How will we recognize revival when it comes? Behold, here is the awakening we seek: men and women, young and old, all conformed to Jesus. When will revival begin? It starts the moment we say “yes” to becoming like Him; it spreads to others as Christ is revealed through us.

If we ever got a true revelation of who we are on the inside because of the treasure we carry within it would obliterate every self esteem issue we ever struggled with.

25 Signs You Are Leading from Your Dark Side

25 Signs You Are Leading from Your Dark Side
by Joseph Matterra http://www.josephgmatterra.com/
1. You inwardly celebrate when a colleague or fellow minister falls.
2. Your spirit of competition causes you to inwardly celebrate when other organizations or ministries in your field aren’t doing as well as you.
3. You are more concerned about your local church or organization than the good of the kingdom of God and cultural transformation.
4. You manipulate people to promote yourself and try to make things happen instead of allowing God to open doors and promote you.
5. You look for opportunities to backstab other leaders in your region or field of work.
6. You are driven to succeed to counter your insecurity, poor self-esteem and a sense of insignificance.
7. You thwart the emergence of other strong leaders in your organization.
8. You are closed-up relationally and have no open, transparent relationships in which you share your weaknesses and fears.9. You do not share power and work on your own in regards to major decisions that impact your organization or ministry.
10. You are shifty in relationships, taking sides with those you are presently with, then taking another point of view when with another person when there is a conflict or controversy.
11. You will sacrifice the future for the present in regards to debt financing and risk taking instead of leaving a legacy of financial sustainability.
12. You do not receive correction kindly but always get inwardly defensive.
13. You are constantly blaming others when things go wrong.
14. You constantly justify yourself instead of facing your failures.
15. You have no deep relationship with God and lead out of your flesh and soul life.
16. You don’t lead out of sound biblical principles unless it is convenient.
17. You view yourself more as a pragmatist than a principled person.
18. You are loyal to people only until you have used them to get to the next level.
19. You avoid confrontation and walking in the light according to Matthew 18:15-17 and 1 John 1:7.
20. You only care for those who care for you and serve your agenda.
21. Your greatest desire in life is to make a name for yourself.
22. The bottom line in regards to organizational effectiveness is more important to you than people.
23. You have a hard time forgiving those who offend you.
24. You carry resentment and baggage from the past that you refuse to let go.
25. You don’t walk in the peace of God but in the stress of the world.

One of the devil's most effective strategies for keeping the church weak and ineffective is to "wear out the saints." The primary way he does this is to get Christians involved in good works that the Lord did not call them to do. When we do things with the Lord, His yoke is easy, His burden is light, and we actually find refreshment for our souls while we are working. If we try to do work without Him, we will wear out and burn out, as well as not bear any real, lasting fruit.

Time

"Time is within your control."

— Luanne Oakes, Ph.D: Author
You probably didn’t believe that quote, so I’ll restate it: "Time is within your control." In the information age in which we live, where business life and home life are a blur of activity, deadlines, pressure, and projects, it’s hard to believe that time is within your control. But it is. You can control what you think. You can control your attitude. And for the most part, you can control your time. However, if you’re not careful, procrastination can gobble up significant amounts of your time. When procrastination rears its ugly head, you lose all control of time.

Problems?

Wallace Johnson was the founder of Holiday Inn, and a dynamic Christian. When he was 40 years old, his boss fired him from his saw mill job. It came as a devastating shock. This was during the Great Depression. He and his wife needed the income from his job, small though it was. Wallace felt that the world had caved in on him.
His wife worried. She asked him, “What are you going to do?” But Wallace had been thinking, and he answered by saying, “I’m going to mortgage our home and go into the building business.
His first venture was the construction of two small buildings. Within five years, Wallace Johnson was a multi-millionaire. In an interview, he said, “Today, if I could locate the man who fired me I would sincerely thank him for what he did. At the time it happened, I didn't understand why I was fired. Later I saw that it was God's unerring and wondrous plan to get me into the ways of his choosing." The greatest thing that ever happened to him was to get fired.
Who knows what God might do through your problems and disappointments! If you’ve got problems, be happy. Don’t think of your problems as intruders. Welcome them as friends. God's purpose is much bigger than those problems. Don't doubt.
James 1:8 says that when you ask for wisdom, "… you must ask in sincere faith, without secret doubts." Don't doubt that God is working in your life. Don’t think he has abandoned you. He hasn’t – and he never will. Your problems aren’t a sign that God is mad at you – they’re a sign that he’s helping you to grow.
Since problems in life are inevitable, tackle them head on and use them to your advantage. Make it your goal to be in God's Hall of Faith. The people who make it into the Hall of Faith are those who endured incredible problems – pain, rejection, suffering – and maintained a Christ-like attitude despite it all. They are those who let the Lord work in their lives and grew as a result of it.
You're going to have problems. It's inevitable. There's no such thing as a problem-free life. But when a problem comes along you can be sure of two things:
1) The devil is trying to destroy you.
2) And God is trying to develop you.
Problems do not automatically make you a better person. Depending on your response, you can be better or bitter. You can rejoice, request, and relax or you can resent, rebel, and resist.
Which will you choose?
Until next time,
Rick Warren

"The discipline of writing something down is the first steptoward making it happen."
- Lee Iacocca

"Success is not an accident, it is a skill. It is predictable,and it can be learned, and it can be learned by you, and it canbe learned by anyone."- Brian Tracy

"I do not think there is any other quality so essential tosuccess of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomesalmost everything, even nature."- John D. Rockefeller