And, we are here to do special things that He had in His mind before He even made the Earth. (Ephesians2:10) Ultimately how we understand and apply this truth will determine our success or failure as Christian people. So many are deceived to believe that God has us here to “enjoy” this life. This is a totally false paradigm. That there are joys and some enjoyment in this life is a reflection of God’s loving nature and His grace, but we are here to work. We are here to serve Him and to produce a return

The way it all works is this: If we live as God intends us to, He will provide all we need to sustain life in the place in the world He intends for us. This place, and by place we mean the combination of location, station, vocation, and reputation, is the place where our unique blend of gifting and calling will be maximally fruitful in His Kingdom, which means to produce the highest return. This place is our “eternal sweet-spot.” This place is where we are able to return the greatest measure on His investment in us. For each of us there is that one true place and what is exciting is that any of us can find it. God will not hide it and tease us; He wants us to be and to function in our eternal “sweet-spot” far more than we can imagine.

There are a couple of keys we need to mention: First, remember that we said that “IF we live as God wants us to live?” Well, that’s a big IF. We have to choose to do so. We can all do it but we all won’t. It will only happen as the result of a conscious choice. Not choosing to live as God wants us to live is the same as choosing not to. Choosing to live the way God wants us to live will mean that we choose not to live the way the world tells us to live. It means that we will choose to accept God’s values and priorities for our lives and reject those of the world. Only if we see life through the lens of an eternal perspective will we choose God and His way in life. A godly life will by definition be a counter-cultural life. Not all of us are or will be willing to make the choices that we are called to make in order to live as God wants us to.

Let’s go back now and talk about investment opportunity. Remember we have said that IF we live as God wants us to live that He will provide all we need to sustain us in that place which we have called our eternal sweet spot. That sweet spot can be anywhere. It can be found in the very highest places of society or the very lowest.  Our sweet spot is, for us, the place where the highest return can be found. God will keep us there if we are willing. Remaining in the sweet spot requires no effort on our part in terms of provision, God will always provide all we need to do all He wants. Living in God’s sweet spot is His responsibility if we are willing to live there. Living anywhere else becomes our responsibility and that is where we find the stress and struggle in life. If we knowingly or unknowingly stray from our eternal sweet spot God is honor bound to try to guide us back into it. He has designed us to be nowhere else and, because of His love for us, will do all He can to encourage us back to our sweet spot if we move away from it. His correction is what the Bible calls chastening and it increases in intensity in proportion with our deviation from His highest and best for us. It manifests in an inner tension and the loss of the fruit of His Spirit in our lives. (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) Chastening is always designed to correct our orientation back to our sweet spot.

 A biblical example of living in the sweet spot is found in the parables of the Minas in Luke and the Talents in Matthew.  In both the returns that the faithful servants earned was measured and the servants with the highest return were commended. The master in the parables represents Jesus and we are the servants. In Luke Jesus used the mina to represent the equal opportunity we all are given to seek and live in our sweet spot. In Matthew our Lord used the talents to represent the different packages of gifts, talents, resources, and opportunities that we individually receive that are designed for creating the maximum return as we live in our eternal sweet spot. Both parables tell us that our Lord is extremely interested in the return He receives from His investment in us. His investment in us is death on the cross in our place. When He did that He invested Himself for us. Our investment opportunity begins with giving ourselves back to Him and it continues as we live for Him in the sweet spot that He has designed for us. As we live in the sweet spot we produce much fruit (His return on His investment) and prove to be His disciples. If we live out of the sweet spot our fruitfulness diminishes to the degree we err and His return is lowered.

 If He chooses to give us excess to what we need to stay in our sweet spot we have the additional investment opportunity of releasing it to the use of His Kingdom. This is the kind of investment Jesus meant when He told us not to lay up treasures on Earth but to lay them up in heaven. In fact, the definition of  mammon might be the excess of what we need to keep us in our eternal sweet spot. What we need to keep us in our sweet spot can be properly called sustenance; it isn’t mammon it is just utilitarian to God’s purpose in our lives. Jesus told us that we couldn’t love God and mammon. And if we define mammon as what we have been given beyond what we need to do all God asks the best thing that we can do with it is invest it in God’s business by releasing it to do Kingdom work. The returns are eternal when we do. Keeping for our own use that which God gives us in excess of what is required to live in our sweet spot is actually hoarding. When we hoard something we love it in a sense and we hoard it only because we don’t believe that God will give us enough more of it to sustain us or keep us where He wants us to be. (Hoarding should not be confused with appropriate savings that are a necessary part of out sweet spot.)

 In light of all this we can see the tremendous need to know what our sweet spot is and to stay in it. Truthfully our eternal destiny depends on it. We have each been created by God to do specific and important things in very important and strategic places. When we live in those places and do those things we fulfill our eternal destiny and provide to our Father the highest return on His investment. This truly represents our investment opportunity and His.

 If you are confused concerning your sweet spot or any of the concepts of this segment, the place to get clarity is in intimate questioning of God. Intimate questioning can only be a part of an intimate relationship so begin there. Ask Him. No wise person wants to experience a poor return or miss an investment opportunity.

 Check yourself. In a quiet time ask yourself:

1. Is my investment opportunity being fully realized?
2. If your answer is yes, ask what you need to do to maintain or increase it
3. If your answer is no, begin a process of change by asking God why.

 Are you living in or heading surely toward your eternal sweet spot?

1. If your answer is “Yes,” press on!
2. If your answer is “No” or “I don’t know” begin to ask God where it is and how to get there.

 Is your relationship with God intimate enough for you to believe that you can truly answer these questions?

1. If your answer is “Yes”, press on and don’t let it slip!
2. If your answer is “No” or “I don’t know”, are you content to continue as is?
3. If your answer is “No” or “I don’t know”, what might you change that could change the answer?
4. When will you make the change? 

“What one generation tolerates, the next embraces.”

“What we do in moderation our children will do in excess.”

“ Our tolerance and silence has given silent permission for morality and common sense to be abdicated!”

“Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority of elitist snobs, and rabidly promoted by a corrupted and unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t–d by the clean end.”

“A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”– Gerald R. Ford

“Calling an illegal alien an ‘undocumented immigrant’ is like calling a drug dealer an ‘unlicensed pharmacist’.”

“Some things are so foolish that only intellectuals will believe them.”

Facts are not a problem for the intellectual elite, they simply ignore them and ask for more money to apply to problems that their half-baked ideology has failed to solve. They refuse all responsibility for the failure of their ideas and simply get louder and nastier  in shouting at common sense. I.e. our educational system that has been in their hands for over 50 years has “progressed” from the finest in the world to off the list of the finest! Way to go smart guys!

Just a few simple words to start your week!

This piece was written by “Anon”, a pastor’s wife, whom I wish that I could credit. I think that it is spot on. 

“And it came to pass in the Age of Insanity that the people of the land
called America , having lost their morals, their initiative, and their
will to defend their liberties, chose as their Supreme Leader that
person known as “The One.”

He emerged from the vapors with a message that had no meaning; but He
hypnotized the people telling them, “I am sent to save you.” My lack
of experience, my questionable ethics, my monstrous ego, and my
association with evil doers are of no consequence. I shall save you
with hope and Change. Go, therefore, and proclaim throughout the
land that he who proceeded me is evil, that he has defiled the nation,
and that all he has built must be destroyed. And the people rejoiced,
for even though they knew not what “The One” would do, he had promised
that it was good; and they believed. And “The One” said ” We live in
the greatest country in the world. Help me change everything about it!”
And the people said, “Hallelujah! Change is good!”

Then He said, “We are going to tax the rich fat-cats.” And the
people said “Sock it to them!” “And redistribute their wealth.” And
the people said, “Show us the money!” And then he said, ”
redistribution of wealth is good for everybody.”

And Joe the plumber asked, ” Are you kidding me? You’re going to
steal my money and give it to the deadbeats??” And “The One”
ridiculed and taunted him, and Joe’s personal records were hacked and publicized.
One lone reporter asked, “Isn’t that Marxist policy?” And she was
banished from the kingdom!

Then a citizen asked, “With no foreign relations experience and
having zero military experience or knowledge, how will you deal with
radical terrorists?” And “The One” said, “Simple. I shall sit with
them and talk with them and show them how nice we really are; and they
will forget that they ever wanted to kill us all!” And the people
said, “Hallelujah!! We are safe at last, and we can beat our weapons
into free cars for the people!”

Then “The One” said “I shall give 95% of you lower taxes.” And one,
lone voice said, “But 40% of us don’t pay ANY taxes.” So “The One”
said, “Then I shall give you some of the taxes the fat-cats pay!”
And the people said, “Hallelujah! Show us the money!”
Then “The One” said, “I shall tax your Capital Gains when you sell
your homes!” And the people yawned and the slumping housing market
collapsed. And He said. “I shall mandate employer-funded health care
for every worker and raise the minimum wage. And I shall give every
person unlimited healthcare and medicine and transportation to the
clinics.” And the people said, “Give me some of that!”
Then he said, “I shall penalize employers who ship jobs overseas.”
And the people said, “Where’s my rebate check?”

Then “The One” said, “I shall bankrupt the coal industry and
electricity rates will skyrocket!” And the people said, “Coal is
dirty, coal is evil, no more coal! But we don’t care for that part
about higher electric rates.” So “The One” said, Not to worry. If
your rebate isn’t enough to cover your expenses, we shall bail you out.
Just sign up with the ACORN and your troubles are over!”

Then He said, “Illegal immigrants feel scorned and slighted. Let’s
grant them amnesty, Social Security, free education, free lunches,
free medical care, bi-lingual signs and guaranteed housing…” And
the people said, “Hallelujah!” and they made him king!

And so it came to pass that employers, facing spiraling costs and
ever-higher taxes, raised their prices and laid off workers. Others
simply gave up and went out of business and the economy sank like unto
a rock dropped from a cliff.
The banking industry was destroyed. Manufacturing slowed to a
crawl. And more of the people were without a means of support.

Then “The One” said, “I am the “the One”- The Messiah – and I’m here
to save you! We shall just print more money so everyone will have
enough!” But our foreign trading partners said unto Him. “Wait a
minute. Your dollar is not worth a pile of camel dung! You will have
to pay more… And “The One” said, “Wait a minute. That is
unfair!!” And the world said, “Neither are these other idiotic
programs you have embraced. Lo, you have become a Socialist state and
a second-rate power. Now you shall play by our rules!”

And the people cried out, “Alas, alas!! What have we done?” But yea
verily, it was too late. The people set upon The One and spat upon
him and stoned him, and his name was dung. And the once mighty nation
was no more; and the once proud people were without sustenance or
shelter or hope. And the Change “The One” had given them was as like
unto a poison that had destroyed them and like a whirlwind that
consumed all that they had built.

And the people beat their chests in despair and cried out in anguish,
“give us back our nation and our pride and our hope!!” But it was too
late, and their homeland was no more.”

You may think this a fairy tale, but it’s not.
It’s happening RIGHT NOW


_ ]]> http://buckjacobs.com/the-one-by-anon/feed 4 http://buckjacobs.com/think-about-this-two-huge-flaws http://buckjacobs.com/think-about-this-two-huge-flaws#comments Sun, 03 Jan 2010 14:51:37 +0000 Buck Jacobs http://buckjacobs.com/?p=321 There are two basic flaws in out current Christian paradigm and practice that have allowed America, and by extension the world, to slide closer and closer to moral rot and decay. This post will be short. I just want you to think deeply about what you see as you participate in or observe the contemporary Christian church. These flaws are so severe that they must be totally reversed if we are ever to see the renewal or revival or restoration of our nation. The problems are spiritual, not economic or political and the slippery slope deepens almost daily.

Flaw number one is the paradigm that the members of the church exist to equip the pastors for the work of ministry. They are do this by bringing their tithes into the “storehouse” and building ever larger and more ornate storehouses. The beautiful storehouses will attract the lost and they will want to come visit the beautiful storehouse and be saved. The lost will become saved and then will help the building of even more ornate storehouses. This paradigm is exactly backwards from the true model which says that the pastors and leaders are given to the Church to equip the members to do the work of ministry as they “go into all the world.”

Flaw number two is that the Church needs to bring the current culture of the world into the church rather than taking the Church into the culture of the world. Again, exactly backwards from reality of Biblical model and truth. Christians are to be “salt” and “light” not sponges.

These  maladjustment’s have produced a compromised and powerless church. Think not? Get a grip. Read on.

I know that many of you will be saying; “Yes, but what about the wonderful mega-churches that are growing and prospering? Aren’t they they way of the future? Isn’t the “emergent church” the new way of doing church.”

Is it? Think about this – if we were to add together all the attendees of all the mega-churches and emergent churches together I doubt there would be a total of a million attendees. And if we use George Barna’s statistic to measure the true believers (those having a Christ-centered worldview) out of the total attendees we end up with a fraction of those who attend, say 10% . Statistically this says that there are less than 10% (100,000) of  1 million real believers out of three hundred and fifty million in our population. That’s ,0035.  Statistically insignificant. and that’s what the church has become in contemporary American culture, insignificant. Quibble with the numbers if you want to but even if you double or triple them the resultant powerless and insignificance won’t change. All the result of the two basic flaws. Think about it. What has to change?

It wasn’t always this way for me. I have known the emptiness that comes from following the world’s system of hedonistic materialism. I have set meaningless goals and accomplished them over and again without ever gaining lasting satisfaction or peace through the processs At 30 I was living in a villa north of Rome, Italy having surpassed every financial goal that I had ever had, yet I was empty and unfufilled. I knew there had to be more but didn’t know what it was.  

How about you? What do you see looking out at the coming year? What are you hoping for? What needs to change in 2010 to make it a better year for you than 2009? More stuff? A raise? A romance?

This will be just a short post but I want to do two things. First, to remind you that, if nothing changes nothing changes, and if in your heart you aren’t where you want to be at the start of this New Year, and not excited about what you see looking back, something has to change or 2010 will be a reflection of 2009. I’m not talking about the normal New Year’s resolutions type stuff. We both know that 99% of them don’t live to see February. I’m talking about the deep inner changes that produce a truly better life, not just a more prosperous life or a healthier life. Are you happy with who you are and where you are heading? I pray that you are but if not, what has to change?

I’ve learned the hard way that happiness exists on the inside and has little to do with what’s outside of us. When we depend on what’s outside for our happiness it is always threatened, we can always lose it. If it’s an inner thing no one can steal it or take it f rom us. If our happiness depends on another person it is never secure. (unless of course that person is Jesus Christ who never changes!) Human people always change and happiness that depends on human relationships is always vulnerable.

For me it was a change from the inside out that was the start. I gave my heart and life to Jesus in 1973 and told Him that if He would forgive my sin and wanted to lead me in His way that I would give it up to Him and do whatever He wanted with the rest of it. That was 36 years ago and the very best deal I ever made! If you have never done the deal with Jesus there couldn’t be a better way to start the New Year.

But even if you have done the deal and know Him you may need to make some changes to know Him better. If so you know it and you also know what I’m talking about. He’ll help you change what needs to change, just ask Him.

The great news for 2010 is that He is real, He loves you, and He is calling to all who will listen. If life going forward doesn’t look as exciting to you as it does to me what you need is more of Jesus and less of the world. That fits no matter where we are. young or old, new Christian, old saint, or lost sinner. Jesus is the key to life abundant now and forever. Trust Him more in 2010 and it will be a great year!

I care about and prefer small government and low taxes and a strong national defense but I’m not passionate about them. I would easily vote for a pro-life Democrat over a pro-choice Republican. Those are my choices and I will live with them. I’m disgusted with self-serving politicians period. I don’t like being lied to the way we have been and don’t care who knows it. But politics isn’t the answer anyway.

The thing that I care about above all others is The Kingdom of God. I am a citizen of that Kingdom and belong to the Church of The Firstborn there. I’m only here for a short time on assignment as Ambassador for Christ so the amount I pay in taxes etc. is important to me, but not most important. Living my life in this world as a citizen of heaven is what I care about. Above all other considerations, God and His way in life is what matters. I know that I’m different and not worried what others think of me. We are all accountable for our choices and I’m comfortable with mine.

I have a Statement of Purpose that I wrote in 1992 to help me keep my eye on the ball and to remind me of what is most important to me. Some of you might benefit from seeing it and I hope that, if you haven’t done one for yourself yet, that mine might encourage you to do so. It’s been a great help to me. God bless you and Merry Christmas!

A Statement of Purpose

Buck Jacobs – Jan. 1992

My purpose is: To be used up for God as I completely fulfill His plan for my life, and to honor God through obedience in allowing Him to live His Life through me as; Husband (Jerusalem), Father (Judea and Samaria), Grandfather & Minister  (To the ends of the Earth)

***********************************************************************

To honor God through obedience to His Word and His Spirit in life situations.

As Husband –

Loving Bonnie unconditionally, sacrificially, as Christ loves His Church. Praying for her. Meeting her needs for affirmation, security, and freedom to be herself.

As Father –

To Beth, Sarah, and Leah by loving and communicating with them, affirming them, and, as far as I am able, modeling for them an example of a heart hard after God. To share with what I have with them.

As Grandfather –

To be a godly grandfather for Jake, Garrit, Aubrey, Jay, Mallory, and Les – staying close to them and encouraging them to know that God loves them by showing them His love through me.

As Minister -

To serve the Body of Christ as a minister of encouragement and faithful commitment. To love the Body, to minister wholeness and against sectarianism.

To be an example of a Christian citizen. To be involved with Christian candidates and to avoid being entangled with people or causes that do not represent Jesus Christ.

To steward a Christian business that lives and models what it teaches and goes where God sends it.

To be a faithful friend and relative, attempting to see the good in others and to put their interests ahead of my own. To always speak the truth, hopefully in the love of Christ. To faithfully point them to Jesus as the answer to all of life’s problems.

To share faithfully with them my failures as well as my successes.

To encourage them to have a daily quiet time with Jesus.