get happy

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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While many people have their own definition of what “being happy” is, the Bible says “5 Happy are those who are strong in the LORD,” Ps 84:5 NLT
We have never needed strength more than we do today.

God’s plan is to establish your life. I was reading Psalm 84 and was taken again about the enabling power of Godly strength.

Here are four outcomes of Godly strength from Psalm 84
Godly strength builds consistency & momentum – ‘How happy are those who can live in your house’ Ps 84:4 NLT- ‘They will continue to grow stronger’ Ps 84:7

Godly strength grows our lives – ‘whose heart is set on pilgrimage’‘ 84:5

Godly strength transforms challenge into victory – When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs’ Ps 84:6

Godly strength completes us, allowing us to finish well – ‘Each one appears before God.’ Ps 84:7

Join with us this week at Life Church as we explore God’s agenda to bless through all of life’s seasons.

Be blessed & I’ll see you this Sunday at Life Church.

Yours in Him,

Ps Geoff

The Value of ONE

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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Matthew 18:2&5 (NKJV)

2Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3and said, ……….5Whoever receives ONE little child like this in My name receives Me.

Every ONE counts! Jesus the saviour of the world, entrusted with the destiny of nations and all of history, uses ONE seemingly insignificant child to make his point that every ONE matters. We can never afford to lose the sense that each ONE matters, a crowd is just a collection of ONEs. Jesus loves the ONE, he died for the ONE, and he died for every ONE. Our mandate then is to reach, invest in, and empower as many ONEs as possible.

Our focus on the ONE reveals our motivation, a father’s love really clarifies the issues – “what would I do if this were my child” When we focus on the ONE the little extra is par for the course, we will take the time and the emotional energy to ensure we have connected; that we are understood and that we understand. Because we appreciate that every ONE counts.

Our focus on the ONE keeps us reaching for more. There are always more ONEs out there. As Oskar Schindler, at the end of that great movie ‘Schindler’s List’, was confronted with the realisation that every trinket he had could have saved another ONE, we too realise that a focus on the ONE is not a small vision. John 3:16 (NKJV) “16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The first application of the all encompassing, ‘whoever believes’ good news was the ONE thief dying by the side of the Saviour of the world.

Let’s keep reaching for excellence; for effective, loving, and empowering communication so that by all means we might teach, reach, empower, and save some (ONE) 1 Cor 9:22

Enjoy today

For the Cause

Geoff Blight

We DO need another hero

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In 1985 in the sound track of a popular movie Beyond Thunderdome, Tina Turner declared “we don’t need another hero.” With all due respect I think we need heroes now more than ever. Heroes give us hope that we too can lift, heroes lift our eyes off ourselves, heroes show us how, and tell us why things could be different. When I look at heroes my own exploits, trials and challenges seem to be put in perspective and I am inspired to reach for more, not settle for less.

I was reading the Bible this morning and in Hebrews chapter 11 I came upon a list of heroes of faith. Men and women who established a nation, saw great miracles and died for a cause greater than themselves. I was inspired. Then in Chapter 12 verse 1 I discovered that these heroes of the past form the cheer squad for us in the present. The prescribed response is to ‘set aside the weight that entangles and run with perseverance the race set out for me.’

I was challenged by two thoughts. The first thought was; who are my heroes? Who inspires me? Who am I seeking to emulate?

The second was just as confronting, who am I being a hero to? Who am I inspiring to great endeavours, what about my life is drawing others toward a greater destiny, drawing them to their God appointed goal.

I believe to be a hero to others we must first have heroes that inspire us. I also believe we can all be heroes, we can all inspire others to reach, to believe, to aspire and to attain.

Reach for more today, you have no idea who may be following.

Be blessed

Geoff Blight

What are you wearing?

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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Ever tried to wear shoes that just did not fit? I remember as a young boy I really liked a pair of runners that I thought were super cool. Problem was that they just did not fit, while ever I wore them I had pain because they were too tight. I am sitting in my office listening to, of all things, Miles Davis play his trumpet I felt God say to me “what are you wearing, and does it fit?” I just got back from Melbourne last week, down there I experienced winter in December! I had to make sure that what I was wearing was not just fitting me but ‘fitting’ for unexpected winter season.

The Apostle Paul uses the illustration of an athlete dressed for competition:
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Life has seasons and we can be tempted to wear an outfit from the previous season into the new season. I am constantly challenged with this regarding my parenting, my kids are no longer 5 they are big and the way we relate to each other is always changing.

Let’s dress for where we are going not where we have been. In Ephesians 4:1 Paul urges us all to walk according to where we are going not where we are. “work worthy of the calling with which you were called.”

Lets dress for favour, increase and purpose.

Isaiah 54:2 3 (NKJV)
2 “Enlarge the place of your tent,
And let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings;
Do not spare;
Lengthen your cords,
And strengthen your stakes.
3 For you shall expand to the right and to the left,
And your descendants will inherit the nations,
And make the desolate cities inhabited.

Get ready for growth and expansion, church I think God may be saying get some ‘fat’ clothes ready for a new season’ let’s leave behind ill fitting ‘small’ and embrace ‘big’ – (Figuratively of course) big thinking, big dreaming, big believing, big expectation.

Blessings

Geoff Blight

The Main Thing

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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Multi-tasking Ahhhh
Very easily we can find ourselves in a situation where we forget the main thing. I recently left my Ipad outside to ‘sleep for the night’ because I put it down to do something else and forgot it. Thankfully it survived without incident but there is a truth in all that. Keep the main thing the main thing.

What is the main thing and how do I keep the main thing the main thing?

Paul writes in Phil 3:13 …one thing I do….
By choosing to forget what is behind he is able to “lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of him.” Phil 3:12.
Life is all about focus, by attempting to do everything and be everything and please everyone we run the risk of not actually succeeding anywhere, or pleasing anyone.

As a man, a father, a husband and a leader I am challenged to constantly assess, what is my one thing? What is the main thing, that defines success, the main thing that defines me? We need to constantly assess whose we are – (ie we belong to Jesus), and why we are,( what is our purpose). Then we are able to live on purpose for purpose.

Paul clearly had a revelation about purpose and belonging. In Ephesians he writes:
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are created on purpose by God for His purpose.

Let’s keep the main thing the main thing, each of us need to be asking God to constantly reveal his Main thing to us, and be committed to keep the Main thing the Main thing.

have a blessed day

Geoff Blight.

He’s Got This

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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Colossians 1:17 (NIV)
‘17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’

What a value statement, what we do first is really a statement of what is most urgent pressing or valuable. In life we can so easily allow the urgent to displace the important, we want more time with our kids, our spouse, our motorbike; but the responsibilities of life demand our attention.

This can become true with our relationship with Jesus. I am challenged by the title of Bill Hybles’ book ‘Too busy not to pray’. Busyness is the number one excuse we would use regarding time in prayer / or not in prayer. I think we all at times can identify with Martha in Luke 10:41 who was encouraged by Jesus to stress less and to rest in Him more.

Yet in Colossians 1:17 we read “in Him all things hold together.” Jesus is saying to us ‘I’ve got this’.

Today my prayer and resolve is to look to Him, rest in Him, celebrate Him. He was before the challenges, the victories, the losses, the current season; and he will be there when the season changes.

‘In Him all things hold together.’ Keep Jesus in the centre of your focus and your world. He was there in the beginning, he will be there in the end. – He’s got this.

have a blessed day

Geoff

A Heart to Build

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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A Heart to build
I was reading Ps 127 this week.
1 “unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;”

Also in Proverbs 24:3-5 we read:

3 Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
4 By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.

God is a builder so in order to reflect who he is and serve him we must be builders as well. We may never build a physical building but when ever we invest in people’s lives, or establish life giving communities we are building; leaving a legacy for future generations. In life we are either building, occupying or tearing down. Those who build are known for what they are for, those who occupy are known for what they maintain and those who tear down are known for what they are against. I want to be known for what I am for rather than what I am against.

A Commitment to build is a commitment to leave more than we found. By honouring those on whose shoulders we are blessed to stand we are able to build on the foundations that were laid by past generations. Our goal then must be that we leave the next generation with an even greater advantage that they can then build on. As leaders we must be positioning the next generation of leaders for greater success than we have seen as they continue to build on the foundations we are laying.

Building is a process not an event. Building is the theme of our lives. We don’t build in a day or with an single act, we build over a lifetime. Building is a lifetime commitment and inclination to invest and establish. Building is a permanent investment in future generations made over a lifetime.

Building costs and requires investment. Just as any physical building required an investment of, creativity, vision, planning, and finance to make it a permanent reality, so too being a builder and an investor in the lives of others will cost us. Building requires discipline. We may have to forgo personal short term agendas. Building is reliant on a commitment to extend our lives to include others.

Lets live as builders, investing in others, leaving a legacy, leaving more than we have found.

Yours in Him
Ps Geoff Blight
Snr Pastor of Life Church Brisbane

We teach what we know and we learn what we see.

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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I would be able to explain to you the rudimentary elements of a golf swing because it has been explained to me. That is not to say that I know how to play golf. If you want a golf mentor then I suggest you look elsewhere. In life we only really know what we can do or are doing. As a parent and a leader I am so aware that what I impart to my family and our church is not so much theory but practice. Less do what i say and far more do what I do.

This is not to say that we have to have totally mastered life before we can begin to inspire another. If this were the case then nothing much would get done. It is however true that it is not possible to take someone further than we are prepared to go ourselves.

“Example is leadership.” – Albert Schweitzer. It is not only what we say but what people see us doing.

So we teach what we know and we learn what we see not so much what we hear.

Leadership and Godly influence starts with us, we must first lead ourselves. We must be constantly examining what we carry, what we value, and what we believe and then ask “how is that evident in my average week?”

If people primarily learn from what they see in us not so much what they hear – What are they seeing?

So as leaders and life carriers let our prayer this week be:

Psalm 139:23 -24 (NKJV)
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
24 And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.

Have a great week

yours for His cause.

Geoff Blight

True Alignment through shared convictions

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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True Alignment through shared convictions

In Amos 3:3 we read a question “can two walk together unless they are agreed?”

Any glance at our world, our politics, our homes, our cities and you can see we are short of agreement and alignment. It seems we guard our independence so closely we have forgotten what it is to live for something bigger than ourselves. While we look out for number one the vulnerable suffer and no great purpose is achieved.

Martin Luther King once said “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.

True alignment or agreement is not about just getting people to simply comply or cooperate. Alignment and true agreement is a synergy that flows from strongly held shared convictions. Alignment does not just flow from our actions or words but from our beliefs and values.

The ten year old in class forced to sit when he wanted to stand says to himself “on the outside I am sitting but on the inside I am standing up.” this is not agreement this is compliance.

Alignment requires a unswerving commitment to unity, shared goals and shared values. In this environment differing opinions held by individuals can be explored for the best way to accomplish the mutual objective. In this environment our differing strengths and view points bring strength to the team rather than constant adversarial contest so prevalent in places of influence.

So before any family, business, church, or community can move forward there needs to be an agreement to, and a personal ownership of, foundational truth and values. Through relationship with Jesus we encounter, purpose, grace, truth, promise and relationship; the foundations of genuine alignment.

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – Jesus Jn 10:10

Yours in Him

Geoff Blight

The Power of Alignment

Posted on by Geoff Blight
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The Power of Alignment.

I recently had a very productive meeting with some of our very key leaders at Life Church Brisbane. In this meeting we discussed upcoming vision and ministry goals. What struck me was the spiritual alignment in the room. While there were many differing opinions expressed there was a strong cohesion to the shared vision and a commitment to honour each other and to walk together. This alignment is vital in our homes and marriages, and businesses if we are to step into God’s blessing. Ed Cole a very prominent speaker to men used to say “agreement is the place of power”. Agreement in our homes and relationships is not about the absence of differing opinions, if that is the case in any relationship then one brain seems to be redundant. True agreement and alignment flows from personal ownership of a shared goal, and a commitment to draw on collaborative wisdom, skills, and perspectives to see God’s purpose established.

Psalm 133:1-3 (NKJV)
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
……………
3……….. For there the LORD commanded the blessing—
Life forevermore.

Yours in Him

Geoff Blight