200 pomegranates and an audience of one (part 2)

I finished this book up today and here are some highlights from the second half of my reading.

• …we have the ability to really make a difference in people’s lives by investing in things that last – mainly other people.
• God’s gallery is filled with broken-down people with great upswing potential. We are a group of people who now have the opportunity to grow and expand the investment God made in us by following the model of Christ and investing in others and things that will last.
• I wish that I could read the Bible and feel like I have it together, but the truth is many times when I read the Bible I realize the truth about myself and I realize that I am the problem.
• When we choose to live selflessly and invest in things that last, we can change our world and leave a true legacy.
• This is the temptation toward pride and self-centeredness that is the root of all sin. We want to get great at something. We want to do something. We even want to invest in things that will last, contributing something of beauty and value to the world. The rub comes when we do all three of those, and then we want everyone to know about it. We look for this recognition because we all have a need for acceptance.
  
• It is only when we can see life from the view of Jesus through Scripture, God through history, and the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds that we can see the proper view of things.
• If we can get beyond our pride-filled view of our own selves, we can gain the wider, more godly, peripheral vision needed to see other people, and to do things to serve others that may or may not be noticed by others but will definitely be noticed by God.
• …but consider that maybe it;s not the details themselves that are important, but the fact that they are included in the story in the first place. Why does God give us such details? Because details matter to God.
• When we begin to see the correlation between the details of our lives and our worship of Go d, there will be an unbelievable transformation in our lives.
• If we are to be people of significance, we also need to be finishers.
• …it is not very smart to start bad ideas, but it is even worse to finish bad ideas. There is definitely a time to quit.
• The only thing worse than finishing a bad idea is not finishing a good idea.
• God started the idea of perfection in the garden and finished it with Jesus on a cross with the very words, “It is finished.”
• Are your dreams and the measure of your influence affected by poor use of your time?

This was a quick read, and I’d recommend checking it out (especially if you’re a new leader).