Let me ask you an incredibly important question.  What do you think God wants for the rest of your life?  Do you have a plan to follow and depend on God daily?  I know what you are thinking; “We have no idea what God will bring our way.”  Of course you don’t, but WILL YOU PLAN TO BE READY?  One thing is for certain, when it comes time to react to things that happen to us, we must be ready.  When we feel like direction is clear and spelled out we must be courageous.

The Fruit of planning is integrity and character development –  “Rebuild Your life”

“And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ” Luke 6:48

What would it take to have a “well built life?” Your life is like a house, built on either sand or rock, Which foundation will you choose?  Planning diligently for a life that pleases God is not an option for the Christ follower.  Planning isn’t just for the dreamers, planning is the stewardship of every disciple of Jesus.  This is NOT optional.  Planning is required.

How to Build Your Life…Three Essentials to Effective Planning

#1 Remain Balanced –  Pray then plan, then pray then plan, then repeat until you die.  Ok, maybe that sounds a bit dramatic?  But I promise you that if you will take seriously the scripture from 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray without ceasing,” it will be hard to miss a word that God says. Make your prevailing thought ,”If it be your will, God?”  This doesn’t mean we lock ourselves in our prayer closet for the rest of our lives, it means we actually have to WRITE DOWN what God is saying to us.  For me, until I write it down, it isn’t real!  Pray then write, then pray then write and refine.

Tip:  Listen to God then write what he told you

#2 Go Big –  This means you have to stop limiting your thinking thereby limiting God in your life. There is another constant battle happening for most people I know.  It is the tension between fear and comfort.  We are afraid of what God has told us and so we slide back into habits, places, people and circumstances that are comfortable.  I promise you, if you are going to follow Jesus it WILL NOT be into a life of comfort. IF you are called to be “crucified with Christ” as Galatians says, there is NO WAY you will be comfortable.  The life of the Christ follower means you will be conflicted always battling your desire for comfort.  Stop seeking comfort!  Everything in the culture is trying to get you to buy in to the “easy” plan.  But the ways of Jesus are full of sacrifice, sometimes confusion, unexpected results and faith.  So…GO BIG.  You get one life, spend your time making the most of every day because your life is shorter than you think.  What is in the way?  Money?  Fear?  A boyfriend?  Guilt?  Your past?  Lay it down and GO BIG!

Tip:  Once you think you have a “GO BIG” plan, share someone and ask them to help and pray for you, then begin to recruit your personal dream team to execute the plan!  (I’ll talk more about your dream team in another post)

#3 Get Organized –  It’s time to count the cost.  You know what I mean.  Gather your resources, start having difficult conversations, prepare to get that degree, say what needs to be said, develop a God inspired prayed through a timeline, get a spreadsheet, determine how much money it will cost, confront the incredible sacrifice to be made.  You are getting the picture.  “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”  (Hebrews 11:6)  When we felt called to plant 217church, we submitted a 30 page plan full of demographics, ministry strategy, timeline, leadership structure.  I’m telling you it’s worth it.  If you wing it, you won’t achieve all God has for you.

Tip:  Get ready to wait, just because God gave you then plan, doesn’t mean for you to go out and do it TODAY!  What for God’s timing.

And finally once you think you have all the information and inspiration you need, get some more input. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”

Ok, Now Go!  Get the vision and anticipate God to move in His time!

On February 3 we kicked off our 40 day spiritual growth emphasis called “Relaunch”  We are rebuilding every aspect of our lives.  We will experience three layers of the same scripture every week.  First, the weekend teaching at one of our campuses.  Next, the small group discussion weekly in homes, and finally the daily journal.  I encourage you to plan now to be ready for God to speak to you and go all in with all your effort and energy  to this 40 day spiritual growth emphasis for our church!

We are officially #Relaunching @217church after 6 full years of ministry on March 20th, 2016.  Join us at 217church, a multi-site, contemporary church in Mercer County NJ.  217church is a family with small groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that meets Sundays in the Hamilton AMC24 Theater 10:00am and Sharon Elementary school in Robbinsville, NJ at 11:00.  Our new Robbinsville/East Windsor Campus meets every Sunday.  If you are looking for a church in East Windsor NJ, Lawrenceville NJ, Ewing NJ, Robbinsville NJ, Hightstown NJ, Hamilton NJ, Mercer County, Middlesex County or Bucks County, PA, we would love to have you join us.  Don’t miss our weekend services. Visit www.217church.com for more information. or watch a weekend message here

Josh