{"id":753,"date":"2024-02-04T06:04:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T11:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.com\/wpbobnichols\/?p=753"},"modified":"2024-01-26T13:12:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-26T18:12:55","slug":"no-vision-no-direction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/2024\/02\/04\/no-vision-no-direction\/","title":{"rendered":"No Vision, No Direction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cWhere there is no vision, the people perish<\/em>.\u201d –  Proverbs 29:18 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of framed vision statements hang on the walls of companies all over the world. It is a trendy thing to do in our modern society. These vision statements are the products of eager, optimistic people who work hard to convey to employees and to the public what the company intends to do or to be in the future. But for every vision statement that is hung in the lobby of a successful business, there are many vision statements that are written but will never be achieved. Somewhere along the way, regardless of how good the vision may sound, it is shelved. Perhaps the cost of achieving the vision is underestimated, or maybe too much work is involved, or possibly the excitement that was evident in the beginning cannot be maintained. Unfortunately, businesses are not the only ones that sometimes abandoned the original vision. Many Christians allow the vision to fade or disappear as well. In order to understand how a God given vision can be forgotten, we need to explore the limitations of a vision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What exactly is a vision? A vision is a compass providing steady guidance along the path that God is leading you. It is a divine point of reference that steadies you and keep your eyes off the present circumstances and allows you to see the prize ahead of you. When difficulties arise, the vision reminds you of your future success. The Bible has many things to say about the importance of a vision. Proverbs 29:18 says, \u201cW<\/em>here there is no vision, the people perish<\/em>.\u201d  Without a vision, <\/strong>a <\/strong>plan for the future<\/strong>, <\/strong>there is no sense of direction.<\/strong> The vision is vitally important to the believer, but it does not guarantee success. The problem with a vision is that it can be put on a shelf or forgotten altogether. A vision is optional. If the glamorous vision becomes too difficult to achieve, it can easily be put aside. A vision is needed but there is something more.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Acts chapter 26, Paul is testifying before King Agrippa about his encounter with Jesus. He tells the King about how Jesus changed his life and how he knew he had to accomplish what God wanted him to do. A vision was birthed in his heart on the road to Damascus. In verse 19 of chapter 26, Paul tells the King that he had not been disobedient to the heavenly vision. Paul kept the vision before him. He knew his duty was to spread the good news and his vision kept him on track. His vision provided a reference point that encouraged him to, \u201cC<\/em>ontinue pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus.<\/em>\u201d (Philippians 3:14). Paul was given a vision on the road to Damascus, but somewhere along the way there was a shift that took place. He knew his vision would not come to pass unless he went to work<\/strong>!<\/strong> The vision that God gave to Paul on the road to Damascus became a passionate cause.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhere there is no vision, the people perish.\u201d –  Proverbs 29:18  Thousands of framed vision statements hang on the walls of companies all over the world. It is a trendy thing to do in our modern society. These vision statements are the products of eager, optimistic people who work hard to convey to employees and to the … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “No Vision, No Direction”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-excerpt","category-vision"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Dart-on-Target-800x536-1.jpg?fit=800%2C536&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8lc9u-c9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":591,"url":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/2023\/03\/20\/from-a-vision-to-a-cause\/","url_meta":{"origin":753,"position":0},"title":"From a Vision to a Cause","author":"admin","date":"March 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"(The following is an excerpt from Bob Nichol's book, \"The Secret Power of a Cause.\") What exactly is a vision?\u00a0 A vision is a compass providing steady guidance along the path that God is leading you.\u00a0 It is a divine point of reference that steadies you, keeps your eyes off\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Excerpt"","block_context":{"text":"Book Excerpt","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/category\/book-excerpt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/fromvisiontocause1.jpg?fit=940%2C788&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/fromvisiontocause1.jpg?fit=940%2C788&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/fromvisiontocause1.jpg?fit=940%2C788&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/fromvisiontocause1.jpg?fit=940%2C788&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":751,"url":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/2024\/02\/01\/god-is-not-finished-with-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":753,"position":1},"title":"God is not finished with you!","author":"admin","date":"February 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe gifts and calling of God are without repentance.\u201dRomans 11:29 A vision is a great thing. It is a blueprint. It is a compass that helps guide you in the right direction. But the vision\u00a0must\u00a0be put into action. It must graduate to\u00a0a\u00a0cause. God has given many of you a great\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/category\/faith\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Lighthouse-calm-water-800x485-1.jpg?fit=800%2C485&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Lighthouse-calm-water-800x485-1.jpg?fit=800%2C485&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Lighthouse-calm-water-800x485-1.jpg?fit=800%2C485&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Lighthouse-calm-water-800x485-1.jpg?fit=800%2C485&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1107,"url":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/2022\/05\/23\/gods-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":753,"position":2},"title":"God\u2019s Way","author":"Bob Nichols","date":"May 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Back around in 1970, we had worked real hard in our church and had built it up to about 125 people whom we loved dearly. After spending five years of hard physical labor, there wasn't a part of the old building that didn't have some piece of my hide nailed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon Excerpts"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon Excerpts","link":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/category\/sermon-excerpts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/RoadLuggage.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/RoadLuggage.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/RoadLuggage.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/RoadLuggage.jpg?fit=800%2C480&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":754,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions\/754"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calvarycathedral.org\/wpbobnichols\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}