A Strategic Lifestyle from a Strategic Master

The unexamined life is not worth living – Socrates

John 7:1-9 (NLT)

     After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death.  But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, and Jesus' brothers said to him, "Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles!  You can't become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!"  For even his brothers didn't believe in him.  Jesus replied, "Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime.  The world can't hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil.  You go on. I'm not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come."  After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.

1.  Discover and continually clarify our larger purpose and God’s calling on our lives

Jesus is busy but He is not distracted

Submit our immediate circumstances to our larger purposes and not our larger purposes to our immediate circumstances

John 2:1-4 (NLT)

    The next day Jesus' mother was a guest at a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee.  Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus' mother spoke to him about the problem. "They have no more wine," she told him. "How does that concern you and me?" Jesus asked. "My time has not yet come."

2.  Take time to deal with emergencies and pragmatics while simultaneously, not allow our lives to be driven or controlled by emergencies but by planned purposes

Luke 5:15-16 (NLT)

     But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases.  But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

3.  Continually recalibrate our hearts and larger purposes through our devotions and personal time with God

Mark 6:46 (NIV)

    After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

Be realistically aware of the context and circumstances that surround us as we consider preserving our larger purposes

Spiritual methods are different from Worldly methods: Do not be seduced by the need for recognition or public affirmation but by our larger calling

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) 

    "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.