grace

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Grace for Today

 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
-2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV

Have you ever felt like you just can’t go on and you manage to go on anyway? Have you ever wondered how people make it through life’s worst situations? I do. I wonder about it all the time. What is it in a person, who loves God but seems to have the weight of the world on their shoulders, that continues to move forward in life? There are days when I feel like Cameron in Ferris Buller’s Day Off. Days I just want Ferris to not call me and I’d like to pull the covers over my head and shut out the entire world! But then it happens. I place one foot on the ground then the other foot follows. For me I wrestle with a lot of things; my past, insecurities, selfish ambition. I think about the future, and things could be worrisome at times, but then I think about the present. What is happening in me right now? Well right now I have no complaints, I have everything in the world to be grateful for. The Holy Spirit reminds me that all I need for today is His grace. Sometimes we want grace for tomorrow but tomorrow isn’t promised to us.

Then I broaden my horizons, get my eyes off of myself and think about others. The world we live in is a pretty remarkable place with some pretty remarkable people in it. I think about the single mom who has a disabled child, I think about a son who sits by the bedside of a parent who has cancer, I think about parents who lose a child too soon, I think about some of these impossible situations and wonder how they get through it. How do they do it? Grace. God’s grace carries them through these dark places. You don’t really know what God has done in you until it’s time to use it, then all of a sudden you realize God has been preparing us our whole life for this moment! When you are in a tough situation you must realize that God has prepared you for it. He piles on grace upon grace for when we need most.

I’m writing this to someone who wants to give up. Don’t do it. Your destiny is worth the fight! Don’t you dare give up and don’t you dare doubt God! He is with you, fighting for you and He will give you the grace to make it… even if just for today.

 

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Don’t Count Me Out

Don’t Count Me Out!

Rusty Wallace is the youngest guy in the NASCAR Hall of Fame but he is actually the oldest guy to compete in this year’s X-Games. Rusty Wallace quit NASCAR ten years ago and always felt he quit too early. People probably counted him out but he had the itch to keep racing because that’s all he’s ever done. Well this year, Rusty is in the X-Games Super Truck Series. Super trucks are way different than NASCAR but that’s what I love about this story. Here’s a guy who’s 58 years old and won just about everything you can in NASCAR and admittedly made a mistake by quitting too early but instead of returning to his first love of stock cars, He decides to have a go at something different. What a leader! What a fantastic example of someone who didn’t give up on his dream but instead found a different avenue to fulfill what he was created to do.

I can totally identify with Rusty in this story. I’ve made some costly mistakes but I have learned quite a bit through the process and keep bouncing back. I have a “friend” of mine tell me to just sit back and not be the come-back guy. Well no thanks. Lazarus came back from the dead and Jesus did too so we could live in pure power! So just following my Lord’s example I will come back and so will you. When people count us out God counts on us to come back. God loves the underdog, He loves to take what people count out and use them for the most spectacular of His causes. The crazy thing is I’m only 40 years old and I’ve had so many people dip on me relationally. It’s actually laughable! I’ve learned that we should never count people out. As I watched the story of Rusty Wallace coming back, I learned that he could give r ip of who was in his corner cheering him on or not. It doesn’t matter who is cheering you on when you are on your come back. Early on when I was church planting, I had so many people tell me how great we would do and how awesome it was going to be and then when things didn’t go according to plan, I look around and the people who were cheering us on are no where to be found. The lesson learned is that the crowd will chant your name one week and the next they will want to crucify you. Crowds are fickle but true friends are quietly cheering you on. I want to encourage you to not be counted out, don’t let anyone EVER count you out! This next season is going to be your best yet!

Declare it over yourself, “Don’t count me out!”

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

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Junkyard Jesus

Junkyard Jesus

This blog is taken from a part of my book Getting Up. I added a few thoughts as well in italics. I encourage you to get a copy here! This book has helped hundreds of people get set free!

I love the whole idea of restoration. I love seeing restoration happen. I love it so much I actually watch television shows about restoring stuff. These are things like cars, motorcycles, and antiques. The show usually goes like this: We see an old junkyard with some old beaters. It is a car graveyard. Most, if not all, of these cars are rusted out. The interior is all ripped up and there are usually rats and other animals that are living there at this point. Then we take a look under the hood, of course it is all rusted out and there are weeds actually growing out of the engine! This car needs a lot of work. There is no way it is even close to being drivable.

At that point the master fabricator shows up. This guy is the man. He has restored countless cars. He looks at this vehicle and sees what it could and should be. He sees the cherry red paint job and the chromed out wheels, he hears the roaring engine, he can smell the new interior…he already sees this thing as a beautiful muscle car. But the reality is, it is a piece of crap at the moment. The current owner cannot believe this guy is willing to pay thousands of dollars for it in this condition!

Here is the deal though: the Master fabricator sees its value. He sees what it could be and what it should be. He pays the price and now owns the hunk of junk. So he tells his boys to back up the tow truck and load it up. Now the vehicle has been recovered, but it is time to take it to the shop and start the process of restoration.

Before long this vehicle starts to take shape. They grind the car down to the bare metal. They replace the engine and transmission. The frame is cleaned up and the body goes into paint. New wiring has been done. The interior is now all brand new. Then comes the day when it is time to crank the engine. The Master fabricator has done this so many times, he has complete confidence it will start up on the first try –and it does! He looks at his crew and they celebrate, because they’ve taken this car from the junkyard to showroom floor.

In case you have not made the connection, that Master fabricator is Jesus. He does the same thing with us.

Jesus recovers us from the worst of circumstances and when He restores us, we have to go through the tear down process in order to be built according to what He wants to do in our life. This analogy is closer to truth than we’d like to admit because the new wiring is developing new habits. The new engine is finding out what drives us and how we can fuel it properly. The whole process of restoration comes down to what the vision of God is for us. Jesus has a vision for us and He sees us completed. Now it’s up to us to see what He sees.

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

Scandalous

scandal

Grace, what have you done?

Murdered for me on that cross
Accused in absence of wrong
My sin washed away in Your blood

Too much to make sense of it all
I know that Your love breaks my fall
The scandal of grace, You died in my place
So my soul will live – Hillsong United

So as I was listening to the song (click the image above to hear it) from Hillsong United, “Scandal of Grace” and I realized that Jesus was as scandalous as they come. He did scandalous things according to the culture of His day. He hung out with prostitutes, con men, and hustlers. He challenged the religious, He upset the self-righteous, He ruffled the sinners as well. Jesus was the most loved and the most hated. He didn’t have a middle ground, He was the ground. No one could match His wisdom yet no one could match His love. His love was scandalous.

Scandalous defined is causing general public outrage by a perceived offense against morality or law. I’ve been scandalous in the past and… yes, so have you. If people really saw our hearts, if they really saw our sick, dark secrets not one of us has any moral ground to stand on. I’d say we would all lose a lot of Facebook friends. It’s sad to see so many Christians live a self-righteous, judgmental life pointing their finger at everyone around them except themselves! Judgement is just as sinful as anything else.

In life we will run into negative scandals that bring up so many questions that beg for answers. Instead of finding answers that may not really matter in our individual life we may want to increase our love. Scandals stir up negative emotions in everyone. The little judge and jury comes out in all of us but for a moment let’s stop and think. Let’s stop and think like Jesus. What’s more scandalous than someone’s sin is the covering of that sin through love. When love covers a scandal, it becomes even more scandalous. This is what Jesus did for us. This is the truth that every self-righteous bone in our body does not want to deal with. We want punishment, they need to pay! Crucify him! That’s what the crowd yelled when Jesus was before them and that’s what the crowd still yells today. Unfortunately it comes more from the church than anywhere else.

I’d admonish us as the church to be scandalous like Jesus and cover those who need it most. All of our time will come when we need the grace and mercy of God. I pray that when your time comes, not if but when, you experience the covering of love of God. I’ve experienced being uncovered by those who say they loved me and I’ve experienced being covered by those who truly do.

My goal in life is to become more like Jesus. I want my life to exude the love of God.I want to cover those who need grace. That’s scandalous.

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

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Your Roadblocks to Success

Our heart is our biggest hinderance to success.

Last week I posted about having a roadmap to success. Well this week it’s probably important to follow up with various roadblocks that can keep us from success. I may have missed doing this last week but we should probably define success. Not a dictionary definition but something I’ve gathered over the years… this is just my humble opinion and it may change as I grow. I define success as doing better than I was before; in my heart, my mind, and my world around me. Notice I didn’t say if I was richer, more famous, or any of the exterior trappings of success. I am coming through one of the worst seasons of my life but I am doing it successfully because my heart is healthier than ever (mind, will, and emotions) and I am doing better internally than I have in years. The interesting thing is that when our hearts are doing well everything else on our outside will eventually begin doing well too. It’s a matter of perspective. Keeping our joy level high. Keeping our words positive. Keeping our motives pure. These are what help you stay on the roadmap for success and helps us get through your roadblocks to success.

I’ve listed a few roadblocks that I’ve found to success and a few explanations of each. This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means but one that will have major impact if we take heed. If you can learn from my experience and I can learn from yours then we won’t have the same bad experience!

1. Naivety – Being naive isn’t all bad. It is a very good characteristic to have actually because it has a foundational trust built in with it. I’m actually a very naive person but I’ve been very betrayed and taken of advantage of because of my trusting nature.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. -Matthew 5:8 NKJV

Being naturally naive is ok, there’s a purity in heart that comes with it. Being wise is a choice. If you are naive like me, then it’s imperative to use wisdom and surround yourself with people who have your best interest at heart. You know they have your best interest at heart by what they do not what they say.

2. Selfishness – Being selfish is something we are all born with. You don’t have to teach a baby how to say, “Mine!” It just does. If we want to stay babies then we stay in a world that revolves around us. I’ve been around way too many church leaders who were building their world around themselves. If you truly love people then you will build your world to serve them. When people are selfish it sabotages their future. Selfishness is something we must take responsibility for because it starts in our own hearts.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. -James 1:14 NKJV

3. Pride – The original sin. This is where every sin is birthed from. When we make ourselves god we replace the God who made us. Pride has been the downfall of many leaders throughout the years and has brought much pain to so many people. When we humble ourselves and accept that the world doesn’t revolve around us, God shows up with his grace and favor on our lives. Sometimes we just have to let go of the fight and let God take control.

But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” -James 4:6 NKJV

4. Greed – This is selfishness’ slimy cousin. I’ve found that greedy people are highly insecure people. Not insecure about their looks or what not but truly insecure. Meaning NOT secure in the fact that God will meet their needs. Greed has a way of blinding people to the truth where they just can’t accept the truth, even if it’s right in front of their face, but want more anyway. I’ve not had the unfortunate experience of being a greedy person but I have had the experience of watching what happens to someone when they rely on people to meet their needs instead of God. It becomes a sad shallow show indeed. The antidote is faith. Having faith in God will clear the roadblock of greed out of your life.

And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:19 NKJV

Hopefully this list has helped you. I know from experience that these things will hinder our success. True success is when God elevates you. When our hearts are right then God will do the elevating because when our time comes, He knows we will be ready.

 

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

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Your Roadmap For Success

Vision is the key to a successful life.

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision. -Helen Keller

People walk through life with perfect 20/20 sight. They can see physically what’s in front of them but spiritually they are limited. Some people are even blind to the vision God has for them. At some point , if your seeking it, God will put a white hot vision right in front of you. This vision will be perfect just for you. It will empower your soul, compliment your gifts, motivate you when you are weak, and encourage you when you are discouraged. There is a power in vision to help guide you through the various ups and downs of life.

Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. -Proverbs 29:18 NIV

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. -Proverbs 29:18 KJV

I love this verse in both of these translations. This verse builds into us the foundation for the importance of vision. Vision builds restraint in our life. If we have a vision for a strong marriage then we will build in the parameters in order to keep that relationship strong. If we have a vision to build a large ministry then we will do what it takes to make sure the ministry God entrusts us has integrity. I can tell you from painful personal experiences that when we lose vision for our marriage, ministry, career, or finance then we have lost the key the ingredient for success. Truly without vision our lives will perish. Vision builds restraint in our lives. This is the power of vision. Vision will help us to be disciplined in our thinking and our behavior. If we have a vision to become physically in shape then that vision will motivate us to eat right and get our butts in the gym. If someone comes up with an idea, then ask, “Does it fit into the vision?” If not, then it doesn’t deserve your attention. Your vision for your life is your roadmap for success. It keeps us on the right path.

Maybe your vision is cloudy. That’s ok. Maybe you’ve experienced the death of a vision. I know it’s hard to hear this… but that’s ok too. Jesus is in the resurrection business. He resurrects dead things. Things that we thought were done… well, that’s His specialty. Read more on rising from the ashes in this post. God can give us a vision for something we thought we’ve screwed up.

The awesome thing about a vision is that it is a powerful component that will help motivate others to join in with you in accomplishing it just so long as the vision is from God and about others. If your vision is just about your success then you’ll have a tough time getting others on board. If your vision is about helping others and getting other people to the next level and we all win, then that’s something others can get behind.

Another thing I’ve found about vision is that it has a redeeming quality about it. God will give you a vision for a new future. Maybe you’ve experienced a failure in your marriage; God will give you a vision for a new one. Maybe you’ve failed in a ministry; God will give you a vision for a new one. Maybe you’ve failed in a small business venture; God will give you a vision for a new one. Whatever area that you have a passion for and a gifting in, God will give you a vision for.

Don’t rush the vision and don’t doubt but take heart in this verse from Habakkuk 2:2-3 NKJV…

Then the Lord answered me and said:

“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
Because it will surely come,
It will not tarry.

God’s vision is never late but it is never early. We must trust that right now, right where we are is where God wants us. We are being prepared for the great vision our great God has for us!

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

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Overcoming Insecurity

Insecurity will keep you from the best of life… if you let it.

Insecurity is one of those things I’ve had to deal with my whole life. Living on the praise, criticism, opinion, love, hate, advice, or input of other flawed humans is just asking to be let down. To put it bluntly, insecurity sucks. It reminds me of that old Tool song, ‘Sober’… although the song is talking about something different, the line that sticks out to me is… “I will find a center in you, I will chew it up and leave, I will work to elevate you, Just enough to bring you down”.

Kinda says it all about insecurity. Insecurity drives at the center of who you are or who you were created to be. It’s a toxic ingredient that seeps into every area and relationship we have… if we let it.

“Only the insecure strive for security.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer

I’m not a fan of all Dyer’s stuff but he hit this one on the head. If we are striving for something then it means we’ve yet to attain it. If we are striving for financial security then we aren’t content in what God has provided. If we are striving for relational security then we don’t trust the one God has put in our life. Ultimately insecurity is birthed out of not being secure in Who God is and who He’s created us to be. This is such a great quote because for me it says that I am already secure. As a believer, I have security in a strong God and my need for affirmation, lasting affirmation, can only come from Him.

John 13:3… Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;

So there are three things that will help us overcome insecurity. I have overcome insecurity step by step and am finding continued success in this area by looking at how Jesus dealt with it and knowing a few basic things. From this one passage we can see three vital principles that will help us overcome insecurity.

1. Jesus knew what… The first thing I’ve found in overcoming insecurity is to know what you’ve been given.  We are children of the Most High God. We have been given dominion and authority over the power of the enemy and that includes fear and insecurity! When we know what we have been entrusted with, our view of ourself changes to the way God sees us.

2. Jesus knew who… The second thing is that Jesus not only knew what He had, but WHOSE He was! Know who you are. Knowing who your are takes knowing who you aren’t. You have purpose and no matter what it looks like right now or how insecure you may feel, you are God’s. 1 Cor. 7:23 Jesus knew he had come from God and so have you. You are birthed from heaven, don’t get bogged down in this day-to-day earthly life. Yes we must deal with the things of this world but remember to deal with it from a heavenly perspective!

3. Jesus knew where… Jesus knew where he was going… back to God! Think about that… If you have a relationship with God (if you don’t … click here for more information about doing that and let me know you’ve received Jesus!) but if you have a REALationship with God through Jesus Christ, you are returning to God! That right there should take a ton of pressure off. Not only are you returning to God, but He has given you something to do here on earth! God has a plan and He will help you know where to go.

I’ll say it again, insecurity sucks but you can overcome it anytime it tries to rear it’s oh-so-ugly head… by just KNOWING!

As a practice it would be helpful to confess these three points over your life every morning!

1. Thank you God that you have given me power to live victorious in this life! I have the resurrection power of Jesus living in me and I can overcome anything today! In Jesus’ Name!

2. Thank you God that my identity and security is found in Christ alone. No job, title, or person defines me today. I am defined by my Father in heaven as a child of God. I am protected, loved, and favored by Him. In Jesus’ Name!

3. Thank you God that my future is secure in you. I will not fear, doubt, or worry today because my destiny is in your hands. I trust you today Lord with everything. In Jesus Name!

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

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From the Ashes

Failure is not fatal or permanent, quitting is.

So I’m a child of the eighties as you may have gathered from my last post. I grew up on Nintendo, Cap’n Crunch, Rubik’s cube, checkered Vans, Sundeck board shorts… yeah the whole shabang. One eighties movie that stands out in mind as I was thinking of this post is “Top Gun.” Yeah that’s right “Top Gun” was the movie with the two super cool fighter pilots and their drive to make it to the top; a feel good movie by all rights but there is one part that brings us all down. Goose. The part where Goose goes into a flat spin and crashes and burns. We loved the character Goose and were all sad when it happened. He was like our friend that we felt like we knew, so when he died in the movie we all were pretty bummed. I actually remember as a kid, people crying when Goose died! It’s just a movie people! Get a grip! It’s not real life…. the actor who played Goose was still alive at the movie premiere… relax.

One thing that is real though… crash and burn moments.

We’ve all had those moments in life when we’ve crashed and burned. Some more major than others. Some of us maybe mouthed off to our boss once too many times and got fired, maybe some have seen the crash and burn of a marriage, some of us have experienced the crash and burn of a dream; regardless of your crash and burn moment the one thing I know from experience is that failure is not fatal, final, or permanent, quitting is. The only way we actually lose in life is when we give up. If you wake up one more day, pray one more prayer, breath one more breath, dream one more dream, hope one more time…. then you are living. You have not given up hope. God is the God of hope, He is the God of new beginnings.

One thing that the Holy Spirit keeps prodding me about is the city I currently live in, Phoenix. Just the name itself has prophetic overtones for my life and maybe yours as well. From early Christianity and mythology the phoenix has been a symbol of rebirth and resurrection. It’s been a legend that has inspired people for generations because generations before us have failed. We are not alone. Many people before us have had crash and burn moments. Those moments don’t define us as people only what we do with those moments will. I’ve experienced probably the worst crash and burn moment of my life but from what I know about the phoenix is that it rises from the ashes. It’s gets up from the fire that tried to destroy it and is more powerful and victorious than ever. I was in church a few weeks ago and our worship pastor started singing a spontaneous chorus that lit me up! It went like this, “You will come through the fire and you won’t even smell like smoke!” That is our God! That is what He wants to do with our failure. He leaves it in the fire and when we come out we won’t even smell like the failure that tried to define us!

You need to hear this. This is your moment of being reborn into the calling, purpose, and destiny he has designed you for. Don’t shrink back, don’t allow others to try and define you. This is your time to walk through the fire, allow to burn off what it needs to and then rise from the ashes. Oh and as a reminder… you won’t even smell like smoke.

 

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

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We all need a Do-Over

Starting over is hard but it could be the best thing that’s ever happened to you.

I grew up on Nintendo more specifically Contra. I remember getting the game fresh out of the box and getting up to a certain level and having to start over because of a mistake. It was the most frustrating part of the whole game. All that progress just to have to start over. Sometimes I’d just hit the RESET button and start all over! Then I learned the code.. ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B A START… yeah that was awesome. 30 extra men right at the beginning of the game. As I’ve gotten older and mature in my journey with the Lord I realize His grace is the code for my life. Instead of 30 extra men I get limitless chances. This thought humbles me everyday because His love overwhelms me and reassures me that no matter how I screw up or how bad life may seem, His grace is encoded into my life through the work of the Cross. I don’t want to take advantage of grace but the understanding of grace has revolutionized my life. Grace covers and forgives but it also empowers us to overcome sin and gives us the ability to start fresh.

Sometimes a fresh start is needed. Sometimes it’s more than needed, maybe it’s forced upon you. Whether you’re reeling from the loss of a loved one, the estrangement of a partner, or the severance from a job, taking control of your new circumstances is an important part of turning around your life. Maybe you just feel stuck in the rat race and you find the hairs on your head getting grayer and the lines on your face getting clearer and you think, “Is this it? Is this what God intended for my life?” One time, I had a pastor suggest to me that what I was living was just maybe my lot in life. I was immediately offended and wanted to punch him right in the face. When you have the spirit of a champion in you because Jesus lives in you, any suggestion of mediocrity is just flat out unacceptable. Don’t ever just accept that this is as good as it gets. Your life is what you make it and starting over isn’t as bad as you may think. Oh it’s not easy and it will be painful but it could be an amazing adventure that you never expected depending on your attitude about the whole thing. Let me just encourage you… you are never stuck. Ruts are made because they are driven through, ruts are never created because a vehicle sits in them. Whatever situation you are in, it’s temporary. Go THROUGH it, don’t stay in it.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. -Psalm 23:4 NKJV

When we find ourselves it can be daunting because march up the mountain again seems overwhelming but we do it one step at a time, one day at a time. I’ve found myself in a starting over period where I needed a “Do-Over”, I needed to hit the reset button. When that button was hit my progress disappeared. I felt like I lost my whole world and by all rights, I did. What I gained was priceless. Perspective. I learned to trust God again, I learned that He is my hope and when I fully trust Him, I will never be let down. This is where I get to live today. A sense of expectation and hope that is erupting out of my heart. Here are a few things that helped me along the way. I grabbed some of these concepts from this great post by Dragos Roua and put it into my own words for what helped me.

1. Accept defeat and loss.
This is something that may sound contradictory but when we understand that maybe we have been defeated and we feel the pain that comes with it, it strengthens our resolve to never allow it to happen again. When I accepted the fact that I lost seemingly everything, I realized that I will never let that happen again. Leaders learn from evaluated experience.

2. Leave the past in the past.
Accept all your past and make peace with it. Accept all your past mistakes or awesome decisions. The past is gone. Count to 3… 1,2,3. It’s gone. The past doesn’t even exist anymore nor does the future. The present is the only option we have and it’s up to us to live it or just stay the same. More on this concept here.

3. De-virus Your Mind
I love this phrase. Our mind is part of our soul and sometimes can get poisoned with toxic thoughts. It might be time for a detox. It might be time to clear our mind of thoughts that are actually harming us. If we’re going to start fresh, we must admit that are mind needs constant improvement and healing. Don’t believe everything you think because everything we think isn’t right. We may need to take time to quarantine our own thought life and de-virus our mind.

A word of caution. Getting a “do-over” is a gift. Don’t waste it it. Starting over is a great opportunity but as we journey this new road, let’s remember what got us here. No one is going to finish if they keep starting over. Starting over is great but let’s aim to accomplish and finish the work God has set before us.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. -Lamentations 3:23 NLT

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

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The Greatest Motivation

Our motivations are what drives our lives.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV

I’ve had some interesting experiences in my life with many different types of people. The one thing I can put my finger on in every single person I’ve met is what drives them. Some people are driven by addiction; that next high from drugs, alcohol, food, shopping, or sex. Others I’ve met are driven by adrenaline; the next big event or outing. Some are driven by greed and money; the next business deal that will bring the next paycheck. Some are driven by hate, anger, and bitterness. They want everyone around them to pay for the pain they are in or that they think someone else caused them. Regardless of what we are driven by we must get to the place in which we are driven by something more pure.

By far, the people that intrigue me the most are the ones that are driven by the most powerful force on earth. Love. The list goes on of people who intrigue me and make me want to be more like Jesus.

The importance of being motivated by love is paramount to our lives. When we serve our children or our spouse out of love it purifies our motives. It gets us above the life of “tit-for-tat” and a “point system” that regards acts of service or amounts of money as equals to love. Those may be how we show love but that aren’t love. Love is the force of God. It is the life of God.

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. -1 John 4:16 NIV

Love is what kept Jesus on the cross. It was the great motivator for our Savior and it should be for us. If you are into making someone pay or taking from everyone around you, then you aren’t living in love and your motivation is sinful. Jesus brought us into a New Testament theology, regarding our hearts and motivations as what keeps us in right standing before God, not our behavior. Our hearts, thoughts, motivations, and inward life is what God wants to change and purify. These are what drives our behavior. Our inward condition is what determines our exterior exhibition.

The greatest motivation in our lives should be love. So how’s your heart?

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Please leave your thoughts if you feel led and let’s continue the conversation! May God bless you!

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