Hope for Tomorrow,

Empowerment for Today

Volume 1

Inspiration for living the full potential of your identity in Christ

Gill Keith

Your Personalized Bible

as unique as you

Copyright 2013

All rights reserved.

Phronesis International

470 Heritage Hills Dr.

Richland WA 99352 USA

www.YourPersonalizedBible.com

You will note as you read many of the quoted Scriptures include a blank (_____). This is done to emphasize the personal nature of God’s promises and commands. You can read into the blank your name or the name of anyone for whom you are praying. These verses are from Your Personalized Prayer Bible: www.YourPersonalizedBible.com

Other Scriptures are from:

Ø  New King James Version (NKJ) [©Thomas Nelson, Inc. 1982]

Ø  New Living Translation (NLT) [©Tyndale House Foundation 2007]

Ø  New International Version (NIV) [©Biblica, Inc. 2011]

Ø  The Message (Msg) [©Nav Press Publishing, 2002]

Ø  Amplified Bible (Ampl) [©Lockman Foundation, 1987]

Ø  God’s Word Translation (GW) [©Baker Publishing Group 1995]

Ø  World English Bible (WEB) [Public Domain]

Contents

Introduction

1: Hope and Change

2: Half way

3: The Landmine of Pride

4: Dead Men Don’t Sweat It

5: Where’s Waldo!

6: Picture the Dream

7: What floats your boat?

8: Identity Theft

9: He Stands at the Door

10: Cost of Discipleship

11: The Sword of the Spirit

12: Brainwashed

13: Breaking From Your Past

14: Freedom Isn’t Free

15: Be Strong, Stand Firm, Resist

16: Confronting Fear

17: Maintain Vision in the Storm

18: Silencing the Voice of the Enemy

19: Leave Guilt Behind

20: Press toward the Prize

21: Man Your Battle Stations

22: The Process of Change

23: Armed and Dangerous

24: God’s GPS

25: Ready, Aim, Fire!

Afterword

Introduction

Does the thought of tomorrow bring hope or does it bring despair? Is today a source of empowerment or is it a source of embarrassment? Sure, as Christians we have the hope of heaven for tomorrow, but are we living in the power that God gives us today?

The focus of Hope for Tomorrow, Empowerment for Today is mind renewal. The key Scripture universally quoted with regards to mind renewal is Romans 12:2 (NKJV): “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” But another Scripture I believe is just as key and one you will read throughout these studies is Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV): “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Congratulations! If you thought you had already “apprehended”, had already arrived, you would not have opened this book. Until we let go of the past we cannot reach to the future. In order to experience new life and the fullness of who we are in Christ we must first let go of the old way of thinking. God has a high calling for each of our lives. As we experience the transformation of our thinking we will enter a new freedom and a new life. I hope that as you read and meditate on these pages the eyes of your understanding will be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18) and you will enter into your position in Christ in a new and deeper way.

This is not material to sit down and read cover to cover. Ephesians 4:22- 24 tell us to put of the old man and put on the new. Putting off the old man, that is salvation, is instantaneous when we are born again. Putting on the new man is mind renewal and it is a lifelong process. Take the time to meditate on each devotional and allow it to sink in. There is a word here that will change your thinking, change the way you see yourself and change your life if you will allow it.

If the reference to your identity in Christ is unfamiliar to you, let me recommend a website: http://www.YourPersonalizedBible.com/products/free-samples/  Here you will read specific Scriptures that tell you that you are valuable, loved, forgiven, victorious, chosen and complete in Christ.

We are on the road from im-perfection to in-perfection. Of course we will never arrive at the goal of being perfectly like Christ as long as we are in these mortal bodies but we are called to the journey.

It is my prayer that the reflections you will read in these chapters will lead you into a deeper understanding of who you are in Christ and what that redemption truly means in your life here on earth and to your eternal destiny. Live in the fullness of His love.

1: Hope and Change

Hope and change! No, I’m not campaigning for Barack Obama. His vision was to change government. We need a vision to change ourselves.  My flesh tells me change is all about what's going on out there but in truth it's about what's going on inside me. “If the government changes, if my job changes, if my wife changes.” No! If I change. That is when my life will be different.

I can’t change other people, I can’t change what is out there, but I can change me. In my marriage, I can wish it were different, I can dream about it being different, I can even tell my wife all the ways she needs to change so it will be different, but in the end nothing will happen until I change.

I remember a vacation my wife and I took with another couple to Antigua, an island in the Caribbean that is a former British colony. We rented a car and I was elected to be the driver. The problem was, with the British influence, they drove on the left side of the road. After we checked into our condo, we went to the store to get groceries. Leaving the parking lot, I pulled out onto the street only to see a pickup headed straight at me on my side of the street. Help me, Jesus! Then I realized it was me who was on the wrong side! Time to change, quickly!!

Jesus came to bring change and renewal. God loves us the way we are but He also loves us enough to not leave us the way we are. Salvation changes us from dead in sin to alive in Christ. People came to Jesus because He didn’t come with empty tradition. He came with the hope of real change. When Jesus came into a room, lives changed. When I met Jesus, I didn’t leave the same. When I came to know Jesus, not just know about Him but really know Him, my thinking changed, my vision changed, my life changed.

Jesus is the hope of the world. He brings a hope that life can be better, my family can be better. Hope says I see tomorrow as better than today. The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:10 says, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Salvation is not just about getting to heaven. My faith has an impact here and now.

Have you lost your hope? You don’t see a better tomorrow? You think, “When can I get out of here?” “Thank God, they legalized pot. I can get through another day.” “I just need food stamps, I just need welfare, I just need a check from somebody to take care of me.” Why is that outlook so prevalent today? Because hope is placed in the wrong things. John 10:10 says Jesus came to give us life, abundant life. There is something better ahead.

The world says, “Go buy a lottery ticket.” What does the lottery do but try to give someone hope for change? And it disappoints. Romans 15:13 says God is the source of our hope. Have you tried and tried, but you feel beat up and beat down? Matthew 18:3 says we must become like a little child. Yes, that speaks of purity and trust, but a child is a bundle of potential, expectation and hope. I must live in His hope, live in His potential. I am not a victim. I can rise above my circumstance. I will stand up and say “I am who God says I am.”

Do you feel stuck in “I can’t help it.”? Stuck on negatives? Romans 8:37 (NKJV) says, “We are more than a conqueror.” Have you ever watched The Biggest Loser? The contestants are people who have lost hope. Now those trainers have to help them to change the way they see themselves. “Come on, one more set. You can do it! I believe in you. You have to believe in yourself.”  God sees more in me than I see in myself. The first thought I need to change is “I can’t” to “I can.”

“What difference does it make? Nothing will change. I am just stuck here.” Well, Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) says, “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” What have I stored up in my heart, what is that treasure? Is it bitterness, negativity, defeat or is it faith, peace and hope? It’s my choice.

Colossians 1:27 says that the riches of God’s glory is Christ in you, the hope of glory. My hope is not in other people, it is not in the government, not in money, not in stuff. My hope is not even in Christ in heaven. My hope is in Christ in me. I should get up every morning with the thought “Christ is in me.” To do that I need to know my identity in Christ: I am valuable, I am loved, I am forgiven, I am complete, I am called.

Ephesians 1:18-20 says, “Having the eyes of his/her heart enlightened, that _____ may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in _____, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward _____ because he/she believes, according to the working of the strength of His might which He worked in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places.” The hope of His calling, the riches of God’s glory, the greatness of His power. The same power that conquered the grave lives in me. Wow!

Judges 6 is the story of Gideon. The Israelite nation is struggling under the oppression of the Midianites. Gideon is hiding in a wine press trying to thresh out his meager supply of grain that he has kept hidden when suddenly an angel appears. The angel didn’t talk about how powerful the enemy was or how bad the economy was. No, he addressed Gideon, “Mighty man of valor.” Gideon looks around in confusion and says, “Ah, I think you have the wrong guy. Perhaps you are looking for Judah just down the street?” Gideon was meditating on the negative. The angel declares, “The Lord is with you.” and “You are a mighty man.” But he couldn’t receive it. Gideon had to change his thinking and when he did, he changed a nation. He could have said someone else needs to do something, instead he finally said, “God can use me.”

I need to focus on faith thoughts, thoughts that are encouraging and productive. Philippians 4:8 commands: “Finally, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, _____ should think about these things.” I must choose my thoughts wisely because they will soon be my tomorrow. Worldly, negative thoughts results in a worldly, negative life. Garbage in, garbage out. The enemy wants my thoughts on the negative. I am going to choose whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable…

Feel stuck? Economic problems, social problems, despair, hopelessness leads to helplessness. Helplessness causes us to lose motivation and strength. I have to remember: it is not about what is around me, it is what is in me. I am on my way to where God wants me to be. This is Godly thinking, not just positive thinking. My goal is to walk like Jesus and talk like Jesus, but I must first think like Jesus.

What are the key thoughts that you struggle with? If I told you my issue, you would probably say, “Well, you should just get over it.” But with your issue, you’ll say, “You don’t know what I’ve been through.” We all have issues. To counter them we need to build up an arsenal of Scriptures that battle those issues. Those could be called “go-to thoughts”. Russell Wilson, quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks, has his go-to players. Third and 5 you can expect him to go to Zack Miller on a short slant across the middle; third and 1, watch for Marshawn Lynch up the middle.

Looking for go-to Scriptures? Try Romans 8 (NKJV):

·       When the devil is beating on you, go to Romans 8:1 “There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

·       When your emotions are in turmoil, go to Romans 8:6 “To be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

·       When you feel afraid and insecure, go to Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption.”

·       When you feel like friends, family, the world are against you, go to Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us.”

·       When God feels distant, go to Romans 8:39 “(Nothing) can separate us from the love of God.”

Hope is not a feeling. Hope is a Biblical way of thinking. Sure, my emotions get down, but I am hanging onto my hope. According to John Maxwell, change is helped by The Big Mo, momentum. If you played basketball in high school, you will remember practicing free throws: make 7 or 8 in a row and you felt pretty good, miss 3 or 4 and you can feel like quitting. It is like that for me with dieting: one day I am down 2 pounds, “Yes!!” (fist pump), the next day I am up 3 and I’m ready to bag it, you can have the whole dieting business! 2Corinthians 3:18 says we are going “from glory to glory”. I am going forward with vision and hope of where God wants my life to be.

Through years of practice, we have developed habits of thought. They are called beliefs. Romans 12:2 warns us to not be conformed to the world, but instead be transformed. It starts with my mind. Change a thought and change your life. Hope and change, hope and change. Unless I change, my situation is hopeless, but without hope, I cannot make meaningful change. With hope change happens.

2: Half way

Time for a Bible name quiz:

·       Timothy: That one is easy, Paul’s assistant and traveling companion.

·       Thomas: Easy too, one of Jesus’s apostles, commonly known as “Doubting Thomas”.

·       Tamar: Here they get a little tougher, she was the daughter-in-law of Judah who tricked him into sex and gave birth to Perez who is in the lineage of Jesus.

·       Terah: No clue? He was the father of Abraham. Why have we heard so little of him? He only went half way.

What would you think of a flooring contractor who carpeted half your living room and left the other half bare? Or a roofer who finished the south side of your house but left the north side undone? That was Terah in Genesis 11:31. He took his family from Ur of Caldees to go to Canaan but he got to Haran and settled there. He only made it half way.

Likewise the Israelites came up to their goal and faltered. They left Egypt but did not have the right mindset to enter the Promised Land. Israel, again in Haggai 1, had stopped work on the construction of their new temple for 16 years. They had laid the foundation but then lost the vision. Haggai 1:6 says, “You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” Jesus’s disciples in John 6 turned away when Jesus talked about commitment. Jesus didn’t run after them. The attitude of the many was, “This teaching is hard.” The attitude of Peter and the few: “Where else can we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

On the other hand, Elisha would not stop short. In 2Kings 2:1-14 he recognized that his mentor, Elijah, would soon be taken from him. Elijah encouraged him to stay behind first at Bethel then at Jericho and finally at the Jordan River. The result of his follow-through was that he received Elijah’s mantle and a double portion of his anointing.

I remember my first (and only) experience with a rock climbing wall. My wife and I decided to try it out. Being a gentleman, I let her go first. Up she went, rang the bell and back down. Then it was my turn. About half way up, my legs were burning, my hands were trembling. I didn’t think I could make it. Then I saw in my mind the picture of my wife ringing the bell and I knew I could not stop short.

What does halfway look like in your life? "Hey, I stopped drinking, but smoking isn't that bad." "I go to church every Sunday, but I just don’t have time to read my Bible every day." "I give to my church but tithing is more than I can afford." But, But, But…

The greatest enemy of success is not failure, it is “good enough”. Contentment brings containment. Contentment becomes a lid over your life. I can picture Terah standing in the lush Mesopotamian valley at Haran looking at the barren desert mountains leading to Canaan and saying, “This is good enough right here.” Terah talked big but only went halfway and missed his destiny. He didn't see it as choosing hell or choosing Satan, of course. He was lured away from his destiny by comfort, luxury, the pleasures of the world, by “good enough”. As a result, I believe he missed God’s call for his life.

Later Abraham took his family the rest of the way into Canaan and the result was he became the father of faith.

Jesus didn't stop halfway either. He went all the way to the cross to become our Savior. Hebrews 12:2 says, “for the joy that was set before Him (Jesus) endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Are you discontent with where you are? That is a good place to be. It is a place of stretching and growing. It is a place to catch a new vision of who God wants you to be.

Romans 12:1 tells us it is our reasonable service to God to be a living sacrifice. That takes follow-through. My Dad drummed follow-through into me. A child lacks follow-through. He wants to be a fireman one day, a doctor the next, a carpenter after that. James 1:8 warns a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. If we are to be successful in our Christian walk, we need focus.

We made a decision for Jesus. Now we need follow-through. I’m not talking about what we do in church, but how we live that out during the week. I made a decision for Jesus at 12 but I had no follow-through. In a few weeks I was living the same as I had before. At 24 I made a commitment to the Lord, but soon you could see no difference in my life. At 32 I made a decision and that one stuck.

We are all familiar with the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. A farmer goes out to sow seed. Some seed, representing those who hear the Word of God, fall on:

- Wayside – These are those who are a Christian when it’s convenient, but they are easily distracted.

- Rocky soil – These are those who are sincere but not rooted in the Word so they lack the staying power to go all the way.

- Thorns – Some will have a strong start but will be pulled back by sin habits, worry or fear because they never changed the way they think.

- Good soil – Let’s be those who press through, who go all the way, whose lives bear fruit.

Matthew 7:24-27 warns against building our life on the sand, unwilling to let God’s Word change us. That is when there is no commitment, easily moved, looking for a handout, only following when everything is going right, only making it half way. If we build on the rock of God’s truth, we will stand in time of trial and adversity, we will have the character to not stop half way.

In Acts 20:24 (NKJV) Paul knows that he faces persecution, imprisonment, even death, but he makes a remarkable commitment: “None of these things move me nor do I count my life dear to myself that I may finish my race with joy.” We had better be prepared beforehand or we will be moved by circumstances. Today is a season of preparation for what God is bringing to our lives. We must use the time well today if we are to be ready to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

How am I going to develop follow-through? Here are some keys:

1.     Recognize the potholes. We all have those things that get us off track. It might be alcohol or drugs or friends or a woman (or a man). When I am driving my car I take care to avoid the potholes because I know they can do damage. The same is true of the potholes in our life. Avoid them or pay the price. 1Peter 5:8 says, “_____ must be sober, self-controlled and watchful. _____’s adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Please don’t get eaten. Avoid the potholes.

2.     No “Plan B”. In Luke 9:62 (NIV), Jesus warned, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” Have you heard those who are told they need to change and they reply, “I’ll try.”? Recognize that “I’ll try” is a formula for failure. It leaves the door open for anther path.

3.     Armor up. Ephesians 6:10-19 details the armor of God: the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, etc. We need those weapons if we are to stand in the battle.

3: The Landmine of Pride

Does God want us to live a life of surrender or a life of victory? Would you believe both! We must die in order to live. (1 Timothy 2:11)  We must give if we expect to receive. (Luke 6:38) It is the humble who will be exalted. (1Peter 5:6) The Bible constantly challenges us to live beyond ourselves.  Power without character is like a balloon let go, unpredictable and ineffective. Pfssssssss. With character the power is focused like an arrow.

What is a landmine? I define it as something that catches you by surprise and is destructive to your life. Hebrews 12:1 (NIV) refers to “the sin that so easily entangles.” We recognize lust, bitterness, murder, jealousy, unforgiveness, alcohol or drug abuse, but one sin sneaks up on us: pride.

Mohamed Ali made well known statement: “It’s hard to be humble when you are as good as I am.” Of course he had what it took to back that up. Proverbs 8:13 warns that God hates pride and arrogance. Pride is believing I can do anything apart from God. BOOM, there is the landmine. I’m not willing to admit I’m wrong. BOOM, there it is. I am not willing to ask for directions. BOOM, there it is again. Is my heart God-focused or self-focused? 1Peter 5:5 (NIV) says, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

It is popular in our culture to consider pride a male sin, but before the women turn to the next lesson recognize this: focus on self – I need, I want, I feel – is at its base pride and that is just as predominant in the female as the male. Women may manifest pride a little differently but I believe we are all prone to fall into it.

There is a good pride: healthy self-respect, dignity, satisfaction in a job well done. The other side is bad pride: conceit, egotism, arrogance, boasting, putting others down, self-righteous.

Isaiah 14:12-15 (NIV) narrates the fall of Satan: “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.” His downfall was pride. Isaiah continues in verses 16-17 to describe Satan’s fate: “Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: ‘Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, the man who made the world a wilderness, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?’” Someday we will see the devil for who he really is. I think we will look at him and say “Is that all he is? This is what had everyone so scared and intimidated?”

Pride is sneaky. It shows up as arrogance, greed, envy, anger, self-pity and “poor me’s”. When I am driving I tend to see others as obstacles. That is pride. In Genesis 3:5 Adam and Eve wanted to be like God. William Ernst Henley wrote the famous poem “Invictus” in 1875. It concluded with the lines, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” It may be a very stirring poem but its underlying basis is pride. “I’m the boss of my life.” Better think again. Who is in the driver’s seat of your life?

Pride stops growth. When I say “Look how great I am.” I have stopped pursuing excellence and have settled for “good enough”. Pride says look where I’ve come. Humility says look where I am going. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking less about yourself. I am valuable, not because of what I have done but who I am in Christ. Philippians 3:13-14 encourages us to not look back but rather to press toward the goal.

Psalm 101:5 warns us that God will not tolerate pride. What qualifies us for God’s grace? In 1Corinthians 1:26-31 God pulls the rug from under human thinking and turns it upside down. Let’s look at this passage in detail.

1. Vs. 26 says we are called by God not because of position in society, advanced education or great wealth. God came for those whom the world looks on as losers. I remember choosing teams for kickball in 5th and 6th grade. The two most popular kids always got to be captains and it seems like I was always the last one chosen. “You take him.” “Nah, I had him last time. It’s your turn.” God starts with the people the world chooses last. James 2:5 tells us that God has chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith. That is the place where pride can be defeated.

2. Vs. 27-29 says God chose the weak, the despised, the outcast. Peter was a common fisherman. Matthew was a despised tax collector. Zacchaeus (Luke 19) was a chief tax collector, a collaborator with the oppressive Roman government. Jesus is no “country club” savior. In Matthew 11:5 (NKJV) “The poor have the Gospel preached to them.” was Jesus’s proof to John that He was Messiah. Isaiah 55:8 tells us that God’s ways are not our ways.

3. Vs 30-31 reminds us God alone is our source of salvation. 2Corinthians 10:17 (NIV) says, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” God looks at the heart. He looks for character, integrity and humility.

Hebrews 12:1 tells me to run my race with endurance. I’ll never be as strong as so-and-so or as skinny as what’s-her-name or as good looking as you-know-who. I must focus on my unique God given gifts and talents. Proverbs 16:18 warns, “Pride goes before destruction.” The landmine is there waiting. Watch your step!

4: Dead Men Don’t Sweat It

The purpose of the Law is not to show me how to live so God will like me. Rather it is a mirror to show me it is impossible for me to be right before God by myself. I need a Savior. I can put on an outward show of how holy I am. There is a word for that: religion. But inwardly I know how far short I truly fall. It is only through faith I am made right with God. Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law. Faith makes me a son of God, clothed with the life of Christ himself. (Galatians 3:27)

Philippians 2:7 says Jesus “made himself of no reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” Jesus did not come as a people pleasers, to gain recognition and a large following. He came to take my place, as a substitute for the price I should have paid.

We are either connected to Adam or connected to Jesus. Both positions give an inheritance: defeat or victory, death or life, separation or reconciliation. The sinner deserves to die, but Jesus took our place. I didn't get what I deserved. Hebrews 10:3-4 says that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. Jesus had to deal with it. Hebrews 9:26 declares that Jesus put away sin, abolished it, and delivered me from guilt. Isaiah 53:6 says, “The LORD has laid on Him _____’s iniquity.” The clearest Scripture on this is probably 2Corinthians 5:21: “For Him who knew no sin He made to be sin on _____’s behalf; so that in Him _____ might become the righteousness of God.” The Father laid on Jesus the sin that was rightfully mine so that I can stand before Him righteous in Christ.

1Corinthians 1:18 tells us that the cross is the power of God to absorb my sin and my punishment. That means the cross is like a sponge, soaking up the anger, hatred, lust, adultery, pride, negativity, the list goes on and on. If I live under the weight of guilt and shame, it is because I am trying to punish myself to appease what I see as an angry God. The problem is that mindset always pushes me down. Guilt is man's way of atonement but it brings no mercy, no healing, no freedom. The devil wants me under a burden of guilt and shame. “You always fall short, you’ll never measure up.” The truth is he is right; I can't do it. I must depend on the Cross and faith in Jesus’s completed work in His death, burial and resurrection.

Romans 8:33-34 says, “Who could bring a charge against _____, because he/she is one of God’s elect? It is God who justifies _____. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and more than that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God and makes intercession for _____.” God has declared me not guilty. If the devil can get me to dwell on past sin and failure, he keeps control. But the reality is God is not holding those past failings against me. Micah 7:19 promises, “He will again have compassion on ____. He will tread his/her iniquities under foot; and You will cast all _____’s sins into the depths of the sea.” It is time to let them go. Hebrews 4:16 encourages us to come boldly before the throne of grace. Anything that keeps me from God’s throne is of the enemy.

We face a choice: Live a self-focused life or a God-focused life. God is not “out there” somewhere; He is in here, in my heart. In Ezekiel 11: 19, God promises to remove the heart of stone and give me a heart of flesh. Only the Word of God will change us. We must decide to die to self.

When I went through Bible School, one assignment was to present a 10 minute sermon on a theme of our choice. One woman in the class was a former mortuary assistant and her message was titled, “Dead men don’t sweat it.” She said no one she worked on was worried about the mortgage payment or the utility bill or the car loan. You could wave pornography in front of them and it didn’t bother them. Pass a greasy hamburger under their nose and they didn’t try to take a bite. Dead men don’t sweat it. I must surrender every area to Christ. If I am truly dead to an area, then I am not tempted.

Hopefully we all recognize that our relationship with God is not based on our works. At least in our heads, we'll say “Amen”, but something inside us still says we need to do better. There is that gnawing feeling that we are just not good enough. 1Peter 5:7 commands us to cast all our cares on Him, because He cares for us. We must surrender the guilt and surrender the shame.

The keyword is: Trust. When our children were small, I taught each of them to jump to me from the side of the pool. Our son Paul was about 2 when I was working with him to have the trust to jump to me. He took to it quickly. Then one day he was standing on the side of the pool and I was several yards out in the pool, distracted by the activities of the other children. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked and he was gone. I rushed over to where he had been standing and dove down. There he was standing on the bottom calmly looking around. He didn’t see me but I could see on his face the trust: “I know my Daddy will be here any second.”

We each stand on the edge of eternity. I may step through that curtain in 50 years, I may step through tonight. Do I face eternity with the trust that Jesus’s sacrifice was enough? 1Corinthians 15:58 tells us to be steadfast, unmovable knowing that our labor is not in vain. When we built a short sidewalk from our driveway to the front door, I wanted it to last, to be strong, so I made sure it had the right rebar. With that rebar I knew it was unshakeable. The Word is our spiritual rebar to make us unshakeable, unwavering.

The old man died. I no longer have to live with the guilt, condemnation and shame that my old man carried. With trust in His Word, I step into new life, new freedom, new hope.

5: Where’s Waldo!

Ever do “Where’s Waldo?” puzzles? They are drawings depicting dozens of people doing a variety of amusing things within the scene. Readers are challenged to find a character named Waldo hidden in the group. Waldo's distinctive red-and-white striped shirt, bobble hat, and glasses should make him easy to recognize, but the drawings involve a distracting use of red-and-white striped objects to hide the real Waldo. What is the technique at work in a “Where’s Waldo?” puzzle? Busy-ness, distraction, sensory overload. Isn’t that how the devil works? He wants us distracted by busy-ness of living, preoccupied with everyday life, sucked into the world’s way.

Matthew 7:13-14 admonishes us to enter by the narrow gate. The road to salvation is not promised to be easy. If I get my focus off of the things of God, I am soon back in old habits, old responses. Perhaps you have heard it said, “A man without a future will return to his past.” God wants us to move forward.

Picture the circumstances in Luke 2:41-52. Mary and Joseph are busy getting ready for the trip home from Jerusalem. In all the hustle and bustle, Mary lost Jesus. Can you imagine, she has been entrusted with God Himself on earth and she lost Him! Was there a time when you felt close to Jesus but now He seems distant, a time when you were on fire but now it is hard to open your Bible? It is time to break through the distractions and reconnect.

1 John 2:15 (NIV) tells us, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.” There is no place for love of both the world and God. We have to make a choice. Matthew 6:24 (NKJV) warns, “No one can serve two masters.” Focus on self is destructive. Romans 8:7 (NIV) tells us, “The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God.” Deuteronomy 6:5 (NLT) commands “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” In other words, don’t allow the distractions of the world to get our eyes off of God.

In the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:3-9, the seed sown among thorns is the busy-ness of life. That busy-ness chokes out the productivity of the seed. In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus says we can build our house on the rock or build it on the sand. On sand means no commitment and easily moved. Those built on sand only follow when everything is going right but disappear when difficulty comes. Those built on the rock will stand the test of time, adversity and trial.

In Acts 20:24 (NKJV) Paul described persecution, imprisonment, stoning, shipwrecks but he concludes with: “None of these things move me.” That is focus. We had better be prepared beforehand or we will be moved by circumstances.

Romans 12:1 commands that we be a living sacrifice which is our reasonable service. To be a living sacrifice takes determination and follow through. I made a decision for Jesus at 12 but I had no follow through. In a few days my life looked just like it did before. Again at 24 I made a commitment of my life to God but still there was no follow through. At 32 I once again made the choice to follow Jesus and that one stuck. Until that time I was religious on the outside but only going through the motions. Finally it reached my heart.

There are many people in the Bible who showed focus. In Mark 5:25-34, the woman with a bleeding condition was focused on touching Jesus. In Mark 2:4, four friends are carrying their paralytic friend to Jesus and, when the room was too crowded, they broke through the roof. In Matthew 14, Peter walks on water until he lost focus. There are others who got off focus. In Genesis 19:26, Lot’s wife looks back to her old life and is turned into salt. In Exodus 16, the Israelites don’t have a vision of possessing the Promised Land and want to go back to the slavery of Egypt.

Entering the kingdom of God requires discipline and perseverance. 2Timothy 2:3 tells us to have the discipline of a good soldier. Hebrews 6:12 says that through faith and perseverance we will inherit the promise. Jesus is our example. Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) says, “Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross.” I could not pay the price for my sin, but Jesus did. That is worth my focus.

Let’s get focused:

1. Plan: Make the decision to follow God with your whole heart, mind, soul and strength. Luke 9:62 (NKJV) warns, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” And James warns in James 1:8 that the double minded man is unstable in all his ways. There can be no plan B.

2. Prepare: Jesus says in Luke 14:28 that the first step in building a tower must be to  first count the cost. Ephesians 6:10-19 lists the armor of God. That is where our preparation and training must be: truth, righteousness, peace and faith. The source of that is the Word of God.

3. Press: Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV) is a Scripture to go back to again and again: “Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Keep our eye on the prize and allow that hope to give us direction.

Where’s Waldo? I don’t really care. What I do care about is where is Jesus in your life. Henry Ford said, “Thinking is the hardest thing we as humans do. That is why so few do it.” It is time to plan, to prepare, to press.

6: Picture the Dream

We moved into our present house five and a half years ago. For nearly 10 years before that my wife was picturing it. She could see the dining room. She could see the bedroom. She could even see the pantry. Realtors told her there was nothing like that anywhere, but she had a dream. She pictured it and she held onto that dream until the day came when we walked into this house and we knew we were home.

God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, “father of many nations”. But wait, Abraham was childless, his wife Sarah was barren. Was this some sort of sick joke? No, God gave him a picture to get ahold of the dream. In Genesis 22, God took Abraham outside at night and told him to look at the stars. Those countless stars became the anchor for his dream. Every time he stepped outside at night he was reminded of God’s promise.

The picture shown here is the Hubble Space Telescope’s Extreme Deep Field photo. Scientists say the area shown is equivalent to looking at the night sky through a soda straw. Every dot, every smudge is not a star, it’s a galaxy, over 5,500, each with billions of stars. Ever wonder how big God is? Look at that picture. And that doesn’t even come close! I think that picture is God’s way of saying, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” 1Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) says, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

There is something very powerful about a picture. God speaks in pictures. In Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel had a vision of dry bones coming back to life through the power of the Spirit. In Acts 10, Peter had the vision of animals lowered from heaven on a sheet. In Ephesians 6 Paul used the picture of a Roman soldier's armor to describe our spiritual defenses not because we are to take an actual helmet and write "salvation" on it or swing our Bible around like a sword. He used an earthly image so we can better grasp a spiritual truth.

The parables of Jesus painted a picture. John 7:38 pictures living water flowing from the believer. A mustard seed is used to portray faith in Mark 4:3. The parable of the sower (Mark 4:3-20), the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46), the lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7), a lamp under a basket (Matthew 5:14–15); the Bible is rich with imagery.

We just finished a butterfly experience with our grandchildren. For $5.00 we sent away for 10 caterpillars that we all watched grow bigger, weave a cocoon and finally break out as butterflies.  Yesterday we all celebrated as they were released. Every time one soared free, we all cheered.  In that I saw a picture of our freedom from the prison of sin and condemnation. 2Corinthians 3:17 (NKJV) declares, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Can you hear the angels cheer? (Luke 15:7)

As a kid, I loved to do “paint by numbers”. I could feel artistic through something that required no skill. With those paintings when only one or two colors had been completed, it didn't look like much but as more colors were added the picture took shape. Perhaps your future is painted in only one or two colors right now. Faith is needed to fill it in.

We’ve all heard people say, “I’m just tellin’ it like it is.” Or “I call ‘em as I see ‘em.” The problem is that hinders faith from being activated in our lives. The Bible tells us in Romans 4:17 (NIV) that God “calls into being things that were not." Proverbs 29:18 (The Message) states, "If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed."

Some use a dream board with pictures of what they are believing for. We make daily declarations over our business, our relationships and our personal growth. Remember this: “The me I see is the me I’ll be.” If someone says “Dog”, I see a German Shepherd. Someone says “Tree” and my mind pictures a tall pine. When someone says “Future”, what do I see?

It can be fun to look back at pictures of the past. I have lots of dorky pictures in my high school yearbook. I can smile and joke remembering the good times. But in reality that doesn't help me move forward. The picture I need to see, to really focus on is the future.

Jesus healed blindness more often than any other disease (Matthew 9:27-31, Mark 8:22-26, Mark 10:46-52 and John 9:1-12). Why? Could it be that He recognizes the importance of seeing the dream, of having vision for the future? In Matthew 23:26, He accused the Pharisees of blindness not because their eyes didn't work, but because they did not use spiritual sight.

Have you had a vision but disappointment and failure has sucked the life out of it? It is time to recharge. Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJV) are words to recharge: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Habakkuk 2:2-3 in the Message says, “Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what’s coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn’t lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait.” The dream God has planted in me is on its way. It will come right on time. I like the way it says, "it aches for the coming--it can hardly wait." As a child we could hardly wait for our birthday or for Christmas. As we grow older and start to experience disappointments in life we begin to become afraid to hope. “Blessed are the pessimists for they shall not be disappointed.” No, that’s not in the Bible. What the Bible does say is, “We live by faith, not by sight.” (2Corinthians 5:7 (NIV))

Stating the vision establishes accountability. "What's your vision?" "Oh, well, I have some thoughts. We'll see what works out." That shows no accountability, no faith. Discard that which is contrary to the vision: negative relationships, drugs or other addictions, or poor self-image.

Revelations 2:4 warns us against leaving our first love. Why does that happen? We have lost the dream. It is time to reconnect. Seek God for the vision for your life then pursue it with everything you’ve got.

7: What floats your boat?

What floats your boat? What motivates your life? Where is your passion? What gets you out of bed in the morning to tackle another day? It can be many things:

1.     Guilt? If so, I am allowing my past to control my future. 2Corinthians 5:17 promises me that I am a new creation. That means I have a fresh start. I do not have to be a prisoner of my past. Romans 8:1 declares that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Guilt does not have to control me.

2.     Anger/Bitterness/Unforgiveness? Understand that unforgiveness hurts me more than the one who hurt me. It is like drinking poison hoping the other person will die. They have forgotten it and have moved on with their life. Job 5:2 (NLT) warns, “Surely resentment destroys the fool.” Jesus in Matthew 6:12 (NLT) included in His model prayer, “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” To the extent that I am willing to forgive is how much I want God to forgive me. Ouch! (More on this in another lesson)

3.     Fear? Fear takes many forms:

a.      Fear of rejection - Peer pressure is called being conformed to the world in Romans 12:2

b.     Fear of failure – That was Gideon’s problem in Judges 8

c.      Fear of lack – The rich young ruler manifested that in Luke 18

d.     Fear of ???? Name it for your life.

Fear is just faith with the expectation of a negative outcome. Fear is a self-imposed prison. The good news is in 1John 4:18 (NKJV): “Perfect love casts out fear.”

4.     Materialism? I have heard the world’s drive for ‘stuff’ described as: “We spend money we don't have to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like.” The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:7) describes this attitude as “seed that falls among thorns”. Materialism may bring pleasure for a moment but it is short lived and empty. It results in a drive for more and more. How much is enough? Most of the world lives on $2 a day. Have you seen the bumper sticker, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” That certainly points out the folly of materialism. I thought the bumper sticker was intended as a joke until I realized how many people live that way. As the Bible says in Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV), “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” I just read recently in my devotional Psalm 119:36-37 (NLT): “Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.”

Guilt, unforgiveness, fear, materialism: these options all have one thing in common, focus on self. Matthew 7:13-14 tells us we can take the broad, easy way that leads to destruction or the narrow, difficult way that leads to eternal life. The choice is ours.

5.     God's will – Here is the path to true peace, true joy, true freedom. Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) promises, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” God’s peace and rest are available but I must take action: Come! I don’t have to get my act together just come. When I am broken and hurting, come.

We will never find true fulfillment apart from God. In John 15: 5 (NKJV) Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” When I get discouraged, when the world seems to be lining up against me, when nothing is going right and the future looks pretty dismal, I fall back on my connection with my heavenly Father.

A few moments of pleasure and I can lose everything I have gained. When our children were younger we took them sledding on a popular hill in our town. It was a lot of fun to go zipping down the hill but when I stood at the bottom of the hill and looked back up I realized how quickly I lost what I worked so hard for in climbing to the top. One sin leads to another, a small sin to a bigger one. In 2Samuel 11, David started by not going with his army to war. Then He allowed his gaze to linger too long on Bathsheba bathing.  Next he had her in bed and arranging for the murder of her husband. Sin is a slippery slope. Everything starts small, as a seed. I had better watch what I plant.

How do I connect to God’s will:

1.     Build my foundation on the rock. That is the warning in Matthew 7:24-27. My connection with God begins with salvation. Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) tells us, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

2.     Understand my identification with Christ. I died with Christ (Romans 6:8). I was buried with Christ (Romans 6:4). I was raised with Christ (Colossians 3:1). Through identification I am seated with Christ in heaven (Ephesians 2:6).

3.     Practice God’s presence. Psalm 100:4 commands us to enter His courts with praise. God’s presence brings power. James 4:7 (NIV) promises, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” It is submission to His presence that brings victory. The 23rd Psalm is well known. Verse 4 (NKJV) says, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” That’s not because I’m so big and tough, but because of God’s presence.

4.     Get ahold of vision. God doesn’t want me to just muddle through, to “hold on ‘till Jesus comes”. He has a purpose and a destiny for each of us. It is vision that pulls me forward. God doesn't expect me to be perfect, but He does expect me to be growing. 1Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV) promises, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” Wow, count me in!

5.     Recognize the importance of teamwork. Mountain climbers don’t go onto the mountain alone. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV) says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” We need each other in this spiritual journey.

1John 2:17 (NIV) warns, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” I think we need to live each day as if it were our last. Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV) is such a key Scripture, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Is Jesus coming soon to rapture His church away? Are we living in the “last days?” I don't know but I am sure I am not too many decades from standing before His throne. My hope lies in hearing Him say to me the words of Matthew 25:21 (NKJV): “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Then I will step into eternity in His presence. That is what floats my boat. What floats yours?

8: Identity Theft

Have you ever been or known someone who was the victim of identity theft? We have actually had people order Bibles with stolen credit cards. Something is wrong with that picture. But there is something worse than forged checks or stolen credit card. Who is the biggest offender in identity theft? It is the devil. John 10:10 says the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy.

We have one very powerful weapon against his attacks: understanding who we are in Christ. For years I was a born-again Christian, but I was always worried: How can I possibly get into heaven? What must I do to counter the lies, the lustful thoughts, the anger of which I was guilty? Then one verse changed my life. It was Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for _____ because he/she is in Christ Jesus, because _____ doesn’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” That began my journey of understanding my identity in Christ and stopped the identity theft carried out by the devil against me.

Ps 118:6 tells me God is on my side. He loves me and no one can take that away. Romans 8:31-39 says, “What then shall we say about these things? If God is for _____, who can be against him/her? He who didn’t spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for _____, how would He not also with Him freely give _____ all things? Who could bring a charge against _____, because he/she is one of God’s elect? It is God who justifies _____. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and more than that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God and makes intercession for _____. Who shall separate _____ from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Even as it is written, “For Your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” No, in all these things, _____ is more than a conqueror through Him who loved him/her. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate _____ from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, _____’s Lord.” What a tremendous expression of God’s love. The key here: nothing can separate me from that love. It’s not important what people say or think about me. My address or the clothes I wear or the car I drive are not important. My confidence is in Christ. In Him we are all equal. Ephesians 2:14 tells us He tore down the dividing walls that separate us from Him.

Everybody gets hurt in their journey of life. We live in fear, shame, condemnation, BUT God… Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, falsely accused of rape, thrown into prison, his life looked totally hopeless, BUT God…. Moses fled Egypt after committing murder, 40 years in the desert with dirty, stinky sheep, 80 years old, a life seemingly wasted, BUT God….  David committed adultery with Bathsheba then arranged for the murder of her husband, BUT God…. Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times BUT God…. What God can do for you can override anything the world has done to you. Isaiah 61:1-3 prophesied of Jesus: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me; because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to _____ because he/she is humble. He has sent Me to bind _____ up when he/she is brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to _____ when he/she is captive, and release to _____ when he/she is bound; to proclaim to _____ the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of his/her God;  to comfort _____ when he/she mourns; to appoint to _____ when he/she mourns,  to give to him/her a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,  the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that _____ may be called a tree of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Jesus came to heal the brokenhearted, to declare liberty to captives. We just have to walk out.

I can’t be lazy and expect to grow. I have to do my part. 2Corinthians 6:11-12 in the Message translation says, “Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living in a small way.” I am the one who is boxing myself in by the way you think.

I have to ask myself, “What am I depositing?” If I went down to the local branch of Bank of America and said to the teller, “I’d like to withdraw $500.” She might reply, “Well, yes sir. May I have your account number?” “Oh, I don’t have an account. I just want $500.” You know how far that is going to go. There are no withdrawals until there is first a deposit. The same is true in our spiritual life: I can withdraw only what I put in.

When I go through difficult times I won’t insult God by asking, “Don’t you love me?” In the deepest trials and tragedy I choose to say, “Nothing can separate me from the love of God.” I need to go back and stand on Romans 8:31-39. There is a difference between how I feel and who I am, e.g. I may feel fearful but I don’t have to be afraid. I can feel anger but I can choose to walk in love. I might feel hurt but I can choose to forgive. As I meditate on the Word it becomes reality to me. God loves me! I am chosen, redeemed, forgiven, accepted, renewed. That meditation on the Word is our preparation for battle. Ephesians 6:10-19 tells us about the armor of God: the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, etc. In Ephesians 6:13 tells us after all the preparation, it is time to take our stand. I have the victory. It’s guaranteed. If I take hold of that truth, the devil can’t do a thing about it. We read earlier in Isaiah 61:3 we are trees of righteousness that God might be glorified. That goes along with Ephesians 2:10: “For _____ is His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that _____ should walk in them.” One translation says we are His masterpiece. We are trophies on His living room table, prizes that He shows to company and brags about.

Joyce Meyers says, “I’m not where I need to be, but thank God I’m not where I used to be.” So often we carry around crud from the old man, but Galatians 2:20 says that I have been crucified with Christ. If I move into that new reality, I will move into a new level of victory. Col 3:1-3 tells us, “If then, _____ was raised together with Christ, he/she should seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. _____ is to set his/her mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For _____ died, and his/her life is hidden with Christ in God.” It is time to kick the old, dead man out and undergo a change of thinking. Rom 12:2 says, “_____ is not to be conformed to this world, but is to be transformed by the renewing of his/her mind, so that _____ may prove what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.” I can’t allow myself to be forced into the world’s mold, but I need to change my thinking to prevent being like the world. I need to get rid of that old man thinking and step into God’s new life.

So often we try to please people by wearing a mask and living phony lives. Dave Ramsey puts it this way: “We spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need to impress people we don’t like.” What do I really believe? How do I think? Matthew 12:34b warns, “For out of the abundance of _____’s heart, his/her mouth speaks.” Listen to your talk: “I’m so dumb.” “I’m a big screw up.” “I can’t do anything right.” What does the Bible say about you? Get over yourself and step into Christ.

I’m not talking about being religious. A religious person has no joy or peace. Religion tries to change the outside. It is knowing my identity in Christ that enables me to overcome anything the devil can throw at me. Nobody can take that away. Psalm 139:14 tells me I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Believe it!

God has a gift for me, an identity gift. The devil may be scoffing, “Who do you think you are?” Well, I am nothing in myself, but I know who I am in Christ!

- I am the righteousness of God in Christ. (2Cor. 5:21)

- I am a new creation. (2Cor. 5:17)

- I have been made holy by the Blood, set free. (Heb. 10:10)

- I have been chosen to be blameless in His sight. (Ephesians 1:4)

Being a Christian isn’t about going to church on Sunday. It’s about being empowered on Sunday to live as a Christian the rest of the week. The greatest obstacle to God’s abundant life is me, in how I see myself. I need to see me the way God sees me. If the devil can steal my identity, my defeat is assured. When I understand my identity I am more than a conqueror. It is time to stop identity theft.

9: He Stands at the Door

We made a trip to Orlando, Florida for a Christian business conference with Dr. Bob Harrison. We brought our office manager with us and when we checked into the hotel, we were given adjacent rooms. The interesting thing about how the rooms were constructed was that there was a double door interconnecting our rooms. When we opened our door between the rooms, there was a second door that could only be opened from her side; there was no door knob on our side for her door.

Seeing that door reminded me of Revelations 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If _____ hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him/her, and will dine with him/her, and he/she with Me.”  A door separates me from Christ. There is something in each of our lives that keeps us from entering into that full relationship, a sin that we hang onto with both hands.

Each of us must stand alone before God. If you have ever had to stand in front of a booking desk at your county jail, you turned over your wallet, your shoes and whatever else was required. Your mama wasn’t there, your girlfriend/boyfriend wasn’t there, I wasn’t there. Before Jesus we will stand alone. There will be no attorney, no plea bargain, no time off for good behavior. On the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” The door is open on His side. Will you choose to open your side? There is a famous painting based on Revelations 3:20. When the artist presented it, others commented, “You made a mistake. There is no handle on the door.” His response was, “The only handle is on our side.”

In Luke 5:32, we are told that Jesus did not come to call the self-righteous, but the sinner, the one desiring to repent. He is on the hunt for those who have come to the end of their rope (literally the end of themselves) and are ready to admit their life is out of control. Are you ready?

Perhaps you have never made Jesus Lord of your life and today you need to make that step. Don’t hesitate. He waits on the other side of that door with open arms. But I also want to address the BS-ers out there – the Back sliders. (Were you thinking something else?) There was a time when you made Jesus Lord of your life. You invited Jesus in. But then He starts knocking on doors. Anger: “Oh, yes Lord. Please come in.” Lust: “Well, OK (hesitant). You can come in.” Pride: “Now wait a sec. I don’t think I’m ready for this.” Maybe you even go back and start closing doors you had previously opened.  Jesus must be Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. Your life is like a house with many rooms. What rooms are you not opening to Him? What is in your way to opening that door: a girl, a bottle of Jack Daniels, a stack of poker chips or a list of internet porn sites? Maybe its money, pride, selfishness, jealousy or gossip.  It is time to push whatever it is out of the way. Is the sin you have worth that much? Do you love that sin more than Jesus?

Romans 6:11 says, “Thus _____ should also consider himself/herself to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus, his/her Lord.” When I attended Bible School, one of the highlights of the curriculum was presenting our own sermon. One gal in our class had been a mortician assistant at one time and she spoke on “Dead Men Don’t Sweat It.” Dead men don’t worry about paying bills or meeting deadlines. Dead men don’t get angry or tell their spouse off. Dead men don’t get pulled into the mire of pride, unforgiveness or anger. We should consider ourselves dead to sin. It does not need to have control over us. We can open the door to that room and let the healing light of His presence enter. In the presence of His light, the darkness must flee.

Matthew 7:13-14 says, “_____ must enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.” We have all seen the game show Let’s Make a Deal. Contestants are pulled from the audience and given the choice of what is behind Door #1, Door #2 or Door #3. Today we are playing a new game. The prize is heaven and the consequences are eternal. Well, not really new. It’s been played since Adam and Eve. Life presents us with many doors, each calling out: “Go this way! This is the door to happiness, fulfillment, fortune, pleasure!” There is Materialism, New Age, Occult, Buddhism, Islam, Jehovah’s Witness, etc. Yet only one door leads to heaven. John 14:6 (NKJV) Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. _____ cannot come to the Father, except through Me.” God doesn’t care what bumper sticker you have, what t-shirt you wear or what tattoo is on your arm. Have you opened the door of your heart to Jesus? Have you opened every door to Him?

John 15:1-5 tells us, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the farmer. If _____ is in Me but doesn’t bear fruit, He will take him/her away. If _____ bears fruit, He prunes _____, that he/she may bear more fruit. _____ is already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to him/her. _____ must remain in Me, and I in him/her. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can _____, unless he/she remains in Me. I am the vine. _____ is a branch. If _____ remains in Me, and I in him/her, he/she will bear much fruit, for apart from Me, _____ can do nothing.”  Remain in the vine. If Jesus is separated from us by a wall of pride, anger, unforgiveness or indifference, we cannot be connected, we cannot experience the strength and purpose that comes from the vine.

To sup with Him is a time to linger, not to rush through to get back to our daily lives. Today our lives are filled with distractions. I remember growing up, my dad was an electrical engineer and I guess he would be called a geek today. We had the first TV on the block, a little 7 inch black and white number. On a good night we got 3 channels, 2 of those were pretty fuzzy unless you turned the antenna just right. Today we are a microwave generation. We want everything right now. We don’t have time to linger; we want to hurry back to our schedule, to do what we want. We are looking for quick answers. God is not a genie in a bottle; it’s not: “Rub His belly and out pops the genie to grant all your wishes.” We need to quiet our spirits, linger with Him and grow close to Him in order to hear His voice.

Our lives may be dominated by anger, hurt, resentment, self-pity. If so then we may try to dull our pain with alcohol, drugs, pornography, sex. That leads us back to anger, hurt and self-pity in a cycle of destruction. Satan will tell us all kinds of lies: “You’re not worth anything.” “You deserve what you’re getting.” “No one loves you, not even God.” Don’t get mad at the devil. He’s just fulfilling his job description.  John 10:10 (NKJV) says, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” But you have a choice to listen to him or listen to God.

Deut. 30:19 warns, “I call heaven and earth to witness against _____ this day, that I have set before him/her life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore _____ should choose life, that he/she may live, he/she and his/her seed.” God is giving you a choice. In case there is any confusion on your part, He even tells you which way to go. Choose life! But it still has to be your choice. Isaiah 43:1-2 promises, “_____ should not be afraid, for I have redeemed him/her. I have called _____ by his/her name. _____ is mine. When _____ passes through the waters, I will be with him/her; and through the rivers, they will not overflow him/her. When _____ walks through the fire, he/she will not be burned, and flame will not scorch him/her.” Get ahold of that today: God has called you by name. He knows you personally.

Jesus is knocking. Remember, the handle is on our side. Will I let Him in?

1. I can. I can give up that sin. I can open every door.

2. I must. There is no plan B, no other option that brings freedom.

3. I will. I will open the door that leads to eternal life.

Say it aloud: “I can. I must. I will.” “I can. I must. I will.”

10: Cost of Discipleship

I start with a hypothetical conversation at a local bar. Sam and Joe are sharing their second beer when Joe says, “I can’t figure out this Christianity thing. What do you think?” Sam replies, “Well, the thing I would suggest is find a Christian and watch ‘em; see how they live.” Joe says, “Yea, I know Pete. He says he’s a Christian. I’ll watch him and see what it means to be a Christian.” Joe won’t tell Pete. He won’t ask for permission, but he’ll be watching. Count on it.

In 1Corinthians 11:1 (NIV), Paul makes a very bold statement: “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” He is saying if you want to know what a Christian is, watch me, imitate me. It is easy to call yourself a Christian. For me, I went to church every once in a while; I had a Bible… somewhere. There is a difference between calling myself Christian and being a true Christian. I may be on fire for a month, on fire for a year, on fire while I’m in church, but what happens when the trials come.

The world says if it gets hard, quit. The world says, “It’s all about me, me, me.” That attitude leads to disappointment, bondage and death. In Matthew 7:13, Jesus warns: “_____ must enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.” We will not enter eternal life by taking the easy way.

God’s love is expressed by His desire to see our life improve. Isn’t that just like we want for our children. God wants to bring us to a new level. To reach that new level there is a price I must be willing to pay. If I am not willing to change, I’m wasting my time living for Jesus.  I have to undergo the renewal of my mind. That is a change that is not overnight. “Well, my life got a little off track.” The devil wants us “off track”. How far will a train go if it is a little off track? It’s called a train wreck! The flesh pulls us back and the devil uses that to bring us into bondage and destruction.

Ever hear of the submarine Christian? He is the one who is up front on Sunday morning, singing dancing and praising God, then Monday morning he keeps his head down and hopes no one notices him. Carrying your cross is not about minor inconveniences. A flat tire is not your cross. A coworker who annoys you is not your cross. 2Tim 2:3 tells us, “_____ therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” It is time to be a real man or woman. It is time to be a disciple.

Christianity isn’t just saying a prayer and then waiting to go to heaven. Between conversion and resurrection is discipleship. We live in a consumer culture, focused on self. I hear this ad on the radio: “Get the car you deserve.” “Get the credit you deserve.” Get what I deserve? I don’t want what I deserve; I deserve hell! How often do we quit and blame others. Don’t waste your life. Do not quit. We are not called to comfort or to success but to obedience. When you fall (not if but when), get back up. That is the character of a Christian.

Luke 14:26-35: “If _____ comes to Me, and doesn’t hate his/her own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his/her own life also, _____ can’t be My disciple. If _____ doesn’t bear his/her own cross, and come after Me, he/she can’t be My disciple. For will not _____, desiring to build a tower, first sit down and count the cost, to see if he/she has enough to complete it? Or perhaps, when _____ has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, everyone who sees begins to mock him/her, saying, ‘_____ began to build, and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends an envoy, and asks for conditions of peace. So therefore if _____ doesn’t renounce all that he/she has, he/she can’t be My disciple. Salt is good, but if the salt becomes flat and tasteless, with what do you season it? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. It is thrown out. If _____ has ears to hear, let him/her hear.”

What is the cost of being a disciple?

1. Don’t quit. First count the cost. Do not raise your hand unless you are ready to see it through to the end. We were married in 1969. That was the year Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. It was the time of the Beatles, Brady Bunch and Woodstock. A mobile phone meant an extra-long cord so you could walk around the living room while you talked. Facebook was the family photo album. Seems like ancient history. You know, weddings are easy; marriage is hard. Starting is easy; hanging in there to finish is hard. Salvation is easy; discipleship is hard. Our grandson just finished army boot camp. The army didn’t go to that expense so he could wear a sharp uniform or travel to exotic locations. They are looking for men and women prepared for combat, men and women with back bone. Don’t make excuses. Don’t play the blame game. Get ready for the fight.

2. Don’t quit. First, just like the king facing the opposing army, do your homework. Is your life a series of decisions followed by quitting? We are in a real war with real casualties and real quitters. It is not a video game that is all fake and doesn’t count. The kingdom of God will not be won with your thumbs.  It’s time to do something that matters.

3. Don’t quit. Are you ready to make a difference? Salt is used for preserving and enhancing. Does your life make a difference? Jesus counted the cost and went to the cross anyway. I will not change until I recognize the cost of staying the same is greater than the cost of changing. I have a problem with sweets. I hear the health consequences of too many sweets; I see the scale reading 20 pounds high. I make the head commitment that I will change. But I come face to face with the Dairy Queen Blizzard and that is all out the window. Why does society send people to jail? To make people uncomfortable enough to change. The Bible can’t change you. It can show you a better way, but you must make the choice and then follow through.

Give your life to Jesus and make your life better?  No, the whole truth is we must expect sacrifice. I’m not doing you any favors by bringing a soft Gospel. Romans 12:1 commands, “Therefore I urge _____, by the mercies of God, to present his/her body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is _____’s spiritual service.” I am not expected to worship God with singing but with my entire life. Will you be a contributor or consumer? Make your life count.

In Luke 9:62, Jesus says, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”. In 1519 Hernando Cortez landed at Vera Cruz, Mexico to conquer the Aztec nation. After disembarking his army, he burned the ships. The message: we conquer or we die; no turning back.  What does it mean to look back? You say to God, “I give you my whole life, except my pornography.” “I surrender all, except my bitterness and unforgiveness.” What is back there you want?

Hebrews 12:1 says: “Therefore let _____ also, seeing he/she is surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles him/her, and let _____ run with patience the race that is set before him/her.” I remember as a child growing up near the Potomac River. We would love to splash and play and run in the water. But on occasion, clumps of seaweed drifted up to shore and when we ran through the water the seaweed wrapped around our legs and held us back.  That is the picture I have when I read Hebrews 12:1, the sin, the past pulling me back like that seaweed.

Luke 9:23-24 (Msg) promises, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat – I am. Don’t’ run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how.”

One final thought: Philippians 3:13-14 says, “_____ doesn’t regard himself/herself as yet having taken hold, but one thing _____ does. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are ahead, _____ presses on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Keep your eye on the prize. Keep pressing. Don’t quit.

11: The Sword of the Spirit

Has the devil taken anything from you? You won’t get it back by being on the defense. It is time to be on the offense with the sword of the Spirit. If I leave the sword in its scabbard it is of no use. Do you want to go into spiritual battles and leave your Bible on the shelf? It is time to step up to the battle. But remember there is no victory without preparation.

Several years ago I was given a ride in a police car. Unlike what you might be thinking, I got to ride in front. Just before we started on patrol, the officer said, “There is a shotgun under this seat. I hope you don’t need it because, if you do, it means something very bad has happened to me.” Well believe me, my eyes got big and I started wondering if I really wanted to do this. But later I realized how useless that instruction was since he did not show me how to release it from its mount, how to release the safety, nothing to prepare me for its use. Am I prepared to face the enemy? Am I ready for the spiritual battle?

James 4:7 tells us: “_____ must submit himself/herself therefore to God. If _____ resists the devil, he will flee from him/her.” We love to quote the last half, but are we willing to submit first? Our attitude can be, “Don’t tell me what to do!” Recognize that I am not a threat to the devil because I go to church. Am I living in submission every day? Then God can correct me, guide me. John 15:14 says: “_____ is My friend, if he/she does whatever I command him/her.” Fear must be replaced with faith. Deception must be replaced with truth. Otherwise we keep doing the same thing and getting the same results.

Ephesians 6:17: “And _____ must take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” This sword is not the book, paper and ink; it is the spoken word that rises up when we plant the written Word deep in our heart. How did God create the world? He spoke. Revelations 1:17 gives a picture of Jesus with a two-edged sword coming out of His mouth. I never thought this was not a particularly attractive picture but I realize now that this is a picture of His speaking the Word of God. Luke 6:45b warns: “For out of the abundance of _____’s heart, his/her mouth speaks.” What is inside you will come out. The devil is going to be in your face.

We must be ready for close quarter fighting. The Bible is not just beautiful literature. Is it on the shelf collecting dust? Then it’s of no use. It’s like that shotgun that I haven’t been trained to shoot. When the devil tempted Jesus, He spoke the Word. First He had to have it inside. I must be effective with the Word. Are you facing temptation? Trials? Problems? Speak the Word. It is not man’s opinion. When I speak the Word, it gains power in my life. Hebrews 4:12 says: “For the word of God is living, active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing of _____’s soul and spirit, of both his/her joints and marrow, and is quick to discern the thoughts and intents of _____’s heart.” Until it is alive to me (rhema) it is just words, not THE Word that becomes activated when I speak it.

I’m not a wimp, not barely getting by, not keeping my head down hoping the devil doesn’t notice me. Yes, I am tempted to say, “I can’t do it. I can’t make it.” That is the time I must rise up and declare the finished work of Jesus to experience the victory. “Devil, in the name of Jesus, you have no authority in my life. I choose right now to focus on God’s love, on God’s promises and on God’s peace.” Hebrews 10:23 declares: “Let _____ hold fast the confession of his/her hope without wavering. For He who promised is faithful.” Do you want to know God’s will for your life? Then read His word. Plant the Word in your heart. Then speak that living Word.

God’s Word:

1. Establishes unity with God. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together unless they agree?” When we agree with God’s Word we experience unity with His purposes and goals. Numbers 13 tells the story of the Israelite nation as they readied to enter the Promised Land. They sent 12 spies in to check it out. 10 spies came back and said, “The land is wonderful but we can’t take it because there are giants in the land. We are like grasshoppers in their sight.” Now you could say they just spoke what they saw, but God called it an evil report because it was not spoken in unity with God’s promise.  Joshua and Caleb the Bible says had a different spirit and said, “Let us go up and take the land for we are well able.” Unfortunately, the spirit of the 10 spies infected the entire nation and they turned away.

2. Establishes God’s authority. Matthew 8 relates the story of a Roman army officer who asked Jesus to heal his servant. Jesus was coming to heal his servant when the officer said: “I am not worthy for You to come under my roof. Just speak the word and he will be healed.” That officer recognized the authority of Jesus’s words. 2Corinthians 5:20a says “_____ is therefore an ambassador on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating through him/her.” If the ambassador of England walked into your home today, his words would carry the authority of the nation of England. We are ambassadors for Christ. We are under His authority and when we speak we should recognize that we represent His kingdom.

3. Establishes God’s destiny in your life. Proverbs 18:21 warns: “Death and life are in the power of _____’s tongue; if _____ loves it, he/she will eat its fruit.” Mark 11:23b promises: “_____ shall have whatever he/she says.” Speak your way into God’s purpose for your life. Numbers 14:28b warns: “Surely as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you.” My life will follow my words. Watch what you speak over your life.

I invite you to declare these truths over your life today:

I am the head and not the tail. (Deuteronomy 28:13)

I am above only and not beneath. (Deuteronomy 28:13)

I can do all things through Christ. (Philippians 4:13)

I am a child of the Most High. (Galatians 3:26)

I am a new creation in Christ. (2Corinthians 5:17)

I am free of condemnation and guilt. (Romans 8:1)

I am dead to sin. (Romans 6:11)

I am an overcomer. (Revelations 12:11)

Nothing can separate me from God’s love. (Romans 8:38-39)

I am blessed. I am blessed. I am blessed.

12: Brainwashed

From Dr. Seuss: “You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes. You can steer your life any direction you choose.” My life is my choice based on what is going on in my head. Doubt, fear, worry, defeated and limited thinking keep me from moving into God’s best. I need a good brain washing.

Ephesians 4:23 commands us to be renewed in the spirit of our mind. The Amplified Bible puts it this way, “Have a fresh outlook. Be constantly renewed.” It’s not a one-time thing. We are constantly bombarded with unrenewed thoughts from TV, radio, magazines, conversations and we need to clean them out. It’s stinkin’ thinkin’ and that leads to stinkin’ talk, stinkin’ actions, and a stinkin’ life.

Someone may tell you, “If you give your life to Jesus, your life will turn around!” Wrong. As long as our thoughts remain the same our life will too. Mind renewal isn’t optional, it is a command. Romans 12:2 (NKJV) says, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” You can’t just say a prayer and have everything turn around in your life. God will do His part by providing grace but I need to do my part as well. It’s time to grow up! I blame the devil. I blame God. Do I have the honesty to blame myself? Christianity is about change. It begins on the inside.

When I look in a mirror, what do I see: “failure, disappointment, dumb…” We are brainwashed with negative. A baby elephant is trained by tying a heavy chain to his leg and tying it to a large stake. The baby elephant will pull and fight until he eventually decides that’s just the way life is. At that point they can replace the chain and stake with a light rope and small peg. The elephant will grow into a many ton monster but he will not pull loose of that rope because his mind tells him it is no use. We have areas where we don’t even try, but it is all in our mind.

We try different coping mechanisms like alcohol, drugs, sex, anger, bitterness but they are all just temporary. We need that mind change. The only thing that is going to produce lasting change in our life is our thoughts. When we change our thoughts to agree with God’s Word, then we will have the mind of Christ and experience what He desires for us to have.

Several years ago, I was driving to work listening to Christian radio. The announcer came on and said, “Hold that thought, the one you were just thinking. Now compare it to Philippians 4:8.” It says, “Finally, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things. (NKJV)” I had to admit I didn’t compare too well. I was thinking about the tasks that were ahead of me that day and whining to myself about them. How I think determines my outlook on life.

Do I see myself as a victor or a victim? Victim mentality keeps you down, dependent on the viewpoint of others. Thoughts are like an elevator: they can take me up or they can take me down.

We need Godly perspective, Godly imagination and images in our mind that are not perverted. If we could replay your thoughts on the TV: what rating would they have? G, PG, R, X? The good news is I’m not stuck where I am. I can change.

That old way of thinking will eventually take us out. If I think like the world thinks, I will get what the world gets. I must keep my mind in the right place. Psalm 1:2 tells us that the one who prospers is the one who “in His Law meditates day and night.” What am I meditating on? What am I marinating in? If I marinate in the world then nothing will change. Instead I need to marinate in the Word. Joshua 1:8 commands us to meditate on God’s Word day and night. I don’t have to stay the way I am and it is His Word that will change me. 3John 2 says that just as your soul (mind, will and emotions) prospers, so will your life. Prospering starts on the inside first.

13: Breaking From Your Past

It is time to break from your past and embrace God’s vision for your life. Have you ever been in handcuffs? If you have, you know how restricted and bound you feel. We recently saw the newest Superman movie, Man of Steel. I think my favorite scene was where he turns himself in to the police and they handcuff him. Lois Lane meets them and asks, “What’s with the handcuffs.” Superman shrugs and says, “It makes them feel better.” Of course when he needed to act, he snapped them like they weren’t even there.

Our past can hold us in handcuffs. Break free! Jer. 29:11 tells us, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward _____, says the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give him/her hope and a future.” Do you want to be liberated from the limitations of your past, of living to please others? Then you must believe in yourself and your vision for tomorrow. You need to look forward to a new future and envision a new destiny.

I often refer to Philippians 3:13-14: “_____ doesn’t regard himself/herslef as yet having taken hold, but one thing _____ does. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are ahead, _____ presses on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” I need to look at what I am going to, not what I am going through. What I am going toward pulls me forward; what I am going through holds me back.

We are meant to focus more on what is in front of us than what is behind us. How big is the rear view mirror of your car? How big is the windshield? The difference obviously is because we are to focus forward more than we look back. In Genesis 19:26 Lot and his family are leaving Sodom and Gomorrah as the cities are destroyed. Lot’s wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt. In Numbers 11:5 the Israelites leave the bondage of Egypt but soon are drawn back by the memory of garlic & onions in Egypt, not thinking about the slavery and suffering. In Luke 9:62 (NKJV) Jesus says, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

I’m sure you have been to a carnival and gone into the House of Mirrors where they have the curved mirrors. In one your head is ballooned out, in another your stomach looks like it belongs to an elephant. Each is a distortion. We allow people, circumstances and events to distort our vision.

Isaiah 43:18-19 tells us, “_____ must not remember the former things, and he/she must not consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs forth now. Doesn’t _____ know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” God is doing a new thing. I remember when we were first married, we owned a VW bug. Corinne had never driven a stick shift so I took her to a large parking lot and gave her lessons. She picked it up pretty easily and became comfortable with it. A couple of weeks later I was gone over the weekend for a business trip. She decided to be courageous and drive the VW to church. Everything went great until she went to leave and realized I had forgotten to teach her how to put the car into reverse. She thought, “That’s OK. I’ll just wait until the car in front of me pulls out.” Wouldn’t you know it, every car in the lot left except one, the one right in front of her! She had to go into church, find the individual and explain her embarrassing problem. It is important that you learn to shift. When you find your thinking is taking you in the wrong direction, shift. When you find yourself surrounded by the wrong people, shift. When your life is out of balance, shift.

1. It is time to believe in your own value. The world will beat you down, but you have the ability to go in your own direction instead of following the crowd. Exodus 23:2 warns us, “Don’t follow the crowd.” Find the confidence within yourself to follow God. Matthew 7:13-14 tells us, “_____ must enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.” What is your self-talk? How often is it “head trash”, those limited views and prejudices that hold you back? I spend a lot of time on my computer. If I write something I don’t like there is a very useful key: “Delete”. It is time to erase the harmful internal chatter. Use the “delete” key to clear out anything that doesn’t agree with God’s view of you. Stop the stinkin’ thinkin’! I can’t change my behavior until I change my thinking. In Numbers 13:33, the Israelites saw themselves as grasshoppers, and so the people of Canaan did too.  Believe a lie and Satan takes over. Dr. Dave Martin says, “I will never rise above how I see myself.”

2. Who is with you on the journey? Proverbs 13:20 “If _____ walks with the wise, he/she will grow wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” There are those who give us energy and those that hold us back from meeting our potential. Their words can be uplifting or crippling. When our kids were young we took them crabbing. We learned that if you throw one crab into your bucket, he quickly learns to grab the edge of the bucket, pull himself out and off he goes. How do you keep a crab in the bucket? Put in two crabs. When one grabs the edge, the second pulls him back down. Do you have crabs in your life? Find people who will celebrate you. Do those around you attack you for your vision? You are in the wrong place. 1Corinthians 15:33 (NIV) says, “Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character.”

3. Check your balance. We have all ridden in cars where a tire was out of balance. It means you are in for a bumpy ride. Proverbs 4:27 says, “_____ must not turn to the right hand nor to the left, but he/she must remove his/her foot from evil.” Stay close to God if you want to stay balanced. Mat 6:33 “But _____ is to seek first God’s kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things will be given to _____ as well.” Set boundaries. Re-examine priorities. Reset your internal compass. Jeremiah 8:4b (NKJV)

4. says, “Shall one turn away, and not return?” If you take a wrong road, you turn around and go back. We recently visited Phoenix, Arizona for a conference. I was unfamiliar with the town and I made a few wrong turns. Sometimes I had to turn around and go back. On some roads a U-turn is illegal (I don’t think I did any of those); not on the road of life. If you need to make a U-turn, it’s OK. There is no shame in that. If you have made a wrong turn, choose a different path. Proverbs 3:5-6: “_____ is to trust in the LORD with all his/her heart, and he/she is not to lean on his/her own understanding. In all his/her ways _____ is to acknowledge Him, and He will direct  _____’s paths.” We brought a GPS with us on the trip. When I made a wrong turn, it didn’t scold. “Hey, dummy!” No, it just recalculated and showed me where to go from where I was. God doesn’t scold. He just shows you where to go from here. Are you going to continue to go in one direction because it is all you have ever known? How does that make sense? How’s that working for you?

Don’t let fear of failure put you in neutral. If a car is in neutral the only direction it can go is downhill. Your life in neutral can only go down. Failure is not final; it’s only feedback. Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used when we created them.” It is up to you to determine the next step on your journey.

Lasting change requires commitment, persistence and discipline. Are you man enough, woman enough? 1Sam 30 David’s enemy, the Amalekites, attack his town while he and his men are gone. The town is burned and the families and goods are captured. David and his men are all deeply grieved. His men are in revolt, wanting to stone David. But verse 6 says David encouraged himself in the Lord. He went on to overtake the raiders and recapture his family and goods. There are times when we need to encourage ourselves in the Lord because we won’t always get it from family or friends. Circumstances sure won’t always do it. When times are difficult, when things look hopeless, it is not about what I can do, it is about how big my God is. How badly to I want it? How desperate am I to become what God wants me to be instead of settling for where I am?

Isaiah 40:29-31 is a particularly beautiful passage: “He gives power to _____ when he/she is weak. He increases _____’s strength when he/she has no might. Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; but if _____ waits for the Lord, he/she will renew his/her strength. _____ will mount up with wings like an eagle. He/she will run, and not be weary. He/she will walk, and not faint.” My wife and I recently had a date night and went to see the movie Bourne Legacy, definitely a rooster flick (as opposed to a chick flick). In one of the chase scenes, excitement builds as the bad guys close in and the situation looks hopeless. Then the hero shifts gears, floors the accelerator and pulls away. It is time to shift gears and break from your past. It is time to hit the “delete” key on the lies that give Satan power in your life. It is time to connect with people who will celebrate your dream. It is time to get on the right road. It is time to take back your life. You hold the keys to your destiny.

14: Freedom Isn’t Free

2Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty for _____.” Freedom is a thought process. Paul was one of the freest men to ever live yet he spent much of his adult life in prison. True freedom is only available in Christ.

To understand our freedom in Christ, I suggest you read all of Romans 8. Romans 8:1 tells us there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. According to Romans 8:37 I am more than a conqueror. Romans 8:35 promises nothing can separate me from the love of God.

Romans 8:21 tells me I have the glorious freedom of the children of God.  Is that the freedom to party, get drunk, sleep around, gossip, lie, hold onto resentment? 2Peter 2:19 warns I become a slave to whatever I surrender myself to. Paul in 1Corinthians 10:23 tells us, “‘I am allowed to do anything’--but not everything is good for you.” Genesis 25 demonstrates what is called the Esau syndrome. Esau comes in from a day of hunting to find Jacob preparing bean soup. He wants some so badly he trades his birthright as the firstborn son to Jacob. How often do we trade away God’s blessing in order to satisfy a short-term appetite?

1Peter 2:16 tells us to live as free men, but do not use our freedom as a cover-up for evil; instead we should live as servants of God. It is the paradox of the Gospel: to live free we must be slaves.

Colossians 2:14-15 promises my guilt was nailed to the cross. Freedom from guilt, fear, condemnation. Freedom to rejoice, laugh, dream. Freedom to face eternity with confidence. Freedom from bondage, freedom from my past. Recognize that hope and faith go hand in hand. Faith without hope has no focus; hope with out faith has no foundation. Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV): “Faith is the substance of things hoped for.” Faith has nothing to work on without hope. The Bible is the book of hope. It gives us the picture of where we can go in life. Then faith can grab ahold of that and take us to our destiny.

Why do I think the way I think? 2Corinthians 5:17 tells me in Christ I am a new creation, but new comes from the inside. It’s internal, not external. If I still think the same, I am still yoked up with old mind sets and listening to the lies of the devil. His only power is deception. John10:3 tells us His sheep know the shepherd’s voice. John 8:32, 34-36 says: “_____ will know the truth, and the truth will make him/her free. Most assuredly I tell you, if _____ commits sin, he/she is the bondservant of sin. A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son/daughter remains forever. If therefore the Son makes _____ free, he/she will be free indeed.” Don’t lose that truth: Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.

Do we seek affirmation through sex, drugs, alcohol, food, money? James 1:14-15 warns: “But _____ is tempted, when he/she is drawn away by his/her own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.” This is not physical death but spiritual death, death of freedom. 2Corinthians 4:4 warns that the devil wants to blind me to who I am. The devil is the accuser. No freedom in religion: Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism, even Christianity if it is religion. Freedom is based on relationship with Jesus. For years and years I worked hard to earn God’s love, but that was empty religion. It wasn’t until I entered into a relationship with the living God that I began to experience His love.

“Freedom isn’t free.” Freedom costs somebody something. I must pay a price for freedom 2Corinthians 10: 3-5: “For though _____ walks in the flesh, he/she doesn’t wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of _____’s warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” We are in a battle for our thinking, for our mind.

The essence of freedom is trust. Matthew 6:25-33 tells us:

25Therefore, _____ shouldn’t be anxious for his/her life: what he/she will eat, or what he/she will drink; nor for his/her body, what he/she will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and _____’s body more than clothing? 26See the birds of the sky, they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. _____’s heavenly Father feeds them. Isn’t _____ of much more value than they? 27“Can _____, by being anxious, add one hour to his/her life? 28Why is _____ anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, 29yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. 30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t He much more clothe _____, despite his/her little faith? 31“Therefore _____ should not be anxious, saying, ‘What will I eat?’, ‘What will I drink?’ or, ‘With what will I be clothed?’ 32For the Gentiles seek after all these things, but _____’s heavenly Father knows that he/she needs all these things. 33But _____ is to seek first God’s kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things will be given to _____ as well.

Here are trust principles to consider:

1. Who is #1 in your life? That sounds worldly but #1 better be God. If it is God and I seek Him first then my trust is in the right place.

2. Just do it. That is not just for Nike. Do it now. Act with what you have, where you are. If I wait to clean up my act in an area I’ll never move forward. Let’s put feet to our faith and live out the commitment to trust God.

3. I am in debt. To Jesus who paid the price for my sins, to those before me who brought the message of Jesus through the generations. Our trust is in Jesus who paid the price for our sin.

4. Live like a river, not the Dead Sea. In Israel, you can travel down the lush green Jordan River valley but eventually you come to a desolate, dead body of water: the Dead Sea. The difference? The Jordan River gives and flows, the Dead Sea holds onto everything it receives and the result is stagnation, decay and death. Do I trust God enough to give my life away? Being a giver shows our trust in God. We make a living by what we work for, we make a life by what we give away.

15: Be Strong, Stand Firm, Resist

What are you experiencing in life: Victory or defeat? Success or failure? Our life is the result of our choices. 2Corinthians 3:18 says we are going from glory to glory. That happens as I understand my identity in Christ. Ephesians 4:27 warns “Neither is _____ to give place to the devil.”  If I give him an open door, you can be sure he will use it. The good news is in 1John 4:4: “Greater is He who is in _____ than he who is in the world.”

Spiritual warfare is not what you see from Hollywood. No one is likely to fall on the floor, roll their eyes back and drool on the carpet. This battle is in our mind. The only thing big about a demon is his mouth. Religion doesn’t stand a chance against the spirit of darkness. We are not just playing a game; our destiny in God will not just be handed to us. It’s time to get aggressive.

Ephesians 6:10-13commands, “Finally, _____ is to be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. _____ is to put on the whole armor of God that he/she may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For _____’s wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, _____ should put on the whole armor of God, that he/she may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” It is our choice to: Be strong, stand firm, resist.

We are in a spiritual battle. It’s not about what I wear on the outside. Does short hair or long hair matter? If I wear a suit or sweats? Tattoos or not? No! What matters is my relationship to Jesus. Acts 19 tells the story of the sons of Sceva. Seven men try to cast out a demon by saying, “In the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches.” The problem was they had no relationship with Paul or Jesus, it was just a formula. The result was that the demon possessed man jumped on them and all seven left bloodied and naked. It can’t be something you read out of a book. 2Timothy 3:5 says some hold to a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof. According to Ephesians 6:10, I must be strong in the Lord, not strong in myself. I should not be devil conscious but rather God conscious. I don’t go looking for a fight, but I must recognize that life is a struggle, it is combat. It is up to me to: Be strong, stand firm, resist.

Give your life to Jesus and you’ll never have problems? That’s a lie. Ephesians 6:13 admonishes us to resist on the evil day. There will be times of refreshing and seasons of conflict. Not every day but there are days. We need the right stuff on the inside. If I don’t take a stand, I lose by default. I am a threat to the enemy if I am in Christ. He will oppose me. Matthew 7:13 warns there is an easy way but it leads to destruction but God calls us to the narrow gate, the difficult way. Welcome to life.

1Peter 5:8-9 tells us: “_____ must be sober, self-controlled and watchful. _____’s adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. _____ must withstand him steadfast in his/her faith, knowing that his/her brothers and sisters who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings.” Why does a lion roar? To paralyze with fear, to intimidate. If you are just playing a game, there is a target on your back. We must be fixed and focused. The Trojan horse looked good to the citizens of Troy but they were allowing their defeat to enter. Shut the door.

I have authority in Christ. I won’t back down from a defeated foe. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus warns that the devil comes to steal the seed. Our choice to win is: Be strong, stand firm, resist. 1John 5:18 promises that the Devil can’t touch us if we are in Christ. Colossians 1:13 tells us we have been translated into the kingdom of His Son. It is time to enforce the victory Christ already won. Standing takes preparation and knowing who I am and who I belong to.

We are considering a repositioning cruise. This occurs when the cruise company recognizes that their ship is not in the right position for the maximum benefit. Evaluate your position and then reposition.

Understand positioning:

1. Christ’s position. Romans 5 shows us that our spiritual man is connected either to Adam or Jesus.  If I am connected to Jesus, I have strength, power, and authority. Are you barely getting by? It is time for mind renewal, understanding Christ’s position and our place in Christ.

2. Devil’s position. He is stripped of his power.  He has influence only if I give him an open door. Hebrews 2:14 (NLT) says, “For only as a human being could He (Jesus) die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.” Jesus put the devil out of a job, he is unemployed. We hire him back by our words, by our choices. Give him his pink slip and send him packing.

3. My position in Christ. John 15:5 says, “I (Jesus) am the vine. _____ is a branch. If _____ remains in Me, and I in him/her, he/she will bear much fruit, for apart from Me, _____ can do nothing.” Stay joined to the vine. 2Corinthians 5:17 promises, “Therefore if _____ is in Christ, he/she is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.” I am not a “sinner saved by grace”. Yes, I was a sinner, but now in Christ I am a new creation. Rom. 5:17 tells us that we reign in life through Christ. My authority comes because of my position in Christ. Again, in Christ: Be strong, stand firm, resist.

Israel was delivered out of Egypt by great signs and miracles. But when they came up to the border of the Promised Land, they forgot all that God had done and then fear and disobedience kept them from stepping into their authority. The result: they wandered in the desert for 40 years until God could raise up a generation that would be obedient. How often we wander around experiencing the same defeat over and over? Get dressed right on the inside. Finally: Be strong, stand firm, resist.

16: Confronting Fear

Over 100 times the Bible says, “Fear not”, “Don’t be afraid”. Does that mean it is a sin to feel fear? No, we may feel fear but we need to still go forward. 2Timothy 1:7 promises, “For God didn’t give _____ a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-discipline.” Psalm 118:6 says, “The LORD is on _____’s side, he/she will not be afraid.” God will not take fear away but He will give us the courage to confront it and move beyond it. A coward allows fear to keep him from doing the right thing. The devil doesn’t lay down because I’m saved and start to live Godly. The devil comes against me even harder. I have a decision to make: do I want to be comfortable or do I want to reach God’s best?

Fear of the unknown keeps us from change. Fear wants us to run. Genesis 3:10 Adam in the Garden of Eden hid in fear. Don’t look to friends who have messed up their lives, listen to God. God said to the Israelites at the Red Sea, “Go forward.” Regardless of the difficulty, the cost, or the time, go forward.  I have had times when I have experienced rejection and failure, times when I have questioned the purpose of life itself. I must confront what I am running from if I hope to experience healing. Philippians 3:13b-14 says, “One thing _____ does. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are ahead, _____ presses on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The best days of my life are right now.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us without faith we cannot please God. Faith and fear are equal but opposite, like flip sides of the same coin.  Just as faith moves us toward a hope of the future, fear moves us toward a negative vision. “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT) Faith opens the door for God to work in my life. Fear opens the door to the devil. Fear believes the devil more than God. Proverbs 28:1 (NIV) says, “The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” It is time to agree with God. Romans 8:31b declares, “If God is for _____, who can be against him/her?” Who else can make a difference? 1John 4:4b promises, “Greater is He who is in _____ than he who is in the world.”

1John 4:16 summarizes the whole Bible: Love others, love self. First, I must know God’s love. Ephesians 3:17-19 “That Christ may dwell in _____’s heart through faith; that he/she, being rooted and grounded in love, may be strengthened to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know Christ’s love for him/her which surpasses knowledge, that _____ may be filled to all the fullness of God.” How often do we miss God’s blessings because we are focused on the trials. We pay more attention to what God doesn’t do than what He does.

In the Gospel of John, John often refers to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved” We need to have that attitude. Look in mirror every day and say, “I am the one God loves.” instead of rehearsing everything you’ve done wrong. When you get up the devil should scream, “Oh no, he’s out of bed. What damage to my kingdom is he going to do today?” Remember singing: “Jesus loves me, this I know.” It is just as true today as it was when you were a child, but between then and now life happened. Disappointment, hurt, rejection pulls us away from recognizing God’s love. Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate _____ from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, _____’s Lord.” Nothing can separate me, not what someone says, not past sin, nothing.

It’s great that I love God but unless I understand God loves me, I have no power. Sin disconnects the power. I have a boom box. It requires 6 D batteries to operate. I take those out and it won’t work. Oh, not to worry, I have a backup. It’s this little aspirin-sized battery out of my garage door controller. Well that’s odd, it still doesn’t work! That is like disconnecting from God through sin and hoping my good deeds will counterbalance the sin. According to Isaiah 64:6, my righteousness is as filthy rags. I sin and I want to shrink back in my hole, run from God. He says face it, confess it, release it. Don’t make excuses. Don’t blame someone else. 1John 1:9 promises: “If _____ confesses his/her sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive _____ his/her sins, and to cleanse _____ from all unrighteousness.”

2Peter 3:14 admonishes us to be expecting Jesus’s return, to live ready. Will He find you anxious, timid, living short of your destiny? Do you want to be full on for God or have one foot in the Kingdom of God and one foot in the world? To squeak in the back door of heaven? It doesn’t take any special skill to quit. It takes courage to press though the seasons when it doesn’t look like God’s promises are true. We can’t afford to be consumed by circumstances. Remember Romans 8:37: “No, in all these things, _____ is more than a conqueror through Him who loved him/her.” Have you read the end of the book? No suspense here: we win! It may take longer than we thought, it may be harder than we thought, but it doesn’t change the final outcome.

Fear is a dead end, faith has a future. Fear paralyzes, faith brings freedom. It is so easy to get into doubt and unbelief. What if God doesn’t give you what you want? Well, what if what you want is not what is best for you? In Luke 15, Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son. The younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance. Now the father might have said, “Son, I am older and wiser. Trust me, that is not the best thing for you.” But he didn’t; he gave it to him and the son had to learn the hard way the consequences of his choices. Sometimes the only way to learn what we don’t want is by having it.

Finally look at 1John 4:18 (WEB): “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has punishment. He who fears is not made perfect in love.” Break the power of fear and live in faith by focusing on the completeness of God’s love.

17: Maintain Vision in the Storm

The goal of Jesus Christ is to change lives. The mission of the church is to change lives. The call on every Christian is to change lives. Romans 12:2 commands, “_____ is not to be conformed to this world, but is to be transformed by the renewing of his/her mind, so that _____ may prove what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.” The Christian life is about change.

John 16:33 tells us that in Jesus we have peace because He has overcome the world. But I’m in the rotten here and now! In today’s storm I can draw on Isaiah 43:1-2. “But now thus says the LORD who created _____, and He who formed him/her: _____ should not be afraid, for I have redeemed him/her. I have called _____ by his/her name. _____ is mine. When _____ passes through the waters, I will be with him; and through the rivers, they will not overflow him/her. When _____ walks through the fire, he/she will not be burned, and flame will not scorch him/her.” Whatever the storm, He is with me.

Colossians 1:12 promises we share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Matt Flynn was backup quarterback to Aaron Rogers of the Green Bay Packers. In the 2011 Super Bowl he never set foot on the field, but what does he wear on his finger: a Super Bowl champion ring. Even the benchwarmer still takes credit, still gets the ring. We are on the same team as Jesus. 1John 2:13 tells me I am an overcomer in Christ.

Storms will not define who I am, but how I respond will. Will my decisions, my choices take me higher or take me in a downward spiral? The Bible cannot change me, but as I take action to implement what it says, I will be changed. It is the book of hope, it gives me a vision, a dream and then I must step up to exercise my faith to see that dream come to pass.

It is easy to lose vision in the storm, but that is when I need it most. In Mark 4 the disciples in the boat were afraid of the storm because they lost their vision of reaching the other side. In Matthew 14 Peter walks on water until his eyes move off of Jesus and onto the circumstances. If I can’t see it, I can’t seize it. Hebrews 11:1 tells us hope is that vision of the future that allows my faith to rise up and move forward. Without hope, my faith has nothing to work with.

Proverbs 29:18 in The Message says, “If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves;” What do you see? In Acts 20:22-24 Paul was faced with persecution and death but he said, “None of these things move me.” (NKJV) How can he maintain this level of focus? Because he had a greater vision, a greater hope.

I hate driving in the fog. Driving at night can be stressful. Driving in rain is not pleasant. But driving in the fog is the worst. Why? Fog means limited vision. Does your life seem pointless and futile? You need a vision, a hope. If I look at the waves I lose direction. John Maxwell warns, “Where there is no hope for the future, there is no power for the present.” John 12:46 says that Jesus is the light of the world. It is His light that gives me vision for the path I must walk.

Matthew 6:22-23 says that if the eye is good, my life is full of light. I will always follow the dominant vision in my life. Luke 4:18 tells us Jesus came to give recovery of sight to the blind. I don’t believe that is just physical blindness, but when we are spiritually blind, when we have lost our vision because of the storm, Jesus wants to give us back the vision that will guide us to the Father. Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) says, “For the joy that was set before Him, (Jesus) endured the cross.” He had a vision of salvation for mankind that carried Him through the suffering and shame.

Vision comes when there is renewal of our thoughts. Proverbs 4:5-6: _____ must get wisdom. _____ must get understanding. Don’t forget, neither swerve from the words of my mouth. If _____ does not forsake wisdom, she will preserve him/her. If _____ loves wisdom, she will keep him/her.” We don’t need a miracle to turn our life around, we need wisdom.

What am I doing today to have a different tomorrow? Just pray and wish? No: read, study and learn. How do I improve at pushups? By doing pushups. How will I improve my reading skills? By reading. Proverbs 1:5 (NKJV) says “A wise man will hear and increase in learning.” I will invest in what I see as valuable. God sees you as valuable, He invested His Son for you. Invest in yourself.

Why does someone spend hours on the basketball court practicing free throws? A dream of the NBA. Why does someone drop out of high school? Lack of vision and hope. Catch the vision. What do you see when your eyes are closed? What do you see in your future? One year, five years, 20 years from now. What direction is your vision taking you? Habakkuk 2:2 (NKJV) tells us, “Write the vision, make it plain.” Here is the challenge: write your vision for all aspects of your life: physical, spiritual, relational, work and ministry. Make it plain so you can run with it. When the storm hits, go back and reread it.

God has given you a vision, a hope, an expectation, a dream. Let’s get our faith in action to see that come to pass. Storms will come, that is just life. But I have to choose whether the storm will pull me off course or if I will stay focused through it.

18: Silencing the Voice of the Enemy

This morning I got on our elliptical machine for my daily workout. 20 minutes later the readout said I had gone ¾ of a mile. I looked around and I was in the same place I had started. Does life feel like that sometimes? Life feels more like rabbit trails than a highway?

Guilt for the past can be like a treadmill. We work hard but just don’t seem to get anywhere. Jer. 29:11 says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward _____, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give him/her hope and a future.” We need hope to move into the future. We need the picture of where God wants our life to go so we can get into agreement with Him.

Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed _____’s transgressions from him/her.” God doesn’t remember my sin. It is the accuser who wants us to be reminded of them. What is the devil whispering in your ear? “You’ve messed up so bad this time there’s no hope. What an idiot! What a failure!” It’s time to say, “No thanks, not going there.”

The email program on my computer has an archive. All the old emails go there and can be retrieved later. The computer has a Recycle Bin. Any file I delete can be retrieved any time I choose. With God there is no archive, no recycle. I don’t want to sour my future by bringing up the past over and over. I choose to believe what God says about my future.

Growing up we didn’t have TV remotes. (Boy, am I dating myself!) I was my Dad’s remote control. “Put on channel 5.” “Turn the volume up some.” We can use our God-given remote control to change our thought life. When I find my thoughts dwelling on past failure, I change the channel. When I tend to slide into a pity part, I change the channel. 2Cor 10:5 tells us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I choose the channel; I choose where my thoughts will focus.

I can’t change yesterday’s failure but I don’t have to drag them into today or the future. Heb. 12:1 admonishes, “Let _____ lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles him/her, and let _____ run with patience the race that is set before him/her.” Best-selling author John Mason puts it this way, “Do not lose tomorrow’s opportunities because you are feeding on yesterday’s failures.”

We recently took a flight to Palm Springs, CA for the Bob Harrison Increase Summit. Airlines allow 2 carry-ons per passenger. Imagine I am about to board Holy Spirit Airlines to the city of Abundant Life. The agent sees my backpack and asks what I am carrying. I open it and show her: bitterness, unforgiveness, guilt, rejection, hurt. “I’m sorry you can’t bring that on board a Holy Spirit flight.” “I’m willing to pay extra.” “You don’t understand. Jesus already paid the price so you can leave it behind.” In Christ there is no baggage allowed.

I do pay a price to hold onto that baggage. It weighs me down and entangles me, keeping me from moving forward. The Good News is the price has been paid. John 8:32 declares the truth will set you free. God’s mercy is bigger than any sin. Ever had pants with a hole in the pocket? Put in a couple of quarters and when you reach for them later, they’re gone? That is where all the failures and disappointments of the past should go. If I focus on what I have done wrong, I am more likely to repeat it. It is time to get a new picture.

The right way to handle guilt is repent and move on. I cannot relive or change yesterday. It is time to get off the treadmill. Mercy is ours. Forgiveness is ours. Restoration is ours.

I read the story of a 10 year old girl who lived on a farm with her older sister and grandmother. For her birthday she got a slingshot. She had a great time shooting at different things until a rock went wild, flew toward the house breaking a window. Her sister was right on her, “Oh, I’m telling Grandma.” “No, please don’t.” “OK, but you have to be my slave and do whatever I tell you.” The older sister made her life hell with doing her own chores plus her sisters. Finally she couldn’t take it anymore and confessed what she had done to Grandma. Grandma said, “I know. I saw you from the front window. I forgave you then but I wanted to see how long you would take to come to me.” How long will you allow the devil make you his slave?

Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for _____ because he/she is in Christ Jesus, because _____ doesn’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” In the flesh I beat myself up. In the spirit I repent and move forward.

In the parable of the prodigal son, the young man lost everything. He was working feeding pigs, as low as a Jewish man could get. But he finally “came to his right mind” and said, “I will arise and go to my father.” He knew what family he belonged to.  When I understand what family I belong to, when I truly accept the position I have before the Father in Christ, I will not hesitate to repent and return to Him when I sin.

1Peter 2:9-10 declares, “But _____ is a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that _____ may show forth the excellencies of Him who called him/her out of darkness into His marvelous light: though in time past _____ was not part of a people, but now he/she is part of God’s people, though _____ had not obtained mercy, now he/she has obtained mercy.” This is not about a feeling; it is fact it is truth. If my thoughts try to say something contrary to that truth, I need to change the channel. Because of Christ, I can leave the baggage of guilt and condemnation. I can put it in the dumpster. It is time for us to step into the victorious life God has for us. It is time to silence the voice of the enemy in our life.

19: Leave Guilt Behind

Every problem comes back to the way I think. To change my thinking to a godly pattern I need to meditate on the Word. If I think the way God thinks, my life will turn around. I can’t change yesterday but I can choose my attitude about it. Luke 5:37 tells us not to put new wine into old wineskins. One example of the old wineskin is guilt.

Guilt steals our energy to grow. When will we stop feeling sorry for ourselves? When we realize it’s not doing us one bit of good. Guilt is useless. It is time to stop living by our feelings and instead live by the Word of God. I can’t change yesterday, but I have the choice to make today better.

When we board an airplane we stow our backpack under the seat in front of us. When we deplane we make sure we bring it with us. Do we have baggage of guilt that we put under our chair, forget about for a while, but then pick it up and leave with it? Am I going to focus on what I have done wrong or on what God has done right? Romans 6:2 says that I am dead to sin. Sin is alive and well but I am a new creation. As a result sin no longer has dominion. Ezekiel 11:19 says God took out the stony heart and put in a heart of flesh. The result of that exchange is freedom from the hold that sin and guilt have had over my life.

I don’t fall into sin, I choose it. I won’t fall off a cliff unless I go close to the edge. If I repeatedly run the yellow light, I am going to eventually have a wreck. If I insist on pushing the boundary of God’s will, it is only a matter of time before I will get into trouble.

On the other hand, if I understand who I am in Christ and that I have a new heart that doesn’t want to sin I can live in freedom. Jesus took sin to the cross as my substitute. At that moment sin lost its power over anyone who will believe in Jesus Christ. Baptism isn’t just a bath, its identification. Identification means I was baptized into His death and I was raised with Him to a brand new life. My identity is not “sinner”. When Satan tries to load me with guilt, I can say with confidence, “I don’t belong to you; I belong to the Kingdom of God.” (Colossians 1:13)

God sees my heart. If I am looking for an excuse to sin, God knows it. If I am serious, if I really love God, He knows it. There is nothing I have done wrong that God can’t fix through the blood of Jesus. Romans 3:23 gives us the bad news: all have sinned. But God doesn’t stop there. The good news is in verse 24: all are made righteous. Why am I still dragging the guilt around? Do somehow I believe, “The worse I feel about myself the more godly I am?” Where is that in the Bible? You won’t find it. In trying to punish myself with guilt I am saying the blood of Jesus isn’t enough.

Romans 6:11 tells us to consider ourselves dead to sin. Or do you see sin as a big problem? How do I resist temptation? Not by my power. The devil is saying, “You’re a failure.” “You’re a terrible person.” “God can’t love you because …” I go to God not by my good works, but by the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 4:15-16 tells us to come boldly before the throne of grace. Jesus went through the same temptations. He understands. Philippians 3:13-14 tells us to focus on the goal and let go of the past. What is guilt but holding onto the past?

God doesn't want you to end on a negative note. Sampson made a lot of mistakes; seems like there was always a woman to get him into trouble. Finally, after being betrayed by Delilah, he was a slave, his eyes gouged out, chained to the pillars of a pagan temple. But God gave him another chance. In Judges 16:28-30 he prayed, “Please, God, strengthen me just once more.” The greatest victory of his life came in his death. It is time to finish strong! Dr. Dave Martin says: “The rest of my life will be the best of my life.”

God knew what He was getting when He called us. Hebrews 12:1 describes how heaven is cheering us on. Revelations 12:11 emphasizes the importance of our testimony, our words. We need to use our words to defeat the negative feelings that are trying to pull us down. God is calling us to enter the new life and be light in a dark world.

Hebrews 10:12 tells us that Jesus made one sacrifice for all time. When I get ahold of that truth, I can live free of guilt. Isn’t it time to change your address from Regret Place to New Beginnings Blvd.?

20: Press toward the Prize

As we travel our life journey as Christians, I think for most of us there are what I call “Life Scriptures” that help us along the way. Those are the one or two verses that we keep going back to for encouragement and strength. They may change with the seasons of life. When I was going through Bible School, my life Scripture was Romans 12:2 (NKJV): “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” For a time early in my walk it was Romans 8:1 (NKJV): “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Today my life Scripture is Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV): “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, teaches in his book Forty Days in the Word, the “Pronounce It” method of Bible meditation. Using this method, we read through the passage several times and then focus on key words as we read through the last time. Let’s try it with Philippians 3:13-14:

“I” I have to recognize my responsibility. My choices impact my life, my destiny. The purpose, the mission of my life isn’t my pleasure, my needs. It is to answer His call to “Go”. That is when I will experience His presence, His power, His anointing.

“To have apprehended” This means to have gotten hold of, to fully understand. The ESV puts it this way: “I do not consider that I have made it my own.” Paul is saying that he hasn’t arrived. He is still working on his spiritual walk. Wow! Super-apostle and he still needs to work. I guess that says I need to as well. Apprehended what? We need to back up to vs. 10 to learn that: “To know Christ and experience His power.” How will I do that? Well, Paul is going to tell me.

“One thing” I love the simplicity of the Gospel. I don’t need 12 steps or 7 points or 3 keys. I only need one thing. God keeps it simple and focused.

“I do” This is Paul speaking so we might ask, “Why do I care what Paul does?” Well, in 1Cor 11:1 (NIV), Paul tells us, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” The New King James says, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ.” He says basically the same thing in 2Thes 3:9, 1Cor 4:16 and Phil 3:17. If the Bible says something once, listen. If it says it twice, it’s really important. Three times and we better not miss it. Four times! Wow! We better pay attention. Everyone has someone who is watching. It might be your children, your spouse, a neighbor or co-worker. Someone is watching to see what it means to live as a Christian.

“Forgetting those things which are behind” Do you have things in your past that you need to forget? We all do. It is time to let go and leave them at the cross. Hebrews 12:1 commands us to “strip off the sin that entangles” and keeps us from “running our race with endurance.” There are failures that need to be forgotten, but let’s remember that there are also successes that need to be forgotten. I cannot afford to become complacent. The greatest enemy of success is not failure, it’s “Good enough”. When I adopt that attitude, I become stuck. “Oh, the good ol’ days.” Our pastor, Ryan Graves, has said, “Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.” In Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV) God says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!”

“Reaching forward to those things which are ahead” I must get my eyes on the future. My vision takes me into my future. I need to be focused in the right place. What am I seeing? Where am I looking?

“I press” That’s aggressive. Matthew 11:12 says that the Kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force. The Amplified Bible puts it this way, “A share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion.” Pressing into what God wants for me will take exertion. “I just wanted to slide into heaven.” There is a greased poll, my friend, but it doesn’t take us to heaven. Trust me, there will be opposition. Here in the Pacific Northwest we are Seattle Seahawk fans. Can you imagine if Marshawn Lynch, their All-Star running back, came to the sidelines and said: “Coach, they wouldn’t let me run into the end zone! Did you see the way they hit me and threw me to the ground? I’m through until that other team treats me nicer.” In Ephesians 6:14-17 Paul describes the armor of God. That is not made available to us so we can sit in our easy chair. Let’s look at “Press” more closely by means of an acrostic:

P – Purpose. What is my purpose? Two Scriptures come to mind: Matthew 28:19 “Go and make disciples.” and Jeremiah 29:11 (GW): “‘I know the thoughts I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.’”

R – Renewal. Mind renewal is needed to press toward the goal. Romans 12:2 (NKJV) tells us, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” Then we can enter into the reality of who we are in Christ, the new man created in righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)

E – Execute. Pressing requires action. James 2:26 warns that faith without works is dead. It is time to get in the game. We are ambassadors for Christ. (2Corinthians 5:20) Live like it.

S – Stamina. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to run our race with endurance. Ephesians 6:13 commands us to do all that is needed to stand in the evil day.

S – Separation. 1John 2:15 (NKJV) warns, “Do not love the world or the things in the world.” John 17:14-15 tells us that we are to be in the world but not of the world.

“The prize”: We strive for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We are moving forward to our heavenly reward. That means we are not looking for the “same ol’, same ol’” for our lives. God is calling us higher: new levels, new challenges, new rewards.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NIV) encourages us with, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Colossians 3:23 in the Holman translation puts it this way: “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men.” Where do you need to press in the coming months? What is the prize you are reaching toward? Knowing the answer will determine your level of commitment and dedication.

21: Man Your Battle Stations

I’ve never been on a battleship or carrier but I’ve seen the movie “Battleship” so I figure I’m enough of an expert to know what happens when the call goes out, “Battle Stations! Battle Stations!” Everyone knows where to go, how to get there and what to do when they arrive. Whatever they are doing, they drop and head for their station. I understand they even have stairwells that are designated up only or down only.

Israel did not really have a large standing army. When the call went out the warriors assembled. The shopkeeper closed up, the farmer left his plow and they grabbed their sword and shield. 2Timothy 2:3 commands that we be good soldiers for Christ. Whether you are a nurse or a carpenter, a plumber or a hair stylist, an engineer or a homemaker, every one of us is called and equipped to be a warrior.

We are in a battle. Are you tired of getting kicked around? Isn’t it time to step into the place of victory? You have a real enemy. Understand, the devil doesn't like you. If you are just playing church you're in trouble. The devil's legal authority was broken at the cross, but he tries to influence our thinking every chance he gets.

Let’s get aggressive. 1Peter 5:8 says the devil goes about seeking whom he may devour. That implies that he cannot devour just anyone. We must stay connected to God, to His Word, to His body if we don’t want to fall prey to the enemy. John 10:10 says the devil comes to kill, steal and destroy. Expect it.

2Corinthians 10:4-5 promises, “The weapons of _____’s warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” The devil battles us in our minds, but we have the weapons we need in the Word to win that fight.

Ephesians 6:12 warns we are not fighting against flesh and blood, rather our fight is against wrong beliefs and getting into the flesh. I cannot overcome by my will power. If the devil can draw me into self-focus, he can defeat me. If I allow stress, worry, or discouragement, I have left the door open to the devil’s influence. Those are attitudes that lead to defeat. Instead John 15:4 encourages us to remain in Christ, for apart from Him we can do nothing. Ephesians 6:10 tells us to be strong in the Lord; that is the place of victory.

Hebrews 12:1 warns that sin entangles us and keeps us from running our race with endurance. The devil will use sex, drugs, alcohol, frustration, discouragement, etc. to hold us back. But in Jeremiah 29:11 God promises us a future full of hope. Whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not, whether you are ready or not, you are going into a battle. Stand up in your own battle. I can stand with you and encourage you but you must enter the battle yourself.

How does a sailor know where his battle station is? Training! As Christians, we must know our place in Christ. Adam's sin allowed the devil to take our authority, but that changed at the cross. 2Corinthians 5:17 tells me I am now a new creation; the old things have passed away and all things have become new. On the cross Jesus reestablish authority, dominion and victory.  Ephesians 2:4-6 says I was raised up with Christ and I now sit in the place of authority. Knowing that authority, I can stand in the time of battle. Ephesians 1:19-20 declares: “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward _____ because he/she believes, according to the working of the strength of His might which He worked in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and made Him to sit at His right hand in the heavenly places.” I am in Christ and am seated far above all principalities and powers. Do you see yourself as under? In Christ you are far above.

How long do you expect God to listen to your whining? Have you read the poem “Buttprints in the Sand”? It is a variation of “Footprints in the Sand”:

One night I had a wondrous dream,

One set of footprints there was seen.

The footprints of my precious Lord,

But mine were not along the shore.

But then some stranger prints appeared,

And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"

Those prints are large and round and neat,

But Lord, they are too big for feet.

My child, He said in somber tones,

For miles I carried you alone.

I challenged you to walk in faith,

But you refused and made me wait.

You disobeyed, you would not grow,

The walk of faith, you would not know.

So I got tired, I got fed up,

And there I dropped you, on your butt.

Because in life, there comes a time,

When men must fight and men must climb.

When men must rise and take a stand,

Or leave their buttprints in the sand.

The key to victory is submission. It is time to get rid of pride. James 4:7 says, “_____ must subject himself/herself therefore to God. If _____ resists the devil, he will flee from him/her.”  Submit first, then resist and the devil will flee. Authority only comes when I am submitted to authority. Try to resist without first being submitted and there will be trouble. Acts 19:13-16 tells the story of the seven sons of Sceva. These itinerant Jewish exorcists started using the name of Jesus to cast out demons. They would say, “In the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches, we cast you out.” The demon’s reaction was, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” and the demon jumped all seven and sent them out bloodied and naked. Without being in submission, they did not have the authority.

How do we answer the call to battle stations?

1.     Know the enemy has already been defeated. Wrong thinking will get me off track. The victory is mine. Why? Because God said it. Hebrews 2:14 (NKJV) says that “through death He (Jesus) might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Jesus pulled his plug. It reminds me of the “tube man” that you often see at used car lots with body swaying and arms flailing. He is actually a little scary looking but what happens when you pull the plug on the fan? That is what Jesus has done to the devil. John 16:33 tells us that Jesus has overcome the world. I am in Him and I am an overcomer.

2.     What do I have authority over? According to Luke 10:19 I have been given authority over the power of the enemy. If I am connected to the source of authority, I have that authority. Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV) says, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

3.     Now I need to step up and exercise my authority by speaking the Word. Jesus used the Word when He faced the devil’s temptations in Luke 4. “It is written.” In Mark 11:23 Jesus tells us to speak to the mountain and it will be removed. Proverbs 18:21 warns that death and life are in the power of the tongue. I should not be complaining nor murmuring. When I speak the Word, I demonstrate authority through my words.

Col 1:12-14 says, “And _____ may give thanks to the Father, who made _____ fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light; who delivered _____ out of the power of darkness, and translated him/her into the kingdom of the Son of His love; in whom _____ has his/her redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of his/her sins.” We have been taken out of the power of darkness. We have a new identity, a new residence. When the light of faith comes, darkness must flee. When the light of the Word comes, the devil must flee.

22: The Process of Change

What the best translation of the Bible? When you translate it into your life, when its effect is real change. The Bible is not about information, it is about transformation. It is not a bigger head but about a bigger heart. Its purpose is to turn beliefs into behavior. But in the final analysis, the Bible can’t change you. Only you can do that.

New life is the reward for change. The Bible tells us Jesus died and rose. The work was the cross and the reward was the resurrection. That is the message of the cross, but also the message of the empty tomb: New Life. Drug addiction, alcoholism, fear, guilt, shame, habitual sin are bondages. John 8:32 promises the truth sets us free. I want to be free and the process of change will lead to freedom. Surrendering to God leads to freedom.

Matthew 7:13-14 warns us to enter through the narrow gate. Change takes hard work.  Many fail during the process because they are not prepared. Luke 14:28 tells us to count the cost. Too many have a “garage sale” mentality; they want the benefits but are unwilling to pay what it takes to get it. For change to occur, I must recognize that the reward is greater than the pain of change. Otherwise I will never change.

Hebrews 12:6 (NKJV) says: “For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” Ever wish He didn’t love you quite so much? Many years ago I broke a bone in my hand playing volleyball. Today there is a bump at the site of the break where the bone grew back stronger than before. God takes us through those times where we are broken. Why? So we can come out stronger. As Joyce Meyers says, “God is more interested in doing something in you than doing something for you.”

The cross is the journey that leads to my victory, the reward of resurrection. Philippians 3:13-14 encourages us to keep our eye on the prize. That focus restores power in our lives and give us renewed purpose.

Change is:

1. A choice. It is work. No one can do it for me.

2. A challenge to my old way of thinking.

3. A correction. What is holding me back from going forward?

Make the choice:

1. Preparation. I must be ready for the feelings and emotions. They want to draw me out of the process. Change is uncomfortable, even painful. But there is no other way to freedom.

2. Proper mind set. The enemy wants to distort my thinking, steal my sense of value. If I want to change my behavior, I must first change my thinking. Otherwise I am setup for failure. Romans 12:2 doesn’t tell us to transform our behavior; it tells us we must transform our mind. If I conquer my thinking, the behavior follows naturally. Thoughts create desire, desires determine direction, direction establishes destiny. It all starts with a thought.

3. Persistence. I must learn to press in under the pressure. Luke 9:62 (NIV) says, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” I may feel like I want to quit, but “The only way to get to, is to press through.” Mark 13:13 promises that the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. I have decided I will continue to the end. Nothing is getting in my way. If you don’t quit you will win.

Here are some points of power:

1. Position: Jesus has positioned us for overcoming (Romans 8:37). The Holy Spirit empowers us for change (Acts 1:8).

2. Perspective: I need to get the right perspective. Who am I in Christ? From the day I was born the devil has set out to tear me down, to steal the purpose and passion from my life. Who does God say that I am?

3. Purpose: I am the image bearer of Christ, born to reflect Christ to other people. Matthew 28:19 commands, “Go and make disciples.” Understanding our purpose brings passion. A distorted mind set leads us off to anything that feeds our flesh, that gives us momentary pleasure, but we miss our purpose. My purpose is the reason to get out of bed in the morning. This isn’t just another day, I have a purpose. What will I do today to reach my goal?

4. Plan: This is not about my plan but rather God’s plan. If I know my purpose, then I can see the plan. How do I live that purpose out? Psalm 139:16 tells us that before I lived one day, God had a plan for my life. My purpose never changed, but if I get off track, the plan may change. Stepping out of God’s plan brings fear, frustration and defeat, Romans 8:28 promises that He works all things together for our good.

The journey of the cross is about change, it is where I lay my sin, my worldly thinking, my defeated life style. It is also the power of the resurrection. That is when I can step into victory. 1Corinthians 15:57 (NIV) declares, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Let’s live in that victory.

23: Armed and Dangerous

We have all heard the warning on the police shows, “Approach the suspect with extreme caution. He is considered armed and dangerous.” In the spirit realm, am I “armed and dangerous”? Jesus has defeated sin and death. Now I need to consistently walk in the authority and victory that He provides for me. Then I will be extremely dangerous to the enemy of my soul.

The mind is a battlefield. This is where we win or lose the battle of life. The devil wants my thoughts. Why?

Thoughts produce actions.

Actions repeated become habits.

The sum of our habits is our character.

Character determines destiny.

Bottom line: thoughts ultimately establish destiny.

The more I change my mind for the better, the more my life will also change for the better. 2Corinthians 10:4 (NKJV) tells us, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” It is in the stronghold of the mind where the devil has dug in. Even if the thought is a lie, if I believe it, for me it is true and it becomes a stronghold.

To be honest I have only thrown one punch in my life. When I was a high school sophomore, I would commute to school by train. One day there was a very annoying freshman behind me who, despite repeated warnings, insisted on kicking my seat. Finally out of frustration, I turned around and punched him in the mouth. I think I was more surprised than he was. The problem was I got the worse end of it because I cut my knuckles on his braces, but at least he didn’t bother me again.

We can't punch the devil. We can’t choke, kick, stab or shoot him. We must use spiritual weapons. In the Iron Man movies, Tony Stark steps into a chamber and zip-zip-zip his armor is on. It must be nice to have a suit of armor that puts itself on you. We don't have that luxury. We must "put on" the armor of God (Ephesians 6:13). We must put on faith, put on truth, put on righteousness. I don’t want to be arrested for spiritual indecent exposure.

I am armed with my identity in Christ:

-        I am valuable. I have been made God’s child (John 1:12) and a joint-heir with Christ. (Romans 8:17) I am God’s workmanship. (Ephesians 2:10)

-        I am loved. God loved me so much He gave His Son for my redemption. (John 3:16) Now nothing can separate me from His love. (Romans 8:35-39)

-        I am forgiven. I am justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:28) and am forever free of condemnation. (Romans 8:1)

-        I am victorious. I am more than a conqueror. (Romans 8:37) I now walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4) I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

-        I am complete. I am a new creation. (2Corinthians 5:17) I am the righteousness of God in Christ (2Corinthians 5:21) and I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

-        I am chosen. I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood. (1Peter 2:9) God has appointed me to bear fruit that remains (John 15:16) as a minister of reconciliation. (2Corinthians 5:18)

We live in a culture of blame. I have these problems because of my parents, my school, my boss, the government. If I can't find anything else, “the devil made me do it”. This mind set only leads to trouble. I must not be looking on the outside; instead I need to look within. Change inside will ultimately produce change outside. It’s not the quick way but it is Bible way.

The Lord is a warrior (Exodus 15:3) and He is on our side (Psalm 118:6). “Well, I’m feeling pretty defeated right now.” Recognize that faith is an action word. Many times we have to act in faith when we don’t feel it and the feelings will follow. I find the less I focus on my feelings, the better they get.

We all have times when our focus is all about self: my problems, my trials, my pain, me, me, me. Having a woe-is-me pity party is a downward spiral. Even sadder, misery loves company so I will end up making those around me miserable too. The disappointing thing is God's Spirit won't attend the party. He says, "If you're going to wallow, have at it. Call Me when you're done."

How do you like your picture on your driver’s license? Yea, I thought so. I went into a licensing office where a clerk had obviously heard too many complaints about the photos. He had posted over his window: “Want a better picture? Bring a better face!” Want a better life? It takes a change of heart. In Ezekiel 11:19, God declares, “I will give _____ one heart, and I will put a new spirit within him; and I will take the stony heart out of _____’s flesh, and will give him/her a heart of flesh.” I need to ask myself, “Where do I have a stony heart?”  A hard heart will be a broken heart. Like a brittle tree limb that will not bend, it will break. The Word of God is the only thing that can soften the heart.

Matthew 7:24-27 warns us, “If _____ therefore hears these words of Mine, and does them, I will liken him/her to a wise man/woman, who built his/her house on a rock. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock. If _____ hears these words of Mine, and doesn’t do them, he/she will be like a foolish man/woman, who built his/her house on the sand. The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.” Trouble came in both examples. Both houses had to endure the storm. Only one had the foundation to stand. Will I be able to stand?  I need a heart filled with the Word. Having a pity party doesn't help; blaming others doesn't help; making a heart change does. With my feet planted on the Rock (Psalm 40:2), the storms of life will not shake me. There are two types of people: those who make changes and those who make excuses. Which will I be?

Life isn't what happens to me. Life is my response to what happens. Those in the world cry out, "I want to know why I am the way I am". That is not going to fix anything. You will still be the way you are. The important thing is to decide to move on, no more blaming and live the way you know you should. My eternal value, esteem and self-worth are not from anything in this world but rather in my relationship with God.

I am armed with the Word, with the knowledge of who I am in Christ. That makes me dangerous to the kingdom of darkness because Jesus already won the victory at the cross and as a result I have authority as a child of God. Will I win every battle? Of course not. I am human and I will fail. But that does not affect my standing as a child of God.

2Kings 6 describes a remarkable story. The king of Aram has surrounded the home of the prophet Elisha during the night. Elisha’s servant awakes in morning and sees the army outside. Fearfully he reports the situation to Elisha who is unperturbed. 2Kings 6:17 tells us, “Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” God will not abandon us in this war. 1John 4:4 promises, “Greater is He who is in _____ than he who is in the world.”

1Peter 5:8 (NKJV) warns, “Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.” Are you an easily picked, low hanging fruit? When my feet hit the floor in the morning I want the sound to echo through the halls of the kingdom of darkness. I want the demons to scream, “Oh, no! What damage is he going to do to us today!” Lamentations 3:23 promises, “His mercies are new every morning.”

Welcome to the war. In Revelations 19, Jesus is described as a warrior on white horse with the title “King of kings and Lord of lords.” It will be easy to follow Him then. The question is will I follow Him now? We are not meant to be "just holdin' on ‘till Jesus comes." We live so far below what God has intended for us. Let’s leave yesterday in the past and make today count.

24: God’s GPS

Proverbs 4:26 encourages us to ponder the path of our life. Am I climbing higher, am I stuck in one place or perhaps am I in a downward spiral? Who am I as a child of God? Does my path line up with being a new creation? I need right thinking to follow the right path.

We were recently in Europe. We rented a car to drive from Munich through the Austrian Alps and finally into Salzburg. When we rented the car, I made sure it had GPS. Driving around, there were towns I couldn’t pronounce let alone find on a map: Burgfried, Hallstatt, Bad Goisern. But I learned to trust the GPS to get me where I wanted to go: “After 500 meters turn right.” Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV) warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” I must learn to listen to and trust God’s voice if I want to experience victory and freedom.

How often do we fall into excuseitis: the disease of blaming someone or something out there instead of taking responsibility ourselves? Am I going to stay in the pit or break out to God’s best? That depends on following God’s guidance. Is it God’s will for me to just get by? No, but my biggest obstacle is me.

We all filter life through our beliefs. We have a puppy named Jubilee. As you can see from her picture she is a silk shire terrier. She is a normal dog: four legs, two ears, no eyes. Wait a sec, no eyes!! The hair covering her eyes didn’t appear overnight. To her that’s the way life is. (Since this photo we have had her groomed.) Habits, mindsets, strongholds don’t take control in an instant; they grow slowly until they have a grip on our lives that is hard to break. We are in a jail of defeat, failure and mediocrity. We become complacent and in a rut. In short we are imprisoned by our beliefs and habits. Sometimes we need a good crisis to shake up our lives and get us to reexamine our beliefs.

2Corinthians 6:11-13 in the Message Bible says, “Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!”  The limitations are in me, in my thinking. Philippians 3:13-14 tells me to let the dream pull me forward.

Mark 8:22-26 tells a remarkable story from Jesus’s ministry. Jesus is asked to heal a blind man. The first thing He does is take him out of town. I think this represents taking him out of his environment and old beliefs. After healing him, Jesus told him not to go back into town. Why? Because his old friends would pull him back into his old way of thinking, his old way of living. Most importantly, when Jesus first prayed for him, the blind man said he could see but people were like trees. Jesus didn’t say, “Well, that’s the best we seem to be able to do today.” Jesus prayed again and full sight was restored. Jesus would not be satisfied with mediocrity. He completes what He starts. Do we?

Many of the people we read about in the Bible led mediocre lives – mediocre that is until they encountered God. Look at Moses; at 80 years of age his life appeared to be a waste until he encountered a burning bush. Gideon considered himself the least of his house until one day an angel showed up at the winepress. David was an unremarkable young shepherd before Samuel anointed him. Elisha was just another farmer plowing in his field when Elijah walked by. Peter was a common fisherman focused on his sinfulness. Paul  was a persecutor of the Church before being blinded by the light of God.

Ephesians 4:22-24 commands “that _____ put away, as concerning his/her former way of life, the old man/woman, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit; and that _____ be renewed in the spirit of him/her mind, and put on the new man/woman, that like God has been created in true righteousness and holiness.” I will never change my behavior until I change my thinking.

2Corinthians 5:17 tells us we are new creations in Christ. God will help us be new creations but we have to do our part. The bridge from the way I live now to living like Christ is mind renewal. So I must choose my thoughts carefully. I understand the newest technology gadget is the forehead mind screen. A small video screen is mounted on your forehead and every thought is shown in living color for all the world to see. Any volunteers? (Just joking!)

When I lie in bed in the morning do I think about all the things that can go wrong today or do I start telling myself how much God loves me; that I am forgiven, redeemed, walking in victory. Don’t run at your giants with your mouth shut. David didn’t when he faced Goliath and neither did Jesus when He faced the devil in the dessert. Speak the Word of God. Declare His promises.

Colossians 3:1-3 declares, “If then, _____ was raised together with Christ, he/she should seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. _____ is to set his/her mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For _____ died, and his/her life is hidden with Christ in God.” We must keep our minds set. What does that take? Meditating. Rehearsing the good things. 2Corinthians 10:4-5 warns us about strongholds and imaginations. That is all about what is going on in our mind.

I find it easy to swear off junk food until I am driving by Dairy Queen and that Cookie Dough Blizzard is calling my name. Will you stand in time of trial? Ephesians 6:10 warns us that to stand takes preparation, it takes mind renewal. The thinking I have now will not get me where I want to go. Have you heard the expression, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” That, my friend, is a formula for failure. No, change first then try again.

How do we move into God’s best:

1. Readjust our sights. In Isaiah 43:19, God promises, “I will do a new thing.” It’s like a pair of binoculars, we need to focus our sights further out. I received my first pair of glasses in the 4th grade. That was over 50 years ago but I still remember to this day the feeling of suddenly being able to see distant objects. A whole new world opened up. There was a clarity and beauty I had never seen before. My life will always go after the predominant picture in my mind. I need to make sure I am keeping the right things in sight.

2. Change our expectations. Until recently I drove a red Honda Pilot. I often was surprised by how many red cars there were on the road. Since I started driving that car, red had become a very popular color for cars. Then my red Pilot was totaled in a rear-ender. As a replacement I purchased a silver Subaru Forester. Overnight there were silver cars everywhere. Why? I saw what I expected to see. Often I need to raise the level of what I anticipate. Murphy’s Law (“Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.”) is not living by faith. 2Corinthians 5:7 encourages us to “walk by faith not by sight” remembering in Romans 8:28 (NLT): “We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

3. Live a lifestyle of faith. But what is my faith in? Anticipate God’s best, not the worst. In 2Kings 2:9 Elisha followed Elijah but he wasn’t satisfied to just be equal. He sought a double portion of Elijah’s anointing.

4. Our life’s lid is created by the company we keep. 1Corinthians 15:33 warns that evil company corrupts. How do you keep a crab in a bucket? If you put one crab in a bucket he soon grabs the side, flips himself out and off he scurries. What do you do? Put two crabs in the bucket. As soon as one tries to pull himself out the other pulls him back. Are the people around me pushing me down or lifting me higher towards God and His destiny for me?

5. See what God has for us. Genesis 35:11 describes God as El Shaddi, the God who is more than enough, not the God who wants us to just get by. God is only limited by our lack of faith. Ephesians 3:20 tells us, “God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that _____ can ask or think, according to the power that works in _____.”

6. The key to our next level: Speak God’s Word over our life or shut up! Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV) warns, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” I am imprisoned by what I speak. I must learn to speak consistent with new creation life.

Ask yourselves:

1. What type of person am I? Am I settling for mediocrity?

2. Is my life style consistent with who I am in Christ? (Do I know who I am in Christ?)

3. Am I living God’s best for my life?

Connect to God’s GPS and step up to a new level of faith, vision and victory.

25: Ready, Aim, Fire!

Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV) encourages us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” If you ever participated in track, you know that a different strategy is needed for a marathon than for a 100 yard dash. We are in a race and it takes endurance.  When my son was in junior high, I was a swim meet starter. As a starter, I learned not to hold them long because they were ready to explode off the blocks. Are you eager to get into the race?

Ready, aim, ready, ready, aim. We must fire, take action, live the call of God! There is a big difference between intentions and actions. 1Corinthians 4:20 (NLV) says, “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is about living by God’s power.” The road to hell is lined with good intentions. The devil doesn’t care about your intentions; he wants to stop your actions.

Let’s look at the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25-34 as an example of ready, aim, fire:

Ready: This speaks of preparation. She heard about Jesus, knew His reputation and believed He could heal her despite all the disappointments of the past. She was preparing to receive her miracle. Ephesians 6:13 (Msg) promises, “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.” That preparation includes regular prayer and Bible reading. Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) tells us, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Aim: She kept saying, “If I touch Him I will be healed. If I touch Him I will be healed.” She saw it long before she touched Him.  We must keep the goal in mind. Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT) admonishes, “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” 2Corinthians 3:18 tells us we are moving “from glory to glory.” It is time to aim higher. Simon T. Bailey says, “Losers look at what they are going through. Winners look at what they are going to.” This is when the devil starts whispering in your ear. He doesn’t care how much you get ready or how carefully you aim. He doesn’t want to see you fire. He doesn’t want to see you take action.

Fire: Finally she took action. She was literally risking her life. Because of the bleeding, she was considered unclean and could be stoned for being in the crowd. But that was not going to stop her. It’s time to step out. Act. James 2:26 (NKJV) warns, “Faith without works is dead.” 1John 3:18 in The Message commands, “Let’s not just talk about love, let’s practice real love.” Imagine the following conversation with a friend. “I’m believing for a job.” “How many applications have you put in?” “Oh, I’m believing God will provide.” They are going to be “believing” for a long time. To fire takes courage and character. Is there the possibility of rejection? Of course. Are we willing to trust God?

Jail ministry is the example of ready, aim, fire in my life. Long before He called me, God was getting me ready with studies, teaching experience and a growing heart for souls. Once He gave me the vision of being in jail ministry, the devil was all over me: “What do you have to give? They can’t relate to you. They don’t deserve your time. Is it safe?” But that decision to fire was one of the best choices I have made in my life.

I have read about the Battle of Gettysburg during the Civil War. After the battle, people collected rifles and other artifacts. They found some rifles with as many as 5 loads. Picture the situation. A squad of riflemen took their position. On the command “Ready” each soldier loaded his rifle with powder, wad and shot. “Aim” and they all raised their rifles in unison. “Fire.” A cloud of smoke rose and the report echoed across the valley. Masked by the smoke and noise was the fact that not every soldier had pulled the trigger. There were those who didn’t have the courage to fire. Unwilling to show their cowardice to their fellow soldiers, they loaded their rifle again on top of the unfired load.

There are many Bible examples of “Ready, Aim, Fire”:

·       Gideon in Judges 7 was ready with an army of 32,000 warriors. God cut that number down to 10,000 and then to 300 before he released Gideon to “fire”.

·       Four men carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus in Mark 2. Despite the crowd in the house around Jesus, they had their aim on their goal. How many others needed healing that day? God does not respond to need; He responds to faith.

·       Peter walked on water in Matthew 14. That is a great story but have you ever asked what about the others in the boat? Peter was willing to act while the others were content to watch.  Jesus went to the cross; He was willing to follow through to the end.

There is power of our words. Hebrews 10:23 tells us, “Let _____ hold fast the confession of his/her hope without wavering. For He who promised is faithful.” Speaking faith-filled words is the golden key that unlocks the supernatural flow of God’s power in our life. Are you tempted to say “I can’t?” Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Mark 11:23 promises that we shall have whatever we say. That works for both the positive and the negative.

What problem do you need to face in your life? It might be relationships, addictions or fears? How do you need to get ready? Is your eye on the goal? Is it time to stop thinking, talking and praying about it and take action? Where do you need to take action today? Perhaps it is in completely a college degree, job skill training or a GED. Perhaps it is in developing new friends who will lift you up rather than pushing you down. Perhaps it is in the most important step of all: surrendering your life to God and making Him Lord. Let’s remember Nike’s motto: Just do it!

Afterword

If you have been blessed by these studies, you will want to check out Hope for Tomorrow, Empowerment for Today, Volume 2 now available for Kindle on Amazon.com

Table of Contents

Copyright

Other Scriptures are from

Introduction

1: Hope and Change

2: Half way

3: The Landmine of Pride

4: Dead Men Don’t Sweat It

5: Where’s Waldo!

6: Picture the Dream

7: What floats your boat?

8: Identity Theft

9: He Stands at the Door

10: Cost of Discipleship

11: The Sword of the Spirit

12: Brainwashed

13: Breaking From Your Past

14: Freedom Isn’t Free

15: Be Strong, Stand Firm, Resist

16: Confronting Fear

17: Maintain Vision in the Storm

18: Silencing the Voice of the Enemy

19: Leave Guilt Behind

20: Press toward the Prize

21: Man Your Battle Stations

22: The Process of Change

23: Armed and Dangerous

24: God’s GPS

25: Ready, Aim, Fire!

Afterword