Tag Archives: #faith

Spirituality

The Least

A few years ago I was interviewing a Pastor for my podcast. I was gently challenging him on religious rules, which he answered in the most eloquent way I had ever witnessed. Then he started talking about where the faith communities fail. His words stuck.

“We get ourselves cleaned up for church, sit in our favorite pews, praise the Lord and move on,” he said. “But we walk by the drug addict on the street corner, never inviting him in. We don’t want to get our hands dirty.” His words stuck.

It’s important to remember that in God’s eyes, the addict is as important as we are. He created us equally. When you connect your head to your heart on this, you begin to see your fellow man through a different, bigger lens.

God cares about everyone. We won’t give an accounting of our net worth or our zip code when we arrive in eternity. No. God will ask us what we did with what He gave us. Did we use our gifts or squander them? It’s something we all must consider.

There are a lot of hurting people in this world. Help them when you can. Perhaps a prayer is called for. Everyone can help someone…

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Spirituality

Works

Do you enjoy your life’s work? I believe it’s important that we have a fulfilling career, the kind you would do for free if you could.

God has given us work to do on this side of eternity. In many cases this is different from our career. This is where service and action meet. It’s an intersection you can avoid if you want to. Or you can dig in, get your hands dirty and serve others. The choice is always yours.

People are important. All people. In Austin where I live, there are panhandlers on every street corner. It’s impossible to know who has a legitimate need and who is conning people. I’ve had experience with both. I don’t give out money, but I will buy people a sandwich. You can, too, if you feel compelled. Only give if you feel moved to from the heart. Never give out of guilt.

We are in the season of giving. There are endless opportunities to help. In The Book of James we are reminded that “faith without works is dead.” God uses people to accomplish his will on earth.

Always stay in gratitude. If you have a few dollars in your pocket you are better off than 90% of the world. Focus on what you have, not what you lack…

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Spirituality

Echoes of the Past

Creating wonderful experiences with your friends and family turns into beautiful memories. They not only give us something to remember fondly, but we feel encouraged to create more of them.

Have you ever heard of triggers? Triggers are stimuli that cause a sudden, intense emotional reaction. The mind stores everything. Triggers are oftentimes a warning signal. The mind is trying to protect us from something even when we don’t understand what is going on.

The holidays can trigger me. From my observation there are many like me. Don’t misunderstand, I love the holidays but they evoke memories of disappointment. Perhaps the Christmas movies set a false expectation. On the other hand, those perfect holiday films give us something to strive for. We must keep believing.

I snap out of my funk by doing for others. Selecting thoughtful gifts for my children brings me great joy. I believe that when we are giving of ourselves we reflect the light of our Creator. Thinking of others removes our selfish nature.

Unresolved traumas can bring ugly echoes of the past. I encourage you to work through them. It’s not easy, but anything worthwhile never is. Keep putting one foot in front of the other, and you’ll get there…

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Spirituality

Tenacity

This world we live in will knock you down sometimes. Life was never promised to be easy. You just have to pick yourself up and move forward, even when your next step is into the unknown.

All of us possess a tenacious spirit. Consider the time when a child decides he wants to walk. They pull themselves up, teeter around and fall down. Sometimes they fall hard. No problem! They get right back up and try again.

You might not remember it, but you learned to walk in the same way. No one was going to stop you. What happened to that? It’s still inside of you. You just have to bring it back to the surface from where it’s buried.

The mediocre never push themselves. They settle for a life that is less than what God designed them for. But you aren’t mediocre. Far from it. The dreams that were planted in your heart from the beginning are still there. You gotta bring them to the surface, too.

A powerful dream combined with relentless determination and tenacity is unstoppable. Bring it…

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Spirituality

Deception

Deception is evil. Think about it. It’s a willful act to defraud someone or withhold information, causing great harm. Entire court cases have been overturned because the prosecution withheld key evidence.

The biggest deceiver of all time is Satan. His schemes have a predictable pattern. Tempt, confuse and then convict. Let’s face it, temptation is exciting. You feel like you’re living on the edge, in the danger zone. You are in danger. Giving in to what we know is wrong damages us. Fortunately, God has given us a path to redemption. We can be forgiven and restored. But the evil one will keep trying.

The most heinous thing someone can do is mislead a child. Children rely on adults to lead them and teach them. Some of today’s woke adults are influencing our most innocent citizens with ideology meant for harm. Solid, consistent parenting is necessary and it’s not an option.

All of us have been guilty of deceiving others. Forgive yourself. Beating yourself up is pointless, especially if you don’t intend to do it again.

Be honest with yourself. Take inventory and update it regularly. Holding ourselves accountable helps keep deception out of our lives. And remember to talk to God when you’re feeling tempted. He will help us every time…

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Spirituality

What’s Your Vision?

In the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High, the character Mr. Hand was described as “thinking everyone was on dope.” I have an acquaintance in real life who believes everyone is racist and bigoted. They aren’t, but this is the limited lens he sees the world through.

I’m not denying that racism and bigotry exist. They do and always will. Our world is broken on this side of eternity. But the evidence doesn’t support that racism and bigotry dominate our society. Most people are good. We cannot allow a minority of the population to distort our vision of others.

When you allow gratitude to dominate your thinking, the lens you see the world through expands. You look for the art and beauty in others and in your surroundings. It’s always been there, but now you notice.

We, as human beings, cannot change the heart of man. That job belongs to God. He is always working on us, and that includes the racist and bigoted. Let’s get out of God’s way. He doesn’t need my help!

Create the vision you want for your life. Believe in your vision and believe in yourself. Ask God to come along for the ride. Visualize something outrageous and audacious. Pray about it. Then get to work on making it happen…

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Spirituality

Soothsayers

Do you ever want to know your future? If you could peer into your life ten years from now, much of it won’t make sense. This would leave you more confused than ever.

Looking for future signs goes back to Biblical times. King Nebuchadnezzar had his magicians, sorcerers and astrologers to advise him. So did King Darius and the Pharaoh of Egypt. In modern times, Nancy Reagan consulted astrologers. There are palm readers in every city and town across America.

There is only one who knows our future. His name is God. He knows because He’s already there. As humans, we use time as a construct to compartmentalize our lives. Time doesn’t really exist. God lives in the past, present and future at the same time. If this doesn’t blow your mind, I don’t know what will.

We can all take a lesson from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. The authors encourage people to stay sober “one day at a time.” In other words, don’t worry about staying sober tomorrow or next week or next year. Just today. We can create anxious thoughts by thinking too far ahead. You have today. Stay focused on today.

When I look back on my life, I couldn’t have imagined how things turned out. God knew. He orchestrated my life in ways that still blow my mind. So, with that thought in mind I’ll trust Him more and trust my own designs less…

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Spirituality

Things Work Out

Are you a worrier? Are you living by the “what if” principle rather than focusing on what can be? The battle is won or lost in your mind.

No one was born with fear and worry as parts of their personality. They are learned behaviors. But there’s good news! Anything learned can be unlearned. You have to want change in your life. Anything is possible if you believe.

The genesis of fear and worry is control. Perhaps bad past experiences make us want to take control so it doesn’t happen again. It’s futile to think this way. We don’t know what will happen in the next five minutes so why do we think we can control our outcomes? Instead, change your thinking and you will change your life.

Everyone has some dissatisfaction about their life. You may not feel good about where you are or how your life has turned out. This can be temporary or permanent. It’s up to you.

If you really want control, I encourage you to cede control to a Higher Power. He’s not a mad scientist or puppeteer. God is on our side. He didn’t create us and then forget about us.

If you decide to change your thoughts about controlling outcomes, meditate on this Proverb: “In their hearts humans plan their course, but The Lord establishes their steps.”

And when you think back on past experiences, you will see that everything always seems to work out the way it’s supposed to…

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Spirituality

Laser-like Focus

Have you noticed that Satan likes to keep you distracted from God’s purpose for your life? He has a lot of tools at his disposal, and he’s had a long time to study human behavior.

There are many things we don’t understand on this side of eternity. For one thing, the unseen spiritual battle that’s waging all around us is very real, even though I can’t see it. It is a battle for your soul. This is nothing to play around with.

You have a great purpose attached to your life. This is why we are here. Do not fall into the trap of thinking this is all there is. There’s more. Much more.

Develop a laser-like focus in your life. A laser can cut through anything. Eliminate distractions. Think of your life as showing the light of Jesus Christ. Bring it to the world…

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Spirituality

In The Spirit

The Spirit is real. Very real. He prompts us, encourages us, and saves us from trouble.

There are two voices inside your mind. They compete for your attention. One voice is from the Spirit of God. The other voice is evil, reminding us of our past failures. It tries to keep us from fulfilling God’s greater purpose for our lives. The question is, which voice are you listening to?

Both voices will always be there. And it’s important to remember that every person you meet has the same two voices you have. Listen well and you can tell which voice is dominating their attention.

My encouragement to you is to pay more attention to the Spirits voice. He will guide you to where you want to go…

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