January 1, 2014: Volume 3, Number 5
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MORE WITH
30 60 100 MINISTRIES |
30 60 100 MINISTRIES COACHING
* Interactive Group Planning
* Mission Field Preparation
* Leadership Transition
Learn more---------------------------------------------
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|  Welcome to 2014! We are excited to continue on our journey to spiritual health with you in the coming year.
Just as your computer's operating system occasionally needs an update, so does your spiritual operating system. As the calendar turns from December to January, we have an excellent opportunity to assess that relationship with God. Read how to go about it in today's feature, An Update Is Available.
 Dalton will be undergoing surgery on January 9. Thank you for the many expressions of love and for your prayers during this time. We look forward to many more years of service with you. God is not finished with us yet -- or with you. Keep growing!
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30 60 100 TO TRAIN CHRISTIAN LEADERS IN THE UKRAINE
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Scene in Ukraine
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30 60 100 has been invited to present the Spiritually Healthy Leader� series in Ukraine during early 2014 as part of our Back 40 ministry to equip believers in remote areas. We are excited about this opportunity God has given to us to work with Christian leaders in eastern Europe!
Thank you to those who have already partnered with us in this particular Back 40 effort that will multiply impact in the Ukraine. If you have not yet joined us in this effort, we invite you to consider doing so! Please note that your gift is tax deductible. Thank you for your generosity and your prayers!
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 Feature:
YOUR SPIRITUAL OPERATING SYSTEM: AN UPDATE IS AVAILABLE | |
This content may sound familiar to those who have recently heard Dalton speak. It is a message that God has laid on our hearts to share with all of you. If you haven't heard it, perhaps God will move you as He has us. For those who have heard it previously, maybe God is not letting you let it go, either.
You've seen the message on your screen: "A program update for your operating system is available."
A system update addresses vulnerabilities in the computer's processes. Often it provides better ways to operate the program. Yet for the system to be updated, action is required. You must click "Yes" to continue.
 COMMITMENT: Your Old Operating System
Just as a computer's operating system provides the framework for your computer to run, your spiritual operating system (the nature of your commitment) is the basis of your relationship with God. A new year is a natural time to assess that system. How does your commitment function? Where are your spiritual vulnerabilities? How can your relationship with God operate at its peak?
On the surface, your standard commitment to God may appear healthy and noble. As a Christ-follower you may pledge to give your best to the Kingdom. You evaluate your commitment from last year, assess the outcomes, and choose areas in which to commit in the coming year. Will you change or to move to deeper intimacy with God? In deciding, you assess risk and reward. You create your own boundaries. If you don't like what you see, you can change your decision. Commitment is conditional.
Bottom line: when you are committed to God, you retain control.
But this spiritual operating system will not allow you to operate at your best for the Kingdom. You're vulnerable. You might even crash ... because you still maintain control. But take heart. An update is available.
SURRENDER: Your New Spiritual Operating System
God invites you to use a different version of software: surrender.
Surrender allows God to create His best in you. Surrender embraces risk, rather than weighing it. It is unconditional. You choose to serve God at His pleasure. If you don't like what you see, you can ask God to change you before you ask Him to change your circumstances. In working that change in you, He allows you to operate at your best for the Kingdom. You're vulnerable only to the boundaries set by God.
Bottom line: when you are surrendered to God, you yield control.
Since surrender is foreign to our thinking, you may wonder how to go about it. As you make the big decision to surrender rather than commit, simply go to the message on your spiritual screen which says, "Lord, I surrender to You." Click "Yes" to continue. The update will automatically install.
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Image: Spiritual Musclehead
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Are you committed to God or surrendered to Him? Even if you have to use it repeatedly, the surrender update works every time.
Growth Point
It's better to surrender than to commit.
Scripture
Those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5, ESV)
Prayer Points - Set aside some time in the new year to conduct a spiritual operating system update.
- Why might you have defaulted to commitment as a way to control God's movement in your life?
- List differences between commitment and surrender in your journey of faith.
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| What People Are Saying ... |
 "The last issue of The Cultivator was a nice confirmation for me after having prepared and preached last Sunday. My continuous prayer leading into the service had been, "more of Him, less of me." The experience was much different than when I had filled the pulpit in the past trying to be something I am not because I wanted to be engaging. Thank you!" Bryan L.
Hear more testimonies from Christians in remote areas served by 30 60 100 MINISTRIES staff here.
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