4 open doors when others slam shut

Posted on by Ken Newton

All of us face times in life when something in which we had invested comes to an end. It could be financial, vocational or relational. Whether the door slams shut suddenly or even closes gradually, what do we do next?

Stepping up to the open doorImage wwwistockphoto.com
Stepping up to the open door
Image © http://www.istockphoto.com

I spoke to a research scientist yesterday who was recently made redundant after his project funding stopped. In another conversation, a contact in vocational ministry told me how a longstanding annual event of which he was on the leadership team has been cancelled.

I can relate to both, having taken a hit in business just over four years ago when the credit crunch bit sharply. I regrouped very quickly and didn’t let the experience get me down. But I did need to open some new doors, or walk further beyond those already open.

Here are some of the doors that have helped me in recent years (and may prompt you in finding yours):

Door of community

Both of the above conversations took place in a church community where support and encouragement can be found in times of change. When you suddenly find yourself outside your familiar workplace or project ‘circle,’ life can be harder if you don’t have a core community on which you can depend.

Door of creativity

While I’m deeply committed to my business interests, I don’t invest every ounce of my identity in them. So my sense of worth does not fluctuate with the highs and lows of business performance. Which doors can you open to balance out the over-emphasis we can all place on validation by work? One big passion for me is writing and playing songs. You also have a creative capacity which is ripe for exploring.

Door of technology

Many businesses and ministries are adapting well to the opportunities offered by online media. And some high profile retailers have recently paid the price for adapting too slowly to competition from e-tailing. How can you turn the handle on the door of technology to your advantage? My wife and I met an old friend yesterday who was looking for a new church and had been attracted in after the church website showed up on google.

On an individual level: how could the combination of face-to-face contact and an online presence – or up-skilling in technology – help you reach your full potential for touching people’s lives?

The door

The above are just some of the doors we can walk through during times of change. But there is one door that, when we walk in close relationship with him, will guide us through all the right doors for us. Jesus said:

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

He meant more than eternal salvation here. Pasture is also God’s kingdom reality of peace, provision, protection and guidance to which we can turn in the here and now. No matter the ins and outs of life.

Which doors do you need to open – or venture further beyond – this week? Are there any doors you need to close?

5-a-day and the fruit of what we say

Posted on by Ken Newton

What’s in our hearts influences what we say and our spoken words in turn influence the fruit we’ll bear in life.

Fruitful talk refreshes livesImage istockphoto.com
Fruitful talk refreshes lives
Image © istockphoto.com

It’s well known that the fruit we take in through our mouths can be good for our health. Less prevalent is the idea that what we say – the fruit that comes out – can affect lives for good or ill.

There’s a proverb that goes: ‘From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things, as surely as the work of his hands rewards him.’¹ And Jesus revealed that man’s heart is the source of this fruit, teaching: ‘For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.’²

Back in the 90s, I handled the UK media work for one of the first national announcements of the health benefits of eating ‘5-a-day’ portions of fruit and veg. If I were to create a campaign today promoting 5 daily portions of spoken fruit, here are some memory joggers I’d recommend:

1. Gratitude fruit

A few moments taken to say thank you helps build relationships and co-operation. Several years ago a staff member told me how unusual it was for an employer to thank them for their work as they left for the evening. I know it made things easier when it came to asking them occasionally to start earlier to clear an urgent job.

2. Affirmation fruit

We may sing about not heeding ‘man’s empty praise.’ But we still need to give and receive wholehearted praise, as long as our main motive isn’t to pursue people’s plaudits. Being specific helps. Even better than “you did a good job,” is: “I appreciated the creativity and attention to detail you put into that design in the tight timescale.”

3. Response fruit

The ‘fruit of our fingertips’ also matters – what we ‘say’ through our various electronic devices. Fast response to email messages – even if you can’t give the full answer right away – is good fruit. Quick acknowledgment of twitter follows and mentions or LinkedIn endorsements also helps. Engage well with others and they’ll give your messages a better hearing.

4. Feedback fruit

Giving and receiving feedback well is an art in itself. Keys to giving constructive criticism include: a) exercise the first two fruits regularly, b) keep your cool, c) if possible, open and close with something positive, and d) don’t leave it so long that the matter festers or the feedback is untimely.

5. Declaration fruit

There is power in speaking out life by faith into your own and others’ situations. Igniting Hope Ministries offer some great examples of this kind of declaration.

Glasgow’s motto is in fact a Christian declaration inspired by its 6th Century founder, St Mungo:

Let Glasgow flourish by the preaching of Thy word and the praising of Thy name

I came across a Glasgow church recently where the whole congregation speaks blessings together over the city during Sunday worship. Their declaration starts with Proverbs 11:11 – ‘By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted’ – and closes with the city motto.

Could ‘5-a-day’ become the new motto for speaking out good fruit? Then again, it’s the speaking from the heart and not the frequency that counts.

¹ Proverbs 12:14 NIV     ² Luke 6:45b NIV

 

5 keys to re-focus your vision for this year

Posted on by Ken Newton

Whether you’re raring to go at the start of this New Year, wrestling with difficult issues, or both, now is a good time to sharpen your vision.

Vision Pay Binoculars
For a clearer vision, turn to God
Image © istockphoto.com

Over the past five years, along with many highpoints, I’ve experienced several setbacks. I’ve taken hits with family health, with finances and in business. Some dreams were put on hold, but I’m seeing the turnarounds.

What motivates me is the certain knowledge that God will sustain me in all circumstances and, with my co-operation, enable what he has placed and will place on my heart.

How do you and I rekindle the fire of past visions or ignite new ones? ‘Having sorrow’ in his heart and feeling distant from God as he faces one of his hardest trials, King David pleads for revelation:

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God;
Enlighten my eyes.

Knowing well the solution to his plight, he goes on:

But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.¹

Here are five keys, unpacked from these lines and my own experience, for overcoming trials and re-vitalising the vision:

1.  Revelation – look upwards

I am clear about my God-given vision, and am sure that he will supply me with everything I need to see it happen. I also know that he will meet my every need today – not just the big picture stuff.

In asking ‘enlighten my eyes,’ I don’t believe David was looking for more head knowledge, but for his eyes to be opened supernaturally by revelation directly from the Holy Spirit.

For a clearer vision, turn to God – in business, in ministry, in family life, community or finances. He will reveal it to you in ways you don’t always expect.

2.  Remembrance – look back in gratitude

Whether you aim to reach a particular goal or overcome an obstacle this year, recall with gratitude the times when God brought you through a major impasse or favoured you. When he ‘dealt bountifully with you.’

I recall having a hunch after a lean spell in business several years ago to call a former local authority client I hadn’t spoken to for a year or so. As she took my call she was astonished: “That’s really weird! I was just about to phone you today.” That call led to a major contract that would then be replicated by three other Scottish local authorities. I thank God for my hunch – and the four contracts. If he did it before, he’ll do it again.

3.  Reliance – look to and trust God

There’s a strand of popular culture which encourages people to be wholly self-reliant and proclaims the mantra: ‘I can have it all.’ That’s fine for a time, when the job’s going well, you’re in rude health and the new car is in the driveway. But where do you turn when the wheels come off through reduced income, redundancy, workplace pressures, conflicts or illness? Christian culture encourages God-reliance and declares truths such as: ‘We are more than a conquerors though him who loved us’² and ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’³ Not literally anything, but those things he intends for us personally and equips us for.

4.  Rejoicing – look forward in expectation

Just because your dream has perhaps been deferred, don’t defer the hope that will help you to see it realised. Thank God in advance for the breakthroughs that you want to see in your life, your business, your ministry, your family and community; praise him now for the coming fulfilment of the vision he has ‘enlightened your eyes’ with.

5. Reconnection – look to the Life within you

At the heart of new covenant faith is living life in connection with the living God – within us. The apostle Paul describes this ‘once hidden mystery’ as:

Christ in you, the hope of glory† (emphasis mine)

The secret of Christian living is the glorious life and hope of Jesus himself within you. That truth in itself – the Truth himself – keeps my flame burning. May your flame burn brightly in the year ahead too.

Question: what has been put on hold in your life that you feel can now be re-activated and what’s your next step?

¹ Psalm 13:3,4-6 NKJV    ² Romans 8:37 NIV

³ Philippians 4:13 NKJV   † Colossians 1:27 NIV