Mud Man

He must have seen the glory beaming out of the one named Adam. He had to see the sunrise and sunset, creativity and passion, strength and love in the muddy mixture. He must have seen the majesty of untold greatness and the beauty of wholeness in this unfamiliar work of creation. Lucifer, in all his anger, resentment and bitterness must have seen Adam as a reflection of Almighty God. He must have shook in fear as he watched the Creator from a distance form, mold and shape the mud into man. Questions and worry must have invaded his mind as God etched away all imperfections to create His self-portrait. The fallen angels must have been uneasy as they observed the great Artist do His finest work. They must have anxiously paced and murmured amongst themselves. They had to wonder with great apprehension: “What is God up to now?” The scene, I’m sure, was like an audience in a theater entrenched in a movie leading up to the climax of the film. Nothing is more important than knowing what is next.

Then it happens. God, the Father, draws near to the hand crafted form of dirt. He looks deep into the eyes of the lifeless creation. As the fallen one’s silence them-selves in utter anticipation, God breathes deep, as do the fallen also. He releases His breath into His art form. Life giving breath. Not just any life, everlasting Life from the Father of all that is.

The climax has reached its summit. The fallen have reached a point of clamor and riotousness within its camp. Who knows what’s next with God’s making? They sense the atmosphere altering. And in God’s perfect timing, as if He was waiting for the cells, blood, nerve endings and all the infinite details that keep man physically alive, the eyes of His image abruptly open. The body violently gasps its first breath and moments later, softly says, “Abba”.

With a hostile piercing roar, the fallen cry out, “God has released His most glorious composition! More glorious than all that He has created. The music, songs and worship from this mud man will be superior to our Lucifer.”

Psalm 139:13-16(AMP)

¹³For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ I will confess and praise You for You are fearful and wonderful and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well. ¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].

If we could grasp, take hold and capture our depth of significance in our God, dramatic shifts in our thought, words and actions would take place. The creation of man and you is not to be looked at moderately, with restraint or with minor importance. You and I were created with the upmost thought and care. We were created with hands of a loving Father, the passion of Jesus and the strength of the Spirit.

Take this seriously.

You are supremely significant to God.

Today, start to read all the good the bible has to say about you and ask the Spirit to ingrain it into you so you can express it in your daily life.

Andy

Insecure God…Not!

God may be a jealous God,

But God is not insecure.

He wants no idols before you

because He’s jealous for you.

He knows the price you pay for that idol.

He knows you’re short changing yourself

with other idols.

He knows the idols make you idle in life.

He knows the idols are a covering for pain

or a symptom of addiction.

God may be a jealous God,

But God is not insecure.

He’s jealous for you.

Indulging in Fruit

John 5:6-7 When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to become well? [Are you really in earnest about getting well?] 

The invalid answered, Sir, I have nobody when the water is moving to put me into the pool; but while I am trying to come [into it] myself, somebody else steps down ahead of me. 

Think about this man’s response to Jesus. His statement gives us a very revealing look at his spiritual state.

To better understand this, we must clarify the meaning of the word “invalid”. This word has two pronunciations. 1) in-va-lid 2) in-val-id. Definition #2 means: an intended point or claim is not valid, is null or void. Definition #1, in which I will focus on, means: a person made weak or disabled by illness or injury.

Here’s the point. This man’s response revealed that he was not only physically disabled but also spiritually disabled. His first words to Jesus, who asked him a yes or no question, was a negative statement that had nothing to do with the question. He helped make him-self weak and disabled by the words that he spoke. Proverbs 18:21 states: Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]. If his first response to Jesus was negative, he had a mental stronghold of negativity. Negativity mastered him. He had been thinking negatively for so long that he couldn’t tell Jesus he wanted to be healed. The man was weakness, failure and self-pity and his tongue followed. He achieved what he thought and spoke every time.

 Unfortunately, this man’s life reveals a part of mankind and our nature of negativity. So what can we do differently? Proverbs 8:6-8 says: Hear, for I will speak excellent and princely things; and the opening of my lips shall be for right things. For my mouth shall utter truth, and wrongdoing is detestable and loathsome to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous (upright and in right standing with God); there is nothing contrary to truth or crooked in them. When we read the Word regularly and pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance, we can stop our tongues before they repeat the negative. We will have scripture to replace the negative thoughts. Then we can speak the truth of God’s Word, in faith, and see it come to pass.

“Next Level Thinking” requires us to search out our negative thoughts and words and align them with the Word of God.

Ask yourself today what fruit am I indulging in? Death or life? 

Invisible Chains

The chains of your past may have cut deep into your soul. If you still feel the pain of the chains, it's not the chains, it's the cut. 

You are free from the chains but the Lord needs to heal the cut. 
Let Him go there.

Don't we all have choice in our future? Most of us realize we have this choice daily. What most of us don't realize is the effect it will have on countless others for the good or bad.

God the Father gave Jesus a choice in the garden and He chose crucifixion because of the long term effect on your life.

What we do today, good or bad will make a difference in someone's life.

What will you do different today for the long term effect of someone you don't know?

He Upped The Ante Part 2

Last week we discussed the expectations Jesus has for us if we are to follow Him. In Matthew 5:20 Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness (your uprightness and your right standing with God) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” In addition He added to the requirement. In verses 21-22,27-28 He digs deeper into our spiritual pockets and makes it clear on what He expects of us concerning our heart and mind.

When Jesus brings in these additional verses, He is stating that we have the responsibility to control what goes on in our mind and heart. Jesus also said in verse 48, “We are to be perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect.” He is making it very clear that we must, at all times, be conscious and cautious about our thoughts. In Philippians 2, Paul says to “work out our salvation.” He later goes on to say that part of doing that is to do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless… If we grumble and complain, it is because of our mindset. Wow! To be perfect as God the Father and prove ourselves blameless, are some big commands.

The bible is trying to teach us that the bottom line is we must take responsibility for our own thinking. Before Christ came and died and rose again for us, God said, “"My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9) But now that Jesus came and gave us a new and better covenant, as Christians, we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16) We don’t have any excuses to think differently than Him.

So how do we start thinking like Christ? Here are some pointers.

1. Remind yourself daily that it is your responsibility to change your thinking for the better. No one else can make you think differently.

Others can give you different perspectives on subjects but that is all they can do for you.

2. Read the bible. It is the surest way to find out how the Lord thinks. Proverbs gives insight to His wisdom and the Psalms give insight to His great love for us.

3. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the areas of thought that need to change in your life. He will show you and He will help you change those thoughts.

“Next Level Thinking” requires us to take responsibility for our own thinking patterns. Then we can take action to remove those patterns and replace them with God thoughts.

Some thought patterns can lead to self defeating behavior. Find an area in your life you wish was different. Ask yourself: What is a present thought pattern, I could change today, to change my life in the future?

Be Thoroughly Patient

James 1:4 AMP

But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.

    The best long distance runners not only need to be physically tough but also mentally tough. They must be patient or have much patience to get to the finish line. What does patience mean? This is how the dictionary defines patience: The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

    Paul said: let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and  let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, (Hebrews 12:1 AMP)

    We all know what the sins are. The bible makes it clear what they are. But it is the encumbrances that it doesn’t name. Could it be that a negative attitude is an unnecessary weight that clings to and entangles us? I think so.

    Let’s break this down. The word attitude is defined: A settled way of thinking or feeling, typically reflected in a person's behavior.

    Many of us have decided that we want everything fast. Hamburgers, weight loss, and answers to our prayers. Yet we know that anything good is worth waiting for. Personally I’d rather wait for a great tasting burger than have a fast food burger. Health professionals tell us to loose weight slowly so it will be easier to keep it off. And as for prayers, we all know they don’t always get answered when we would like. And to make things worse, the bible says to let patience have full play and do a thorough work… in us. I’m not so sure that I’m being comforted by the scriptures right now. But there is good news.

 Paul says in 1 Cor. 9:24(AMP): “run [your race] that you may lay hold of the prize and make it yours.”Now the questions becomes: “What is the prize?” This takes us back to James 1:4. One of the prizes is  patience mixed with endurance and steadfastness will help us be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. This is wonderful news to me because sometimes I feel like I’m not much of a person to be admired by God. These scriptures remind me I have purpose in this life. They remind me, God will complete the good work He started in me. They help me to remember, with the Word and the Holy Spirit, I will become more and more like Jesus.                                                                                                                                     

    Next Level Thinking embraces perseverance knowing there is a prize at the end of the race.

    I challenged you today to let James 1:4 be a prayer for your life.

He Upped the Ante Part 1

Sometimes I think the way Jesus presented His messages was a little unusual, . He would say these wonderful truths, then seemingly change the subject in a moments notice. For instance, the famous sermon on the mount in Matthew 5. Jesus starts out with the “Blessed are they” speech. It’s basically an “everything is beautiful” feel good message. (v3-v11) Then He says, (paraphrased) “Now that you know you are blessed because of God, don’t hide it. Let your light shine.” (v13-v16) After that it turns a little rigid. Jesus makes a very strong statement concerning the law of the prophets. He says: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20)

What the heck happened? Jesus went from everything is beautiful to unless your righteousness (your uprightness and your right standing with God) is more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The scribes and Pharisees were the religious elite. They had studied scripture for years. If anyone knew the law, it was them. Read the book of Leviticus. You will find it very detailed in describing how to do everything according to the law. There was no way these people listening to Jesus could practice the law better than the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus just upped the ante.

It gets worse! Jesus first clarifies what righteousness physically looks like in the eyes of God. Now He digs deeper into our spiritual pockets and makes it clear on what He expects of us concerning our heart and mind. Verses 21-22 make the point if we harbor anger against someone it’s the same as killing someone. Verses 27-28 add to the problem. Having evil desire for a woman is as committing adultery in our heart. Again, Jesus just upped the ante.

I have two points to make. Here’s the first. Jesus was setting up the death and resurrection prophecy. He was reminding the people of their need for a savior. He was making it very clear that it is impossible to be righteous enough, on our own, to be accepted into the kingdom of God. (Isaiah 64:6) The sermon on the mount was like an opening statement in a courthouse for the accused. In this case we are the accused. And we have been found guilty because of one man. (Romans 5:18) Jesus reminds us, in the sermon on the mount, that we completely fall short of being able to meet the requirements of the law. (Romans 3:23) He is refreshing our memory of why He came to earth. He came to fulfill the law because we can’t. He came so we could enter the kingdom of God with one simple decision. The decision to follow Him. The law required a sacrifice. He came to fulfill it and He did with His death and resurrection. He did it so we could enter the kingdom of heaven to live with Him forever. He did it to pay the price that we cannot pay to be in right standing with the Father.

“Next Level Thinking” fully accepts the price that Jesus paid for our sin. It fully accepts that we can live under His grace. It fully accepts that we don’t have to try to fulfill the law. (Romans 8:2)

Are you still trying to fulfill the law?

Are you still trying to earn your salvation?

If so, ask the Lord to reveal to you the power of His grace and the depth of His love for you.

Next week I will share with you part 2.

I appreciate your comments.

To hear the audio version of this article, visit http://audioboo.fm/boos/756155-he-upped-the-ante-part-1

Pass The Salt

Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt, [so that you may never be at a loss] to know how you ought to answer anyone [who puts a question to you]. (Colossians 4:6 Amp)

My friend once told me a trick he used to help him avoid eating all the food on his plate lest he over eat. He would open the salt shaker and pour salt over the remaining food. I’m not so sure it was a good plan. It may have solved the issue at the moment but what about the discipline it takes to live a healthy lifestyle.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, in part, the importance of following the teachings of Jesus. They were being lured into thinking that Jesus was not Lord and that He was insufficient. Paul had an interesting way of urging the Colossians to continue to believe in the lordship and sufficiency of Jesus. He writes,

“That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, acquaintance, and recognition]. [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy, “(Colossians 1:10-11)

There is a load of teaching in these scriptures but I will focus on one thought. Paul is talking about our conduct. Though we cannot, in any way, earn our salvation, we still must work out our salvation. (Philippians 2:12) We do this as a response to love, not as a requirement.

Now back to the opening text. “Let your speech at all times be gracious (pleasant and winsome), seasoned [as it were] with salt…” For many of us, this can be very difficult. It will take discipline and not some trick to fulfill this request. But it is not impossible. Here are a few steps that will help you to be disciplined in your speech.

1.     Think before you speak.

a.     Ask yourself if the words you are about to speak are going to add flavor to the conversation or will you be dumping the whole salt shaker of salt on it. If you are dumping the all the salt, you will leave a bitter taste with someone.

2.     Ask the Spirit to help you daily with your speech.

a.     The Spirit is our Counselor. He will help you in your time of need and will show you your thought process. Your thought process precedes the words that you choose. When this is revealed, you then can work on changing your words.

3.     Ask the Spirit to help you walk in love.

a.     God is love. The more you are like Him the easier it is to respond in love.

Paul was trying to teach us that our words make a difference in how our testimony is perceived by others. Jesus said we are the salt of the earth, therefore we must decide, before we speak, how much salt to put in our every day conversation. “Next Level Thinking” disciplines us to think before we speak. Then we can make a choice of words before we open our mouth. Think of your mind as a salt shaker. Your mouth is the lid. Choosing the wrong words to speak is like opening the lid to the salt shaker and pouring out all the salt.

Ask the Spirit of God to show you the choice of words that you need to change in your thoughts and in your conversation.


To listen to the audio version visit: http://bit.ly/Hxda1s

Fill In The Blank

As a man thinks,
So is he.
Thinking Negative = Death
Thinking Positive = ( You fill in the blank.)

Think Of The Good Things