Author: Jeffrey Bush

Jeffrey Bush has served with Vision Baptist Mission since May 2012. Prior to this assignment the Bush family faithfully served the Lord for 8 years in Argentina, South America. During their time in Argentina, God blessed their efforts resulting in five churches, a radio ministry, and a Bible college to train those called to the ministry.
Posted on

Golden Rule Relationships

By Zig Ziglar (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

  • If your relationships are good, life seems to be good to you. On the other hand, if
    your relationships with those love are not going well, life seems to be very tough.
  • A self-centered person is not a happy person.
  • Other people can give pleasure, but you will not be happy until you do things for
    other people.
  • You must be before you can do, and you must do before you can have.
  • There is nothing to freeze an individual like forgiveness.
Posted on

Difficult Conversations Don’t Have To Be Difficult

By Jon Gordon (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

  • Ego gets in the way of everything.
  • It takes courage to be transparent.
  • Relationships are what matter most.
  • If you want people to trust you, you have to lead the way. Trust takes time.
  • No one creates success alone; it takes a team.
  • If the “we” is not bigger than the “me,” you will suffer the consequences.
  • You must tell the truth if you’re going to better your team.
  • Truth and trust over time will lead to transformation.
  • Unresolved issues over time become roadblocks.
  • If you want the fruit, focus on the root.
Posted on

Clean

By Douglas Weiss (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

  • The plan of the enemy (devil) is to seduce then reduce. He seduces you through
    sexual thoughts and then reduces you for participating.
  • Your sexual body parts do not belong to you. They first belong to God, then to your
    wife, and then only use for you is to use the restroom.
  • Love and lust are polar opposite; one cannot exist while the other is present.
  • Treat women as God teaches — as mothers or sisters.
  • Sexually clean men make better husbands, dads, and men as a whole.
  • What you love, you protect. This is the reason many men protect their sexual sins
    instead of confessing and getting clean.
  • Many men travel the road to trouble and think they will not have to pay the tolls, but
    they are wrong.
  • Principles to keep you off the road to trouble:
  1. Fear God — Proverbs 8:13
  2. Be honest — past and present
  3. Talk to your wife — your wife wants to be with you forever, and is a great
    person to talk to
  4. Don’t believe in a secret — Luke 12:2-3; Rev 2:23. There’s no such thing
    as a secret.
  5. Imagine the worst — list all the people your sin will affect. Imagine how
    they will feel, and imagine the consequences you will receive from the sin.
    Knowing the impact of your actions can help you stay away from the road
    to trouble.
  6. Exit and entrance signs — if you get involved in sexual sins, you are
    exiting from your wife, exiting from God’s plan for your life, and from
    God’s best for your life. When you’re tempted, imagine an exit sign above
    that girl’s head. Your wife, and only your wife, is the only entrance sign to
    God’s blessings for you. She is your only entrance for your romantic and
    sexual expressions.
  7. Praise and touch — are you praising your wife, and are you touching her
    in non sexual ways?
  8. Respect — men need respect from their wives, and if you’re respect
    needs are being met outside of your marriage, you need to get help and
    not stay on the road to trouble.
  9. Daily declaration — there’s a need to make daily commitments to stay off
    the road to trouble. James 1:14.
  10. Prayer — ask God’s strength and help.
  11. Hero to one woman — you can’t be a hero to every woman, but you can
    to your wife. Let God be the hero to others.
Posted on

Church Zero

By Peyton Jones (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

  • The word apostle means “sent one,” which is the meaning of the word missionary.
  • The mega church can be useful, but it can also be a great hurdle to Kingdom
    expansion when it’s more concerned with bringing people in than it is sending them
    out.
  • Sadly, churches are in the numbers business because there is money to be made in
    numbers. As a result, they hang on to everyone and don’t worry about sending
    anyone out for Kingdom expansion.
  • Babel should teach us that bigger is not always better.
  • Judgment must begin at the house of God. If we want the church to change about
    Kingdom expansion, and the future to look different, then we must change.
  • People say they can’t find the term “church planting missionary” in the Bible, but
    that’s exactly the meaning of the word apostle.
  • We strive to be the modern day Spurgeon, Lloyd Jones, Wesley, or Whitefield,
    without worrying about what God wants.
  • Paul knew he could not do the work alone, he needed a team of people.
  • Paul would roll into a city, preach, train others, and exit for another place to repeat
    the same process. He worked himself out of a job.
  • Paul’s ministry method was “watch, do, train.” On the job training was (and is) the
    most effective way to prepare guys for ministry.
  • We spend too much time asking ourselves instead of asking for God‘s help to do the
    work.
  • You need God to show up! It’s not a coincidence that when you ask Him, He shows
    up more than when you do not ask Him.
Posted on

Choose To Win

By Tom Ziglar (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

  • Everyone needs a clearly defined “why.”
  • Its important you clarify your “why” (why are doing it), and when you do it opens
    doors to your “what” (what you do) and transform your “how” (how you do
    everything).
  • Hope is born when you realize you have the power to make things better or worse.
  • See your past as the reason to move forward and not the reason to quit.
  • The time you are in the furnace is preparing you for significance.
  • Attitude is a reflection of character, and character is a reflection of habit.
  • The opposite of entitlement is gratitude.
  • Your past is important, but not as important as you see your future.
  • A habit is simply a small choice you’ve chosen to do over and over
  • When your “why” is big enough, the sacrifice is worth it.
  • Living to win is a choice. What choices are you going to make that will transform
    you?
  • The fastest way to change bad habits is to begin doing good habits.
  • Persistent consistency is the answer to improvement in almost any area of your life
  • Become an intentional noticer. Pay attention to the positive details, and let others
    know.
  • The words we say to our children today will be the constant whispers they hear in
    the future.
  • It is not negative to identify problems. It is only negative if all you do is dwell on the
    problems.
  • Do not be afraid of being uncomfortable. In fact, a good leader learns to be
    comfortable with being uncomfortable.
  • Clarity helps you make the right choices and take the right actions.
  • You can determine beforehand that you will respond positively to setbacks that come
    your way.
  • If you do more than you are paid to do, eventually you will get paid more for what
    you do. — Zig Ziglar
  • Doing a job well is a combination of attitude, effort, and skill.
  • Attitudes either bring energy or deplete energy.
  • Effort is hustle with smarts.
  • Words of encouragement never get old.
  • A great attitude drives effort and skill.
  • Decide that today is the day you will take control of your most valuable asset, which
    is your attitude.
  • One thing is certain, if you never take the first step, then you will never take the
    second step.
  • Change begins with you, but it does not start until you start.
Posted on

Before You Go

By Emily Bennet (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

  • Since we don’t hear God’s audible voice, how can we know or decide on God’s
    leading in our lives? When the Bible, your internal desires, external circumstances,
    and church’s affirmation all align, then it is a great indication to take the next step of
    faith in obedience.
  • Seek counsel from your local church when considering where you will serve.
  • What character traits should you seek to develop as you seek to serve as a
    missionary?
  • Though it is not easy to leave home or the familiar, remember that leaving is part of
    the Bible way.
  • Let Scripture be the loudest voice you listen to or hear. It is the only voice that is
    always truth and will never lead you astray.
  • Abiding in Jesus is what will sustain you.
  • Learning to let go is very important. When you release things you love, you can make
    room for other things God will teach you to love.
  • Remember, it is Jesus who asked you to go, so do not have a spirit of “do you know
    what I gave up for you” towards those to whom you minister.
  • Pray big prayers and expect for God to work.
  • Language is not a party trick you will use to impress people back home, it is the
    vehicle you will use to carry the saving message to others.
  • You will face suffering, but will it cause you to run to Christ or flee from the hard
    times?
  • You will walk through seasons of suffering, but you will not be alone.
  • Missions and motherhood. One of the greatest things in life is raising children. One
    of the hardest things in life is raising children.
  • Don’t let fear or “This has never been done” to stop you from involving your kids on
    the mission field.
  • Having a passion for the Lord and a plane ticket does not prepare you for the trials
    you will face on the mission field.
  • So many of the missionaries that leave the mission field do so because they were
    caught off guard by the difficulties of the field.
  • Good missionary training does not mean you will avoid all trials, but it does mean
    you prepare as best as possible and trust God with the rest.
  • The best way to reign in the madness is to focus on the truth.
  • You can detect if something is an idol by your world falling apart when that area is
    touched by adversity.
  • Loving the Lord drives serving the Lord.
  • The missionary life might look like dying to your preferences, but it is for the Lord and
    well worth it.
  • Let your choice for a place and people be out of your love for God.
Posted on

Anger & Stress Management God’s Way

By Wayne A. Mack (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

  • The words anger and stressed are common, every day words amongst about
    everyone. Both are destructive.
  • According to Ephesians 4:31, we are commanded to put away all wrath and anger.
  • We often become angry because we feel our rights have been denied.
  • Our anger is wrong when we let it control us – Proverb 16:32; 25:28
  • When we say we were so angry we couldn’t help it, or we couldn’t control ourselves,
    we are just excusing our behavior.
  • Our anger is wrong when we return evil for evil or attack the other person.
  • Proverbs 29:11 and 22 says a fool always loses his temper.
  • Our anger is wrong when we hurt or attack a substitute – taking it out on someone
    else.
  • We should learn that there are some things that should be overlooked instead of
    pointed out. Love covers a multitude of offenses.
  • Your spouse is a fellow brother or sister in Christ, and you are to follow the biblical
    commands for reconciliation.
  • Scripture commands us to take care of today’s problems, for tomorrow will hold its
    own — Eph. 4:26.
  • The Bible teaches that anger rests in the bosom of fools (Ecclesiastes 7:9).
  • As Christians, we have the power to control our anger. When we fail to do so, it is by
    choice.
  • The bottom line for our anger is that we have an agenda and someone or something
    caused it not to go our way.
  • Venting your anger is not the answer because God warns against it – Proverbs 16:32;
    29:11; Ephesians 4:26-27, 31.
  • We can learn to put off the deeds of the flesh and be filled with the Spirit. We can
    learn to control our anger and not be controlled by our anger.
  • To win the battle over the stresses in life, we must learn to give God thanks in
    everything and for everything. 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Ephesians 5:20.
  • To continually think upon what God has given and done in your life will help you
    avoid giving up.
  • To win the battle over the stresses in life, we should seek to discover God‘s
    purposes for these specific areas in our life.
  • We don’t always know what God is up to, but we do know many of His promises,
    how He wants our good, and how He works all things out for our good.
  • God uses things in our lives to mature and complete us. Knowing this will help as
    you respond to the stresses in life.
  • To win the battle over the stresses in life, you must determine what God wants you to
    do in the midst of those stressful situations.
Posted on

Accidental Pharisees

By Larry Osborne (summary by Jeffrey Bush)

  • Spiritual arrogance is not a “back of the line” sin, it is a “front of the line” sin.
  • We think we are on fire for God and so zealous, so we begin to look down on others.
  • Looking down on others is a dangerous viewpoint.
  • Looking down on others is a reward-killer.
  • Pride’s unholy trinity is log-eye disease, self-deception, and comparison.
  • Log-eye disease enables us to keep a list of others’ shortcomings while ignoring our
    own.
  • The Bible is supposed to be a mirror for us, not a pair of binoculars to look into the
    lives of others.
  • When our goal becomes thinning the herd instead of feeding the flock, we are acting
    more like Pharisees than Christ followers.
  • The moment we allow our personal passion and calling to be the litmus test for who
    is and who isn’t a genuine disciple, we have taken it too far. In fact, at this point we
    have ceased building the Kingdom of God and are now tearing it down.
  • The moment my personal application of the implications of Scripture becomes my
    lens through which I judge others, something is terribly wrong.
  • Boundaries that are narrower than the ones Jesus laid down do not protect the flock,
    they divide the flock. They sow discord among the brethren, something God is not
    fond of.
  • The Pharisees of Jesus day always seemed to require more from the people, more
    than Jesus was requesting. We must be careful we are not becoming Pharisees,
    accidental though it may be.