SEAL Team Training For Christians
Make Your Bed
Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket folded neatly at the foot of the rack — that’s Navy talk for bed.
Admiral William McRaven
It was a simple task — mundane at best. But every morning we were required to make our bed to perfection. It seemed a little ridiculous at the time, particularly in light of the fact that were aspiring to be real warriors, tough battle-hardened SEALs, but the wisdom of this simple act has been proven to me many times over.
Admiral William McRaven
If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.
Admiral William McRaven
And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.
Admiral William McRaven
What Is The Core Principle Of Christianity?
It's trust, right? The big question you and I face is do we trust God and his word or not? Christianity is a faith system, a trust system. We think that the trust system is one way, "Do I trust God?" However, trust runs both ways doesn't it? Can God trust you?
Consider Jesus' story about the unjust steward in Luke 16:1-13
Kevin Huddleston
He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was [a]wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.’ 3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’
Luke 16:1-4
5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred [b]measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred [c]measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.
Luke 16:5-8
10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?" 13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
Luke 16:10-13
Can God Trust You?
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Faithfulness
If you can't do the "little" things right, how can you be trusted to do the "big" things right?
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True Riches
If you can't be trusted with money who will trust you with true riches? What are true riches? It's not about paper or metal but trust!
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Ownership
If you can't be trusted to take care of another's wealth, how can you be trusted to take care of your own?
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Singleness Of Service
- Can't serve two masters.
- Hate / Love
- Despise / Loyal
- God / Mammon
The Parable Of The Minas
Jesus told the parable of the minas in Luke 19:11-27. In that parable, he talks about a nobleman who went into a far country to receive a kingdom and return. Before he left he gave 1, 5, and 10 minas (about 100 days labor rate per mina) to his servants. When he came back he wanted to see what they had done with them in his absence.
15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ 19 Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
Luke 19:15-19
Faithful In Little, Authority Over More
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Faithful In Very Little.
If you can't be trusted in the little things how can you be trusted with bigger things?
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From Money To Cities.
Trust Transfers From Little To Big. It's how you handle responsibility that transfers.
Luke 9:23-25
23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross [b]daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
Are You Faithful Every Day?
In Prayer?
How long has it been since you prayed? How can you change the world if you've given up on prayer? (Luke 18:1-8).
In Bible Study?
How can you make an impact if you don't know the Bible? (2 Timothy 2:15; 3:14-17)
In Christian Living?
How can you change the world if you don't live the life? (Galatians 2:20-21)
The True Riches
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance [b]incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5