Tag: christianity

The Most Powerful Word in the World!

Jesus. There you have it. Not the “Jesus” that people utter as a modified curse word. Jesus. The heartful, soulful word you should invoke whenever you need help, want some peace in a situation, and, most importantly, just say “thanks” and keeping Jesus close.

Saying “Jesus” is not like rubbing a magic lamp. It’s not about asking Him to grant 3 wishes. It’s about having such a close relationship with Jesus that you only need to speak (or think) His name with an open heart and mind. He will do the rest.

This may sound like more religious mumbo-jumbo but its not. It’s simply about life. To me, this is not about Sundays at church, but living life day in and day out. With Jesus.

If you have never done it, try simply saying “Jesus” while your heart and mind are both open. Open heart and mind are a must. Then simply let go and say it—JESUS.

Jesus. The most powerful word in the world. It’s a shame people don’t know it and invoke it—not as a curse, but as a heartful, soulful pouring out of life. Trust me—it works.

Have a wonderful day!!!

 

Easter Everday

Easter Sunday. The day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Easter Everyday. Every day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. One is a day event. The other is an everyday event. Jesus rises every day and we rise with Him. More religious mumbo-jumbo? No. Just a different way to live.

I don’t want to stop the glory of Easter. A one day event when the world stops (a bit) for Christians to rest and reflect on the enormity of the sacrifice that God made for us in His Only Son. I want every day to be Easter. We celebrate Easter maybe 70-80 times in our lifetime. I want to celebrate Easter at least 25,550-29,200 times!

How?

Simply by remembering what Easter means. Purpose. Sacrifice. Hope. Glory. And I can think of a lot of other words to describe Easter but I’ll start with those four and how I want to live my life.

Jesus had a God-given purpose in His life. I want to have purpose in my life, not just walking aimlessly through life. I want to understand and realize the special, unique purpose that God has for me.

Jesus sacrificed His life for me. He doesn’t expect me to sacrifice my life (maybe) but He expects me to put others before me. And he commands me to love. Check out John 15:12.

Jesus rising from the death after experiencing a demeaning, terrible death gives hope to the world—and each one of us. I want to live in hope.

If you try, you can feel the glory of God on Easter Sunday. I want to feel that glory each day. It’s easy to get overcome by the darkness in this world. Glory is a bright shining light. There is no darkness in glory.

This may not seem very practical to you; may even seem a little contrived and cute. But it is very practical and real-world to me. You just have to spend a little time thinking about Easter and bringing it into everyday life. Easter Everyday.

Have a GREAT day today! Happy Easter Everyday!

God-less

Sad but true. We are moving forward with less God in our lives. No wonder why this world seems lost and spinning more of of control each day. Less God. That’s really sad!

If you want to see how this plays out, read about Moses and the Israelites in the desert. It took 40 or so years of wondering to travel what should have taken about 11 days. False idols, infighting, and complaining. Sound familiar? The same story that played out thousands of years ago is exactly repeating itself today.

Why? Back then the Israelites turned their backs on God. Fast forward, today we are doing the same thing. Less people in church. More people saying they don’t believe in God and have no “religion.” Lost then. Lost today.

I can tell you that I would be totally lost—maybe even dead—without God in my life. I’m no saint. Far from it. World’s best sinner more like it. But for every step back in the desert I do my best to take 2 steps forward. With God. Everyday with God. Father/Creator, Jesus/Savior, and Spirit/Advocate.

I’m determined not to be lost and wondering in a desert of my life. I’m heading to that Promised Land with God leading the way. Without that, life is truly an endless desert.

Walk forward. Walk with God. Everything becomes clearer in life, especially the path forward. Trust me. Just call out to God to light your way.

Have a glorious, blessed Easter if I don’t sign on before then!

Less Than a Heartbeat Away

That’s where God is in your life. And don’t ever forget it! You may feel like God is so distant from you or, at worst, is not in your life at all. But God is always there—less than a heartbeat away. The problem is that you are not always there.

I had to remind myself this weekend. I did something wrong and was beating myself up about it. I was feeling like God was nowhere to be found. He was lost. Unfortunately, I was lost. God was less than a heartbeat away. I was the one miles away mentally.

Once again, this is not some “religious” mumbo-gumbo. It’s life. God created you and me, equally and with unconditional love. No matter what we do wrong, or how we try our best to hurt God, He is always there in our lives. He is part of our very DNA. He is less than a heartbeat away.

When God seems so distant the problem is not God. It’s us. We don’t try or spend any time LISTENing for/to God. We get too caught up in the world—our very busy world—to give God a thought. Much less LISTEN to/for Him.

So, remember. God is ALWAYS here, regardless of your perspective. God is always less than a heartbeat away.

Have a better than a FANTASTIC day! 

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!!!

Looking for God in Your Life?

He’s less than a heart beat away. You simply have to listen. That’s why I put LISTEN at the top of the list of Secrets to Life. You can’t “hear” God if you don’t LISTEN. You need to shut out the world and tune into God.

When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:13

It takes your heart to “hear” God in your life. Practically speaking, you need to put the distractions of the world aside and really—REALLY!!!—tune into God. As I said, He is less than a heart beat away.

LISTEN and you will hear. I guarantee it. Don’t expect lightning bolts or revelations, although they may happen. But it’s in the silence of your life where you will most likely “hear” God.

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in the mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him that said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:11-14

Elijah heard God in the “sheer silence.” That’s where you will hear Him too if you can just shut out the world for a little bit.

I know this all sounds simple but it is. God makes life simple. We make it complicated.

LISTEN!!! And have a GREAT day!

A Life of Boundless Opportunity

In case you don’t know it, I’m here to tell you that God has a very specific, unique plan for you. Yes, you! We each have our own plan in life. The trick is to understand that plan—a plan with boundless opportunities—and then implement it. And what better time to start the understanding and implementation than now as the New Year unfolds before us. Continue reading “A Life of Boundless Opportunity”

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!!! 

Politics & Airplanes

Hate is all around us. The politicians spew it just for the sake of it, regardless of the issue. I just watched yet another incident on an airplane where two passengers were literally duking it out in the aisle. It reminds me of the original Ghostbusters movie where the hate in New York City was feeding the ghosts. Unfortunately, this is real life and it’s not funny. We’re feeding the hate.

God gave us one commandment and that’s to love. Out of love for us, God gave His only Son. And Jesus left us with one simple command: love. It’s bad enough they hung Him on a cross. We continue the hanging every day as we just don’t love, but we actively hate.

I have said this so many times I can’t count, but change happens one person at a time. It starts with you and me. If we don’t start loving, hate will overrun us, as it is right now. You really wonder where all this hate leads.

LOVE!!! It’s not that hard. And it’s truly a key Secret to Life. I’ll try my best to do my part today. I hope you will join me in spreading some love.

Thanks for reading—and loving! 

How Do We Know What Love Is?

Don’t listen to me. Listen to the apostle John:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 1 John 3:16

WOW!!! Are you ready to lay down your life for a “brother and/or sister” like Jesus did? And, by the way, that’s not as in a “blood” brother or sister. That’s in a complete stranger who should be treated like a blood brother or sister—or, for some of us, how a blood brother or sister should be treated!

The problem is, forget about giving up a life. If we could only show some kindness and respect to others—our “brothers and sisters.” Jesus not only showed us the way to love but He commanded us to love. In fact, it is the one and only thing He commanded us to do, and is the root of everything He did and said on this earth.

Love all comes down to putting others before ourselves. It’s really as simple as that. I know, trust me—simple to talk and preach about but tough to do. But, then again, we have the model in earthly love in Jesus.

Try a little love today!