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Archive for the ‘Motivation’ Category

What Are You Filling Your Spirit With?

11 May

You’re a sponge.

You’ve have been a sponge since the day you were born.

We’ve all heard the adage you are what you eat.  The real matter of fact is you are what you absorb intellectually and spiritually.

It’s true, if you don’t eat healthy it will catch up with you and your body will start to remind you of that as life goes along. 

What you put into your mind on the other hand is how you run your life.  We have a tendency to spend our time doing what’s most important to us.  It is a direct reflection of who we are.

If you don’t like the opera are you going to spend much time at the opera?  Probably not.  Could we then call you an opera enthusiast?  Probably not.

You are what you feed your body.  Are you watching shows on TV that break all Ten Commandments, but then not taking any time to watch godly programming?  What are we feeding ourselves?

Are we listening to the secular radio?  Have you heard the words to songs?  I have to ask the question because the words are absolute darkness.  Are you listening to talk radio?  All of it may be entertaining, but it isn’t spiritually healthy.

Matthew 6:22-23 –  22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

I used to listen to almost all secular music.  Usually the older stuff as the newer didn’t do much for me.  My Wife only listened to the Christian radio station.  She was feeding herself with the word of God.  When the music came on she was listening to someone else singing praises to the Lord.  Guess what?  When she started singing along with them, who was she glorifying?

Jesus! God!  The Holy Spirit!

Who and what are we singing about when we are listening to other stuff?

All my rowdy friends?
Margaritaville?
She’s buying what kind of stairway?
You are on a highway to where?

Most of us know all these songs that and the list goes on and on.  

Guess what, you still going to like the beat of your old favorites.  When they come on at a reception, your passing through and can’t find something else on your going to want to stop and listen.

Here’s my challenge to you.  Start filling your spirit with good spiritual God loving stuff.  Like His Word, Christian television, Christian music, etc.  You are what you take in.  Make the effort today.  You will find yourself thinking more of Jesus.  You will find yourself praising God automatically.  You will find yourself leaning on God for help, healing, and your needs being met. 

Instead of doing something and the song in head being Hells Bells or Welcome to the Jungle, it will start to become “I was made to love You” by Toby Mac.  It will be “Blessed be the name of the Lord” by the Newsboys and Rebecca St. James.

When people start trying to tell you join them in doing things that are contradictory to what the Lord wants you to do, a voice from the Holy Spirit will go off in your head.  Why, because you have been reading his word which is the Bible.  If you’re not reading the Word and you don’t know it, you can’t.

Life is a walk.  You don’t just stop everything 100 percent and start everything 100 on a moment’s notice.

My challenge to you is to start listening to more Christian television, more Christian music, and please if you know Jesus as your savior, please get into the Bible. 

You’re a sponge.  Every one of us is a sponge.

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Motivation

 

The Greatest Commandment – Part 2

10 May

Yesterday we hit on the most important commandment.  Today we will hit the second, which is like it. 

Matthew 22:34-40 – 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Love your neighbor as yourself.  Would we have the problems in this world that we now have if we were more concerned about others versus ourselves?

The answer is no.  We’re sinful selfish creatures. 

If two married people only cared 100% about the other person would that marriage fail?  No.

If the people around you cared more about you and you cared more about them than you do yourself, what kind of world would it be?

You see this is how it was supposed to be before the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden.  The system received a short circuit.

Where did the phrases “I’m going to take care of number one”, or “I’m looking out for numero uno”, come from?

You think it came from God?  Fwamp!  That’s the sound of my wrong answer button.

Oh, here’s a classic, “God helps those who helps themselves.”  Yikes.

Do I really even need to tear this one apart?  This statement is so far from Love your neighbor it’s ridiculous.

So what’s the number one reason we fail at the second most important commandment?

Because it’s all about, ME! It’s about being S-E-L-F-I-S-H-!

My observation and what I see is this.  The more were hooked into God the more we have victory over our sinful nature.  Thus in this area, we start thinking a little less of ME, and a little more on the practice of caring about others.

In the last days the ME factor is rampant.  There will be many scriptures and many posts coming in the future on this topic. 

It is essential that we love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.  It is also essential that we love others as much as we do ourselves.  Why?  Because the Lord didn’t request it, suggest it, or wish it.  He commands it!

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation

 

The Greatest Commandment – Part 1

09 May

Matthew 22:34-40 – 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The first and most important commandment Jesus reminds us is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Simply stated that’s a command to make him number one, before anything else in our lives.  Before we think of ourselves, our wants, our goals, even our family, we are supposed to give it all to God first.

Here’s where the trickle down method finally does work.  Once you serve God and love Him with every fiber of your being and seek what He wants for your life, the rest will fall into place.

You see He wants you to take care of your family.  He wants you to make Him first in your family.  He wants you to pass this commandment onto them and have you all serve Him every day. 

God wants you.  He wants your love and He isn’t looking for a robot that has no choice. 

But just as your children have a choice, you want them to love you.  You want them to make the right decisions.  You want them to have a respectful loving relationship with you.  Your desire is to reward them and take care of them.

Unless of course, they’re bent on evil.  They never call you on the phone.  They never care to know how you’re doing.  They’re too busy fulfilling their selfish desires, or worse.

Do you still love them?  Let me answer that one for you.  You should.  I would like to also add right here that if you are in this situation, pray.  Every day.  Don’t under estimate the power of prayer.  Satan would love for you to under estimate the power of prayer.

God has given us a model in many things in our lives that we either overlook or choose to ignore and this is one them.  God loves us as His children and constantly wants us to snap out of it and reconnect.

The greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Yet in our society and in these last days, were lucky if we squeeze in 60 seconds for Him.

Tomorrow is the second most important commandment, which “is like it.”

 
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Posted in Encouragement, Inspiration, Motivation

 

Everybody Dies – What’s Your Plans?

08 May

You plan to go on vacation.

You plan many times what you’re going to have for dinner.

Any organization in your life calls for planning.

This earthly body is going to die.  Even in the Rapture this earthly body dies.  What’s your plan?  Pretty important when you think about it. 

If you’re not thinking about it, start.

Closing your eyes and cupping your ears and yelling lalalalala, isn’t the answer.

You’re eternal destiny is going to become real important, real fast when the body stops breathing.

I hope you choose Jesus.  If you don’t know him as your Savior I have a page dedicated to that very thing in the right upper column.

 
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Posted in Motivation, Salvation

 

Let Go, Let God

06 May

Let Go, Let God

If you let Him, God will take care of you 100 percent.

What does that mean?

It means God knows what’s better for you, than you do.

But you say, “Patrick I know what I want.  Nobody else knows what I want, better than me.”

That very well may be true.    

A lot of people know what they want.  A lot of people are driven and go out and get that very thing.  In America it’s called dare to be great.  But is what God wants for you, the same as what you want for you?

I can’t help but to go to a verse that you will see a lot with me.

Proverbs 14:12 – 12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

For the most part it’s easy for us to think worldly, not heavenly.  It’s part of the fall. 

The more you connect with God, plug that branch (you) into the Tree (Jesus and the Holy Spirit), the more you will grow.   

Psalm 23:3 – 3 he restores my soul.  He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Proverbs 4:10-13 – 10 Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. 11 I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 12 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.  13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.

Jesus wants us to jump in.  He wants us to commit to God and concentrate on the big picture in the end.  He reminds us in Luke 17:33 – 33Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

We need to do a lot less of ME, and a lot more of HIM.

Let Go!  Let God!

 
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Posted in Inspiration, Motivation

 

Worldly Goals Can Be Blinding-Part 2

03 May

Now for Part 2.  Continued from yesterday.

God and Jesus are not fond of laziness as we read yesterday.  So let’s now do a little more research on what the Bible has to say about ones focus and hard work.Matthew 6:19-21 – 19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 12:  –  14Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

 16And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.‘

 18“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” 20“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21“This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Matthew 19:   – 21Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”  22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

These are not the only warnings we get in the New Testament.  Why so much on this topic in the New Testament?  Because I believe it is the number one warning we need, especially in our day.

If you are an ambitious Christian who has focused his life too much on this earth and not enough towards the Kingdom of God, today is a new day. 

Start putting your ambition to work for the Kingdom of God.  Start storing up treasures in Heaven.  Start working for your crowns that will last forever.

You know who you are.  You’re a talent.  Each one of you has a ministry.  Start using your talent and ambition to further the Kingdom of God in these last days.  What you do for Him lasts forever, everything else passes away.

 
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Worldly Goals Can Be Blinding-Part 1

02 May

I know many talented individuals and go getters in this world.  They are driven.  They set their sights on a goal and they either accomplish it or give it all in their defeat.

There’s a problem though.  This Earth is for only 80 years maximum or at least before the body starts to put on the brakes.  You really don’t get out and start doing your hard work and building your achievements until you’re at least 30 on the average.  So were talking 50 years to enjoy the fruits of your labor, if you live that long.

Nothing wrong with ambition, in fact the complete opposite is laziness. 

God loves hard work and there is nowhere in the bible that praises laziness.  Solomon wrote on it quite a bit.

Proverbs 10:4 – 4 Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.

Proverbs 6: – 6 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! 7 It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, 8 yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. 9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? 10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- 11 and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Jesus in the parable of the talents finishes it like this.

Matthew 25: – 26“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Now this parable has a lot to it, but I think you get the point on where I was going with it.  God and Jesus are clearly not socialists by the definition of this parable.   They want you to work and there not to crazy on laziness.

Tomorrow we will wrap up this message concerning hard work.

 
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Even In The Small Things Praise the Lord

01 May

We all know we should praise the Lord.  Yet most of us don’t praise Him enough.  

I typed in -Praise the Lord- on the NIV version of the bible and it came up 100 times in the book of Psalms.  David knew the importance of praising the Lord in all you do.

We take for granted the small things in life.  The shelter we live in and the food He has provided.  The safety we have right now.

There are the other areas in our life when something may get canceled that we were looking forward to.  We don’t know the future and it may very well have been for our own safety.  Our car trip may get delayed just 15 seconds because of something that would have happened if not for the intervention of the Lord.  We need to Praise the Lord even when nothing spectacular happens, because even when you don’t understand it, He has your back if you are serving Him. 

If you’re like my wife and I and you misplace things more often than you want to, pray that the Lord helps you find it.  When He does and it’s usually right away, praise and thank Him for that.

I want to finish today by having you read a Psalm of David.  It is one many that he dedicated to Praising the Lord.

Psalm Chapter 145:
1 I will extol You, my God, O King;
         And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
 2 Every day I will bless You,
         And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
 3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
         And His greatness is unsearchable.
         
 4 One generation shall praise Your works to another,
         And shall declare Your mighty acts.
 5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
         And on Your wondrous works.
 6 Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts,
         And I will declare Your greatness.
 7 They shall utter the memory of Your great goodness,
         And shall sing of Your righteousness.
         
 8 The LORD is gracious and full of compassion,
         Slow to anger and great in mercy.
 9 The LORD is good to all,
         And His tender mercies are over all His works.
         
 10 All Your works shall praise You, O LORD,
         And Your saints shall bless You.
 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom,
         And talk of Your power,
 12 To make known to the sons of men His mighty acts,
         And the glorious majesty of His kingdom.
 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
         And Your dominion endures throughout all generations.
         
 14 The LORD upholds all who fall,
         And raises up all who are bowed down.
 15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
         And You give them their food in due season.
 16 You open Your hand
         And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
         
 17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways,
         Gracious in all His works.
 18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,
         To all who call upon Him in truth.
 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;
         He also will hear their cry and save them.
 20 The LORD preserves all who love Him,
         But all the wicked He will destroy.
 21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD,
         And all flesh shall bless His holy name
         Forever and ever.

 
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Does The Idea Of It Being The End Times Scare You

29 Apr

If we are living in the end times, does the idea of that scare you?

I’m not going to lie to you, if you don’t have Jesus as your Lord and Savior it should.  I have studied Revelation, Daniel, and the end times in the bible and for those left on earth it’s ugly.

The seven year tribulation is God’s wrath for those who have rejected him.  The Last 3 and half years of the tribulation is the devils hell on earth tour, after getting kicked out of heaven. 

In short, you don’t want to be here.

If you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I believe you will be saved from the wrath that is to come.

1 Thessolonians 1:10 – 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.

1 Thessolonians 5:9 – 9For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There are other scriptures also that I believe indicate Christians will be spared from the seven year tribulation.  I’m refered to as a pre-trib rapture guy.  I will be going over those scriptures more in future posts when I do write on the rapture.  However we still can go through trials and tribulation on this earth as it states in the Bible, just like many of our brothers and sisters in the Lord all over the world are experiencing today. 

What’s the difference?  The Bible says the seven year tribulation is God’s wrath.

Another personal thought I’d like to share is I believe Jesus wants us to be excited about his coming again for the Church.  In all honesty I trust the Lord completely and whatever plans he has for me in these last days I will do it and do it lovingly.  But if the Church is supposed to be slaughtered in the last days as tribulation saints, my excitement wouldn’t be there like it is right now.  I believe the scriptures give us a reason to be excited.    

As I stated I plan to do many posts on the rapture in the future, but right now if you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior I want to encourage you to do so now.  There are tribulation saints that do have to reject the mark of the beast and will die for their faith in Jesus, but I believe those are new Christians that missed the rapture.  Don’t miss it.  Go over to the “How To Accept Jesus Page” on the upper right column of this blog.  It will show you the simple step of how to accept the Lord and how to get started in your new walk.    

 
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Posted in Bible Prophecy, Encouragement, Motivation, Salvation

 

God Can’t Be Two Or More Completely Different Characters

28 Apr

There is a big generic belief that God is something different to every individual depending on what that individual believes.

This is impossible.  Let me explain.

God can’t be the God of the Jewish people, promise them that they will eventually live in the land he promised them, while at the same time be the God that wants all of his followers to kill the Jews and drive them into the Red Sea. 

Now it is possible theoretically that they could both be wrong, but since they both have a major, major contradiction, they both can’t be right.   

If both were true, God would be fickle.  There would be no absolutes.  If there are no absolutes, then you would absolutely have to worry about your destiny.  You would have to wonder who God is going to be today. 

God, however, is not fickle.

Hebrews 13:8 – 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Psalm 102:27 – 27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

We’re fickle, not God.  God is an absolute.  You can absolutely count on him to love you.  You can count on him to do what he says he is going to do.  God and Jesus are Truth.

What does the god of blow yourself up and kill others and the God of love your neighbor have in common?

What does the god of reincarnation and the God of spend eternity in Heaven with Me have in common?

Nothing.

All roads don’t lead to Rome.  Only one road and path leads to God and Heaven.  That road is narrow and not because God made it difficult, but because most humans have chosen not to take it.

The road starts with receiving Jesus Christ as Lord.  He died on the cross and shed his blood to cover your sins.  All you have to do is allow him to have taken your place of death.  Then you need to make him Lord. 

Trust me, whatever roller coaster life you’re living, it’s not complete.  By accepting Jesus you are not losing your life, you’re going to find it.

If you say I don’t want to find it.  I don’t want to find God or need him.  I say to you, that is what hell was created for.  It was created for the proud creation that didn’t want to come back to the Creator.  Hell won’t be a party.  Hell is a place of torment and isn’t ran by the Devil, he’ll be in more torment than anyone.

If you would like to accept Jesus as your Savior, please see the right upper column and click on page “How To Accept Jesus As Savior.

 
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Posted in Apologetics, Motivation

 
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