God's Revelation, Our Perseverance

¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— Ephesians 6:18 (New King James Version) (emphasis added).

In his book, When The Enemy Strikes, Charles F. Stanley gives a different spin on what it means to persevere in Prayer. He does mention the typical things we think of with perseverance, but later he talks about how perseverance equates to availability...being available for God to speak to us. We all want God to speak to us, but Stanley gives a good explanation, that sometimes, God will wait for us to have three things before He will reveal to us His desires and His plans:

1. Quiet Heart
2. Calm Spirit
3. An Expectant Attitude

Quiet Heart
These three things may sound familiar, but if we really hold ourselves accountable, I imagine the majority of us don't really have a quiet heart when we pray. We probably are thinking about our to-do lists, the game on tonight, or perhaps how good the organic wheat grass cake is going to taste this weekend. When was the last time you really went to your "Whispering Chamber," prayed and said, "God what do you want to tell me?"

Calm Spirit
In the martial arts circles, the Japanese have a saying that reads, "Miso No Koro." It translates as "A mind like still water." The meaning is that in battle or combat, you can not be frantic and worried. We see this in sports all the time, Joe Montana was the king of 4th quarter comebacks in his time with the San Francisco 49ers. Joe's adrenal glands were pumping at full force, but his mind was always still, his spirit was always calm. We must have a calm spirit in our Prayer with The Holy God and realize He will reveal and that He is in control.

An Expectant Attitude
Human Optimism + Biblical Realism = An Expectant Attitude. God responds and rewards faith (Hebrews 11.6), but faith is different from optimism. For example, there are enough self-help books on the market to line along The Great Wall of China, and each one tells us how to think positively, but if our positive thinking is not lined up with God's Biblical Realism, then we are headed in the wrong direction. So what does an expectant attitude mean? It means being ready for God anywhere at anytime. Do we really believe that God exist, that He cares, and that He is Sovereign? If so, we must approach Him with an expectant attitude.

Quiet The Heart, Calm The Spirit, Expect The Unexpected, and you will Persevere in Prayer. I look forward to what God has to say to us all as we listen to Him like never before!

Science Points To God: Organized Packaging

Computer simulations show that if you want to pack a string into the least space, coil it into a helix. DNA is coiled into an alpha-helix molecule in order to fit into our chromosomes...

The molecule of DNA (2-nanometer diameter overall) in a single human chromosome ranges in size from 50 x 10⁶ nucleotide pairs in the smallest chromosome (stretched full-length this molecule would extend 1.7 cm) up to 250 x 10⁶nucleotide pairs in the largest (which would extend 8.5 cm).

Stretched end-to-end, the DNA in a single human diploid cell would extend over 2 meters. In the intact chromosome, however, this molecule is packed into a much more compact structure. [Link]. The packing reaches its extreme during mitosis when a typical chromosome is condensed into a structure about 5 µm long (a 10,000-fold reduction in length).

Random chance could not coil a string into peanut shell much less a DNA molecule into a human cell...

Science does not conflict with Christianity and a Creator God...Science confirms That a Divine being must have created the organization of the living species...to argue otherwise is intellectually disingenuous...despite scientific opinion, Christians are independent thinkers and approach life with an open mind, something in my humble opinion scientist should do as well...

How Does God Speak To Us?

I have always wondered how God speaks to us...there are many references in Scripture on how this occurs, but I came across this one today:

“[The Son Superior to Angels] In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”- Hebrews 1:1-2

If we want to hear God, we must learn from Christ. Look at the Character and the accomplishments of Jesus...study The Gospels...Study the who, what, when, where, why, and how's of The Son of God, and by doing so, we will hear from God!

Done with Jesus?

17 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" ~Luke 17:17-18 (NIV)

God is not done with you yet!
A lot of times I will hear people say, and with eternal reason and significance, "God is not done with you yet!"

I love this reality because it helps me remember that though my life seems insignificant at times, God has given me a reason to live for and a cause to die for.

However, here is what I am wondering during this Thanksgiving week: "Not is gone done with you, but are you done with God?"

Are you done with God?
There is a passage of Scripture in Luke 17:11-19 where the majority of the people were "done with God" once He gave them what they needed. 9 out 10 people "got" what they needed from Jesus, and then, were "done with Him."

The 9
Who were these 9? They were the 9 lepers isolated in the village outside the borders of Galilee and Samaria. Jesus entered their village (no one else would because of their disease), paid attention to them (when no one else would), listened to their cry, and purified them of their illness. They were to go the priests and show themselves. As they went, they were healed. At that moment, 9 got all they needed from Jesus and walked away. Only 1 wasn't "done with Him yet."

17 Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"

Are you "done with God?" As Thanksgiving week approaches, we have so much to be thankful for (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). However, here's the deal: we can easily find "9" other things to do "before" we thank Jesus..."9" other things before we thank Him for saving our lives..."9" other things to do before praising Him, worshiping at His feet.

The One
Nothing came "before" Jesus for this 1 man who was purified of his disease. As he was walking to show himself to the priests, his decaying fingers began to grow back; his skin began to soften and regain color; his eyesight got clearer; he could even feel the ground he was walking on. At that moment, he stopped dead in his tracks, turned around, ran to Jesus and fell at His feet. He praised Him with such a loud voice you would have thought he had a megaphone. He worshiped Him like He never worshiped before. He thanked Him like it was going out of style. I love what verse 15 says:

"One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, "Praise God!"

He Came Back
He "came back". Everything about our relationship with Jesus Christ is found in those 3 words,

"He came back".
"He came back."
"He came back."

In other words, this one guy was NOT DONE WITH JESUS YET! He was healed, but wanted to be saved! He knew He was in the presence of God and He wanted more. "He came back."

That's what you do when you are not done with God yet. You keep coming back wanting more of Him...more of His presence...more of his healing...purifying you of sin...saving you from your hopelessness. Jesus was these 10 guys only hope. They had been cut off from family, friends, even worshiping at the temple. They had no options. No reason to live...until Jesus "entered" their village.

Jesus has entered
Jesus has entered our village. Your village. He not only came from Heaven to earth. He came from Heaven to your soul! You and I were dead in sin. No cause. No hope. Maybe that led you to cry out to Him like the 10 lepers did. Maybe He has healed you of your impurities. But even now, you may feel isolated, cut off, and worthless. You know you have eternal salvation, but what about daily salvation, practical salvation while on earth? You may only have a faint cry for Jesus to have mercy on you. I pray, when He does, and He will as you cry to Him in faith, even weak faith, that you will not walk away and be done with Him. I pray you will "see" your transformation, your healing, and stop dead in your tracks, "come back" to Him and desire more of Jesus...the very presence of God! That is a daily salvation! THANK GOD FOR OUR SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elemental Faith

I want to follow up on Christian's excellent post, Be a pest, and mention that the reason we can come to Jesus on a constant basis and 'bug' Him, is because we have the faith that He is God. If we did not really believe Jesus could do anything, we would not come to Him in the first place.

The great thing about our faith and ability to come to Jesus, is that it is our foundation of Christian belief, our elemental building block of why we believe what we believe.

The word Element has a good number of definitions, one of them, as a noun, says the following:

an essential element of the game component, constituent, part, section, portion, piece, segment, bit; aspect, factor, feature, facet, ingredient, strand, detail, point; member, unit, module, item.

In Chemistry, an element is defined as: each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances and are primary constituents of matter.

So basically, an element is the foundation of the whole, but a significant piece if not the most significant piece of the whole. And when it comes to faith, we must be ELEMENTAL. Jesus tells us the importance of this. He says we must have faith like a child...to simply believe...

Here is how Jesus puts it from Matthew 18.2-4

For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me.

Constipated Faith
Erwin McManus puts the issue in a funny way. He says that we sometimes think that our faith is bottled up inside us. Its like we have a constipated faith and if we could just grunt and strain hard enough and get it out then we could live by faith through our actions.

Sometimes, we make faith to difficult, almost like there has to be some complicated formula to follow...Maybe I have spent a lot of time in the chemistry and physics lab, because at times I feel like I live in a lab of life where if I run the faith formula correctly then Jesus will answer accordingly...

On another level, I think we can even use faith as a coping mechanism instead of a way to trust. Faith develops from Following Christ, and if our faith starts to become a form of superstition or magic, then we are probably obtaining our faith in something other that Jesus.

The Size Of Our Faith
So what does elemental faith look like? Figuratively speaking, Jesus says in Matthew 17.20, that faith looks like a mustard seed. Jesus wants us to know that we don't have to have some giant sized faith before we can do anything or believe. He simply wants us to trust Him.

Holy Expectation
So why is having an elemental faith, a faith the size of a mustard seed so important? Because it leads to a life of Holy Expectation...we live each day to the fullest, knowing that God is in control and we watch Him work, and we expect Him to work...We take what He has given us and give our all, but at the same time we have a foundational trust, an elemental faith, a mustard seed belief, that God is in control. This allows us to live by faith instead of fear.

To summarize:
A coping mechanism faith is driven by fear. It says that we are in control and that God is our genie...it only leads to stress.

An Elemental Faith says that God is in control and that we are created in advance to do good works which He has already prepared for us to do...it leads to Holy Expectation and True victory! (Ephesians 2.10)

So what about you? Is your faith a way to cope or a way to trust?

Be a pest

"Will you quite bothering me; you are bugging me!"

We don't like pests. You know some. I know some. Pests are people who just will not quite bugging us or bothering us. They nag, nag, nag us about the same thing over and over again.

Holy Pest
I want to suggest that we can be "holy" pests. We need to "bother" Jesus.

A man in the bible "bothered" Jesus. He would not quite. He was a "holy" pest. His 12 year old daughter was dying and would bother Jesus until He got involved.

Involved
Do you need Jesus involved in your life? Is there something in your life that is precious to you, like Jarius' daughter, and it's dying? Maybe it's a dream. You had hopes to become someone and do something, but it seems as if it is coming to an end. Maybe it's a relationship...it seems to be fizzling out but you want it to fire up. Maybe you are concerned about our country, our economy, our generation of teenagers. It all seems to be dying. You and I need to "bother" Jesus.

The problem is this: sometimes we go to Jesus and He seems involved in others lives, but not ours. Jarius quickly found this out in Luke 8:40 and following. A huge crowd surrounded Jesus. Jarius was one of the crowd. However, he was a very important man and so he was able to press through the people quit easily to get a front row to the Lord. He fell at His feet and begged his guts out for Jesus to come to his house and save his dying daughter.

Everyone else but me
Perhaps you have been begging your guts out for Jesus to save your dying situation, to come to you and help you. Perhaps you even really expect and trust Him too. But then, it seems as if our Lord gets sidetracked. You see, after Jarius begged Jesus to come to his house, a woman with a bleeding problem of 12 years came up behind the Lord and clung to the edge of His cloak (more about that in another blog post soon). When she did, Jesus ended up paying attention to her instead of Jarius.

Have you ever been trying to get somewhere in rush hour traffic and you say to yourself, "If only I would have left earlier." Jarius was probably feeling like this. "If only I would have gotten to Jesus earlier, we would not be stuck here with all these people. This is taking for ever. Why in the world is He ignoring me to deal with this lady?" Jarius may not have known this, but as soon as the woman touched Jesus, she was instantly healed. God's Son could have moved on to go save Jarius' daughter, but He asked who touched Him, wanting someone to come forward and testify. This would only prolong Jarius' waiting even more. His daughter was already dying. By this time, she was probably dead. That's when someone came from the home of Jairus and told him, "Your daughter is dead. Don't bother the teacher any more." (Luke 8:49)

Bother Jesus
Have you felt like that? "I'll just stop bothering Jesus. My hope is dead. It's over." Maybe your situation has gotten this far. You've been begging Jesus and begging Jesus and begging Jesus. He helps others, heals others, saves others, provides for others while you just sit there and watch, wondering if He is going to get involved in your life like He is theirs. That's when Jesus says to us like He said to Jarius, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed." (Luke 8:50)

I don't know what your "she" is...a dream, a relationship, a job, a hope, a child, a marriage. I do know this: we must keep "bothering" Jesus to get involved. Don't allow yourself to stop "bothering Jesus". Don't let others or your situation tell you to stop bothering Jesus.

Bother Jesus and then bother Him some more! Nag Him. Be a "holy pest". Believe Jesus until He brings healing, whatever that may look like for you. Don't be afraid. Jesus is worth it all! He'll get involved in your life. He already is!

Informing vs. Forming

God does not want you to read His Word simply to INFORM you of who He is...He wants you to read His Word and be a Christ-Follower in order to FORM you BECAUSE of who He is!

~ Erwin McManus, "Concrete" podcast, "What Is The Church And Why Should I Belong To One?"

Stop It!

In response to Justin's amazing last blog Create Your Future,
and in response to Jesus not condemning the woman caught in adultery (see my blog, point 4), we NEED TO STOP CONDEMNING OURSELVES based off of our PAST sins!

"Therefore, there is NOW NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life SET ME FREE from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1, NIV).

"Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to LIFE---is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34b)

Did you see it? Jesus is at the right hand of God PRAYING FOR US...NOT CONDEMNING US! STOP IT! Stop condemning yourself for past sins! Stop letting others condemn you! Jesus does not condemn you! HE PRAYS FOR YOU!

Create Your Future

“We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” – Robin Sharma

“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln

Overcome Fear of Failure

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?"
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
~Matthew 8:26~

Thanks to www.litemind.com for today's posting. It is a portion from part one of a two part blog about how to overcome our fear of failure...Enjoy!

Failing is the only way to go far enough

“If you hit every time, the target is too near or too big.” –Tom Hirshfield

The only way to know that you’ve gone far enough is to go too far. And going too far is called failing.

That means that if you don’t go far enough — in other words, if you don’t fail — you’ll never know for sure where your limits really are.

Race car drivers know this to the bone. They even have a saying for it: “The one sure way to find out if you’re going fast enough is to crash”.

So if you decide to live a life of “playing it safe” — of avoiding failures altogether — you can be safe in the knowledge that you’ll most likely accomplish your goal — after all, that’s a dead easy target to take aim at. Just bear in mind, however, that you’ll never be able to get the most out of your life acting that way.

• • •

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

~Isaiah 41:10 (NIV) ~

Jesus and John 8 devo!

John 8 devo application points:

(1) Gather with Jesus
We need to gather around Jesus to be taught by Him. Sit with Him daily and read Scripture (John 8:2). Let Him teach you richly!

(2) What are you caught in?
A woman was caught in adultery (v3). What are you "caught in"? Confusion? Hopelessness? Lust? Overeating? Gossip? Criticism? Doubt? Anger? Bitterness? What is it for you that you are "caught up in?"

(3) Ask Jesus
Question to ask (v5): "Now what do You say?" in reference to Jesus. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees asked this question trying to trap Jesus in order to accuse Him of something. However, we need to ask Jesus this question in order to receive truth in our given situation. Ask Jesus what He wants to say to you today for your given circumstances: "Jesus, here's my situation. What do you say about it?" Spend some time in Scripture meditation and prayer. Maybe He will "bend down and write into your life with His finger (v6b). Your circumstances...your life is not too low for Christ Jesus! He will put His finger in your life "again and again" (v8)...even if you feel like dirt!

(4) No stones
(v7)- No one threw a stone at the lady caught in adultery. They were sinful too. Guess what, Jesus was the only one capable to throw a stone because He was without sin. However, as one preacher says: Jesus did not have any stones in His pocket either! Christ is not out to "stone" you...condemn you...destroy you...Christ has come down to save you and help you out of your sin and difficult circumstances..."...neither do I condemn you...(v11). How great that was for a woman who was naked and embarrassed and feeling like absolute dirt. How great is that for you and me! By the way...if Jesus isn't throwing stones at you...quit throwing them at yourself! While you are at it...quit throwing them at others...the President, government, your enemies, your church, your family...stand with them as Jesus stood with the woman!

(5) Only Jesus was left
(v9) - hopefully there will come a day when "only Jesus is left with you standing with Him"...no more hopelessness...no more confusion...no more accusers...no more sin...no more stone throwers...may there be that day

In Jesus Name, Amen!

Lie: It's what's on the inside that counts

Really eye opening to one of Satan's lies: after you read this, you may think differently about "it's what's on the inside that counts" -->click here

Make sure to read the RESPONSES!

Thanks to Milton Stanley at http://www.transformingsermons.blogspot.com/ for the link!

Fearless

Max Lucado's new book, Fearless, has been released!

Imagine Your Life Without Fear

He also preaches the book in his new sermon series!!! Watch it now!

Fearless Intro: Why Are You Afraid? from UpWords Ministries on Vimeo.

God's Encore Through Your Persistence!

Bravo, God, Bravo!
Everyone join in the great shout: Encore!
In awe before the beauty, in awe before the might.
Psalm 96.7 MSG

Persevering Persistence
According to dictionary.com, the word Persistent is defined as, "persisting, esp. in spite of opposition, obstacles, discouragement, etc.; persevering." What is so important about persistence? Well being persistent and persevering through trials leads to blessings. The Bible tells us the following:

“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”- James 1:12

In Scripture, (see the parable of the persistent widow), in sports, and in all of life, we see that persevering and persistence can be the determining factor that brings victory.

For example, Thomas Alva Edison put it into perspective when he said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

God's Encore
As Christ Follower's, I believe Persistent Prayer, Persistent believing, and persevering under trial are testimony's of our faith in God's Power. As long as we are living, breathing, and meditating through the filter of scripture, as long as we are in the sweet spot of God's Will, as long as we are delighting ourselves in The Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. (Psalm 37.4)

Why or how do we believe with such persistent faith? Because we have seen how God has worked in our life in the past. Psalm 77.11-12 says,

"Once again I'll go over what God has done,

lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished,
and give a long, loving look at your acts."

You see, we believe in God's Encore, that He will do it again! We shout Bravo, God, Bravo!

God's power in the past gives us faith for our future.

Listen, you may be in a situation right now where you feel there is no way out. Maybe God has taken you on a detour, or perhaps you have run from God...maybe circumstances of life have left you feeling out of control. There is no better time than right now to believe in God's Mighty Power and shout Bravo God! ...Plead for God's Encore... Be persistent in your Prayer and persevering in your trials, because God is The One who makes things happen! ...He is The One who pulls us out of the worst kind of trouble! (Psalm 77.13-15 MSG)

I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness in the exuberant earth.
Stay with God!
Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with God.
Psalm 27.13-14

God's Quarterback Academy, Part I

Split Right 787 check swing, check V...Right Slot 93...Left Slot 82 and Go...

The above "code" is known as football nomenclature. This code represents information for a play or plays in football that a quarterback tells to his fellow warriors in the huddle as they prepare for glory.

Along with the nomenclature, there are many things a quarterback must learn in order to become a champion. Over the next three post, I will highlight three aspects of what all great QB's understand and see how we can apply them in order to be Champions For Christ!

1. Take What The Defense Gives You
2. The West Coast Offense
3. Road Tested and Battle Ready

Take What The Defense Gives You (Acts 28)
Now I am firm believer in setting the pace and being on the attack. I believe that the best defense is a great offense, but I also know that sometimes we must, as a good football team does, "establish the run in order to utilize the pass."...In essence, sometimes we must take what the defense gives us and use that to our advantage.

In a big defensive battle, a team will pound and pound the defense with a running game, and then when the time is right, they will STRIKE with a HUGE pass play. And even on pass plays, the QB has anywhere between 3 and 5 receivers to throw to. He reads the coverage and takes what the defense gives him.

Where are you in life right now? Do you feel like you are having to establish the run in order to utilize the pass? Perhaps you feel like Paul and it appears that God has possibly led you on a divine detour. God used a shipwreck and a snakebite in Paul's life, took him off his original planned course in order to use him for a specific purpose (Acts 28).

If this is the case in your quarter of life right now, what you need to do is simply "take what the defense is giving you." Read your options...if option is A is covered, throw to option B, etc...But don't stop the path God has led you to...keep picking away at the defense and soon you will score...

...it does not matter how you get to the end zone for the big touchdown...What does matter is that you are following and trusting God to lead you there. What also matters is the person, the "QB" he is making you to be on your path for the "winning touchdown."

If God can use a shipwreck and a snakebite as a Divine detour to fulfill his purposes through Paul, perhaps he is having you "establish the run in order to utilize the pass." Keep gutting it out, persevere, and sooner than later, God is going to show you the path, He will give you the game plan for your success, which will bring Him all The Glory.

Praise God The King!

Psalm 145.1-6,21 GWT

1I will highly praise you, my God, the king. I will bless your name forever and ever.

2 I will bless you every day.
I will praise your name forever and ever.

3 The Lord is great, and he should be highly praised.
His greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation will praise your deeds to the next.
Each generation will talk about your mighty acts.

5 I will think about the glorious honor of your majesty
and the miraculous things you have done.

6 People will talk about the power of your terrifying deeds,
and I will tell about your greatness.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and all living creatures will praise his holy name
forever and ever.

Storyboard Your Life

Those of you interested in the Art of Storyboards will find the following link fascinating. They are the storyboards drawn for the cinematography for Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion Of The Christ," via Milesteves.com

I always love the foundation of any Creative project, and the raw storyboards of any piece of cinema always show the pure planning that goes into envisioning each and every shot of the movie!

Click Here for the boards: Passion Of The Christ

By the way, as a creative project for your life, try drawing a storyboard of where you want to be in the next week, month, year etc...really make a mental picture of your life...act like you are the director and writer of the movie of your life...then draw out or at least visualize each and every scene...what does it look like? feel like? Who are you helping, who are you blessing with your blessings?

Go create your Blockbuster for The Glory of God!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1.1)...

O Sovereign Lord! You made the heavens and earth by your strong hand and powerful arm. Nothing is too hard for you! (Jer 32.17)

Trust In God To Make Something Of You!

...make something of me. You can do it;
you've got what it takes — but God, don't put it off
(From Psalm 40.16-17 MSG)

The Book of Romans says that "we call Abraham 'father' not because he got God's attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. (Romans 4.17-18, emphasis added)

I don't know where you might be in your life, but if you are ready for God to make something of your life, no matter what the circumstances, take some encouragement from Abraham...

Here is how it happened:
• Abraham and Sarah wanted a family, Abraham was old and Sarah was infertile...no worries though, because they believed and trusted in The Almighty God

• Abraham dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing.

• When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do.

*** We have the choice on what we believe...
we must DECIDE like Abraham
to live on the basis of what God WILL Do!***

• Therefore, God made Abraham father of a multitude of peoples

• Abraham was old and Sarah had decades of infertility...despite this, they never focused on their own impotence and said, "It's hopeless." Instead, God himself said to him, "You're going to have a big family, Abraham!"

• Abraham did not tiptoe around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions.
• Abraham PLUNGED into the PROMISE and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what He said.

• Listen to what The Bible says next: "Abraham was declared fit before god by TRUSTING God to set him right." (From Romans 4.19-25 MSG, emphasis added).

We must go through training in athletics, studies, work, etc in order to be declared fit for those specific endeavors...if we want God to trust us, we must trust Him...allow your current circumstances to put you "in shape" so that you can be declared fit before God, ready to PLUNGE into the PROMISE that God has for your life!

Final note: From this same chapter, The Book of Romans says, "It's not just Abraham; it's also us! The same thing gets said about us when we EMBRACE and BELIEVE The ONE who brought JESUS to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God."

Our salvation is set, Praise Christ!...Jesus has made us fit before God...now, if we want to live the abundant life God called us to, we must trust and believe like never before...Hebrews 11.6 says, without faith it is impossible to please God...

Trust Him, Worship Him, Believe In Him, Praise Him...The same resurrection power of Jesus Christ is available to us today, it's time to resurrect, roll away the stone that has been keeping you locked up, take off the bandages, and become what God has PROMISED for you!

Trust in God, He will make something of you!

God's Pattern = Your Purpose

Pattern Recognition
As intellectual beings, humans love to learn. One way we learn is through pattern recognition. Wikipedia defines *Pattern recognition, (PR) as "the act of taking in raw data and taking an action based on the category of the data."

Types of data use by PR are found in various fields. For example The Medical Sciences use pattern recognition as the basis for computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems. You can also find uses of PR in typical applications as seen with automatic speech recognition, the automatic recognition of handwritten postal codes on postal envelopes, or the automatic recognition of images of human faces.

Not only do we use PR for learning technical information, but we also use it in everyday life. We learn to tie our shoes using a certain pattern...We use patterns to learn in all areas such as socially, vocationally, physically, financially, and spiritually.

Righteous Patterns
God gives us His patterns so that we can learn of His Righteous ways. Psalm 119.7 says the following:

I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I'm going to do what you tell me to do;

If we want to do what God tells us to do, then we must learn His patterns. If you want to know the purpose of your life, then you must seek God and recognize His patterns.

God's Patterns = Your Purpose

You see, God reveals to us how to live. I think sometimes what happens is that we read other people's patterns or follow cultures patterns instead of God's Patterns. When that happens, our neural network gets all jacked up and we receive false signals on how to live.

Neural Network
In *neuroscience, a neural network describes a population of physically interconnected neurons or a group of disparate neurons whose inputs or signaling targets define a recognizable circuit. Communication between neurons often involves an electrochemical process.

Our communication and processing with The Holy Spirit is somewhat like this neuronal network. When we are interconnected with The Holy Counselor, He gives us inputs and signals that target and define a recognizable circuit for living according to His plans...His Patterns...the circuit of The Living God.

Don't get me wrong. I am not reducing God down to some formula...I am simply saying that just as my brain is signaling an electrochemical message to my hands to type right now, so it is with our relationship with God...our spirit receives a signal from God...a signal to recognize His Patterns and then act upon them.

Stay On Course
What has God been revealing to you lately? What patterns has He been showing you. Verses one and two of Psalm 119 say, "You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God. You're blessed when you follow his directions, doing your best to find him."

Stay on Course. Seek God. Dig into His Word. Pray with every breath. Walk straight on the road He has set. Then you will begin to see how He works. And just like learning to tie your shoes, you will begin to pick up on His patterns, receiving his input and signals on how to live!

• • •

You, God, prescribed the right way to live; now you expect us to live it. Oh, that my steps might be steady, keeping to the course you set; Then I'd never have any regrets in comparing my life with your counsel.

*source: wikipedia.org

Reconditioned Reflexes

A reflex action*, also known as a reflex, is an involuntary and nearly instantaneous movement in response to a stimulus.

Why am I telling you this? Because our reflexes in life determine our destiny. We have all types of stimuli bombarding us on a daily basis, and our response, our reflex to such stimuli will determine our success or our failure.

When faced with challenges, sometimes we do not even think, we just react. Fear strikes and we either shrink back or attack forward. It generally comes down to our conditioning. Have we been conditioned to always give into fear or have we been trained to go forward despite any challenge we face?

Our response to challenges is much like the "knee jerk" test the doctor applies during a routine physical exam. The doctor is testing our reflexes. Specifically, the doctor is testing what is known as our reflex arc.

The Reflex Arc
A reflex arc* is the neural pathway that mediates a reflex action. In higher animals, most sensory neurons do not pass directly into the brain, but synapse in the spinal cord. This characteristic allows reflex actions to occur relatively quickly by activating spinal motor neurons without the delay of routing signals through the brain, although the brain will receive sensory input while the reflex action occurs. The main source of the reflex action is through the bottom muscles.

In short, when a response is given, the input is so quick that the signal bypasses the brain and goes straight to the spinal cord and then back to our muscle, and that is when our "knee jerks." We don't even have to think about it. It is instantaneous.

Stimuli of Satan
The enemy, satan, loves to hit us with his stimuli. He fills our minds with lies, with doubt, guilt, fear, discouragement...he tries to make us think we are not good enough, that we are too old, too young, undertrained, overzealous... and depending on how we have been conditioned, we will either believe his crap instantaneously or we will defeat him with The Word of God.

In his awesome book, "Wild Goose Chase," Mark Batterson mentions how Jesus has come to recondition our spiritual reflexes. Batterson says, "Satan uses guilt to turn us into reactionaires. Jesus came to recondition our spiritual reflexes and turn us into revolutionaries for His cause.

So here is your homework. Whenever you are hit with a stimuli of satan, like fear, doubt, guilt from the past, lies, etc, focus instead on God's Word, God's Promises, Scripture that you have meditated on, memorized, and internalized. Remember how God has worked in your past, how He is working in you in the present, and how He will grant you victory for the future.

Allow God to recondition your reflexes so that your new automatic/instantaneous response and reflex is to move forward in God's Strength and for His Glory!

"Our courage directly affects the speed at which the future unfolds."
Erwin McManus

*source: wikipedia.org

Courage

Deuteronomy 20:3-4, 8 (The Message)

^1-4 When you go to war against your enemy and see horses and chariots and soldiers far outnumbering you, do not recoil in fear of them; God, your God, who brought you up out of Egypt is with you. When the battle is about to begin, let the priest come forward and speak to the troops. He'll say, "Attention, Israel. In a few minutes you're going to do battle with your enemies. Don't waver in resolve. Don't fear. Don't hesitate. Don't panic. God, your God, is right there with you, fighting with you against your enemies, fighting to win.

⁸ The officers will then continue, "And is there a man here who is wavering in resolve and afraid? Let him go home right now so that he doesn't infect his fellows with his timidity and cowardly spirit."

⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NLT)

Our Savior Christ is The Ultimate example of True Courage.
One sentence in Isaiah 53.11-12 says it all:

Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch

"Courage is not necessarily possessing boldness in the presence of fear...
True Courage is displaying bravery through the absence of self."

Destiny:Soul Cravings

See below a Great excerpt about 'Destiny' from Erwin McManus, in his book, Soul Cravings:

As children we assume that greatness is within our grasp.

Whatever inspires us, we begin to dream that one day we will be the best. It is only as we lose our child like innocence that we begin to settle for far less. A part of growing up seems to be acquiescing to mediocrity. It's easy to say that we're just becoming realistic, that it's just a part of growing up. But, in fact, it's the death our our souls.

When we stop dreaming, we start dying.

For some of us, this has been a slow, painful death. Others are just walking dead. They died a long time ago, and its nothing less than a freak of nature that they're still breathing.

Are you alive? Are you dreaming for greatness?
We must dream in order to be great.
We must Pray to have a sense of destiny...We must LIVE with Holy Anticipation...

Mediocrity does not exist in this dojo...

Dream it...Live it...Think it...Do it...For as he thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23.7)

Survey And Solve

Einstein is quoted as having said that if he had one hour to save the world he would spend fifty-five minutes defining the problem and only five minutes finding the solution.

Well there is an interesting parallel with Frances Schaeffer, a great apologist, an amazing author, and like Einstein, very intellectual. Schaeffer was once asked that if he had 10 minutes to share the gospel, what would he say. He said, “I would listen for 9 minutes and talk for 1 minute.”

Pretty cool. Survey And Solve.

For I Am Your God

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”- Isaiah 41:10

Schedule a daily appointment

Ignore the Word and suffer...
-Proverbs 13:13

...Jesus' time alone with the Father was His ultimate priority. It took priority over ministry, family, friends, even sleep...---Andy Stanley (The Seven Checkpoints, page 55)

Holy Spirit Prays For Us

Want to start living with Holy Anticipation? All we have to do is realize two facts that blow my mind: The Holy Spirit Prays for us and that our life is God's Prayer! Drink it in!

He Prays for us in accordance to God's Will! Soak that up...what if we really believed what God's Word is telling us??...What would we dare to accomplish for His Glory if we really believed that The Holy Spirit is Praying for us...It's time to start living what we believe!

Christian has even mentioned to me that he has heard one preacher make an interesting point, "that Christians really don't believe the bible. If we did, our lives would look completely different...as would our obedience to God!"

Romans 8.27 says "for the Spirit pleads for us BELIEVERS"...

It does not say "the spirit pleads for us who would like to believe..."

My point is this...I think sometimes we can get 'lost in translation.' We read a powerful scripture, we hear a good sermon, etc, but then fail to connect God's Word to our living...we go back to living the same lives, going through the same routine, wishing that things were different, hoping that somehow things will change without any action on our part...we must translate Gods' Powerful Promises to our Faithful Living...it's not enough to hear a sermon or read Scripture but then never act on it...

It's time to have a whole new perspective on life knowing and BELIEVING that The Holy Spirit is PLEADING for us in accordance to God's Will!

Psalm 42.6-8
Then God promises to love me all day,
sing songs all through the night!
My life is God's prayer.

Romans 8.26-28
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will.

28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them

God's Word

...His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins...
Psalm 37.31

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Matthew 4:4

God's Spirit Beckons

Reading through Romans yesterday, came upon Romans 8.9-17...Amazing! It reads like a Manifesto! (all bold and colored lines are emphasized for visual interest)

^9-11But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won't know what we're talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God's terms. It stands to reason, doesn't it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he'll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!

^12-14So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

^15-17This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!

God's Direction

God is fair and just;

He corrects the misdirected,

Sends them in the right direction.
Psalm 25.8

Jonah ran away from God...God put Jonah in the belly of a fish and brought him back! What I have learned through Scripture study and life experience is this:

God will re-direct our misdirection

How? We must follow His "mile-markers." We must count the cost, we must be wise, we must be strategic, but the freedom in knowing that God will re-direct our misdirection gives us an ability to have a 'nothing-to-lose' attitude if we are following God...If we are following God, the path takes care of itself...If we are following God, then we can be fearless...we can take sanctified risks and we can have a reckless abandon for God! No matter what road we travel, all we have to do is watch for God's "mile-markers" and road signs to either keep us moving forward or to re-direct our path...look how Psalm 25.10 says it:

From now on every road you travel

Will take you to God.

Follow the Covenant signs;

Read the charted directions.

Bottom line is this...We must "hit the road." We can not be frozen in fear and stuck in over analyzing what direction to take...If we are truly following God, seeking Him in Prayer, reading His Word, and trusting Him with all of our heart instead of leaning on our own understanding, then whatever road we take, His signs will be there to direct our way...this gives us the freedom to attack life head on!

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he's the one who will keep you on track.
Proverbs 3.5

He Is Patient With You

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,

as some understand slowness.

He is patient with you,

not wanting anyone to perish,

but everyone to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3.9

I love a good brisket...juicy, tender, mouth watering...in fact, we just had some for Father's Day last weekend! Do you know how The Executive Chef (My Amazing Mother) cooked the brisket? She cooked it with patience. She did not throw it in the microwave. She wanted it to turn out for the best, so she was wise and displayed patience.

God wants us to turn out for the best...He has plans for us...He wants to unleash us for His service. But to do that, we must develop...So when we think God is taking His time to get us to be the people He wants us to be and to take us to the places where we can Serve Him most, we must not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day...

What we think is slow, God views as patience.

In Summary:

Better to be patient than powerful. ~Proverbs 16.32~

This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. ~ Habakkuk 2.3 ~

God Resides In Faith

"God resides in Faith... He "hides" in Faith."

Jentezen Franklin

In his sermon, "Destiny," which I mentioned in the last post, Jentezen Franklin talks about the fact that if we want to see God in our lives, then we must find Him where He resides. So many times we have probably thought, "God, where are you hiding?"

God is "hiding" in faith...God does not do comfortable. God does not do the "easy" life. If we want to know where God is, if we want to receive His power, then we must be stretched...we must take a step of courage and do something that requires faith...

...now I'm talking about stupidity, I'm not talking about doing something crazy, even The Bible says to count the cost (Luke 14.28), but the Lord tells us in Hebrews 11.6 the following:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

A few points to wrap up:

1. God wants us to be content (Philippians 4.11-13), but God does not want us to be comfortable (Hebrews 11.1)

2. To please God we must have faith and be Holy

3. Discerning God's Will:

• Are we living a chair-rocking, lazy-boy-lemonade-sipping-all is cozy life? Then we are probably not on an assignment from God.

• Are we being stretched in our faith to the point where we let loose and take a leap of faith, so much to the point that if God does not come through than we are through? Then I can almost guarantee we are on an assignment from God...

4. If Jesus was stretched out on a cross, then I want to stretch my faith. Through Christ, we have the power to face anything! (Phil 4.13)

God wants us where we trust Him most. He wants us to hold on to Him for dear life. If we want to see God then we must live a life of adventure and find Him residing in Faith! By finding God in Faith, we discover who He calls us to be!

"If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God,

"I'll get you out of any trouble.

I'll give you the best of care

if you'll only get to know and trust me.

~ From Psalm 91.14-16 ~