Intellectual Follower of Jesus

https://www.cru.org/us/en/blog/spiritual-growth/devotionals-quiet-times/how-your-personality-connects-you-with-god.html

I believe being an intellectual follower of Jesus is more significant and rewarding.

I’ve met followers of Jesus who tend to ignore much education. I wonder whether it’s due to laziness or a belief that once we have Jesus, we don't need knowledge.

Paul was a great scholar and became a very influential follower of Jesus. I’d like to follow Jesus with my whole being; my heart, mind, and strength. Following Jesus with the heart is great, but without clear reasoning from the mind, we may miss the point. 

We are called upon to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Nothing is left behind. A balanced love of God is more influential than a biased one. Most of the influential people I know, those who have changed their world were not biased on their following Jesus. They intentionally balanced their desire to love Jesus, and also share the love of Jesus to those around them. They did what it took to let their light shine and also be salt & light. If salt remained inside the salt shaker, we wouldn’t feel its impact.

A lot is going on around us, and we can't ignore and stay naïve. We can't hope and pray that things will change. We have to find our seat at the table and let all experience our love for Jesus. Instead of waiting for and hoping that things one day will miraculously get better, we who know and love Jesus, need to occupy the driving seat and be used to bring hope and love to those around us.

http://dioscg.org/index.php/re-program-your-brain-for-lent/

God gave us brains for a reason. He didn’t give us brains to waste it waiting and hoping that situations will magically change. Most of us tend to claim we are waiting for the will of God before we act or do anything. We sit and pray for God to come and show us what to do. I’m sorry this way you might wait till your last day in this world. If God wanted us not to use our brains, he wouldn't have given them to us. We would have been made as robots, which can be programmed and directed to execute but can't think or decide what to do. We need to be wise and strategic so we also don’t just keep doing things. Not everything that is good is necessarily meant for us to do. But by and large, whatever pleases God, whatever is noble, praiseworthy, and honors God, we are encouraged to do. Paul talks of the fact that something could be good and permissible but not necessarily beneficial.

As a follower of Jesus, how do you use your brain to know that which is beneficial to you and those around you? Talking time to reflect on what you can do that would be beneficial is very important as you figure out how to intellectually follow Jesus. Gaining a deeper understanding of how you are uniquely wired, how you respond to situations, what issues have mostly bothered you, what things have you done so well that people have given you affirmation on, how your past experiences have shaped you, what have been the circumstances beyond your control and many more. Looking at these issues will give you an indication of what God is guiding you to focus on. What the will of God is for you. Unfortunately, just sitting and praying for God to show you His will for your life might be a futile effort.

http://blog.fhfbc.org/2013/07/the-mystery-of-gods-will.html

Once you get an indication of what it is God is laying in your heart as his will for you, you need to dig deep into it, so you become the best at it. You become good at it. You go out of your way to make sure you equip yourself in the area so your light can shine in that area. Sometimes, we are tempted to be so wide, but shallow on so many things. I believe in obedience in a single direction as that in itself brings meaning and satisfaction to life. Once you lock into the direction, dig into it and become an oasis in that direction. Let people know you and trust you for that. Be consistent enough that people will know who to turn to when they need you.

If this resonates with you, seek to follow Jesus intellectually. Look for a small community of friends who you can learn to do this together with. Being accountable to a few and practicing with a few. It's about building a community of friends to share each others' in following Jesus with their hearts, soul, mind, and strength. You have to be deeply committed to each other and desire to see each other grow in this journey. You have to create support, encouragement and accountability platform for each other. The community has to be a small as possible so that there is active engagement by all involved.

Find a community around you and see if these conversations make sense to you.

http://www.walkingwithgiants.net/church/small-groups/how-to-kill-a-small-group-discussion/

By Gabriel Odhiambo Achayo

Senior Consultant, GiANT Worldwide (www.giantworldwide.com)

GiANT.TV/gabrielachayo

Nature, Nurture and Choice

   www.giantworldwide.com

I believe our behavior is as a result of a combination of nature, nurture, and choice. Every time we interact with someone or see a particular behavior, we are interacting with a combination of nature, nurture, and choice in different proportions. The question we have to ask ourselves is what of the three do we give power over us, nature, nurture or choice.

Nature is the personality type, the person we are, the person God has created us. We are either extroverted or introverted; we are either thinkers or feelers, Sensors or Intuitors. We are either judgers or perceiver. We have particular preferences which come easily to us due to who we are. We are uniquely gifted in particular ways. Personally, I am Introverted, Sensor, Feeler, and Judger. This makes me interact, take in information, process information and live my life in a particular way different from someone who has a different personality type. This speaks a lot to my preference. It doesn’t mean I can’t be the others; I can be, but it's a lot of effort for me. My preferred style comes naturally to me, but I have to be intentional on my least preferred style. It's got something to do with where I was born when I was born, and all these things that I might have no control over but in essence affect me a lot. They play a role in my life. Personality type doesn't dictate behavior, but it sure does influence. 

Nurture has got to do with how I was raised. Who have been my mentors, role models, spiritual guides? What are my dreams, my education, my faith, my parenting? Did I have strong intentional parenting and vice versa? What have I exposed myself to? What are the key lessons I have picked along the way? Who have been my friends, who have been those people that I have allowed to speak into my life? These have shaped my life and have given me a new paradigm, a different perspective, a different way of thinking and life. I see things differently because of my nurturing. I might have the same nature as someone, but due to my nurturing, I might have a different experience and life pattern. My desire to be a follower of Jesus and to nurture leaders who will commit to following Jesus have predisposed me to a different way of living. If I reflect back to the teenager me and the 37-year-old me, a lot has changed in my life, and all this is due to nurture.

www.giantworldwide.com

Most people have significantly used choice. Some people have misused it, others have taken advantage of it to achieve amazing results. There are two schools of thoughts; one is that we always have choices in every circumstance while another is our choices are not really choices but are limited by something beyond our control. Whatever school of thought you have, we can't ignore the role of choice in our lives. The choices we make help us override both nature and nurture. We may have two people with the same nature and nurture but how they respond to a particular situation will most probably be different. There are cases where our nature and nurture might limit the possibilities of choices we have. When I was getting married, I had to make hard choices on how the whole journey from negotiation to the actual wedding and finally how to bring up my family was going to be done. This was dictated much by my nature and nurture. My situation gave me different scenarios that I had to deal with compared to others 29-year-olds who were getting married seven years ago. So my ability to choose was within my prevailing circumstances brought about as a result of my nature and nurture.

An understanding of this is critical so that in your dealing with people and also living your life, you can understand what is really driving your behavior. To what level are you choosing or letting your nature and nurture drive your behavior.

www.giantworldwide.com

Are you aware of your tendencies that are as a result of a combination of nature, nurture, and choice? How are those tendencies influencing your actions, which is leading to some consequences and in turn has led to a particular reality you find yourself in now?

As a leader, who is intentional in following Jesus, how are nature, nurture, and choice affecting your behavior? How many times do you find yourself blaming your nature and nurture for your faults? How has following Jesus affected your nurturing and choices over the years? Are you intentional or accidental?

If this resonates with you, take time to reflect on your nature, nurture and choice. Look for a small community of friends who you can learn to do this together with. Being accountable to a few and practicing with a few. It's about building a community of friends to share each other's journey of living an intentional life for better leadership behavior.  You have to be deeply committed to each other and desire to see each other grow in this journey. You have to create support, encouragement and accountability platform for each other. The community has to be a small as possible so that there is active engagement by all involved.

Find a community around you and see if these conversations make sense to you…

Image Credits: http://www.businessmalawi.com

By Gabriel Odhiambo Achayo

Senior Consultant, GiANT Worldwide (www.giantworldwide.com)

GiANT.TV/gabrielachayo