Tag: inspiration

Conform or Transform?

Are you a conformist or a transformer? Do you follow everyone else, including down dead ends in life, or are you looking to be different? To transform. Paul’s letter to the Romans says it all:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” Romans 12:2

The Israelites conformed to each other and wandered the desert for 40 years. They were basically one mindset. They got lost conforming. Unfortunately, that’s what so many of us do today. We conform, even if we conform to be different. That’s why we are basically lost.

Paul nailed it that if you want to get closer to God, to walk the right path in life, you need to transform your mind by renewing it. That way you can start understanding what is not only good and acceptable but what is perfect to God. The world becomes brighter and clearer.

How do you transform by renewing? By listening for and to God. It’s that easy. You just have to make time, and LISTEN with an open mind and heart. That way you will start transforming your mind, and your life along with it.

LISTEN! Renew! Transform!

No Room for Guilt in Your Life!

I was the king of guilt and still sit on the throne of guilt on occasion. Gut I’m here to tell you what I found out—there is no room for guilt in your life. Why? Because Jesus lived and died for all our sins, not matter what we do wrong. So, confess with your heart that you screwed up and you are free. There is no reason to let guilt ruin your day, or even your life.

I use to beat myself up with guilt. It was a true whipping session that could go on for days. I felt comfortable in my guilt even if it froze me from moving forward. Then, I realized that a true confession wipes the remorse away.

Confessing what you did wrong is not like rubbing a magic lamp. It’s a serious, heartfelt examination of what you did and a commitment to not do it again. It’s a soulful talk with Jesus to thank Him for giving His life for what you did wrong. By wallowing in your guilt you’re actually denying that Jesus lived and died for your sins. So, give in to confessing, asking for forgiveness, and know that you have already been forgiven.

Get rid of the guilt!

Have a fantastic, guilt-free week ahead!

Recharge Your Light

I recently wrote that we all have a light hardwired into us by God. The problem is so many (most?) of us let that light be hidden. That’s why the world is such a dark place right now. The lights are not out but just hidden.

“You are light for the world. A city cannot be hidden when it is located on a hill. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand. Then its light shines on everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

This says it all. Let your light shine. That’s the only way the world will get out of the darkness we’re in now. Like all change, it starts with one person at a time. A smile. A good deed. Reaching out to someone in trouble. Just do good. The beat goes on of how to let your light shine.

Every once in a while I know my light needs recharging. I get that done by asking God for a charge. By talking to Him. Praying. Meditating. Simply being still. It’s amazing how your light can charge up. But you still need to let it shine. Don’t hide it from view!

Have a FANTASTIC week! Let your light shine!!!

Don’t Hide Your Light!

Whether you know it or not, we all have the light of God in us. It’s a light that too many don’t know they have or simply keep hidden from view. It’s a light that must shine to keep out the darkness in a world that is getting increasingly dark.

As Jesus so clearly said: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

Do good and let everyone see it. Don’t keep your light hidden from view or, worse yet, burn out. Keep it shining and visible for all to see.

Smile. Help someone in need. Pay it forward. Give of yourself. Put others first. The list goes on of how you can keep your God-given light shining and lighting a dark world. It’s not hard to do. You just have to think past yourself.

Have an EXCEPTIONAL week lighting the way!

Do You Know Your God-Given Purpose?

It’s pretty simple. Everyone on the face of this earth has a God-given purpose. God created you and me. He gave us both a special, unique purpose for our lives. We don’t have to be powerful (in the earthly sense), rich, or anything like that. Our purpose is our purpose whatever it is. A Secret to Life is knowing that purpose and realizing it.

God hardwired a purpose into our lives. We just have to understand that purpose and carry it out. And the only way to find that purpose is to spend time with God. He will help us realize the special, unique purpose we each have in life.

I really think that what this life is about is finding our purpose and making whatever we are supposed to do happen. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering. It’s our purpose and ours to carry out.

Again, there is nothing religious or magical here. It’s just about finding out what our lives are meant to be. Understanding our purpose in life and making sure we fulfill that purpose to the best of our abilities and time in this body and life.

If you want to start understanding your purpose simply LISTEN for/to God. He’s there for the talking.

Where is God?

That’s a good question in these troubled times. It’s easy to question where God is and why does He let all this bad stuff happen in the world. It’s even easy to question the existence of God. And that’s exactly what the forces of evil want you to do. Question, doubt, and simply walk away.

Look. God is always there and a heartbeat away. We just need to turn to Him. But like the Israelites in the desert thousands of years ago it’s easier to turn away from God. To doubt. To complain. To worship false idols. And look where that got them. Not even Moses crossed into the Promised Land. Only two of the original tribe did.

It this earth was all there is then I would certainly question God and His existence. But this earth, with all our imperfections and the forces of evil constantly in our ear, is not all there is. It’s a training ground, a warm-up to eternity. I know that may sound just too pat, but what can I say. It’s true. Think about this, we die and at the moment of death there is nothing. Or, at the moment of death, we either see a shining light or a very dark place. And everything we have done to make this imperfect world Heaven on earth will dictate if we see light or dark. If we see nothing then it’s game over. I’m banking on seeing something and I want to see light.

Every day we have choices to make. We can LOVE as God our Creator and Jesus our Savior both commanded or we can live for just ourselves. It’s a pretty simple choice. We live for today for ourselves or we live for today and tomorrow for others. We make this world a worse place or improve it for the better.

Game on!

Dealing With Temptation

Let’s face it, we are all tempted in one way or another. We may not realize it, or may just be in denial, or simply don’t care but we are all faced with temptation. The evil presence in this world—call it, Satan, Lucifer, devil, demon, or whatever—is real. It whispers in our ears and twists and turns our lives. The goal is to drag us into a dark and sometimes endless pit.

There are three basic ways to deal with temptation. You can simply give into it. Not good! Or you can dwell on temptation, which typically ultimately leads to giving into it. Not good! Or you can be still and simply let it pass. Hard but very good!

It takes discipline to simply let temptation pass. To go in one ear and out the other. But it can be done. Trust me. No, trust God. He is always less than a heartbeat away to help you deal with temptation. Turn to Him and let temptation go.

I know I am making this sound easy but it’s not. It takes practice, focus, and discipline but it can be done. Like anything in life, practice is needed. Pray, meditate, or simply be still. You can deal with temptation if you put your mind to it. It takes work but Jesus showed it how it can be done.

Have a great rest of the week and don’t let temptation ruin the peace that is hardwired into you!

Do You LOVE?

It’s clear that God is LOVE. Pure, unconditional LOVE. He sent His only Son to sacrifice Himself for our sins. Before His humanity died on the cross, Jesus gave us the one commandment to LOVE. The question is, do we LOVE?

LOVE is just like electricity. It has to flow. Without flowing, LOVE is nothing. God flows His LOVE into us, but the question is do we flow it to others?

Here’s a news flash. If you think you are a Christian—meaning, a follower of Jesus Christ—and you don’t walk in LOVE, you are simply not a Christian. I don’t know what you are but you are certainly not a Christian.

There is a profound lack of LOVE in this world today. There is a lot more animosity and downright hate in the world. LOVE is hard to come by. That’s why we have daily shootings and wars breaking out all over the globe. To LOVE is a Real Secret to Life but it’s more of an unknown than ever before.

You’re on a path to hell if you don’t walk in LOVE. It’s that simple. LOVE and you’re walking the path to eternity. Sorry. There is no sugar coating this.

I hope you walk in LOVE this week, the next, and so on.

Pull Jesus Down

Jesus died for all our sins—past, present, and future. Every sin ever committed. The cross He bore, and was hung on, is a testament to all sins. And Jesus was pulled down from that cross and buried. He then rose again in glory. So, to be forgiven of your sins, and to share in that glory, you need to pull Jesus down from the cross.

What???

I know this sounds like supernatural religious mumbo-jumbo but I don’t mean it to be. What I mean by this is to think about Jesus on the cross, and what he did for you, and envision pulling Him down from the cross and rising again—in you. This is the way you ask for forgiveness. He bore all our sins. We just need to ask Him for forgiveness and in our minds, and quiet spaces, pull Him down from the cross. And have Him rise in our lives.

Find some quiet time to think about what you have done, or failed to do, and talk to Jesus. Think about what He did for us. Then, pull Him down from that cross of sins. Then, invite Him in to you. You will feel uplifted.

Have a SENSATIONAL week ahead!

Get Back On The Horse

No matter what happens in life when you have a setback you need to dust yourself off and get back on the horse again! Don’t wait. Don’t hesitate. Just go straight ahead. Sure, you need to think about what you did wrong. But don’t take a lot of time thinking and dwelling on the past and what you did wrong. Get back on the horse!

Life is not always about moving ahead and staying in the saddle comfortably. It has its twists and turns. You can fall off the horse, whatever that “horse” may be. But you have to pick your self up, dust off, and get back on the “horse” of life. Don’t let anything throw you!

This is pretty simple but like all things in life God means it to be simple. We are the ones who complicate life.

Have a AWESOME week ahead, moving ahead!