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

The Blame Stops Here!

I’ve heard it for years. The “Blame Game”. Family, friends and co-workers blame, blame, blame. I did it for many years.  But what good does it do? Does it somehow solve problems? Does it strengthen relationships? Does it insure a strong future for you or others? Of course not.

So why do we blame?

v Blame can give us a false sense of self-confidence.                                

      

   +  If we fail at a project or relationship, blaming someone else 

       could make us feel as if we gave it our best shot.

v It can shift negative attention off us and cast else where.                                            

   +  We might say, I can’t lose weight because of the way my 

       parents treated me.

v It can give us a sense of self-righteousness.                                                                

   +  We may hear from someone, I’m divorced because she is 

       immature.

Blaming others is never justified. Read the story of Adam and Eve. After they ate of the forbidden fruit, God called out to Adam and asked, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Adam responded saying, “The woman whom You gave to be with me--she gave me [fruit] from the tree, and I ate.” Adam blamed Eve. Then God asked Eve, “What have you done?” She replied, “The serpent seduced me, and I ate." It all sounds like blame to me. Think about this a moment. What did they really think they would accomplish by blaming others?

I think the act of disobedience changed their level of faith in God’s love for them. For them to blame others for their disobedience, they must have lost the belief that God fully loved them and would redeem them. The blame they put on others was a spiritual fig leaf, to try to cover their sin. They were trying to tell God that they were still good people. When we blame others for our sin, mistakes or shortcomings, we are simply saying we don’t truly believe God can forgive us, restore us and change us. When Christians blame, it is denying the redeeming power of Jesus the Christ. Blaming is trying to justify ourselves. It is an act of trying to show others our righteousness. Instead of admitting our lack of character or integrity, we blame.

So what is the answer to this hypocrisy. We must fully submit to living under the grace of God. When we do, He then can shape us and mold us into His image.

Next level thinking requires us to take full responsibility for our mistakes. Then and only then can we fully rely on our Redeemer to make us who we ought to be.

Here is a question to ponder.

Day to day, how do you blame others for the part of your life you do not like?

Andy

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?

Next Level Thinking Manifesto

Next Level Thinking Manifesto

I will not speak calamity

I will not let my mind harbor fear.

I will not let my mind live in the past.

I will take responsibility for my thinking.

I will learn to keep my tongue under control.

I will think and speak of unlimited opportunity.

I will pursue positive, productive and powerful thoughts.

I will not blame others or circumstances for my life today.

I will train my mind to live by principles and not by my feelings.

I will not let my mind harbor anger, resentment or unforgiveness.

I will take every thought captive and sift it through high level values.

I will choose daily to think purposeful, deliberate and meaningful thoughts.

I will not speak any negative, critical or demeaning thoughts about myself or others.

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.

Filled To The Brim With Garbage

Our society has slowly eliminated the

"Is the glass half empty or half full?" analogy.

Since we are totally affixed to the on-line,

blogging, cable TV world, we are always

being filled to the brim with garbage.

We as individuals must engage in a mental

battle to keep our glasses overflowing with

good, positive and uplifting thoughts.

We truly are the artist of our own future.

And it starts with what we are thinking.

And to fully have a successfully fulfilled

life we must have Next Level Thinking.








If you would like to hear this in audio form go to:
http://audioboo.fm/boos/648238-thoughts-on-filling-our-mind