Stock taking-1 Psalms 66:5 Take a good look at Gods wonders--theyll take your breath away. Psalms 66:6 He converted the sea to dry land; travelers crossed the river on foot. Now isnt that a cause for a song?(MSG), Indeed 2014 has been a fantastic year for us all but at the same time we need to take stock. King David in our text today looked back at the journey so far. The journey from where they were to where they are now and re-counted some of the experiences they had on the way. Looking back helps us to achieve two major things: 1. It helps to appreciate God who has been our helper 2. It helps to learn from the experience Starting and finishing a project or a year is like embarking on a journey as we have been discussing over the last three days. When you start a journey and finish it, certain things would have happened. At the completion of a journey, you should be able to look back and first of all thank God, your principal Helper, the people He brought your way and also ask yourself certain questions. Recently, my family and I, came back from a journey.We drove for about nine hours. It was our yearly family vacation and we decided to go for some adventure. By the way, I love the thrills of an adventure. When we got back to base, my wife and I decided to take stock. We looked at the journey holistically, thanking God for safety, protection, preservation and the experiences we had. In looking back however, we identified some gray areas and the interesting ones. We looked at the areas where we had it very smooth; the area where we had a flat tire; the area where we had a little issue with the car. We spoke about the places where we experienced heavy traffic that slowed us down. We considered the interesting places where we had great fun, wonderful places well love to visit again... Stock taking-2 Psalms 66:5 Take a good look at Gods wonders--theyll take your breath away. Psalms 66:6 He converted the sea to dry land; travelers crossed the river on foot. Now isnt that a cause for a song?(MSG) We considered the interesting places where we had great fun, wonderful places well love to visit again. We looked at places where our children had a wonderful experience. We looked at the new people we met and the impact they had on us. In the course of the journey, we came across a terrible accident that caused a major blockage of the road and we had to go through an old and abandoned route. That was a scary experience. The road was so lonely and deserted, it was like going through the valley of the shadow of death, but God kept us and saw us through. We also cherished the memory of the fantastic restaurants we came across and the type of food we ate there. We were able to compare notes. The truth is if we want to embark on such a journey again, we know what to do and what not to do. We know where well love to visit again, the roads to take and the ones to avoid. Our experience will surely make our next trip a better one. Same should go for your life on this journey called 2014. I want you to take stock so that you can make projections for the coming year. You need to do this in order to make 2015 a better journey and the stock taking must start now! Dont wait till next month. Talking about stock taking. Stock taking is the reappraisal of a situation or position or outlook. It means taking a second look at or reassessing a situation. It is also used to describe the process of going round and finding out which goods in a store or a shop are on the shelves. This is done to find out how much value you have on the shelves, what items are missing and the ones on hand. It is a vital part of developing profits for a business... Stock taking-3 Psalms 105:1 Hallelujah! Thank GOD! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Psalms 105:2 Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Psalms 105:3 Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek GOD. Live a happy life! Psalms 105:5 Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts hes rendered... (MSG) ...from yesterday...Stock taking is a vital part of developing profits for a business. It is done by most companies quarterly or annually in order to improve profit in the coming year. If a company or organization doesnt take stock, theyll be treading the path of stagnancy, loss and eventually bankruptcy! Most successful organisations even do it weekly in the form of appraisals and reviews. Thats one of the reasons why theyre truly great! Having said that, lets consider some of the benefits of stock taking as it relates to us. As discussed two days ago, the very first fundamental reason why we take stock is to help us appreciate God who is our helper. Without Him we are nothing! It helps us express our gratitude to Him who is the doer of all great and good things. In fact King David said he did this kind of stock taking seven times a day. No wonder he was truly great and successful. Hear him: Psalms 119:164 Seven times each day I stop and shout praises for the way you keep everything running right. (MSG) I love this guy! The secret of great men are simply hidden in their daily routine. If you can figure out their routine youll have access to the secrets they trade that makes them successful. I will never forget something I learnt from a great mentor of mine. He said in his house, they have what is called The jar of Thanksgiving. At the beginning of each year they get an empty jar, label it Jar of Thanksgiving... Stock taking-4 Psalms 105:1 Hallelujah! Thank GOD! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Psalms 105:2 Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Psalms 105:5 Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts hes rendered... (MSG) He said, at the beginning of each year they get an empty jar, label it Jar of Thanksgiving. Every time God does something special for any member of his family, himself, his wife or children, the fellow scribbles it down on a piece of paper and drop it inside the jar. At the tail end of each year like this, they open up the jar and read out the scribbled notes. He said they give genuine thanks and praise to God Almighty and they all end up wiping tears of joy from each others face! This process helps them discover that indeed God was merciful and gracious to them all through the year. No wonder the song writer said, count your blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done! I sure dont have a jar but Ive a file I named Jar of Thanksgiving which is in my Skydrive, granting me access to it everywhere I go. I update it each time Ive a testimony and its one of my motivations for this piece. A dear friend of mine said she keeps her own Jar of Thanksgiving in a jotter and has been reviewing it since I started this series on stock taking. Friend, do you have such a jar? Why do people complain without looking back to thank God? The English word “thank” shares the same root as “think.” Meaning thankfulness is intimately connected to thoughtfulness. A man cant be grateful without being mindful of the many benefits he enjoys in life from his Maker. In case you think God has not done anything, let me give you just one reason to thank Him. By the end of 2014, your heart would have beaten about 35 million times... Stock taking-5 Psalms 105:1 Hallelujah! Thank GOD! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Psalms 105:5 Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts hes rendered... (MSG) By the end of 2014, your heart would have beaten about 35 million times at the rate of about 100,000 times a day. Three times every minute 5.6 liters of blood circulates through your body. In one day, the blood in your body travels a total of 19,000 km (12,000 miles)—thats four times the distance across the US from coast to coast. Friend, that is no mean feat, all performed by the Creator. The interesting thing is that you do all these without batteries, solar power or electricity. Dont fool yourself into thinking its ordinary or automatic, there is an Invisible Power Source that orchestrates the process. His name is God Almighty. King David said in Psalms 119:164 that, ...God keeps everything running right. (MSG) He is in charge of the whole earth, Psalms 105:7 says, Hes GOD, our God, in charge of the whole earth. How much do you think you can pay to keep the process up and running? Hmmmm...Indeed only thinkers can be thankful! The second reason we discussed on why we should take stock is the fact that it helps us learn from the experience. After a typical stock taking exercise, companies sit down and ask themselves questions. They want to know how much value they have on the shelves, which product is moving well and why, which ones are not moving well and why. How and when should they restock? Friend, this is one thing most of us fail to do at each year end, which should not be. We need to be honest with ourselves in order to enjoy a better new year. Just like a company, we need to ask ourselves certain questions after stock taking. Questions such as: What value have I added to myself this year? Stock taking-6 1 Thessalonians 2:13 And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks!...(MSG) Questions such as: What value have I added to myself this year? What new qualifications or new skill have I acquired? What better tools can I use to simplify my work? What has brought the greatest gain to me as a person and to my family? What did I do right that I should repeat? What skill do I have that people need and are ready to patronise me for? Which area of my life needs improvement? Which of my skills will come in handy in the new year? Some successful companies even outsource their stock taking process. Bringing in third party companies to help out. You might want to consider this option as well. Get to your most trusted friends who will look you straight in the eyes and tell you the truth point blank. You might not like some of their responses but note that their assessment is not to tear you down but rather to build you up. Thats why I said trusted friends that you know will genuinely want you to be a better person. We all have one or two of them. Stock taking will also help you know the people in your life who you need to give a special place and the ones that dont even belong. You will know the people that slowed you down on the 2014 journey and those that helped you gain speed, its all part of stock taking! I want you to sit back and take notes, what have you done best this year. When did you move without hitches? If there were hitches, what caused them? What made you breakdown? What experience is worth repeating? Which ones must you avoid? These are typical questions that can aid your planning for the next year and the time to do that is now! If you look back at the stock taking by the Israelites especially on their journey from Egypt to Cannan, youll clearly see all what we have discussed. If they are to repeat the trip... Stock taking-7 1 Thessalonians 2:13 And now we look back on all this and thank God, an artesian well of thanks!...(MSG) If they are to repeat the trip even you can make some recommendations. Looking back, we now know the forty years journey could have taken just forty days or less. We know the wars they needed to fight and the ones they would have avoided. We know the type of reports those ten spies should have brought. We can look back and also see the consequence of murmuring against God instead of being thankful. Friend, this is what stock taking is all about. 2015 is a promising year already. Its a much more glorious year than any youve ever seen but the question is what lessons have you learnt in 2014 that will give you an edge? Ben Franklin, an author, farmer, inventor, diplomat, and soldier among other things and considered to be one of the greatest Americans that ever lived had a very interesting stock taking principle. He ended each day by asking one single question, “What good did I do today?” He took time out to think not just of the several blessings he enjoyed but more of who he was able to bless. I think we all need to do this as well. Ask yourself how many lives youve been able to touch and influence positively in 2014. Life is more of giving than receiving. Who and who can point to you and say, you made them smile in 2014? Its a goodwill principle which money cannot buy. As we draw the curtain on this piece ask yourself these three questions in addition: What progress did I make toward my vision and goals in 2014? What am I grateful for, specifically? Finally, what improvements can I make with what I learned? Beloved, sit back and take stock, another 365 days will soon be here as a gift to you, minimize your errors by taking stock and then gain speed. It is only a mad man that repeats errors and expects a different result. You can sure make 2015 your best year yet by stock taking now!! Principles of Planning-1 Luke 14:28 Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesnt first sit down and figure the cost so youll know if you can complete it? Luke 14:29 If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, youre going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you...(MSG) If there is something you must do to make 2015 your best year yet, it is Planning. Youve got to have a workable, well thought out plan for making progress in the new year. A plan according to dictionary is a set of intended actions, usually mutually related, through which one expects to achieve a goal. We serve a God who plans, He doesnt do things anyhow. If you check our world and look carefully, youll see the product of meticulous and careful planning by a master mind, Jehovah God Himself. Hear this: Jeremiah 29:11 I know what Im doing. I have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (MSG) Acts 2:23 God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you. So you took him and had evil men put him to death on a cross. (CEV) Acts 2:23 This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.(ESV) From the above scriptures we can see that God is a God who does all things according to plan, so it befits us to approach the most important things of life with forethought and plan, not haphazardly. God plans and youre made in his image, it is only natural that you should be a planner too. If you must have a better year in 2015, then you must plan for it. Success is not wished for, it is carefully planned for, thats why over the next few days well look at what it takes to plan. In our text, we saw how planning comes in handy during the construction of a building... Principles of Planning-2 Luke 14:28 Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesnt first sit down and figure the cost so youll know if you can complete it? (MSG) Acts 2:23 God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you... (CEV) In Luke 14:28, we saw how planning comes in handy during the construction of a building. No structure is ever built without a blueprint. Even a thatched roof or mud house has a plan. In the same vein, if you want to go on a journey you must plan. Planning helps you determine what is relevant, important and needed on your journey in order to arrive well at your destination in record time. Youll recall in our last piece on Stock Taking, we compared going through a year to going on a journey or doing a marathon race not a sprint. So, in preparing for 2015, you must meticulously plan ahead so that you can achieve all your goals and arrive well come December 2015. Planning involves first sitting down to count the cost of the journey. What is needed, what should be taken along and in what quantity. Who you should travel with, where and when to take a rest and of course the road map. A good plan should include the following: 1. The Goal: Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray... Every plan must start with a desire,that is a goal or purpose. What exactly do you want to achieve? Where do you want to be, come December 2015? If there is no destination, why embark on the journey? Without a clearly defined purpose you wont even know when you have arrived or where you are going. Mark said before you even pray, have a desire! What are you going to pray about? Solomon said, The simple believes everything, but the prudent looks where he is going. (Prov. 14:15). A wise man looks or plan for where he is going. So, the starting point for the journey is a sense of purpose... Principles of Planning-3 Luke 14:28 Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesnt first sit down and figure the cost so youll know if you can complete it? (MSG) Acts 2:23 God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you... (CEV) ...The starting point for the journey is a sense of purpose without a sense of purpose youll give up half way on the journey, thats if you ever reach the half way mark. Clearly defined purpose will keep you going against all odds because the only thing youll be seeing is the destination which will always be your motivating factor. If possible have a vision statement, a mission statement, well spelt out goals and objectives. 2. The God factor: Mark 11:24 ...What things soever ye desire, when ye pray... Proverbs 16:3 , Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established. The second thing in your planning is prayers or committing the planning process and project to the hands of the all knowing God. I know youre super smart but the truth is as a born- again Christian, the desires you have started from the heart of God the Father Himself. That your purpose was not yours as it were, He put those desires in your heart to start with and it will be foolish of you to attempt carrying them out by your own wisdom and strength. So, if you want your desires to see the light of day and your purposes achieved or go according to design, then commit them to Him. Meaning, always seek the Lords guidance and strength in your planning. Trust His wisdom not yours, then your plans will bear fruit that stays. When you pray, the Lord will guide you, telling you what you dont know about the journey and giving you the required courage and direction. He is the all knowing God, trust His judgement... Principles of Planning-4 Luke 14:28 Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesnt first sit down and figure the cost so youll know if you can complete it? (MSG) Acts 2:23 God had already planned and decided that Jesus would be handed over to you... (CEV) 3. The steps: Luke 15:18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee... I love the story of the prodigal son and we can bring out a thousand and one lessons from it. However, what struck me as I was writing this piece is the way he meticulously planned his way out of poverty back into wealth and riches. I guess we will discuss this in a subsequent Lift series but for today lets take a look at how he planned his steps. He carefully listed his action steps, one after the other. You must do same while planning. You must list in clear terms what you are actually going to do. Your strategies, that is, the actions you have chosen to do out of all those you could do. This will help you to know when you’ve been successful. These steps will be your performance metrics to evaluate your progress. It will serve as a guide as you pursue your goals. For example you want to increase your clientele by 50%, then your action steps could include, advertise in the print media, employ more marketers, take your product to emerging markets etc. Who you will meet, what will you say to them etc. Put down those steps just like the prodigal son. 4. The Resources: Proverbs 6:6–8, Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her food in summer, and gathers her sustenance in harvest. One other component of planning is estimating the resources required, that is, what to take along and what will be required for the journey... ~felix~
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 06:04:50 +0000
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