Fairness in Action?

UnfairYou Made Me Do It!

At work, I meet with men and my wife and I meet with couples for “faith checkups”. We talk about their engagement with scripture, the God’s apparent working in their lives, and personal struggles. Sometimes, that involves encouragement. Sometimes, it calls for rebuke or correction. In the latter case, maybe a guy has said something to his wife, his kids, or someone else he shouldn’t have said, maybe at a volume level he shouldn’t have used. Jesus would call that “sin”.

In those conversations, I try to separate “reasons” from “excuses”. All our “dones” are done for a reason. However, no reason excuses us from our actions. One day, we’ll all stand before Jesus to account for what we’ve done and said (the “bema” seat judgment [see 2 Cor. 5:10]), and in receiving eternal rewards for the things we did and said, we cannot effectively invoke anyone else’s name to our defense but our own:

  • “You made me mad!”
  • “He stole my idea! It’s not fair!”
  • “She cracked my screen; of course I’m going to get angry!

None of these reasons will excuse us from losing a reward for that specific action. (Note: this is not a matter of salvation, which comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; rather eternal rewards – such as crowns, treasures, honors, etc. – which come by works that flow from a grace based salvation.) (more…)

God Designed It, Use It Wisely

Faithbrain-01     Scripture has a lot to say about how we use the gifts, talents, and abilities God has given us. Ever consider what that means when it comes to your brain? Well, as Jesus tells the parable of the talents, we see two servants rewarded for good stewardship of their master’s financial resources and one punished for poor stewardship and excuse making.

Question: If God gave us 100,000,000,000 neurons as a gift to manage for His glory, shouldn’t we be found good stewards of them?

Our Clean Slate Workshop provides attendees with a Gospel centered look at productivity and helps them to manage their workload and “lifeload” with greater intentionality, precision, and efficiency. But, it also gives a deep dive into the neuroscience of what’s holding us back and what propels us forward in all areas of stewardship to God. Bottom line, I get pretty geeked out about the brain, give God the glory for it, and love to share tips and inside info about the brain when it’s in the news. The more you know, the better you can “honor God with your body” and serve Him with the brain that makes it all run.

So, in the interest of helping you “improve your serve”, here are recent news articles that showed up (albeit in an entirely secular column) at the intersection of neuroscience and productivity.

This year, we’ve been able to directly reach nearly 40 people in four cities, from Atlanta to Baton Rouge, through Clean Slate Workshops, webinars, and personal productivity coaching.  Our “let me know when your next event is coming” list is growing very quickly. To join that list and be invited to our next Clean Slate Workshop, email “info@zeroinbox.org” and we’ll update you as soon as we have dates & locations.

Enjoy and serve the King!

AP