Unconditional Love

Not much is needed to start a relationship with God. A simple belief can change your world. I used to think that I had to clean myself up to come to God. You know, stop smoking and swearing, and that I had to be perfect for God to love me. The fact is God loves you right where you are. Those things that you think you have to change for Him to love you are not in the way. If you had to change all that before you came to God, that would be called conditional love. God loves unconditionally, meaning He couldn't love you more than He does right now. Whether you clean yourself up or not, He still loves you. It took me a long time to wrap my head around that. I still cannot grasp the fullness of His love for me. But I will tell you this, I'm glad for his ability to love unconditionally because I would have never come to know Him like I do without it.

Taking it to the street:
1) Ask God to show you how much He loves you,
2) every day for the next thirty days.

Pressing on!!
Keith

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

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

 

Together is better

We had a sermon on prayer tonight. Our pastor talked about the first church and how they prayed. That got me to thinking about the people in Belize that we met. First of all, we walked this village to pray with people and they were very poor. But there wasn't any prayer requests for any kind of material things, only for relationships and physical healing for others. Not one kind of material thing at all. No trying to manipulate God for this or that. Here are people so needy, yet they were not; they really knew what mattered most.
The second thing I thought about was the Spanish church service that I visited in Belize; where the first thing everyone did when they came into church was to go up front to the alter and pray. Can you imagine what would happen if all of God's children did that? It was a powerful service. I never thought of it before, but if God loves to hear his Children calling out, how does he feel when we do it unified together? I bet He really enjoys it. I'll bet it is like a concert to Him.
Taking it to the street:
1.) Pray
2.) Pray with others.

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.

Happy Easter

I was wondering what people that don't know Christ think about Easter. For them, it's just another day. But do most people know what we celebrate? As a Christ follower I celebrate His resurrection. But what does a non Christ follower think about that. Really, if you think about it, they must think that we are crazy and should be put in the loony bin. Our foundation of what we believe about Christ is that he died for our sins and rose from the dead. Not too many people rising from the dead around here. No offense Walking Dead fans, but it is not an every day occurrence. If Christ did not raise from the dead then we really are crazy. But he did and we celebrate that glorious day when he overcame sin and death and and made us right with God if we believe in him. I'm pretty sure they don't think about what he went through for us. The suffering that He had to endure to pay the price for the sin of the world. This time of the year I'm reminded of this truth and I am so grateful  for what he has done for me.
Taking it to the street: 1.)Ask yourself do you believe?    
                                 2.)Take some time and think about what Jesus had to go through for you.

Pressing on with Excellence,
Keith

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

Judge Not

I was reading in James this week and he has gotten me to thinking about judging others. The verse I'm referring to is the one that talks about having a log in your eye and pointing out the speck in others. I've noticed that in my own life. I did my share of pointing out others mistakes or deficiencies. All without noticing the log in my own eye. As a matter of fact, I think the bigger your log is the more that you see others' deficiencies. It is so easy to sit back and judge others. I think it may be because the more I look at them and their faults the less I have to look at myself and see the log in my own eye. Our own insecurities and selfish desires drive us to do so many things. If we find ourselves judging and condemning others, we can be sure that there is something about ourselves that we are seeing in others, something that really bugs us about ourselves. Matthew 7:2 says, "For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Sounds scary to me.

Taking it to the street: 1) Ask God to convict you when you judge others.
                                 2) Take an inventory of yourself and see if you can see what it is that needs to change in you.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Thanksgiving

'Tis the season and I have been thinking about the different things that I am thankful for. There are so many things that I take for granted. Like my kids wanting to spend time with me. I know that there will be a day when I want to spend time with them and they won't be around. So, for now I will take advantage of that. Another is my wife. I am thankful for all she does. Like the proverbs 31 woman, she takes care of us well. The things that I'm most thankful for are not things but people and relationships. I am thankful for our small group and my friends at church and at work.I'm thankful for old friends and even most of my relatives. But the thing I'm most thankful for is not a thing. It is God's love and mercy and the hope that I have because of Him. Because when it all comes down to it; if you know, I mean really, really know, how much God loves you, it changes everything! When you know that, you change; you can't help but change. It is truly amazing the change that happens, especially in how you treat yourself and others. So that's what I'm most thankful for; just knowing that God is merciful and he loves me.
Taking it to the street 1.) Pray and ask God to help you to realize how great His love is for you personally.
                                 2.) Surrender control of your thinking to Him every morning for one month.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith    

Beliefs

  I have come to realize how important your beliefs are. I used to think that I had to act a certain way based on my emotions. This is not true. What I have found  is that what I believe about a situation controls what I will do. If I believe that someone is hurt bad, I may call 911. If I believe that their injury isn't so bad, I may give them a ride to the urgent care, or take care of it myself with a band-aid. This is true in our spiritual lives as well. If I believe that God is not going to help me with a specific problem, I may try to take care of it myself. Usually it is something small that I think I can fix on my own. The big stuff I tend to give to God because I have learned that I don't have any control over those situations. But the truth is, if I would believe that he would help me in the small things, I could save myself a bunch of trouble. James 1:6-8 says, "But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;  8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." My problem was not that I did not ask, my problem was I did not really believe that he cared enough for me to help me with the small things. I think it kind of offends God when we do that. He wants to be totally involved in our lives.
Taking it to the street:
1.) Ask God to help you to sort out false beliefs in your thinking.
2.) Invest some time in His word each day this week.
Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

What's Most Important?

When we look at Jesus's life we can see things that need to be transformed in our own so that we may become more like him. One thing we know is that God is love. 1 John 4:16, "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (NIV) Whoever lives in love lives in God. This means love is an action in our daily lives. This is most important I believe. Love makes it possible to get out of ourselves long enough to make a difference in someone's life. Without love we would not care at all. How many times do we take the easy way out and not help others when we see a need? I'm guilty of that. Love is taking time or money out of our lives for others. To many times I'm more focused on what it is going to cost me rather than just doing. Too many times I'm to focused on my own little agenda to even notice someone else is having a problem. Too many times I look the other way when I drive past someone who is trying to collect money for a charity or is homeless. Sometimes I may even think that this man is just trying to get free money and so, by doing that, I judge him. Love does have a price. It will cost you your own self-centeredness. That is one thing that I can do with less of. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. That's what we really need to be transformed.

Taking it to the street 1.)Ask God to put someone in your life this week that you can show them his love.

                                 2.) Listen to people around you and do something to help them with their problem.

Pressing on with Excellence!!

Keith

Service

This week I have had a change of pace at work. Our Driver was on vacation and that has given me the opportunity to drive our residents around all week. It was a nice change of pace. One thing I was able to do was to go out of my way to help others. Toting in groceries, opening doors, I even helped a man through the store to get some bed sheets. Nothing real spectacular but even so I was amazed at how good it made me feel doing it. So what's my point? It is that when we help others we help ourselves. I believe there is a reason for this; when we help others it is love in action. When we love, we are doing what we were made to do. God is love and, when we show others love, He gets a chance to shine through us. Acts of service are a tangible way to show someone your love for them. It's easy to say I love you. It's not always easy to put it into action. It's hard sometimes to take the time to help others but, when you do, it's well worth it.

Action step for the week- Try going out of your way this week to help someone out. Let me know how that makes you feel.

Pressing on with excellence!!
Keith

Others

Do you ever wonder if you are having an affect on others? I know that if you want to, that it starts with a relationship. People are more apt to take your advice if you show you really care. I met a lady where I work about four months ago and she is a sweet lady. She had a physical problem and had started to let herself go down hill. They moved her from independent living to assisted living and she developed some resentment. I had been in to do some work for her and had given her a few rides to get her hair done and had developed a friendship with her trying to encourage her through this time. She had been eating alone and not cooperating with the care givers and kind of bitter. Last week I took her to get her hair done and on the way back she asked me if I thought she should go to physical therapy. I told her that she should go every chance that she got. Since then, only because I told her to, she has been going and all of a sudden she is starting to eat meals at the dining room instead of in her own room. She is having better days and is more cheerful. I believe God works through us to affect others. Most of the time we don't even know it, but once in a while he gives us a little glimpse and it
has an affect on us also. What relationships are you investing in?
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 Gifts Of The Spirit

I had been a Christian for a good 16 years before I really accepted Christ's forgiveness, When I finally did, I grew more spiritually in the next four years than I did in the sixteen years prior. I found myself asking why or how that happened. I think it is because of the influx of the Holy Spirit and with it the fruits of the spirit. The fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. I could not produce these on my own, I tried and tried and failed. It also seemed that the harder I tried, the more I failed. I knew what I needed to do but I couldn't do it on my own. The spirit produces these in me as I turn my will over to him. When this does happen, things change rapidly. You actually give a rip about others, you care. You let others go in front of you. You know instinctively when to shut up. You are quick to forgive and fast to straighten out situations when you were wrong. You are able to say no to yourself. These are how the fruits of the spirit showed up in my life. How about you? Do you have the gifts of the Spirit? Is life different for you? Do you want it to be?
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 

No Price Too High

So, its Easter weekend and its got me thinking about what Jesus went through his last few hours. Think about it, they put a crown of thorns on his head, then they beat him on the head. then he was flogged. All that then they hung him on a cross and killed him. You can read through it pretty quickly in the bible and not feel really what he went through. I try to slow down when I come to those scriptures and allow myself to be put in his position. Can you imagine what it must have felt like? Whew I can't really, only a little. Like I know what it feels like to get hit in the head, but not over and over again and again. I can't say what it would be like to be flogged. Then to be crucified the most painful way; to die slowly. I have heard that when you are crucified  you have to push up with your legs just to get a breath. Can you imagine the pain? I can't in reality. I can't wrap my head around it. Yet God chose this on purpose, why? because you are worth it. He paid this great price for you because of his love for you. I can't wrap my head around that either. Only to say that His love for us drove him to pay the price for our sin. Because of His love for us no price was too high.
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

God LOVES us!

Since worry is a habitual coping mechanism, I believe now that it can be changed. Here I was a Christian and believed in God, but I didn't, way down deep in my heart, believe that he could or would or does love me. I don't know why, but for some reason, I really had a hard time with that. This is the real cure for worry; just really believing that God loves me. It gives me peace and joy and eliminates worry.

So, what kept me from believing that God loves me and how did I change this habit? The way I have been able to do this is by changing the way I think and therefore changing my belief. About the only thing that I really have any true control over is my thoughts. One of the questions I ask myself is: does this thought bring glory to God? Or; how does this thought bring glory to God? If it doesn't then I have to jump off that train. I believe that every thought I have either moves me closer to God or farther away.

Pray. Ask God to help you to recognize these thought patterns and pray also for Him to show you just how much he loves you. I think that these are key to mustering the willingness needed to change the way you think.

Pressing on with Excellence,

Keith