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.

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

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

Passing it on

 I wanted to comment about what we talked about in the last post. One of the things that I learned over the years is that, left to my own devices, I cannot change anything on my own. No matter how much I wished I could change, I could not do it myself; the power wasn't there. I have learned to allow  the Holy Spirit to control my mind. When the Holy Spirit controls my mind, then I act differently, almost without trying. It just happens. So when it comes to my kids I teach them to do this to the best of my ability. I only have them for a little while. I teach them how to make good choices to the best of my ability. What I'm trying to do is to prepare them because I know someday they are going to be put in a position to choose for themselves. I pray they will make the right decision, but, ultimately, it is their decision to make. To do that they will also need to learn to trust Him. If you know that God loves you, and is with you, and cares about you. Then you can have confidence that what is happening to you is for His glory and good. The best I think we can do is to prepare them for that day. If they screw up they will at least know where they can turn. If they learn how to allow the Holy Spirit to control their mind and are guided by the Spirit then they are in good hands and I don't have to worry about their future. Are you passing it on if so how?
Passing it on with excellence !!
Keith 

The Scariest Place to Be

My mind is a dangerous neighborhood, I shouldn't go in there alone.

Step 5 in AA is admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. For this step we will need a sponsor or a spiritual advisor to talk to. When it comes to revealing yourself totally to someone else that can seem pretty frightening. It was for me, but I knew if I didn't do it I would drink again. The thing is, if I would have let myself off the hook, I believe I would have suffered the consequences of half-hearted efforts. You truly reap what you sow and this way is difficult sometimes. But I believe it to be the easier, softer way when you compare it to the way I was living before.

When I forced myself to open up, my sponsor was kind and loving and forgiving. I thought he might think lesser of me because of my past, but he wasn't judgmental and he shared with me some of his experiences from the past. When I left I felt like a ton of weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I think that sharing things about my life was a test from God just to see if I was really willing to do whatever it took to be sober. When it was over, I had the same feeling you feel when you ace a test.

Pushing Towards Excellence

Keith

Weird But Wise

How do you pick someone to be a sponsor, discipler, or mentor? First, I would say you want to pick someone you want to be like and someone that is more spiritually mature than you. When I first got sober I picked a guy that laughed a lot because I wanted to have fun. I didn't think I could be sober and have fun at the same time. Over time, distance, from moving, forced me to find someone else. That is good though, because it stretches you even further. One person can only take you so far so you need others to come into your life and push you to greater and greater things.

My sponsor used to say weird things to me. One time when I was having a problem with a co-worker he told me, Keith, I want you to go out of your way to be nice to her and help her out. Another time he told me, Keith, for one month nobody's wrong; even if they're wrong, they're not wrong. He also told me things like, you can't think your way into right living. You have to act your way into right thinking. Action, action, action. Go through the motion, the emotion will follow. He also told me happiness is a by-product of good living.

Weird but wise.

Keith
Pushing Toward Excellence

P.S. Pray for the tsunami victims and for Japan.

The Sharpening

I would like to write about accountability. Why is it important? There was a study done on horses. One horse by himself could pull 2,500 pounds. They repeated the test with two horses and together they were able to pull 12,500 pounds. That’s five times as much as by themselves. I think the same holds true for people. Not by strapping them to a weight, but by strapping them together by accountability.

I know if I talk to someone about a problem I’m having, for some reason I’m able to think a little clearer. Especially when that problem rises again. It is easier to let go and not do the wrong thing if I know I’m going to have to tell someone about it.

What if you knew a person was going to specifically ask you about a character defect or ask how you were doing on being kind, loving, and generous? Don’t you think that has the possibility to change the way you act? Proverbs 27:17 says that as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another. This is true. Although it might seem scary to share some or all of your innermost thoughts with someone, it will help you to become the man or woman that God wants you to be and it happens a lot faster than trying to do it on your own. A problem shared is a problem cut in half.

Pushing towards excellence.

Keith