April 30, 2017

We live in a results oriented world. One of the major industries in the world is the entertainment area and a big chunk of that is sports. There is an expectation of both participants and spectators that the team will win. Winning puts spectators in the seats and revenue in the pockets. Winning is so important that many of the major sports demand one team wins to end the game. Ties are no longer allowed. Look at how many people around the world keep score of the medal count during the Olympic Games.

While there may be some people who seek to offset the pressure of competition and winning for children by an everyone plays and the score does not matter mentality, there will come a day when it will matter.

What is important is our attitude and actions in the game of life. Are we committed to a standard of excellence? Are we seeking to be and do our best, regardless of what others do? Do we have goals and dreams which guide our journey in life? Are we building positive relationships which benefit everyone on their journey as well? Are we maintaining a level of balance which will allow us to progress across all areas of life without damaging other areas?

Remember, if you destroy your health in the process of building wealth and prestige, you will then spend the wealth and lose the prestige attempting to regain your health. This is true also if you neglect your spiritual health in an attempt to rocket forward any other area of life. You will find your result may not hold the intrinsic value you speculated it would and your eternal losses might be greater than you imagined.

Results are important, but you must know what you are looking for and determine what you are willing to exchange for getting them. Be mindful of the fact, beyond anything else, you are exchanging the limited quantity of time, for your intended results. Matthew records the words of Jesus in chapter sixteen, verse twenty-six, where He says, “For what is a man benefited, if he gains the whole world, and loses his life? or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?”

What you say YES to in your life will impact what your results look like. Consider this carefully.

April 29, 2017

Napoleon Hill wrote, “If it’s true that you become what you think about most, it follows that the quantity and quality of success you achieve in your life will be in direct proportion to the size of your thoughts. If you allow your mind to be dominated by trivial matters, your achievements are likely to be unimportant. Discipline yourself to think about important things.”

In understanding everything in the universe is connected together we come to the realization we really do need each other. The proper relationship foundation which will bring lasting and satisfying results and benefits to individuals and on a broader scale to the world is based upon grace, forgiveness and love. What you think, believe, say and the intention of your heart matters because it impacts your actions which determine the outcomes in your life.

If you allow your thoughts, beliefs, words and intentions to be formed from the sewers and cesspools of existence then your outcomes will show a corresponding resemblance. What you focus your attention on impacts you life. Garbage in garbage out. Good in, good out. The Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:1-2 tells us to set both our hearts and our minds on things above. Look to that which will elevate your vibration and lift, encourage and benefit others. Knocking others down so you look better does not elevate you, it simply diminishes everyone.

Focus your thoughts on what will take you to where you want to be. Philippians 4:8 says, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

April 28, 2017

When you are looking for a relationship have you considered what you want? It would be a good idea to not only list the things you are looking for in the other person, but also to consider what you are willing to contribute as well. Remember you do reap what you sow. If it is all about your “me” needs and expectations you are already heading down a path that will be ego centred and towards a result that will not likely end well.

It might be good to also consider what values and standards you will hold both yourself and the other person to. Differences here will likely sabotage a long lasting relationship. You will need more than a heavy dose of planetary emotional particles at play if you expect things to last and remain beneficial for everyone involved. The more I learn about the quantum connectedness of everything in the universe, the more I see the benefit of including the Author of all things in your relationships. When you choose to say YES to the relationship with Jesus, you open the door to a transformational freedom which changes your DNA vibrational frequency and ultimately your outcomes (See 2 Corthinians 5:17).

In Revelation 22:13, Jesus declares, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” When you look at this verse you discover the same fact written three times. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter. The Author of all is involved from beginning to end with all of creation, including humanity.

When we are prepared to acknowledge that relationship and take action to be personally involved in it we get the opportunity to achieve the benefits of it.

What are you looking for and willing to commit to when you say YES to the relationship? Are you ego centred or are you love centred? Remember, you get what you give.

April 27, 2017

A pastoral friend wrote the following on Face Book recently. “I was at the gym, I change and am driving home. I look down at my wrist to read my watch and it is not there, so naturally think I have left it in the change room. I will turn around and head back, I wonder how much time I have, and I absentmindedly look down at my wrist to read my watch that is not there and guess what. It is now there. Does that happen to anyone else?” Yah, me!

Well I was just looking for a book on a shelf in my library. While doing so I happened upon a book my wife had just been talking about an hour or so previously which she had no idea where to find. I thought, “Wow, there it is” and took it to her. Then I went back to look for the book I wanted. I searched the shelf and surrounding area where I thought it should be. It wasn’t there. So I expanded my search through the three, floor to ceiling walls of shelves. After ten minutes of fruitless searching my wife joined in. It was not to be found. This is not a small paperback, but a substantial hard cover book I am looking for. My wife moved on and I was about to also. I simply said as I walked along, “Lord, you know where the book is, please show me.” It was a simple relational conversational request. There was no powerful passionate plea. It was what it was. Nothing more, nothing less. There on the shelf, which had been investigated by both my wife and I several times sat the book. What had previously not been in our ability to see, all of a sudden was. Hmmm.

What stood out in that moment first was not the fact, what had been lost had been found. But the realization of the process of what had just taken place. I had watched a video earlier in the day in which the “expert” had commented on his view God was not a personal being. He believed God was just a universal force. His statement did not line up with my beliefs. In fact it did not line up with my experience either. I just came through a moment of time in which I had a natural, personal conversation with the Sovereign Creator of all things, just like I might with my wife. I received back a communication which was just as natural and personal.

I have been writing to you about the value and benefits of saying YES to the relationship with Jesus. For me this was a powerful example of the possibility of having such a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I am thankful and grateful for that opportunity and experience. May you discover for yourself the value of that relationship. Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

April 26,2017

In yesterday’s blog article I asked two questions.
1. What do you perceive the message of most churches to be?
2. What is the end goal, or result of their message?

I asked these two questions of the people who were in a small group training session yesterday. The following is the agreed upon responses. I would add for clarification, these questions were discussed primarily in the context of Protestant Churches with an Evangelical leaning.

Question One:
A. Salvation
B. God loves you
C. Spiritual growth
Question Two:
Eternal Life which meant, Get to heaven

The general perception of the message of most churches is, what the Church offers is all about life on a spiritual level. This perception sees the Church as linear focussed on a level which most people do not connect with, or are they interested in. There is no message to market match and therefore, limited influence and impact.

So, when reflecting on the general perception regarding the message, there is a disconnect to life as it is currently being lived on this planet. My response in this assessment is to ask, “Has the Church strayed from what the Scriptures present as the full message of God to His creation?”

Jesus spoke more about and acted upon issues which relate to life on this planet in the present moment, than He did about the after life. This is not to negate the later, but to understand that what goes on now, in this life, is significantly important and completely integrated with what will yet be.

What if the end goal God had in mind was not about heaven, but rather about freedom? What if this freedom was all inclusive? Yes, it included the aspect of freedom from sin, but what if the sacrifice of Jesus was the process by which we could be free from so much more. John 8:36 records the words of Jesus, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Jesus identified His mission in life. You can read about it in Luke 4:16-21. It was all about the freedom He came to release in this physical world, as well as the spiritual realm. To view all of life and reality as connected to God, lines up with the training which is revealed about God in the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the “aleph.” You might want to do an internet search to learn more on this connectedness concept.

The freedom which is initiated when we say yes to the relationship with Jesus involves much more than just the spiritual realm. You might want to watch for more information to come on this in the future.