There is divine potentional in all you envision to do

Here's an excerpt of an awesome book I'm reading. You're all heard of Charles Stanley, right? This is his son, Andy Stanley in a book called "Visioneering" about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem in 52 days. This is on Julie's Recommended Reading List for 2007!

"God's ultimate plan for your life reaches beyond the visions He's given you for your family, business, ministry and finances. He has positioned you in your culture as a singular point of light. A beacon in a world that desperately needs to see something divine, something that is clearly not of this world.

Above and beyond the achievements associated with your vision, He wants to draw people to Himself. Our visions are means to a greater end. Namely, the glory of God and the salvation of men and women. This is His ultimate objective, His ultimate desire.

I'm afraid the majority of believers have never seen this important relationship. Consequently, our churches are filled with men and women who compartmentalize their lives. They differentiate between the religious and the secular. The religious being all those duties that have to do with God; the secular being their other pursuits.

To make matters worse, they underestimate God's interest in their secular pursuits -- after all, there wasn't anything very 'religious' about rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem -- and they overestimate His interest in their religious ones.

The truth is, our secular pursuits have more kingdom potential than our religious ones. For it is in the realm of our secular pursuits that secular people are watching. The marketplace, the club, and the salon are the environments that so desperately need a brush with the divine. It is there that God desires to demonstrate His power through those who are willing to be used in such a way. It is in the context of those arenas that the 'awe factor' is potentially the greatest.

For that reason, men and women who understand this broader potential for their visions see no distinction between the religious and the secular. Both their sacred and secular duties are played out on the same stage with the same goal in mind. They see themselves as lights at all times in all contexts. For those unique individuals, every role, relationship, and responsibility carries divine potential.

These are the unique few who have not substituted gimmicks and tradition for the real thing. I'm afraid too many of us are content to set ourselves apart by bumper stickers and schedules. I've yet to hear a story of a Christian motorist being flagged down by another driver who was pierced to the heart by the sight of a fish on the back of a car. And our Sunday morning routines certainly haven't left the world standing in awe of our God."

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!