeful and successful children.  For more information, please visit www.womenfindpurpose.com.

Jory’s Success Tips:

• “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…”  (Luke 12:31)
• “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances…”  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
• Find, follow, and fulfill your divine calling.
• Persevere in reaching your goals.
• Love others. Love yourself.
• Forgive others. Forgive yourself.
• Freely give.
• Freely receive.
• Have fun!!!!!

Jory’s Favorite Quote:

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths. ~Proverbs 3: 5-6

Listen to the interview with Jory by clicking the audio arrow or link below:

Jory Fisher Interview

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About Cordell Schulten

Cordell Schulten is a professor of American law at Handong Global University in Pohang, Korea. He also holds an appointment as a Senior Lecturer in ethics, law, and religion at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Missouri. Previous to his current posts, he taught at Missouri Baptist University. Before teaching, he practiced law for ten years specializing in commercial litigation and death penalty cases.  He earned his M.A. in Theological Studies from Covenant Theological Seminary in 2004 and his J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1986. Cordell and his wife Sandy have been married for 32 years. They have four grown children and four beautiful grand children.

Cordell’s Success Tips

1. The most important time is now.
2. The most important person is the one who is before you now.
3. The most important task is serving the person who is before you now.

Cordell’s Favorite Quote

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Listen to the interview by clicking the audio arrow or link below:

Cordell Schulten Interview

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Author and theological educator Gordon T. Smith asserts that it is through vocation that we come to a deep appreciation that God takes us seriously. While we all have a general call to love God and neighbor, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining life purpose or mission.

“Each individual is called of God to respond uniquely through service in the world.” Rev. Dr. Smith describes three expressions of vocation: the general call to follow Jesus, the specific call to a unique mission in the world, and the immediate call to our current duties and responsibilities.

If you long to hear and follow God’s call, listen to this dynamic discussion of the key themes in Rev. Dr. Smith’s book “Courage & Calling: Embracing Your God-Given Potential.”

GordonSmithInterview12092009

Gordon T. Smith

Gordon T. Smith is president of reSource Leadership International, an agency that seeks to foster excellence in theological education in the developing world. Before assuming this position in 2003, he served as Vice President and Academic Dean of Regent College in Vancouver, B.C., where he continues to teach part time. Gordon also served as Dean of Canadian Theological Seminary in Canada and of Alliance Biblical Seminary in the Philippines and has had several pastoral appointments including senior pastor of a congregation in Ontario and of an international congregation in the Philippines. His work as an academic administrator is complemented by extensive research, writing, and teaching in systematic and spiritual theology, particularly the theology of religious experience. His numerous publications on topics such as the place of vocation in the life of a Christian and the place of the Lord’s Supper in the life of the church include Courage & Calling: Embracing Your God-Given Potential.

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