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Title: Becoming a Better You.

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Mediocrity:\xa0 To settle halfway to the summit of a difficult mountain.


Slipping Points & Stepping Stones


1.\xa0 Slipping Point: Aimlessness

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People who are successful in their efforts to reach the mountaintops of their lives do so by refusing to let circumstances & feelings define who they are.

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(Colossians 3:1-3) (MSG) So if you\u2019re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don\u2019t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ\u2014that\u2019s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life\u2014even though invisible to spectators\u2014is with Christ in God. He is your life.

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(Colossians 3:5) (MSG) And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That\u2019s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God.

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(Colossians 3:7-10) (MSG) It wasn\u2019t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it\u2019s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Don\u2019t lie to one another. You\u2019re done with that old life. It\u2019s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you\u2019ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you\u2019re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it.

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(Colossians 3:12-14) (MSG) So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.

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Stepping Stone: Know Your Identity

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2. Slipping Point: Comfort

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The love of comfort is frequently the enemy of greatness.

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(Philippians 3:13) (MSG) Friends, don\u2019t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I\u2019ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward\u2014to Jesus. I\u2019m off and running, and I\u2019m not turning back.

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(Philippians 3:15-16) (MSG) So let\u2019s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision\u2014you\u2019ll see it yet! Now that we\u2019re on the right track, let\u2019s stay on it.

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(Philippians 3:17-19) (MSG) Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I\u2019ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I\u2019m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. But easy street is a dead-end street.

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Stepping Stone: Gauge Your Progress

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3.\xa0 Slipping Point: Ego

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(Galatians 2:19-20) (MSG) What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn\u2019t work. So I quit being a \u201claw man\u201d so that I could be God\u2019s man. Christ\u2019s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ.


(Galatians 2:19-20) (MSG) My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not \u201cmine,\u201d but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

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Stepping Stone: Nurture Your Teachability

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Teachability: Be willing to re-learn what you think you already know.

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4.\xa0 Slipping Point: Fear

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Stepping Stone: Remember Your Faith

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(Hebrews 11:1) (MSG) The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It\u2019s our handle on what we can\u2019t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

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5.\xa0 Slipping Point: Isolation

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Stepping Stone: Find Your Friends

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(Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) (NLT) Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.


(Matthew 19:26) (NLT) \u2026 with God everything is possible.\u201d