Do you like productivity hacks?

Productivity and efficiency are areas of interest and my social media and email are full of tips and book summaries etc.

Some “productivity hacks” are very practical and straightforward. For example:

1. Plan your day ahead of time.

2. Write down the three most important tasks for the day.

3. Have a clear goal for each day.

4. Set a specific time for checking your email and social media.

I like these tips, they are practical and beneficial. Other productivity hacks are a bit questionable in my opinion.

1. Use red and blue colors more often (they supposedly improve brain performance)

2. Listen to productive music (what classifies as productive music?)

Some life hacks are very practical, while others are more philosophical. One of the benefits I get from “productivity content” is a reminder to consider my goals and priorities. What I am trying to achieve today? What do I want to accomplish as a person? As a husband? As a father? As a pastor?

Specific, measurable outcomes are a great place to focus, and a place where I struggle. How exactly do you measure spiritual growth? How do you measure the health of a church? What is the tangible result of a helpful conversation? Opinoins on this vary a great deal.

Also, productivity and efficiency, like any other area that you study for a while, has contradicting views and opinions. Do you optimize for money? Growth? Power? Control? Influence? What if you become really efficient in doing something that should not be done at all?

In my opinion it all depends on where you are in life and what you are trying to achieve. Time spent clarifying your goal(s) is time well spent.

Personally, my approach is to define your ultimate goal and identify daily habits that will lead you there. Small habits repeated daily will have a greater impact in your life than a big event that might happen once in a lifetime. Especially when that big event is beyond your control. You can spend your days wishing for your big break, or you can show up daily and improve even if by 1%. I am a fan of small, doable, simple, habits, and they have a significant impact on your life.

In this post, I will biblically tackle the big ultimate goal as well as the small actionable habits. Please take my position and recommendations as a conversation starter, and feel free to push back or modify it according to your current stage in your spiritual journey.

The Ultimate Goal

The Bible is clear, from Genesis to Revelation that the ultimate goal in life is to be with God (John 3:16; Isaiah 40:31; Proverbs 14:27; Micah 6:8; Revelation 21:3). A personal and close relationship with God is the ultimate goal and also will lead to the best possible life while here on this sinful earth.

How do I get there?

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Acts 2:38 NKJV

 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
- Titus 3:5 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
- Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
- John 3:16 NKJV

There are many verses on salvation including but not limited to Acts 4:12; 16:30-33; John 14:6. Essentially salvation is a gift from God made available exclusively through Jesus to all who believe. You don’t earn your salvation, you receive it.

Ok, so if I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I believe in Him, and I choose to be baptized for the remission of sins and to receive the Holy Spirit. Now what?

Just Remain

Are you ready for the productivity hack?

The key to incredible success in all areas of life is really simple. Stay with Jesus.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
- John 15:1-4 NKJV

At first glance, Jesus’ words may sound threatening. If you don’t bear fruit, you will be taken away! But I believe that is not the emphasis of Jesus in this passage, and I’ll explain my reasoning as we continue to study this passage.

Pruning?

Interestingly the branches that bear fruit are not left alone, they are pruned, to produce more fruit! I am slowly learning about gardening and pruning. I did some digging online and my understanding is that in the pruning process, you want to eliminate old and unproductive branches. There’s a lot more to pruning, but in a nutshell, you want to help the plant maximize the use of its nutrients and energy.

The word used for pruning (καθαίρω kathairō) is also used for cleansing and metaphorically to remove guilt. (Blue Letter Bible Lexicon). This makes sense since Jesus proceeds to say that His disciples are already clean because of the words He has spoken to them. The words of Jesus have the power to cleanse, to purify, to remove useless shoots. But He also described this as the Father’s doing.

This means that reading the Bible and being exposed to the word of God in other ways will not always be a pleasant experience. If the words of Jesus have a cleansing power, and if the Father prunes the branches that produce fruit, this means change will take place. Abiding in Jesus is not comfortable. I never said it would be easy, but this is the path to the greatest success in all areas of life. Abiding in Jesus in remaining in a relationship that will slowly but surely impact every single area of your life. Abiding in Jesus will change your relationship with everything in life, including your own self. You will no longer be at the center of your universe, Jesus will be there. You stop living for yourself and you begin to live for Jesus. All other relationships take a backseat to your relationship with Jesus. But don’t worry, you don’t have to do this on your own. God will work this out in your life (Philippians 2:13), just don’t walk away. Jesus’ word will cleanse your life and remove the things that should not be there. Everything that hinders the production of fruit will be removed. This removal is for our own good, but it does not mean it will be comfortable or easy.

The reason why I do not believe Jesus intended to scare His disciples into producing fruit is that He is the only one who can cause them to produce fruit. In other words, followers of Jesus cannot produce fruit on their own. All we can do is remain connected with Jesus, the source of everything that we need to thrive in life. therefore you do not need to worry about producing fruit, that will take care of itself. Focus on remaining in Jesus and He will make sure you bear fruit.

What about the “takes away” part?

The text clearly says “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;” (John 15:2a). What do we do with that part? Interestingly the word used for takes away can be translated differently. Some Bibles will have a small “a” or a small “1” next to “takes away” and when you read the translation note, either on the bottom of the page or on the margin somewhere, it will say “or lifts up.” The Greek word used here is αἴρω (airō) which means to raise up, elevate, lift up, to raise from the ground, (Blueletter Bible Lexicon). This way Jesus’ words are understood as the Father lifts up from the ground the branches that are not producing fruit.

This makes sense to me since the branches cannot bear fruit on their own. As Jesus said, the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, and neither can we unless we abide in Him. The message is clear, abide, remain, stay in Jesus.

60-year wedding anniversary

I remember one time, while I was living in Texas, that my senior pastor and I carpooled for a pastors’ meeting. It was a long drive because everything is far in Texas and as we were driving back to Weslaco we stopped by a small town. My senior pastor was driving and said whenever he drove by this town he stopped by to visit his uncle and aunt. We pulled up to a nursing home. We signed the book indicating who we came to visit and were led to a large room with two beds. The room was filled with pictures spanning many decades. My senior pastor introduced me to his uncle and aunt and told me they had been married for over 60 years! As they talked I walked around the room and looked at all the pictures. These two had spent more of their life together than apart.

I was recently married and was curious about the secrets of spending 60+ years with your spouse. So I asked him how he did it, and what advice he would have for someone newly married.

He looked at me and said,

“Marlon, it’s really simple you see, we just never got divorced.”

He and his wife laughed and laughed after that. Then they told me briefly their story. Needless to say, there are numerous variables involved in a marriage lasting that long. I do not wish to oversimplify marriage in this post or to put down those who have gotten divorced. Life is messy and complicated.

However, the answer that he gave me stuck with me all these years and it came to mind as I was reading John 15. This makes the point much more clear, since Jesus is perfect, there is no good reason for me to ever leave Him. So when it comes to our relationship with Jesus we know that He wants to save us, He wants to guide us, and to provide for us. We know Jesus wants what is best, so all we have to do is not leave the relationship.

Abide in Me.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
- John 15:5-8 NKJV

Jesus repeats the same concept making His point even more clear. We are completely helpless without Him. Jesus said that without Him we can do nothing. This is very humbling and is rather unpopular in modern times. Everyone wants to talk about empowerment. Everywhere you look you are told that you can do it, you can do whatever you want. Then we come to Jesus and He tells us that without Him we can do nothing. In my personal experience, this has been the case. Everything that I have is thanks to God and His rich mercies. I can take credit for none of it. I don’t succeed because I work so hard or because I am so smart. I just humbly come to Jesus daily begging for the Holy Spirit and wisdom and strength. I do this every single day, multiple times throughout the day. I am very aware that I cannot do this on my own. I don’t succeed in life because of my superiority, I succeed despite my weaknesses because of God’s mercy.

I believe this is the beauty of Christianity, it is all about Jesus and what He does for me daily. Not only do I abide in Jesus but I also have His words in me. When the words of Jesus are in my heart I begin to desire what He desires. As I pray and ask for those things that are aligned with the words of Jesus, God is more than happy to do those things. After all, God is glorified when I bear much fruit.

As the human will co-operates with the will of God, it becomes omnipotent.

Abiding in Jesus and having His words abide in me cause me to be an unstoppable force for good in this world. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I check the news and it makes me sick to my stomach. I feel helpless, or I feel anger and outrage, but there seems to be nothing I can do to bring about any meaningful change. These experiences tend to ruin my day if I allow it. Suddenly my focus is on everything that is wrong with the world, my community, my family, my life, etc. Or, I can turn to Jesus and look for what He is doing in my life and in the lives of those around me. When I focus on Jesus, I begin to look for opportunities to partner with Him.
How can I help?
How can I help bring healing?
How can I share hope? I
s there someone I can encourage?
What can I do with what God has given me for the benefit of those around me?

I cannot change others, only Jesus can do that. But I can partner with God in the work He is already doing in the lives of those around me. What is God doing in my community?
At my work?
In my school?
In my neighborhood?
In my family?

Suddenly the focus is shifted away from self. Anger turns into a willingness to make a positive impact. Instead of being motivated by anger or frustration, I find myself motivated by a desire to bless, and to partner with God to alleviate suffering. And this is what makes me get out of bed in the morning. This is what makes life worth living. A desire to partner with God and help others is what makes dealing with all the challenges of life worthwhile.

What if I don’t want to?

Just to be clear, I am not talking about trying but failing. I am not describing someone who wanted to but was too weak. I am describing someone who simply does not want to be in a close and personal relationship with Jesus.

Maybe you question whether or not you are abiding. I know, it is difficult to measure spiritual growth. If only there was a thermometer that could reveal my spiritual condition to me. But since there isn’t how do I know?

It is both simple and complicated.

Here is my current understanding of this topic. If I have given my heart to Jesus and have not decided to walk away from Him, I am confident in my salvation.

With that said, I need to be honest with myself. I can fool others by behaving like a follower of Jesus, but I need to know my true intention. Do I desire to spend eternity with Jesus? Do I desire to do His will? Struggling, and failing is not a sign of abandoning Jesus.

I am married and every so often my wife and I disagree on something. Too often I do something she has asked me 947,593 times to not do, like leaving my shoes in the wrong place, or taking out the recycling etc. That does not mean that I considering divorce. I want to do these things, I just forget sometimes. This is very different from me not wanting to be in a relationship with her and secretly wishing I was with someone else, or even trying to start a relationship with someone else without her knowledge.

Do I love Jesus but struggle in some areas? Or do I resent Jesus and would rather follow my own heart and desires? Do I long to be my own God?

These questions are worth considering.

In my personal experience, the more I get to know Jesus the more I love Him and desire closeness to Him. On the other hand, the less I think about Him the less important He seems, until something goes wrong in life and I feel the need for God’s help.

The main point I want to make is that I am not forced to abide in Jesus. I am allowed to walk away if I want to, but Jesus tells me what will happen if I walk away. A branch, separated from the vine withers and is only good as fuel for a fire. Some may say that God is using fear tactics, but the way I see it, God is simply explaining things the way they are.

Back to the marriage analogy. Imagine being married to someone who loves you unconditionally and is always there for you and wants what’s best for you. Your spouse, understandably, does not want you to be in an intimate relationship with anyone else. You are free to leave any moment you want to. Now imagine you want to leave, but you also want your spouse to continue to provide for you as you cheat. You want this because the person you are having an affair with is unable to provide you with those things. So you want to cheat on your spouse who provides everything for you, but you want your spouse to continue to provide for all your needs as you cheat with someone who is unable to provide for you.

Judges 10:11-14 illustrates this principle clearly.

So the Lord said to the children of Israel, “Did I not deliver you from the Egyptians and from the Amorites and from the people of Ammon and from the Philistines? Also the Sidonians and Amalekites and Maonites oppressed you; and you cried out to Me, and I delivered you from their hand. Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. “Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.”
- Judges 10:11-14 NKJV

Being away from God is its own punishment. Living a life completely focused on self is its own punishment. Going through life without God’s help is its own punishment. Life with God is not easy, but without Him, it is exponentially worse. Finally, there is a judgment, and it does involve fire. But since God is the source of life apart from Him we perish. (For audio of me talking more about what the Bible says about hell fire visit Revelation’s Lake of Fire)

Conclusion

If your ultimate goal in life is to live eternally with God the life hack is to not only give your life to Jesus but also to choose Him every day.

This is simple. But not necessarily easy. Choosing Jesus daily means placing Him and His will above myself and my desires. The good news is that Jesus will never give up on me and that He is responsible for all the changes that need to take place in my life. In other words, my spiritual success is guaranteed by Jesus. Jesus wants me to bear much fruit because this bring glory to God.

You don’t produce fruit by trying really hard. You produce much fruit by remaining in Jesus. Jesus is the One who will cause you to bear much fruit.

Whenever you question your salvation. Whenever you are frustrated for not bearing as much fruit as you would like or as quickly as you would like, just shift your focus from yourself to Jesus. Ask yourself, am I remaining in Jesus? And focus on that. Find activities that help you connect with Jesus. Try prayer, Bible study, Bible journaling, prayer journaling. Try drawing, singing, and listening to Christian music. Join a prayer group, go on a hike and pray as you walk. Focus on Jesus and let Him transform every aspect of your life according to His will. Jesus not only saves you but He will also transform your life, you just have to not walk away.

The ultimate life hack is simple. Don’t give up on Jesus. Don’t walk away. Just remain, and He will take care of everything else.