2010 – This is the year we get about the Father’s Business. In order to be about the Father’s Business, we have to see one another as brothers and sisters in the same family. Each person has responsibilities and privileges in the family. Each person has to pull their own weight plus a bit more as many in the Body are dysfunctional or rebellious. Many are called but few are chosen. We are chosen to serve, to teach, to supply and to transform this earthly system back into it’s original Edenic state. We were designed to rule and reign with Him, in this life.

Let me drop a few thoughts into your mind as we prepare to set goals for 2010. I have already sent you the worksheet to help you to assess where you are. In order to set attainable goals, we must know where we are and we must set goals where we can measure our progress.

Friends,  

2010 is shaping up to be an amazing year.  It is important that you seize this moment in time to prepare yourself for the ride.  It has often been said that if you don’t know where you are, you will never know how to get where you want to go.  I have attached a document – a worksheet – that will help you to properly prepare for 2010.  

The Body of Christ is supposed to flow as a unit.  We are to work together with our thoughts and our intentions.  However, what happens most often is that we make promises that we can’t keep because we haven’t trained to lift the weight or solve the problems that we think we can lift or solve.  It is always better to ‘know the state of your assets and skills’ before trying to make your supply available.  

On December 30th, we will be speaking about this document as we prepare for part two of this process which is the pro-active scheduling and goal setting for 2010 which will take place in church on January 3rd with a follow up later in the month to see how we are doing.  

I will be in Minnesota on January 5th and 6th – in Louisiana, ministering with Mike Barber and Rusty Griffin to the inmates at Angola on January 11th thru the 14th and then in Texas on January 16th thru the 22nd.  Still, in spite of my extensive travelling, I realize that we must communicate so that we can become the organized entity that will make great strides in 2010.  

We are all called to do great things, but none of us can do them alone.  
There are no second-class citizens in the Body of Christ.  
Everything that we need is in the Body – the Body just needs to be put together.  
There is only one Vision – His.  
Overperform and Underpromise.  
Give yourself to your gift – It belongs to the Family.  
Be about the Father’s Business.  
Refuse to be offended.  
Find someone to hold you accountable and then be a blessing to them.  
Make your supply available.  
Pursue Integrity in yourself and others.  
Be a doer.  

Are we having fun yet?  Let’s get started.

2010 – Goals – Kingdom, Spiritual, Physical, Mental, Emotional, Social, Financial.

Kingdom – Seek ye first the Kingdom –

These are corporate goals. Now that you have measured what you did in 2009, you know where you are. Let’s agree to do better and more in 2010. Kingdom goals are cooperative goals. Questions you need to ask are, “What am I going to do? What do I want to accomplish? How am I going to do it? Where can I be most effective? Who do I wish to partner with or collaborate with? Why am I doing this? Are my motives pure and biblical?

Are you part of a team? Are you under authority? Have you been given authority? How well do you communicate in the Body, for the Body to the Body and with the Body? Define the Body for yourself and then check with someone you respect to see how they Define the Body of Moschiach (Christ).

Kingdom goals –

1. Lead an initiative at your church. Start a school. Be involved in helps in some capacity. Participate in Evangelism. Invite People to church. Get active in discipleship, submitting first to be held accountable and then be willing to hold others accountable as you perpetuate the proclamation of the gospel and the freedom that comes through discipleship.

2. Participate in Unity Fellowship Gatherings. Schedule time in your schedule to be part of the functional strategy and implementation of Kingdom initiatives. Think about what you can do for your Father, rather than what He can do for you.

Where are you now? What are you currently doing?

What am I going to do in 2010? (Remember, this has to be quantifiable and measurable.)

Examples –

1. I am going to lead one person per month to the Lord.

2. I am going to invite 10 people per month to church.

3. I am going to attend church with the intent purpose to strengthen my local church – 5 times per month.

4. I am going to submit myself to be held accountable in my spiritual and personal walk.

5. I am willing to hold three others accountable as well. It is my goal to pay forward the joy that I have as a true disciple in Moschiach Yahshua.

6. I am going to serve in children’s church, in hospitality, in clean up, in some capacity that blesses the corporate Body and the Kingdom of Yahweh.

These are just suggestions – One or more of these would be desirable goals.

Now that you have set some Kingdom goals for 2010, keep in mind that in all of your personal goal setting – keep the Kingdom in mind. Keep it in first place. One of the ways to think of the Kingdom is to ask yourself, how will meeting my personal goals help others, help my neighborhood, my city, my state, my nation and even the whole population of the earth.

Another principle I want you to keep in mind is that there is a method to the placement of the order that I have chosen. First we contemplate Spiritual, then Physical, then Mental, Emotional, Social and finally, financial goals. In fact, these 7 categories will begin to redefine prosperity for you. Having financial stability and real wealth are only 1/7^th of the total prosperity package.

I want you to think about the order as you go through this. Don’t skip around. If, when we are finished, you would like to offer ideas for improvements feel free to do so in writing. The one thing you do not want to do is criticize the very tool that is designed to help you to achieve increase and improvement. Oftentimes, your overdeveloped criticizer muscle is the very impediment to reaching your goals. Let us begin to develop our problem solving, building, healing and wealth building muscles.

Spiritual Goals –

Yahshua reminds us to pray without ceasing. We are also reminded to assemble together in fellowship and worship. We are to study to show ourselves approved and we are to render our carnal things for spiritual. Remember, the idea is to improve your performance over 2009 and to work towards habits and rituals that produce measurable results. Let me give you some possible examples.

1. Pray – on your own and by yourself – for 15 minutes twice a day in your language. Confessions, intercession, petition and dialogue.

2. Pray – in your heavenly language – and if you do not speak in tongues – then spend time listening – being quiet – casting down mundane thoughts that would drown out Yahshua’s voice. I would suggest you do this for 15 minutes twice a day.

3. Read your bible each and every day for 15 minutes. Read a chapter in proverbs and follow along with the assigned readings that we offer on our website www.mydeeperlife.com. Do this daily. Pay attention while you read. Ideally, you would keep a journal where you would write down questions and thoughts that would occur to you while reading.

4. Arrange your schedule to be in the church that you are assigned to more often than you were in 2009. 5 times a month is the minimum I set for people desiring to truly be disciplined or candidates for discipleship.

5. Arrange your spending so that 10% of your increase is given to your local church and a little bit over that goes to Kingdom causes that you believe in. The biblical term is tithe. The scripture teaches that we are to bring our tithe to church as well. YHWH wants us to worship Him with our giving by making the effort to travel to church to speak over our giving while placing it in the hands of the leadership at the church we attend.

6. If you have not been water baptized, make an effort to have that done in 2010. If you have not asked the Holy Spirit to dwell in your heart, then ask for that experience. If you have not confessed Yahshua as your Lord and Savior, recognizing Him as Elohim in Flesh, born of a virgin, crucified on the cross, died, buried, resurrected and alive today, then do so now.

7. Find a mentor to hold you accountable. Choose someone who believes in you and is knowledgeable in the scriptural things, in word and deeds. Pray with him/her. Discuss your bible readings. Show him/her your giving records. Make sure he/she sees you when you attend church. Ask him to teach you so that you can mentor others.

8. Participate in praise and worship, at home and at church. Do it more often.

These are just some suggestions as to what you could do to increase your spiritual strength. Strong spiritual patterns are essential to a peaceful life. Getting in rhythm with YHWH Yahshua is oftentimes difficult. Most people, many without realizing, are asking Yah to get on their schedule. They set their schedule, their spending, their agendas and their focus without considering that Yah has a plan. In fact, when believers attempt to train people to wholeheartedly make Yahshua the center of their lives, they find themselves meeting major resistance. People are busy. Any suggestion that they should pray more, read their bibles more, attend church more often, give consistently or mentor others is met with critical looks and rejection. Salvation is only the first step. Discipleship is step two. There is a third step and that step is taken when men and women take their place as Sons or Daughters in the Family of the Father. It is at this stage that they begin to focus on deep spiritual development. It is at that third stage where the wheat and the tares are revealed.

In every Christian gathering there are three groups of people. One group sincerely believes and produces results. The second group doesn’t believe at all bouncing from joy to depression, spending a great deal of time uncomfortable and confused and the third group just pretends, saying the right things but producing no results. The three groups are believers, unbelievers and make-believers.

Setting spiritual goals without some oversight is a big mistake that most people make. People hire personal trainers to get into top physical shape. People see doctors to oversee their nutritional goals. Tutors are hired to see that optimal scores are achieved on exams. Rarely do people make the decision to seek to submit themselves to rigorous spiritual training, when in fact, it will produce the most lasting and satisfying results.

Physical goals

Know ye not that you are the temple of the Living Yah? Remember that your body is a temple. Yahshua could live anywhere, but He chooses to live in us. We need to take care of our physical bodies, our earthly houses.

Where are you now? What do you weigh? What would you like to weigh? How active are you? What kind of exercise or physical activity are you capable of? Where would you like to be? Let me give you some examples of physical goals. These are just suggestions. Choose one or think of an area where you would most benefit. Remember to hold Yah and His plan in your mind while you are setting your goals. Getting into better physical shape will affect your mental capacity, your emotional capacity, your relationships and your finances. Being led by the spirit, and putting Yah first will keep you motivated and in a rhythm that is in sync with creation.

1. Exercise for 30 minutes three times a week.

2. Drink half your weight in ounces of pure water with a PH level above 7.0. (If you weigh 150 pounds, drink 75 ounces of water.)

3. Lose 5 pounds.

4. Eat smarter. Organic foods. Live food. Raw food. No fast food.

5. Sleep smarter. Going to bed and getting up at the same time will lead to better health and you will begin to feel better.

6. Take the stairs instead of an escalator or elevator, when it makes sense.

Mental Goals

The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. {1 Cor 2:14-16 RSV}

Mental capacity is essential to increase. Your mind needs to be exercised and taken care of, as does your spirit and your body. Remember you are a spirit, you have a soul and you live in a body. Now that you are striving toward Kingdom, Spiritual and Physical increase/mastery, mental increase will make more sense.

Many people believe that your intellect is where decisions are made. I disagree. You have already made some major decisions that positions your intellect right where it needs to be, in subjection to Yahweh, His Kingdom, your pursuit of Him by developing your spirit and the development of increased physical well-being. Your brain sits in water and is a very physical organ. Your ability to learn is affected by your physical fitness and your spiritual connection to YHWH.

So, let’s set some mental goals for 2010. (Here are some examples.)

1) Memorize three new scriptures per month.

2) Learn 5 new words per month.

3) Balance your checkbook.

4) Learn something new – take a course – online or at a local college. (a language, a computer skill, etc.)

5) Get a degree – another degree or finish the one that you have started.

6) For 15 minutes – three times per week – sit quietly with no distractions and keep your mind focused on one thought – His name. Every time another competing thought comes into your mind – put it out of your mind and get back onto the meditation of His Name. (I suggest you do it like this – ee aa oo aa or Yud, He, Vav, He)

Emotional Goals

Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto Yah. And the peace of Yah, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Moschiach Yahshua. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do and the Yah of peace shall be with you. (Philippians 4:6-9 KJV)

You may begin to see that there is an order to this process. In the section on Mental Goals we began to approach our thoughts differently. We began to choose what we think about rather than having our thoughts occur to us or just come to us. We need to do that in the realm of our emotions as well. Taking every thought captive to the knowledge of Moschiach is essential to Emotional well-being.

In the Kingdom of Yah, we are instructed to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. What happens to the carnal mind over time is that when others have reason to rejoice our selfish mind wants to be jealous and when someone mourns we pity them. We are told to rejoice with people when they rejoice. That is a choice. We are to mourn with them, when they are mourning. That, too, is a choice. They are very spiritual choices. Often, we avoid emotional situations in other people’s lives and we miss the opportunity to develop capacity for our own lives.

When we rejoice with others we will have the opportunity to feel more intensely some things that we may, as of yet, have not had the opportunity to encounter. Being hired to a great position, getting a million dollar client, getting into an incredible university, graduate school or executive training program, getting a child into a great university, being healed of a potentially fatal disease, having a sudden financial windfall, falling in love, getting married are all things to rejoice over. Rejoicing feels good. Why would we wait to rejoice over things that happen only to us. We should practice rejoicing when others receive favor and blessings. This will help our imaginations to expand so that we can believe that these things could and will happen in our lives.

Mourning with those who mourn is part of the instruction as well. Many people don’t want to follow this instruction. We believe that we can avoid what we perceive to be negative emotions, and by avoiding these emotions we can prevent loss from coming into our lives. The scripture teaches us that we are to use our faith to create the future that we desire, but it also instructs us to prepare for adversity. We are to mourn with those who mourn, so that we have the capacity to handle situations that arise, inevitably, in life. Death comes. However, it doesn’t have to sting. The sting is met and handled when we follow instructions.

Here are some goals that you can set for 2010. (These are just examples. You should consider your life in 2009. Look at some situations that you might have handled differently. Choose to do better in 2010. A sure way to do better in 2010 is to have pro-actively chosen to make spiritual and biblical behavior/emotional choices before the situation arises. You may not experience any setbacks in 2010, but someone in your life will. You need to have the capacity to get into the ditch with them, to pull them out and get them back on course. Remember, we are not improving for selfish reasons. We are working to improve for the Father and for the Family. (The Family = the Body = the Kingdom.)

1. When you meet people, ask them how they are. When they respond, listen to what they are saying. Choose to rejoice or mourn with them, when they share something with you. Feel – on purpose.

2. When confrontations arise that cause you to want to react quickly and even angrily – wait to respond. See how long you can hold your response before responding. Confront anger, jealousy, resentment, blame, unforgiveness and other negative perceptions or feelings – with the understanding that like mental ideas they can be taken captive. Make a mental note of this. Begin a journal and write about how things begin to change when you begin to take authority over your emotions.

3. Practice Praise – 10 minutes every other day. Praise Yah for 10 minutes whenever you think of it. Just get into the habit of giving praise. This is the exercise that will lead you to a peaceful place. Praise your spouse. Praise your children. Praise the cab driver. Praise your co-workers. Praise brings peace. Just as criticism can become a habit, so can praise.

4. In your journal talk about the emotion of your day. You don’t want to over internalize emotions. You must feel them. In order to feel them in a healthy way, you have to express them. Too many people keep their emotions to themselves. For whatever reason, they don’t wish to reveal them to others or they don’t feel comfortable doing so. Writing them in the privacy of a personal journal will help you to develop your emotional voice. You want to express your emotions in words and not just in outbursts that are more often than not uncontrollable.

Social Goals

I therefore, the prisoner of YHWH, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3 KJV)

As you have been faithful to this process, you may have already deduced that your spiritual development, your physical fitness, your mental abilities and your emotional stability or your lack thereof, have affected your relationships. You will also see as we move from setting our social goals to the setting of our financial goals that our relationships really have an amazing affect on our financial acumen and accumulation. As you read the above scripture, try to remember that every goal that you set should have your heavenly Father and His son as your primary relationships. When they are prioritized properly, you will find that you will have healthier relationships with those folks in your life.

I asked you to make assessments from 2009. Now that you have made those assessments, ask yourself what is it that I can do in 2010 that will improve those relationships and how can I measure that improvement?

Here are some social/relationship goals that you might set for 2010.

1. Set aside specified time for the people that you care the most apart every month.

1. A date night with your spouse.

2. Alone time with each one of your children.

3. Alone time with one or both of your parents. Even if this is just a phone call.

1. Every month call an old friend, in an effort to stay in touch.

2. Choose that one difficult phone call to make and make it each month.

1. Someone who owes you money.

2. Someone that you owe money to.

3. Someone that you are angry with.

4. Someone that is angry with you.

1. Schedule one event per month to make new acquaintances, or, follow up with people that you meet during the month.

2. Set aside an hour a month to reach out to those people in your life that mean the most to you, other than your spouse or children.

3. Purpose to meet people at church. (That means that you have to get to church.)

Financial Goals

As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest will be in effect. Remember, that you will reap what you sow. And where your treasure is there will your heart be also.

It would stand to reason that you will do better financially, if we are hearing His voice, enjoying physical fitness, making good mental decision, not over reacting emotionally and have solid relationships. Moreover, and probably most importantly, the bible promises that if we seek first His kingdom, he will add to us all that we need. So, let’s set some goals.

1. Save money every month.

2. Tithe – even if it means cutting out restaurants, cable television or any other item that may seem like a necessity.

3. Get a professional financial advisor and mentor.

4. Learn about money. Read about money. Think increase.

5. Diminish debt.

6. Set up a household budget.

7. Set up a will.

8. Get other legal documentation in place, like power of attorney for health decisions and financial decisions.

9. Write a business plan.

Don’t even try to do all of these things in the first month of 2010. Pick a few of these or just one. If you have already done these things, then you need to go back to your social goals and set partnership and joint venture goals that will lead to increased wealth and you will also begin to increase the Kingdom, because you have achieved a lifestyle that needs to be taught to others. However, this tool will show you, in most cases, that you need to improve in one area or the other, and that all things cannot be measured by how much money you have or you don’t have.