Connect to God

So how do we connect to God? How to we match up with the Creator of the universe and actually think like God thinks - how do we have "the mind of Christ?" I wonder if you could every imagine Jesus, or God, thinking to themselves, "I can't create this universe, it is too hard." How about Jesus thinking "Father you are a big idiot, you do not love me." I don't think we could every imagine those thoughts going though the mind of the all knowing, all loving, all powerful source of creation. Yet we do it all the time.
We think and say things like "I will never be able to do that there is just not enough time." I can't stand my partner they are so boring and angry." On and on we go in our heads. It is with this kind of thinking we actually expect to connect to God. I would like to challenge you today to match up to the mind of Christ and think more like God thinks. How about thinking "I love my partner and they are free to feel and think as they please." " I love my partner they have been so good to me so many times in the past." "I can do anything I put my mind to." Instead of "I don't have what I need," try "I have all I need and anything else I need will be given to me then." "I am thankful for all that I have." This is how we connect to God!

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
Don't suppress the Spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:17-19

And my Favorite:

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Philippians 4:8

You see we cannot connect to God and have God work us into God's harmonies (will) if we do not think like God thinks. God does not think in terms of shortages, lack, too hard, or with anger, hatred, and frustration. When we do we disconnect ourselves from the Spirit of God. Today match your thoughts to God's thoughts and watch the endless possibilities that come your way.

Namaste'

Practice Real Love

So what is the practice of "real love?" I wonder if it is "real love" if we love those who are like us and those who are not like us we just say that we love, but would never really spend anytime with? I wonder if it is "real love" to say that I love someone, but then go no further in showing any action that could demonstrate it? I wonder if it is "real love" to talk about how we as Christians should love, but we reject others because they will not follow our directions about life?

My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

I John 3:18-20

Real love loves everyone, even if they do not live life the way we think they should. Real love just allows people and things to be the way they are not forcing anything on them. Real love allows us to not be so focused on ourselves so we no longer critized ourselves, but look to see how we can extend love to others. Real love extends kindness to everyone. I think that real love is put into real practice and not just talked about it among our friends and never really put into use. Real love loves depsite people being ready for it or not:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

That is a pretty clear picture of what real love looks like. I wonder if you, I, we are practicing this kind of love with all that we meet? If we did I wonder what would happen to us and the world?

Namaste'

Antidote

We have the antidote to any of our problems. We have the remedy or other agent used to neutralize or counteract the effects of a poison. God has given us that thing that relieves or counteracts the effects of anger, depression, frustration, worry, difficutly in relationships, and any other problem we may encounter.
We all too often attempt to just get rid of the poison we have in our lives - the anger, the lust, the jealousy, the resentment, the worry, etc - without any antidote. We think that we "just do not need to act like that" and we never do anything in an attempt to act different. We do not need to be placing so much emphasis on getting rid of something as we do on using the antidote that we have been given. It really does not help when people attempt to suck the wound and get the poison out of a snake bite. The poison is in there and already coursing through the body, attempting to suck it out or somehow stop it from traveling the bloodstream is completely futile. What they need is the antidote, the remedy to neutralize the effects of the poison. What is the antidote that God has given us?

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.

Ephesians 5:22-23

You see we can counteract the effects of anger, jealously, worry, frustration, resentment, etc. in our lives by using the gifts we have been given - the antidotes - of love, compassion for others, joy, peace, kindness to others, service to others, willingness to be persistent, and by "having the mind of Christ." All we are asked to do is live in the same way that Christ did. To have a lifestyle that practices these things daily and with everyone we encounter. This is the anitdote.

So today do not focus on your anger, frustration, resentment, worry, or whatever else you struggle with - focus on the anitdotes to those things - love, compassion, faith, kindness, persistence, confidence. So instead of anger focus on loving, instead of resentment focus on compassion and understanding someone, and instead of worry focus on faith and confidence. Use the antidote you have been given and counteract what is there instead of spending your day focused on what you wish you could change. Watch your life begin to fill with peace!

Namaste'

Don't Make it Worse

I know that I make many things in my life much worse than they need to be. We all have things we must face each day - problems or things we feel like are suffering. We have a hard time accepting that suffering, or problems, are just a part of life. Jesus said himself in Matthew 6 that each day had enough trouble of it own. However, we go about making all that "natural" pain and suffering worse by attempting to fix it as fast as possible. We never allow things to just be as they are. We get angry about it, yell at people who we think cause it, hold resentments and grudges, blame anything outside ourselves that we can find. We make what we already feel and see as suffering worse as we use more "evil" things in our attempt to correct the perceived wrong, hurt, or problem. Listen to what God tells Job the man you suffered more than any of us could ever imagine:

Angry people without God pile grievance upon grievance, always blaming others for their troubles. Living it up in sexual excesses, virility wasted, they die young. But those who learn from their suffering, God delivers from their suffering.

Oh, Job, don't you see how God's wooing you from the jaws of danger? How he's drawing you into wide-open places— inviting you to feast at a table laden with blessings? And here you are laden with the guilt of the wicked, obsessed with putting the blame on God! Don't let your great riches mislead you; don't think you can bribe your way out of this. Did you plan to buy your way out of this? Not on your life! And don't think that night, when people sleep off their troubles, will bring you any relief. Above all, don't make things worse with more evil— that's what's behind your suffering as it is!

Job 36:14-21

The last line is my favorite: "don't make things worse with more evil - that's what's behind your suffering as it is!" How many times have I done this! I worry, get scared, angry, frustrated and I take my feelings out on others as they pass by me. I yell at my son who is simply having fun, but what he is doing is getting on my nerves because I am worried about a problems. I hold resentments and bitterness at the person, place, or thing that I think has somehow done something to me on purpose. I do not take responsibility for my own thinking and I cause more pain and suffering for myself and others around me.

However, when I am able to allow, accept, and know that problems are all around all the time and I can begin to see them from different perspectives - I can begin to see the opportunity in them rather than just the suffering in them. These are chances for me to learn how to do something differently, make different decisions, and maybe just learn how to let God control life as God wills. One of my favorite lines is change how you look at things and things change. If all I can is how am I suffering or having problems, there is no chance to see something else. I will end up doing something that makes it worse. However, if I can see those circumstances from a different point of view I may actually be able to solve something, or at the very least not make it worse by accepting life as it is.

Namaste'

Fixed Parameters

So what would this have to do with my relationship with God? Well lets define the term parameters first. This word means a set of measurable factors that define a system and determine its behavior. We do this with God all the time. We think that God can only work in certain ways, in certain place, and within certain rules that we have made. It is kinda like that "put God in a box" thing. We do not have any imagination. Our parameters are fixed. We think that God is not doing something because we are in one fixed position waiting for something to happen and God is doing something, just not where we are looking.
You see if I lost my keys and I limited my search to just my living room because that was the last place that I saw them, I have fixed parameters. My behavior and thoughts are only going to think about this room. I have limited my options. I am only going to look in that room and I limit my search, the available chances to find them, and become frustrated because "they just have to be in this room." However, if I am able to open my mind to the reality that they could be somewhere else, I increase the available opportunities to find them, increase my parameters, and find a solution - I find my keys. God reminds us that parameters to how God works are not fixed:

God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Ephesians 3:20

So today and everyday, do not fix your parameters about what God can do, and where God is, and how your wildest dreams can come true! God is not fixed at one certian point in time, in one certain place, and only in certain situations. God is far more than we can ever imagine and does not live in a place of form, but of spirit where there are not fixed parameters. Trust that and begin to see God everywhere you look, get outside of your "comfort zone" and look for God outside of just that one room. Who knows maybe you will change your behavior and find more peace, joy, and happiness! Do not limit your options by limiting God!

Namaste'

Solutions

So what is the solution to all your problems, defects, and imperfections? I mean we talk about Jesus "be the answer to all your problems," but what does that actually mean? How does that actually work in real life? If we are following Jesus - the in the way, the lifestyle that he taught - how would this impact every problem we face and truly change our world? Jesus told us that there were two things that mattered most:

Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' These two commands are pegs; everything in God's Law and the Prophets hangs from them."

Matthew 22:37-40

If we just followed those two commandments every problem, suferring, defect, imperfection would be changed! First, love God. We focus so much on our problems, our defects, what is not right with us. Why do we do this? I truly believe we do this because we think that we have to "earn" God's love. Somehow we are not good enought yet. The reality is that you are already loved. We also do the same with other people - we worry about our imperfections, our hang ups, what is wrong with us. This is all in an attempt to make sure that we are loved by others and not rejected. I want to tell you now that when we do this (and yes we all do this) it is out of our selfishness.

We are wanting to be loved. We are desperately seeking for someone, God, to love us like we think they should. The focus is on us not on God and others. Our frustrations increase. Our depression increases. Our anger increases. Our fear increases. All the negatives increase because we are being driven by a selfish desire to be loved in the way we want to be loved. Marriages end over this. Friendships end over this. Parents disown their children over this. Children will not speak to parents over this.

However, it we just focus on loving God and letting God love us - without regard to whether we are "worthy" or not - the focus in on God. When we love others - without regard to if they are loving us like we think they should - we are focused on others and not ourselves. Any problem or defect we have disappears at that moment. If I focus on loving my wife and child just as they are I am not focused on myself and "why aren't they loving me?" I accept them as they are, allow them to make they choices they want to make, support them when they need me, and help when they want me. I am not focused on "well if they loved me they would not have done that," or "why are they so mad, what did I do?"

The same is true of God. When I just focus on the fact that I am loved, just as I am, things that used to appear like suffering because somehow God is punishing me for my imperfections, become chances to let God love me and use me. Faith is born. Faith that I know that my continuous, consistant action of loving God and others will bring me to a place of peace. This may not happen tomorrow or next week or next year - but faith is know that if I continue in this action of love peace and solutions come my way eventually. This kind of faith is difficult because it takes a death to self to produce it.

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.

Philippians 2

So today just love and stop worrying about self. Practice this kind of faith and watch God raise you up to be loved!

Namaste'

Spiritual Practice

So what makes up your spiritual practice? Do you think that your spiritual practice is made up of Sunday mornings and a daily time of prayer or bible reading? Maybe you think it includes those things but also includes meeting with a group of people on a regular basis outside of church too. If this is the case then you may limit yourself to only certain times of the day or week to actually develop your spirituality and grow. You can set aside a morning for church, and many mornings set aside thirty minutes or so a day to read and pray. You can even set aside another evening to spend time with others talking about your spiritual life and helping, discipling each other. However, you may be missing out on the true power and nature of your spirituality.

You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything—and I do mean everything—connected with that old way of life has to go. It's rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life—a God-fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Ephesians 4:20-24

You see true spirituality is a mental attitude that can be practice 24 hours a day. You do not need to limit your spiritual practice to specific periods of time, this is not doing everything to get rid of the old way of life. I love the idea, the truth of this scripture, that says your life is renewed from the inside and then works its way our into conduct. As you change your inside, your way of thinking, God's character will be reproduced in you and your spiritual practice will be 24 hours a day.

So will you practice kindness today? How about love? How about forgiveness? You will have the chance today to practice, every moment of your day you will be able to allow God to reproduce God's character in you. So keep your spiritual practice of church, quiet time, reading, and group meetings - just expand what you learn there to the rest of your life. Make your practice of spirituality a real one! A practice that actually makes an impact on others as you change your inside and thinking, you have real behaviors that bring God to others in real ways.

Namaste'

Future

We all worry about the future, the next minute, the next hour, or the next day. Sometimes we worry about the next month or the next year. We think that by worrying about something out there that we can control it and make it like we want it to be "out there" somewhere. We become totally focused on this and lose the moment that we are in, and this is really the only thing that we can actually use to "control" our future. What comes about in your life to a large extent lies within your own hands in the present! Your future will be determined by the king of choices and initiatve that you take now! Jesus said it something like this:

"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Matthew 6:25-34

So "give your entire attention to what God is doing right now" and make choices and decisions based on that. Do something in the present to effect your future besides worry about it. If you take the initiative of worry, you are not really doing anything and your future will turn out with just the things your worry about. If you take initiative to do something active - work, pray, meditate, read, love, give, show compassion - your future will be filled with exactly what you want. So go ahead, what is the worst that can happen by focusing on right now? If you are resisting this idea you need to ask yourself why you keep wanting to think and worry about negative things so much. Your future is in your hands today, in this moment.

Namaste'

Unobtrusive

If we are unobtrusive then we are not drawing attention to ourselves. This can actually make us happier! Do not believe this, well here is what Jesus said about that:

"When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure—'playactors' I call them— treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out."

Matthew 6:2

If we are truly to have compassion for others then we need to be unobtrusive about it. We do not do this for some big show or to recieve applause from those around us. We do it because it is how we see the world. We do it because this is how God sees the world and acts in it. When we hold to this belief and knowing about the world - that it is a place where we see ourselves and God in all people and circumstances we encounter - then we wake up each day with a hope that we will see God and we will know God is there. We will want to help others without their knowledge because we know how we feel when someone does this for us. We become compassionate and understand that most all people are trying to do their best. They, like us, sometimes hurt others without the awareness that they are doing so. We become to respect others views and rights and this leads to more resolution of conflict. If there is less conflict for us, wouldn't that make us happier?

Jesus came to help us develop into a gentle, caring people. Jesus lived his life in a way that was unobtrusive, yet he impacted the world! If we live the way of Jesus, practice that way, we are developed into loving, kind people - it becomes our nature! It become the true nature that we were created with. We wake up each day in a state of kindness - what a weapon - and allows us to live our life in a state of happiness and joy. We see the good in all. We hope for it. We nurture it. We support it. We become more holy and begin to think like God does and we work behind the scences helping and giving our life away. This leads to joy, peace and a "life eternal and abundant."

Namaste'

Weapons

Today I will start with a verse:

And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Ephesians 6:10-18

So what are the weapons we are to use - truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation - we need to apply those! These things are the weapons against any negative state. Imagine if you applied the truth of love others, how that would beat anger every time. Imagine if you applied the rightness of being generous and giving to others, how that would beat poverty everytime. Imagine if you applied the peace and faith of compassion, how that would be division everytime. Imagine if you applied your salvation and lived an eternal life now, how that would beat anyone's depression everytime! Our weapons are not of this world. They are not polictical, military, anger, forceful, or pushy. When we use these things we are using the weapons that world uses. I believe this will not change much about our world and it is not what Jesus asked of us.

You see, the states of love, compassion, generousity are weapons against all negative states. There is also thankfulness, thinking on things that are beautiful, kindness, care, selflessness, humility, forgivness - and the list of how Jesus lived his life and ask us to live goes on and on. All these things are weapons against any evil and negative states of being, thinking, and relationships. We have been given mighty weapons that will defeat any negative thing in our lives and in the lives of others, if only we could apply them and practice them.

Today use these weapons - kindness, love, thinking on the good in things and people, compassion and generousity. Let someone in the door before you. Pay for someone's lunch. Give to the homeless man on the corner. Forgive your spouse for something. Pick kindness instead of having to be right. Do this and realize the true power you have in the in the way of Jesus, the best was to live!

Namaste'

Plug In

I found something interesting today. I heard someone today getting mad because they were at the library using the cell phone and they were asked to stop by the person working at the desk. I know that in libraries everywhere today there are these huge signs that say something to the effect "Please do not use your cell phone while in the library." Now is it just me, or should this person be able to say to themselves and the person reminding them of this - "oops, sorry I forgot," or something like this. They were actually surprised that someone would say something to them when they were not doing what was asked of them and they had a consequence for it - embarassment, being pointed out, etc.
I thought to myself, this is what I do with God. I violate the natural laws and rules that have been set up for how to run my life, and I actually get "surprised" when I feel disconnected from God, or feel like God could never be behind the things I am facing. I need to actually practice my faith. I need to actually follow the way of Jesus because it is the best way to live!
I do not need to return anger for anger, but when I do I am surprised that things are hard and difficult, that people do not like me, that I lose friends. I need to give my life away in service to others, but when I do not I am surprised that people do not want to help or serve me. I actually need to be compassionate with others, listen to, understand, and love them, but when I do not I am surprised that people do not understand me.
You see God has set up some natural laws that cannot be avoided, or skipped, to find a connection with God and a life of joy:

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:6

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Philippians 4:8

"If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.

Matthew 10:38-39

Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.

Phillipians 2

I hope that we will avoid not see the signs that tell us what to do to have joy and peace in life, then ignore those signs, and blame God for not meeting us and blaming God for having consequences in life we do not like. You have a formula, use it and plug in to God. If I do not use my cell phone in the library, I have no consequences. I get to enjoy myself all I want in that place!

Namaste'

The Moment

How many of us truly live in the moments that we have? How many of us are "out ahead of ourselves" and God through the worry about tomorrow, next week, next year? What good does it do to be that far out in front of ourselves and God? Do we really think that we can control the universe and the creator of that universe? Remember what Jesus taught us about the way, the lifestyle we can live that offers us peace:

"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Matthew 6:25-34

I love the phrase here, "when the time comes." We need to give our entire, complete attention to what God is doing right now and not what we think we can avoid, or keep from happening, or think we can make happen tomorrow. We only have this moment to pay attention to God. We need to let God act with the most perfect freedom! We only need to be faithful in that moment to do what we have been given to do! We need to practice a moment by moment dependence - this will remove our self, our wants, and our needs - it will bring about a slow death to our ego!

There are two characteristics of pure faith. 1) We see God behind all blessings and imperfect works that tend to conceal that God is there. 2) We are able to hold our soul in a state of continued suspense. We are ok with, we accept, that we do not need to know what is going to happen next, we just trust that whatever it is God is already there and I do not need to be yet. Live in the power of the now, the moment. Do not miss God because you are ahead of God.

Namaste'

Flexible

How flexible are you? No, I do not mean physically, like can you touchyour toes without bending your knees. I mean emotionally and spiritually! To be flexible is to be capable of being bent or flexed; pliable and being bent repeatedly without injury or damage. At times we all get so stiff and rigid in our thinking. We think that the world, our lives, what happens has to happen in a certain way, according to certain rules. We lock ourselves into position like a tall oak tree that does not bend when the wind comes along. We think that this is a good place to be. It is a place of strength we tell ourselves. "Look I am not bending, I am not breaking, I am holding to my rules and this is the way it has to be."
So when the storms of life come - what we did not expect to happen, circumstances that did not comform to our rules, frustrations, dissapointments with others, etc. - we are toppled over like this big oak is because of its inflexibility. Since these things do not fit into our thoughts about God, the world, our life; and we are caught up in pleasing ourselves and our ego - these storms crush us. We fall over in anger, depression, disgusted, and worry. We wonder why and become angry and bitter about were life and God has taken us. We never thought this would happen to us. This did not follow our rules.

Jesus said, "Really? Didn't you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry, how they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat? And didn't you ever read in God's Law that priests carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules all the time and it's not held against them?
"There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—'I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual'—you wouldn't be nitpicking like this.

Matthew 12:3-8

Our heart needs to be more flexible. We need to be more like a reed (any of various tall perennial grasses) that is able to move with the winds of the storm, it bends but does not break. A reed can mold itself to the winds, accept the circumstances thrown its way. When it does this it is flexible and in this flexibility it does not break. Is your heart flexible? Does it allow God to move and work as the creator of the universe wants? Or does it attempt to resist the power of the Creator that put everything into being and still controls it? One leads to a flexible heart that is not broken in spirit and can be flexible with the winds of the storms of life. One leads to resistance and stiffness, which will be broken by the winds when they come because it cannot be flexible.

So today accept life just as it is, just as it comes. Trust that the Creator has it all under control, even when it does not seem that way to you because it does not fit your rules. Be flexible. Practice not resisting anything that comes into your life, but accepting it as from God and perfectly placed. You may be blown around, but with a flexible heart you will not be broken. Allow God to show up wherever God will.

Namaste'

Spill Over

So Easter was yesterday. I can see through the reading of blogs, twitter, facebook, etc. that most churches seem to think that their services where wonderful and many people "came to know Jesus as their personal savior." I think that this is wonderul! I think that this is amazing! It is amazing that people come to church and can connect with God, understand who Jesus is, and find the love that they have always been searching for on this day. My hope is that this day will not end on this day. Real life will begin to take over again for most of us, and for most of those individuals who "got saved." Sometimes we all begin to wonder what that Easter thing is all about when life begins to stress us out and hurts, resentments, and worry regains its hold on us again?

My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6

Do we "stay in school?" I hope so! I hope so, so that we can begin to "live Him." Getting saved is more than about some kind of insurance that I get to go to heaven. When I take on Jesus as my saviour, I am also saying that "the way that Jesus lived was and is the best way to live." I decide to follow that path, that way of living. I think it is wonderful that thousands, maybe millions of people "got saved" in churches all across the world yesterday. I also think that this should change the world because we all, new and old, begin to live our life in the same way that Jesus did and commanded of us. When we do this we are compelled to be thankful. Our life spills over in thanksgiving because living this way is so wonderful that this is all that can be done!

I hope that we all graduate from the school of just understanding and accepting who Jesus is and begin to live Him! What does that mean? Living Him for me to think and act like God acts. I will never be perfect at this, but I can do my best to be loving, kind, see the beauty in all, expand this to all I come in contact with, find abundance everywhere, be creative in all I do, and receptive to all people and experiences in my life. I will live out the lifestyle that Christ did, by being kind to all I encounter, loving them as I have been loved. This means in each everyday encounter or experience I have with people, whether I know them or not, I will think of them first and allow them to feel respected, loved, and appreciated. I will feel less than when I do this, but thankful and then gain their respect and love.

Just think if everyone lived out the way of Jesus and it spilled over to thankfulness! What a wonderful world this would be, maybe a little taste of heaven.

Namaste'

Intention

Intention is a course of action that one intends to follow, an aim that guides action; an objective. We all have intentions. We all have a course of action that we wish to follow. Some of our intentions we are aware of, and some of them we are not aware of. There are thoughts coursing through our head every day and each one of these thoughts - when held onto long enough - will dictate the actions that we will have each day.

The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart's been in the right place all along. You've got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can't. The heart regulates the hands.

2 Corinthians 8:10

We all begin to live the way of Jesus with the "best of intentions." Somewhere along the way we think that we have been abandoned, that things have not worked out the way we think they should have if God really loved us and we just give up and stop acting on our good intentions. As a matter of fact, we actually take on negative thoughts, or intentions, and we act upon those. We tell ourselves things like "this will never work out," "things always happen this way for me," or "If God loved me this would not be happening." We have stopped practicing our positive or good intentions and thoughts and we have taken up the practice of negative thoughts or intentions. We loose our persisitence too quickly. We no longer are confident in ourselves or God, we loose faith.

We have the power, you have the power of your own life in your own hands! Look at the last part of this verse - "The heart regulates the hands." Understand that how you think will effect what you intend to have happen and this will come out in action! Thoughts always lead to feelings which lead to actions. This is the power of intention! Your thoughts and your intentions - what you want your life to look like - is within your power. God has given you the power of faith - the repition of postive thoughts and intentions in your mind - to control your actions! We act on what we believe. Tell yourself enough that things are bad and you will act accordingly. Tell yourself enough that you are going to achieve what you set out to do and you will find the solutions that you need and act on them! Your heart will regulate your perception of the world and the actions you take. Guard it carefully by prayer and meditation on your good intentions in life. If you do God has to join you in making you succeed.

Namaste'

Desperation

How desperate are you? When we become deperate we will find God there. Desperation is a loss of all hope. It is when we come to the end of ourselves and our ego. Have we ever been there? Have we ever been at a place where we were so desperate that we would do anything to find hope? Paul did:

At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

I am going to think that Paul was desperate to remove this handicap. He was begging God to remove this from him. It was in this desperation that he found God. It was here that he could say that he could appreciate the gift that he was given. It was in desperation that Paul could allow Christ to take over. It was in his desperation that he found out he needed to take things in stride and with good cheer. It was in his desperation that he allowed someone else to take over. It was in desperation that he found out that when he thinks he is weak he is actually becoming stronger.

In desperation we move towards God and in then we learn that God has all we need. It is in depseration, the loss of hope, that we search for something to find hope in. We begin to see that the "things" of this world are not important at all. We come into the world with "nothing" and we leave with "no things." Our only goal in the middle of our coming and our going is not to accumulate things, but to love and live life to the fullest. We are so deperate to remove any "bad" feelings, or circumstances, or anything that we deem "wrong" that we become desperate in our attempt to make it go away.

Here Paul, and we, learn that we do not need these things to "go away" as much as we need to learn from them and allow them to strengthen us. These things strengthen us by killing off our ego - the notion that we are in control and must define ourselves through things, titles, and others opinions. Let your desperation teach you something and move you to God, not away. When we are really desperate and coming to the end of hope in ourselves, like a person wanting water after days in the desert, then we will find and know God.

Namaste'

Persistence

Persistence is the quality of being determined to do or achieve something; firmness of purpose; the act of persisting or persevering; continuing or repeating behavior. This is also the definition of faith. Faith is never giving up and continuing to believe and know that God will be there to help. Faith is not worrying about what will or will not happen, but knowing that anything that comes your way - anything - is there for you to learn from. This takes a death to our ego, a knowing that we are living a lifestyle in the way that Jesus did and taught. We go forward with confidence and have faith. Faith meaning that we develop a state of mind that knows and is confident about will happen and we never sway from that. This takes a practice of continuous self suggestion to produce this state of mind.

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.
If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

James 1:2-8

You see faith and persistence is not about giving up when tests and challenges and "failures" come our way we continue to push forward and be persistent. Our faith-life opens up and we understand if we truly have faith. When we try to "get out of things prematurely," we make excuses, call it a "bad break," "misfortune" or "bad luck." We think that we have no control and we continue to believe that and we begin to act it out through worry and we feel tossed about in the ocean. We cannot connect to God in this place. We have stop tell ourselves (self suggesting) that we are loved, cared for, and can be confident. Having all our options open means that we have not come to faith about anything. We try to guess and control our own lifes through worry about tomorrow.

If we remain persistent, everyday repeating to ourselves what we will see and know, setting our goals, and knowing that there is no such thing as "failure" or "impossible," God will help. We must ask boldly, believing, and knowing. This is were we make a connection to the mind of God and God's infinite intelligence. God is always there but we finally clearly see, understand, and know God. How can God meet us when we think on the bad, the ugly, the anxiety, the failure, the misfortune? You see God does not think like that! Faith is thinking like God. God will work with us and for us when we connect to God like that, but it takes practice - persistence!

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Philippians 4:8-9

Namaste'

Trapped

Ever felt that way - "trapped?" My favorite definition of trapped is to place in a confining or embarrassing position. How often do we feel like that? I think many times most all of us feel trapped. We feel as if there is no way out and that there are no decision that we can make to get ourselves to a new place of living or being. We feel out of control in our lives. We think that our lives are left to the whim of others around us, their decisions, and circumstances that are beyond our control. We feel hopeless, depressed, angry and sad. We tell ourselves that their is nothing that we can do to get out of where we are, it is hopeless. I would like to challenge this notion.
I went with my family yesterday to watch people ride horses in barrel races. We were there for about four hours. It was great to be outside in the sun, perfect temperature, and watch those beautiful animals walk, run, and race. Some were being riden by adults, and some horses by children under 10 years old. Everyone one of them were able to direct that horse and tell it where to go, how fast to go, and which way to turn because of the simple piece of metal in the horses mouth. Some of these horses were huge, and they were being controlled by little girls weighing less than 80 pounds! How could that happen? I mean if the horse wanted to it could just buck them off, refuse to walk or turn anywhere, and race for freedom. So why do these beautiful animals do what a little girl tells them to do? Because they BELIEVE they are trapped. They truly believe that they have no other choice! We see that they do, but they believe they do not. It is like having a two ton elephant tied up at the ankle with just a rope and a stake. Why does that elephant stay there? Because it too believes it is trapped!
We do that too! We can only see what is right around us and we believe that we have no choice, that we are trapped and we are at the bidding of others or circumstance. But are we?

"Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do. "

John 14:11-14

If we truly believe what Jesus is saying here then we are not trapped! We are the holders and masters of our future! We not only can do what Jesus did, but greater things! We are not trapped, we are not at the whim of others, their opinions, or circumstances. We are what we believe, what we will be persistant at, and how we practice faith. (see recent post) If a horse, or any animal is trained over and over to believe it is trapped - it believes it. If we train ourselves through the constant repitition of thought that we are trapped - we are! We can also train ourselves through that same repititon of thought to know and believe that we are not trapped. When we do we will begin to see the routes to escape and freedom. We will begin to live the life that God created us for and that Jesus came for - life abundant! Stop believing that you are trapped.

Namaste'

Pleasing

Who do you worry about pleasing? Do you order your life around them? Do you make decisions based on what these people will think? Do you hold yourself back because you are afraid of what it will cost you to pursue what you hold dear, to pursue your dreams, your pursue desires? Is that something that we should even give our attention to?

By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends." Their grumbling triggered this story.
"Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? When found, you can be sure you would put it across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home call in your friends and neighbors, saying, 'Celebrate with me! I've found my lost sheep!' Count on it—there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over ninety-nine good people in no need of rescue."

Luke 15:1-7

It appears that Jesus was not worried about what the religious people thought about the friends he was making. As a matter of fact, there anger triggered a story that said that you may not understand what I am doing, but I am going to do it anyway and I hope you celebrate with me rather than get upset that it is not the way you want it.

I am beginning to really learn how often I place the pleasing of others over the pursuit of what God has placed in my heart. I am coming to a place of understanding about how often and how powerful this can be for me, so much so I think my best friend is going to down me for something because it may be wierd. Celebrate our freedom in Christ together and stop worrying about what others will think of that dream inside of you and just go do it. You will find joy out of that pursuit a hundred times more pleasing than the joy you may get out of pleasing others. There is a quote that I have grown to love that says that I would rather be hated for who I am that loved for who am I not.

Namaste'

Faith

Faith. We hear that word so much in our world. I began to wonder what it actually means though. When someone says "have faith in God" what in the world are they saying. What are we supposed to "do?" We all have gotten really bent out of shape by someone saying that to us in times of trouble, doubt, or depression. We have thought something like "that is easy for you to say, you are not going through this." I think we do that because we have no idea what faith really means, neither the one saying "have faith" or the one who is the receiver of such words.

By definition faith means a confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing. A belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence. You will notice one word that is consistent in this definition. That word is "belief." Faith really means believing something. Belief is the mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another. This is what faith is! It is the habitual mental act that creates a condition of, or state of mind that KNOWS something/someone else can be trusted. This knowing does not happen with just one thought. This knowing can only come through the habit of thought. To consistantly think the same things over and over again until they become a belief (2 Corinthians 10:5). Faith is something that is built and learned. Faith takes action to examine ourselves and our thoughts to make sure that we are connecting to God with them (Phillipians 4:8)

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.
By faith, we see the world called into existence by God's word, what we see created by what we don't see.
By an act of faith, Abel brought a better sacrifice to God than Cain. It was what he believed, not what he brought, that made the difference. That's what God noticed and approved as righteous. After all these centuries, that belief continues to catch our notice.
By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. "They looked all over and couldn't find him because God had taken him." We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken "he pleased God." It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:1-6

We see here that it is not what you do that makes the difference, it is what you believe! Believing takes action, the action of daily, moment by moment, self examination of our thoughts so that we will know what we believe. I wonder if this is why the Bible says:

The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.

James 2:26

Faith is working at, forming habits of belief. If you try to seperate those faith is dead. I think that is why we walk around getting upset when we are told "just have faith." We are not working, taking action on our faith. We think that we can just have it, without working for it. So today have faith, begin to examine yourself and your thoughts so that faith can become a working tool that connects you to God and allows God to work you into his most excellent harmonies!

Namaste'