Fear is one of our biggest enemies. We let fear get in the way of so many possibilities. I have let fear get in the way of things that I have wanted to do my whole life. I am sure that you feel that way too. One of the biggest secrets to success is overcoming your fears.
One of things that happens is fear creeps up on you. One of the ways fear creeps up on me is when I wake up in the middle of the night. Every so often before I go to bed I will get anxious about something, and when that anxiety goes away, I finally fall asleep. I sleep wonderfully and then all of a sudden I wake up in the middle of the night and remember what I was worried about and I feel like there are knots in my stomach.
Maybe that is just me though...
I believe fear often keeps us from doing good because we are scared about what other people think or we are actually fearing someone or something. In the book of Matthew, Jesus was going all over the place...he made the blind receive sight, he made the lame walk, those who had leprosy he cleaned, he made the deaf hear, rose people from the dead, and proclaimed the good news to the poor.
I read something today in Matthew about Jesus that was encouraging to me and I hope that it can be encouraging to you too.
Aware of this, Jeuss withdrew himself from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. (Matthew 12:15)
Up to this point, Jesus had been aggressively confronting the Pharisees' hypocrisy. Here he decided to withdraw from the place where he was at. He did not want a major confrontation to happen because it was not time for him to die. Jesus still had so many lessons to teach his disciples and the people.
What's the big deal about fear and this verse? Jesus new that people were plotting to kill him and he didn't fear. Jesus continued to heal all who were ill.
I know that is just one sentence in the bible and it's just a couple of words. But there is great power in those words. People wanted to kill Jesus! We let fear of what other people think keep us from doing good...
Time and time again I am blown away by the things that Jesus taught us.
Next time you fear something, remember that Jesus continued to heal all who were ill in a time where people wanted him dead...and he never feared one bit...he never even worried.
Monday, June 10, 2019
Saturday, June 8, 2019
A cup of cold water
Doing something kind for someone never goes unnoticed by God. The person you did something kind for might not notice, the world might not notice, but that's totally fine. God knows what you did.
I want to keep this post short and to the point tonight. My challenge for you is to do one small random act of kindness for someone else. It doesn't matter who. Your parents, significant other, friends, and maybe even your pets.
The nice thing about doing a good deed is that sometimes it doesn't take very long at all. Holding a door for someone takes like 10 seconds at most. Unless the person is a like 50 feet away and you awkwardly hold it and they awkwardly jog to you because they feel bad. Take out the trash for your parents. Give your grandparents a phone call. Text a good friend and tell them you're thinking of them. Write a letter to someone you care about. Give your pet an extra snack, like some cat nip, or human food.
What's the catch? You must do this with the intent that you aren't just doing it to be noticed. Do this out of the kindness of your heart because you really care for the person...something little can change somebody's entire day.
I was encouraged by this verse in Matthew this evening. Really pay attention to the fact that this is something that Jesus said. Jesus was the perfect teacher...
"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward." (Matthew 10:42)
How much we love God can be measured by how well we treat others. Jesus' example of giving a cold cup of water to a thirsty child is a good model of unselfish service. A child usually can't or won't return a favor. God notices every good deed we do or don't do as if he were the one receiving it.
I want to keep this post short and to the point tonight. My challenge for you is to do one small random act of kindness for someone else. It doesn't matter who. Your parents, significant other, friends, and maybe even your pets.
The nice thing about doing a good deed is that sometimes it doesn't take very long at all. Holding a door for someone takes like 10 seconds at most. Unless the person is a like 50 feet away and you awkwardly hold it and they awkwardly jog to you because they feel bad. Take out the trash for your parents. Give your grandparents a phone call. Text a good friend and tell them you're thinking of them. Write a letter to someone you care about. Give your pet an extra snack, like some cat nip, or human food.
What's the catch? You must do this with the intent that you aren't just doing it to be noticed. Do this out of the kindness of your heart because you really care for the person...something little can change somebody's entire day.
I was encouraged by this verse in Matthew this evening. Really pay attention to the fact that this is something that Jesus said. Jesus was the perfect teacher...
"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward." (Matthew 10:42)
How much we love God can be measured by how well we treat others. Jesus' example of giving a cold cup of water to a thirsty child is a good model of unselfish service. A child usually can't or won't return a favor. God notices every good deed we do or don't do as if he were the one receiving it.
Friday, June 7, 2019
Gods got you
How many times in your life have you asked God for something or prayed about something and that prayer didn't seem to come true? Or even what you asked never seemed to happen. When it comes to the phrase "Gods got you" it's all about your perception.
Perception is defined as someone being aware of something that is happening or has previously happened.
For those of you who keep up with my life and my writing, you've probably read in a post or two that I accepted a job. I accepted a job with Northwestern Mutual in Mishawaka, Indiana. I will begin my career as a Financial Representative and then transition into becoming a Financial Advisor. In order for me to do this job I have to pass the Indiana Life and Health Insurance Exam.
Up until this past May, I did not know a single thing about life and health insurance. When we left for vacation almost a month ago I decided to take this job and I knew that I was going to have to pass this exam. I purchased a self-study and have put hours of studying in everyday for the past three weeks. There is so much that I am learning now and I love seeing the hard-work payoff.
The long hours I have put in haven't paid off completely yet. I am 0/2. Yes, I have failed my exam twice. The first time I took it was this past Monday and I was 12% away from the passing score that I needed. I was extremely discouraged by the outcome, but was reminded from a lot of the people around me that all of this stuff is brand new to me and that it is okay that I didn't pass it the first time.
So it was back to the drawing board. I rescheduled my test for today so I had three full days to study again. I was blown away by the progress that I was able to make this week in regards to what I was learning and finally being able to retain.
When I woke up this morning, I was feeling extremely dangerous. (S/o to Baker Mayfield) I was fully confident that I was going to pass my exam. I was telling myself over and over in my head that I was going to pass and was already looking forward to the feeling I was going to feel when I saw the word "pass" on my exam.
All week I prepared myself for the feeling of finally passing. In every conversation I was having I would talk about how I was finally going to pass it and that I was so confident.
When I sat down to take my exam this afternoon I looked at the scrap sheet of paper they give you to write on if you have anything that you need to write out. The last time I took the exam I just let it sit there...this time I knew that I needed to write something on it that was going to be encouraging and uplifting.
On the top of that paper I wrote..."Gods got you." That is how confident I was in passing this exam. Every time I was stumped on a question or started to feel anxious I looked at that paper and was encouraged and knew that everything was going to be okay.
When I completed my exam, I even walked to the printer to get my results in a confident manner. The instructor had my results sitting facedown on his desk and I could see the graph and it looked like I had done really well. He handed me the results and I was 6% away from passing. I was super bummed out. I was so confident that I was going to pass it that I didn't even really feel like I had just failed again. I was at a loss of words...
After calling my girlfriend, I drove home without listening to any music. Which for me means that I am not in a the greatest of moods at all. Driving home with no music on allowed me to hear what was going on in my head better than normal. I was thinking about what I had written on my paper and how I was confused that if "Gods got me" why did I just fail again?
While I was driving I got a couple texts and calls from close friends and a lady from work. They were all very encouraging and not upset with me at all. Each person brought up others who had failed the test multiple times and now those people are very successful with Northwestern Mutual. I really felt better thanks to the encouragement I was receiving.
Then it hit me..."Gods got you." I didn't need to get a passing score to show that Gods got me. I need a passing score to get my license, and I know that will happen next time. I know that Gods got me because of all the kind words that were said to me on my drive home following the test.
Due to my perception and being aware of what was happening other than my test, I understood that Gods got me. When that thought reached my brain while I was driving, everything made sense now. Then I thought about other people's lives. We too often don't get what we ask God for and we get all flustered and mad because we thought the prayer had to be answered in the exact way we wanted it to! NO! Most of the time God doesn't answer our prayers in the ways that we want him too.
It's all about your perception. When I saw that I failed my exam today I could have been extremely disappointed in myself if my exam was all that I was thinking about...God isn't just doing something or focusing on one part of your life. God is control of your entire life and that is how we should perceive things.
God is fully in control, even when we don't get the results that we want.
Perception is defined as someone being aware of something that is happening or has previously happened.
For those of you who keep up with my life and my writing, you've probably read in a post or two that I accepted a job. I accepted a job with Northwestern Mutual in Mishawaka, Indiana. I will begin my career as a Financial Representative and then transition into becoming a Financial Advisor. In order for me to do this job I have to pass the Indiana Life and Health Insurance Exam.
Up until this past May, I did not know a single thing about life and health insurance. When we left for vacation almost a month ago I decided to take this job and I knew that I was going to have to pass this exam. I purchased a self-study and have put hours of studying in everyday for the past three weeks. There is so much that I am learning now and I love seeing the hard-work payoff.
The long hours I have put in haven't paid off completely yet. I am 0/2. Yes, I have failed my exam twice. The first time I took it was this past Monday and I was 12% away from the passing score that I needed. I was extremely discouraged by the outcome, but was reminded from a lot of the people around me that all of this stuff is brand new to me and that it is okay that I didn't pass it the first time.
So it was back to the drawing board. I rescheduled my test for today so I had three full days to study again. I was blown away by the progress that I was able to make this week in regards to what I was learning and finally being able to retain.
When I woke up this morning, I was feeling extremely dangerous. (S/o to Baker Mayfield) I was fully confident that I was going to pass my exam. I was telling myself over and over in my head that I was going to pass and was already looking forward to the feeling I was going to feel when I saw the word "pass" on my exam.
All week I prepared myself for the feeling of finally passing. In every conversation I was having I would talk about how I was finally going to pass it and that I was so confident.
When I sat down to take my exam this afternoon I looked at the scrap sheet of paper they give you to write on if you have anything that you need to write out. The last time I took the exam I just let it sit there...this time I knew that I needed to write something on it that was going to be encouraging and uplifting.
On the top of that paper I wrote..."Gods got you." That is how confident I was in passing this exam. Every time I was stumped on a question or started to feel anxious I looked at that paper and was encouraged and knew that everything was going to be okay.
When I completed my exam, I even walked to the printer to get my results in a confident manner. The instructor had my results sitting facedown on his desk and I could see the graph and it looked like I had done really well. He handed me the results and I was 6% away from passing. I was super bummed out. I was so confident that I was going to pass it that I didn't even really feel like I had just failed again. I was at a loss of words...
After calling my girlfriend, I drove home without listening to any music. Which for me means that I am not in a the greatest of moods at all. Driving home with no music on allowed me to hear what was going on in my head better than normal. I was thinking about what I had written on my paper and how I was confused that if "Gods got me" why did I just fail again?
While I was driving I got a couple texts and calls from close friends and a lady from work. They were all very encouraging and not upset with me at all. Each person brought up others who had failed the test multiple times and now those people are very successful with Northwestern Mutual. I really felt better thanks to the encouragement I was receiving.
Then it hit me..."Gods got you." I didn't need to get a passing score to show that Gods got me. I need a passing score to get my license, and I know that will happen next time. I know that Gods got me because of all the kind words that were said to me on my drive home following the test.
Due to my perception and being aware of what was happening other than my test, I understood that Gods got me. When that thought reached my brain while I was driving, everything made sense now. Then I thought about other people's lives. We too often don't get what we ask God for and we get all flustered and mad because we thought the prayer had to be answered in the exact way we wanted it to! NO! Most of the time God doesn't answer our prayers in the ways that we want him too.
It's all about your perception. When I saw that I failed my exam today I could have been extremely disappointed in myself if my exam was all that I was thinking about...God isn't just doing something or focusing on one part of your life. God is control of your entire life and that is how we should perceive things.
God is fully in control, even when we don't get the results that we want.
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Here piggy piggy
Every day that we live and walk this earth we see all different types of people. There are so many different types of people and everybody is different. We all look different (besides twins), we all think different, and we all have different personalities.
There are attractive people and not so attractive people. There are people will cool hair and people with no hair. There are tall people and there are short people. There are people who smell good and others who don't. There are people who dress nice and those who cannot. There are people who like sports and people who don't. There are people who love music and people who don't. There are people who like to travel and those who don't. There are popular people and people who are not. There are rich people and those who are poor.
Do you get my point here? We are all different but we all matter just as much. We let some of these things get in the way sometimes when it comes to what we think about people. We see someone who might be poor and we let that affect how we think about that person. We see someone who is tall and we immediately think they play basketball. (trust me, I get asked everyday) Our perception cannot be our reality.
God created and loves each and every person who has ever walked this earth, who walks it now, and who will walk it in the future. Why? Because in God's eyes, every human individual's life matters. We ALL need to be touched by God's love.
I read about a story in Matthew earlier this afternoon about Jesus sending demons into a herd of pigs. (hence...here piggy piggy)
When he arrived at the other side of the regionals of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
(Matthew 7:28-33)
Why am I talking about how we all matter and need God love and then talk about demon possessed men?
I want you to think about something. According to Jewish ceremonial laws, the men Jesus encountered were unclean in three ways: they were Gentiles, they were demon-possessed, and they lived in the graveyard. What did Jesus do? He helped them anyways.
We should never turn our backs on people who are different than we are. We should never turn our backs on those who are repulsive towards us or who violate our moral standards and religious beliefs. Instead, we need to realize that every human individual is a unique creation of God, needing to be touched by his love.
When we understand the every human individual is a unique creation of God, that should provide a glimmer of hope. We were created to love God and to worship him. I encourage you to not let your feelings get in the way of what you think about people. Love everyone. Be a light to those who are different, because you will never find someone exactly like you. When you love those who are different you are loving everyone.
There are attractive people and not so attractive people. There are people will cool hair and people with no hair. There are tall people and there are short people. There are people who smell good and others who don't. There are people who dress nice and those who cannot. There are people who like sports and people who don't. There are people who love music and people who don't. There are people who like to travel and those who don't. There are popular people and people who are not. There are rich people and those who are poor.
Do you get my point here? We are all different but we all matter just as much. We let some of these things get in the way sometimes when it comes to what we think about people. We see someone who might be poor and we let that affect how we think about that person. We see someone who is tall and we immediately think they play basketball. (trust me, I get asked everyday) Our perception cannot be our reality.
God created and loves each and every person who has ever walked this earth, who walks it now, and who will walk it in the future. Why? Because in God's eyes, every human individual's life matters. We ALL need to be touched by God's love.
I read about a story in Matthew earlier this afternoon about Jesus sending demons into a herd of pigs. (hence...here piggy piggy)
When he arrived at the other side of the regionals of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
(Matthew 7:28-33)
Why am I talking about how we all matter and need God love and then talk about demon possessed men?
I want you to think about something. According to Jewish ceremonial laws, the men Jesus encountered were unclean in three ways: they were Gentiles, they were demon-possessed, and they lived in the graveyard. What did Jesus do? He helped them anyways.
We should never turn our backs on people who are different than we are. We should never turn our backs on those who are repulsive towards us or who violate our moral standards and religious beliefs. Instead, we need to realize that every human individual is a unique creation of God, needing to be touched by his love.
When we understand the every human individual is a unique creation of God, that should provide a glimmer of hope. We were created to love God and to worship him. I encourage you to not let your feelings get in the way of what you think about people. Love everyone. Be a light to those who are different, because you will never find someone exactly like you. When you love those who are different you are loving everyone.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
The narrow gate
In my lifetime of 22 years, I have come to learn that the things that are most important and meaningful are the most difficult to achieve. I think about the successful basketball teams that I have played on throughout high school and in college. To have the success we were able to accomplish we had to go through hell. We had to trust the process every day.
Trusting the process was something that I really didn't learn until I got to college. As a college basketball player, every single day was a part of the process. Whether it was conditioning in August, a two-a-day in December, or a shoot around on a Saturday afternoon. If we didn't do those things with a high level of focus and energy we weren't going to succeed.
Our goal every single season was to hang a red national championship banner. We weren't fortunate enough to do that, but each year we put our self in a great position by earning a spot in the NAIA National Tournament.
I want you to take a look at this scripture that I read over today...
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road the leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
With Jesus saying that, there are a couple things that come to mind. I think about how hard it was to earn our spot in the National Tournament. It was hard and tiring work, but what made it easier was everyone collectively trusting the process. We knew that if we gave everything we had and some more in all that we did we were going to be able to put ourselves in a great spot.
I want you to focus on what made it easier. What made it easier was understanding the work that we had to put in. When I think about entering through the narrow gate, I fully believe that it will be easier to enter through the narrow gate when you accept the challenge and commit to trusting the process. It's all about the mindset that you want to have and the things you will do to accomplish something worth it.
I believe that we make it too difficult on ourselves based off distractions. Wide is the gate that leads to distraction because we are distracted by so many things! We overcomplicate so many things based on what we treasure, our interests, and what the world wants.
When I think about overcomplicating things, an example comes to mind that just happened to me this past weekend...I was at my girlfriend's house with her family and I was sitting at their dinning room table studying. Their dog, Lilly is the sweetest dog ever and I could tell that she needed to be let out to relieve herself...aka use the restroom. In their neighborhood there was a wedding going on and I was instructed that if she needed to be let out that she had to wear a collar so she doesn't go wedding crashing...and I guess Lilly's best friend was over at the wedding as well. I had no idea where the collars were at so I went out into the garage, I made sure the garage door was closed and I begin to look for collars. I dug all over the place and had to untangle a couple of them and when I looked up, I saw Lilly's rear end walking out of the doggy door. Of course they had a doggy door I thought to myself! I quickly opened the human sized door and ran after her because I was not about to crash the wedding with her....long story short, I chased her all over the yard until I was able to make her go back inside the house. Luckily, Lilly is nearly an elderly dog so I was faster than she was.
How does this relate? In the story I just enlightened you with. Picture Lilly being our hearts when they treasure the right things, and myself being our minds. Lilly had one goal in mind. All she needed to do was walk out her little doggy door, stroll to her favorite spot in the yard and relieve herself. When our hearts have Jesus as number 1, the narrow gate should be something that we are so set on that we just do it. Sure it will be hard, because nothing worth it is ever easy. But when our hearts are in the right place, we make things easier by taking action. How I acted was like our minds do everyday. I didn't even look to see if there was a doggy door. I found multiple leashes but didn't know which one would work best. How often do we not observe what is around us, and how often do we become distracted by so many things that we forget what is easy. We forget the mission at hand because we just seem to make everything so complicated.
My prayer for you and encouragement to you is that if your heart is in the right place, and you are treasuring the right things. Get after it! Pursue righteousness. Set your mind on the mission at hand and do it.
On the other hand, if your heart isn't in the right place yet and you're in a spot in your life where it's easy to go with the flow, I encourage you to pray and being to prioritize things in your life. Look at what is horning to God and what isn't. When you come up with a list of things that is honoring to God, expand that list and keep doing those things.
The narrow gate can be easy...
Trusting the process was something that I really didn't learn until I got to college. As a college basketball player, every single day was a part of the process. Whether it was conditioning in August, a two-a-day in December, or a shoot around on a Saturday afternoon. If we didn't do those things with a high level of focus and energy we weren't going to succeed.
Our goal every single season was to hang a red national championship banner. We weren't fortunate enough to do that, but each year we put our self in a great position by earning a spot in the NAIA National Tournament.
I want you to take a look at this scripture that I read over today...
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road the leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
With Jesus saying that, there are a couple things that come to mind. I think about how hard it was to earn our spot in the National Tournament. It was hard and tiring work, but what made it easier was everyone collectively trusting the process. We knew that if we gave everything we had and some more in all that we did we were going to be able to put ourselves in a great spot.
I want you to focus on what made it easier. What made it easier was understanding the work that we had to put in. When I think about entering through the narrow gate, I fully believe that it will be easier to enter through the narrow gate when you accept the challenge and commit to trusting the process. It's all about the mindset that you want to have and the things you will do to accomplish something worth it.
I believe that we make it too difficult on ourselves based off distractions. Wide is the gate that leads to distraction because we are distracted by so many things! We overcomplicate so many things based on what we treasure, our interests, and what the world wants.
When I think about overcomplicating things, an example comes to mind that just happened to me this past weekend...I was at my girlfriend's house with her family and I was sitting at their dinning room table studying. Their dog, Lilly is the sweetest dog ever and I could tell that she needed to be let out to relieve herself...aka use the restroom. In their neighborhood there was a wedding going on and I was instructed that if she needed to be let out that she had to wear a collar so she doesn't go wedding crashing...and I guess Lilly's best friend was over at the wedding as well. I had no idea where the collars were at so I went out into the garage, I made sure the garage door was closed and I begin to look for collars. I dug all over the place and had to untangle a couple of them and when I looked up, I saw Lilly's rear end walking out of the doggy door. Of course they had a doggy door I thought to myself! I quickly opened the human sized door and ran after her because I was not about to crash the wedding with her....long story short, I chased her all over the yard until I was able to make her go back inside the house. Luckily, Lilly is nearly an elderly dog so I was faster than she was.
How does this relate? In the story I just enlightened you with. Picture Lilly being our hearts when they treasure the right things, and myself being our minds. Lilly had one goal in mind. All she needed to do was walk out her little doggy door, stroll to her favorite spot in the yard and relieve herself. When our hearts have Jesus as number 1, the narrow gate should be something that we are so set on that we just do it. Sure it will be hard, because nothing worth it is ever easy. But when our hearts are in the right place, we make things easier by taking action. How I acted was like our minds do everyday. I didn't even look to see if there was a doggy door. I found multiple leashes but didn't know which one would work best. How often do we not observe what is around us, and how often do we become distracted by so many things that we forget what is easy. We forget the mission at hand because we just seem to make everything so complicated.
My prayer for you and encouragement to you is that if your heart is in the right place, and you are treasuring the right things. Get after it! Pursue righteousness. Set your mind on the mission at hand and do it.
On the other hand, if your heart isn't in the right place yet and you're in a spot in your life where it's easy to go with the flow, I encourage you to pray and being to prioritize things in your life. Look at what is horning to God and what isn't. When you come up with a list of things that is honoring to God, expand that list and keep doing those things.
The narrow gate can be easy...
Monday, June 3, 2019
Your treasures
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)
Tonight, I want you to think about the things that you treasure. What means the most to you? Who means the most to you? How do you spend your time? What are you thinking about? What do you do everyday?
In the world that we live in today, it is easy to treasure popularity, fame, and money. We base our status and importance based on our social media platforms. Getting a lot of likes feels good. Sometimes when I need to feel better, I will post a picture on Instagram just so I have something to do on my phone. I want to be loud and clear with you, I am not saying that having and using social media everyday is a bad thing. I am saying that it becomes bad when we use it as validation.
When don't need to be popular on social media for others to love us, and most importantly God.
My favorite basketball player of all time and someone that I look up to in view areas of his life is LeBron James. He posted a picture of a sign on his Instagram account today that said. "F *explicit* social media. I'm dope in real life." Now he wasn't saying this about himself, but for something that everyone can see. He has millions of followers and that picture most likely got a lot of people thinking.
There is some questionable language in there but it's so true. We don't need social media to be dope in real life. Social media just makes things more fun sometimes and it's a great way to share what is going on in your life with other people.
Money is something that we tend to treasure as well. We can't really do a whole lot if we have no money am I right? I believe that there is a tendency to believe that our success and the way that people look at us is based off of the amount money that we have. Don't get me wrong, I will do whatever it takes to make a lot of money some day, but money will never define who I am. It's important but it's not something that I will treasure.
The verse above follows the verse about storing treasures in heaven. Storing treasures in heaven is not limited to tithing but is accomplished by all acts of obedience to God. Our intention should be to seek the fulfillment of God's purposes in all we do, not merely what we do with our money.
I use this as encouragement to you because when you figure out what to treasure on a daily basis, your heart, your mind, and spirit will be right. I am not perfect but there are a couple of things that I treasure everyday. I treasure the moment when I wake up and get out of bed every morning. I absolutely love mornings and everything about them. It's the begging of a new day. It's a chance to grow, learn, and be productive. I also treasure relationships. When I get the chance to better/strengthen relationships with people that have a special place in my heart, I experience a great deal of fulfillment. Everyday you wake up you have the opportunity to pour into someones life and that is something that I treasure. I also treasure working out. Any chance that I get to spend some time working on my body, my mind gets a break. I value that a ton. Most importantly, I treasure my time in the Word of God. I don't feel like I had a fulfilling day unless I get to strengthen my relationship with Christ and then share what I learn with whoever reads what I write.
These things that I treasure everyday is a direct representation of where my heart is, because where your treasures are, your heart will be there also. These treasures have led me to being comfortable in who I am everyday. There is power in that! Being comfortable in confident in who you are is a recipe of success. It causes you to not get too high when things are going well or too low when things couldn't be any worse. When you're confident in who you are, other people will notice. It's not about getting likes or having a lot of followers for me. I don't need that. I don't treasure money above other important things. You can't take possessions from earth to heaven with you someday, but you have the opportunity to bring others with you when you are a light and share Jesus.
Treasure what lasts forever. There aren't many feelings better than being comfortable in who you are because of where your heart is at.
Tonight, I want you to think about the things that you treasure. What means the most to you? Who means the most to you? How do you spend your time? What are you thinking about? What do you do everyday?
In the world that we live in today, it is easy to treasure popularity, fame, and money. We base our status and importance based on our social media platforms. Getting a lot of likes feels good. Sometimes when I need to feel better, I will post a picture on Instagram just so I have something to do on my phone. I want to be loud and clear with you, I am not saying that having and using social media everyday is a bad thing. I am saying that it becomes bad when we use it as validation.
When don't need to be popular on social media for others to love us, and most importantly God.
My favorite basketball player of all time and someone that I look up to in view areas of his life is LeBron James. He posted a picture of a sign on his Instagram account today that said. "F *explicit* social media. I'm dope in real life." Now he wasn't saying this about himself, but for something that everyone can see. He has millions of followers and that picture most likely got a lot of people thinking.
There is some questionable language in there but it's so true. We don't need social media to be dope in real life. Social media just makes things more fun sometimes and it's a great way to share what is going on in your life with other people.
Money is something that we tend to treasure as well. We can't really do a whole lot if we have no money am I right? I believe that there is a tendency to believe that our success and the way that people look at us is based off of the amount money that we have. Don't get me wrong, I will do whatever it takes to make a lot of money some day, but money will never define who I am. It's important but it's not something that I will treasure.
The verse above follows the verse about storing treasures in heaven. Storing treasures in heaven is not limited to tithing but is accomplished by all acts of obedience to God. Our intention should be to seek the fulfillment of God's purposes in all we do, not merely what we do with our money.
I use this as encouragement to you because when you figure out what to treasure on a daily basis, your heart, your mind, and spirit will be right. I am not perfect but there are a couple of things that I treasure everyday. I treasure the moment when I wake up and get out of bed every morning. I absolutely love mornings and everything about them. It's the begging of a new day. It's a chance to grow, learn, and be productive. I also treasure relationships. When I get the chance to better/strengthen relationships with people that have a special place in my heart, I experience a great deal of fulfillment. Everyday you wake up you have the opportunity to pour into someones life and that is something that I treasure. I also treasure working out. Any chance that I get to spend some time working on my body, my mind gets a break. I value that a ton. Most importantly, I treasure my time in the Word of God. I don't feel like I had a fulfilling day unless I get to strengthen my relationship with Christ and then share what I learn with whoever reads what I write.
These things that I treasure everyday is a direct representation of where my heart is, because where your treasures are, your heart will be there also. These treasures have led me to being comfortable in who I am everyday. There is power in that! Being comfortable in confident in who you are is a recipe of success. It causes you to not get too high when things are going well or too low when things couldn't be any worse. When you're confident in who you are, other people will notice. It's not about getting likes or having a lot of followers for me. I don't need that. I don't treasure money above other important things. You can't take possessions from earth to heaven with you someday, but you have the opportunity to bring others with you when you are a light and share Jesus.
Treasure what lasts forever. There aren't many feelings better than being comfortable in who you are because of where your heart is at.
Sunday, June 2, 2019
A light on top of the hill
When I think of a light that everyone sees I think of two things. I think of lighthouses and the lights you see on top of hills or mountains in the distance. Those lights have a tendency to draw people to them. A lighthouse functions so that boat captains know that there is land. Lighthouses were built because they're meant to be seen. Lights on top of hills and mountains help people see that there is life up the hills and mountains. Again, these lights are meant to be seen.
When God created us, he did so that we could be seen. When we make the decision in our lives to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we become a light to the world. A light that is meant to shine brightly so that others can see that there is something different about us.
The light from a lighthouse and the lights from the hills and mountains never go away. Those lights are always going to shine brightly for the protection of many people. Christ is always going to shine in us. When we accept Christ into our heart that light will never go away.
The problem we run into as Christians is that we have a tendency to hide our light. We hide our light be being quiet when we should speak, going along with the crowd, denying the light, letting sin dim our light, not explaining our light to others, and ignoring the needs of others.
In the Sermon on The Mount, Jesus preaches this: "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill that cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its strand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)
I encourage you all to not hide your light. Be a beacon of light and let your light shine. Don't shut your light off from the rest of the world. Think about the beautiful light houses and the lights on the mountains...those lights are meant to shine and nothing stops them...the storms they endured, the age, the weathering, etc. Light your light shine and be a glimmer of hope for those who need it most.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)