Archive for Life Lessons
Get the Inside Information!
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You can travel the world, live long years and experience all there is to experience and still not know all there is to know. You can go to school for years and years, get a Doctorate and still be missing some inside information.
Life is a continuing learning process. You can never know all there is to know. Paul confirms in 1st Corinthians that we now only know in part. In other words, we don’t know all there is to know. We’re missing some key hidden information.
Think about it: The world’s smartest scientist is missing some key information. The world’s smartest Jeopardy contestant only knows part of the whole. You can search far and wide, find the most sought after surgeon, and discover that he doesn’t know all there is to know. But there is One who has all the inside information! And He is all knowing, all powerful and all mighty!
And the good news is you’re connected to this One who is our great God, the True Vine. He can show you great and mighty things that you do not know. When you call on the Lord, He’ll show you hidden things that are far beyond the world’s wisdom.
I love how Jeremiah 33:3 puts it. The Lord says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”
I think of people who have street smarts. They know certain “code things” that the books don’t teach you. They know certain survival traits, the “ins and outs” and the “low-down”, (if you will) that can only be learned on the streets.
On the contrary, the books teach you educational, success driven and need-to-know tactics that the streets don’t teach you.
In the same way, God’s wisdom is not the world’s wisdom. In fact, His wisdom is on a higher plane. In Isaiah 55:9, the Lord declares “As the heavens are Read More→
Walk the Talk
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We serve a God who fulfills all of His promises. Everything He says, He brings to pass. And the scripture says that we’ve been made in His likeness. As ambassadors for Christ, we should strive to be people of integrity. We should be people of respect and dignity.
In your everyday life, make it a point to walk the talk. Be a person of your word. When you make a promise you should stand behind it. God not only wants us to be in right standings with Him, but He wants us to be in right standings with the people around us.
Aim to be a person of integrity and stand behind your word. Don’t just talk the talk, no, you have to walk the walk. If you honor your word, people will honor you. And more importantly, God will honor you.
When you’re honored by God, He causes His divine favor to reign over you. He then causes you to triumph in every area of your life.
I heard a great saying. “Preach always and use words only when necessary.” How do you do this? It’s simply done by letting your actions do the talking. You Read More→
ShareIt’s by no Coincidence
Posted by: | CommentsYou weren’t just birthed into this world by chance, God has had a purpose for your life since the very beginning. Your life is divinely orchestrated by God, and He has great things in store for you!
Too often, we find ourselves being tossed back and forth in the wind. Many people feel a since of no purpose. We’re just taking chances hoping for what the world calls “luck.” But with God, there’s no such thing as luck. No, you’re not here by chance. There is a method to His madness. You’re not doing what you’re doing by coincidence. Your steps are ordered by the Lord, and He has every step planned out for you.
Maybe you didn’t have the same upbringing as your peers. Maybe you’ve had it rough all your life, and you’re tempted to think that God has deserted you. Well know today that what you’ve been through is not by chance. Jeremiah 1:5 says that “even before you were born God knew you and He set you apart.” And Jeremiah 29:11 pretty much answers this when it says, “God knows the plans He has for you. He wants to prosper you and give you a future full of hope!”
The seemingly insignificant things that you partake in day in and day out, could be the very things that lead to the next major opportunity. It’s no coincidence that Read More→
ShareThe Innocence of a Little Child
Posted by: | CommentsWe learn many things as we mature in life. And all though it’s good to learn wisdom and gain great knowledge, there are some things that should never change. It’s just like the saying, “what you don’t know won’t hurt you.” Well, that’s what happens to many of us as we grow up in life. We learn how to be prideful. We learn how to reject and be selfish. We learn how to be rude and unkind. And in turn, these things come back to bite us.
You see, little children have the awesome ability to accept, adapt, and trust. They also have one of the greatest imaginations. And it’s also at this age that we are perhaps at our most lowly and humble state.
There is something about the innocence of a child. Most children haven’t been taught not to trust, or to be prejudice, or to hate. They have a natural ability to find the optimism, joy, and laughter in most situations.
When we become older, we learn contrary to these things. As we become older, we learn how to take life too seriously at times. It isn’t until we become more mature, that we lose our ability to dream, imagine, and trust.
And I understand that once we grow older, we develop the cares of life. When we were children we could naturally put our cares on our parents and they would fix it.
But there is something to be said about this. Just like children, we can cast all our cares on the Lord. The truth is, that we have a Heavenly Father who can fix anything. In fact, He describes us in the scriptures as being children of the most high God.
We should take a stand on Romans 8:28 which says, “all things work together for the good of them who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose in Christ Jesus.”
The good news is that we are His innocent children. We should learn to have an active imagination and believe that God can cause even our wildest dreams to Read More→
ShareThe Choice is Yours
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s one keyword that applies to everyone when it comes to making a change in their lives, and that’s the word “choice.” When I write my blogs, no matter what concepts, theories, or principles I’m writing about, it all comes down to one thing, and that’s a choice that has to be made.
No matter what hurdles you face in life, you have a choice to be affected or to be an effect. In other words, you can let the obstacles deter you and throw you off track or, like a sprinter in a race, you can choose to jump over the hurdles like they’re not even there.
When worry, doubt, fear, and frustrations come your way, you can choose to give into the temptation that causes them or you can choose to give into rest, peace, assurance, faith, and joy. If the “in crowd” is going down the road of destruction, you don’t have to jump on the bandwagon. You can make the choice to take the other route that’s going to lead to a life full of hope and prosperity.
I remember a few years ago, there was a movie called The Matrix where the main character, Neo, had a choice to take either a red pill or a blue pill. The blue pill would allow him to go back to ordinary life as he knew it. But the red pill allowed him to Read More→
ShareStay On The Straight and Narrow
Posted by: | CommentsThe only way to overcome a setback, is to simply go through it. You can’t dodge the problem or take a shortcut. You must face the problem head on.
I’ve heard it said over and over that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. However, many times we find ourselves defying this rule.
The truth is, when we take shortcuts, we’re doing more harm than good. Sure we’ll encounter obstacles along the way. We’ll encounter road bumps that will throw us off, but the key is to get back on the main road of life.
Issues in life can’t be fixed by dodging the problem. In fact by hiding the root cause, we only end up suppressing the issue. The only way to overcome something is to face it head on.
Don’t be afraid, worried or anxious. No, be bold and courageous! Stare your issue in the face and make a declaration that it’s not going to conquer you. You’re going to conquer it.
I believe God wants us to brave it out and endure the race. He doesn’t want us to try to take matters in our own hands. He doesn’t want us to seek our Read More→
ShareAppreciate the Resistance
Posted by: | CommentsFor most people, hardships and difficulties create a certain level of discomfort. In the interim, we find ourselves resisting obstacles and seeking comfort.
But if the truth be told, it’s the things that create resistance in life that cause growth. After all, no pain- no gain right?
We can learn from the Apostle Paul. He said in Philippians 4:12, “I’ve learned to be content in any and every situation.” My friend, that’s the way we should be. We should learn to be content and appreciate the resistance that life brings.
When doors of opportunities are closed, that’s resistance. When things don’t go our way, that’s resistance. When friends walk away and talk bad about you, that’s resistance. These things come about so that we can grow stronger.
You will never be able to handle the open opportunity that God has for you if you don’t learn how to appreciate or accept the discomfort of a few closed doors. You wouldn’t learn to appreciate the company of a few faithful friends, until you’ve had many friends walk out on you. It’s this kind of resistance that takes you to the next level in life.
When I go to the gym, I learn that most of my growth comes from the resistance of weight training. So appreciate your struggles. Thank God for your haters, critics Read More→
ShareMake The Most of Every Opportunity
Posted by: | CommentsToo often, we find ourselves looking towards a certain day or a certain moment. We look either too far in the future or too far in the past and in doing so, we find ourselves missing out on the current opportunity.
We live in a day in time where our minds are going a million miles an hour. We have deadlines to meet and chores to get done. We even dwell on the things that are far in the future.
And don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to look forward to things in the future that are worthy of praise, such as that long awaited vacation, or the trip to see your best friend for instance. But don’t delight yourselves too much in those moments that you neglect the good in the current moment.
Know today that every moment that is given to us from God is a blessing. Whether you’re in rush hour traffic, on your daily commute to your job, or waiting in line at the bank, you should look for the good in every opportunity in life.
Ephesians 5:16 tells us to make the most of every moment in these evil days. Notice it didn’t say to make the most of moments to come. It didn’t say make the most of the moments long gone. No, it says to make the most of every moment in these evil days.
Remember, tomorrow is not granted to you. The next hour isn’t even promised. So make a decision today, to find the good in every situation and opportunity of life.
Even until this day, I can remember moments in the past that at the time Read More→
ShareComplaining Doesn’t Help!
Posted by: | CommentsWhen hardships come our way, one of the things we do is complain. Although we do it without intention, it’s something that gets the best of us.
But I believe that complaining doesn’t please the Lord. Let’s use the story Israelites in the wilderness as an example. When God delivered the Children of Israel out of bondage land in Egypt, they journeyed through the desert for approximately forty years.
The whole time the land that God promised them was just on the other side of the mountain. But it was their constant complaining and murmuring that caused God to get angry and delay them from going into their promise land. In fact, when God rained bread from the heavens, they complained about the bread, they preferred meat.
Due to their complaining God vowed that their children, the next generation Israelites, would be the only ones to see the promise land. The first generation that was delivered out of Egypt died in the wilderness.
My friend, just like the Israelites we too have a tendency to complain through our wilderness experience. When something doesn’t go our way we’re tempted to get upset and Read More→
ShareExpect The Unexpected
Posted by: | CommentsPart of optimistic thinking is learning to accept the unexpected. In fact, I believe that one of the biggest misconceptions about positive thinkers is that they expect only positive things to happen in life. The truth is that no matter what happens, having a positive mind-set is all about striving to view the current situation in the best possible light.
I love how they say hope for the best but expect the worst. So what happens when you wake up in the morning and that perfect day that you declared turns out to be seemingly the worst day possible? What happens when you don’t make the cut for that team that you trained and worked so hard for?
The hardest type of disappointment is the kind that takes us by surprise. So you didn’t get the advance that you were hoping for, will you crumble? Will you fall by the way-side?
In the future try to make a habit of preparing yourself for disappointments. I’m not saying that you should speak negative instances into your life, but just prepare yourself in advance.
When we were in grade school we had fire drills for our safety. They weren’t looking for a fire to happen or a tornado to come but they had to make sure we were prepared just in case. Experts even recommend that you put extra money into savings for a rainy day. You Read More→
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