EXCELLENT

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

“Have to sow excellent seeds to have an excellent life. Must start with sowing excellent thoughts.” ― John C. Maxwell

Are you sowing excellent thoughts this morning?

Or are you stuck in a rut of negativity? Are you awake and receptive to GOD’s perspective for you and this day or is your past and an attitude of doom and gloom at the helm?

Now, I am not naïve.

Tough homes, tough relationships, the consequence of bad influences and poor decisions serve to shape our perceptions and our attitudes and I realize for some the “I can do its” and "I could do that’s” have been squashed under the weight of “I cant’s” and “never will’s”.

But you have the power to change that!

Pitch that pessimism today and begin believing some TRUTH!

Like in CHRIST, “YOU CAN!”

You CAN recover! You CAN experience blessing in life! You CAN have healthy and happy relationships! That doors will open, opportunities will surface and favor can and will be yours! How do I know?

THE BIBLE TELLS ME so!

whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he shines forever without change or shadow.

James 1:17 (LB)

So, avoid the lies of the enemy today, even if you have been hamstrung by them for years. Turn a deaf ear today. Pay them no attention; leave them at the side of the road. Cease to let them have influence in your mind and spirit today!

They and him are not worth your time or energy.

They are lies after all (John 8:44)

Let go of lies like:

“I need to be more like someone else,”

“I don’t have anything to offer,”

“I am who others say I am”,

“This compulsion has me”,

“I am a victim of circumstances”,

“GOD can’t love me.”

Don’t believe a word of it!

Those are NOT EXCELLENT thoughts!

Instead fill up your mind with truth today..."excellent thoughts"!

Thoughts like…

(YOU) are (a child, we are) children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of GOD and joint heirs with Christ...Romans 8:16 (NKJV) 

That YOU ARE fearfully and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:14)

Believe it, act like it, speak it and live it!

Remember…

you are...His own special people...(1 Peter 2:9 NKJV)

And never forget my friends…

God is (ALWAYS) up to something. It is up to you to reach out to find what God is up to for you.” ― Robert Schuler 

And I am confident it is EXCELLENT!

So, think on THOSE things! (Philippians 4:8)

And REAP an excellent day.

I love you all.

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

NO DISAPPEARING ACTS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

1 John 3:16-17 (MSG)

This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? 

It disappears. And you made it disappear.

I love a good magic trick.

Beth likes that America’s Got Talent show.  I struggle to watch it because I can’t watch the ones that “aren’t talented” get ridiculed or buzzed off.  It is the reason I never could and likely won’t watch American Idol.  My daughter Samantha has the same ailment.

But Beth usually watches AGT “on demand”, so if it looks like an act is going to get run, then we can fast forward past the cringe-worthy moments.

Yet on AGT they often have some pretty remarkable escape artists and magicians.  Folks who channel Houdini and get themselves out of precarious situations or perform illusions with cards and such often making something disappear.  That stuff always fascinates me.  I know I am a little naïve and daft and I think that makes the illusion all the better; I don’t try to cynically figure it out, I just think it is cool.

But John in the passage I referenced above reminds us that WE are not to be illusionists or magicians when it comes to sacrifice, grace, forgiveness, mercy and most notably, GOD’S LOVE!

John makes it clear, we have an important responsibility, to sacrifice when necessary so that GOD’S love can be on display and NOT part of a disappearing act.

If you want to be loved, start loving others who need your love....If you want others to sympathize with you, start showing sympathy to those around you. If you want to be respected, you must learn to be respectful to everyone, both young and old....Whatever you want others to be, first be that yourself; then you will find others responding in like manner to you. – Yogonanda

I like that.

So, John offers some simple instruction for us today.

1.   Live sacrificially. – (Philippians 2:4)

2.   Live generously – (Proverbs 11:24)

3.  Live WARMLY – no “cold shoulders” today.

4.   Live LOVINGLY – (1 John 4:11)

Do that and we won’t be responsible for any disappearing deity.

Remember…

The Bible says that when we obey God’s commands, we benefit.  I think we naturally assume that if we look out for our own interests and concerns, we will be happy.  But people who sacrifice for others will tell you that seasons of giving are the most rewarding of their lives. - Francis Chan

Be blessed today!

I love you all.

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

MAKE A LITTLE MARGIN

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Galatians 5:13 (MSG)

…use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself.

What do you have planned today?

Does it include “serving another in love”?  

What about just loving or affirming another?

I know, I know you are extremely busy today; errands to run, practices to attend, lots and lots of STUFF. But can I encourage you to grab your day planner and look for some white space, a little MARGIN or a gap in today’s proceedings and get creative.

Today could be the day that your love of another might make all the difference!

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”

----Leo Buscaglia

Got time to pray for someone?

Got time to make an encouraging phone call? Got time to drop your change in the Ronald McDonald House container at the drive thru or the Tim Horton’s camp collection after grabbing your latte’?

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” ― Aesop

How about we try today to find that margin of gentleness, to affirm another. 

How about today we extend some grace?

For when we do, we are taking on the very character of Christ.

Philippians 2:7-8 (MSG)

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.

He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.

Not at all.

When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life…

Jesus served.

Jesus was never selfish, always selfless.

Jesus was never haughty, always humble!

Can we do the same?

You don’t need a degree to serve or any special training or class-work. It just takes awareness.

Look around you. The needs are there.

“Love the overlooked. Jesus sits in your classroom, wearing the thick glasses, outdated clothing, and a sad face. You’ve seen him. He’s Jesus.  Jesus works in your office. Pregnant again, she shows up to work late and tired. No one knows the father. According to water-cooler rumors, even she doesn’t know the father. You’ve seen her. She’s Jesus. When you talk to the lonely student, befriend the weary mom, you love Jesus.” -Lucado

When you reach out, serve, and offer HOPE and POSSIBILITIES to the addicted, the discarded and the damaged, you EXTEND JESUS…

Delaney

We can do that can’t we?

Affirm? Love? Serve?  A good action not only brings good fortune, it brings God’s attention & He notices the actions of servants.

After all GOD sent his Son to be one.

Be blessed today!

I love you all.

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE