Jim Rising’s Personal Blog

Today is Thursday, August 21st, 2008

10 Simple Things YOU Can Do TODAY to effect your marketplace for Christ!

July 16th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

Ask 1 new person if you can pray with them about any need or desire in their life.
If they say no (trust me, 9 out of 10 won’t say no!) … ask someone else! Once you are done praying, ask them if it would be ok if you called them / emailed them to see what the result of your prayer was. Be conscious of ways that you are able to actually help meet this person’s needs yourself. Think of ways that maybe someone you know might be able to help. Make sure that after you are done praying write down what you prayed for, because you’ll need to know later!
Follow-up with the person you prayed with yesterday!
Give them a call and see how they are doing, and if they had any other needs in their life. Ask them if God has answered their prayer from yesterday, and how He met their needs. Write this down somewhere so that you remember what He’s up to! Continue to think of ways that God can use you to be the solution!
Find 1 person to bless… and don’t be picky about it!
Don’t expect that you’re going to find the ‘perfect’ homeless person or that one person who is so obviously in need of a blessing. Just go out there and bless someone… anyone! Go out and get gift certificates for local restaurants, bookstores, and movie theaters and carry them with you. All of these come with envelopes with ‘to:’ and ‘from:’ on them… write ‘to: My Child: Romans 8:16-17 ′ and ‘from: Jesus’. Give one to the bank teller, the walmart greeter, your apartment manager, your mechanic, whoever!
Pick up the phone and call 1 civil servant and just say ‘thank you’.
These people work very hard, some of them in very dangerous positions and they are so under-appreciated for what they do. It’s amazing how much of an impact a simple ‘thank you’ can have on someone’s day! If you run into any folks in uniform in public, take the time to shake their hand and say ‘thanks’.
Never eat alone
There is actually a book by this name by Keith Ferrazzi… and how to develop relationships one person at a time. I would take it a step further and say that you should also be inviting someone new to eat with you, even if you have developed your own ‘lunch group’ that you’re used to eating with. You could easily apply steps 1 through 3 during lunch! The point here is that you should always try not to eat alone, and should always invite someone else along with you so that you can get to know them.
Practice Personal Accountability
This is a tough one! I have read and re-read a book called ‘QBQ - The Question Behind the Question - What to really ask yourself to eliminate blame, complaining and procrastination’. If you have not read this, I would highly recommend it! If feel that one of the best ways to effect your marketplace for Christ is to eliminate blame, complaining and procrastination from your own life, and holding yourself accountable for your own actions! This also means admitting your weaknesses and failures, and sharing them with others!
Pick at least one event, organization or cause you believe in enough to spend part of your time working with on a regular basis. Get involved!
There are so many great organizations out there doing so many wonderful things… take an hour or two out of your week and drive meals on wheels. Help stock and deliver at the local food bank. Teach kids how to swim or read. Get involved somewhere, doing something… anything. My recommendation is to tithe your time… 10% of your waking hours… to some worthwhile cause. Pick something that has the greatest amount of impact… something that really touches your heart and the hearts of others!
Pray for your leaders, and ask them what you can do to bless them.
This includes your boss! Let them know that you’re praying for them… and really ask them what you are able to do to bless them, and then do it. Our leaders are so used to people looking to them for help and solutions…try instead to become the solution.
Encourage 1 person today
Let them know that they are doing a good job and that you appreciate them! Even if they aren’t, find at least one thing to encourage them about!
Teach 1 other person these 10 things.
Become a mentor! Pass it on!