Latest / The Daily Ripples Podcast / May 30 – Clarity of Purpose

Transcript

May 30 – Clarity of Purpose · The Daily Ripples Podcast

• 0:04
  Well, welcome back to the Daily Ripples podcast.
• 0:07
  Today is May the 30th, and this is Pastor Mike, and I've got here with me...
• 0:12
  Hey, guys.
• 0:13
  I'm Corey.
• 0:15
  Kevin.
• 0:16
  And we are so glad to have both my regular co-host, Corey, with us and our guest, Kevin,
• 0:21
  here with us again today.
• 0:23
  He's going to be here with us, hopefully, for another couple of days after this, but we're
• 0:27
  going to jump right in by reading our daily ripple for today, The Stone. Clarity of purpose brings
• 0:34
  strength. When I lose focus, I become scattered. When I stay grounded in what matters, my life
• 0:40
  becomes more effective. Ripple one, practical. Today, I will identify what truly matters and
• 0:46
  give my energy there. I will not be distracted by every demand or pulled in every direction.
• 0:51
  A focused life is a fruitful life. Ripple 2 is spiritual. Jesus lived with clear purpose,
• 0:58
  never losing sight of his mission. As I follow him, the Holy Spirit helps align my priorities
• 1:03
  with the Father's will. Over time, I learned that staying focused on what matters most allows my life
• 1:09
  to have greater impact. And as always, we'll save our prayer for the end of the episode.
• 1:15
  Well, I'll tell you guys, as I was reading this one again today, I was thinking about,
• 1:20
  you know, both the practical ripple and the spiritual ripple and the practical specifically
• 1:24
  about not being distracted by every demand or pulled in every direction. And then, you know,
• 1:30
  it hit me with a whammy as I read it again, the Holy Spirit was speaking to me and it says,
• 1:34
  the Holy Spirit helps align my priorities with the Father's will. And the reason why those two
• 1:39
  sections stood out to me this time is I was thinking about, and I've talked about this a
• 1:43
  little bit on the podcast before, but I think most of our listeners and most people who know me know
• 1:48
  that I wasn't just a pastor until this past fall and late fall in November. In November, I lost
• 1:58
  another job that I had, which was as a community leader in government service, and that happened
• 2:04
  kind of suddenly. But while I was working both of those roles, while I was serving as a city manager
• 2:11
  of the suburb, as well as a pastor for a congregation, that part about not being distracted
• 2:16
  by every demand or pulled in every direction is not how I was living. I mean, I was constantly
• 2:23
  on call, on the clock for something. I constantly, I didn't really have much, you know, the spiritual
• 2:29
  discipline of Sabbath taking, you know, was not even a thing that I could even consider. And then
• 2:34
  the spiritual ripple said, the Holy Spirit helps align my priorities with the Father's will.
• 2:38
  And I kind of laughed or chuckled in my own mind as I read that, but because sometimes the Holy
• 2:43
  Spirit can align your priorities through other people as well. Sometimes it's through a special
• 2:47
  call meeting with a board of commissioners that terminates your contract all of a sudden out of
• 2:51
  nowhere. So the Holy Spirit can work through others if we're too stubborn to listen. And I definitely
• 2:55
  had a period in my life where I was too stubborn to listen. But have either of you guys experienced
• 3:00
  anything like that where the Holy Spirit has kind of given you more than just a nudge, almost kind of
• 3:05
  gave you a shove in the right direction well i mean my whole life um you know i mean i didn't
• 3:14
  i didn't walk you know i didn't scratch off the lottery and come into this program right and i
• 3:18
  right and um you know it's really cool because you know where it says uh
• 3:27
  today i will identify what truly matters and give my energy there um you know and i it's
• 3:35
  a little bit about in the book, it says, you know, where I practice this stuff is my home first,
• 3:40
  my occupations, and then my affairs. And, you know, I found that to be true for me,
• 3:45
  but I also find what to be true for me as well is where I'm most useful at. I mean, I'm, you know,
• 3:51
  obviously I'm useful to my, in my home, to my kids, to my significant other. I'm useful at work,
• 3:57
  but, you know, you know, what I'm also useful at is, you know, helping these people that have
• 4:03
  been right where I'm at. In the 12 and 12, it says on page 151, it's tradition five talking
• 4:13
  about our primary purpose, which is to carry its message. To the alcoholic who still suffers,
• 4:19
  it says, shoemaker, stick to thy last. Better to do one thing supremely well than many badly.
• 4:29
  So when I'm growing in effectiveness of this work, I don't think you can become good at it, but purpose is what angel also means is messenger, right?
• 4:45
  And we can become a messenger for God through this, right?
• 4:48
  And so if on page 51 of the big book, it says, when many hundreds of people are able to say that the consciousness of the presence of God is today the most important fact of their lives, they present a powerful reason why one should have faith.
• 5:06
  So, presence of God, I find that when I'm working with another man or helping somebody in my life, that I'm building a relationship with God as well.
• 5:18
  And that is the number one, the most important thing in my life is that conscious contact with God for some reason.
• 5:25
  And the cool thing is Kevin's been a part of it.
• 5:27
  Kevin's seen this stuff work in my life.
• 5:31
  Kevin would talk about people who showed up at court dates.
• 5:34
  Kevin was at a court date with me.
• 5:37
  He was there when my lawyer came back in and said,
• 5:41
  you guys can go home.
• 5:42
  Corey's going home today.
• 5:46
  So when I think about abandoning myself to God
• 5:49
  and giving myself to this deal
• 5:51
  and giving myself to these people that are sick,
• 5:53
  I believe in that today.
• 5:55
  But that was where my first thought went.
• 5:58
  So I was just going to say that it's funny how
• 6:01
  I can gauge when my life is, when my purpose is off, you know, my clarity is off, I guess, for my purpose.
• 6:10
  Because I can, you know, that old, you hear it all the time, restless, irritable, and discontent feelings start coming in.
• 6:17
  And I've either not been aligning myself with God or I'm not trying to be of service to other people.
• 6:24
  I think a lot of times, you know, we can get into, you know, this work mode and we're doing all these things.
• 6:31
  And then, you know, it gets to the point where, oh, I need to do this and I need to do this.
• 6:36
  And then you just keep getting further, further, further away.
• 6:39
  But further, it also seems like you're getting more into self.
• 6:43
  And so I have to step back from that sometimes.
• 6:46
  And, you know, whether I'm driving down the road, I may have to pull over and just take a 10-minute break from all this stuff that's going on around me and pray or make a phone call.
• 6:59
  Call somebody and say, hey, man, how's your day going, you know?
• 7:03
  But if I don't continue to do little things like that, I can find myself scattered, like it says, you know, and not grounded in what matters most.
• 7:18
  I wonder, for either of you, like, at any given time in life, you know, there's always going to be multiple things that are competing, you know, for our attention.
• 7:29
  You know, Corey, you kind of mentioned it a little bit, you know, earlier when you were speaking about, you know, things that need your attention.
• 7:37
  Your home life, your work life, you know, your life in recovery, your outside life, as it were.
• 7:42
  And as I think about all the things that compete for, you know, my attention, I think about,
• 7:47
  you know, today has been a busy day for me.
• 7:50
  You know, I came in and, you know, just sat down about five minutes, you know, in the house
• 7:57
  getting home before we hopped on here, you know, to record these run of episodes for the
• 8:02
  podcast.
• 8:02
  And earlier today, I've gone everywhere from, you know, going for a follow-up appointment
• 8:07
  with my wife and her surgery this morning to going and picking up my youngest daughter's
• 8:12
  that we're having to sell for junk because the transmission went out to having to go visit a church
• 8:18
  member in hospice today who has just recently gone on hospice and a prayer shout out for Sister Joanne,
• 8:25
  I'll be in prayer for her and her family, and then meeting with the council or the committee for the
• 8:32
  new church that I'll be appointed to starting in July. And so it's just been a day of balancing
• 8:37
  those priorities. And the only way that I'm able to stay focused during that a day like today is
• 8:44
  to remember why I'm doing all those things. And they all are being done out of what we talked
• 8:50
  about yesterday. They're all being done out of love, you know, love of family, love of others,
• 8:55
  love of the community that I'm called to serve. But as you all think about your day or the past
• 9:00
  couple of days, what types of things specifically have been competing for y'all's attention?
• 9:05
  And how have you managed the priorities?
• 9:09
  Yeah, I don't even know if I do manage my priorities.
• 9:12
  I, you know, I have a significant other that does really well at that.
• 9:19
  You know, but, you know, so you think about, I think about that, you know, managing my priorities.
• 9:24
  And I was talking to a guy about this the other day and I was, you know, we were reading together and I was telling him, you know, because it says on a waking thing about the next 24 hours ahead of me.
• 9:34
  Right. And, you know, most times, I don't know about you guys, but, you know, my day is kind of sometimes already planned.
• 9:43
  Like, I already kind of know this is what I got to do. This is what I got to do.
• 9:48
  And these things are kind of in line with that.
• 9:52
  But, you know, for some reason, because I used to, and we talked about this a little bit, but I used to use the word manage.
• 10:01
  I think maybe that was just used a second ago, but I've thought I could balance, manage these
• 10:06
  different things. And, you know, I think you said it the best, you know, but when it's focused on
• 10:12
  love and service and pretty much love, somehow like I could look back in my day and I'm like,
• 10:20
  man, that was a lot of stuff I just did, but not be thinking about it in the midst of it.
• 10:26
  You know what I mean?
• 10:27
  In the mix of it, like, I'm not really thinking this is a lot because I'm just doing this to this to this.
• 10:32
  But afterwards, I'm like, wow, that was a lot of stuff I just did.
• 10:36
  I don't know, but I'll pretty much, you know, my significant other kind of, you know, she does the managing over here.
• 10:43
  How about you, Kevin?
• 10:45
  Well, I mean, it's a balancing act.
• 10:49
  I mean, I've got a lot going on myself with a couple of businesses.
• 10:55
  I've got two daughters in college, and, you know, I'm trying to be in service, but also I have a couple of hobbies.
• 11:05
  I like to play golf, and then I like to work out some, too.
• 11:09
  So, sometimes I have to make those sacrifices, you know, because obviously, if I'm working with a guy, you know, I try to set a time, you know, for that.
• 11:19
  And then my work, I have, you know, it's crazy sometimes.
• 11:24
  It's in the mornings especially.
• 11:26
  And so it's, I just have to kind of step back and just say, okay, what's most important here?
• 11:32
  You know, obviously I have to have a job because I have to pay bills, you know, and put food on the table and all those things.
• 11:42
  But then there's the other aspects of trying to be of service to other people.
• 11:47
  And knowing when to say, yes, I can do this or I can do this, but I can't do it at that time.
• 11:54
  Can we move it?
• 11:55
  And, you know, trying to do everything in moderation.
• 11:59
  But as you said, with love as being the main theme of it all, you know, whether it be at home for my kids or helping another human being that's in, you know, the program.
• 12:13
  Kevin, I like how you brought in about all things in moderation.
• 12:17
  That makes you sound like a good Methodist when you say that, by the way.
• 12:22
  That's one of the Methodist phrases is that we say all things in moderation, so it's kind of funny.
• 12:29
  Another thing that I was thinking about, too, kind of the last aspect of today's daily Ripples devotional that we have,
• 12:39
  is that, you know, the entry says that a focused life is a fruitful life.
• 12:44
  But sometimes, you know, I find myself scattering my energy around and finding myself stretched too thin.
• 12:51
  And what it normally costs me, as I think about the cost of doing that,
• 12:56
  is it has never gotten to the point where it costs me my sobriety or my time in recovery.
• 13:01
  But it is definitely, you know, scattering my energy, spreading myself too thin,
• 13:05
  has definitely cost me my mental health at times.
• 13:08
  you know, to where, you know, there's periods where you stretch too thin, the exhaustion sets in,
• 13:14
  that creates a breeding ground for, you know, for depression to set in and anxiety and panic
• 13:21
  attacks and all that kind of thing. And it's clear that we can't be all things to all people.
• 13:26
  And so we really do have to stay focused in here. And that's kind of another aspect of it that I was
• 13:31
  thinking about, you know, is you try to do everything for everyone and try to juggle too
• 13:36
  many balls in the air at once and eventually some of those balls are going to come falling.
• 13:41
  You know, Bill and me talk a lot about this, especially with different guys I work with.
• 13:47
  And, you know, the word activity and action, you know, in those two different words, you
• 13:53
  know, am I just doing activity or am I doing real action?
• 13:59
  I think a lot about that, you know, with some things that different things I do, like
• 14:04
  I go talking here. Well, but my talking here is that activity sometimes and not as much action
• 14:11
  because I feel more useful in front of a book with another man. Like if we're talking about the
• 14:15
  recovery side of it, I'm definitely more useful at home instead of running around, you know,
• 14:22
  being there for the baby and things like that, you know, and so am I doing just activity versus action
• 14:30
  and trusting in what I'm doing is action over activity, right?
• 14:34
  In Ephesians 2.10, I really like Ephesians 2.10.
• 14:40
  This is highlight.
• 14:41
  Actually, you know, the Bible you gave me, I've definitely read it four times so far
• 14:45
  because it's highlighted across the board, you know?
• 14:49
  But in the New Revised Standard Version, it says,
• 14:53
  For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
• 14:58
  which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. So, you know, God's already prepared this,
• 15:03
  you know, if I do the good works, you know, I can, I can obviously go do some bad works and we can
• 15:10
  change my position. And my position could be, um, you know, drug dealer that sells somebody some
• 15:17
  drugs and that set of drugs that they did was maybe the last set of drugs they did before they
• 15:25
  got sober. Maybe that's my purpose.
• 15:27
  But you know what I mean? So
• 15:29
  God, I think, uses everybody in different
• 15:31
  positions wherever they... He finds
• 15:33
  them wherever they're at, obviously.
• 15:36
  And, you know,
• 15:37
  so I don't know. I think, you know, God
• 15:39
  puts everybody to work in different ways.
• 15:41
  Maybe more, you know, to think
• 15:43
  I could explain a supreme being
• 15:45
  anyhow, right?
• 15:47
  Absolutely.
• 15:49
  Kevin, do you have any final thoughts
• 15:51
  for us on our episode today?
• 15:55
  Well, I mean, you know, not really.
• 16:00
  I'll just say, well, I lost my spot on here, so I can't see the ripple anymore.
• 16:08
  With that, I'll pass.
• 16:10
  That's all good.
• 16:11
  I was just going to point out, Corey, I was glad that you read Ephesians 2 and 10,
• 16:17
  because Ephesians 2 and 8, and even leading into 9,
• 16:21
  are some of the most famous verses from the Apostle Paul that's quoted time and time again.
• 16:27
  And it's absolutely true. And those say that by grace you have been saved through faith,
• 16:31
  and this is not your own doing. It is a gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one may
• 16:36
  boast. Now, a lot of people stop there, you know, and it's almost those verses almost become an excuse
• 16:43
  for not having to do anything, you know, with your salvation even. But if you keep reading,
• 16:48
  And Paul clearly says right after that, which you said, that we are what he has made us,
• 16:52
  you know, created in Christ Jesus for good works.
• 16:55
  And so it all comes back to that same concept that we read in the book of James, that faith
• 17:01
  without works is what?
• 17:03
  Dead.
• 17:03
  So people skip that?
• 17:05
  People skip that.
• 17:06
  People skip it all the time.
• 17:07
  They try to use that as, oh, you can't, you know, lose your salvation.
• 17:10
  It doesn't really matter what you do.
• 17:11
  You're saved and sanctified.
• 17:13
  You got your ticket punched to heaven.
• 17:14
  You don't have to do anything anymore.
• 17:16
  That's kind of the understanding of that that I grew up with, you know, in the church tradition.
• 17:20
  At least that's what I was hearing.
• 17:22
  But it doesn't stop there, and Paul doesn't stop there.
• 17:26
  He's basically affirming that, no, we don't have to earn our salvation, but once we're saved
• 17:30
  and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, God is going to urge us onward to a life of
• 17:35
  what we Methodists call sanctifying grace, which is creating us more and more into the
• 17:40
  likeness of Jesus to do good works and to act in service and love to all those around us.
• 17:46
  Let's end up with a prayer, buddy
• 17:49
  Yes, sir, our prayer for the day says
• 17:51
  Father, help me stay focused on what truly matters
• 17:54
  Through your Spirit, guide my priorities
• 17:56
  And shape my life to reflect the purpose you have for me
• 18:00
  Through your Son, Amen
• 18:02
  Amen