November 30, 2018

I came to the realization yesterday that there is basically only one month left in this year. Between naps, as I seek to give my body a chance to recover from the trauma of the events earlier in the week, I have been reading more of Zig and Tom Ziglar’s book, titled Born To Win. In this book they write about the idea that commitment and perseverance are powered by desire. They write, “you will need commitment to produce the focus and consistency to keep your eye on the target. Then you need perseverance to make it over the rough spots and setbacks you will certainly experience along your journey to success.”

Your desire, what you really want, your “why” for what you will follow through and accomplish, powers your commitment and perseverance. Zig Ziglar writes, “before you can win you must plan to win and prepare to win. Then – and only then – can you expect to win.” Your desire must move you to not only take action, but prepare and stick with the process, not quitting or giving up.

There was one specific thought that caught my attention. Zig wrote, “When you really want something, when you desire it and you are excited about it, you look forward to planning and preparing because you get to do it. The key words here are ‘get to do’! If you have the kind of desire I’ve shared with you . . ., planning becomes something you get to do, rather than something you have to do.” Do you have something you “get to do” in your life?

For the last decade or so, I have selected a specific theme to focus on, in terms of the congregation I pastor, and then distill that down to a just a few words or a phrase. When I thought about the fact there is only a month left in the year, it was time to begin to plan and prepare for what that theme might be. You will likely hear more about what I have begun considering for 2019 in the near future. I am thankful and grateful for the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment to a specific direction once I turned on my intention to start the process.

I would encourage you to seek to discover what it is you really desire to see manifest in your life and begin to plan and prepare for it to become a reality. Allow your faith to come alongside and enhance your commitment to see it happen. Then live in and with a sense of expectation.

November 29, 2018

It has been more than twenty five years since I first heard the diagnosis of MS from the doctors. God graciously healed me of that prognosis, for which I am sincerely grateful. During those days there was a shift in my mindset as to our approach as a family to health and how we deal with it in terms of Western Medical procedures.

The experiences in my life have impacted my thinking, beliefs, words and intentions and therefore my actions around this topic. How I both approach and perceive the truth of God’s Word and its power to bring transformation has been enhanced and strengthened through my journey. I am grateful and thankful for those who have been my mentors along the way.

During the forty minutes I was lying motionless under the CT machine I started silently declaring all the Scriptures I could remember, with as little repetition as possible, and the time quickly went by. My goal was to declare what God had to say about who I was, my relationship with Him and my connection to others, rather than focus on why I was lying under the machine in the first place.

I learned many years ago about the impact to our energetic awareness that drugs have when you take them. Several times through the last few months individuals who have been recording my medical history have responded, “And you do not take ANY drugs?”

Well, I am currently taking four days of very strong antibiotics because of the increased chance of infection due to using a catheter long term. I want you to know that I am also working to reduce the negative impact this can have on my energetic awareness. Your energetic awareness is a key part of your ability to discern things in the spiritual realm. This concept is often missing from the teachings found in churches. When it is missing, the consequences are reduced spiritual power and ability to be all God wants you to be. It also impacts your ability to enhance the quality of your life, live your purpose and fulfil your destiny. I want people to know what it is like for people be the best version of themselves possible, because they have chosen to fully embrace the inherent potential God has given them when they say YES to the relation with Him through His Son, Jesus the Messiah.

November 28, 2018

Yesterday while I was sitting in a room with a select group of men all dressed in hospital gowns waiting their turn to be chosen to advance to the next stage of their enlightenment. There was one fellow who by his very nature struck up the conversation to speak about a passion of his. Carl (not his real name), began by asking everyone present, if they owned and used a library card. I was the only other person who did own a card, but I must say, for the most part the library I use is the one which contains a full room of books in our home and spills out to other locations in the house.

Carl went on to tell us his story of how reading books has changed his life. Coming from a difficult life situation, and not a lot of education, he is a life long leader and reader who became an entrepreneur and done financially well for his family. He began his reading journey with a library card and continues to actively use it to this day. In fact he was in that men’s gathering with his library book in hand. He spoke about his willingness to be open to new ideas and found the biographies of successful people inspiring. He spoke about the impact of books like Maxwell Maltz’s book, Psycho-Cybernetics, which shifted his thinking and attitudes decades ago.

When I mentioned other author’s, like Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and several others, Carl had read their books. Carl was an example of the impact reading can having on a person’s life when they make a decision to do so. When I told him we made the decision to drop our cable TV connections about eight years ago, he laughed and said, “Our family did that closer to two decades ago.”

Carl also spoke candidly about the struggles him and his wife faced in the early years of their marriage. They had saved the down payment for a house and not long after they moved in, they faced some financial difficulties and came very close to losing their house. He said a defining moment in his life ,happened when in the middle of that struggle his wife told him, “Stop worrying, if we lose the house, it is only a thing, we will find a way through regardless.” He said, “I stopping worrying and almost immediately things began to change for the better. We are still living in the same house today. Now, that house is worth well over a million dollars.”

Carl was an inspiration and encouragement to that group of men who were gathered together in that room. Most likely each person would have sat in the quietness of their situation, likely thinking negative thoughts about their future on this planet, as time ticked on slowly. Instead, the hours we were gathered moved along quickly. Even when Carl faced his appointed time with the doctors and technology, the others continued to talk together.

One person can make a difference in the lives of others, if they choose to. Carl was a great example. If he could do, so can you. I left the hospital yesterday with Carl’s full name and phone number and a promise to pass on to some others the information he was looking for help with in his business. I have begun fulfilling my part, by passing his information on to some of the people I thought might be able to help him.

While there was some stress in the process, it was a great day. Some of the results of my tests have already come in and there was good news and there was no new news that was different from what we already knew, which makes it good news as well.

November 27, 2018

I am writing this article in advance of my trip to Toronto to spend two days with hospital staff having a series of CT scans done on Monday and a biopsy done today. We are looking for good news from this round of tests. Having just completed the test run of Face Book live on Sunday, there is much to be done yet in my life. Always plan for more, do not settle for drifting in your life. Those who are living successful and active lives at an age when others have chosen not to, are much better off and live happier and healthier lives.

I look at someone like Ed Foreman who continues to climb on his motorcycle and chock up extensive numbers of miles and travel the world engaging audiences of all sizes, while in his eighties, is a true inspiration.

I spoke on Sunday to a group of seniors in a nursing/retirement home about the importance of not thinking God has simply put them out to pasture while they wait to die. They need to perceive themselves as individuals fully engaged and embracing the call of God to influence everyone they meet to say YES to the relationship with God, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Their methods may not be the same as what they were when they were younger, but their passion does not need to be diminished, nor their willingness to be willing to help others fully embrace the relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. We know a lady, a poet, who is now in her nineties who continues to write poetry and hand out her books of poetry to every who is interested in them. You can find her poetry online at www.noraspoetry.com.

You have the power of choice. I encourage you to continue to live your life to the fullest extent possible in the power of God’s Holy Spirit making a difference in the lives you come in contact with.

November 26, 2018

Do you want to have more faith? There is a simple solution and it does not involve praying for it. Charles Capps in his book titled, The Tongue: A Creative Force outlines how we increase our faith. In fact our lack of faith actually starts from a lack of understanding of God’s Word. Romans 10:17 tells us, “Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ.” Filling our hearts and mind with God’s Word is the path to increased faith. The Apostle John records for us the words of Jesus in John 15:7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.” There is the power of faith at work.

When the Word of God is absent from your life, faith will be as well. What you put into your heart and mind, but especially your heart, will be manifested through your declarations, spoken and written and will result in your reality (Matthew 12:34).

The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Am I willing to establish God’s Word first in my heart and then into this world in which we live? Jesus said, as recorded in Matthew 10:32-33, “Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. {33} But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.”

Faith is the entry point into relationship with God and it is also the power plant that provides the energy to live your life as more than a conqueror through Christ. Want more faith? Then follow God’s plan in order to attain it.