Month: January 2019

Yesterday I showed you an image of a small plant being held in a hand. That picture represented an important beginning. Today’s picture represents the victory and potential that is possible as a result of connecting with and staying true to a choice and decision over time. The little sprout can become a strong and healthy tree when provided the things necessary to make it happen.

The event I wrote about yesterday when I was a teenager who chose to invite Jesus into his heart carried with it a powerful desire and intention in that moment. It was backed up by thought and spoken word and emotionally connected to my heart. What that intention included was, as I reflect back, a deep desire for ongoing relationship with the God I had just said YES to. In fact the words I used at the time were, “Keep me true to You!”

Through the years, there have been events and challenges in my life, but God has always been faithful, and I have been blessed to never face a time when I doubted or gave up on that relationship. I have come to realize, intention is a choice. It is a guiding principle in your life. Your thoughts, beliefs, and words are guided by your intentions. The actions you take are motivated by your intentions. Your intention ought to dictate your choices if you are living in alignment with the best version of yourself possible. Even your imagination and creativity spring forth from your intentions. Your level of commitment to true intentions determine whether you will stay on track, or drift from your purpose and destiny in life.

You have the power of choice, you have in your hands the power for victory, if you chose to do so, even when you think you don’t. Remember, doubt and disbelief are a choice. I encourage you to SHIFT your mindset for transformational freedom. ELEVATE your energetic awareness to fully deploy your inherent potential. Enhance the quality of your life, living your purpose and fulfilling your destiny.

Make foundational choices in terms of your intentions which will guide you to those destinations in your life. Your intentions sort, sift and separate your thoughts, words and actions. Your intentions will determine whether you accept or reject, embrace or dismiss, everything that happens in your life. In fact your intentions will determine what you incorporate into your beliefs.

Many years ago I was introduced to a concept, “Your Wish Is Your Command.” The statement included the concept that a person could have, do, and be everything they wanted. Later I learned, the proper order begins with “be.” Who you are determines who you will become. This later positioning is in alignment with God’s Word. God never forces Himself on anyone. It is Your Hand, Your Victory, Your Choice. Your intentions matter!

Yesterday as I was meditating and praying, a series of thought processes came into my mind regarding some specific events in my past. This brought into focus and clarity something I had not realized before. There was a defining event and moment in my life, when as a teenager, I made a specific decision and choice that shaped my life in a profound way. I have revisited that moment many times through my life and reaffirmed that choice, but I have never understood its actual significance, as I do now.

Some people might say I have been in the business, as a preacher for over 44 years, of seeking to influence people to say YES to the relationship with God. There are those who promote the Christian religion in a way that calls people to “be saved, or go to hell.” This is not my style, or belief as to what God’s Word says about our approach to the One who is the Source of everything. Do I believe heaven and hell exist? Yes. Do I believe our choices determine our eternal destination? Absolutely! Do I spend much time addressing eternal destinations? NO! If people are not interested in being in a relationship with God in this life, they are not going to want to do so for eternity. The God I serve has a purpose for judgment, but it is not His will that we make it our choice of destination. Do I believe access to the eternal presence of God is through His Son, Jesus, the Messiah and what took place on the Cross of Calvary? YES! Absolutely!

I have been saying for years, “What we think, what we believe, what we say, and what we intend matters, because it impacts our actions, which determine our outcomes.” We create our reality. I came to realize yesterday there needs to be a shift in the order of the above statement.

I always believed the defining moment of my life was when I invited Jesus to come into my heart. This was a significant event. But in reflection, this event created something of greater long term significance. It was a launch of a new relationship with God. It was not just about an event in a single moment of time. It was a “life” launch. God has been specifically leading since that moment, a step at a time, to bring about this revelation in my life.

The choices I have made through the years have been micro steps in a journey as a progressionist, to where God wants me to be. There were reasons why changes have taken place over the years in how I have communicated the message of God’s Word. It was no accident I use the languaging of “Saying Yes to the Relationship With God through His Son, Jesus the Messiah today.” There is a basis for moving away from reading and using the words, “The LORD” found in the Old Testament which refer to God by name, to replacing it with His name.

In my blog article for tomorrow I will reveal the underlying important principle to what I hinted at today. Watch for it!

1 Peter 5:8-9 declares, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. {9} Resist him, standing firm in the faith . . .”

The enemy of our souls seeks to deceive and destroy those who are vulnerable to his attack. The call to resist and stand firm in the faith is repeated many times. There are those who will snuggle up to the lion never realizing the danger they have put themselves in. Ephesians 5:6-7 warns us, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. {7} Therefore do not be partners with them.” Ephesians 6:10-11 advises us, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. {11} Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Be mindful, be aware of what is taking place around you.

The weapon used repeatedly and successfully by Jesus was the proper use of Scripture in defeating the devil when he brought forth temptation. Psalm 119:104-105 reminds us, “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. {105}Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

The Scriptures provide some practical advice for those who are willing to follow in terms of dealing with the concept of resisting temptation and living a holy life. The instructions are universal and based on love, not rules and regulations. Ephesians 6:1-4 declares, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. {2} ‘Honour your father and mother’ — which is the first commandment with a promise– {3} ‘that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’{4} Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.’” I have highlighted a couple of areas to remind you this advice has some conditions to be followed and does not come with a carte blanche licence.

Have a firm foundation in God’s word, and godly role models are powerful advantages for children and young people to carry into their adult years. Isaiah 55:11 provides God’s promise, “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Cuddling up with what is in opposition to God’s Word and will, carries a heavy price tag through time and eternity. Heeding God’s loving direction and avoiding the unnecessary dangers are part of what Jesus was teaching, as He laid out key steps for prayer in “The Lord’s Prayer.” We must chose whether we will follow and implement His principles in our life and live in relationship with Him.

There was likely a day when the vehicle in this picture was someone’s treasured and prized possession. Now it sits idle, rusted and abandoned and rejected in a field. I wonder, did the original owner have a reason for choosing the specific make, model and colour? What type of memories were associated with this vehicle? Where did its wheels take it? What did its occupants see and experience? What lead to its demise and abandonment? Was it simply replaced by something newer and more appealing?

Has very much really changed over the decades? Maybe how we deal with the disposal of an item like this, but I suspect a lot remains the same as to why we accumulate them in the first place. The cost of purchasing has certainly elevated dramatically. My Mom still lives in the house my parents purchased when they got married about 70 years ago. That house was a new build in its day, less than a short block from the edge of the city limits. Today you drive for many miles from that location to reach the city limits. The house cost, when it was bought, was less than seven thousand dollars. Think about the cost of a new vehicle today in comparison.

Jesus provides a valuable universal guiding principle for us in Matthew 6:19-21 where it is recorded, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. {20} But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. {21} For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

It would be wise to reflect upon the motivation for our prayer petitions in light of the steps Jesus provides within the structure of “The Lord’s Prayer.” How does it fit into the process of acknowledging our relationship to God as Father, our connection to His all penetrating presence, His holy character and our call to be like Him, the demonstration of His will being done on earth as it is in heaven, the fulfilment of our daily needs, the expression of forgiveness after His model of forgiveness, the following of His guidance in our daily life, our preparation for the ongoing spiritual battle in this world, and our commitment to His honour, glory, and kingdom? (Yes, that was a long sentence! But it is also a short rendition of what your lifetime consists of, not to speak of all eternity!).

I challenge you to continue to not be distracted by the material things of this world, which when out of balance, can choke out your true life, like the weeds do to the “good seed” referenced in Jesus’ parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23).

I watched a program recently in which the words, “own your truth” appeared on the screen. As I thought about the implications of what that phrase could potentially mean, I realized everyone has a unique and personal “take” on truth. It is what might be described as “your truth.” it consists of what you think, believe, declare and intend, because it impacts your actions which determine your reality and outcomes.

The word “own” means that which belongs to one’s self, that which we acknowledge, confess, or lay claim to. What you think, is the bank account you are building from which your beliefs will draw on. What you believe is your ownership certificate. What you say reflects the beliefs you live your live upon. What you intend reveals the motivation of your heart/spirit of your actions.

The reality is, whether you will acknowledge it or not, you own your truth. It operates on auto-pilot through the unconscious competence of your subconscious mind. You can live by default, or by design, in regards to owning your truth. But you are living your life based on a system accepted by you as truth.

The question to be answered, is your truth in alignment with God’s Word? Does it equate with The Truth? Is the truth you subscribe to universal in its application regardless of race, age, or any other indicators you might add?

The practical aspects of holiness and holy living have nothing to do with the keeping of a set list of do’s and don’t’s. It has everything to do with building a healthy relationship with God and living in a way which our thoughts, words, attitudes, intentions and actions demonstrate faith rather than fear and doubt.

We read in Luke 17:5-6, “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ {6} He (Jesus) replied, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.’”

The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Learning and declaring God’s Word is a faith builder and the power behind moving to the place where the truth you own is The Truth.