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That’s Not Who I Am!

Posted on by Rob Collins in blog, Blog, Messages

When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” I believe that He already knew the answer to that question. There is no doubt that He knew who He was. Nonetheless, He asked the question anyway. However, the problem with asking this question is that the answer would be based on people’s assumptions, ideas, perceptions, experiences and a reputation that has been perceived—not necessarily reality, or actuality. Other people’s opinions of Jesus was just that, they were opinions based on perceptions that were concluded by a reputation that had been concluded by their own perceptions.

Assumptions, perceptions and opinions aren’t necessarily reality. However, they definitely can be thought of as such. Jesus in asking the question, knew what others were saying about Him. He knew how others perceived him. Nevertheless, he asked His disciples, “Who do you say that I am.” But the disciples answered with what others said, “Some say that you are John the Baptist, others say Elijah and some say, Jeremiah.” and the Jesus said, “But who do you say that I am?” And of course Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.”

Jesus answered the Peter was correct and that he was blessed because know what taught him that, but that Jesus Father had revealed that to him. It wasn’t flesh or blood or reasoning or personal perception that had revealed that to Peter—it was God. You see our opinions and perceptions are not as important as what God is saying or what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us. We can have an opinion, but it’s just an opinion. Others can have an opinion, but it’s just an opinion. All of our perceptions and opinions are formulated through many sources and variables.

Jesus knew who he was and he knew who and where he had come from—His Father in heaven. It’s important to know who you are. Not what others say about you, but who you really are. The person you really are, because that’s who God knows and that’s who God loves. The real you! God really knows us and He loves us unconditionally. Have you ever had someone say something about you and you say or think, “That’s not true! That’s not who I am.” Jesus probably thought the same thing, especially when they called Him a blasphemer or Beelzebub.

If we asked God who He says we are He would say that you are forgiven, justified, righteous, redeemed and holy. He would say that you are a new creation in Christ. He would say that you are a work of progress that is continually being shaped in to His image. You see it’s not as important as what others say as it is what you say. Don’t say what God is not saying and don’t always believe what others may say either. What you say and what others say aren’t as important as what God and His word is saying. Our opinions and others opinions are based on perceptions, assumptions and opinions, but what God and His word says is the eternal truth and it is our compass for receiving acceptance and wholeness. Allow God and His word to reveal to you who you are in Him.


Learn, Unlearn and Relearn

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

Alvin Toffler said: “The illiterate of the future will not be those who can’t read or write. The illiterate of the future will be those who can’t learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Unlearning is perhaps the hardest part of this equation.

Paul said in Philippians 3:12-14: “I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal yet. But, I continue trying to reach it, although I know that I still have a long way to go. Nevertheless, there is one thing that I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine. I do this by forgetting those things which are behind me, while reaching for those things which are ahead of me.”

Toffler says that the future belongs to those who can:

  • Learn
  • Unlearn 
  • Relearn

However, he goes on to say that unlearning is the probably the most difficult part of this equation. In other words— understanding how it’s going to work now is not going to be possible until we unlearn or “forget” how it has worked in the past. In order to have a conversation of a different future, we must learn, unlearn and relearn. However, we can’t truly relearn, until we first unlearn what doesn’t any longer exist or work.

In life *(emotionally, physically and spiritually) and in business we must develop what I call a forgetful reach. In other words, we must reach forward while forgetting those things that are holding you back, or that are hindering you.

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A Forgetful Reach…

1. Reaches for what matters and forgets about what doesn’t matter.

2. Remembers what needs to be remembered and forgets what needs to be forgotten.

3. Let’s go of what’s behind and reaches for what’s ahead.

4. Focuses on things that will lift you up, not on things that will drag you down.

5. Doesn’t rehearse; what it’s trying to forget.

6. Releases what needs released, so it can receive what needs to be received.

7. Doesn’t just see things the way they are; it sees things they way they can be—different!

Toffler says that the future will belong to those who can learn, unlearn, and relearn. And Paul says that the future is better navigated and experienced when we forget the things of the past that are negative and that hinder us from a brighter future.

Therefore, in order to grow we must—forget the past and those things that no longer work— we must Learn, unlearn and relearn.

Why, What and How

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

The Why , The What and the How

The “why” is always more important than the “what” or the “how.” However, most of the time we tend to focus on the “what”, more than we do the “why” or the “how.”

As leaders we usually lead with the “what.” We always say this is what we are going to do. This is “how” we are going to do “what” we are going to do and this is what’s going to happen if we don’t do it a certain way or time frame. Nothing wrong with that, but if we’re not careful we can lose sight of the “why.”

We also talk about “how” we’re going to accomplish the “what”, but again, we spend very little time talking about the “why.” Even as people we talk about, “what” I’m going to do. And this is “how” I’m going to do “what” I’m going to do. 

But, we forget the “why.” However, I think if we would lead with and focus on the “why” then the “what” would be accomplished with great pride and purpose. It would be a byproduct of the “how”’and the “why.”

I also believe that if we spent more time focusing on the “why” we would have more peace, value and self-worth. The blessing would be a blessing and not a burden. 

The “why” has formed, founded and driven by guiding principles in the word: do everything as unto to the Lord, and do unto others as you have them do unto you,  and lastly, our guiding principle: let everything that you do, be down in love. In other words, it’s not just about me, it’s about “calling” and “purpose.” It’s about doing things like I would want them to be done if I were personally involved in the equation. And lastly, because I love what I do and I love those that I serve, it will reflect in how I do things. When this happens the “how” and the “what” become a byproduct of the “why.”

The “why” is the most important part of the equation. Don’t allow the “why” to get lost in the “how” and in the “what.” The “why” is what should drive everything that we do and everything that we do should be done in love. Do what you love and love what you do! Why is the why so important? Because the “why” is what will keep you going when you feel like quitting.

INVESTMENT

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

excerpts from Rick Warren Daily Hope

We can’t be so now focused that we aren’t prepared for the future, but we also can’t be so future focused that we miss the moment and opportunities of today. 

Investment is giving into something now for a return later. Nevertheless, you must invest as much into an existing today as you do into an unknown tomorrow.

Don’t miss today.

Don’t fret over tomorrow.

And, don’t regret over the past. 

Instead… 

LEARN FROM THE PAST.

LIVE IN THE PRESENT.

LAY OUT A PLAN FOR THE FUTURE.

The good thing about the future is that it doesn’t hit us all at once. If you could see every event in your entire life (good and bad) laid out ahead of you, it would no doubt be overwhelming. So maybe that’s why God gives it to us in bite-size, 24-hour segments.

Since God gives you only one day at a time, that’s how he expects you to approach your life. Live it one day at a time, and make it count.

Jesus taught: “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (Matthew 6:34 NLT)

Is Jesus actually saying, to stop borrowing trouble. If there’s something happening next week, don’t mess up today by worrying about it?

Worry can’t change the past. It can’t control the future. Worry only makes you miserable today.

God gives you all the grace you need—but just enough for today, every day. He doesn’t stockpile all that power in your life and give it to you for the next week or month. As a matter of fact, He says to pray like this, “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11 ESV) 

He wants you to take life one day at a time.

When you don’t know what the future holds, you can still take life one day at a time. That’s all you are meant to do!

When everything is uncertain and you don’t know how to make wise decisions for the future, then just take care of today. It’s important to plan, pray, and trust God for the future, but he also expects you to put your energy into making today count too.

A great way to do this is to focus instead on the things that truly matter and the things that God loves and cares about. That’s how you make today count.

God doesn’t want you to worry about tomorrow, but he doesn’t want you to consider it a guarantee either. 

Here’s what Proverbs 27:1 in the MSG says, “Don’t brashly announce what you’re going to do tomorrow; you don’t know the first thing about tomorrow, or what it may hold.” 

When everything else in life seems unclear, this verse is about as clear as you can get.

Plan for tomorrow, but live for today. God will give you everything that you need to be obedient in both.

3 THINGS TO LIVE BY:

  1. LIVE IN THE PRESENT AND MAKE THE MOST OF EVERY MOMENT.
  2. DON’T TAKE LIFE OR YOURSELF TOO SERIOUS.
  3. ALWAYS BE A WORK IN PROGRESS THAT IS ALWAYS GROWING AND EVER LEARNING.

LOVE

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

Two of the foundations of the Christian faith are: Number one, Christ rose from the dead and number two, Christ died for us.  Christ dying for us points to Gods love. The Bible says that, “God is love.” And love best demonstrated is an action of giving. For God so loved that He gave. We are no more like God, than when we love, care and give. 

Love is seen and demonstrated in so many ways on so many occasions. Valentine’s Day, or as my friend calls it, “Singleness Awareness Day”, is one of them. It symbolizes love and romance, but love is not only an emotion or a feeling, it is also an action and a choice. 

Jesus demonstrated love and revealed God to us. But in John’s gospel chapter 13:34 He says to his disciples, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.” What’s interesting about this passage is He hasn’t yet demonstrated the ultimate sacrifice of love by dying—He had only demonstrated love by how He lived.

He said that, “I am to love as He loved.” What was He talking about?” He was talking about His deeds, words, attitudes, and actions. He was talking about how He listened, how He lived, how He gave, how He helped, and How He encouraged others. He was talking about how He loved unconditionally and treated people with dignity. We are to love one another as He loved.

  • He blessed and served the poor and sick.
  • He had compassion on the outcasts of society and those in need.
  • He shared his time with people, teaching them, helping them, praying for them, and encouraging them on how they could live.
  • He helped those in need and never let an interruption inconvenience Him.
  • He treated everyone the same and without partiality.

Valentine’s Day is a day where we celebrate love and romance, but at the foundation of our Christian faith is love. We love Him because He first loved us. The Bible declares that we will be known by our love. And Paul said in Corinthians: “Let all that you do be done in love.” Therefore, Love is the foundation of our faith, but it also an action and it is also a choice.

Let’s break this verse down:

Let—to cause, to make happen, to give opportunity to, to allow it to be so.

All—any and every manner, all things and in every manner.

That—the person, thing, or idea that has been indicated or mentioned.

You—second person singular, and individual matter.

Do—to bring to pass or carry out another’s wishes.

Be Done—to become, or to come into existence. To begin to be, or to come to pass and to make happen.

In(with) Love—brotherly love, affection, compassion, good will, kindness, consideration, love, and benevolence.

The New Command that Jesus introduced in this passage in John was, “Love God with all of your heart, strength, soul and mind and your neighbor as yourself.” 

I believe that we will never truly love others until we love ourselves, and we will never truly love ourselves until we know and understand the love of God. That is: the love that He has for us. 

We show love to others by demonstrating respect, showing kindness, having compassion, being understanding, and manifesting goodwill.

“Let all that you do be done in love.” 

Maybe the saying is true: People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care. Therefore, let’s give love a chance to work in our lives. Remember, we are no more like God than when we love, give and serve. Let’s demonstrate love and allow everything that we do, to be done in love!

what God chooses to use

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, blog, Messages

Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews, saying in front of his friends and the Samarian army officers, “What does this bunch of poor, feeble Jews think they’re doing? Do they think they can build the wall in a single day by just offering a few sacrifices? Do they actually think they can make something of stones from a rubbish heap—and charred ones at that?”

Tobiah the Ammonite, who was standing beside him, remarked, “That stone wall would collapse if even a fox walked along the top of it!” Nehemiah 4:1-3

When God was talking to Nehemiah about rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, God said something out of the ordinary. He told Nehemiah to use the burned stones. More specifically, use the stones that have been through the fire; the stones that are charred and blackened. *(The ones that had been through the fire—the ones that had been tried and tested, He said, build with those stones).

And the Ammonites mocked Nehemiah because he used the burned stones. They didn’t believe the stones would be strong enough because they were “stones from a rubbish heap – and charred ones at that.”

Have you ever heard the saying… *what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

What about the *bumper sticker—yeah but did it kill you?

Here’s what I want to say:

*dont allow it to make you bitter—allow it to make you better and the bigger person.

*you may have gone through something, but you don’t have to smell like it. (3HC)


The Ammonites didn’t think Nehemiah should have built with those stones, but God said, “That’s the exact kind of stone I want you to use.” When God wants to do something, He doesn’t always look for the “perfect” stone. He doesn’t always look for “perfect” people. He often uses people that have been through the fire. He prefers to use the stones that have been burned and charred.

Maybe you’ve been burned by the fires of life. Maybe you’ve been burned by a failure. Maybe you’ve been burned by a mistake. Maybe you’ve been burned by some business deal. Maybe you’ve been burned by someone.


You’re the stone God wants to use! The fires you’ve been through make you even more suitable to be used by God. When God wants to build something great, He looks for people that have been through the fire. It’s okay that your life isn’t perfect. You’ve been through the fire and withstood the test—God wants to build something with you.

No matter how good you are or how perfect you think you may be we are we are all human. We all have flaws and we all have imperfections. We all have those moments in our lives where we’ve been burnt by something or someone. 

The encouraging thing about this passage is that God chooses to use us in spite of ourselves. As leaders we lead and as leaders we build, and God chooses to use the things that we’ve been through to build upon. Those things that we went through that we thought would destroy us, but actually they developed us. Charred and burnt stones, but tried and tested and strong enough to build upon.

So here’s a prayer we could pray for God to build upon:

“Lord, Teach me to number my days, so that I may become wise in how I live my life.” Psalm 90:12 ERV

“Lord, our God, be kind to us. Make everything we do successful. Yes, make it all successful.” Psalm 90‬:‭17‬ ‭ERV‬‬

Amen

Give It Away

Posted on by Rob Collins in blog, Blog, Messages

As long as you hold onto what you have—it will never become more than it is, but when you give what you have—it always has the potential to become more. 

In Matthew 14 Jesus had a need. He needed to get away to be by himself. John the Baptist had just been beheaded and he wanted to spend time alone and pray to his father, but the crowd was there and they had a need. They were hungry and there was no place to get food. However, there was a little lad there that had a lunch. Jesus knew and His disciples knew it. It was the only source of food there, but it wasn’t enough, that is until it was given away and blessed by Jesus. The little lad gave his lunch away, and what wasn’t enough—became more than enough! The little lunch of the lad fed multitudes that day. But, it didn’t have the potential to become more until he gave it away. Why did he give it? Did he give out love? I would like to think so. Most people don’t just give to give they give because they love or because they believe in a cause, or a purpose. They desire to be a part of something that is bigger than themselves—something that is greater than what they currently have or that they are capable of on their own. Luke 12:15 says, “People do not get life from the many things they own.” A little boy with a little lunch, gave it away and it fed thousands. When we give it always has the potential to become more and when we give it always outlast us and lives on in the life of others.

We are never more like God than when we give. For God so loved—that He gave. Giving to meet a need is benevolent and admirable, but giving from a place of love is beautiful and lasting. Mother Theresa said, “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into our giving.”


We should give out of love. We should be a conduit. A conduit is a channel by which resources are received, conveyed and then distributed.

A seed has to be sown to produce a harvest.

A tree has to planted to bring forth fruit.

When we give it always has the potential to become more.

Jesus knew exactly who was there and what was there in regard to resources. 

He sent his disciples out to get what was there and bring it to Him so that he could bless it and break and then the disciples gave back what they had gathered. 

They collected what was available and then they distributed it back to those in need.

That’s what the foundation does. They collect and distribute. The foundation is a conduit. 

Giving to an immediate need not only meets the need in the moment, but it also provides a way to make the world a better place for people in the process. 

The little lad had what no one else had—he had lunch, but when he gave it away it became more than it was and fed multitudes.

I’m also reminded of two Old Testament stories about two widows who had an exchange and an encounter with an Old Testament prophet. One was with the prophet Elisha and one was with the prophet Elijah. One was in regard to some oil and flour and one was concerning a small jar of olive oil. Both widows had a need and neither had enough to provide for their need or for their future. Their need wasn’t met until one expanded capacity and one gave away what she already had.

The Bible says (Luke 12:48), “To whom much is given—much is required.” I say, “We are never more like God, than when we give!” Therefore, we see a need, we care, we love, and we give. And when we give it has the potential to become more and continue to live on in the lives of others. May you continue to be a conduit that blesses others, while creating opportunities for things to become more and better in the process.

As long as you hold onto what you have—it will never become more than it is, but when you give what you have—it always has the potential to become more. 

Teach Us to Number Our Days

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

This is the beginning of a New Year—2025 and we know what a new year means. It means resolutions, new beginnings and fresh starts. However, for some people a new  year can be a time to start over, while for others it’s a time to continue on with the same old cycles.

Nevertheless, no matter what your thought is in regard to this matter, we all need wisdom on how to live the years that we’ve been given. And Moses gives us a prayer to follow in psalms 90.

As I said, Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses recorded by David and here are verses 10 and 12 of this passage and prayer:“We live about 70 years or, if we are strong, 80 years. But most of them are filled with hard work and pain. Then, suddenly, the years are gone, and we fly away. Therefore, teach  us how short our lives are so that we may become wise.” -Psalms‬ ‭90‬:‭10‬, ‭12‬

Here are 5 areas where we can become more wise: *(these are the areas of our lives that affect us the most and they also help determine our ability to make decisions and do life).

  1. Your ears hear: Therefore be  mindful about what you listen to and be mindful about who you listen to!
  2. Your mind reasons and retains: Therefore, be intentional about what you think about and be intentional about what you remember.
  3. Your heart feels and remembers: Therefore develop thick skin and a soft heart and allow what you have experienced to make you better, not bitter.
  4. Your mouth releases what you sense, feel and have experienced: Therefore be careful what you say and be careful how you say it.
  5. Your eyes see: Therefore be aware of what gets your attention because it could be a distraction be aware about what you focus on because your focus determines your direction.

When I began to think about this post, I wondered if it was a little “Debby Downer” to start the new year, however I don’t think it is. I actually think that it is a good reminder for us to understand that we have been given the days that are ahead of us and we need divine wisdom to live these days to their fullest! 

Therefore, don’t waste another minute on the wrongs of yesterday. Today is a new day and a fresh start.

The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. This new day is too dear with its hopes and invitations to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”

So here’s a prayer we could pray:

“Lord, Teach me to number my days, so that I may become wise in how I live my life. Let my words, deeds and actions be beneficial and positive, and may they be acceptable in your sight. Teach me how short my life is so that I may become wise.” Amen