Category: LIVE

Purpose

Yesterday I wrote about the answer to Jesus’ question, “What are you looking for?” The answer is God. Find God in your life and you find your purpose in life. And if you don’t realize it yet you have a God-given, special, and unique purpose in life. Yes, you!

Find your purpose and you find fulfillment. Fulfillment is joy.

I know, I know. This all seems too easy, pat, cute, and sing-songy. It is in a way. Life is meant to be simple. With God it’s simple. With us it’s complex.

The first Secret to Life is simply to LISTEN for/to God. LISTEN and you will find Him. Find God and you find your purpose. Fulfillment and joy come naturally.

But you have to start by opening up your mind and heart to God in order to LISTEN for/to Him. You have to want to do it. And you have to make the time. You have to start. God will fill in the rest—if you let Him.

Have a fantastic day!

What Are You Looking For?

One of my favorite Bible verses is so simple it seems meaningless—“What are you looking for?” (John 1:38) That’s what Jesus asked when two of John’s followers started following Him.

This is simple beyond simple—“What are you looking for?”

You and I should be asking ourselves that question every day. What are you looking for in life? And there’s only one answer—God. Father, Son & Spirit. Separate but together. God. Simple. So simple we complicate life beyond all recognition.

More people today go looking for life in all the wrong places—money, alcohol, drugs, sex, gambling, things, and more things. They look so hard that these become rabbit holes (addictions) they go down and can’t escape.

God. That’s what we are looking for. Our Father Creator, Son Savior, and Spirit Advocate. What more can we ask for? How simple can this be?

I know—it’s tough at times. I go down dead ends like everyone else. And I have to remind myself that I’m looking for one thing to give true meaning to this relatively short time on earth. God.

Simple. But, girl oh boy, do we know how to complicate life so much. We complicate it so much that we can’t see the simplicity. God. And we want to go in the other direction by separating God (“church”) from life (“state”). No wonder why this world is spinning out of control.

What are you looking for?

Only You Can Make You Feel!

I can’t make you feel anything. Regardless of what I may say about you, I can’t make you feel. Only you can make you feel.

I hear all the time people saying that so-and-so makes them feel one way or another. Even my wife on occasion will say something about how I make her feel. But now she stops and smiles before she says anything because she knows what I am going to say—“Only you can make you feel!”

You may think this sounds insensitive. That we can say anything to and about anyone with free license. Far from it. Our words can be like swords. What comes out of our mouths need to thoughtful, compassionate, and positive. We have no free license to say anything we want. But words can’t make us feel. Only we can make us feel.

One moment, Jesus was going to be made a king. The next, they were ready to throw Him off a cliff. No wonder He went away by Himself for some quiet time to think and pray. Jesus didn’t let the highs and lows get to Him. We need to take some lessons here.

I know it’s tough when people can say mean things. It can hurt. But, once again, you control that hurt. There’s no better way to ignore the “noise” by getting away from it. And thinking and praying, making sure you open up and LISTEN for/to God. It may not be easy, but I can sure tell you it works! 

Your feelings are yours exclusively. You control them. No one else. And your ability to really control them will only get stronger thought getting in touch with God—Father, Son, and Spirit.

Take control today! And have a SUPER one in the process!!!

Jesus is Shaking His Head in Disbelief and Sadness!

Another mass shooting. The worst since the killing of innocent little children in my neighboring town of Newtown, CT. Tragic. Shocking. Senseless. Horrific. Keep going. No words can adequately describe Newton or Parkland.

All Jesus can think is disbelief and sadness.

When faced with his own capture and death, Jesus told Peter, “Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) We keep drawing our swords and dying by them. We learn nothing. Disbelief and sadness.

I’m not a hunter or a shooting range marksman. I don’t want to force taking away anyone’s guns, although there is no place for automatic (semi or otherwise) rifles meant to do one thing and one thing only: kill people.

I just don’t understand why we can’t put our guns down. Jesus, and our Father, give us one command: love. How can we do that with a gun?

I’m sad, shocked, numb, and in disbelief. I can’t imagine how Jesus—who lived and died for us—is feeling right now.

Join me in praying, and hurting, for all those who lost a life or lost a child or brother or sister yesterday. And for all those who’s lives will never be the same.

Into the Desert…

The start of Lent. For some, a time of giving up something you really like. For others, a time to give up something for yourself in favor of giving to someone else. For some, a time to do both and more, And, for others, a time to do nothing different—just trudging aimlessly through the desert of life.

I think Lent is an opportunity for self renewal. Yes, give up chocolate (you can see where my head is at!), reach out to others in need (something I need to do more of!!!), But walk into the “desert” like Jesus did and reflect.

Just what does that mean?

Find some quiet time to reflect on your life. Do you know your special, unique, God-given purpose in life? Are you walking into the desert, aimlessly wandering, or headed out of the desert to your own Promised Land? If you can manage to shut the world out on occasion it’s amazing what you may discover about yourself and life.

Some think Jesus was alone that 40 days in the desert of reflection. He wasn’t. He had His Father; your Father. And it’s a crowd with you because you have Father, Son, and Spirit.

OK, enough “religion.”

Just keep these thoughts in your head while your getting the shakes from giving up chocolate (already starting!) and reaching out to someone in need (top of my list). Get some quiet time. Shut out the world so you can really reflect. Where are you headed in life? What’s your purpose? Are you achieving that purpose? What’s holding you back? Ask yourself these questions and more. Think. Question. Reflect. Renew.

And most importantly—You are NEVER alone in life, regardless of how “alone” you feel. In the desert or otherwise. God, in all His forms, is less than a heartbeat away. And He loves you more than you can ever, ever understand!

I don’t want to say “enjoy” Lent but enjoy it. Reflect. Go inside yourself. Renew.

And in a strange bit of timing—Happy Valentine’s Day!!! 

Who’s in Control?

God. There’s only one answer. And if you got this question wrong, or even had to think about it for a second, think again. God’s not driving your life. You can’t sit in the passenger seat and just relax, snoozing on occasion. You’re driving but God is giving the directions. So, you have to LISTEN.

Why are so many people directionless in life? In fact, why does it seem like the entire planet of people we call humans is directionless? Simply, because they don’t LISTEN to God.

I can’t write enough about this but God has a special, unique purpose for your life. Yes, you! And, yes, both special and unique! Unique because whoever you are—even if you have an identical twin that reads your mind—you are uniquely individual. And your purpose in life is uniquely yours.

The secret to life is finding and understanding that purpose. And one of my first Secrets to Life is to LISTEN for and to God. He’s sitting there in the passenger seat beside you, ready with destination and how to get there.

But you won’t know your destination unless you simply LISTEN.

Try letting go and letting God. It’s simple. And it works!

Happy driving!!!

Do You Look Outward or Inward?

There is no better question on how you live your life to ask yourself! I mean, seriously. Of course, 99.9999…% of us look outward. We look at the sex of a person, skin color, our version of “attractiveness,” etc, etc. All outside. But God told Samuel how we should be “looking:”

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7

Of course, this makes sense if you stop and think about it for a minute. God created us “in His image” (Genesis 1:27). The “image” of God is not outward—He can’t look anymore like me than He does you or anyone else. God doesn’t have any kind of doppelgänger. God’s “image” is His heart and total, absolute, and unblemished unconditional love.

OK, I’ll stop the gobbledygook and abstractions and bring this down to earth and practical living.

You need to look past the outside of a person, no matter how hard that may be. You have to look “inside” a person, at their “heart.” We can only move closer to God when we start loving like God loves. And the only way to really LOVE a person is how God loves you, me, and every other person past, present, and future. Inside.

Look at the world today. Hatred, violence, abuse, etc. It’s not God(ly) because it’s all about what’s outside people, not what’s inside. The world would be a far, far different place if each one of us even made the attempt to look inside people.

Want to change the world? Start looking “inside” people. Look past the flesh. Like all of life, it’s that very simple. Remember—we complicate life. God intends it to be simple. Change starts one person at a time. Change. Look inside.

Have a GREAT rest of this weekend, wherever you are!!!

Visiting The Shack

If you have not seen the movie The Shack I highly recommend watching it. I read the book when it came out but wasn’t sure the movie would do it justice. It did—at least as I remember the book. It certainly delivered the main messages in the book.

We all have out own “shacks.” They are dark places —some way darker than others—that eat away at us and stand in the way of moving forward with life. We need to face those “shacks” and not avoid them. And in doing so we need to look inward and not outwards at others—and judging in the process.

I haven’t written in a while because I was stuck. Watching The Shack helped me out of the rut. It helps put into perspective what is really important in life—the one and only most important thing in life.

Have a GREAT day!!!

Pick Someone Up Today!

Someone around you needs picking up today. It may be someone you know or a complete stranger. But someone needs picking up. So. pick them up!

Start with a smile, a good word, lending a hand, or buying someone a coffee. Even if you need picking up, try looking outside of yourself today to others. You may just find that in picking someone up you pick yourself up in the process.

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11

There’s no rocket science in this post. Look out today for someone who needs picking up. And, then, pick them up!

Have a GREAT day!!!

If Only More People Were Like Tim Tebow

Time Tebow is a very polarizing person, or so says the media. That’s because people seem to either adore him or loath him—or are jealous, whatever, of him. But what’s clear to me is that if more people were like Tim Tebow the world would be a better place. Why? Because he’s caring, goes out of his way for others, follows his dreams, and shuts out negativity. And in all that, he’s humble!

You might like to read this… Tim Tebow’s genuine appeal goes well beyond the playing field

We live in a world of so many bad role models for our kids. Tim Tebow is a great role model.

One additional thought… Let’s take time this Memorial Day weekend to remember the heroes who laid down their lives for our freedom! Enjoy!!!