What to do with Thoughts

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV)

There isn't a day that goes by that our minds are not bombarded by thoughts, good thoughts and bad thoughts. We can't help that, thoughts come to our minds from different sources, other people, ourselves, God, and the enemy. It is what we do with these thoughts that determines the outcome. The Apostle Paul says we are to take every thought, not just one or two, not just some, but EVERY thought that comes to our mind and compare it to what God says. If it lines up with the word of God, then we can continue with the thought. However, if it doesn't line up with the word of God, then we need to make the choice to stop dwelling on that thought. How do you do that? You speak to that thought what the word of God says. For example, if the thought comes to you that "you are worthless," then you need to speak "I am not worthless because the word of God says 'I am the head and not the tail', 'I am above only and not beneath,' 'the Lord thinks pleasing thoughts about me.'" Easier said than done, right? If you are like me, that wrong thought will keep trying to rise up in your mind. This is where you got to stand your ground and continue to speak the word of God over that wrong thought. I know it can get tiring, but the more you do this, the easier it will get.

Take Away: When a wrong thought comes to your mind, speak the word of God over that thought, and keep speaking the word of God. Eventually that wrong thought will cease.

Shake It Off

However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. (Acts 28:5 NET)

The Apostle Paul trusted God that He would take care of him. As he was sitting by a fire, a viper came out and bit Paul on the finger. Paul, trusting in God, looked at the snake, shook it off  and continued what he was doing. Paul had enough faith that what God promised him would happen and not even a viper would stand in the way. Unfortunately for most of us, when we are doing something and a proverbial "speed bump or road block" gets in our way, we get upset, angry, frustrated, we complain, we lose hope, etc. We need to look at the example Paul set for us. We need to look at the problem and shake it off, not letting it distract us, shake us, or even stop us. When the "road block or speed bump" happens to you, and you start to feel the anxiety rise up in you, you need to look at that problem and say "Yes, what I planned is not happening the way I thought it would, but God is in control, and He has a plan, so I am going to trust Him and remain in peace." 

Take Away: When something isn't going the way you thought it would, then take a step back and say to yourself, "God, I trust You that what needs to happen will happen, and although this isn't going the way I want it to, You are so much greater than this and I am going to trust You and continue doing what I need to do and remain in peace."

Consequences or Discipline?

Be keenly aware that just as a parent disciplines his child, the LORD your God disciplines you. (Deuteronomy 8:5 NET)

I've heard so many times from people that when they get sick, hurt, or some calamity comes to them, they are quick to say "God is punishing me for what I did." It is true that God punishes us, but to use a more correct term that the Bible uses, God disciplines us. The word used for discipline in the Hebrew from the Old Testament, and the Greek from the New Testament means to instruct, correct, reprove, and teach. God  disciplines us through correcting us and teaching us about what we did wrong. God does not discipline us by putting a sickness on us, nor does He discipline us by having our car break down, or by sending a tornado to destroy our house. God loves us and wants the best for us. What we have to remember is that although God loves us and will discipline us, there are consquences to our choices and actions that we make. For example, if you run a red light, most likely you will hit another car. This isn't God's discipline, hitting another car in this case was a consequence to your decision to run a red light. We also have to remember that we live in a fallen world, and there are natural things such as tornadoes and floods that are going to happen. There are so many things that we can not see, but in the midst of everything, we need to remember that He is still God, and we have got to place our trust in Him. 

Take Away: God will discipline us for bad actions and decisions, but we must be able to separate His discipline from consequences to our actions. In the midst of it all, we must trust Him and lean on Him knowing that He is still in control.

Am I Good Enough for God?

 O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD. (Psalms 139:1-4 NLT)

Have you ever thought that you were not good enough for God? Have you ever thought "why would God have anything to do with me, look at what I've done?" According to the Bible, God knows everything about you. That means EVERYTHING, the good and the bad! He knows every thought you have ever had, both the good thoughts and bad thoughts. He knows everything that you've said, both the good words and the words that have hurt other people. He knows everywhere that you have gone, both the good places and the bad places. He knows them all! And yet He chose to send Jesus to die for each of us so that we can have a relationship with Him. God loves you that much! You can never do anything, think anything, or speak anything that will separate you from His love. 

Take Away: Whenever those thoughts come to you that you are not good enough for Him, say to yourself "Yes, I have done and said many things in my life, but God already knows them, and He still loves me, therefore I am good enough for Him!" 

When You Hear God's Call

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9:24-25 NIV)

When God calls us to do some type of ministry, or even get involved in someone else's ministry, some of us, and I would venture to say most of us, think that we have to jump in and start doing that ministry the next day. Some of us even think we can go from doing nothing, to operating a global ministry overnight. But that just doesn't happen because if it would we would fall flat on our faces. When God calls you to do some type of ministry, He is telling you so that you can start preparing and training for it. God wants us to do things with excellence, and that only comes through training and preparation. For example, I felt God calling me to be a worship direction many years ago, but everytime an opportunity to take that role came along and I wouldn't get it. God kept closing the doors. Yes, I got frustrated and wondered if I was hearing HIm correctly. The problem was I that I was listening to the wrong voice. I heard God correctly about being a worship director, but then I started listening to my own voice that was saying "Kent, you got to do this now." When I decided to shut up and start listening to His voice, I heard Him saying that there are things I still need to learn before He could place me in that position. When I heard Him say that, I finally settled down and did all that I could to learn and eventually He opened the doors for me to take on the role of a worship director.

Take Away: When God calls you to a ministry, He is telling you so that you can start preparing. He will open the doors for you when you are ready and not a minute before. During that time of waiting is a time of learning and practicing.

Let People Go

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. (1 Corinthians 13:4-5 NIV)

Relationships, whether a romantic, friend or business relationship, may experience a time when that person in the relationship wants to go, for whatever reason. We may not understand why and we may not agree. We may think that if they leave, they will get hurt, OR if they leave it will be the end of the world for us, and therefore we try holding on to them and keep them from leaving. The problem with doing this is that the minute you try to keep them from leaving, you have taken away their right to choose whats best for them and you dishonor them. In essence, with you trying to hold on to them, you have become self-seeking. God is telling us in 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 that if we truly love someone, we will NOT dishonor them and we wont be self seeking. If someone wants to walk out of your life, then let them go. If you try holding on to them, strife, discord, anger, etc will start developing and you will eventually lose them anyway...and on bad terms. If you let them go, then you can rest assured that they left on good terms. And if you think "but Kent, I can't, you don't know what that will do to me, you don't know how lonely I will be, I can't live without that person."  True, I may not know how the absence of that person will affect you, but God does. He knows how you will hurt, He knows how lonely you will be, but through all of that, He will comfort you, and He will bring the right people around you that you need.

Take Away: if someone wants to walk out of your life, let them go...then trust that God will bring the people that you need in your life into your life.

Obeying God's Word: Part 2

No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. (Deuteronomy 30:14 NLT)

The second thing we must do in order to obey God's word is to  get "in your heart." The word "heart" in the Hebrew means "center of your being." When something is in the center of your being, it is the only thing you can think about, it is on your mind constantly. In order for this to happen, you need to place His word in front of you every day, reading it, thinking about it, and meditating on it. If you continue to do this on a daily basis, it WILL get into the center of your being. So if God is telling you to do something, then according to Deuteronomy 30:14, if you speak His word that concerns whatever He is telling you to do (see the previous blog entry), and you think about that same word on a daily basis...THEN you will be able obey it...AND the words "God, it is too hard" will no longer be part of your vocabulary!

Take Away: When God is telling you to do something, speak His command and meditate on His command on a continual basis. As you do, obeying His word becomes easier and easier.

Obeying God's Word: Part 1

No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. (Deuteronomy 30:14 NLT)

Yesterday I talked about how doing whatever God is telling you to do is not too difficult. Today I follow this up with why it is not too difficult. In Deuteronomy 30:14, God was telling the people of Israel that the only way to obey His command is to get it on your lips and in your heart. This means that just reading what the Bible says is not enough, there are two things we must do in order to obey God's word. First is we must speak the word (it is on your lips). Whenever we get a command from God, either through Him speaking directly to us, or in the Bible, we must start speaking the command, and not just once, but over and over and over, day after day after day. Each time your problem starts to rise up inside you, start speaking the word. Each morning when you wake up, look in the mirror and speak the word. Whenever I am dealing with a problem, I go to the Bible to find what God says about it. When I found the scripture, I would write it down on a piece of paper and put it in a place that I would see several times each day. Then each time I would pass it, I would stop and read it out loud. Each time that problem would start to rise up in me, I would speak the word out loud (sometimes I would say it several times). As I continued to do this, doing what the Bible said would start to become easier and easier. Tomorrow I will talk about the second thing we are to do.

Take Away: When you are dealing with a problem, and God shows you in His word what to do, write the word out, and put it somewhere where you are going to see several times each day. Then each time you pass it, stop and read it out loud. Then, whenever that problem starts rising up, speak the word.

It's Not Too Difficult

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach. (Deuteronomy 30:11 NLT)

It seems that everytime we go to God's word to find an answer for a problem we are having, we usually don't like the answer He is giving us. Why? Because the answer usually requires us to do something that we think is too hard for us to do. For example, you read in Philippians 2:14 that you are to do everything without complaining or arguing. You then realize you need to stop complaining but when you try the first time to not complain, you say "it is too hard." Well don't believe that lie because God says that the command He is giving you is NOT too difficult for you. As long as you keep saying and believing that it is too hard to do, it will be. You need to start changing what you are saying and start believing what God says. In this example, when the opportunity comes to start complaining, the words you need to say are "I am going to stop complaining because God says I need to do everything without complaining AND He said that this is not too difficult for me." If you apply this to every problem that comes up in your life, you will see changes take place.

Take Away: Whatever God is commanding you to do, look at yourself in the mirror and say "it is not too difficult for me."

God's Temple

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 NET)

This is one of the things about Christianity that separates itself from all the other religions in the world. Our God is a living god, He is not dead. All the other religions serve a dead god. What makes this even more extraordinary is that not only is our God a living god, but His Spirit is living in us! Yes, when we became Christians, the Spirit of the living God CHOSE to live inside of us! Think about it, the Creator of the universe and everything in it, the stars, the moons, our earth, the trees, the mountains, the lakes and river, and us humans...He is living inside of us! Wow! If we really grasped a hold of this truth, then we would really think about how we conduct ourselves. Would we be watching on TV or the movies the same shows we are watching now? Would we be speaking to each other the same way we are speaking now? Would we be behaving like we are behaving now? This is a challenge to each person, myself included. 

Take Away: The next time you look in the mirror, look at yourself knowing that the Spirit of God is living on the inside of you and ask yourself, "where (not if) do I need to make changes in my life that glorifies the Spirit of God inside of me?"

Remembering

Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. (1 Corinthians 1:26 NET)

In this passage, Paul was talking to the Corinthians about remembering how they became Christians. In that culture, position in culture was very important, wealth was important, and wisdom was important, that meant that your were somebody...not much different that today's standards. However, in God's kingdom, none of that matters. God doesn't look at the "Who is Who" book, and He doesn't look at the "Top 10 Wealthiest People in the World" and He doesn't look at who won the Pulitzer Prize or the Nobel Peace Prize. God's kingdom is based on love, and He chose to love and accept you, so much that He adopted you into His family. According to today's standard, I am not wealthy, I don't have a position of notariety, I am not the smartest person around, I not the best looking guy around (you don't see me on the front cover of Men's fitness nor on GQ), I am not a lot of things, but what I am stands head and shoulders above everything...I am a child of God, and He loves me and accepts me...defects and all. 

Take Away...Whenever you are feeling "not worthy" by today's standards, whenever you are feeling down because you may not be rich, or smart, or whatever, remember Who calls you His. Remember that the King of Kings chose you to be in His family, chose you to have a relationship with, and above all, remember that He loves you!

Closing Doors

When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this, (Acts 16:7 NET)

There are many times that we try to go somewhere or do something, and each time we try, the proverbial door closes, an obstacle appears that prevents us doig or going. In Acts 16:6-7 Paul tries to go to two different places, but the Holy Spirit prevented him from going. It wasn't until Paul stopped "doing" and he rested that God showed him what to do. There have been many times that I wanted to do something, and each time I tried, something prevented me from doing it. At first I would get mad and frustrated because I wasn't getting my way. But after this kept happening, I knew something was up and I finally said, "Okay God, You are obviously keeping from from doing this, so I am going to stop and wait on You." I would say most of the time I would eventually find out why He was preventing me from doing what I wanted to do. Someimes we get in our mind that what we want to do has got to be the best thing ever, so why would God want to stop us. We don't see the big picture, but He does, and this is where trust comes in. Do you trust God or do you trust your circumstances? 

Take Away: When you are trying to do something or go somewhere, and every time you try, the door closes, take a step back and stop doing. Ask God, "okay, You are obviously keeping me from this, so I am going to trust that there is something I don't see that is not good for me, so what do You want me to do?"

When you are discouraged

Why are you depressed, O my soul? Why are you upset? Wait for God! For I will again give thanks to my God for his saving intervention. (Psalms 42:5 NET)

It doesn't matter what kind of life you have lived up until now, each of us has had good times, and we have had bad times. We have had times where we were discouraged, and we have had times where we have been encouraged. It's those sad, discouraging times that we seem to lose our focus on God, and focus on our situation at hand. When we find ourselves going through those times, we need to remember that God is on our side, that He is there, wanting to help us, but if we are constantly looking at our circumstances and not God, then we have more or less tied His hands in helping us. The psalmist is telling us that when we are discouraged, sad, down and out, whatever you want to call it, it is not the end of the world. In fact he gives us instruction during those times. He is telling us to be patient, wait for God, and while we are waiting, start thanking and worshipping Him for what He is about to do. 

Fear of Man

“17) Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them. 

18) For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land— the kings, officials, priests, and people of Judah. 

19) They will fight you, but they will fail. For I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 1:17-19 NLT)

God has instructed us to be bold, to step out and be a witness for Him and to speak His words of healing and comfort to the hurting. But how many times have we come across someone that was hurting, but were afraid to tell them how God could help them because we were afraid of what they might say, afraid that they would speak badly about us to their friends and family...in essence afraid that they would reject us. Our culture today is set against God and His word, but so was the culture of the first century when the church was just beginning. But that didn't keep the Apostle Paul from speaking out. Yes, he went to jail, but he also wrote two thirds of the New Testament and many were saved because he spoke out. The boldness that Paul and many others that went before us had came from the God, He is the only One that can strengthen us to stand and speak to the hurting. Yes, there will be people that will not accept what we are telling them, but remember what God said to Jeremiah, "they will fight you, but they will fail!" 

Take Away: The next time you see someone hurting, think about what God told Jeremiah, think about how Paul spoke out and shared healing words to the hurting. Use that as encouragement to battle the fear of what others would say and do, and then speak God's truth to the hurting. Remember, those fears will come, but they will fail for God is with you!

The Real Enemy

For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, (2 Corinthians 10:4 AMP)

When was the last time you got upset with someone because of something they did? Is that person the one you should be getting upset with? According to scripture, the answer is no.

The Bible says that our enemy is not flesh and blood (other people), but it is the strongholds and mindsets we have in our minds. When you get upset with someone, what is really happening is that a "button" was pressed inside of you that caused you to react in a destructive way. For example, I came out of many years of low self esteem, so what I thought I needed was constant validation from people. As a musician I had to be perfect because if I wasn't then people would look down at me...those are the thoughts that would go through my mind. So when someone would say, "Kent, you made a couple of mistakes in that piece you just played," instead of taking that as encouragement to practice more, I would take it personally and think they not only didn't ike my playing, but thought I was a horrible person, and therefore I would get upset with that person, and I would verbally lash out at that person. What God is saying in 2 Corinthians is that my battle is not with the other person, but with my mindset. Instead of getting upset with the other person, I need to re-direct all that energy, face my "wrong thinking" and allow God to heal me in that area. 

Take Away: the next time you find yourself getting upset with someone because of something they said, or did, instead of getting angry with them, take a step back and ask God, "why am I reacting this way, what is it inside of me that needs to be healed?" He will show you truth, and it is the truth that will set you free.

What are you seeking?

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. (Matthew 6:33 AMP)

What are you seeking? Are you seeking a better job? Are you seeking a solution to our problem? Are you seeking better relationships? Are you seeking justice to a wrong done to you? If you are seeking any of these things, then you are seeking the wrong thing. What you should be seeking is His kingdom and His righteousness and you should be seeking this FIRST! So what is His kingdom? First Corinthians 4:20 says "For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. (NET)." This means we need to do things God's ways, with love, with joy, with peace, with patience, with kindness. When you do this, you will be seeking His kingdom, and when you do this, then everything else will be added. God already knows what you need (Matt 6:32), and He said He will supply all your needs (Phil 4:19). So why be seeking these "things" when He is already going to provide them if you seek Him? So instead of seeking a better job, seek the One who can get you the better job. Instead of seeking the solution to your problem, seek the One who can give you the solution to the problem. Instead of seeking better relationships, seek the One who will find relationships that you need. Instead of seeking justice to a wrong done, seek the One who will deal with each person in the way they need to be dealt with. You will know that you are seeking Him and not the solution to your problems because when you do, you will be able to walk with joy, peace, patience, kindness and love and not worry about the solution.

Time and Study

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you–and more [besides] will be given to you who hear. (Mark 4:24 AMP)

As a musician in a band, I need to practice at home, going over the same piece of music over and over. I can  always tell when I have not practiced (thinking I know it already), and I show up at rehearsal with the whole band and I pretty much do a horrible job. The same goes with God. How much time to we spend in His word, reading and studying and thinking about it? How  much time do we spend with Him? The Bible is very clear on this, the more you study and think about God and HIs word, the more of His word is going to come back to you. But if you spend very little time with Him or in His word, you are really not going to see much of what He says in His word come back to you.  "Well Kent, I tried that one time and it didn't work for me." Well one time isn't enough! Scripture says you got to study and think about His word. To study means going over that part of scripture thats dealing with your problem, meditating on it until you know it inside and out. You know you've been reading and thinking about His word whenever a problem comes up and your thoughts are still on His word and not your problem. If you are not spending time in His word on a consistent basis, then I encourage you to take time daily and read and think about His word. When  you do this, you will see that same measure come back to you as Mark said in Mark 4:24. It may take a while for you to see results, but they will happen!

Responsibility and Blame

The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behavior, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness. (Ezekiel 18:20 NLT)

Generational curses, I've heard this so many times, in fact there are times I was believing this. But the word of God is very clear in this area. We are responsible for our own sins, we are responsible for our own lives. We are the ones who make our life what it is. We can continue to blame those that went before us, our parents, our bosses and our piers, for all of our problems, but the reality is, we are responsible for how our lives our right now. If we continue to blame someone or something else for the problems we have today, we will never see change. By pushing blame on to someone else we take no responsibility, and if we take no responsibility, then our lives will remain the same. I could blame all my problems on my past, on the way I was raised, on the teachers who taught or didn't teach me, on the pastors who taught well and those who taught me right, on the bosses you were fair to me and on those who were not fair to me, I could blame all of those and more. But I made a choice a long time ago that this is my life, I am the only one who walks in my shoes, I am the one who has to answer for the things I've done in my life. As children of God, we need to take responsibility for our lives if we are going to make changes in our lives. If you have been blaming others for your problems, look in the mirror and start telling yourself "Self, I am no longer going to blame others for my problems, I am going to take responsibility for my own life, and with God's help I will see change in my life!" By doing this, you open the door for God to come in and start helping you make the changes.

Unbelief and Trust

He did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able to do. (Romans 4:20-21 NET)

Abraham knew without a doubt that what God said He would do would happen. At this point in scripture Abraham was 100 years old, but God told Him He would be the father of many nations...and that's exactly what happened. God has made many promises in His word, but how much do we really believe He will do what He says?  When He promises that He will supply all your needs (Phil 4:19), do you really believe that, or do you get stressed out and frustrated when what you are trying to do doesn't work? When He promises He will give you what you need when you need it (Heb 4:16), do you wait on God, or do you try to figure things out on our own, and end up getting angry, anxious, frustrated, etc. When I finally started letting God be God in my life and started trusting Him instead of trusting in myself, peace replaced frustration, a settled mind replaced anxiety. There are times when I do get frustrated at what I am doing, and that is a "red flag" for me that I have crossed over from trusting God to trusting in Kent and that I need to believe God will do what He says He will do. When you are faced with a circumstance that you don't know what to do, instead of trying to figure it out on your own, talk to God, trust Him and do what He tells you to do. If that means wait, then you wait. If it means you do something, then you do something, if it means you say something, then you say something, but in everything, be fully convinced that what God says will happen.

Rushing and Being Still

"Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world." (Psalm 46:10 NLT)

Rush, rush, rush, that seems to be a common theme among Americans, and quite likely western civilization as a whole. We got to get this done, and we got to get that done, if we don't do it, who will, and it has to be done yesterday. These are all reasons we give for doing what we do, and then we wonder why we are stressed out, getting sick all the time, cranky, and just not a nice person to be around. Wouldn't it be nice to take a few moments and just do nothing? That is what God wants us to do, be still and just know that He is God. He wants us to stop doing, and just be. Joyce Meyers said it very well, we are not called human do-ings, we are called human be-ings. This is so true. God wants us to take time just to sit with Him and just be...and that's all, just sit. In the story of Mary and Martha, Mary chose to sit at Jesus' feet while Martha was distracted. Jesus even told Martha to chill and look at Mary as she chose wisely. "But Kent, I just don't have time to stop for a few minutes, I've got a deadline, I've got to get this done." That should be a red flag going up saying you are headed in the wrong direction. Take direction from Jesus, take a few minutes each day to stop and just sit still and be with God. Clear your mind (I know this is a difficult thing to do at times, but it is do-able), and focus on God. You'll find that as you do this more and more, there will be more and more peace coming into your life, and those things you thought HAD to get done, really aren't as important as they once were.

When Past Thoughts and Behaviors Resurface

If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. (Heb 11:15 HCSB)

In this passage, the writer of Hebrews was talking about the Israelites as they were wandering through the wilderness to the . He was saying that if they thought about their lives back in Egypt, they could have returned, but instead they pressed on to what God had for them. The same goes with us. Our "Egypt" is our ways of thinking before we were saved and/or before we got victory in that area of our lives. Once we get that victory, in all honesty we really can't relax about that area. In fact we still need to maintain our guard so that if we ever get weak, we don't revert back to our ways of thinking before we got the victory. For example, I came out of a background where I had insecurities. God, through His word, showed me how to overcome those insecurities. However, whenever I am weak, when I have not had enough sleep, when I am sick, etc, those insecure thoughts of my past will start to rise up. I have two choices at that moment, to dwell on the insecure thoughts and reap the consequences of those thoughts, or as I like to call them, the "woe is me" thoughts. Or I can choose to ignore those thoughts and feelings (feelings can lie to you, in fact they lie to you most of the time), and I can choose to get my focus back on God, and start speaking His word over those thoughts. In my case, I need to speak "I am the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor 6:21)", "I am the head and not the tail (Duet 28:13)", "I am accepted by God (Rom 5:16)". As I speak these words, I feel life coming back into me and I start to feel strong again. 

Whenever you are weak and old behaviors or thoughts start rising up inside of you, get into the word and start speaking God's word to yourself, and keep doing it until you those old thoughts subside.

Choices

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭19-20‬ NLT)

We make choices every day, what to eat for dinner, what to watch on TV, what trail or road to ride on, where to go on vacation, etc. These are every day, common sense decisions, and they are relatively easy to make. It is those decisions that affect our character and behavior that are the tough ones to make. What is interesting in Deut 30:19-20 is that we are asked to make a choice, life or death. God wants us to choose life by loving, obeying and committing ourselves to Him. Sometimes those life choices are difficult and we say "let me do it my way just one more time God, and if that doesn't work, then I'll do it Your way." And we say this knowing that if we went ahead and did it God's way, we will be blessed. So why don't we just go ahead and do it God's way. It may be and probably will be tougher, maybe even more painful, but in the end we reap the blessings that God has promised. And how do we know what His way is? Read His word, talk to Him and then listen to Him. After that comes making the choice to do what He says or not do what He says. If you choose what He says, you will receive the blessings.

Precious Thoughts and Disappointments

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! (Psalms 139:17 NLT)

There was a time when I felt like I disappointed my dad for not being who he was wanting me to be. My dad always wanted a son who was an athlete. As it turned out, I was the artist, a musician. Through out our lives people have been disappointed in us, that's just life. However, and this is a big however, God is NOT disappointed in us. In fact, the Psalmist says in Psalm 139 that God's thoughts about us are precious and so many that they cannot be counted. We will never be able to understand the love God has for us and how He loves while we are here on this earth, but we have His word which tells how He sees us. Reality is that people will continue to be disappointed in us for a variety of reasons over the course of our lives, we can't get away from that, but that is their problem, not ours! We can rest assured that God is not disappointed in us, He loves us, He thinks precious thoughts about us. Why? Because of what Jesus did for us! Because of His sacrifice, we can enjoy a relationship with God, who is not disappointed in us!

Red Flags

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5 NET)

Trust God. We say this all the time to each other, but how often do we really, and I mean really trust God? I would venture to say that for most of us, we trust more in what we want, more in the people around us, more in the government, and more in society than we do God. How many times have we been faced with a crisis, and God is telling us in His word what to do, but we go the "easy" way out, we go the route that is less painful, the route that wont require us to trust in something we can't see. A good guage of where your trust is in God is the level of frustration you are experiencing. If something isn't going your way and you are frustrated, that is a sign that you are not trusting God but that you are wanting something that He isn't ready to give you for whatever reason. We've got to remember that He sees the big picture, and above everything else...He wants the best for us! He is our Father who loves us with so much love that we could never comprehend it. So why would we think that we know better than He does. Whenever you are feeling frustrated, or angry, or anxious, use these as "red flags" and go before the Father and say "God, things are not going my way, but I trust in You because you see the big picture and You want the best for me, so I am going to put this in Your hands and not worry about it any more, and I thank you for taking care of it." The more you do this, the easier it gets, and a less anxious and frustrated life you will have.

Imperfections

But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NET)

Tradition has it that Paul had some kind of deformaty in his body. I don't know if this is what Paul was talking about but it sure sounds like someone that has something about themself that others would insult, harass, bringing difficulties to him about. What stands out here is that God replied to Paul that His power is made great in our weakness. Paul, in his weakness, spoke and continues to speak to millions of people, preaching the gospel. We all have our weaknesses, things we don't like about our bodies. My nose is too big, my torso is too short, my voice is weird, I have a limb missing, I can't see...list goes on and on and on. God spoke to me the other day and said although I do not create imperfection, I can use your imperfection to minister to those that others can't. Wow! God can use my imperfections in a way that no other person can in order to minister to a son or daughter that He loves! How great is that! The next time you start getting down about something about your body, look to Paul and use his encouragement so that God can use you to minister to those that only you can.

Push Past The Pain

Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win. (1 Corinthians 9:24 NET)

If we want to see changes in our lives, we have got to step out of what makes us comfortable. Comfort is easy, it is manageable, it feels good, but if we stay there, nothing changes. It is when we think like an athlete, push ourselves and get out of our comfort zone, that we will see change. That pain may take many forms such as rejection from people, taking a less paying job, cleaning the bathrooms at a church, it may mean humiliation at times. But if you push past the pain and aim for what God has for you, the rewards are endless! Not too long ago, my best friend and I went mountain biking and he was really pushing me on the trails. I was suffering a lot, but I kept moving and pushed harder than I normally would. Jesus talked to me about that, and He gave me these words...pushing past the pain is only way to get stronger. Counselors have a saying: to do the same thing over and over and expect different results is called distorted thinking. So if we think that if we can stay in our comfort zone and see change, then we are deceiving ourselves. Push past the pain, trust God and follow what He is telling you.

Road Blocks

They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia. (Acts 16:6 NET)

Interesting that the Holy Spirit prevented Paul from speaking the message in Asia. Not really sure what the exact reason was. It could have been the Holy Spirit was keeping them from harm or the folks in Asia may not have been ready to receive the word or some of the folks with Paul may not have been ready to speak the word, or whatever...the point is Paul trusted the Holy Spirit and did what He told Paul. But how many of us can do what Paul did? Most of the time we think we know better, and when things don't go our way, we get mad, frustrated and upset with God. What we need to understand is that if things aren't going our way, and we are getting frustrated and upset, then we need to take a step back, get before God and ask Him what is going on, why am I acting like this? Usually, with me, it is something that I need to learn, something that God is trying to work out in me. If I choose to work with Him, then eventually what I got frustrated about I am no longer getting frustrated about. When the Holy Spirit prevents you from doing something, sometimes something you really want to do (and you'll know this is happening because everytime you try to do something, a road block gets in the way), take a step back and seek Him.

Overwhelmed

When you pass through the waters, I am with you; when you pass through the streams, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not harm you. (Isaiah 43:2 NET)

There are many times in our lives that we get overwhelmed, in over our head so to speak, through circumstances that have developed around us. When these situations happen, we need to remember that God is God, and He knows exactly what is going on, and for whatever reason He is allowing to happen what is happening. It is at these times where we need to trust Him and know that whatever is happening to us, we "will not get burned, the flames will not harm us." He is there protecting us, watching over us, and He sees the big picture. Sometimes we think we are smarter than He is and that He doesn't understand what we are going through. The truth is, He knows EXACTLY what we are going through, and though it may seem overwhelming at the time, like you don't think you can make it, the truth is you can by trusting Him. He is there protecting you and He is there seeing you through this. Remember, the streams WILL NOT overwhelm you, and the flames WILL NOT harm you. If you are going through something where you feel overwhelmed and in over your head, meditate on Isaiah 43:2, trust in His words and not your circumstances.

Obedience, not Fear

Then Samuel said, “Does the LORD take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22 NET)

Hearing someone speak, and listening to someone speak are two entirely different things. Most times people hear, but they don't listen. Listening requires not only hearing, but acting on what is said. God wants us to be obedient to Him. But so many of us, myself included, hear Him, but we are not putting on our "listening ears." In order to be obedient we must hear what He is saying and react to what He is saying. One major thing that has kept me from being obedient to Him was the fear of man. God would tell me to do something, but because of fearing what people would say or do would keep me from being obedient. When I read Psalm 118:6 (The LORD is on my side, I am not afraid! What can people do to me? (NET)), I realize that some people will accept what I have to say, and others will not, but that is not my problem. When I am obedient to God, then it doesn't matter what others say or do. If He asks you to jump, your response should not be "why?" but "how high?" If He asks you to talk to somebody, your response should not be "why?" but "what do You want me to say?" God requires obedience, so when He is telling you do to something, no matter how "scary" it may seem, do it.

Performing for Love

No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39 NLT)

For most of us, the relationship we had with out earthly dads is translated into the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father. In other words, if we had a good relationship we our earthly dad, we will have a good relationship with our Heavenly Dad. Conversely, if we had a bad relationship with out earthly dad, we will more than likely have a bad relationship with our Heavenly Dad, which is what happened to me. I was always trying to get my dad's approval and love, which developed into a performance based mentality. This translated to my Heavenly Dad. I was always trying to perform to get His love and approval. If I did something wrong, I would try harder to do something right. If I did something right, I would try to do it more righter. For me, what I did was never enough. But that is not how our Heavenly Father works. He already loves us and approves of us. There is nothing we can do or not do that will keep Him from loving us. When I finally realized that no matter what I did or didn't do, God loved me and approved of me. What a freedom I have experienced since I realized I no longer have to perform for God...He loves me! If you have a performance based mentality, meditate on Romans 8:39 daily, get this inside of your soul until it becomes a reality to you! God loves you and there is nothing you can or can not do that will change that!

What Are You Looking At?

I will be careful to live a blameless life— when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them. (Psalms 101:2-3 NLT)

It is very important that we safe guard how we conduct our lives through out each day in what we say and even what we look at. In order to do this we've got to do things God's way.  In Psalm 101, King David knew the importance of living in integrity and one way to help him in this is to refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar. What he is saying here is that although we can't stop actually seeing vulgar things around us, as that would be impossible, what we can do is not dwell on the evil things that we see. We all have a choice, we can choose to look at something or we can choose to turn away from something. For me, it is very important what I see when I wake up and when I go to bed. I want my day to start out seeing the word of God and I also want that to be the last thing I see before I go to bed. Its tough to make a habit of this, but if you do this over and over and over it will become a habit. I have found that as I have done this, walking in integrity is not as difficult as it may seem.

Living in the Past

“ For I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and their sins I will remember no longer. ” (Hebrews 8:12 NET)

When we became Christians and accepted Jesus as our Lord, God stopped remembering our sins. Why? Because they are covered by the blood of Jesus, and it is ALL sins, past, present and future. Another way of saying this is that God no longer holds those sins against us, we are now free. However we, ourselves, continue to hold on to the sins of the past and we continue to judge ourselves for the things we have done in the past. I remember when I was a kid and I lied about who started a fight at the bus stop, which lead to a whole series of events for the one I lied about. This particular incident lingered in my mind into my adult years. Finally, after reading this verse many times, I got it. Although what I did was wrong and most likely caused trouble and pain for the one I lied about, God has forgiven me and no longer judges me on this! If you are still holding on to something you have done in the past, no matter how bad it was, confess this to God and allow Him to take the pain and regret from you. It is only then that you can start receiving His peace and stop judging yourself.

Anxiety and Peace

Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 NET)

Anxiety produces different reactions in people, but one thing that is in common is that we are not to be anxious about anything. For me, when I get into anxiety about something or someone, my stomach gets messed up, I feel like I got a lot of butterflies in my stomach, I can't eat...I just get messed up physically. At the same time my mind can think of nothing but what I have anxiety about. This happened to me this past summer. Someone said something about me and it wasn't very nice, and instead of praying and asking God what to do, I chose to dwell on what they said, which got me into anxiety. I also created different scenarios in my mind about potential outcomes. I did everything I wasn't suppose to do according to Philippians 4:6-7. When I eventually went to God in prayer about it, He very politely said "I'll take care of it." With that, the anxiety left and my stomach got back to normal. If I had chosen to pray in the very beginning, I wouldn't have had to go through all that nonsense. Jesus gave me 5 instructions for when I get into a situation that produces anxiety...

1) trust in God that He is taking care of the situation either by dealing with me or the other person

2) trust in God that He is removing obstacles that are in my way and that He is protecting me

3) trust in God that He will tell me what to do

4) when I have done all that I am to do...STAND in peace, be strong and courageous

5) and when I am done standing in peace, then STAND in more peace

We were not created to operate in anxiety, but in peace. Choose to pray and trust Him the next time you get into a situation that normally causes anxiety in your life.

Fear of Rejection

Be strong and courageous! Do not fear or tremble before them, for the LORD your God is the one who is going with you. He will not fail you or abandon you!” (Deuteronomy 31:6 NET)

One of my biggest issues in my past was "fear of rejection." I wanted to be liked so much that I would do just about anything for people just so that they would like me and want to be around me. This lead into a whole bunch of other issues, which, thank God, He has worked out in me. Through our lives we will meet people that will like us and people that will reject us, thats reality. Jesus told me one day that there will be people that will reject me, they may reject me because of opinion, my abilities, my looks, etc....I just don't need to fear it! When we are being rejected by people, we need to remember that Jesus loves us and He will stand with us and He will never abandon us! When we get the reality of Jesus inside of us, it will no longer matter if people reject us, because we can rest assured that there is One, THE ONE, who absolutely and unconditionally loves us. Whenver you are feeling rejected by someone, take your eyes off of that someone, and put them on the One who loves you, Jesus...He will always be there and you will never need to fear rejection again!

Buttons

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NLT)

Sometimes, and usually it is most times, when we get angry, our anger is aimed in the wrong direction. The Apostle Paul said that are weapons are not "wordly" or "flesh and blood" weapons, but they are Godly weapons, used to destroy strongholds of human reasoning. Interesting that the only times the word "warfare" is used it is never in association with the devil, but with the human mind. Our own thoughts and perceptions are what get us out of peace and put us in anger and anxiety. Whenever someone does or says something that we do not like or that offend us, we get upset and angry with that person. But what is really happening is that a "button" was pushed inside of us that caused us to react. This is where the warfare takes place. Whenever someone says something to me that offends or angers me, I have to settle myself down first by saying "Kent, a button just got pushed inside of you so you need to settle down." I then say "Jesus, settle my soul" and I may have to say that 5, 10, 50 times, but He will do it. I then ask God "ok Lord, what just got pushed inside of me, why am I reacting this way to this person." When I do this, it takes the focus off of the anger toward the other person that offended me and puts it on the "button" that got pushed inside of me. At this point God will show me what happened and the healing begins. When we go to God and ask Him why (and not react to the other person), it is then that we can handle the situation in stability and peace.

Adding to what God said

Saul waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” Then he offered a burnt offering. Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. But Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul replied, “When I saw that the army had started to abandon me and that you didn’t come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the LORD’s favor.’ So I felt obligated to offer the burnt offering.” (1 Samuel 13:8-12 NET)

God, through the prophet Samuel, told Saul to wait for 7 days. Unfortunately Saul got impatient and started to go on his feelings. The 7th day was not completely over, but Saul decided to act on his own. Doing that went against what God said and Saul paid the price for it, which was the loss of his kingship over Israel. How many times does God tell you to do something, and then you decide to add to it? It has happened to me on a couple of occasions. When I started mountain biking God told me He wanted me to do this because it relaxes me. But then my brain took it further and I thought "I'm enjoying this so much I want to show others." One thing led to another and I started leading rides, work groups, etc. I started getting quite tired and over committed. Thing that God wanted me to do to relax me was now making me very tired. When I went to God about it, He said "I never told you to lead anything on the trails, I only told you to ride them." When God tells us to do something, we, as humans, tend to want to add to what God is saying, usually because we think we know better. Saul's story is a good example to do ONLY what God tells you to do. If more needs to be added to it, He will add it!

Its a Trust Thing

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.] (John 14:27 AMP)

One of the major issues that Christians have is a total trust in Jesus. We trust Him that He has taken care of our salvation and that He died for us on the cross so that we could have a relationship with God. It is beyond that where we have problems. When things don't go our way, when things happen that we don't understand and when things don't happen when we think they should happen. The disciples, when crossing the lake and even after spending time with Jesus, got upset because of a storm, which was happening while the son of God, was sleeping in the back of the boat. They didn't trust Him fully, they lacked belief that He would take care of them. The same it is with us. We get all stirred up, anxious, intimidated, cowardly and disturbed when something doesn't go the way we think it should...and why? Because we choose to behave this way instead of choosing to trust God. It is a choice. Yes, you can choose to be agitated and continue to get the results you are getting, or you can choose to trust God and walk in peace. When you walk in peace, it really doesn't matter what the outcome is, because your total trust is in Him. Next time you find yourself getting upset, stop, breath, and make the choice to trust God with the situation, and then let Him handle it. 

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

There are many plans in a person’s mind, but it is the counsel of the LORD which will stand. (Proverbs 19:21 NET)

God gave us a brain to use, but through experiences, influences and beliefs, we don't always make the right decisions...and trust me we are constantly making decisions. Now there are decisions that are just plain common sense. For example, if its cold outside, its a good decision to wear a jacket, or if you have a test coming up, it is a good decision to study for it. There are also decisions that we have to make that are not so "common sense," in fact they seem almost impossible to make, and likely will affect other people. These are the times we need to go to God for direction, and when He gives us direction, we need to follow through with it. Sometimes when God gives you the right direction to go, it may not make sense or seem logical, but it will ALWAYS become evident that it was the right decision down the road. It make take days, months, weeks or even years, but you will always, at that point, be able to look back and say "thank you God!" 

Saying Yes and Saying No

Indeed, my plans are not like your plans, and my deeds are not like your deeds, for just as the sky is higher than the earth, so my deeds are superior to your deeds and my plans superior to your plans. (Isaiah 55:8-9 NET)

Not so long ago I found I was doing everything, saying yes to everything, leading up work groups on the trails, leading two bands, teaching a college class...the list goes on. Eventually I was wearing out. Finally I had to ask God what is wrong with me. He said "I never told you to do all those things." Then it hit me, I was saying yes to everyone, I was wanting to do everything and be the best at everything. I thought that was what I was suppose to do. But God had other plans. In fact for each of us He has plans, things He wants us to do. I learned that whenever an opportunity comes up, I need to go to Him and ask Him, "is this what I need to be doing?" He sees the big picture, He knows what is best for me. His plans are definitely superior to my plans, and what He wants me to do is definitely better than what I want to do. Now you may have to say "no" to people, in fact I guarantee you will have to say "no" to people at times, and they may not like it. Just remember, they don't have to walk in your shoes, only you do. 

Distractions

...we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith...(Hebrews 12:1-2 NET)

The writer of Hebrews says we need to keep our focus on Jesus. That means that in everything we think and do, Jesus must be the focus. Its when we take our eyes off of Him that we get ourselves into trouble. For everything we do, no matter what we are doing, our eyes and focus should remain on Jesus. For example, when I had to write my last paper for school to complete my counseling degree, I sat down at my computer and started typing...my focus was on that paper. But then the distractions started, I spilled my glass of tea, someone knocked at the door, the dog pooped on the floor...you get the picture. These distractions took their toll, I lost my focus, I got angry and frustrated and it made for a really bad day. In essence I became a miserable person to be around that day. When these emotions start in you, these should be a "red flag" that your focus is no longer on Jesus, but on yourself. So when we experience that, we need to get before Jesus, repent, and meditate on Him, His presence and His word. Doing this will put your focus back on Jesus and bring into a more stable condition.

Acceptance

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. (Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT)

For most of my life I have had acceptance issues stemming from not receiving acceptance from my dad as I was growing up. As I entered into adulthood, I tried to get acceptance from people in destructive ways, such as people pleasing, saying "yes" to everything, co-dependency, etc. All of which never did get me the acceptance I was looking to fill that void. The funny thing is that I was already accepted by God, I just didn't know I was accepted by God. God said in His word, that He DECIDED, past tense (that means He already did this), to adopt me into His own family through Jesus. This means that when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, I was adopted or accepted into His family. In verse 4 it also says God loved me and chose me! So for most of my life I was trying to get something I already had! As Judge Judy says..."doesn't make sense!" If you are having acceptance issues, if you feel like you've never fit in with anyone, if you feel like nobody loves you and that you are all alone, don't believe that lie. God accepts you and loves you!

Letting Go of Regret

So for me, it is a minor matter that I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. (1 Corinthians 4:3 NET)

Every one of us have done things in our past that we regret, and it is that regret that keeps us from receiving God's love and forgiveness. The Apostle Paul, who wrote two thirds of the New Testament,  even he did horrible things in his past, but look at his words..."I do not even judge myself." Paul, who killed many Christians before having his encounter with Jesus, who probably could see the faces of each one he killed, had the opportunity to hold on to that regret, but he CHOSE not to judge himself any longer. Why? Because he knew he was forgiven and he knew he was loved by God. Each of those things we are holding on to are weighing us down, and on our own we can not let go. But with the help of Jesus, we can let go, that is our hope! With Jesus' help we can stop judging ourselves because He no longer judges us. Since we have accepted Jesus as our Saviour, He no longer judges us. If you are holding on to regret for things you did in the past, if you think that because of your past God could not love you or He could not forgive you, choose now to let go of the past. Ask Jesus to help you let go of your past and to receive His forgiveness.

Setting Your Limits

I am able to do all things through the one who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13 NET)

We all have physical limitations to us that keep us from doing certain things. For example, being 5 foot 7 inches tall, I can not jump 30 feet in the air. That is a physical impossibility. However most of our limitations come from our mind. When God tells us to do something, we say "I can't" or "It's impossible" or "I don't have the strength." Last July myself and my best friend went to Keystone Ski Area to do some downhill mountain biking. Going up the lift I was intimidated by the mountain and had anxiety about going downhill. The first run we took the green and blue runs (easy to moderate difficulties) and it was great. The second trip up the lift I had no anxiety. We took the black runs (advanced runs) going down the 2nd run. This was my limit, well I should say I was pushing my limit. I was very uncomfortable on the black runs...but I did them. Jesus told me I can do a lot more than what I think I can. My own limits hold me back from allowing Jesus to do what He wants to do in me. I need to let Him set my limits, not myself when it comes to things He wants to do through me. We all can really do more than what we think we can do. The next time God tells you to do something, don't let the limits you've placed in your mind keep you from doing it. He is telling you to do it because He knows it can be done...because He is the one giving you the strength to do it!

Shoes of Peace

And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:15 AMP)

The apostle Paul wrote Ephesians while in prison, and while he was there he had plenty of time to study the Roman soldier's uniform. Its no wonder why he said we need to put on the shoes of peace. The shoes the Roman soldier wore had spikes on the bottom of them, anywhere from 1/2 inch to 3 to 5 inches in length. These spikes kept them stable and solid when attacked by an enemy. What Paul was saying here is that we need to keep our peace (be emotionally stable), because when we do, we will remain stable, i.e. we will control our emotions and not the other way around. When our emotions control us, we are all over the place (unstable). For example,  if you are having a good day, and then suddenly the dog pees on your carpet and you start yelling and scolding the dog, then your emotions are controlling you. If you have just shoveled snow out of your driveway, and then you turn around and see the city plow just passed by your house and pushed a mound of snow into your driveway and you throw a fit, then your emotions are controlling you. Make a decision today, right now, to start walking in peace, no matter what your circumstances are. If you decide to walk in peace, then you will be able to handle any situation with stability of mind and emotion.

Do It Afraid

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you!

Don’t be frightened, for I am your God!

I strengthen you—

yes, I help you—

yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!

(Isaiah 41:10 NET)

There are certain natural fears that are inherent in us that keep us from harm. Some would call this common sense. For example, a fear of putting your hand in fire...it will get burnt, or a fear of jumping off a cliff...you will die. However there are also fears, or what I like to call unnatural fears, that keep us from following God. Some people have a fear of being in front of a group of people. So if God is calling you to speak to a group of people, this could be a problem. Some people have a fear of flying, but if God has called you to help people in other nations, then this could be a problem. Anytime God has called you to do something that you are afraid to do, then what you need to do is TRUST Him. Trust Him that He will help you, trust Him that He will strengthen you, and trust Him that He will uphold you with His saving hand. Even if after trusting Him you still have fear, then (and I’m going to steal a quote from Joyce Meyers) do whatever God is asking you to do afraid, just do it afraid. If you will step out in your fears, trusting that God will do what He says He will do, you will find that your fears will be conquered, and that He will take you to places that you never even dreamed of!

Listening for God's Voice

The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Look, the LORD is ready to pass by.” A very powerful wind went before the LORD, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12 NET)

God has given us abilities and wisdom to do some things in life. However there are many times that we just don't know what to do. It is these times that we need to seek God and listen for His voice. Unfortunately we hear so many voices we are not sure which one is His. We hear our own voice, we hear the voice of our friends, we hear the voice of "professionals" and it seems that when we are looking for God's voice, it should be the loudest of them all. This is just not the case. In fact, it is the opposite. Elijah found out that God's voice is a soft whisper. God is not going to come crashing in with the loudest voice (much like humans do), but He comes in with that soft whisper that not only brings the answer, but brings peace. I have found the best thing to do when I don't know what to do is to stop what I am doing, get by myself (if I can) to settle myself down and clear my head, then listen for that soft whisper.

The Master Surf Board Keeper

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:3-5 NLT)

Each one of us has baggage that we carry, or that we pick up through life that God needs to "buff" out. God gave me a picture of Jesus working on a surf board, sanding out imperfections on the board. He then said that I am the surf board that Jesus was working on, and the imperfections on the surf board that He was sanding out were imperfections there were from my past, and others were those that developed as I continued through life. So the surf board is always needing attention, inspecting, and maintenance (sanding out new imperfections). A surfboard is meant to stay on top of the water and on top of the waves. The waves are issues in life, and sometimes the wave will topple the board, but the board will always pop back up. Sometimes imperfections in the board will act as a rudder and steer the board off its desired path. But after the imperfection is buffed out, the board will go in its desired direction. So it is with life, issues that come up, the imperfections, that steer us off our desired course, but once they are addressed and we allow Jesus to sand/buff out the imperfection, then we get back on course. Now when Jesus addresses these imperfections in our lives, it is up to us to CHOOSE what to do when He speaks to us about it. We can continue on our way, off course, OR we can work with Him, sometimes enduring pain (sand is an abbrasive and put against the skin it will hurt), but if we continue to work with Him, through the pain, we get back on course. It is a CHOICE!

Let People Go

After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle. (Luke 15:13 NET)

In this story, the younger son, after getting all he wanted from his dad, decided to leave home and do his own thing.  Jesus never said that the dad held on to his son, or even tried to keep him from going. Instead, the dad let his son go. How many times has a loved one, whether it be a family member, friend, or whoever, wanted to walk out of your life (whether it be a good reason or a bad reason), but you tried so hard to hold on to them to keep them from going. I know I have, and it has always ended in disaster with both of us getting angry, resentful, upset, and the end result was that person left anyway. From this parable we can learn that when someone wants to walk out of your life, you have got to let them go, even if you know that what there are doing is going to end in a disaster. If you don't let them go, the harder you try to hold on to that person, the more they are going to want to leave. Yes, it will hurt when you let them go, but God is there to comfort your hurt and in doing so He will bring you peace. And if that person left a void, God will fill that with more of Himself. Remember, if someone wants to walk out of your life, let them go...pray for them, but let them go!

Road Map of Life

And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of God was upon Him. [Judg. 13:24; I Sam. 2:26.] (Luke 2:40 AMP)

Jesus is our perfect example of how to live life. He shows us what we need to do, and that is become strong in spirit and filled with wisdom. This is our "road map" on how to live life. On a road map, there are many highways and many different ways of going to a destination. Most of us, including myself, have looked at a map to see how to get somewhere and chosen the quickest route, but this isn't always the best route. In fact there are times we have to back track and find another route. However, Jesus knows the BEST route. It may not be the shortest, but it will always be the best route. There is only one way we can know which is the best route, and that is to grow strong in spirit and be filled with wisdom, and we do this by spending time with Jesus, learning from Him through His word, not just the written (logos) word, but also through the words He speaks to us specifically (rhema). By doing this He is preparing us for life, ie showing us the best route to take. He is preparing us to handle situations and problems that come up in our life. If you are not taking time each day to spend with the Creator, start now. If you are already spending time with your Creator, take it to the next level! 

God's Bandwagon

When the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord has made known to us.” So they hurried off and located Mary and Joseph, and found the baby lying in a manger. (Luke 2:15-16 NET)

Choices are a part of everyday life, both good and bad choices, but they are still part of life. When God tells us to do something, we have a choice to make, much like the shepherds did when the angel told them about Jesus' birth. The shepherds could have said "that's cool, but I have flocks to tend to, I'll go see this miracle later." Thank God they didn't choose that route, but instead they chose to get on God's bandwagon and they hurried to do it! When God tells us to do something, we can either get on His bandwagon and enjoy the ride, or we can let the concerns of what's around us, our own ambitions, our own wants and needs take a higher priority. When we choose ourselves, we miss out on the blessings of God as well as the opportunity to minister to others. When the shepherds got to Mary and Joseph, they told them and everyone aound them about what the angel told them, and everyone was praising God! When we get on God's bandwagon, we not only minister to others, but the end result is praise to God!

When God Speaks...

So Mary said, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (‭Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭38‬ NET)

When God spoke to Mary through the angel, He was telling her that she was going to give birth to the Savior of the world. Notice her response. She knew who she was, a servant of The Lord, and she accepted His word without "feedback." How many times does God tell us to do something, but then we give Him every excuse we can think of as to why we can't do what He wants us to do. We think we are so smart that we know better than God and we are trying to tell Him that He is wrong. First, if you are a believer, then you are a servant of God, not the other way around. Second, He sees the big picture. Third, it is Him doing it through you. If He is telling you to do something, He will give you what you need when you need it. So the next time God tells you to do something, your response should be like Mary's...let this happen according to Your word. When you do this, amazing things will happen, things you thought were impossible...remember nothing is impossible with God!

God Hears Your Prayers

But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you will name him John. (Luke 1:13 NET)

From the moment the words of our prayers leave our lips, they are heard by God. He has heard every word of every prayer that you have uttered to Him, whether it be loudly or just "under your breath." However, due to our impatience or our selfishness, when we don't get the answer right away or we don't get the answer we want, we think God didn't hear us. Luke 1:13 proves that thought to be wrong, because He does hear us and He does answer every prayer. He may not answer in the way we want or in our timing, but we have got to remember that He is God and He sees the big picture. When we pray to God, our job after that is to thank Him for the answer (even before we get the answer), and wait patiently for His answer.

The Take Away: He will answer because He has heard!


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Correcting Your Focus

But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:40-42 NET)

Mary knew what was important, and that was Jesus. She knew being in His presence was the thing to do. Yes, I'm sure Mary had things to do, but Jesus was her priority. Most of us, however, are like Martha, we have things to do, and sometimes a lot of things. Overtime those things begin to take the place of Jesus in our lives and they become our focus instead of Jesus. We need to be like Mary and put our focus on Jesus. When we do, we are free to hear what our Lord and Savior has to say to us, and then we see what He deems important.


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Gathering of Believers

And let us take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25 NET)

The writer of Hebrews had a very clear message in these two verses: it is vital to your development as a Christian that you find a body of believers to belong to and gather with. Why? Because this is where you will learn more about God, this is where you will be encouraged in your victories, this is where you will be comforted in your hurts, this is where we help each other live a Godly life by correcting, rebuking and exhorting each other. Some have taken this verse to the extreme by saying you can never miss a gathering. The results of this type of thinking is guilt, condemnation, feelings of inferiority, etc, all of which are not fruits of God. However if you consistently miss gatherings, then you need to check your motives for missing. We were created to be social beings, and God wants us to gather together. He wants us to share His word, His love, His healing and His encouragement with each other. We can't share any of this if we are alone. God's word is clear, we need to find a body of believers that we can meet with on a consistent basis.


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Forgiving Yourself

Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your sins.” (Mark 11:25 NET)

One of the hardest things for a person to do is to forgive themself. It is actually easier to forgive others, but to forgive yourself for something you did that you know is wrong, especially when it has hurt someone else, that's a tough one. But God said we must forgive anyone, and that includes ourself. If you have done something that you know is wrong, that you said you would never do, but did anyway, you will need to forgive yourself. If you have done something to someone that was hurt because of what you did, you will need to forgive yourself. One of the toughest things to do is to look at yourself in the mirror and say to yourself, "I forgive you." It is tough, and it may even hurt, but it is a necessity! You may have to do this several times, but we are instructed to do this in Mark 11:25.


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New Beginnings

Gen 1:1

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (NET)

Everything has to start from some place, and that is the beginning. Whenever God calls you to do something, whether it be some huge ministry or perhaps a small task, you have to start from somewhere, and that is the beginning. But too many times we will just jump into the task without seeking God's counsel and guidance, and then what ends up happening is we usually fall flat on our faces and wonder why it didn't work and was that really God calling me to do that. When God gives you a task to do, start at the beginning, seek His counsel and His guidance, ask Him what you should do and how you should do it.

A New Start...

After encouragement from my friends (and prompting from the Holy Spirit), I am starting my devotional blog again. While this will not be a daily occurrence (it could be daily at times), I am excited to start sharing the verses that have helped me in my life as well as share insights that the Holy Spirit is giving me when I have had my morning coffee in my cave. My cave is actually my bonus room above the garage that I have designed to look like a cave...hence Coffee in the Cave.

I would love to hear what y'all get out of the verses that I share, so please comment...in fact I encourage comments..and please share this blog with your friends. I'm not looking for arguments, but different views to the verses. I love how the Holy Spirit gives different insight to different people, so please share!!!!