False Perfection or True Fellowship

Excerpt from an email I wrote to a friend:

I wrote a letter to a church years ago while listening to a sermon. (I never delivered it just was expressing what was heavy on my heart that morning) It was just flowing out onto the paper. It was about "Would you love me if you knew where I had been, what I had done.?" But then it went further to where we are most fearful of rejection. It became about "Would you love me if you knew where I am NOW, what I am struggling with now?"  It is difficult to talk about where we have been but immensely more difficult to talk about where we are. There seems to be much more forgiveness for our past than our present. But the present is the only place where we can effect change.


We live in a Christian world of pretense perfection. But honestly, life is messy. We present a package so that it is palatable to those around us. We don't have time for the mess in each others lives so we clean it up and keep our distance hoping no one will notice. (so we can enjoy superficial fellowship with one another)  We even busy ourselves in ministry so that we can keep it above suspicion. This is not to condemn any of us in the church it is just what it has become. But this very reason is why the body is not effective in changing lives. It encourages outward conformation to laws instead of a steady diet of inward transformation that comes from being willing to be open, honest and humble. Being open to correction and self awareness. Being vulnerable and real.

You see, I believe the most mature among us is not looking for our own perfection nor to be thought of that way. With maturity we begin to realize that it is our true WEAKNESS that reveals Christ most.   We have to bring our sin into the light of God's word.  
Quote from Life Today:

"Repent while it is still a secret. Do it (repent) because you heard the call." Then they mentioned that NOT MANY do it this way. They repent only after it has become a public spectacle.

Also from LIFE Today

“If God sheds light on a weed, He’s the only one that can remove it. But it must be removed at the root He’s the only one that can do that!” James

Another Good Reason to Get a Good Nights Sleep

Fitness Tip of the Week from WorkoutMusic.com

Are You Sabotaging Your Workout Efforts?

Too many late, sleepless, nights has its consequences - illness, breakdown of muscle and even weight gain. Insufficient sleep can actually make you fat!



Your body produces more cortisol, an adrenal-regulated hormone, which turns on a fat-storing enzyme to increase fat storage, thwarting your best exercise endeavors. Cortisol causes cellular breakdown, depleting the energy stores in your muscles and leaving you feeling weak and tired and can mean you're too tired to exercise. Lastly, sleepless fatigue can activate the feelings of hunger, even if you're not hungry, resulting in cravings for high-carb and high-fat junk food.



So what's the final message here? By day be active and exercise, by night take a break for 7 to 9 hours and sleep the night away.

Flaxseed

Really excited about a new site I found.  So much information available if you want to check it out.

Did you know:

Flaxseeds are high in protein, soluble fiber and contain vitamins B1, B2, C, E and beta carotene. In addition to the omega-3 fatty acid that flaxseeds are also rich in, they contain calcium, potassium, magnesium and zinc.




Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/330229-how-to-eat-flaxseed-with-extra-virgin-olive-oil-for-health/#ixzz1BzemG2MB

Tips for Pursuing Healthier Living

Regarding caloric intake:  Set your calorie intake to be the goal weight times 10 to give you a general idea of the number of cals you should be consuming daily.  Begin to journal your food and record the calories.   (note if you are considerably over that goal weight you will want to do this incrementally- You will not want that to be the calories immediately - reduce the weekly calories as you loose the weight)

Roadblocks:  After doing the above suggestion for a period of time, if you encounter roadblocks, you may need to play with these numbers.  You can take a week where you ramp up the daily calories by 1-2 hundred calories.  Then return back to the original goal weight calories.

Cravings:  After a time, you may develop overwhelming cravings.  It may mean you have cut back on those cals too much.  It is ok if you have a day where you want to eat. You may need to ramp up your caloric intake for several days when cravings come. Be mindful of not being too drastic.  Being too drastic may yield rapid weight loss, but you will have a more unstable emotional state. (also rapid weight loss rarely remains off - you usually gain all of the weight back but it finds some friends to come along when it returns)  Being in an emotional state while trying to loose weight is usually a bad combination and will more than likely lead to failure.

Another factor that may be causing cravings is you are at a certain cycle in your month.  So always be aware of the calendar.   Hormones can drive us. Cravings in themselves are not bad. It is the bodies way of telling us what it needs. So listen to what your body is crying out for.  Ask God to reveal to you what it is your body wants. (scripture says we have not because we ask not)  For example, if you are having this insatiable desire for chocolate, you may need magnesium (there is a low fat way to get that and a fattening way)  You have the freedom to choose which one. If you are craving tons of butter, your body is probably needing fat.  (you can get a handful of almonds -about 5- or avocado is an excellent healthy fat) If you are craving sugary foods you may need to increase your carbs. You can choose multigrains to get that as a healthier alternative to a sugary treat. If you are craving anything at all, there is an underlying biological need driving it. So listen to your body. Is it crying out for a Snickers? You may be needing both the magnesium from the chocolate and the protein from the peanuts the carbs from the caramel. Should you try to satisfy that desire with a healthy choice? You can or just eat the snickers and enjoy it. Record it in your calories and accommodate for it the next day or so. It is not evil and it is not cheating to act on cravings. That is the beauty of this program. You can have what your body desires in moderation and on occasion. You just have to be smart about it.

In this blog, I wrote about focus and how it helps us succeed.  http://on-wings-as-eagles.blogspot.com/2010/10/where-is-your-focus.html  I believe that there are many ways to succeed at living a healthier life.  If you begin to focus on being healthier and educating yourself to make wiser decisions with what, how much and frequency of food consumption, you will find you will succeed.  If you focus on exercise as part of your life, you will find you will succeed.  The good thing about New Years Resolutions is that it gets you focused on the goal.  The problem is that most resolution fail because our focus gets quickly diverted.

Ways to develop this focus is what spurs programs like Weight Watchers, personal trainers, and nutritionist.  They are just methods to get you to focus and to help you stay focused.  The methods themselves are not magical.  They are only effective if you use them and they help you keep your focus.  As for the methods, you use what works for you.  You can get an accountability partner, you can post cards or pictures around your house especially in the kitchen to remind yourself.  You can join a fitness center, you can even find someone to design a food plan for you.  But your most important part of this method is that you remain focused on it. 

Encouraging others to live healthier lives is just part of my passion.  I hope you find encouragement in this today.

Where is Your Focus???

Here is a weapon we have!   FOCUS!!!

I am just reminded today that where we have our focus is the key to what matters to us.  It is the key to how we succeed.  It is a big key to life.

For example, if we focus on our past we live in the past.  If we are consumed by fear of our future or even anticipation for our future, we are focusing on the future.  If we are alert and aware of our present, our focus is on the HERE and NOW!!! The present is the ONLY place where we can affect anything.  You cannot change the past or alter the future.  So if we live in the present and keep our eyes on the present, fixing our gaze on Jesus, we will live a more satisfied, successful, peaceful, and content life.  And we will bring the Father much glory.

Do we focus on our pain, our finances, our schedule, or our sin?  Our focus is SO important.

There is a time to look at our pain, our finances and our sin.  Plus much more.  But my point is that our focus has to be upon the Lord and His word.

Where is your focus?

If we focus on weight loss, getting out of debt, winning a game...  or whatever, we are usually successful.  Why?  We keep our goal before us.  The key to weight loss success is always finding ways to keep the goal right in front of you, whether it is thru Weight Watchers, and accountability partner, a group, or refrigerator reminders.  The method is rarely ever the key to success.  It is that you keep your focus on your goal.

The world is a very distracting place.  There are things demanding our attentions.  If we are not intentional with our focus, we will drown in a sea of busyness and trivial pursuits.  If we want to walk a life that is honoring to God and draws others to Him, we are going to have to keep our eyes SET upon HIM.  Jesus is our goal, to be like Christ.  But it is not to conform ourselves into the image of Christ.  Oh so subtly we can begin to think it is for us to do.  But on the contrary, it is for us to set our eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth WILL grow strangely dim, in the light of His GLORY and GRACE.  (such a great song, but those words cut to the heart of what I am saying)   Listen to me here.  FOCUS on Jesus.  He is our goal.  But it is not for us to do.  As you set your eyes upon Him and your focus is neither to the left nor the right, as you emmerse yourself in who HE is.  THERE is where the work begins inside of you.  It is where the transformation is done.  It is not a difficult mathematical equation.  It is as simple as where you are focused. 

That is why every day we need to seek Christ.  We need to keep Him in the forefront of our minds.  He is always there.  He says He will never leave you.  So as we set our eyes on Him, we become increasingly aware of His presence with us.  As we become aware of His presence we become strengthen, encouraged, and more like Christ. 

I have noticed that whomever I spend the most time with, I begin to pick up there mannerisms and behaviors.  I begin to see things from there perspective and even at times pick up there offenses.  So as we spend more time with Jesus the more we will be transformed inside out.  I want to talk like Him, walk like Him, care about what He cares about.  I want the transforming work of Christ in me.  We need to look at the world from God's perspective.  Ask Him for it.

Daniel 4:27 in the New Living Translation, says "Stop sinning and do what is right."  Focus on that scripture.  Seems pretty straight forward and simple when you boil it down.  But we are able to effectively do this by the enabling power of Christ.  We focus on HIM.  He will strengthen us to stop our sin and to do what is right.

There is a story in the bible of a King who walked a life of focus.  1Kings 22:1-2 "Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. ... 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. "

Not turning aside to the right or the left.  Keep your focus directly on Jesus.  I believe it is a key to effective living.

Being the image of Christ to the world

Heard the following statement on the radio the other day yet am unable to quote so forgive me:  "Sin corrupts the image of Christ in us".  Sounds like a pretty good reason to avoid sin.  Our image becomes distorted and we will no longer reflect the image of Christ to the world around us.  Isn't that a great reason to flee from sin and the temptations of sin. 

Just a little something to chew on.  That's all.

The Healing Heart on Life Today

Is 61 I come to heal the broken hearted.

Luke 4 when he stood up before them, he rolled out the scroll of Isaiah, pointed his finger right to it and spoke these very words straight off of the pages of inspired scripture and he said, “Today, this is fulfilled in your hearing.”

http://lifetoday.tv/qt/2010/07/100728.htm  Part 1 "The Healing Heart"
http://lifetoday.tv/qt/2010/08/100804.htm  Part 2 "The Healing Heart"

Trying or Trusting

Perhaps I drive home the same message all the time, but it is the one that comes to me the most.  It is a matter of trying for God.  We try to be good.  We try to be like Christ.  We try to do our duties for the church.  We try to be without sin. There are all manner of reasons why we try.  We may try because it is expected.  Maybe we try because that is what we have been taught.  We try because we are seeing our flaws and we want to perfect ourselves.  We try for the sake of pride.  We try as to not disappoint or look bad to other Christians.  We try because we want God to love us.  Perhaps we are even trying to please God or get His favor. We may even try because we do not want to be a poor witness to the world.  For every person there is a reason why we try.  Some of these are great reasons and may seem to even be godly motives.  However, my point remains the same, anything we do apart from God will not only be temporary but will have NO eternal effect.

• "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  John 15:5  
• "Everything that does not come from faith is sin." Romans 14:23b NIV

However, if we believe that Christ came to die for our sins; believe it was finished on the cross; believe that Christ is our savior, then we will have to recognize that the perfecting work is for Christ to do in us.

So when we are convicted of our sin, let's not beat ourselves up.  Let that be a time of agreeing with God.  Let it be a time of thanksgiving, because it is being revealed to you so that God can help you become more like Christ.  When God points His finger at imperfections in our lives it is not for condemnation.  So we need to STOP condemning ourselves and start rejoicing that we see them.

• "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1 NKJ  

 
It is God's revelation to us little by little that helps carve us into His son's image.  If we will stop working with the enemy and stop agreeing with his lies about us, and start cooperating with the convictions of the Holy Spirit, then we shall see a true work of God in our lives.  Little by little, God will transform us from glory to glory. 

• "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJ  

When we were born we were fully a person just really small and in need of help.  However, with time, we grew into the full grown person we were born to be.  All the potential for an adult was in that new born baby.
 
We as Christians have to allow ourselves to grow up in our walk with God.  We also have to allow those around us to do the same thing.   Just as we should never get angry with a small toddler for falling while learning to walk.  God does not grow angry with us as we learn to walk in our faith and walk with Him.   Shouldn't we offer the same sort of grace to others.  I am not talking about accepting sin.  I am talking about long suffering and grace for those who are still toddlers in the faith. 

God is not disappointed in us because we are imperfect.  As a matter of fact, He has known it all along.  He is just trying to reveal it to us thru our circumstances little by little.  I believe that the circumstances of life is what helps us see our own imperfections.  When I am going thru a hard time, I see just how imperfect I am.  It is easy to behave RIGHT when all is good and I am blessed.  However, I see the hand of God in my life when I am in the midst of hardships and trials much more clearly.  That is the time when I am able to see what I am in need of; whether it is patience, compassion etc. or that I need to stop an activity like gossip or idolatry.

God desires our obedience not our sacrifice.  God is not asking us to BE something, do something or NOT do something.  He is trying to get us to listen to Him, follow Him, obey His commands.  He will develop you into THE person He created you to be.  (if only we will cooperate)

• "But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."  1Sam 15:22

If we will obey (work with and along side God, cooperate with the work God wants to accomplish in us), we will see the glory of Lord in our lives.  We HAVE to stop trying and start TRUSTING God!   Trust God to accomplish the work in your life He needs to accomplish.

• "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

 
Our righteousness comes by faith.  First we are proclaimed righteous when we confess Christ as our savior.  Then we begin to grow up into that same righteousness little by little.  Going from one glorious stated to the next elevated state of glory.  Going from glory to glory.  

• "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."  2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJ

Hope you have a wonderful day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXut0HxncvY
Watch this along with what I have shared

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." "Psalm 91:1-2
My favorite description of God is Him as my shield in all manner of references.  I love to think about being shielded beneath His wings.  It feels incredibly safe there.  So imagine living ( or dwelling) in the refuge and safety of the Lord's wings or in the shadow of the Almighty.  Is. 40:31 says we can soar on wings like eagles. I love the word ON!!!  Also in Matthew 23:37, Jesus speaks to Israel saying, "how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings."

That is the most comforting picture.  Jesus gathering us beneath His wings as a mother chick does her babies.  Doesn't that just comfort your soul?  I know it does mine. 

Spend time focusing on this concept.  We can live in the safety and refuge of the Most High if we choose.  The choice is up to us.

Have a great day.

Are You a Human Being or a Human Doing?

Why are we so determined to find our value in our doing.  Why is it we are either pleased with ourselves or angry with ourselves based on what we have or have not done.  I have heard it a million times that we are human "beings" not human "doings".  That sums it up.

Satan is our enemy, and he will try to get us so wrapped up in the "doing" of Christian life that we will miss out on the purpose of Christ's sacrifice.  Christ died so that we could get back our RELATIONSHIP with God.  It was torn apart in the garden and was restored on the cross.  It is by faith we believe this to be true and it is by obedience we become like Christ. 

There is such peace in surrender.  You can sit peacefully before the throne.  Open to correction without any hint of arrogance or offense.  To be fully surrendered and at peace with God is the most indescribable experience.  Nothing comes near it.  When we hear a message that may pierce our heart and convict us, I have watched over the years as believers get so offended by the message that they begin to even despise the messenger.  Well I say, we need to search our hearts before the Lord to see if the message is for us and is biblical.  If we find that it applies to us, then we must submit to it, confess it and repent.  (Submit- accept somebody else's authority, Confess- agree with God on what He says about the behavior, repent- simply stop doing it)    Why do we get so offended?  Could it be pride?  If what they are saying is however, incorrect, we do not have to take it personally.  My experience has been that when I am offended, the message touched an area of "weakness" in me.  When the message touched a nerve, I should take note.  That should be where I quickly go before the Lord to determine what is up with me.  Usually, the message touched on my sin areas or  it touched on areas where I have been trying to do it myself.

I enjoyed attending church yesterday. To me, it is so satisfying to participate in true worship of the one true and living King. I love songs that get my focus squarely on God. I enjoy singing songs that get me to really realize (for that moment) how insignificant I am in what I do, yet how valuable I am to my Savior. I was just basking in that fact yesterday and the tears began to trickle down my face. One of the songs spoke of the fact that He loves me.  The song reminded me that I love Him becasue He first loved me. Then the message proceeded to validate that point.


I began to think on the value a painter places on a blank canvas and a lump of clay to a potter. Just average people cannot see the potential in a blank canvas or lump of clay. We would never think of it as priceless. However, how many sculptures and paintings are now priceless. They are so valuable the price cannot be met. That is us to our Father. It is only when we are fully surrendered to Him are we going to become the priceless work of art that He intends. How do we do this you may ask, simple -- OBEY His commands.

It is for His glory and our good that we surrender to the hands of the potter.  Allow Him to do the doing in you today.  ALLOW Him to do the work.  That way He gets the glory and you get the peace and satisfaction that comes from submitting to something much greater than you.  We get to participate and cooperate in the work of the Creator of the Universe.  Yet it is not by what we do for Him but what He does thru us in our obedience and surrender.   This is where we begin to really develop our relationship with Him.  Praise God we don't even have to conjure up love for the unloveable.  God gives it to us.  He loves the unloveable thru us in our surrendered obedient state.  I can tell you the love that will flow out of us will feel better than any earthly love we can come up with to shower on others.  Test it and see if this is true.

I am overwhelmed by this fact even as I type.  Be blessed today.  May God bless you thru your obedient surrender today!!

Devotion from Life Today

Regret: A Matter of Perspective

by Stephen Arterburn

We should be clear about one thing, right off the bat: There is no way to be alive and avoid doing and saying foolish and even idiotic things, things you’re bound to later wish you hadn’t done and said at all.

Not being able to forgive yourself for your boneheaded, arrogant, and selfish actions is one of the biggest inhibitors to living the life God wants you to live. If you’re always dragging yourself down with the past, how is God going to lift you up in the future? It’s easy to kneel in church and hang your head, praying for God to forgive you, but you must also face what you’ve done and deal with it in a direct and forthright manner. You have to cleanse and prepare yourself so that you’ll always be as ready as possible to be the man or woman God intends you to be.

One of the most dramatic biblical examples of personal regret occurred in connection with the Bible’s most terrible event, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ:

“When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. ‘I have sinned,' he said, 'for I have betrayed innocent blood.’

“’What is that to us?’ they replied. ‘That’s your responsibility.’

“So Judas threw the money into the temple and left, then he went away and hanged himself.” (Matthew 27:3-5, NIV)

Most people believe Judas went to hell for his sin against the Lord. And he may have – we won’t know on this side of heaven. Even though he did just about the most awful thing anyone has ever done, we have no place judging Judas than we do anyone else. The job of ultimately judging anyone belongs to God alone.

Nonetheless, from the passage above we can see clearly that after his evil deed, Judas’s attitude about what he’d done changed a great deal. Soon thereafter he fell on his knees, desperately despondent over his eager choice; he was “seized with remorse.” He was so distraught over his deliberate betrayal of Jesus that the only way he could think to end his suffering was by ending his own life.

What happened to Judas? How did he go from being a craven opportunist to being consumed by burning remorse? How did he go from wanting only money to being utterly desperate to possess what money can’t buy? What changed in the man?

What changed in Judas is the same thing that needs to change in any of us seeking to come to terms with past regrets and learn how to avoid creating new ones: perspective.

At first Judas’s perspective was, “What’s best for me? What can I do that most benefits me? Who can I come out ahead?” He didn’t care who got hurt on his way to self-satisfaction; he just wanted to know what he had to do to get what he wanted.

But that sure wasn’t his perspective after he saw the results of what he’d done. Suddenly his tragically limited, shamefully selfish perspective became markedly broadened. With the force of a piano being dropped, Judas realized he hadn’t been looking at a picture anywhere near big enough.

Put simply, perspective is everything. In my work at New Life, I’m made aware every day that the perspective people have on their problems is easily the most deciding factor on how effectively they’ll be able to deal with them. In fact, I largely think of my mission as helping people to broaden their perspective. Take anyone with a problem. I want to show them the value of changing their perspective from one in which they’re the center and star of the universe to one in which they realize that their world does, or should, revolve around the Son.

When assessing and evaluating a situation that led to your present regret, imagine yourself back in it – and then try to see the whole of what happened not through your eyes but through God’s. Meditate on bringing the peace of the Holy Spirit to the situation that ultimately concluded so poorly. Picture yourself back with that other person in the relationship, and then lift your perspective so that it rises above the two of you here on earth. Strive, in other words, for a heavenly perspective from above.

“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” (Romans 12:3, NIV)

Practice that – employ it when looking back on your regretful behaviors – and you’ll be well on your way to feeling better about things you might have thought you could never feel comfortable with at all.