Put Feet to Your Faith! by Paul Wilson, Jr.

Have you ever known anyone with incredible talent, but were afraid or hesitant to use it? They don’t think they are as good at their talent as others or care too much about what others would think if they failed. People always praise them for their skills, but they dismiss or ignore their compliments.

Maybe that person is you.
“Just as a person's body that does not have a spirit is dead,
so faith that does nothing is dead!” ~ James 2:26

We are creatures of habit. Unfortunately, many of the habits we embrace are self-sabotaging, which slow our positive momentum. These habits are detrimental to our ability to fulfill our long-term potential and purpose. Not believing in God is a self-sabotaging habit. Another self-sabotaging habit is not believing that He has given you the ability to do what you can do.

While many people say they have faith in God, they don’t necessarily demonstrate that faith with their actions. Your action or inaction is a key indicator of the legitimacy your faith. The truth is you don't need faith if you're not doing anything worthwhile.

It’s not enough to have faith in yourself, because you are flawed and will eventually fail at something that you can’t overcome by yourself. It’s not enough to have faith in your faith, because eventually you’ll run into something that is bigger than your measure of faith can handle. The only true source and object of faith who has the ability to be unfailing and everlasting is God.

“Your life is shaped more by your daily steps than by your occasional leaps.”
~ Andrew Morgan

I realize that many people need to take baby steps in order to start applying and stretching their faith. The more you embrace discomfort the bigger your comfort zone will become. Here are some daily suggestions to stride forward in your faith:
 Activate your faith by reading and meditating on God’s Word. What you focus your thoughts on will either feed your faith or frustrate it.
 Ask yourself everyday: What am I doing to accomplish my goals?
 Do something everyday that’s outside of your normal routine, even if it’s driving to work on a different route.
 Do something everyday that you don’t like doing.
 Find an accountability coach who will challenge you to do new things.

If you practice these steps, eventually you will begin to stretch your faith. Ultimately you want to be at the place where you increase your faith by intentionally putting yourself in positively challenging situations where God has to come through for you. Most people I know don’t live like that, but I believe that’s the adventurous way that God wants all of us to live.

If you want your life to count for something significant, stop just talking about faith and really start walking by faith!

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.
Are you dreaming B.I.G. in 3D yet? www.DreamBIGin3D.com

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Non-Virtual Reality by Paul Wilson, Jr

One of the most amazing phenomenons in the history of human connectivity is happening right before our eyes. Check this out. Did you realize that it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million people? It took TV only 13 years to reach that number. For the Internet it was only 4. It took Facebook just two years to reach 50 million people!

While technology is making global connectivity easier, it seems to be making interpersonal connectivity harder, partly because so many people are consumed by what’s on their screens. Youth leadership guru, Tim Elmore, calls this generation of teens “Screenagers”, because their appetite and acquisition of information, communication, and entertainment is driven by their affinity for screens, i.e. cell phones, computers, TV, video games.

This “screenager” mentality is not just limited to teens. Why does it seem like millions of adults are more willing to have virtual online relationships - often with complete strangers - versus spending quality time building legitimate relationships with people they should be close to?

The more I delve into social networking technology, namely Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, the more I realize that people often substitute virtual interactions for real relationships. It’s very interesting that social networks use the term “friend” to describe connections, but the depth of most online relationships is questionable in relation to what friendship really means.

While these tools are great for sharing information with friends and family, reconnecting with former associates, and connecting with new people, along with many other personal and business uses, they should not be used as a replacement for building genuine, authentic relationships with key individuals.

Key relationships are critical to your long-term success. Relationships that I consider to be “key” include: spouse, parents, siblings, close friends, business partners and associates. No matter how great and user friendly technology is, no combination of hardware, software, and screens can replace these significant face-to-face relationships.

The reality is that the greatest achievements you will have in life will be determined by your ability to effectively manage key relationships. Likewise, the most difficult problems you will have in life will be greatly influenced by your inability to manage certain key relationships.

Developing strong relationships requires taking emotional risks and letting people into my space, not just MySpace. You will never be able to experience the depth of joy of a flourishing relationship if you never take an emotional risk of engaging with someone who could potentially cause you deep pain. If you’re unwilling to take relational risks, you are short-circuiting your long-term potential.

I encourage you to assess your current “key” relationships. Are you doing all you can to cause these relationships to flourish or are you spending inordinate amounts of time online? Are you investing adequate time to ensure relational success or are you trading off that time for the pursuit of virtual “friendships”?

Where you focus your time is where you will get results. Make sure you’re investing in real-ationships, not just virtual ones.

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.
Are you dreaming B.I.G. in 3D yet? www.DreamBIGin3D.com

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Divine Redesign by Paul Wilson, Jr.

So many people today are struggling to live a fulfilling, meaningful life. Their struggles are often tied to their inability to see and think beyond their current circumstances. They resign themselves to being “boxed-in”, feeling they have limited options and opportunities to change their lives. They let other people’s opinions and expectations keep them emotionally secluded in a place of fear, anxiety, guilt, malaise, irritation, and displeasure. Afraid to take risks, they stay stuck inside constraints that keep them from flourishing.

It’s time to break out of the box of mediocrity, complacency and dissatisfaction! To shift from flailing to flourishing, you need a divine redesign of your life. Redesigning your life starts with getting new blueprints from the Master Designer.

Here are ten areas where His design expertise can upgrade your life:
1. Seek God’s wisdom and purpose for your life. He has some incredible plans for you (Proverbs, 3:4, Jeremiah 29:11)!
2. Dream BIG! Start dreaming about what could be and stop despairing about what’s not (1 Corinthians 2:8-9).
3. Exercise your imagination more. Thinking ‘outside the box’ gives you the opportunity to redefine the box (Proverbs 8:12).
4. Don’t let others’ opinions and expectations become constraints for your life. God’s opinion of you is the one that matters the most (Romans 8:31).
5. Raise your expectations. Just because bad things happen in life doesn’t mean you have to walk around in fear (Psalm 112:7). Live courageously!
6. Focus on solving problems rather than promoting them. Most of your challenges aren’t going to disappear overnight, so adjust the way you respond to them (Psalm 49:3, Romans 12:2).
7. Invest yourself into others. You will reap what you sow into other people. However, don’t expect your harvest to come directly from those into whom you have sown (Galatians 6:7-8).
8. Do something different. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing continuously, but expecting different results. It’s time to crush complacency in your life (Proverbs 14:12).
9. Make drastic changes if necessary. Break out of internal (emotional) and external (job, relationship, habits) boxes that are unhealthy or destructive (Matthew 9:17).

Key question: If you were standing on the outside of your life looking in, what would you tell yourself to start doing, stop doing, or do differently?

Seize the day, embrace a divine redesign, and start living the life you were meant to live!

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.
B.I.G. dreams are coming soon to a mind near you. www.DreamBIGin3D.com


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The ‘Other’ Side of Ministry

So often people see pastors, ministers and preachers on Sunday mornings and become captivated by the attention we often attract. Unfortunately, it is because of this attention and associated ‘power’ that draws many men and women into coveting the title/position of pastor or minister. Unfortunately, it’s easy to get caught up on the church entourages, spotlights, attention and power, but many don’t fully understand the ‘other’ side and ‘true calling’ of ministry.

In the background of genuine, spirit-led pastors and ministers are prayer, counseling, education and administration. On the other side of the glitz and glamour of Sunday morning sermons or special event messages, is a life of ongoing accountability, speaking life into the seemingly hopeless and crisis management. This is why you often hear the phrase “many are called, but few are chosen.” This phrase was brought back to the forefront of my mind on this past Monday upon learning within a period of 3 hours about the death of one of our ministry members, receiving word about a friend’s brother attempting suicide and hearing that another friend/co-laborer and his wife lost their unborn baby. Ministry is seen as glamorous by those who only know the public side through Sunday morning services. However, there are the plentiful not-so-glamorous responsibilities that accompany the life of true minister.

Don’t get caught-up on the appearance of how things look externally because the true test of ministry is longevity and consistency. Those who covet the position will ultimately have the authenticity of their ‘calling’ tested over a period of time. Not everyone has the gift or anointing to speak before thousands on a regular basis and even the best speakers are connected to the plan God has for their ministry. You can select several small church preachers on a given Sunday morning and wonder why their church is so small in number because of their speaking gift. You can also select several large church preachers on a given Sunday morning and wonder why their church membership is so large because they are not-so-gifted speakers. TD Jakes summed it up the best when he said, “If God has planned for you to be a pastor or leader over thousands, then He will accomplish this despite the perception of others. If God has planned for you to be a pastor or leader over fifty people, then His will shall be accomplished no matter what others around you might say.” This simply means that you will only go as far as God’s plan will take you. It’s not based on your speaking ability, your knowledge of the Bible (although it helps), but is based on the anointing God has over your life.

Being a minister is a 24-hour per day job requiring selflessness, patience and love. Behind every powerful sermon you hear on Sunday morning or during the week is a life filled with comforting those who have lost a loved one, attending funerals, helping meet the needs of the homeless or those struggling financially, hearing from God on how to lead His people and encouraging those who may be going through a storm. Consider wisely and listen attentively if you think God is directing your path towards ministry. You can only fake ministry for so long because the 'other' side of ministry and Christ will expose you for who you really are!

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How Much is Too Much? by Paul Wilson, Jr.

This is a breaking news flash! You need to pay attention very closely. There is a rampant disease running around in our society, affecting the young and old. It sneaks up on you when you least expect it. It causes blindness, anxiety, greed, emotional instability, poor decision making and robs people of their common sense.

The name of this dangerous disease is “discontentus attitudinus,” which translated into English means “attitude of discontentment.” This epidemic has been around for centuries, but it seems to be getting worse with every generation. Our society’s collective drive for more fame, money, technology, food, cars, clothes, toys and other stuff seems to be increasingly insatiable.

How much is too much money? How much is too much fame? How much is too much attention? How much is too much success? How much is too much stuff?

The most significant symptoms of discontentment don’t discriminate. They cross over every racial, religious, political and socio-economic segment of our society. They include:
 Ignoring or discounting the good things happening in your life caused by the drive for always wanting “more”
 Neglecting/rejecting relationships with people that you have lost interest in for someone “better”
 Feeling that you’re somehow inadequate, because of what you don’t have
 Basing decisions on frivolous desires instead of real needs
 Competing with others to maintain a certain status or image
 Financial shackles caused by purchases you can’t afford obtained with credit you can’t afford

The recent death (and life) of Michael Jackson caused me to think about how as a society we glorify excess. His extreme success, which led to his extreme fame also created the environment that led to extreme pressures to maintain a persona that was “worthy” of his extreme fame. It’s amazing that even after seeing the lamentable consequences associated with his level of fame, how many people still clamor for it.

“True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” – 1 Timothy 6:6

One reason people are so challenged with discontentment is that they are more focused on getting rather than giving. If more people were as excited about giving as they are about getting, discontentment would be a moot issue.

Fortunately if you have been a victim of “discontentus attitudinus” there is hope for you. The key to your cure is understanding that the value of your living is tied directly to the value of your giving. You can increase the value of your life by investing your time, talents, and treasures into others.

You can’t buy contentment – you have to grow into it.

People who give regularly and enthusiastically usually do so from a heart of gratitude. They sincerely value the things they already have - including their relationships, experiences, and possessions - and desire to share them with others. My dad used to always tell my brothers and sisters that we needed to have an “attitude of gratitude.” Gratitude is genuinely appreciating and getting the most use out of what you already have.

The truth is gratitude and generosity will take you far with God and people. What you will receive in return is far more than what can be measured in this life.

Dream B.I.G.,
Paul Wilson, Jr.

B.I.G. Dreams are coming soon to a mind near you! www.DreamBIGin3D.com

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The 'Wait' of Life

I have been recently reflecting on the many things currently taking place (work, ministry, school, personal ventures) in my life, and the significant ‘weight’ they have me under. Fortunately, the ‘weight’ that life currently has me under is not really of concern because I know God will not put more on me than I can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). Once we realize God is a burden and load-bearer the temporary rigors and challenges will be viewed as minute in the grand scheme of life.

However, through my recent period of reflection, I have noticed the one life aspect I AM continually wrestling with…the ‘wait’ of life. Understanding the big picture vision and plan God has for my life has always been very important to me. In order to align with what God has planned for us as His children, it sometimes comes at the cost of being placed in a period of ‘wait’ before receiving His clearance to proceed forward or receiving an answer.

Its funny how many preachers and ‘church talking’ Christians are quick to throw out clichés on ‘waiting on the Lord’, etc., but we must recognize it’s much easier to speak on someone else’s situation. The outside words of encouragement do serve a purpose when spoken in love, but when we start dealing with the ‘wait’ of life, God is always the best source to plug into.

In speaking with a friend the other day, we concluded that the ‘wait’ of life is often something many of us don’t focus on until we need something from God. This usually generates an expectancy and impatience towards God when He’s already aware of the situation. Many of us need to go through a continuing education program that teaches us the art of ‘wait’ according to the Christian life. The ‘wait’ of life is directly correlated to the faith we have in God so remain encouraged when it seems as if things aren’t going your way. God is bigger than our situations and needs and has things under control despite our inability to understand. If you need a reference guide to waiting, please review Hebrews chapter 11 for testimonies.

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The "Right" Person...

I read this on the Oprah Winfrey website and found it to be somewhat interesting. This statement was made by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

Today's Shmuleyism

"Better to marry the right person in the wrong place than the wrong person in the right place. And, better to marry the right person at the wrong time than the wrong person at the right time."

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