then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. (Hebrews 10:9)

Who do you know that will benefit from participating in this new online community to experience God in fresh and exciting ways?

Will you invite them? If so, when?

I’m thrilled to report what the Holy Spirit birthed this morning. The outcome from this will be extraordinary.

Tomorrow (March 24) I’m launching a brand new, 12-week series of webinars on Tuesday evenings covering much of the material in Henry Blackaby’s book Experiencing God. You, your family, and your friends are invited to participate in this world-wide, online LIFE group. This is free and will be inspirational and transformational. To learn more and register, see today’s Blessings of the Day.

What makes this LIFE group different than most, if not all, previous Experiencing God life groups around the world is that this one is online and will integrate online journaling. Because it’s online, people from different countries will be able to interact live during each webinar. God will use this venue to build and unite a vibrant online community of disciples of Jesus. And through the life and leadership coaching by Jerry Graham and me, participants will be propelled forward into their destinies.

In his outstanding book “Experiencing God,” Henry Blackaby writes, “In the mind and teaching of Jesus, a church was a vital, living, dynamic fellowship of believers. The Greek word “koinonia,” most frequently translated “fellowship,” is the best way to describe what a church ought to be.”

Henry Blackaby writes, “When God speaks, it is important to write down what He says.” While Henry talks some about journaling in his book, he doesn’t go into nearly the depth we will. Bruce Wilkinson, in his book “Secrets of the Vine,” shares how journaling played a key role in him breaking through to a deeper abiding in Jesus and a life filled with fruitfulness. Yet, Bruce doesn’t explain how to journal strategically.

On several occasions during my 2-way journaling, Jesus has told me, “Coaching people to journal to hear My voice is your sweet spot.” The LORD has wired me to be an UNCOMMON Journaler, spending hours each day journaling strategically. Why? Mark Jarvis says if a leader must jump six feet if he wants his followers to jump six inches.

There’s a huge miracle story behind the Experiencing God Through Journaling series. I’ll share more about that later this week.

Prayer Power
Most gracious and merciful heavenly Father, we praise You as the Master with the master plan. Thank You for birthing this UNCOMMON idea and opportunity today. May you bless the launch of this new online community. Thank You for the many, many people around the world who will be transformed as a result. Jesus, we humble ourselves before You acknowledging that You are the King of kings and the LORD of lords, the Holy One of Israel. Amen and hallelujah!

Blessings of the Day
1) “The Birth of Life Skills Coaching” [http://webinars777.com/the-birth-of-life-skills-coaching/] – free webinar at 11 am EST on Tues March 24, featuring Ben Stewart, my top business coach

2) “Experiencing God Through Journaling” [http://webinars777.com/gods-will-and-your-life/] LIFE Group – Tues March 24 (8 pm EST) is the launch of a vital, living, dynamic fellowship of believers, featuring a 12-week series of webinars

3) Download free Intro to UNCOMMON Journaling For Breakthroughs

4) Invest in my “UNCOMMON Journaling For Breakthroughs” ebook with audio

5) Begin 45 day free trial of The Journal software

“If we don’t act on a good idea within 24 hours, we are less than 50% likely to ever act on it. If we haven’t acted on it inside of days, then we are less than 2% likely to ever act on it.” – Bill Gates

Blessings to learn to discern God’s will as you live your everyday life!

And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!” (Mark 9:7)

How often do you journal and what do you do with it?

In the past few weeks I have journaled extensively and reflected on the past year, It was an aha moment when I realized Mark Virkler had the greatest impact on me in 2008 of all the new people I met or connected with. Yet we only spoke for one hour on June 9, 2008. How could that be? It’s because Mark taught me four simple keys to hear God’s voice and followed up with an email which I reflected upon.

The next morning (June 10), the Holy Spirit woke me up around 4 am. He immediately prompted me to go to my desk to design a new computer desktop image (“You Can Hear God’s Voice”) with an image of Jesus, a list of the 4 keys, and Habukkuk 2:1-3. (See today’s Blessings of the Day). After doing that, I began 2-way journaling for the very first time in my life.

After doing this, I emailed the desktop image to Mark along with my journal entry for that morning. He responded promptly with a very encouraging email, counseling me on how to make my prayer even more personal.

On June 17 Jerry Graham and I officially launched our 35 day course titled “UNCOMMON Journaling For Destiny.” Each day during the 35 days, students and coaches were given one question to ask Jesus and then apply two-way journaling. Everyone who took our course and completed the assignments experienced substantial breakthroughs.

On June 18, I entered Destiny course Question #1 into my journal – “Lord, why do You want me to learn to hear Your voice?” Jesus responded, “Because I love You and I have specific instructions to give You each day – not vague thoughts, but specific things I want you to know and to do. Randy, I know what works and what doesn’t. I want to take you to an entirely new level of abiding in Me. I want you to experience My love like never before. I want You to know that I’m not just here beside You, but I’m here to answer questions that You have. I’ve been waiting.”

Since then, it’s been a journey of deeper and deeper intimacy with Jesus and richer relationships with people. By visiting today’s Blessings of the Day, you can read Mark Virkler’s simple message he emailed to me on June 9 teaching the 4 keys to hear God’s voice, Enjoy and be transformed.

Prayer Power
Jesus, thank You for using Mark Virkler as Your vessel to teach me the 4 keys to consistent, powerful, life-giving conversations with You. Thank You for our daily dialogs. Guide my followers to learn to hear Your voice consistently too. Thank You Jesus. I love You. You’re my all-in-all. Amen.

Blessings of the Day
“You Can Hear God’s Voice” desktop image (see below)
You Can Hear God’s Voice! (4 keys) – by Mark Virkler (see below)
Four Keys to Hearing God’s Voice

Blessings to learn to journal 2-way to hear and obey the voice of the LORD!

 

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You Can Hear God’s Voice! (by Mark Virkler)

The age in which we live is so married to rationalism and cognitive, analytical thought that we almost mock when we hear of one actually claiming to be able to hear the voice of God. However, we do not scoff, for several reasons. First, men and women throughout the Bible heard God’s voice. Also, there are some highly effective and reputable men and women of God alive today who demonstrate that they hear God’s voice. Finally, there is a deep hunger within us all to commune with God, and hear Him speak within our hearts.

As a born-again, Bible-believing Christian, I struggled unsuccessfully for years to hear God’s voice. I prayed, fasted, studied my Bible and listened for a voice within, all to no avail. There was no inner voice that I could hear! Then God set me aside for a year to study, read, and experiment in the area of learning to hear His voice. During that time, the Lord taught me four keys that opened the door to two-way prayer. I have discovered that not only do they work for me, but they have worked for many thousands of believers who have been taught to use them, bringing tremendous intimacy to their Christian experience and transforming their very way of living. This will happen to you also as you seek God, utilizing the following four keys. They are all found in Habakkuk 2:1,2. I encourage you to read this passage before going on.

Key #1 (STILLNESS) – I must learn to still my own thoughts and emotions, so that I can sense God’s flow of thoughts and emotions within me.

Habakkuk said, “I will stand on my guard post and station myself on the rampart…” (Hab. 2:1). Habakkuk knew that in order to hear God’s quiet, inner, spontaneous thoughts, he had to first go to a quiet place and still his own thoughts and emotions. Psalm 46:10 encourages us to be still, and know that He is God. There is a deep inner knowing (spontaneous flow) in our spirits that each of us can experience when we quiet our flesh and our minds.

I have found several simple ways to quiet myself so that I can more readily pick up God’s spontaneous flow. Loving God through a quiet worship song is a most effective means for me (note II Kings 3:15). It is as I become still (thoughts, will, and emotions) and am poised before God that the divine flow is realized. Therefore, after I worship quietly and then become still, I open myself for that spontaneous flow. If thoughts come to me of things I have forgotten to do, I write them down and then dismiss them. If thoughts of guilt or unworthiness come to my mind, I repent thoroughly, receive the washing of the blood of the Lamb, and put on His robe of righteousness, seeing myself spotless before the presence of God (Is. 61:10; Col. 1:22).

As I fix my gaze upon Jesus (Heb. 12:2), becoming quiet in His presence, and sharing with Him what is on my heart, I find that two-way dialogue begins to flow. Spontaneous thoughts flow from the throne of God to me, and I find that I am actually conversing with the King of Kings.

It is very important that you become still and properly focused if you are going to receive the pure word of God. If you are not still, you will simply be receiving your own thoughts. If you are not properly focused on Jesus, you will receive an impure flow, because the intuitive flow comes out of that upon which you have fixed your eyes. Therefore, if you fix your eyes upon Jesus, the intuitive flow comes from Jesus. If you fix your gaze upon some desire of your heart, the intuitive flow comes out of that desire of your heart. To have a pure flow you must first of all become still, and secondly, you must carefully fix your eyes upon Jesus. Again I will say, quietly worshiping the King, and then receiving out of the stillness that follows quite easily accomplish this.

Key #2 (VISION) – as I pray, I fix the eyes of my heart upon Jesus, seeing in the Spirit the dreams and visions of Almighty God.

We have already alluded to this principle in the previous paragraphs; however, we need to develop it a bit further. Habakkuk said, “I will keep watch to see,” and God said, “Record the vision” (Hab. 2:1,2). It is very interesting that Habakkuk was going to actually start looking for vision as he prayed. He was going to open the eyes of his heart, and look into the spirit world to see what God wanted to show him. This is an intriguing idea.

I had never thought of opening the eyes of my heart and looking for vision. However, the more I thought of it, the more I realized this was exactly what God intends for me to do. He gave me eyes in my heart. They are to be used to see in the spirit world the vision and movement of Almighty God. I believe there is an active spirit world functioning all around me. This world is full of angels, demons, the Holy Spirit, the omnipresent God, and His omnipresent Son, Jesus. There is no reason for me not to see it, other than my rational culture, which tells me not to believe it is even there and provides no instruction on how to become open to seeing this spirit world.

The most obvious prerequisite to seeing is that we need to look. Daniel was seeing a vision in his mind and he said, “I was looking…I kept looking…I kept looking” (Dan. 7:2,9,13). Now as I pray, I look for Jesus present with me, and I watch Him as He speaks to me, doing and saying the things that are on His heart. Many Christians will find that if they will only look, they will see. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us (Matt. 1:23). It is as simple as that. You will see a spontaneous inner vision in a manner similar to receiving spontaneous inner thoughts. You can see Christ present with you in a comfortable setting, because Christ is present with you in a comfortable setting. Actually, you will probably discover that inner vision comes so easily you will have a tendency to reject it, thinking that it is just you. (Doubt is satan’s most effective weapon against the Church.) However, if you will persist in recording these visions, your doubt will soon be overcome by faith as you recognize that the content of them could only be birthed in Almighty God.

God continually revealed Himself to His covenant people using dream and vision. He did so from Genesis to Revelation and said that, since the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 2, we should expect to receive a continuing flow of dreams and visions (Acts 2:1-4,17). Jesus, our perfect Example, demonstrated this ability of living out of ongoing contact with Almighty God. He said that He did nothing on His own initiative, but only that which He saw the Father doing, and heard the Father saying (Jn. 5:19,20,30). What an incredible way to live!

Is it actually possible for us to live out of the divine initiative as Jesus did? A major purpose of Jesus’ death and resurrection was that the veil be torn from top to bottom, giving us access into the immediate presence of God, and we are commanded to draw near (Lk. 23:45; Heb. l0: 19-22). Therefore, even though what I am describing seems a bit unusual to a rational twentieth-century culture, it is demonstrated and described as being a central biblical teaching and experience. It is time to restore to the Church all that belongs to the Church.

Because of their intensely rational nature and existence in an overly-rational culture, some will need more assistance and understanding of these truths before they can move into them. They will find this help in the book Communion With God by the same authors.

Key #3 (SPONTANEITY) – God’s voice in our hearts sounds like a flow of spontaneous thoughts. Therefore, when I tune to God, I tune to spontaneity.

The Bible says that the Lord answered me and said…(Hab. 2:2). Habakkuk knew the sound of God’s voice. Elijah described it as a still, small voice (I Kings 19:12). I had always listened for an inner audible voice, and surely God can and does speak that way at times. However, I have found that for most of us, most of the time, God’s inner voice comes to us as spontaneous thoughts, visions, feelings, or impressions. For example, haven’t each of us had the experience of driving down the road and having a thought come to us to pray for a certain person? We generally acknowledge this to be the voice of God calling us to pray for that individual. My question to you is, “What did God’s voice sound like as you drove in your car? Was it an inner, audible voice, or was it a spontaneous thought that lit upon your mind?” Most of you would say that God’s voice came to you as a spontaneous thought.

So I thought to myself, “Maybe when I listen for God’s voice, I should be listening for a flow of spontaneous thoughts. Maybe spirit-level communication is received as spontaneous thoughts, impressions, feelings, and visions.” Through experimentation and feedback from thousands of others, I am now convinced that this is so.

The Bible confirms this in many ways. The definition of paga, the Hebrew word for intercession, is “a chance encounter or an accidental intersecting.” When God lays people on our hearts for intercession, He does it through paga, a chance-encounter thought, accidentally intersecting our thought processes. Therefore, when I tune to God, I tune to chance-encounter thoughts or spontaneous thoughts. When I am poised quietly before God in prayer, I have found that the flow of spontaneous thoughts that comes is quite definitely from God.

Key #4 (JOURNALING) – Journaling, the writing out of our prayers and God’s answers, provides a great new freedom in hearing God’s voice.
God told Habakkuk to record the vision and inscribe it on tablets…(Hab. 2:2). It had never crossed my mind to write out my prayers and God’s answers as Habakkuk did at God’s command. If you begin to search Scripture for this idea, you will find hundreds of chapters demonstrating it (Psalms, many of the prophets, Revelation). Why then hadn’t I ever thought of it?

I called the process “journaling,” and I began experimenting with it. I discovered it to be a fabulous facilitator to clearly discerning God’s inner, spontaneous flow, because as I journaled I was able to write in faith for long periods of time, simply believing it was God. I did not have to test it as I was receiving it (which jams one’s receiver), because I knew that when the flow was over I could go back and test and examine it carefully, making sure that it lined up with Scripture.

You will be amazed when you attempt journaling. Doubt may hinder you at first, but throw it off, reminding yourself that it is a biblical concept, and that God is present, speaking to His children. Don’t take yourself too seriously. When you do, you become tense and get in the way of the Holy Spirit’s movement. It is when we cease our labors and enter His rest that God is free to flow (Heb. 4:10). Therefore, put a smile on your face, sit back comfortably, get out your pen and paper, and turn your attention toward God in praise and worship, seeking His face. As you write out your question to God and become still, fixing your gaze on Jesus, Who is present with you, you will suddenly have a very good thought in response to your question. Don’t doubt it, simply write it down. Later, as you read your journaling, you, too, will be blessed to discover that you are indeed dialoguing with God.

Some final notes: No one should attempt this without having first read through at least the New Testament (preferably, the entire Bible), nor should one attempt this unless he is submitted to solid, spiritual leadership. All major directional moves that come through journaling should be submitted before being acted upon.

For a complete teaching on this topic, order the book “How to Hear God’s Voice” at www.CWGministries.org or call 716-681-4896. Online catalog of 60 books available by Mark & Patti Virkler as well as 100 college courses through external degree: www.cluonline.com

To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (2Timothy 1:2)

Who do you have in your life that you are discipling?

My pastor, Matt Gregory, has told me on several occasions, that everyone needs three types of relationships – 1) someone who is mentoring them, 2) a peer mentor, and 3) someone they are mentoring. Let me share a miraculous story of someone I mentored in 2008.

On Thursday January 24, 2008, I met with Pastors Jacob and Charlene Phillips for a pre-scheduled phone call and online meeting to discuss creating a website for White Oak Run Baptist Church.

Because I’m a people person, I asked Jacob and Charlene how their family was doing. I learned they had 3 grown children, none of whom I had met. Charlene told me that JJ, one of her sons, had graduated in May 2007 and recently lost his job. When I asked what JJ did, she told me he is a graphics artist and has been drawing ever since he could hold a pencil. As a destiny coach, I immediately recognized that JJ’s God-given calling and gifting was graphics design.

When I asked Charlene if JJ knew how to use computer graphic programs, she told me “no.” However, recognizing God’s potential in JJ, I still asked to speak to him. It so happened he was at Charlene’s home. After talking to JJ, I invited him to come over the next morning to discuss possibly working for me.

When JJ showed up on time and nicely dressed the next morning (FridayJanuary 25), I introduced him to Jon Monroe, my web technical consultant. Then I shared my heart, including why I am so passionate for Jesus and the vision for my parent company (Empower 2000). We then went for a one mile walk in my neighborhood on the beautiful day. JJ shared his heart with me. God had quickly blessed us with a heart-to-heart connection.

I offered JJ a position as a part-time graphics consultant, he accepted, and then he began working that same day. I began the tedious process of training JJ to use Photoshop. It turned out he was a quick learner and very motivated. Over the course of the next seven months, JJ designed awesome logos, website headers, business cards, custom posters, and much more for me and my web clients. Eventually, JJ learned Flash on his own and made an awesome animation for my coaching business.

JJ fit in great with our web team and my wife Julia loved having him in our home. To my delight I saw JJ blossom into a mighty man of God as a result of our Christ-centered work days with daily morning devotionals. Over time, I began to love JJ as if he were my own son.

My discipling relationship with JJ led my wife and I to develop a covenant friendship with Jacob and Charlene Phillips. That opened a whole new bunch of doors of opportunity.

Eventually, I came to discover that God had blessed me with the most anointed graphics artist I had ever met. My wife, my son, my other web workers, and my closest friend all recognized this incredible talent in JJ. I believe JJ will be a catalyst to reclaim the “ART” mountain for Jesus Christ.

Around July or August 2008, I asked JJ to find some Photoshop video tutorials. To my surprise, he was able to list those immediately because he frequently accessed those at home to learn as much as possible, as fast as possible. Now enjoy JJ’s links:

• http://www.tutorialized.com/search.php?id=1&s=basics ***
• http://www.techtutor.tv/category/photoshop-cs3
• http://www.vineyardesigns.com/resources/
• http://www.photoshopatoms.com/tutorials/

Around September 2008, I released me three part-time web workers, including JJ. God had gotten me to the point where I was finally ready to outsource my work on an as-needed basis instead. Within a month or so, JJ interview at a large company which was so impressed with his talent they created a brand new position as “computer graphics artist” and hired JJ.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for connecting me with JJ Phillips and then giving me the opportunity to disciple him. Thank You for the strong bond you built between the two of us. Thank You for all the good artistic seeds that JJ sowed into my web business. May 2009 be the most prosperous year of his young life. Thank You Jesus. Amen and hallelujah!

Blessings to learn to use Photoshop well to help your business or organization flourish in the marketplace!

Dr. Randy Peck
“Blessed to be a blessing”
The Connector – connecting people, ideas, and resources in Christ through the POWER of the Holy Spirit

Blessings of the Day
First Steps Ministry: One-on-one discipleship
What Are You Thankful For Today?

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” (Mark 8:29)

Who is Jesus?
How has He dramatically changed your life?

When I was working part-time as an anesthesiologist in Giles County Virginia, one of my top spiritual connections was Geraldine Shaver. I referred to her as “God’s scout for me in Giles” in my devotional message on December 12, 2006 titled “The Miracle of Geraldine Shaver.”

Geraldine has a heart after God’s heart and is a powerful intercessor for the Kingdom of God. One day she told me the story of meeting Richard McMahon, founder of “Jesus For America” at the the local Walmart. Apparently Richard had his RV parked for several days at that Walmart with a bold message in large letters on the outside. After Geraldine introduced herself, Richard gave her his CD titled “The Answer.”

As a dear friend, Geraldine forwarded that CD to me. I uploaded that message to my iTunes and have listened to it at least 30 times. It is the most clear explanation of what it means to be “born again” that I have ever heard.

How important is it to be born-again? The central message of Jesus is this, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) That is what Jesus shared with Nicodemus, a Pharasee and ruler of the Jews, when he came to converse with Jesus in private.

I encourage you to spend the 13 minutes necessary to listen to Tracks 1 and 3 below. The Answer is an audio presentation by Richard McMahon, founder of Jesus For America.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, thank You for this powerful message by Richard McMahon. May You convict hearts and spread the message around the world through your supernatural highway of communication. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Link of the Day
The Answer – Audio message by Richard McMahon (see below)

Blessings to know and follow Jesus!

Randy Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
The Connector – connecting people, ideas, and resources in Christ through the POWER of the Holy Spirit

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The Answer – Track 1 (4 minute message by Richard McMahon)

The Answer – Track 2 (Music)

The Answer – Track 3 (9 minute message by Richard McMahon)

The Answer – Track 4 (Music)

UNCOMMON Opportunity
To learn more about Today’s life changing webinar “Introduction to UNCOMMON Journaling for Destiny,” CLICK HERE. Testimony: What a blessing! Journaling and using The Journal is revolutionizing my life. – Dan Paulsen

Secular coaches call it ‘intuition”.  LLC coaches have learned that we are really helping clients Hear God for themselves in a coaching conversations and discovering the empowering joy of their own voice in the process.  We train coaches to “listen to what really matters” by serving clients to hear, engage, embrace, and activate God’s Destiny Directions for them. – Joseph Umidi

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8)

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your ability to consistently hear God’s voice?
What can you do to improve that?

In yesterday’s devotional titled “Changing Lives – Breaking Through,” we continued with our theme of Christ-enabled living, impossible living, heroic living. Yesterday’s key message: “When you change your thinking and your HABITS, you will change your life.” You were presented with an opportunity to participate in today’s life-changing webinar to change your thinking and habits.

Today at Noon EST, Jerry Graham and I are hosting an introductory webinar about our outstanding 5 week Journal 201 course titled “UNCOMMON Journaling for Destiny.” Rev. Matt Gregory and Dan Paulsen will be sharing their first hand testimonies of the impact of our prior course. Even if you are not available, you can receive a link to the recorded webinar simply by registering. CLICK HERE to learn more.

While preparing the PowerPoint presentation for today’s webinar, I was prompted to write down some of the new fruit I personally experienced from the Journal 201 course. Here is a partial list:
1) Began using The Journal myself
2) Got connected to Debra Thompson Roedl and the Wealth Alliance Group
3) Transformation Virginia was officially launched
4) Launched my own web store with products, courses, and memberships
5) Soul Purpose Church (my church) formally adopted “Coaching you to discover and fulfill your soul purpose” as its mission
6) Door opened for an alliance between Team Destiny and Lifeforming Leadership Coaching
7) I bought a brand new bicycle. My old one was more than 25 years old (literally an antique).

In my August 22 devotional, I mentioned that Joseph Umidi was my top new contact in 2006 and Debra Thompson Roedl has been my top new contact in 2008.
 
On August 19, Joseph sent the monthly Lifeforming Leadership Coaching e-newsletter promoting our webinar to his 1,500 or so contacts. In his message titled “Coaching with an ‘Ear To Hear’,” Joseph wrote:
 
“I am pleased to offer all of our coaches the unique combination of 2 keys to Hearing God for yourself that will translate into more effective “hearing” with your clients.  This is the unique combination of journaling and coaching to clarify what God is saying to you and giving you the ability to help your clients discover the same for them. Dr. Jerry Graham and Dr. Randy Peck have collaborated to design this life changing 5-week process for you that I highly recommend.”
 
Debra Roedl is regarded by some as the top internet marketing strategist in the world. When I met in person with her at the Marriott Crystal City (VA) on August 16 (the same day as The Call DC), she committed to promote our combo journaling and coaching courses. to her Wealth Alliance contacts around the world.

A few weeks ago I talked to Buddy Smith, Executive Assistant to the Chairman for the American Family Association. He told me he is willing to have Jerry and I interviewed about our combo coaching and journaling courses on Today’s Issues (American Family Radio). AFR has more than 1 million listeners nationwide.

Obviously God has His mantle of favor on the “UNCOMMON Journaling for Destiny” course. On behalf of all our Team Destiny teammates, we invite you to be blessed by registering for today’s webinar. Even if you aren’t available today, you will receive a link to our recorded webinar just for registering. Our target audience is people who are passionate to know God and make Him known. We are training champions for Christ. To register for today’s webinar, CLICK HERE.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, we praise You as an intimate God – as a God who speaks to us regularly. Thank You for training me to hear Your voice, which makes life flow so much easier. Bless each reader who chooses to register for today’s webinar to learn to hear Your voice. Thank You Jesus. You’re my all in all. Amen and hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Unthinkable: The Scott Rigsby Story

Blessings to develop an ear to hear God’s voice!

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19)

What is your POTENTIAL? How do you discover, release and maximize that?
What is your LIFE purpose?
What is your DESTINY?
What role will a COACH play in guiding you to fulfill your potential, life purpose, and destiny?

These are all powerful questions. Finding the answers and pursuing your dream lead to the abundant life that Jesus promises – a life of PASSION. Very few people are actually living the dream that God has placed within them.

I like what Bill Gates (Microsoft) says, “If we don’t act on a good idea within 24 hours, we are less than 50% likely to ever act on it. If we haven’t acted on it inside of days, then we are less than 2% likely to ever act on it.”

This week’s series of devotionals are all related to UNCOMMON DESTINY Coaching. Through my extensive journaling over the past 7 years, God has coached me into my destiny. Now I’d like to share some of my experiences and methods with you in my webinar titled “UNCOMMON Journaling for Breakthroughs” on May 20-22. To be richly blessed, learn more, and register, CLICK HERE.

Will you allow TEAM DESTINY to coach you to live your dream?

In the May 2008 Newsletter for Lifeforming Leadership Coaching, Joseph Umidi states:

1) “Jesus defines “success” as the bottom line of whether or not we are making disciples.

2) Discipleship is almost entirely relational in a combination of small group and one on one culture, outside of church meetings, and especially through the influence of healthy conversations from healthy families around the table.

3) Discipleship assumes we are “going into all of our world” (most of what we do outside of church meetings) to make #1 and #2 above happen. That makes “sending capacity” a better benchmark of success than “seating capacity”.

4) The end game of discipleship is for nations to be discipled (Rev. 21:24-27) so the “burning bush vision” for the church is to equip members to make disciples in the places that shape a nations; at work in the major spheres of vocations that shape the culture.

5) We have made discipleship more of a “teaching commission” at the expense of a “training omission” (v.20). Action steps that integrate and align our daily behaviors with kingdom values and Jesus commands is more hitting the mark than “fill-in-the-blank” lectures or sermon series. (Note: It only takes 45 minutes to read the teaching content of Jesus words given us in scripture.)”

To read the rest of Joseph’s excellent article, visit today’s Link of the Day

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, we praise You as the Master Coach with the Master plan. Everything happens for a reason. Thank Your for everyone You lead to read this message. Bless them to find appropriate coaching and training to unlock their destinies. In Jesus’ name, we pray and give You glory. Amen and hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Lifeforming Leadership Coaching May 2008 Newsletter [see below]

Blessings to seek and find an UNCOMMON coach to guide you to your destiny!

UNCOMMON Journaling for Breakthroughs
Through my extensive journaling over the past 7 years, God has coached me into my destiny. Now I’d like to share some of my experiences and methods with you in my webinar titled “UNCOMMON Journaling for Breakthroughs” on May 20-22. The purpose is to help coach you to journal in UNCOMMON ways to experience breakthroughs in your life.
 
To be richly blessed, learn more, and register, CLICK HERE.
 
May 20, 2008, 7-8 pm EDT
May 21, 2008, 1-2 pm EDT
May 22, 2008, 7-8 am EDT
May 22, 2008, 4-5 pm EDT

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From: Lifeforming Leadership Coaching
Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:36 PM
To: Randy Peck
Subject: Lifeforming Leadership Coaching Newsletter – May 2008

Lifeforming Leadership Coaching May 2008 Newsletter
ASSEMBLING THE WHOLE STORY
 
THE GREAT OMISSION

Matthew 28: 18-20

The following thoughts would better be served in a blog because they require the need for a “paradigm funeral” of old school thinking and a renewed mind of defining success the Jesus way.  Here is a list of those thoughts to get some conversations going in your part of the world:

1. Jesus defines “success” as the bottom line of whether or not we are making disciples.

2. Discipleship is almost entirely relational in a combination of small group and one on one culture, outside of church meetings, and especially through the influence of healthy conversations from healthy families around the table.

3. Discipleship assumes we are “going into all of our world” (most of what we do outside of church meetings) to make #1 and #2 above happen.  That makes “sending capacity” a better benchmark of success than “seating capacity”.

4. The end game of discipleship is for nations to be discipled (Rev. 21:24-27) so the “burning bush vision” for the church is to equip members to make disciples in the places that shape a nations; at work in the major spheres of vocations that shape the culture.

5. We have made discipleship more of a “teaching commission” at the expense of a “training omission” (v.20).  Action steps that integrate and align our daily behaviors with kingdom values and Jesus commands is more hitting the mark than “fill-in-the-blank” lectures or sermon series. (Note: It only takes 45 minutes to read the teaching content of Jesus words given us in scripture.)

Recently Bill Hybels of Willow Creek authentically announced that his “seeker-friendly”congregation did not produce transformational change in the lives of its members; meaning they were not discipled.  George Barna’s extensive research in the discipleship deficit in the American church brought him to the unfortunate position of an anti “organized church” position.  I believe that Lifeforming can offer a way forward in this debate.

I am giving my life to the core value that Transformational Coaching is a key to making more and better disciples in our nations.  Here is why:

1. It consistently targets the core factor of making a disciple; hearing God’s voice. Every religion makes disciples but a disciple of Jesus is led by Him personally (not just His principles) and has the “unfair advantage” of knowing that voice (John 10:3) in the unique design that we are created to respond to that voice (Psalm 139: 13-16).

2. It consistently maximizes the core delivery to make a disciple; a non-judgmental relationship with someone who seeks to 100% believe in you as the Father does, 100% work with you in what the Spirit is prioritizing, and 100% enable you to take ownership for your own development and progress.

3. It consistently models the authentic spiritual authority of stewarding transformation to another by first having been transformed ourselves in the same manner (2 Timothy 2:2).  UNTIL SPIRITUAL FATHERS AND MOTHERS ARE DISCIPLED THEMSELVES TRANSFORMATIONALY THEY ARE DEPENDENT ON PROGRAMS AND METHODS THAT ARE INFORMATION TRANSACTIONS MORE THAN LIFE TRANSFER.

4. It consistently produces the kind of community that is compelling and engaging of the spiritual hunger in our cultures that are seeking life-giving spiritual relationships when they turn to Christ. Lifeforming’s Transformational coaches know how to catalyze authentic relationships in organizations that shift those cultures to environments that accelerate personal development in the context of the organization’s mission.

Lifeforming Leadership Coaching has a key role to play in restoring the Great Commission in Matthew 28.  We are about the Father’s business of making disciples the Jesus way.  This is not an option; it is a mandate.

Dr. Joseph Umidi
President, Lifeforming Leadership Coaching

but exhort one another DAILY (Hebrews 3:13a)

What would a healthy daily routine look like to you?
Have you written that down?

Yesterday’s webinar (web seminar) with Rev. Ron Davidson was awesome. What he had to share spoke so strongly to my spirit. Several times while Ron was sharing, my eyes flooded with tears. Ron has the heart of Jesus to serve the poor. While the group attending this webinar was quite small, every person was deeply impacted by what Ron had to say based on survey results. Every attendee made a commitment to make a donation to Gleaning for the World to benefit Operation Rescue Liberia.

Ron says, “A vision is not a business plan. In fact most visions if written as a business plan would not make sense. A vision is from God for the purpose of reaching people with Gods love so God’s receives the glory. A vision is not normal and is uncommon.” That message really spoke to me since my growth goal for my current Implementation coaching course is to develop a business plan for my web company.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30 PM and set my PDA alarm for 5:55 AM. Wouldn’t you know it, the Holy Spirit woke me up at 5:54 AM to formally begin my morning quiet time. This was less than one minute before my alarm went off. Mind you, it was dark and I had no clue what time it was.

While lying in bed and listening to my scheduled iTunes playlist for the day, the Holy Spirit gave me an instruction to make a slight but profound change to the wording for the gorgeous poster image on my computer desktop. JJ Phillips, my anointed graphics artist, designed that.

What was this profound yet simple change in wording? “The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine!” became “The secret of my future is hidden in my daily routine!” While this may seem insignificant to many people, the change was huge because the message became personal and I see it every day when I come to my computer. The Holy Spirit made it crystal clear to me that my simple desktop image and scripture is His business plan for me. To see this gorgeous custom image, visit today’s Link of the Day.

God has given me a huge vision and I won’t fulfill it by planning in detail. The Holy Spirit refuses to be put in a box. He’s much too great for that.

Prayer Power
O Holy Spirit, soul of my soul, I do adore thee. Thank You for enlightening, guiding, strengthening, and consoling me. Open the eyes of my readers today, speaking to them Spirit to spirit, to have them understand and apply today’s message to their own lives. Thank You Jesus, my King and my Redeemer! Amen and Hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Holy Spirit inspired poster image (business plan) for Dr. Randy Peck  [see below]

Blessings to be men and women of “every day” like Dr. Jerry Falwell was!

UNCOMMON Opportunity
I am hosting another free webinar titled “UNCOMMON Internet Marketing Seminar” from Noon – 1 PM EDT on Wed March 19. This can be a huge blessing to your own network of friends and supporters. To learn more and register visit https://www.webinars777.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=43&webinar_id=0000015. Thank you.

Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
(Psalm 1:1-3)

Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” (1 Corinthians 5:13b)

Do you have any good “negative” friends? Who are they?
Are you a good “negative” friend?

While lying in bed early on Sunday morning (Feb 10), I listened to Deuteronomy Chapters 14-18 using my iPod. When I got up, I prayed in My Secret Place and then came to my desk to journal. Of the many scriptures I cut and pasted into my journal, the message that jumped out the most at me was “put away the evil.” I then did a Bible search using that phrase and pasted the 12 corresponding scriptures into my journal on a separate page. The last verse in this collection was 1 Cor 5:13.

Lo and behold, when I went to the worship service at Soul Purpose Church later that morning, Pastor Matt Gregory preached a sermon titled “Why Everyone Needs Negative Friends.” His message was about “putting away the evil” from the Body of Christ and the first scriptures mentioned came from 1 Cor 5. Coincidence? No way. The following comes from Matt’s sermon handout:

What is good negative friend?
1) A Christian – someone who will tell you “No”
2) Someone who will confront you when necessary.
3) Someone who won’t ignore an important issue.
4) Someone who values your soul more than our friendship.

Why do you need “negative” friends?
1) Behavior is contagious. Who you hang around is who you become like.
2) They provide spiritual protection.
3) They are the deeper friendships. If you’re not really known, you’re not really loved.
4) When we know someone cares enough to confront we grow more.
5) Bad behavior among Christians defiles the “brand” of Christ.

How do you get a “negative” friend?
1) Hang around those you want to be like. (Prov 13:20)
2) Embrace criticism. Before you react to criticism, stop and think what you can learn. (Prov 15:32, Prov 12:1)
3) Find them at church (Heb 10:24-25)
4) Join a LIFE group to find your “one anothers” (Prov 18:1, 1 Peter 5:8, James 5:16)

How do you become a good negative friend?
1) Listen first and last. (Prov 19:13)
2) Hurt for the person before you confront. (2 Cor 12:21)
3) Care more about what is best for the other person’s long-term welfare than your own feelings. (Prov 28:23, Prov 27:5)
4) Speak the truth in love. Balance the two. (Eph 4:15)
5) Be willing to forgive. (2 Cor 2:6-8)
6) Help in the restoration process. That’s the goal, not destruction. (Gal 6:1)
7) Keep things confidential. Most things need to stay very confidential. (Prov 17:9, Matt 18:15-17)
8) Practice confessing your own sin and working on your own condition. (Prov 28:13)

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I praise You as the God who disciplines those You love. Thank You for my wife and the close friends You have placed in my life to hold me accountable. May I always have a teachable spirit willing to listen and measure my behavior against Your holy Word. May my life and family give honor to the name of Jesus Christ. Thank You my LORD and Savior. Amen and Hallelujah!

Link of the Day
Christian Accountability – A Need for Support

Blessings to be a good “negative” friend and to have friends in your life who hold you accountable!

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19a)

What is your dream?
What people, ideas, and resources do you need to help you achieve that?

In my devotional on November 7 titled “Discerning the Voice of the Lord,” I mentioned that I would be sharing part of a fantastic story that is unfolding. Little did I know that God would quickly add several more chapters to His-story in such a short while.

In the morning on November 8, Jeff Bernstein, my Messianic Jewish friend with a ministry to Jewish people in the New York City metropolitan area, called to ask if he could visit me in Culpeper on his way back home from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. He arrived at our home around 9:30 PM and stayed overnight. This was the first time Jeff stayed at our home.

The next morning after a few hours of delightful conversations, my wife (Julia) and I took Jeff for breakfast in downtown Culpeper. Pranas Rimeikis, the mayor of Culpeper, happened to be eating breakfast at this same restaurant. To my amazement, God opened the door for Jeff to minister to him and begin a faith discussion. This in turn opened the door for me to mention to Pranas that Stephanie Klenzig, the mayor of Elk River Minnesota, was planning to visit Culpeper in February 2008. I told Pranas I’d like our local government officials to meet her and for him to read The Elk River Story book to learn more. I’ve been praying about this for months.

At 7 PM on November 8, Michael Stay and I had a short phone conversation with Ted Baehr. Afterwards we called one another to discuss our impressions and where to go from there.

During our conversation, Michael told me that Ron Paul recently raised $4.2 million in 24 hours from 35,000 people for his Presidential campaign. That quickly got the attention of media leaders, opening the door for Ron Paul to be interviewed on CNN and other major TV networks. I’ve been following Ron Paul for a while and in my professional opinion as an Internet marketing specialist, he is doing the best job by far of any political candidate to use the Internet effectively. His tremendous results demonstrate the power of social (viral) marketing.

Michael also told me that he is going to do a prestige introduction for me to Gary Edmonds, the head of Breakthrough Partners [www.breakthroughpartners.org]. I learned this organization does three things: 1) Catalyze – new initiatives, 2) Connect – people, ideas, and resources, and 3) Coach – churches to wholistically impact their communities. That’s amazing because it’s very similar to what I do.

So what? What does all this have to do with you? Lots. By sharing my journey as God’s story unfolds, it’s my hope that you will better recognize God’s hand in your life, your dream will become clear, you will get connected to people, ideas, and resources to help you achieve that dream, and that you will choose to be coached and coach others.

Prayer Power
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Let the heavens rejoice! Father, thank You for You. Thank You for Your presence and Your favor. Thank You for all these breakthroughs in my life, which come from Your doing, not mine. Inspire my readers to expect and experience many more breakthroughs in their lives. Teach them to catalyze, connect, and coach. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Breakthrough Partners [www.breakthroughpartners.org]

Blessings to catalyze, connect, and coach!

“exercise (train) yourself toward godliness” (1 Timothy 4:7)

What disciplines do you have to train properly to love God and love people?

Many people want what others have, but aren’t willing to pay the price for that success. In my October 16 devotional, I mentioned that “as in a marathon, the secret lies not in trying harder, but in training consistently.” It’s interesting that I wrote that devotional on October 13 and the very next day, God connected my wife (Julia) with an American Olympic hopeful (Briana Whaley) for the marathon.

Briana’s husband moved his family to Culpeper in the Spring of 2007 to pastor a local church. Briana quickly received a lot of publicity in our local newspaper because she needed to only shave a minute or so off her best marathon time to qualify for the Olympic trials taking place in early 2008.

Julia first met Briana a few days before the 4th of July 5k run in Culpeper. Julia competed in that race and that is where I met Briana. Briana “cleaned clock” beating the second place female by minutes. She told us her last chance to quality for the Olympic trials would be the Chicago marathon in October. Neither Julia nor I had seen her since.

On October 7, Julia ran the Army Ten Miler in Washington D.C. A 25 year old man died during the race, partly because it was so warm and they ran out of water on the course. When Julia told me a man also died at the Chicago marathon that same day because it was so hot there, I immediately thought of Briana and asked Julia, “How did she do?”

Then on October 14, while Julia was manning her coffee table for the annual major event in downtown Culpeper called “Taste of Culpeper,” Briana came up out-of-the-blue to talk to Julia. She remembered Julia, although Julia barely recognized her. Julia learned that God had changed Brian’s plans for some reason and she decided to run the marathon in Philadelphia in November instead of the Chicago marathon on October 7. Wow! That’s the sovereignty of God.

When Briana shared with Julia that she was nervous about her upcoming marathon, Julia encouraged her by saying that what happens will happen. If God wants her to quality for the Olympics, she will, and if He doesn’t she won’t. Julia continued to minister to Briana by sharing her own personal story about how God had blessed her with such good health to often finish at the top of age group in triathlons. She said, “It’s all about Him, not about me.” Julia shared that she no longer gets nervous before major competitions because all she can do is train properly. God is ultimately responsible for the results. When He get us on the platform, who are we going to give glory to? Wow! I was so proud of Julia.

My favorite Super Bowl of all time was the one on February 4, 2007. Why? Because the coaches of both teams were humble born-again Christians. Dungy became the first black coach to win the championship, beating good friend and protege Lovie Smith in a game that featured the first two black coaches in the Super Bowl. While being interviewed after winning the most watched sporting event in the world, both Tony Dungy and the owner of the Indianapolis Colts publically acknowledged and thanked God.

While most of us never will never qualify for the Olympics or be on a platform to speak to influence millions of people at one time, each of us does have the opportunity to seek God with all our heart and then share His love and joy to change the lives of people that God puts in our path. That’s called a “ministry of paths” – to be Jesus to whoever God puts in our path.

Following Jesus simply means learning from Him how to arrange my life around activities that enable us to live in the fruit of the Spirit. The true indicator of spiritual well-being is growth in the ability to love God and people.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, my heart’s desire is to love You with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul, and all my strength and then manifest Your love to other people. Help me to be diligent about seeking Your Kingdom first Your righteousness first each and every day. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

Link of the Day
Superbowl XLI – a fine example of godly leadership [http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/history/recap/sbxli]

Blessings to train well to love God and people!