Advanced Praise for Made for More Bruce s journey has not been easy and yet that refining fire is so evident in the depth and practical nature of this devotional. His transparency and insight make this a thoughtful journey that will deepen your faith as you reflect on and apply the content. Bruce has injected godly wisdom and questions into my life at many pivotal points in my journey since I was a young man. I know of many other leaders who would testify to the same thing. This devotional frames many practical issues from a biblical perspective that will equip you to be an influential and godly follower of Christ as Bruce has influenced me. Resist the temptation to race ahead and rush through this devotional material. It is meant to be chewed and contemplated so it can filter down into the corners of your life. Bruce will challenge you to look hard at worldly influence and godly direction, to help you continue to grow in your daily journey with Christ. There are many things herein that you might want to read but we all need to understand if we are to be faithful and equipped servants of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Tim Sawer, Senior Vice President, Focus on the Family
Motivated Publishing STUDIOS
Made for More By: Dr. Bruce Gordon Dedications Published by: Motivated Publishing Studios Copyright 2018 Dr. Bruce Gordon All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without the written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Add author contact info here (address, phone, websites, email) This book is dedicated to my wife Denise, who continues to help me REACH to be better. ISBN: 978-1-928123-04-0 Printed in the USA First Edition, August 2018 Edited by: R. d Eon Proofreading by: J. d Eon Interior layout by: R.A.S. Cover design by: R.A. S. Project Management by: Rod Schulhauser
Table of Contents Advanced Praise for Made for More i Dedications v Acknowledgements ix Foreword xi Introduction xiii January 1 January - Week 1: Forgiving Yourself 3 January - Week 2: Go Higher 8 January - Week 3: What did Jesus want us to Know in those 40 Days? 13 January - Week 4: My Bucket List 18 January - Week 5: FOMO 23 February 29 February - Week 1: Lord, What Are You Up To? 31 February - Week 2: The Loinbelt 36 February - Week 3: Splagchnos 41 February - Week 4: Key Decades 46 March 53 March - Week 1: Peace 55 March - Week 2: Last Words 60 March - Week 3: Four Questions 65 March - Week 4: Living in the Present 70 April 77 April - Week 1: Keep Your Ear on the Rail 79 April - Week 2: Living Through Holy Week 84 April - Week 3: A Charcoal Fire 90 April - Week 4: Strategic Cheriths 95 May 101 May - Week 1: Things Are Just Not What They Seem 103 May - Week 2: Five Traps 108 May - Week 3: But if Not 113 May - Week 4: Living Without a Wall 118 May - Week 5: Jesus 40 Day Focus 123 vii
June 129 June - Week 1: Winning the War for Your Mind 131 June - Week 2: Living in the Reality of God 137 June - Week 3: Six Attributes of a Leader 143 June - Week 4: Seeing Clearly 149 July 155 July - Week 1: Getting Old 157 July - Week 2: Citizenship 162 July - Week 3: Seven Truths 167 July - Week 4: Plan A 172 August 177 August - Week 1: You Belong 179 August - Week 2: A Champion 184 August - Week 3: Coming Home 189 August - Week 4: Investing in your Marriage 194 August - Week 5: The Prodigal 200 September 205 September - Week 1: Your Salvation Lifts Me Up 207 September - Week 2: Hupomeno 212 September - Week 3: The Voice of God 217 September - Week 4: Your Passion Bucket 221 October 227 October - Week 1: Our Shepherd 229 October - Week 2: Walk In the Light 234 October - Week 3: Walking in God s Stride 239 October - Week 4: Strongholds 244 October - Week 5: Breaking Through 249 November 255 November - Week 1: A Command from Our Commander 257 November - Week 2: Not Good-Enough-ness 262 November - Week 3: Fear Not 267 November - Week 4: The Value of Partnership 272 December 277 December - Week 1: Followership 279 December - Week 2: He is Not Safe, but He is Good 284 December - Week 3: Bearer of Hope 289 December - Week 4: Stepping Forward Into the Good Night 294 References: 301 Acknowledgements I have been blessed to have friends, mentors and family who have encouraged and advised me over the years. This devotional book is really a representation of their counsel and investment in my life and leadership. One afternoon in August 1997, the phone rang; it was Dr. Roger Birkman. That call changed the course of my life. God used Roger to give focus on what He was now assigning me to. Roger and Sue Birkman invested in me in ways I cannot put into words. My promise to them, before they went home to Heaven, was that I would carry on their legacy. This book is, in part, carrying that legacy to invest in lives in a deeper way. The family of believers at Peace Portal Alliance Church in South Surrey has been such a special blessing to Denise and me. There are many names which come to mind, too many to record here. I do want to mention Jim Janz, who has written the foreword. Our paths had intersected over many years of leadership, yet we had never really met. That changed the first Sunday morning when we began our ministry at Peace Portal. Jim and Sharon have become gifts to us. Jim s counsel is represented in the pages of this devotional. I am so proud of my family and cannot even begin to imagine where I would be without each of them in my life. Thank you, Denise, for sharing this journey with me and hanging in and on, for it has been a wild ride at times. She really should be the author of this book. To our three sons, Adam, Aaron and viii ix
Andrew, now with their own families, I am so proud of who each of you have become. You invest in me in ways you do not completely understand, along with your spouses, Alison, Beverly and Sarah. I have great confidence in my legacy, which I am handing off to you and our four grandchildren, Keira, Josh, Olivia and Emily. Foreword We attended a class at our church called The Gathering. One morning, a couple of years ago, a gentleman was introduced to the class as our new leader. Within minutes my wife Sharon and I looked at each other with a knowing look (after 55 years of marriage) that said, Really like this guy! We have been great friends with Bruce and Denise ever since. He is an amazing teacher, presenter and mentor to many people across Canada and elsewhere. Many people call them their best friends. They have the capacity for that, which few of us do. We met a judge and his wife recently on a flight from the desert and we found that they also called them best friends. Their friends are everywhere! That says it all. When you read this book, you will feel that way too. You will want to absorb every word of this devotional because it comes for deep knowledge and understanding of the Word and a vast wealth of experience in leadership in many arenas. Bruce is unique in many ways. He is a scholar, pastor, and a successful businessman. He works with organizations and companies to pull their teams together for maximum effectiveness. He is in huge demand, more than he can handle. We are honored and privileged to grab a lunch, dinner, or coffee once a month or so, to commiserate with them about each other s lives and to get updated on all the good stuff. xi
Enjoy and soak this up from a man full of wisdom and inspiration. He lifts us up every Sunday morning. Now he can do that for us every day. Be blessed as you read. James E. Janz Fifty-three successful years in business and inspirational speaker to over one million people all around the world. Author of A Rendezvous with Destiny. Introduction I have a passion, a holy discontent, an angst, which is why I wrote these weekly reflections. One of my devotionals sums it up. I have a couple of strong beliefs about getting old! I believe that aging matters, to use the title of a book, and affects my beliefs. Our society has insidiously influenced our thinking that only youth matters. Aging means you are to enjoy life and at long last can have freedom to do so, though I wonder what Freedom 55 really means! We make too much of youthfulness and too little of age. I also believe that God s Word is not limited by age. There are many examples of where He directs someone in what we would refer to as the Autumn or even Winter season of their life, and they have the greatest impact of their lives. Abraham at 99 is an example. I was reading recently that about 400 names were compiled of the most noted people the world has known. The stats are astounding, for the research went on to show the following: Thirty-five percent were between 60 and 70. Twenty-three percent were between 70 and 80. Six percent were over 80. To sum up, over 64 percent of these leaders had the greatest impact and achievement when they were over 60. xiii
My consulting practice has focused on transitional leadership. Organizations have life cycles. Leaders are asking the question, Where on this lifecycle is the organization I lead? It is not about age nor how long the organization has been in operation. Rather, it is to continually assess what newness looks like. We, as human beings, are the same. This devotional is to do battle with that mindset, one which society programmes us with, one that says that once we reach retirement age we should relax, rest, play golf, our usefulness already rendered. According to experts, it takes 21 days to develop a new habit. Well, I am actually giving you 365 days to impact your societal programming, to prove that your greatest days can be ahead of you. Following each devotional/reflection, I use a REACH acrostic. R is to Reflect on actually what a devotional is saying to you. E is the need to Educate yourself, gain additional insight, to help you with the R. A is for Action. What steps do you need to take? C is for Community. We are better within a community and there may be one or two people you should process this with. H is for Hurdles. There will be obstacles which will stand in your way. Identify and list them, for actually writing them down will be a step forward to addressing them. Join me over these next 12 months, with a pen and a journal, and watch God at work in your life together with those who will cross your path. In the words of one of my readers, This could be dangerous! xiv xv
January 1
January - Week 1: Forgiving Yourself But You O Lord, will rule forever. Your fame will endure to every generation. Psalm 102:12 NLT I had someone say to me recently, that even though God had forgiven them, they can never forgive themselves. It was obviously a huge issue in their life, and yet it was an ever-tightening noose around their neck, because they still lived in the past. That conversation has stayed with me and I wonder how many of you are living with the regrets of the past. Hal Lindsey was a popular author in the 70s and he writes in his book, The Guilt Trip, that if the devil can keep us focused on our failures, he can make us pull away from God and neutralize us. The devil creates shame, with tentacles, which entangle us. 3
Made for More JANUARY Then I read Psalm 102 and the Psalmist shouts, O Lord, You rule forever. I do not wish to discount the feelings you may have, however, at the beginning of this New Year, allow me to introduced another perspective and four steps to victory over this battle. There is a leadership style which never asks more of another person than what they demand of themselves. The strength of this style is that it is all about enabling the other person to help them accomplish their plans and strategies. It is a wonderful trait and yet like all strengths, there is a weakness. When the individual perceives they have let another down, they find it very difficult to forgive themselves and the unforgivingness lingers on. Of course, it varies according to the issue. When it is significant, it can imprison the person forever. Here are four steps which I would ask you process in light of Psalm 102:12. 1. Call the unforgivingness what it is and acknowledge that you have not forgiven yourself. 2. Ask God to forgive you, for not accepting God s forgiveness is sin. 3. Choose to believe and accept the freedom which comes from the power of the Holy Spirit living within you. A couple of verses to focus on this year are Romans 8:1, 2 and Philippians 3:13, 14. 4. Then choose forgiveness and forgive yourself; it will also help to share this with someone close to you and then move forward. Reflect Educate Action Communicate Hurdles RIs there an area, an act, something from your past, where you struggle to forgive yourself? EAs you read the paragraph on Leadership Styles, what style are you? How do you know this? What is the strength of this style and what are your known blind spots? AThink about my four steps and journal as needed. CConnect with another to help you process this; they may also be struggling with areas where they need to forgive themselves. HWhat are the hurdles which may be holding you back from offering forgiveness to yourself? May this four-step process silence the voices in your mind which are not from God. Happy New Year 4 5
Made for More JANUARY My Journal Notes: My Journal Notes: 6 7