SPEAK POSITIVELY

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.

…realize that much of your unhappiness in life is often because you are listening to yourself…” – adapted from Lloyd-Jones

Is that you?

Did you awaken today still befuddled or dragged down by the events of past days?  

Before that first cup of JOE, already complaining?  

Maybe the mere “effort” to wake up and face the mirror caused you to moan and groan before you uttered another syllable.

Is that the tone this morning?

Are you carrying the spoiling elements of past failures, past sin, and past disappointments into the freshness that is today?  

Or are you up and ready for what GOD has for today, prepared to embrace the freshness of His new mercy and grace, approaching the day zeal and possibility? 

What ARE YOU saying to yourself today?

This?

This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. 

Psalm 118:24 (TLB)

Or this…?

…I am standing here depressed and gloomy Psalm 42:6 (LB)

The truth is, what we speak over and to ourselves each day is a crucial element as to how we will handle and experience the day.  We CAN choose to continue to broadcast the complaints of the past or the lies of the enemy (we are not good enough, we failed, we will never live up to the expectations, we can’t…) or we can begin to speak truth from our mouths and into our ears!

Truth like this:

1 Peter 2:9 (MSG)

...you have been chosen by God himself—you are priests of the King, you are holy and pure, you are God’s very own—all this so that you may show to others how God called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Joyce Meyer makes this point…

"Sometimes you may feel discouraged, miserable, and depressed. In those times, you need to take a close look at what’s been going on in your mind. 

Isaiah 26:3 tells you when you keep your mind on the Lord you will have “perfect and constant peace.”

By focusing on the goodness of God and waiting, hoping, and expecting Him to encourage you and fill you with His peace and joy, you can overcome negative thoughts that drag you down. 

Think and SPEAK POSITIVELY. 

Begin believing right now that you are about to see God’s goodness in your life. 

Wait, hope, and expect His blessings to be abundant in your life.”

You have that choice today my friends.

Lord knows today at least 50% of us will be vehemently complaining before the day ends.  But we can’t control that outcome. 

And I know that days can be hideously unfair and worthy of complaint and stew. 

Yesterday in particular was a deluge of disappointment and the enemy would want nothing more than to have that bleed into today.

But I am going to work diligently to not allow the discouragement of November 7^th to taint the possibilities of the 8^th even though lurking over the immediate horizon are some potential disappointments.

  

No today, I am doing by best to rejoice in the day.

How about you?

GOD woke us up.  

He HAS pulled us from the darkness into HIS light one more day!  We are chosen!

He has something for us to do and it can’t be done well if we spend time and energy lamenting past mistakes or perceived inadequacies!

Let’s both remember that…

Let’s not let history interfere with today’s present!

Instead let’s speak POSITIVELY!

I love you all...

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

FEEL GOOD DOING

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.

I was honored to be a part of something called OVERCOMING this past Friday in Columbus. It was organized and presented by IGNITE (www.igniteourcity.com)

IGNITE is a band of amazing young people with a very simple message, “Helping People Help People”.

And that could have not been more evident given the 20+ agencies who filled the ballroom for networking on Friday.  Sober living, mental health, clinics, prevention teams, our Attorney General’s office, and many more were there.  IGNITE brought the “helping people” together with one very specific and very intentional objective, to link and help them HELP others.

Thomas Jefferson once uttered,

I believe that every human mind feels pleasure in doing good to another.

There IS great reward in “helping others”.  There is.

It is not only good for our brain health (which by the way is scientifically supported) but our SPIRIT HEALTH as well!

God is fair, and he will remember all the work you have done. He will remember that you showed your love to him by helping his people and that you continue to help them. - Hebrews 6:10 (ERV)

I appreciate that little nugget from the writer of Hebrews today.

THAT GOD looks down at us FAVORABLY and is deeply mindful of the HOW WE LOVED HIM by LOVING and HELPING others.

Yet while at this amazing event one of the organizers, a powerful dynamo of love for GOD and others, was a little “down”.  She had worked so hard and wanted a record turnout.  And while the Lincoln Theater was by no means empty, she was a little disappointed that MORE weren’t there.

There were amazing testimonies of deliverance, opportunities for connection and help, and leaders willing to wade into the challenges of the community to make a difference in the name of JESUS and she was sad more didn’t get their chance to be helped and inspired.

It was then I reminded her that NOT one good word or deed would go unnoticed by the LORD Himself and that if ALL she was organizing and sharing WAS unto the LORD, that the RIGHT AUDIENCE was there and for her to leave the rest, the IMPACT to GOD.  (Philippians 2:13)

She had clearly done her best.

I have been to roughly 90 events in 2016 and this one was top drawer. 

She had SERVED GOD and SERVED HIM WELL!

And as we were talking I was reminded of a lesson that a former colleague and friend had shared with me some time ago. That WHEN our “GOOD DOING” is UNTO the FATHER, we can be relieved of the outcomes of the work; we can confidently leave them in the hands of the Lord.

And that ties back to that little verse from Hebrews.  GOD will remember the WORK we do.  He IS PLEASED when we GLORIFY Him by doing what He asked us to do; love others.

So, let’s…

…be humble, and honor others more than yourselves. 4 Don’t be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too. Philippians 2:3-4 (ERV)

 …and do a little GOOD in the name of Jesus today. 

GOD will be pleased.  

Others will be loved and helped. 

And as Jefferson surmised, it will make you feel good too.

I love you all…

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE

SHAPING SEASON

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.

…when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete.

If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him James 1:2-4 (LB)

This along with this little passage from Paul…

we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently. (Romans 8:25 LB)

…have been in a heavy rotation for me in the last 8-10 weeks or so.

I am in a “rough” season.

And no, I am not ill.  I am not in lack.  

So, some might question just how “rough” it is.

Yet if James have said when the way is “confusing” then patience has a chance to grow or if he would have continued with "don’t try to squirm out of the refining" then perhaps the passage would be even more relevant to this season for me.

The truth of the matter is I am in a season in which my patience is being pressed.

A season of ministry sadly closed.  

A new season of ministry “seems” to on the horizon. 

I think I have even seen the “trailer” for it. 

And yet right now I am just waiting.  

And what makes me a little squirmy is that all around me I see that if the next season were to launch as I see it, how we could “help”.

But GOD is saying wait.  

GOD is saying “this is what I have for you right now” so rejoice and be glad in that even though I can’t quite figure what “that” is.

But I know GOD is not a GOD of confusion or chaos. (1 Corinthians 14:33).  He is a GOD of rest and access to WISDOM as James reminds.  So, in the waiting, I am to seek WISDOM.  In the waiting I am to TRUST for I must not be ready yet.

But I will be real.  I don’t like it.  

And ironically at a community drug event last night it seemed everyone I shared and chatted with were in the same boat.  

One was seeking the next step for her spouse who was restless and confused.  Another was seemingly being pulled in countless directions and when he sought the church for help, he was given the cold shoulder.  Another was so restless in her current state she wanted to throw in the towel which would be tragic because she is good at what she does.

And then the Lord had me pack things up and head to CEDARVILLE where a little gathering of concerned believers wanted to know what THEY could do to help their community.  

And it was there that GOD reminded me, the work that I am doing right now is the work I am supposed to be doing right now.

Eliot once said… “Destiny waits in the hand of God, shaping the still unshapen..” 

That is good.

For maybe you are a little like me now, “in between seasons”.  

Maybe you can envision what seems to be the next step or the next move, but GOD isn’t done “shaping” just yet.

Be patient.

We are to keep seeking GOD’s WISDOM and WILL for the day ahead; to stay trusting and patient.

We are to embrace the shaping.  

We are to identify anything that could be hindering and ask for GOD’S wisdom as to how to remove it.

And then as James reminds, when the time is RIGHT, GOD will have us ready for anything, FULL and COMPLETE and in the best SHAPE possible for the season ahead!

I love you all…

Have a blessed weekend!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE