Where To Start

So my last blog was about how having a relationship with God is most important. My next question was, how do I start a relationship with God? Since I don't know where any readers of this blog are spiritually, I thought it good to begin with what you have to have to start. First thing you need is belief, or faith as it were; a simple belief, not much really. How much you ask? Well I'm glad you asked. You need to believe that just maybe there is an outside chance that there is a God out there and that maybe, just maybe, He wants a relationship with you. If you can muster that much faith, I assure you that God will prove Himself to you. Jesus said in Luke 17:6, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." Here Jesus is talking about moving a tree, how much more does He wish to have a relationship with you? I dare say that if you have a microscopic faith He wants a relationship with you, that He would beyond a doubt make Himself known to you. I really believe that He wants nothing more than just that.

Into Action:
1) Tell God that you believe in Him.
2) Ask God to make known to you how much He he loves you daily.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Unlimited

We have been studying in 2 Corinthians at church lately and how, with God, we can be unlimited. This is true. We really don't need anything. Believe it or not, God can and will provide everything we need to accomplish His will. There are two things, I think, that block us from seeing ourselves as limitless. One has to do with where your heart is; if you are all in with Him.  This is all about him and, when we try to impose our will, we may not think He is providing like we think He should. The other is faith. If our faith is lacking and we don't believe that he will do something, then there is a good chance that He won't. Why should He? To me, it seems audacious to think that he can do something, but that He wouldn't do it for me. God knows exactly what and when we need something. His timing may be different, but when our heart is right, and we believe, He knows it and loves to intercede in our lives. When you find yourself so far out on a limb that only he can help you, not  knowing how or when He's going to show up, that is one of the things that is so exciting about being a Christian.

Taking it to the street:
1.) Start your day with Bible reading and Prayer.
2.) Be careful it is easy to say something negative that blocks your belief.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Controlled by the Spirit

More and more it occurs to me how important it is to be controlled by the Spirit. When we allow the Holy Spirit to control our mind, we can have life and peace. Romans 8 vs 6 says that this is the real secret to life. Being controlled by the Spirit frees us to think of others, to care for them, and to trust that God will take care of us. When we know He cares for us, then we are free to care for others and help them without thinking of the cost to us. I believe that there are Christ followers that for some reason don't have the desire to seek this type of relationship with the Holy Spirit or God. This kind of relationship is what being a Christian is all about. To continually seek to grow in our relationship with God is what God deserves. After all, He did die for our Sins and make it possible for us to even have a relationship with a Holy God. Isn't it our duty to push ourselves to know Him better and to submit to him more and more? Then we will have a greater understanding of what He wants us to do. The best part is, we receive a gift for our pursuit. We get the real life and the real peace; the peace that passes all understanding.
Taking it to the street:
1.) Ask yourself if there are areas of your life that are not submitted to God.
                               
2.) Ask the Holy Spirit to control your mind.

Pressing on with Excellence!!
Keith

 

The little things

I wonder why I struggle so much with the little things? I think it's a pride issue. I will give you an example: Say someone I know has gotten into a car accident. They are seriously injured. I may go to the hospital and visit them and feel sorry for them and even pray with them and for them. I may even feel their pain, but really I can't do much for them. I will pray continuously for them because I ultimately know that their welfare is up to God. But I am powerless to do anything for them. I know that and I am content with leaving them in the hands of the Creator. But, say something small comes up, something simple and I don't go to God in prayer. I say I got this and fail miserably, it usually happens with small, insignificant things. I really think that God wants to be the Lord of our lives and wants to be involved in the small things. He loves us and wants so much to be involved in our lives; every aspect of our lives, especially the small things. This is where we can get an intimate glimpse of God and how much he knows about us and wants to show it. But my pride often blocks me off from this intimate time with God. God won't step in if we don't want him to. He will let us try on our own until we have a Dr.Phil moment and ask ourselves "how's that working for you?" For me it doesn't always. I'm far better if I invite him into helping me with the small things as well.

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.

The Trick To Loving Others

 Matthew 22:36-39 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (NIV) Jesus said to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and to love others as you love yourself. One thing I have experienced in my own life is that, if you learn how to love God with all of your heart, soul and mind, loving your neighbor is almost a by product of that. I say almost because some people really make it difficult to love them. This is not an option, we have to love them, but how do we do that? This is where prayer and the greatest commandment comes in. If we love God with ALL our heart, soul and mind. He makes it possible to love others and yes, even forgive them, for what they do to us. After all He created them too. Who am I to condemn them? They were made in his image as well. I have to make a decision to love them. It might mean walking on eggshells around them to try to keep from offending them. That is a difficult task at times but God will give us the grace to do whatever it takes to learn to love them.

Taking it to the street: 1) Praise God for every good thing he has done in your life.
                                 2) Ask him to teach you how to love like he loves.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Belize here we come

Okay, so February 1st was my last blog. It is now the nineteenth and I'm happy to announce that Sunny and I are both fully funded to go to Belize. Is that crazy or what? Two days ago, Sunny was close to half funded and I had nothing. Then, yesterday, a person I know contributed $2000 to our trip. That, plus what Sunny had, put us at 3/4 funded and we needed to have 3/4 by mid-March to get the plane tickets. We were $750 short of being fully funded. Susan had taken this person's check and Sunny's money to the church to turn it in. Before she got home, I was checking my email and found that someone else put $750 towards our trip; making it 100 % funded!
God is so good!! It is hard to put into words how I felt when I received this news. All I can say is that there is no doubt that God wants us to go. I personally want to thank all that contributed and all of the prayers. It is not over yet, so please keep us in your prayers; Sunny and I and the team that we will be going with. Pray for the people we will be ministering to as well. This has been a good lesson for me on the power of prayer. I asked that we would be funded early and we were. What I did not expect is to have it all come in at one time. God still continues to amaze me.
Taking it to the street; 1) Allow God to guide you to try something new.
                                  2) Trust that if he wants you to do whatever it is he will provide.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Try Something New

I wanted to let people know that Sunny and I have been chosen to go to Belize this summer on a mission trip. We are excited and looking forward to trying something different. I would ask you who read this blog to pray for the team, the leaders, and for the people that we meet; for safety, for wisdom and His provision. Also, pray that He would prepare the way for us all that we would be most effective. This is not a vacation as most people think of when they think of Belize. Where we are going is a unimaginably poor area. This is something that I never dreamed that I would be doing. I'm not exactly sure what I will be doing but I want to see what life is like for others. I think we as Americans take a lot of things for granted. I also know that God has been teaching me to be grateful for all that He has given me. One thing I'm looking forward to is seeing how God is going to work to change me and my daughter's thinking about where we are in life and I know He will! When you put yourself into uncertainty and try something new, God has a way of showing up.

Taking it to the street:
1) Ask God to help you to think of something new that you could do that will stretch your faith in Him.
2) Remember to pray for us!

Pressing on with excellence!!

P.S. If you would like to help in financial support for this trip, contact me at 1handymansmitty@gmail.com    

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

Trust

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is instant when we accept Christ as our savior, but I think for some there is a period of time before we learn how to be controlled by the Spirit; before we believe that we can become controlled or before we realize the need to be controlled by the Spirit. Romans 15:13 says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (NIV). Do you have joy and peace? Do you see that little word as? That little word implies that, to the same degree that we trust in him, we will have joy and peace. I used to say I believed in God and wanted to do his will, but really I wanted to do my will. That was when the trouble would start. See, I did believe in God, but I still did not really trust him. Because I did not trust him I thought that I had to control things and that is when I would lose my peace. Just because things don't work out the way you thought they should have, does not mean that God is not in control. God's will is going to be done regardless. So we might as well get on board with him and trust that he will take care of us and he will. My kids trust that I will take care of them, so why should it be any different with me and my Heavenly Father? Is there anything you're having trouble trusting God with? What's holding you back?
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Wait

Since we have been looking at Acts:8 and how we can have part in the power of the Spirit, I wanted to take a look at Acts 1. Here is, I think, one more key to accessing his power in our lives. The disciples are told to wait for the Holy Spirit's indwelling. During this time they prayed and waited. Why would Jesus tell them to wait? I cannot answer this. I do know time after time in my life God has asked me to wait and it has helped me to grow spiritually. It has taught me patience and how to trust Him, and to seek Him and His will for my life. Waiting teaches me to get me out of myself, and has taught me to not worry or fear. To just be still and know He is God and that He loves me. Waiting is not easy; it can wear you down, but it does seem to produce good results. During the waiting I get to experience the now, which is the only time I can really experience Him. Have you waited on God? What have you learned during this time?
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 

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

HOT DOG

I heard a story about someone who locked himself in a closet for a long time, became hungry, and prayed that God would give him something to eat. The story goes that God won’t do for you something that you can do for yourself. I suppose that they were talking about unlocking the closet door and going to the fridge and getting a hotdog. I also think that might be true in most cases. But do you think there may be times that God might push a hotdog under the door? Times where we're so far out on a limb that only He can help us? I believe there are times when God does just that; pushes a hotdog under the door to keep us from starving to death while He works out His plan for us. If you have asked God for something and He hasn’t given it to you yet, you can take hope in Mark 11:24. Jesus says, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours". What does this mean? I think it means that, if we believe, then we need to act like our prayer has already been answered. What does that look like? How would you act if you knew that God has already answered your prayer? You wouldn’t be worried; you would have direction, and peace. Right? So why not act as if God has already answered your prayer? Isn’t this true faith?

Pressing on with excellence!

Keith

Living in the Unknown

Well, I don't know what to write about. First, I want to apologize that I haven't written a blog for a couple of weeks. We went on a family vacation and then I was in an accident at work. Now I've been thinking about the unknowns. I have a lot of unknowns in my life right now.

1)         I don't know if I will be able to go back to work

2)         I don't know if I want to
3)         I don't know if the woman that I hit is okay or not
4)         I don't know if I want to know

I'm doing okay under the circumstances. I haven't worried about what's going on very much. I've really had to practice what I've been preaching lately. And I'm glad to tell you that it has been working. I know that God is in control and I have had a lot of peace, no matter what happens.

I've been suspended from work while they investigate and that has given me time to process through a lot of things. I've been doing all that I can do and that is all I can do. I have to let God do the rest. Whether I have a job or not does not matter to me. I just pray that the lady is okay. Pray for her right now please. That is all that really matters. Everything else is replaceable.

Pressing on with Excellence,
Keith

Killing Time

One of the reasons that I think I used to worry so much was because of lazyness and apathy. If I worried and prayed then that was good enough. If I quit worrying, pray, then get off my lazy butt and make a plan of action, I have just turned worry into concern. I don't have to sit around and worry, I can work on the plan of action or I can focus my energy somewhere else. I have spent a lot of time sitting around worrying instead of taking productive action.
Do what you are able to do. Don't be afraid to ask for help for that which you are not able to do and leave the rest of it up to God. In the long run, I get more peace and feel more energetic than if I sit around and worry. Apathy breeds apathy.


Pressing on with Excellence,
Dr. Worry