Backwards World

Do you ever feel like you are an alien or something? I do. Sometimes I feel like I live in a backwards world. I think if you feel this way, then you're probably right on track. The world has their earthly way of thinking. Which runs contrary to how God thinks as well as to how we are supposed to think as a Christ follower. It may take a while, but if you are growing in Christ you will find that you live in a backwards world, too. It is interesting to see how people react to life when they have no God. Running around screaming to be tolerant or open minded. It's because I am open minded that I was able to start a relationship with God.  It wasn't that I had a huge amount of faith. It was because I became willing to believe that there might just be a God out there. That is where it started; not much faith at all. As I have grown in my faith and my walk with Him  I have changed, so much so that it sometimes feels like I'm in a backwards world. Jesus said in John 17:14, "I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." Now you can see why it seems like a backwards world. But, while the world is out of control, I can have peace in Christ.

Taking it to the street:

1.) If you don't know God, try being open minded and seek Him.You will find Him
2.) Daily read the Bible and pray.

Pressing on with Excellence!!
Keith

12 Steps to Financial Freedom

What does financial freedom have to do with worry? Everything. Finances are one of the things we worry about the most and, when our finances are in order, much of our worry goes away. So here it is, the 12 Steps to Financial Freedom.

12 STEPS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM

 

1: We admitted we were powerless over stuff and our lives have become unmanageable.

2: Came to believe that stuff had complete control over us and that a power greater than stuff could restore us to sanity.

3: Realizing that it is our will that desired stuff, we turned our will and our lives over to the power greater than stuff.

4: Made a list of all our stuff and became willing to sell it all.

5: Admitted to God, ourselves, and to another human being that our selfish, self-centered, and prideful selves were the main cause of our troubles.

6: Became willing to have God remove all of our stuff if it is necessary to achieve financial freedom.

7: Humbly asked a power greater than stuff to remove our stuff.

8: Took our list of stuff and sold it high or low and used the money to pay off our credit cards.

9: Made direct deposits into a savings account whenever possible.

10: Continued to take inventory of our stuff and when we got too much, took it back or gave some away.

11: Sought, through prayer and meditation, a relationship with this power greater than stuff.

12: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we carry this message to others still suffering from stuff-i-tous and continue to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Get into the solution

So I went to a meeting tonight and there was a guy that had gone to a wedding and gotten drunk over the weekend. He had been sober only a month. The discussion took on the usual; things to stay away from, wet places, and how to have a plan of escape. Don't allow yourself to be tempted. The problem is, no matter where you're at you can be tempted with anything. Whether you're an alcoholic or just a regular sinner, temptation comes. So really there is no safe place. The Bible says in 1 Cor.10-13">No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it." (MSG). Even then you still have to have a desire to not give in. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. To the extent that we allow Him to control our mind he will give us the desire to say no. So the solution is to prepare ahead of time by submitting control of our mind to Him over and over again until it almost becomes a habit. Ro. 8:6 says, "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Think about this: when you're being tempted you are not at peace, in fact you're in turmoil. So you will know when you have overcome temptation because you will have peace. The peace you receive when you overcome temptation is real life and the only real solution. 

 Taking it to the street:
          1.) Identify those areas that are your greatest temptation create a plan of escape.
          2.) Ask the Holy Spirit to control your mind.

Quit Chasing Rabbits

One of the things I would like to do is to focus more on the important things in life instead of wasting my time on things that don't really matter. Nice thought, but where do you start? I think you need to look at some things and decide what's really important. Goals are nice but if they don't lead you to what's really important then they're just a list of accomplishments. Or things that you want to accomplish. I'm not saying that goals are bad, they just may be a distraction from what is really important. What does God have for you? Trying to figure out what God's will for your life can sometimes be difficult. But if you don't figure that out and pursue it, then you're just chasing rabbits.
It says in 1 Corinthians 13:1, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." I sometimes wonder if I complicate it too much. I have said that I may not know what God's will is for my life, but I sure know when I'm not doing his will. His will is not complicated. His will is to be like Him and to love others since he is love. His will is to, wherever you are in life,
bring glory to him through all that you think, say, and do. Your relationship with God is most important. To love people is what his will for all of us is. The biggest problem I have with that is self.
Taking it to the street:1) Ask God to help you to realize his love for you.
                                2) Ask God to point out to you thoughts that are not glorifying to Him.
Pressing On With Excellence!! Keith

God Is Good

Well, it's a new year, I hope your last one was as blessed as mine. I've been reflecting and thinking about the many blessings our family has had this past year. We were able to purchase a house and visit with family for a week in Tennessee. My daughter wrote her first book, (proud papa that I am, contact me to find out more.)  My wife and I have become small group leaders in our church. What a true blessing that has been seeing and being a part of others spiritual growth. I know others have not had such a blessed year. I know of three families that have lost loved ones unexpectedly. I have had a personal friend diagnosed with cancer and has been out of work for two months and my prayers go out for all of them. I watched a friend throw his future away for nothing. So life is a mixture of triumph and tragedy. Still, I choose to focus on the good. I will be here to help those who make poor decisions. I will pray for those who are grieving, and I will be here to listen to and walk with him who is suffering. I also will still help others on their spiritual journey. All in all, more good has come this year than bad  and I am grateful to God for all he is doing in and through me. God is Good and I choose to focus on the good!
Taking it to the street 1.) Practice looking for the small, good things in your life every day.
                                 2.) Thank God for those good things every day!
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith
P.S This is my 100th blog!!

Realize

I had been a Christian for at least 15 years, yet there was clearly a disconnect between myself and God, almost a split personality of sorts. If I knew you were a Christian, I could mostly act like I thought a Christian should act. If I knew you were not a Christ follower, you probably would not know that I was a Christian. Some of the things that would come out of my mouth would make a sailor blush. I want to make it clear, I was a Christian. I believed in God and I had a heart for a closer relationship with him. I would read my Bible every day in the morning and that did help, but I had very little fruit in my life, meaning the fruits of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22 &23 says, "but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control." I believe it is possible to limit God's power in our lives. 1st Corinthians 13:11 says, "when I was a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." So maybe part of my being unfruitful could be blamed on spiritual immaturity. But I still believe there are ways to spur spiritual growth so that we may become spiritually mature quicker and stop wasting our lives. That is what this blog is all about!
Taking it to the street. 1.) Do an inventory of fruits of the Spirit in your life this week. (Are you lacking?)
                              2.) Ask someone to hold you accountable about the changes you want to see in your life.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Words Have Power

So, last night the pastor was talking about the words we speak and how they can effect us good or bad. This is so true. Our words can hinder our own spiritual growth. James 1:26 says, "If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." Two things that the pastor gave us to help us to put this into practice was to think before you speak; Proverbs 15:28, "The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil." Speak less; Proverbs 10:19, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise." It was a great message. I would add, to not allow yourself to get into a debate when you are physically tired, because I have noticed it is easier to let your guard down about what you say or how you say it if you are tired. Sometimes it is better to not speak at all if the words you're about to say does not bring honor to God.
Taking it to the street: Try listening more than you speak.
                                 Ask God to help you to think before you speak.
                                 Ask God to help you to hear what words you are saying to yourself.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Selfless

In the last few blogs we have been looking at what blocks us from receiving the Holy Spirit. I want to take a different look at this subject. I want to look at things that we can do to be controlled by the Spirit. My life verse, Romans 8:6, says, "The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." All of my life I have been longing to have peace even though I did not know what name to give it. I knew what it felt like, but the peace I was receiving was fleeting. But I have found it and it is here most of the time. The only time now that I lose my peace is when I get into self and forget about being controlled by the Spirit. Selfishness and self-centeredness is my biggest block from seeing the Holy Spirit's power in my life. So, if I'm selfless and others focused, then I eliminate my biggest block; ME. So, the next few blogs will be about what we can do to have our minds controlled by The Holy Spirit.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Repentance

Let us review of some of the things that we have found that block us from the Holy Spirit's power in our lives. Things such as pride, bitterness, and focus. Acts 2:38 says, "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (NIV) He say's it again in Acts 8:22. So here's another one we can add to the list of things that block us from the Spirit.To repent means to feel sorry or to have regret for a past action. I believe this is a great first step. We need to realize our mistakes and humble ourselves. This may have been another reason that the people in Acts 8 did not receive the spirit right away. I have been inventorying my own life and I've been pursuing the wrong things. I've been trying to become great in the name of God rather than pursuing his greatness. I wanted to see God do great things through me instead of just allowing him to be great. I've been seeking to become greater. He must become more, I must become less. Forgive me, Lord, for my self-centeredness.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Change Your World

 I've been trying to figure out what the key is to drawing upon the power of the Holy Spirit, because I'm convinced that if the power of the Holy Spirit was in our lives it would change our world. So, for the next few blogs we will explore this issue. I've written before about the fruit of the Spirit and I believe that these fruit are the what of the power; meaning, that if we have the fruit of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness, and self control, that is how the power is manifested in our lives. So, what would your life look like if no matter what happened you had the fruit of patience. Can you imagine having peace most of the time? Or being kind and loving? How would your life look if you had goodness and gentleness, faithfulness, not to mention self control. See, if Christ followers had this power, and we do, it stands to reason that we are wasting our lives if we don't utilize it. This is not self help, this is a God intervention that allows us to be different from the world. So, we will explore what it takes to tap into His power. Are there things that we can do? Romans 8:6 is my life verse and I think it is the answer. But how do we do this? That is what I will be writing about over the next few weeks.
Pressing on with Excellence!!
Keith

Forgiven

I don't know why I struggled so long with God's forgiveness for me. I, for some reason, couldn't wrap my head around how he could forgive me for all of the sins I committed. Look at that statement. There are two things that stick out to me in that. One is pride, the other is unbelief. Pride, because God is love and, when you truly love, forgiveness is a given. I don't think God can help himself. He has to forgive us because it's part of his nature. That is why he sent Jesus to die for us. So, when I don't accept his forgiveness, it is prideful. Because if he can forgive me but I cannot forgive me then that is the same as saying that I'm better than God. This is where the unbelief comes in. Unbelief costs us more than we will ever know. I wonder how many blessings I missed out on because I did not believe. Certainly, I have missed out on much peace that comes from knowing that I've been forgiven. God knows every sin I ever committed and those that are yet to come. I'm so glad to be forgiven are you?
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith 

Self

I read a good book which had a quote in it that said " We made a decision based on self which put us into a position to be hurt." Talking about recovery from alcoholism. But doesn't that cover pretty much every decision that I make based on self or selfish concerns.What I mean is I see something that I want and manipulate people or things to get it and hurt others and myself in the process. I have noticed that most of the time that when I make a decision based on self that those decisions are fear based. IE I'm afraid that I'm not going to get something  that I want. Or I will lose something that I already have. It is a constant battle to stay out of self. Then I have that sinking feeling you get when you have done something wrong and you wish you could rewind and have a do over. Then I end up having to make amends for what I have done.One thing I do know is when I make a decision based on self it takes me farther than I wanted to go. It keeps me there longer than I wanted to be there, and It costs me more than I wanted to pay. What if I could learn how to not make decisions based on self. Wouldn't that save me a lot of trouble, it would and does. How did I learn to do that? Through Love If I can learn how to love correctly I can over time learn how to care for others. I can really care about others. When I really care others I can filter some of those self based decisions and save myself so much trouble.

Pressing on with excellence!
 Keith

Can't Compartmentalize

One thing I believe is that if you do not have a relationship with God, then by default you’re against him. What I mean is; it is no wonder why our defects of character, our relationships with others, and our lives are messed up. We were running opposite of God, getting further and further away from what we were really meant to be, ideally.

  It may not be intentional, but without His help it is impossible to continue to become better and better. Therefore you stagnate and are never able to progress further in any area of your life. Each area of your life affects one another. For example if you have a resentment against one person, then it will effect other relationships in your life. You may be intolerant to your wife or kids. It is impossible to compartmentalize different areas of your life from each other. One thing that is cool is, when you, with God’s help, start improving in one area of your life, it affects all the other areas of your life. For example, if you start improving in physical fitness it may effect how you feel about yourself and your self esteem. If your self esteem improves, you may be more tolerant with others. One of the most revolutionizing things in my own life, that held me back for so long, was unforgiveness of myself. I don’t think I realized that I had a resentment against myself (you know you have a resentment against yourself when you use the guilt club on yourself.) Anyway, when I started forgiving myself, I found that my relationships with others improved. I was able to overlook others wrongs and I drew closer to God which gave me more peace. 

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith