What's Your Current Spiritual Season?

I have had the opportunity to live in the Midwest, West and Southeast. Most of the States I have lived in have seasons, some more severe than others. For instance in the Midwest where I grew up, went to College, and where I served in some local churches, there were some record setting Winters. I mean like -60 degrees, snow piled so high you had to get on your roof to shovel it off so it would not cave in. I lived in Atlanta one summer where we had 30 plus straight days of 95 degrees and hundreds died. I lived in South Florida, where there really are not seasons but it does rain hard in the summer, gets very hot, and there are hurricanes to contend with.

I also believe we have seasons in our spiritual lives too. Let me explain. Based on your life with Christ right now would you say you are in Fall (cool towards the things of God) and moving toward Winter (cold toward God and giving into sin willingly)? Or are you moving out of Winter and toward Spring (your heart is warming up to the Word of God, toward Prayer and sharing your faith)? Or perhaps you are in the peak of Summer and spiritual matters like tithing, serving and sharing your faith, along with deep and intimate prayer is your norm? We know that weather seasons change. But you do not have to wait out the seasons spiritually. No, you can change the condition of your heart simply by confessing where you are and asking God to help move you to a "warmer climate". I encourage people to have a spiritual mentor who has learned how to live closer to the "Son", and how to stay on fire for God. Spiritual fervor can be sustained but that takes being really intentional and having others walk with you. Repentance is a spiritual word that means changing direction. It's not being sorry, but actually doing something different. If you are sensing you are in a cool place and it's getting colder toward God, stop and ask God to help heat things up.

A British Pastor named Gypsy Smith who spoke to me powerfully on revival. In essence he said this;

"Many people want revival but few know how. Revival is quite simply a personal thing. Here's how you start a revival, take a piece of chalk and go into a private room. Draw a circle on the floor and then get down on your knees in the middle of that circle. Begin asking God to reveal any sin you have in your life, confess it, repent of it and don't get up until you are confident that you have confessed it all. You will immediately feel the joy of forgiveness and you won't be able to contain yourself. That's how you start a revival."

My wife and I live in North Carolina now, the leaves are beginning to peak and the temps are beginning to fall, but....our hearts don't have to. How about yours?

Speed Mentoring

I heard this topic years ago and thought it was a really great idea, but I haven't heard it spoken of at all in a long time. Since there are so many different ways of learning I thought about this one and just in case you are not aware of it, here goes. Speed Mentoring is basically finding people who do what you do except that they do it better than you. What you can do is approach them and ask them to show you how they do what they do. It can take a couple hours in a conversation, or you can shadow them while they perform the skill, or both. Reading books is great, and so is going to conferences and hearing speakers expound on their skill, but Speed Mentoring gets you closer to the person (networking and relationship building) and you have a chance to get better too. So whether it is in your job, in a hobby or it's a spiritual skill, consider Speed Mentoring as a great option to get better at something you truly want to. On the other side of it, perhaps you are good at something and you see someone with potential, and that you believe in, why not approach them and see if they would be interested in being mentored by you. I urge you to be cautious about this as it may be perceived as prideful, so make sure you already work closely with them and you know that they respect you and your abilities.