Getting Things Right (Part 1)

Getting Things Right (Part 1)

You are born with the ability to change your life no matter how much loss, sadness and difficulty you are experiencing.  You are born ready even though you don’t feel ready.  You are literally hardwired to reinvent yourself and overcome.  You don’t even have to learn to do it, you already know how.  You just need to focus your energy gradually and accordingly.  Learn with each small step forward, one at a time, one day after the next.

This is the journey God put you on and you can write the map to where you are going.  Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t, that you should just sit around and “wait” a little longer and that there is no way out right now.  There is a way, and you are standing right in the path. God created you unique.  When you start to know this and truly understand it, then you can be more in control of your life and what happens within it from moment to momentary His grace and glory.

In a very real sense, your life is created one day at a time by you and the people you choose to have around you.  This is crucial to know and remember.  You are the creator of yourself and your destiny in each moment by God's grace.  In a very real sense, what you choose to experience, and who you choose to share each experience with, influences your ultimate development in Christ.

In other words, you create your life by choosing the kind of story you want to tell every day.  You create it by the way you respond to difficult and painful circumstances, by the way you see the world, and by the people you choose to keep in your life.  Keep this truth in mind:

“You aren’t responsible for everything that happened to you, but you need to be responsible for undoing the thinking patterns these outcomes created. " 

What you focus on make you stronger in your life.  It’s time to change your response to what you remember, and step forward again with grace into the unknown guided by God's hand.

Every believer knows that death is not death to another believer.  When someone you love dies, it just means they exist in another way, in another place. You have access to that same place thru Christ.  Every day and every moment heaven should be real to you. Through the Word I have learned that death is just a word we use to describe the end of someone’s physical life, not the absolute end of them. Those absent from us are in the presence of the Lord is they served Him here in earth.

Quantum physics teaches that "Nothing and not nothing is one and the same.  The empty space next to you, is made the way you are made." One of the reasons this is important to understand that is simply that the spiritual kingdom you perceive around you is not really empty at all it, and contains far more than what meets the eye, including the loved ones you’ve lost.  They are still here but you can’t see them with your physical sense of sight.  Your eyes can’t see all the light that exists in that holy place.  Your ears can’t hear all the sounds that exist there either.  The people we think we’ve lost are right here inside all the space around us.  We really aren’t alone when we are alone.

There truly is a deeper reality or a deeper level of life that we can’t see from here, and it is where miracles originate from.  Where healing takes place.  Where everything gets created in the supernatural around us.  This deeper reality is in many ways more real than the one we perceive with our (flawed) physical senses a God you can bring everything you want from there to here.  This only seems impossible to you right now, but it isn’t.  NOTHING is impossible with GOD!

Not believing this is like trying to drive a car at night without the lights on.  There are always impossible obstacles and objects in front of us and around us that we can’t immediately see, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there, or that they can’t affect us.  Please don’t forget it.  God mad you the driver of this experience called life, and you now know what you need to work on, to turn the lights back on for all of eternity. Get it right in the beginning and you'll never forget it.

Choose to Live The Truth in 2019

Choose to Live The Truth in 2019

Choose not to live your life as a bystander or a prisoner to false beliefs that keep you stuck in neutral. Instead, live in this world, on this day, and every day in 2019 as an active participant.  Every morning, ask yourself what is real and important to you, and then find the courage, wisdom and willpower to build your day around your answer.

It’s your choice-REMEMBER YOUR CHOICE! You are choosing right now as you read this blog.

You can choose in 2019 to complain, blame, be stuck in the past,   act like a victim, feel insecure, feel anger, feel hate, ignore your intuition, ignore good advice or give up. It's your choice if you want to waste and entire year of your life. I believe that it’s time to choose and act differently! 

Think about this:

-Generations in your family tree have chosen.  

-Human beings around the world have chosen.  

-We all have chosen at one time or another.  

So what should you choose?

-Choose to be present.
-Choose to be positive.
-Choose to forgive yourself.
-Choose to forgive others.
-Choose to see your value.
-Choose to see the possibilities.
-Choose to find meaning.
-Choose to prove you’re not a victim.
-Choose to let go of false beliefs and stories.

Choose to find strength in the truth so you can take a real step forward every day for the rest of the year. This New Year starts today with your choice. Choose the way you want it to go.

Happy New Year!

Getting Things Right (Part 5)

Getting Things Right (Part 5)

The vision of the church should be something that the church can live into. 

-It doesn't necessarily it has to be all figured out, but it must be flexible enough so that how it is lived out can adapt and change with the changing needs of the community. 

The strategy isn't about what we are going to do, but how we were going to go about doing things. Everything we do must first be from the perspective of hospitality, how we nurture spiritual growth, and our willingness to commit.

-As a church, it isn't about reviving or redeveloping a dying or struggling church. It's about being relevant in one's community and visibly living out Christ's presence in your neighborhood. 

a. Moving from the mindset of revival to relevance is vital to determining the future of the church. 

Revival can put the congregation's focus inward to think about what to do to increase membership, increase tithes, and build the church back up to where it used to be. Relevance is about figuring out the current identity and gifts of the church now and matching that with the needs of the community. 

b. Relevance is not about survival, but about recognizing no matter the size of your congregation, Christ is calling you to use your gifts in a particular way for a particular reason and season. 

Sometimes, this does lead to a revival of the church in energy, in numbers, and in significance. Sometimes, it means recognizing that the ministry of the church exists beyond the actual existence of your congregation. Maybe it is time to bless other ministries or new church developments with your church building or financial assets. Maybe it is time for the legacy of your church to live on through the ministry of another. Being relevant causes us to not be selfish about what we want, but to also look at what Christ is calling us to do in ways we never could imagine possible.

We must be constantly in prayer. It may seem obvious, but in order to discern the direction where Christ is calling, a faith community needs to be in constant prayer for guidance, strength, and faith.

It isn't easy being a part of a church that is struggling for relevance for whatever reason, but there are unique gifts that a struggling church can offer. It just takes a willingness to step out into the unknown, a commitment to change, and an acceptance to give up the things that may be holding your congregation back from doing something only God knows.

Getting Things Right (Part 4)

Getting Things Right (Part 4)

We need to remember the church is more than just a building. Andy Stanley shares the truth about this in a most complete fashion. He says:

"The word “church” should’ve never appeared in our Bibles. It shouldn’t have become part of Christian culture, either. It’s more than a mistranslation. It represents a misdirection.

While the majority of your English Bible is a word-for-word translation from Greek, the term “church” is an exception. The term “church” is not a translation. It’s a substitution. And a misleading one at that.

The term “church” is a derivative of the German term kirche meaning: house of the Lord or temple. This term of German origin was used to interpret, rather than translate, the Greek term ekklesia throughout most of the New Testament.

The Greek term ekklesia is translated as “church” over one hundred times in your English New Testament, but in Acts 19:32 – a passage describing a city in uproar – it’s translated differently.

“The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.”

Ekklesia was not, and is not, a religious term. It does not mean church or house of the Lord. It certainly shouldn’t be associated with a temple. The term was used widely to describe a gathering, assembly, civic gatherings, or an assembly of soldiers. Or as was the case in Acts 19, an assembly of rioting idol manufacturers.

An ekklesia was a gathering of people for a specific purpose. Any specific purpose. It’s not a building. It’s not a physical location. It’s a group of people.

It’s a lot easier to stop showing up at a place than it is to disconnect from a group of people who intimately know, love, and support each other.

If we want people to stop leaving the church – if we want Christianity to be irresistible again to the world – then maybe it’s time to take another look at the movement Jesus started 2,000 years ago."

All I can say is "AMEN!"

Getting Things Right (Part 3)

Getting Things Tight (Part 3)

People go to church looking for God, but are having difficulty finding him. This one hurts, but in an age where perception is reality, you can’t ignore this criticism.

The scarcity of personal experience with God is disturbing. It would be easy to point at rock show churches and blame them, but the truth is that people in all kinds of experiences from liturgical to charismatic have left the church in search of God simply because they could not sense His presence in the building.

Some would disagree with me here, but I’m not sure leaving the church for an individualized, personal, or even home-based experience of church helps people any better. Although our consumer culture certainly applauds individually tailored experiences, what if the real scarcity is that we have lost a sense of what true maturity in a true experience with God is and the unchurched are sensing that?

How do we get this right today and develop a True identity with God? 

I believe that seeking a new definition of spiritual maturity is a great place to start. It begins with these five things:

-Biblical knowledge is ultimately designed for application. 

The kind of maturity that I think honors God most deeply is knowledge applied in love. 

a. Our lives should be different. 

b. Our marriages should be different. 

c. Our parenting should be different. 

d. Our love for our neighbors and community should be different. 

e. Our confession and repentance should be deep and authentic. 

e. Our transparency should be authentic and we should be radically committed to living out our faith.

-Humility. 

A true Christian maturity has always been and will always be marked by humility.

-A servant’s heart. 

True maturity comes in many things when your quest becomes about others, not yourself.  Mature Christians live for Christ and live for others.

-A love for unchurched people. 

The Apostle Paul was a mature Christian,  and his obsession was for unchurched people. Eventually it got him killed. Real maturity is not a life lived in pursuit of self, but a life lived pursuing others and the lost

-A deep investment. 

I do think one of the marks of mature faith is a deep investment in the Kingdom of God. Sometimes I wonder if you checked the giving records of people who complain most about being fed, and you will see scant evidence of a sacrificial investment in the Kingdom of God. Conversely, you will see many people deeply committed to quietly serving others who have a deep investment in the Kingdom. Think about that for a while. 

I believe A clearer understanding of Christian maturity and experience could go a long way in better helping people connect with God.

Getting Things Right (Part 2)

Getting Things Right (Part 2)

There are reasons the Barna Study Group say keep people out of church, and personally I think that might be because real people do the same things in real life. I mean, just have a few conversations with unchurched people and you'll see what I mean. For many church doesn't matter anymore because they've seen or heard the negative more than the positive.

These conversations with a non-attender usually go something like this: 

(1) The church is irrelevant and behind the times so why would anyone go?

(2) The church is full of hypocrisy. Just look at the moral failure of so many of its leaders.

I really can’t blame people for this perception. I shiver every time I see another headline announcing a new moral failure of a pastor, leader, or evangelist. Also, we have burned our bridges by our judgmental attitudes and lived as self-righteous bigots to some extent?

So what’s the solution to these dilemmas?

-Just because many churches are like the afore mentioned that doesn’t mean the one you pastor has to be. 

a. It’s possible to create a counterculture of integrity and grace.  

It’s actually a bit strange to call things like integrity and grace countercultural, even within the context of church culture, but they are. In 2019 we need to walk the talk and be better at representing Jesus. Yes sin is still sin, and will always be. Be instead of judgement we are to show mercy and grace. We are to do everything within our power to restore those that have fallen and compel the halt, lame, and withered to come in

Jesus said that it would be by our fruit that people would recognize us.  Live a life of integrity with each other and outsiders, and your church will become a magnet, not a repellant.

Turning Things Around in 2019 (Part 4)

Turning Things Around in 2019 (Part 4)

-Choose yourself.

You won’t always be a priority to others, and that’s why you have to be a top priority to yourself.  

a. Learn to respect yourself, take care of yourself, and become your own support system.  

b. Love yourself first and foremost every day, instead of simply loving the idea of other people loving you.  

c. Your needs matter.  Start meeting them.  

d. Don’t wait on others to choose you, so choose yourself!  

Remember that once your needs are met, you will be better equipped and capable of meeting the needs of the people who matter the most to you and also those that God puts in your path. 

-Invest in your health.

No matter how much you think you dislike exercise and healthy eating, both will make you feel better in the long run.  If you don’t have your physical energy tuned up, then your focus, your feelings, and your purpose will all be negatively affected.  Recent studies conducted on people who were battling depression showed that consistent exercise combined with a healthy diet raises happiness levels just as much as Zoloft?  Even better, six months later the people who participated in this exercise were less likely to relapse because they had a higher sense of self-accomplishment and self-worth. Take care of yourself so you have the ability to take care of others.

-Live in the present.

a. Don’t avoid eye contact.  

b. Don’t hide behind gadgets.  

c. Smile often.  

d. Ask about people’s stories.  

e. Listen.  

You can’t connect with anyone, including yourself, unless you are undistracted and present. You are ripping yourself off from actually experiencing real relationships and real life if you stay stuck in the past.  

-Make time for the right people. 

At some point you’ll just want to be around the few people who make you smile for all the right reasons.  So be intentional about spending more quality time with those who help you love yourself more.  Remember that nothing you can give them will ever be more appreciated than your sincere, focused attention.  Truly being with them, and listening without a clock and without anticipation of the next event, is the highest form of compliment.

Turning Things Around in 2019 (Part 5)

Turning Things Around in 2019 (Part 5)

-Say “goodbye” so you can say “hello.” 

Learn to trust God in your journey, even when you do not understand it.  If people and circumstances close their doors on you, it’s a signal that your spiritual and personal growth requires something different or something more.  Life is simply making room for God to lead you where you should go.  So embrace your goodbyes, because every “goodbye” you receive in life sets you up for an important “hello.”

-Start over again, and again. 

No one wins a game of chess by just moving forward; sometimes you have to move backward to put yourself in a position to win.  Think about how this relates to your life.  Sometimes when it feels like you’re running into one dead end after another, it’s actually a sign from God that you’re not on the right path.  Maybe you were meant to hang a left back when you took a right, and that’s perfectly fine.  

Life continually teaches us that U-turns are allowed.  So turn around when you must!  There’s a big difference between giving up and starting over in the right direction.  Remember, here are three little words that can release you from your past mistakes and regrets, and get you back on track in the year ahead.  These words are: “From now on…”

-Walk away from the drama you feel inclined to engage in. 

Say less when less means more.  Sometimes, you are as wise as the silence you leave behind, because sometimes the right words aren’t words.  Deep down you know this is true so live accordingly.  Do your best not to judge other people, for you do not know their pain or sorrows.  If you cannot speak a kind word, say nothing at all.  And if they cannot speak a kind word, say nothing at all.  Enjoy the inner glow you get from letting go and not engaging in drama.  When you no longer waste your energy worrying about things that don’t involve you, everything gradually changes.  You stop doing the wrong things, and the right things suddenly have a chance to catch up with you.

Turning Things Around In 2019 (Part 3)

Turning Things Around In 2019 (Part 3)

-Distance yourself from hurtful relationships. 

One of the absolute hardest parts of loving somebody is that you have to give things up because of them, and sometimes you even have to give them up.  It’s difficult to distance yourself from someone you care about without getting hurt in the process.  Even if this relationship has hurt you a hundred times, you start thinking of all these “what ifs" and “maybes” about the future.  However, there’s nothing concrete and reliable about these fantasies.  The reality of this person’s consistent actions has disproven them.  When someone shows you their true colors time and time again, and consistently hurts you, it’s best to love them and distance yourself from that relationship that leads you down a pathway of pain..  

-Forgive the people who don’t necessarily deserve it. 

Distance yourself and forgive them.  Forgetting about the people who hurt you is your gift to them, but forgiving the people who hurt you is your gift to yourself.  Let this sink in.  You need to forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness at the moment, but because you deserve peace of mind going forward.  Relationships can temporarily split, only to heal and grow back together over time.  Forgiveness alone makes this possible, if it’s meant to be, even if they don't really deserve it.

-Find joy in less. 

People who spend all their time trying to make money, spend all their money trying to make time.  Don’t do this to yourself.  Remind yourself that the richest human isn’t the one who has the most, but the one who needs less.  Wealth is a mindset.  Want less and appreciate more today.  Challenge yourself to be less impressed by the things you own, and be more impressed by the life you live.  You are incredibly fortunate to be experiencing this moment right here, right now, and the more you appreciate it, the better it will be.  

-Say “no” when you need to. 

Saying “yes” to everything and everybody puts you on the fast track to a regretful existence.  Feeling like you’re constantly busy and overwhelmed is typically the result of saying “yes” to too often.  We all have obligations, but a healthy, effective pace can only be found by properly managing your yeses.  So stop saying “yes” when you want to say “no.”  You can’t always be agreeable; that’s how people and situations take advantage of you.  Sometimes you have to set clear boundaries.

Turning Things Around In 2019 (Part 2)

Turning Things Around In 2019 (Part 2)

-Remember you are flawed and so is everyone else. 

You can disappoint people and still be good enough.  You can fail and still be smart, talented and capable of success.  You can let people down and still be worthwhile and deserving of love and admiration.  We all make mistakes sometimes.  Take a deep breath.  It’s OK to be human. God's grace is still sufficient to help us overcome our shortcomings.

-Study your mistakes closely and learn from them.  

Disappointments and failure are two of the greatest stepping-stones to the place you want to go.  Again, don’t let a hard lesson harden your heart.  When things go wrong, learn what you can and then push the heartbreak aside by refocusing your faith on the present step.  Remember that life’s best lessons are often learned at the worst times and from the worst mistakes.  We must fail in order to know, and hurt in order to grow.  Good things often fall apart so better things can fall together in their place, and what’s better already is the more informed step you’re able to take right now.

-Choose a positive and effective response. 

Happiness doesn’t start with a relationship, a vacation, a job or even money.  It starts with you.  If you want life to be happier, you need to be mindful of your present response.  It’s how you deal with stress in each little moment that determines how well you achieve happiness in the end. Nobody can decide that for you. You have to make the right choices!

-Directly confront the thoughts that worry you. 

A tiny part of your life is decided by completely uncontrollable circumstances, while the vast majority of your life is decided by how you respond to them.  Recognize this hard truth: sometimes changing your situation isn’t possible or simply not possible soon enough, but you can always choose a mindset that moves you forward.  Doing so will help you change things from the inside out, and ultimately allow you to grow beyond the struggles you can’t control at any given moment.  Here’s a powerful question that will support you with an attitude adjustment when you need it most: Who would you be, and what else would you see, if you removed the thought that’s worrying you?

Turning Things Around In 2019 (Part 1)

Turning Things Around In 2019 (Part 1)

Are you tired of dealing with the same types of headaches and heartache over and over again? Then it’s time to break the cycle, purge some bad habits, and embrace discomfort as you prepare for the year ahead.  It’s time to learn from your mistakes rather than be conquered by them, and let your errors be of commission rather than omission.

Remember, you ultimately become what you repeatedly do.  If your habits aren’t helping you, they’re hurting you.  Which means it’s time for a change. So, in 2019:

-Challenge your understandings and certainties. 

Warren Buffett once said, “What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact.”  This is a tragedy, this kind of thinking.  Don’t do it to yourself.  Don’t just look for data that confirms what you already know.  Be willing to be wrong in 2019.  Be willing to learn in 2019.  Be mindful, humble and teachable every step of the way.  There’s always room for a new idea, a new perspective, and a new beginning.  Life changes every second, and so can you.  Find ways to provide a challenge to your current understandings of life, and you will discover and experience far more of life’s bounty in the year ahead.

-Track how you invest your energy and make productive shifts. 

To attract better outcomes in life, you have to become better on the inside.  Again, you can’t do the same things and expect change to take place.  You can’t blame someone else.  Take full responsibility for your next step.  Start transforming your mindset.  Start upgrading your habits.  Your life is 90% your choice!  Don’t exchange what you want most for what’s easiest at the moment.  Study your agendas and routines closely.  Figure out where your time goes, and remove needless distractions.  It’s time to focus on what really matters.

-Work diligently and consistently on meaningful goals. 

When you focus your heart and mind upon a purpose, and commit yourself to fulfill that purpose through small daily steps, blessing floods into your life.  Sadly, many of us miss the mark. One of the most common regrets in life is that people regret not being true to their goals.  Most people admit to not honoring even half of the goals that were meaningful to them, and so they end up dying with regrets.  Let this year be your wake-up call!  Spiritual and physical health bring a level of freedom and opportunity very few of us realize until we no longer have it.  As they say, there are seven days in the week and “someday” isn’t one of them.

-Do the hard things. 

Lose the expectation that everything in life should be easier.  There are rarely shortcuts to any place worth going.  Enjoy the challenge of your achievements.  See the value in your efforts and be patient with yourself and realize that patience is not just about waiting, it’s the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard on your important goals.  It’s knowing deep down that doing the hard things is worth it because those are the things that ultimately define you.  Those are the things that make the difference between existing and living, between knowing the path and walking the path, between a life of mediocrity and a life filled with progress and fulfillment.

Why the Christmas Story Still Matters (Part 2)

Why the Christmas Story Still Matters (Part 2)

- Is a story of humility.

When kings, presidents, and other rulers appear in public, great pomp ensues. From a biblical perspective, God came first not as a ruling king but as a servant, a baby born in humble circumstances. His becoming human helps humans identify with Him.

Paul wrote of the humility Jesus displayed by becoming human:

“Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven.”

-It was foretold.

Jesus’ followers noted numerous clues to his identity, prophecies written many years before His birth.

(1) The Hebrew writer Micah told around 700 BC of deliverance through a coming Messiah or “Anointed One” from Bethlehem. We know that “. . . Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea. . . .”

(2) Isaiah, writing around 700 BC, foretold that the Messiah would be born of a virgin. He wrote, “The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. The name “Immanuel” means “God is with us.” Biblical accounts claim Jesus’ mother was a virgin when she bore Him.

(3) Additional prophecies concern the Messiah’s lineage, betrayal, suffering, execution, and resurrection. Peter Stoner, a California mathematician, calculated the probability of just eight of the 300 prophecies Jesus fulfilled coming true in one person due to chance alone. Using estimates that both he and classes of college students considered reasonable and conservative, Stoner concluded there was one chance in 1017 that those eight were fulfilled by fluke. He says 1017 silver dollars would cover the state of Texas two feet deep. Mark one coin with red fingernail polish. Stir the whole batch thoroughly. What chance would a blindfolded person have of picking the marked coin on the first try? One in 1017, the same chance that just eight of the 300 prophecies “just happened” to come true in this man, Jesus.

-It has substantial support.

Can we trust the biblical accounts of the Christmas story? Three important points we must consider:

• The Gospels bear evidence containing, eyewitness accounts of Jesus. In a courtroom, eyewitness testimony is among the most reliable evidence.

• Dr. William F. Albright, one of the world’s leading archaeologists, dated every book of the New Testament before about AD 80. There is no known record of NT factual authenticity ever being successfully challenged by a contemporary.

• Over 24,000 early manuscript copies of portions of the NT exist today. Concerning manuscript attestation, Sir Frederic Kenyon, director and principle librarian of the British Museum, concluded, “Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established.”

The Christmas story is notable for its enduring messages of hope, peace, goodwill, family and humility. It was foretold by prophets and has substantial manuscript support. But there is another reason for considering the story of Jesus’ birth, and perhaps the most important reason of them all.

-It is a story of love.

Jesus’ followers taught that His conception and birth were part of a divine plan to bring us genuine peace, inner freedom, and self-respect. They believed the biblical God wants us to enjoy friendship with Him, and meaning and purpose. Alas, our own self-centeredness separates us from Him. Left to our own, we would spend both time and eternity in this spiritually unplugged state.

Jesus came to help plug us into God. Mary’s baby was born to die, paying the penalty for our self-centeredness, which the biblical documents call “sin.” When the adult Jesus died on the cross, He carried the penalty due all our sins then rose from the dead to give new life.

Jesus explained in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” God can become your friend if you believe in Him, that is, if you trust Him to forgive you. He will never let you down.

Christmas is meant to celebrate peace and joy. Amidst the busyness of shopping, parties, presents, and fun, remember that the Prince of Peace came to spread peace and joy to all who believe in Him. Remember the reason for this season! Merry Christmas!