Man Who Makes A Difference

Jim George

Description

The Bible is filled with amazing people, and Paul stands out prominently among them. What made him so effective, so influential? In this book, author Jim George explores how Paul took God's priorities for life and made them his own. The result? He had a significant impact on everyone around him. From Paul we can learn how to...let God's power work in and through usacquire discernment for making right decisions and choicespursue holiness that allows God to work through us unhinderedstay faithful to God's calling all the way to the endBecause it is God who enables us, these qualities are accessible to every believer. Readers will experience true fulfillment as they take steps toward making a difference in the workplace, at home, at church, and in their community.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736938280
• Langue: English

Extrait

JIM GEORGE
The Man Who Makes a Difference
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society.
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Italicized words in Scripture quotes indicate emphasis added by the author.
Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota
Cover photo isStockphoto / photoblanko40
THE MAN WHO MAKES A DIFFERENCE Copyright 2003/2010 by Jim George Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
George, Jim The man who makes a difference / Jim George. p. cm. Rev. ed. of: God s man of influence. Includes bibliographical references (p. ). ISBN 978-0-7369-2071-1 (pbk.) 1. Christian men-Religious life. 2. Influence (Psychology)-Religious aspects-Christianity. I. George, Jim, 1943- God s man of influence. II. Title. BV4528.2.G455 2010
248.8 42-dc22
2010011606
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 / BP-NI / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
C ONTENTS
A Word of Welcome
1. Profiling the Man Who Makes a Difference
2. Taking the First Step
Ten Keys to a Life of Impact
Key #1-The Bible
3. Pursuing a Love for God s Word
4. Persevering for Life
Key #2-Prayer
5. Understanding the Significance of Prayer
6. Participating in a Life of Prayer
Key #3-Obedience
7. Living a Life of Obedience
8. Following the Path of Obedience
Key #4-Challenges
9. Mastering Life s Challenges
10. Accepting the Challenge to Live Boldly
Key #5-Discipline
11. Pursuing Spiritual Discipline
12. Practicing Personal Discipline
Key #6-Goals
13. Developing Lifelong Goals
14. Defining Your Purpose
15. Practicing God s Plan
Key #7-Purity
16. Dealing with Temptation
17. Fighting the Battle Against Temptation
Key #8-Service
18. Nurturing the Heart of a Servant
19. Applying the Attitude of a Servant
Key #9-Excellence
20. Cultivating Excellence
21. Winning the Battle in the Secret Life
Key #10-Mentoring
22. Recognizing the Importance of Mentoring
23. Leaving a Lasting Legacy
Study Questions
Notes
A Word of Welcome
W hat does a man who makes a difference look like and what does he do? What makes his life a life of lasting impact?
For the past 30 years, I have sought to become that kind of man. I have studied the character of the men of influence God has placed in my life. I have also searched the Scriptures to glean an understanding of the traits of the godly men of the Bible.
What a joy it has been these past years to immerse myself in the study of men who have made a difference to their family, church, community, and world-more specifically, the kind of influence that makes a lasting impact. For instance,
Influence is a process.
Influence is costly.
Influence is never neutral.
Influence is powerful.
Influence is about people.
Influence is demanding.
Influence is hard won.
Influence is easily lost.
Influence is to be desired.
Influence is everyone s privilege.
Influence is everyone s responsibility.
Influence is affected by relationships.
Influence is attainable by anyone.
I am especially glad that you, too, desire to become a man who makes a difference-a man who has a lasting impact. And I look forward to our journey together toward becoming men who make a difference. Join with me as we take a journey of discovery through the lives of a handful of history s greatest men of influence from the Bible. We ll look in particular at the life of the apostle Paul, who has long been of special interest to me. And there are a few others who I have been privileged to meet along my own journey. Join with me as we discover ten keys of growth and maturity that will prepare you to have a dynamic life of impact. And, if you want to journey with me a little further, you will enjoy going through the application questions at the back of this book.
May God encourage and strengthen you as you make the journey of your life-the journey of becoming a man who makes a difference.
Your fellow traveler, Jim George
My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done, Leave countless marks for good or ill ere sets the evening sun. This is the wish I always wish, the prayer I always pray: Lord, may my life help other lives it touches by the way. 1
1 Profiling the Man Who Makes a Difference
With God all things are possible.
-M ATTHEW 19:26
I n his 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage, the late president of the United States John F. Kennedy chronicled the life and stories of eight U.S. senators. He described and outlined how these men endured the pressures of public office-the risks to their careers, popularity with the people, defamation of their characters-all with great courage.
That book had a great impact on many in the 1960s generation and beyond. Kennedy was not only a president, he was also an historian-he researched the elements that demonstrated the courage of these political figures. 2 His book gave readers a better understanding of the lives and struggles of these eight senators.
I understand that the word profiling is not politically correct, and that profiling can be abused and cause great harm. But despite its bad press, profiling can be a beneficial exercise for us as we set out on our journey to understand some of the characteristics or keys to a life of impact. In my dictionary, profiling is defined as developing a list of characteristics that represent someone or something. This means that others can look at another person s life and develop a list of characteristics, such as his or her habits, principles, beliefs, and views. This list would then represent that person s life, becoming his or her profile.
The Profile of Your Life
Every person has a profile. Each person s profile-his or her patterns, habits, principles, and beliefs-indicates who he or she is as an individual. For instance, as a jogger, I have a specific profile. If you were to look at my life as a jogger you would see that I fit into a certain category of athletic endeavor and health. My professional status of pastor, writer, speaker, and teacher also gives me a certain profile. In fact, every profession and area of work has a specific profile.
Have you ever thought about your personal profile and whether your life will have a lasting impact? If people took a long look at your life, what would they see? Then, if they published their research, what characteristics would they report by the patterns of your life? What qualities and habits would be evident for all to witness? In what ways are you impacting the lives of others?
I confess I m not always pleased with the profile of my life! And the same is probably true of how you feel about your habits and activities, too. This is because, no matter what our profile, there is always room to grow. But one of the best ways for us to evaluate our own level of impact and possibly make some changes (hopefully for the better) is to look at the profiles of others whose lives are worthy of copying.
So, together, let s think about our own life while we look to the lives of others. See what we can learn about becoming a man who makes a difference.
The Qualities of a Man Who Makes a Difference
Let s begin our list of qualities or keys by looking at the life of the apostle Paul. Let s spend some time profiling the characteristics of this man s amazing life. Why Paul? Because Paul lived
a life of obedience to the Lord s commands
a life of service to others
a life of meekness and humility
a life of prayer
a life full of faith and trust
a life of empowerment by the Spirit
a life of loving and studying the Scriptures
a life of modeling Christlikeness for others to follow
a life of faithfulness to the end
Wouldn t you like to have this kind of a profile? I know I would! And God has given us Paul as a prime example to follow. What Christian man wouldn t want to live as powerfully as Paul did? By modeling our lives after this amazing man, you and I can have a greater impact on our home, family, workplace, church, and neighborhood! As we look at how God worked through Paul (and others), let s determine together, from the start, to let God work in us and make some key changes in our lives.
This is my prayer for you and me:
that we would exhibit an open heart as we move through our profiling journey,
that we would be sensitive to the Lord s prompting as we examine the powerful life of Paul and others,
that we would be willing to make drastic changes if the Lord so directs, and
that we prayerfully ask God for a greater passion for living the Christian life.
Are you up for the challenge, my friend? I m trusting that you are!
The Profile of a Man Who Makes a Difference
Paul. Just say the name and a myriad of faces come to mind. For me, the name Paul reminds me of my two sons-in-law, both named Paul. For you, Paul may have been the name of an old buddy from days gone by. But as we begin our profiling journe