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Reasonable Service
It is ironic that our reasonable service to God is to present our bodies as a living sacrifice when we cannot even find the strength to sacrifice a cookie. Jesus wants us to see, we are worth far more than that cookie. Our eyes long for stuff we shouldn’t have yet we let our eye have what it longs for. Salvation doesn’t come from a cookie or whatever our eye longs for. It comes by the grace of God as a gift. Given to us before we are born. We are marked out for salvation. This is something the devil prowls around stealing. What he steals most is the helmet of salvation we are supposed to wear every day, so your mind can wander freely into the world. He wants us to get our minds off of the things of heaven and put them into the things of the world. BUT God will give your eyes understanding and enlighten you with the hope of His calling for your life.
You are chosen by God to be who you are right now and do what you should do right now. The more you understand the more you will praise God and the more you will discover all of those who belong in your nation, the Kingdom of God. You will have people reigning over you appointed by God but the Lord reigns over all of them including you. Peace will come knowing He is in complete control even over the government. The government has what they need. We have what we need because the all sufficient God reigns. His sufficiency gives us life and we are to give life to others by allowing our God to reign.
Your Biblical Direction: Look around you to see all the people that God is moving into place, so you will have what you need and understand what you will understand. God will open the eyes of your understanding when you ask. He wants that you understand everything He is doing. Look and see Him in everything, good and bad, lovely and sorrowful, it all is from God just for you.
Sign up for the Biblical Directionists Montage Monday on the right side of the screen.
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Take Ownership
It takes saying something good ten time before someone will own it. We have been good desensitized by the time we are adults. Girls by the time they are in seventh grade. Why do we batter each other so easily and find it so hard to encourage each other. Jesus doesn’t find it hard at all. He owned who He was. Why can’t we own who we are?
First, I want to tell you, the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). He called the Israelites as His own but has given them over to sin for our sake so that for their sake He can save them, again. Go through the Bible and see how many times Jesus has made a promise and kept it. How many prophecies have been fulfilled. Jesus took ownership of those prophecies.
Is the Devil watching You?
Does the Devil has something to fear from you daily? If the answer is, “NO” then you are not a disciple of Jesus either. Disciples of Jesus are being watch by the devil. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to be sober and vigilant because the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. They know the Devil roars around like a lion against us but they have the Lion of Judah on their side. His teeth are bigger and fiercer. Followers of Jesus take ownership of this.
Is your Fruit meant to Last?
The gifts and the calling of God are meant to produce fruit. Have you owned the fact that you need to be fruitful? We are designed to produce fruit that lasts by Jesus. Jesus told us that He chose you and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain (John 15:16). The fruit that remains is the Fruit of the Spirit. Long after you give someone $5.00, they will remember how much you loved them. Your kindness toward them will be remembered. That is the fruit that lasts. Followers of Jesus take ownership of this.
Ownership is not about pride. It is about knowing who you are in Christ. He has given you many gifts and called you to do a job for Him. You will be incapable of doing the job if you never take ownership of the gifts he has given you to complete that job. Read Psalm 91 and own it. David was just a man, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Moses all men who took ownership of who God said they were. As a result, they did great things for God. What great things has God called you too? Take ownership of them.
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Scheduled Amendments
What do you do when Jesus wants you to amend your current schedule of events? Do you say to the Lord, “Wait just a minute. I need to do this, or that, first.” Or do you just ignore Him. Read this story – Matthew 21:28-32
We cannot know the story from before these events but we know a snippet in time. The Father interrupted their current life and told them to go work in the field. For us the field is our ministry. We could be out plowing one field and Jesus interrupts us. He tells us to go work in another field. You may have worked there before and failed. You may have worked there before and left. You may never have worked there before at all. How do you deal with this change of venue?
I am in this situation as we speak. I have been plowing a field Jesus gave me since I was a baby Christian. He has now sent me to another field; one that He has been preparing me for, now that I think about it. He has been preparing my mind for a couple of year and my husbands. BUT I did not go without saying “no” first. I am still trying to wrap my head around the residual. What do I do with this, and that, and them?
I am clear that as a Christian, I have two objectives: find Jesus and follow Him. This is the first time He has made Himself so clear to me that He is easy to find. He has affirmed my field many times since He sent me, even after I said an emphatic, “NO!” While I was learning in one field, He was preparing this other field for me. He has put a joy in me to harvest in this field.
Is Jesus sending you into a new field? What have you said to Him? Have you refused Him and stood your ground? Have you refused Him but going anyway? The Lord of the Harvest is calling you to His field. Don’t waste one moment disobeying Him. His field is ripe for the harvest and the Father is sending workers. Are you going to be one of them? Go with Jesus on a scheduled amendment. Your life will always be filled with abundance because of it.
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Leading Yourself IN Success Part 4
From Ponder to Action
We always spend a lot of time talking about how we think because Proverbs 4:23 is the truth. Out of your heart spring the issues of life. The point of that is not to let what is in your mind show present itself your actions unless it is of Christ. Guarding your heart means taking those thoughts captive and make them obedient to Christ before you act on them. This is a deliberate action taken every minute of the day. You commit to setting your mind on Jesus and renew your commitment every single day, every single hour, every single minute and every single second.
The commitment will only work if you are replacing your nopeful thoughts with hopeful ones. I hope that last week you tested out the waters. Did you attempt to at least recognize your nopeful thoughts (hopeless thoughts). The way to do that is to tag them as hopeless. Name them hopeless. Ask yourself if there is any hope within that thought, anywhere? If the answer is no, take it into captivity because it is hopeless and not worthy of any of your time.
There is hope for everyone including you. Your nopeful thoughts are robbing you of any hope that you thought you had. And those thoughts will continue to rob you of any future hope you will have. There is no sense in going forward in our discussions unless we deal with this. Are you ready?
I have told you this before, but it bears repeating – hopeless thoughts will not go away until you make them hopeful. A couple of examples might help here then we will move to how to transform them. What do you think when you look in the mirror. Just yesterday I said to my husband, “My old thought of my ugliness snuck its way into my brain.” I was getting ready to go out for dinner with my kids and my hubby when I looked in the mirror and saw ugly. I quickly changed that to my favourite saying, “You look like Jesus.” And walked away. I hadn’t seen that ugly thought in months. It took me years to get rid of it and I am not going there again. What do you say to yourself when you look in the mirror? You know you are created in the image of God, right? Then say, “Hello, Jesus.” when you look in the mirror.
What do you say to yourself when you get dressed? I have spent probably $50,000-$100,00, over my lifetime on clothes to make up for my face. I now buy what I like to wear. The problem with all of us is that we are so hung up on what other people say and think that we forget what we like. Who has God created us to be? Did He create us to be carbon copies of someone else? Certainly not!
So, let us get into how we are going to change our thinking. We know we all think bad thoughts at one time or another but what we really need is to NEVER camp on them. You will need to come up with a phrase, sentence or word that will instantly work to snap you out of that hopeless thought. When I started doing this for myself, I said, “Now, stop that!” this sentence was long enough for me because I was VERY dedicated to changing the way I think. You might need a longer sentence because it takes a few minutes to change your thinking. Your brain wants to go back to that bad thought but don’t let it. A lengthy sentence will help you leave that bad thought and switch it to a good one. You could memorize a verse, such as, Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Philippians 4:8 or make up your own sentence like I did. No matter what you choose to do you must do the same thing each time.
I cannot say this enough. Your brain will begin to recognize your BUZZ WORDS. It will be like pressing on a buzzer for your brain each time. It will learn what to do and you will be successful at modifying, transforming and thinking on good things rather than bad things. Now, go take a few minutes to pray about what you are going to do. Write out what you are going to say and make sure it is buried in your brain.
You will not regret the work you have done to make this happen in your life. The Lord wants us to have a sound mind, so we can do the things He wants us to do. A sound mind comes from taking the hopeless thoughts captive and transforming them into hopeful thoughts that last. They will not get in the way of our decision making or our problem solving. When you ponder your thoughts and act on the ones Jesus wants you to act on your fruit will last for all of eternity.
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Leading Yourself IN Success Part 2
A Dream Just for You
Have you stopped dreaming about a future of goodness and joy? Why? Why would you just stop dreaming? Dreaming about our future is natural even for those who follow Jesus. Dreams are not just for the unsaved they are for the saved too. One of the things we can dream about is the task Jesus has given us in the body of Christ.
We have six areas in our life that need our attention to be good. If we want joy in these areas, we need to dream about the future of them. I want to look at each area individually then encourage you to dream big in them.
Area One: Personal Development
Our growth in Christ and in our life is imperative for us to mature in every area. If we do not grow, we will not advance into our definition of success. Success depends on our growth. Maturing in the Word of God is part of this personal growth. More imperative is that you learn about what it is that He is asking you to do. One thing we need to get used to is constant learning all the way through life. When you stop learning you are going backwards.
Area Two: Career
It is a well-known fact that we will change careers although there is something that you love to do so much that you would do it for free. You need to figure this out and learn how to make money doing it. If you learn how to do that you will never work a day in your life.
Area Three: Financial
Shakespeare wrote in Hamel, “Neither a lender nor borrower be.” Both of these cause us to fall in love with money or fear people because of money. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Balance your check book and you will have a balanced life.
Area Four: Social
Many a woman has put her social life ahead of everything else. The extrovert craves her social life. She thinks being social rejuvenate her battery but being with Jesus does that. People cannot give you everything you need but Jesus can. He can make you feel all the things those people are making you feel but He doesn’t want anything in return. Your family and friends will appreciate it when you curb your social life.
Area Five: Family
We are not born to our friends we are born to our family. Your family life might not be all that you want it to be, but you can make it better in the sphere that you live in. Family is what you make it so make it what you crave it to be. Family does not have to be limited to those folks who share you blood. It is who you want it to be.
Area Six: Physical
Every one of us wants to live a good long life but you will not if you choose to ignore your body. We need to get our body under submission and stop giving it the bad things it craves. Sugar products are addictive just as drugs are addictive. We all know that so why do we continue eating them? Because we refuse to say ‘no’ to our body. You are more than capable of making your body come into submission.
Dreaming is a good thing, but do you dream about each area of your life? Are your dreams balanced or are you dreaming more about your career because it will help you finances? Are you dreaming about your physic thinking you will have a more balanced family life?
Dreaming in one area will not fix another area. You must have dreams in each area of your life. They may cross paths, but they won’t fix the problems they come across. Dreaming about having a great family life will not happen if you are going out every night with your friends. Dreaming about having a great job will not fix you finances because you have no idea how to manage money. Can you see the issue when your dreams are unbalanced?
Dreaming is a good thing when you act on the validity of them. Dreaming invalid dreams is fine too as long as they remain dreams. Your life would be dead without dreams. Your life would be dull without dreams. Your life would be stagnant without dreams. Dream until your heart is content but don’t just dream, act on them if you deem it feasible.
Session three of the Leading Yourself IN Success is Dream Your Life. You will create a Dream Collage to help you sharpen your dreams and dig them out of the pit as well. If I do say so myself this session is the most fun of all the sessions and the most enlightening. You have no idea how many dreams you have stifled until you try to dig them out. No one in your life wants you to be dreamless because your dreams will include an abundant life for you and them. I invite you to join the Leading Yourself IN Success Workshop in the fall of 2018.
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Leading Yourself IN Success Part 1
A Different Definition of Success
Spread the news! Success is defined by Jesus Christ not by man. We will work for the next five weeks, on this blog, and on the Pursuing Biblical Direction podcasts redefining success. At the end of this time period, you will understand what success means to and for the Kingdom of God. Why are we afraid of success? Is it the work, the courage you need, the world and all of its goods, the time it takes, the amount of planning required or is it just that word itself? What is it that makes you afraid to go after success in your life?
I have days when I don’t feel successful, no matter what I have accomplished. I feel like I am in a whirlwind of shame, guilt and depression. I want to give up on everything I am doing, and just live as if I have nothing to do but breath. Inside of me is changing but everything I see on the outside is the same as it was yesterday, last week, last month, last year, last decade. My life has not changed one iota. I feel very unsuccessful. There are those days.
I have days when I think everything I am doing has been successful and will lead to greater success. I feel like I am at my peak of success but know there is more waiting for me. I have hope that Jesus will do everything He says He will do in my life. I dream of being in the middle of my success therefore it is real to me in my dream but not in life as of yet. All is good in the world. There are those days.
I have days when neither one of these matter. Life is good today and I don’t care about tomorrow or yesterday. Whatever happens, happens. My life is on track, today, and we will just see about tomorrow. I can deal with tomorrow when it comes and forget what happens yesterday. I am happy and content with who I am and where I am. There are those days.
Which day do you think I am the most successful? Can you believe, every single one of them? We are Christians who have the hope of Jesus Christ. He leads us each and every day. What does success mean to Him? Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us our first clue and most important aspect of success. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.”
Obedience to God is the definition of success, no matter how big or small. My obedience to Him is how I should gage success. It is how He gages success. Proverbs 3:5-6 is going to be our mantra for the next five weeks because everything we are going to learn is covered inside this small but powerful sentence. You will know you have been successful, when you meet Jesus, and He says to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.” (Matthew 25:21) If your definition of success matched God’s definition, this is your hope.
I feel unsuccessful at times because I cannot see the result of the work I am doing. The question is not, “How do I feel?” It is, “Am I following Jesus?” Am I being obedient to Him? This is how you can gage whether you are successful or not. This is good information because what you have, what you have done and where you are in your desires, has no bearing on success. Obedience to Jesus Christ is what success looks like for a Christian. If you are obeying Him each and every day you are successful.
Obedience doesn’t have to be Jesus constantly telling you what to do every minute of the day. It is you obeying what He has told you to do every single day. An example would be speeding. Jesus told me many years ago to get my speeding under control. Even though that was many years ago does that count for obedience today? Absolutely. Should I speed, I am disobeying God’s directive to me to quit speeding. None of us have to be in constant communication with God to be in, or out of obedience. If Jesus told you to stop doing something that you are still doing today – you are in disobedience to God. This is why you do not feel successful.
I forget “success” is not about His vision for my future, it is about my daily obedience to Him. I have to believe I am successful because I am in obedience to God, today. I have to stop looking at what I think I should have and start looking at what I am successfully doing for Him. What I am doing will have an impact on the people around me. What I am doing has an impact on ME. What you are doing will have an impact on the people around you. What you are doing will have an impact on YOU.
I have successfully changed my definition of success. I will continue to speak about success and teach you everything I know, so you are successful at changing your definition as well. This is all within the scope of working out your salvation. The Father was successful raising our Saviour to life and He will be successful raising you to life too in Jesus Christ. Do you have this hope? Are you doing EVERYTHING Jesus has directed you to do?
Success depends on our definition of success. Our mission here, on earth, is to teach people of this hope in Jesus Christ to live an abundant life. To accomplish that mission you must have the hope yourself. The success of His mission is contingent on your hope first. Then, when you have it, you can spread it. The Leading Yourself IN Success Workshop is how I am spreading that news. How will you spread it? You can start by changing your definition of success.
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Three Ways to Walk on Water
Resisting temptation means revisiting your past and thinking about your future while living in the present. You have to do all of this through the lens of the Bible. A lens is for you to see better. In other words, it is about your eye. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.” Light changes what you can see.
The Bible tells us a story about Peter walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). The very minute he lost sight of Jesus (the Light) he sank but Jesus was there to grab His hand. I am sure you have all read or heard the story about Peter being bold enough to step out on the water. We also cringe when we hear this story because we know what happens. He steps out, loses faith and sinks. Is this why you won’t step out on the water? You can learn ways to walk on water from this story.
Way One: Get Permission
Matthew tells us in verse 28, Peter asked Jesus to command him to come out on the water. How weird is that to comprehend. He didn’t walk out or say, “Can I come too?” He told Jesus to command Him. If you think about that for just one minute you will feel a sense of peace as you do your daily walk with Jesus. When you know your every minute is guided by the hand of Jesus, asking permission to walk on water will take the fear away from walking on the water. When you get permission, His word will be the lamp to your feet even when you are walking on water.
Way Two: Focus on Jesus
In verse 29 Peter is given permission to come to Jesus except he didn’t quite make it. The wind and the waves scared him, and he sank. He lost focus on the Man who gave Him permission to come. Do you lose focus too? Walking on the water is not easy. It takes courage but sometimes you will lose your courage and doubt. Keep coming to Jesus even when you have doubt because you know that is where you are supposed to be. When you focus on Jesus, His word will be the lamp to your feet even when you are walking on water.
Way Three: Rely on Jesus
“Immediately Jesus stretched out His and caught him” verse 31 tells us. How often have you denied the commands of God because you doubt Jesus will catch you? He tells you many times He will be with you. You need to stop doubting and believe He is with you for every step He commands you to take. His plan for you is the best plan for your life. Living an abundant life can only be done as you rely more on Jesus. When you rely on Jesus, His word will be the lamp to your feet even when you are walking on water.
Walking on water is difficult sometimes, but sometimes the water is frozen to make it easy for a time. Either way there is a chance you may fall in. Don’t let that knowledge stop you from getting out of the boat. Psalm 119:105 says God’s Word is a light for your feet and a light to your path. Light travels through water and reflects off of the water. Water does not stop the Light it changes how we see it.
As long as you get permission to get out of the boat, focus on Jesus with every step and rely on Jesus to show you the way, you will walk on water every day of your life. It will be exhilarating and life giving every day. You will see the Light in front of you and you will be able to give that Light to everyone else in the boat with you.
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Two Ways to Resist Temptation
Temptation is what the devil uses to draw Christians away for Jesus. He uses it to draw us away from God’s plan for our lives. Each one is drawn away by the desires they have for their own plan. James 1:14 says “…each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” You have been habitually planning your life around your own desires then the Father chooses you. You want to hope these desires will be part of your plan or maybe you don’t even know what the plan is, so you continue living as you were. You have been revealed a Scripture to show you the desires of God for your life, but your desires are screaming louder than His, so you feed them.
It is a habit to feed your own desires. Your brain is wired to feed them. Your whole life is managed around feeding them. They are hungry, and you are the sole source of their food. Jesus is getting impatient. He is a jealous God and He wants you to feed His people. You have tried to starve them, but they scream louder for sustenance. You don’t want to starve them to death because you actually like them. Jesus can wait until tomorrow although He has already been waiting for years. How long do you think He will wait for you to resist those temptations to feed your desires?
He will let you live your own life, but you will not live a life worthy of your calling. You will not live, you will die. “When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:15) Resisting temptation is imperative to live. Everyone knows what unrepentant sins can do but it is not sinking in because resistance is not sinking in. Your brain needs to be rewired for these two ways to sink in. To rewire your brain you need to continually redirect your mind and continually redirect your body.
Way One: A Redirected Mind
The devil puts thoughts in your mind, but he isn’t the only one; you are good at it too. Your chooser muscles is weak because you have never worked it out before. Start building its muscle by making right choices using your mind first. When you begin making right choices you begin rewiring your brain toward these choices and the temptation flees. Redirecting your mind is possible but make sure your direction is a Biblical direction.
Believe God when He says it is possible. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 (Corinthians 10:4-6)
Way Two: A Redirected Body
The disobedience Paul is talking about is our body’s disobedience. Paul says, “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection” (I Corinthians 9:27a). Paul doesn’t like to waste any time or energy submitting to God so he “fights not as one who is beating the air” (V26) and this is how we have to bring our body into subjection. Redirecting your body is possible but be sure your direction is a Biblical direction.
Believe God when He says your body is not your own. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
Giving in to temptation is the easy way out but it makes for a harder life for longer and a bigger mess to clean up. The worst thing about giving in to temptation all the time is the loss of your soul. Jesus Himself said, “What good is it to gain the whole world but lose your soul?” (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25)
Practice redirecting your mind and redirecting your body into righteous acts by using a buzz word. Mine, back when I first started practicing this was, “STOP!” I would repeat it multiple times if I had to. Then, I would redirect my mind to something else (Philippians 4:8). I still have to do this today but not so much and my mind reacts quickly to one STOP. When resisting temptation becomes a habit your mind and your body will thank you.
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The 3 Ways to Live
My Goal to Live
As you know by now my whole goal for you is for you to live. I want you to stop sitting on the sidelines while others live. I want you to stop agonizing over a spent life. I want you to live. I want you to be somebody who is proud of the way you have lived. I want you to say on your deathbed, “I have lived a good life.”
This is why Jesus has made me who I am. To bring you the news that no matter what is going on in your life, you can live. I know struggle. I know hatred. I know medical problems. I know loss of time. I know every excuse that is known to man, but I still make it my goal every day to do what Jesus has called me to do: live.
If you are able to grapple with and overcome three major problems to living, you will live. Before Jesus gave up His life for us, He told us three things about living that we ought to pay attention too. He told us we must die to live. He told us we must see to live, and He told us we must feed off of Him to live.
Way One: Die to Live
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. John 11:25
You will never live until you kill yourself. To live the life Jesus has for you killing yourself is mandatory. Up until you were saved, you were living your own life. BUT now you must live for Jesus or you will surely die. This is a conundrum all of us grapple with, but I can tell you that once you have successfully overcome this, you will begin to live a life more abundant.
Your mind changes from striving for goods to striving for God. You look at people differently. You love differently. You plan differently. You begin to live as if death has no hold on you.
Way Two: See to Live
A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. John 14:19
You will never live until you see Jesus all around you. To live a life for Jesus you must be able to see Him at work. Jesus is alive and at work in this world. He is alive and at work in the people around you. It is because He is alive in this world that we can possibly live a life more abundant than before.
When you see Jesus at work, He is easier to follow. When you see Him, you see His plan for you. You see Him at work in others’ lives. It is because He manifests Himself to you, that you are able to see Him, follow Him and live through Him. Your previous blindness falls away leaving you are able to see.
Way Three: Feed to Live
As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. John 6:57
You will never live until you feed on the Word. Everything that happens in our life can be understood by Word. Your life will always remain a mystery if you never feed on the Word. While you are trying to solve life’s issues you are not living. You are moving from one problem to the other instead of one event to another. Jesus has provided the food for us, so we can use it to live a life more abundant.
Have you ever heard that if you eat too many carrots your skin turns orange? Well, if you eat much of the Word, you will look like the Word. We already have the image of the Word, now we need the character of the Word. The world will see the image of the Word working like the Word. You will live because of the Word, and your life will become much more abundant.
Your Goal to Live
None of us want to reach our deathbed full of regret and sorrow. Jesus came that we might live (John 10:10) so why aren’t we? Why aren’t we dying to self? Why aren’t we seeing Jesus? Why aren’t we working like the Word? We are grappling with life and we must overcome it.
Living for Jesus is the most wonderful thing in the world to do. He supplies us with everything we need to do what He has asked us to do. He makes the way for us to do His will. He has provided us with a room in the Fathers mansion. He intercedes for us when we fail. What more could we ask for? What more do you want?
If all of the provisions are available living for Jesus should be easy but it takes time and effort in the beginning. You just need to get past this stage no matter how hard it is so that you may live. I want your goal to be to live. I will be with you every step of the way bringing you my stories and solutions to life’s problems. We can and will overcome this life, so we may live His life more abundant.
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The Way to Unlocking the Holy Life
The Bible tells us to be holy for our Father in Heaven is Holy (Leviticus 11:45; 1 Peter 1:16). If God tell us to be holy is it more than possible that we can be holy. More than I want anything in this world I want to be holy. Who has the key to unlocking holy in my life and in yours? Can we have this key? We have the key hanging around our neck but forget about it.
The Christian Journey
Being who we are created to be is the journey all Christians want to go on, but we become frustrated and lonely. It is a long journey filled with unexpected pot holes and huge ditches. We know in our heart that everyone has to endure this, but we don’t see them. We forget.
There is nothing like having kids around to remind us how similar we are to them. I wonder how I can teach them because I am so much like them. I am supposed to be different from them, so I can teach them to be mature and faithful. Having kids around actually teaches me how much I need to learn.
The Reminder
My four-year-old grandson is much more like me than I want to admit. He is an independent thinker who knows exactly what he wants and will do what is required to have it. We had a clash of the titans over the computer. I told him what I expected, then asked him to repeat what I expected, but he did not retain what I said.
Ponder Your way to Retention
I do the same thing to God. He tells me, in His Word or writes it on my heart, but I do not retain it. Why? Why can I not retain the wonderful Words He speaks over me? I spent more time pondering the negative aspects of my life than the positive. There was positive, but I forgot it. I had to change my pondering perspective.
Unlocking the Holy Life
I began pondering the words Jesus spoke over me, one word at a time. All this time I had the key hanging around my neck and did not know it. The key to holy is the cross. My reminder became my necklace. It is not often I wear any other necklace besides a cross. I need to be reminded daily I belong to Jesus and He is the key to holiness.
I began remembering the Word and retaining it. I am human just like you. This is possible to do. You too can begin to unlock the holy life Jesus desires for you by starting with one word at a time. Start with the word holy. I know it is one of those words we tend to stay away from because it is so over reaching.
Define and Unlock Holy Daily
You need to define what holy looks like to you, one day at a time. When you have defined holy today, you will begin to unlock holy in your life, today. Holy may mean silence today but tomorrow may mean lawful driver. Each of us are individuals who have an individual plan for our life. The plan God has for you always includes holiness. Be holy for your Father in Heaven is Holy.
Holy are You
Day after day of defining what holy looks like will add up into living a holy life. You will retain what holy looks like for you because you are looking for it. You will wake up every morning to begin a holy focused day and go to sleep every night with a holy smile. It is possible through Jesus Christ to be holy, as long as you retain the truth of this possibility. There is a way to unlock holy in your life and only Jesus has the Key. He will give it to you and too will be able to say, “Holy am I.”
If you require assistance with learning pondering skills please contact me at kathleen@thelifeskillsstrategist.com You can watch my podcasts to learn more about living the Abundant Life Jesus promises.
