The Apostle Peter’s identity being challenged

Posted on October 30, 2015October 26, 2015 by Matthew Laker

Jesus declares, I will define who we are. “I will make you….” (Matthew 4:18-22).

When we watch the life of the Apostle Peter the more he understands who God is, the more he understands who he is.

Knowing God and knowing self are therefore interdependent” (The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery By David Benner.)

For Peter to find salvation and wholeness, he will have to walk away from the nets. However doing so is not an easy task as the nets are what have defined Peter for so long. Peter seems to have been a faithful Jew, a hard worker, and a family man. He most likely did not have an easy life, but things were average for him. His identity as a business man was as secure as it could be. Then Jesus challenges him to drop that old identity, his net, and follow him.

As we follow Jesus he is going to lead us to see our spiritual nakedness (Gen3), our true selves and our need for him.

In Luke 5:1-11, Peter’s response to Jesus is to recognize his need for Jesus and then challenges Peter’s identity. It was after raising the fish-filled nets up out of the water, that Peter runs to Jesus and shares that he is a sinner. He understands this about himself. However, as Jesus reveals more of himself to Peter, Peter moves from knowledge to experience. God wants us to be aware of our need for divine help. He wants to replace the fig leaves we grab to cover our nakedness (Gen.3:21) and give us real wholeness in our life. To do that we must see ourselves as Jesus see us.

When Jesus says to Peter, “I will make you….” (Matthew 4:18-22), Jesus declares to Peter, I will define who you are.

For us today the question becomes: will we cling to the old nets? Like Peter, will we let Jesus define us or will we let the things we do, or do not do, with our hands define us?

At times we place our self-value in what we have, what we can do and what others think of us. Yet Jesus calls us to walk away from that and drop the nets. Let him define us.

Jesus calls us to an identity that is grounded in our relationship to God the Father. Jesus came to restore our relationship with God the Father. It is as we understand who God is and what Jesus has done that we understand who we are and what we can do.

To go there we must step out of the boat and let go of things we have grabbed a hold of to define us and be honest with ourselves.

What nets do you hold on to that secure you in a false self?

Peter not only understands and comes to know God deeper but he begins to understand himself better, his true self. True self is only found in seeking and accepting God. There, Jesus declares, wholeness is found.

Why People Get Stuck

Posted on October 26, 2015October 26, 2015 by Matthew Laker

Keith Yamashita, in his book “Unstuck” shares 7 reason why individuals and organizations feel stuck.

I first read about these reason in Gary Collins book, “Christian Coaching, Second Edition: Helping Others Turn Potential into Reality (Walking with God) .” What I like about the list is just that it is a list. It becomes a tool to help an individual or organization who already knows they are stuck to put words to it.

Let me give you the list and then provide some reflection questions at the end.

7 reasons why people get stuck:

Overwhelmed: This involves a feeling that there is too much work, too much scrutiny, or too little time, energy, or people to get everything done. When the tasks ahead feel huge, there is procrastination and uncertainty about where to begin.

Exhausted: Tired people lack energy. They tend to lose vision, purpose, and enthusiasm. Team camaraderie fades. Patience is in short supply. Conflicts and criticism are more in evidence. Everything stalls.

Directionless: Everyone may be busy and working through to-do lists, but sometimes there is no vision or big picture of the future. Team members have no common goal, so each works independently and progress is limited.

Hopeless: When there is no sense of achievement (often because there is no clear purpose), the motivation to keep working dries up, successes become fewer and the effort does not seem worthwhile.

Surrounded by conflict: It is difficult to keep moving forward in the midst of disagreements, communication breakdowns, misunderstandings, and gossip. This is like a dysfunctional family trying to plan a wedding or family reunion.

Worthless: Motivation and progress stall when individuals or team members feel unappreciated, overlooked, unrewarded, or unacknowledged.

Alone: This is a feeling of isolation that may come to a whole team, company, or church. Each individual works independently with no sense of belonging, identity, team spirit, or camaraderie. Often this comes because there is no visionary leader who unites people into a common purpose.

My Observations about the list:

There is a big connection between our emotions and feeling stuck and getting unstuck.
Your mindset acts like a rudder in your life.
The need for creating a life plan can be a great asset. .
There is a need for personal/organizational systems and the understanding of who you are and where you are going to get unstuck.
Lack of community can lead to the reasons or at least feed them.
Someone who is stuck has a higher reality of not taking time for personal reflection and stillness.
The Jesus follower is not centering oneself on Jesus.

Reflection Questions:

1. Which one of those seven is where you are at?

2. What are you not believing about Jesus right now?

3. What are you not believing about yourself as Jesus see you?

4. From the position of the reason you’re stuck. What false image of your self are you trying to hold up?

5. What are two-three options to step out of the mud and walk away? Who could help you step out?

From the backseat to the driver’s seat of life.

Posted on October 12, 2015October 12, 2015 by Matthew Laker

Are you taking control of your life?

When we were in the car one day, one of my kids spoke up from the back seat and asked, “can we go there? I would like to.” However, they were not the ones in the driver’s seat, I was. Given my role as a parent in their life, I get to take the driver’s seat.

Who’s driving your life? Do you feel as if you are in the back seat and someone else is driving your life? Do you find that your agenda is often filled more by responding to another’s agenda or needs? Are there things you would like to do, but do not feel you are the one driving the car in your life? Perhaps your parents are still driving you around?

Do you want to take control of your life?

How do we get out of the backseat and drive?

Many people want to live a life that counts. Many want to have an impactful career. Some carry dreams of having great impact on those around them. Some want to leave an impact in their neighbourhood or in a certain field. Many just want to get out of the hamster wheel they feel they are in, one in which they are running hard and not going anywhere. However, to do that you are going to have to get out of the backseat of your life.

The number one thing to do to get out of the backseat of your life and drive is to:

1. Choose it.

Do you really want it? Why do you want it?

It is going to take work and self-discipline. On a scale of 1-10, how much are you willing to change in your life?

In my circle as a follower of Jesus, sometimes we do not like the self-discipline idea because we think Jesus will make it happen. Now I believe very much we need Jesus in our life. However, the life that he calls us to is one that involves self-discipline.

To be self-disciplined involves taking the driver’s seat in our life. It starts with not just I should, but I will and here is why:

This is really a mental shift and will be hard for many. You are the only one who can make this choice.

If you are serious about making changes then there are steps you can do to help.

a. Life plan

Most of us have dreams and things we would like to accomplish. At the same time if we are going to steward the resources we have, we need a plan. We only have so much gas and time.

If you would like some help in this area, feel free to contact me about life planning and coaching. matthew@matthewlaker.com

Check out this post for how a life plan can help.

A second step to help move from the back seat to the driver’s seat is to ask yourself:

b. What new habits do you need?

Looking at your life, what are the habits that need to change, or be picked up, for you to move forward?

Understanding your “why from above” will help keep you going in developing a new habit.

Are you ready to get out of the back seat and take control of your life?

What is one step you will take today?

How a Life Plan Can Help

Posted on September 28, 2015March 13, 2016 by Matthew Laker

A good life plan will help you reflect on where you are and where you want to go. Years ago, as I sat in a coffee shop and was listening to a seminar, I first started thinking about life plans. The seminar took you through a process of reflecting on the past year and the year before you. The speaker did not speak about a life plan, but the questions he asked were very similar to a life plan. His questions made me start to ask, where do I want to go?

Here are three ways a life plan can help you:

a. If you do not take control of your life something or someone else will.

A life plan helps you move from the back seat of your life and take the driver seat. Your plan needs to be flexible enough to deal with changes in life, but also structured enough to keep you alive.

b. A life plan helps you reach your potential, your dreams, and your calling.

If you are going to build your house, you are going to need some plans. A life plan can work as a road map to help you reach the dreams you have. It is a strategic road map to move ahead.

c. It can be a spiritual discipline to realign your life to be what you were created for.

For followers of Jesus, a life plan can help us reflect. Are we staying connected to the vine? Susie Larson shares, “Days will fly by, and sacred moments will continue to elude us until we decide to hit the brakes and take inventory on what’s driving us.”

Creating a plan lets you hit the pause button and center yourself so you can fly.

Try this exercise:

Take a moment to reflect on your own life. Write down on a piece of paper different areas of your life such as career, relationships, health. On a scale of 1-10, how are you doing in these areas? Now go back and ask these two questions:

a. Where on the scale do I want to be in these areas?

b. If there is a gap between where you are and where you want to be, what needs to happen to move?

Here is a free resource to help you reflect on where you are at and where you want to go – Life Graph