Living "Lesson Minded"

In life there are things happening all around us, to us, and by us. How do you look at those things? What do you see when you observe something taking place? Are you seeing whatever is happening as just an event or a circumstance? When you watch a movie, are you just being entertained or are you looking for something important to take away from it, a lesson to be learned? Here is an exercise that will add value to whatever it is that you see happening around you. Start looking for "lessons" in everything you see. For example, when you watch an interaction between two people, you will see all kinds of things that will help you to become a better person. Start with noticing who is the dominating force of that interaction. Why are they the dominating force? Is it positive or negative? What do you notice that will help you to interact with others more effectively and efficiently? Maybe you are seeing things that are turn-offs in their interaction. Make note and try avoiding such things in your next interaction. Take the good lessons with you and let them add to you. Take the bad and get rid of it from your life.

Fear part 1

Fear: (as defined on dictionary.com) 1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

I am going to break this study on fear and how it applies to your life into several parts. The first part we will examine the meaning of "fear". We know for a fact that if you do not understand the definition of a word, then you cannot use it to your advantage. When you grasp the meaning of a word, it loses it's power to control various parts of your life anonymously, as a mysterious force. Once you know, you can control, it is knowledge and it's application that will gain increase in your world. In Hosea 4:6 we learn "my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.". So, gain knowledge.

As defined above in the first paragraph, we can see that fear is an emotion. You would be wise to study on your own about how to take control of you emotions. The fear that you carry around with you in your daily life is there because some external event, suggestion, experience, or even a story that somebody shared with you. It is designed to protect you from harm. If most of what we actually fear can be looked at objectively, with solid facts to support it, with emotions set aside, we will often find that fear has no base at all for operating in our lives. It's roots are often deep in our subconscious mind and are a default setting for decisions we make every day.

Look at this example of fear controlling somebody's life, every day. In Arizona, we have more photo enforcement cameras than exist in all the rest of America. They are at all major intersections, on the freeways, on the arterial roads and even in some neighborhoods. I know a person who feared so much being caught running the red light at these intersections. That fear of getting caught running the light caused their mind to seek a solution to this problem. That solution was to speed through the intersection as fast as possible, white-knuckled and gazing at the light to ensure that it didn't turn red. Some weeks later, this person received a citation in the mail for speeding through that intersection, with some wonderful portraits and video showing the offense. Now, this person, avoids intersections with cameras at every opportunity. Routes to a fro have been changed, time to get to and fro has changed. This fear while having some kind of real foundation, through experience, is now a part of this persons life. The decision of which way to go is made before the car is even started and headed for the destination. This fear controls a part of their life everyday.

What "photo enforcement cameras" are laying out the route for your life? What do you avoid everyday and why is it that you avoid it? What fear has kept you from your real desires? I will bet with absolute certainty that you know what it is because I know what mine is. Even the act of thinking of that which we fear causes your heart to race and your mind to look for a way around it. That is a power over your life that you have got to gain control of.

Line up with God

When you communicate with God, it is by definition, the communion between two parties; you and God. It is a time when He listens to you and in turn, you listen to Him. It is also a time for Him to direct your way to make you prosperous. When you ask something of God, you had better make sure that it lines up with His will for your life and that it does not contradict what you are set out to accomplish. That is basic knowledge right there. Think of it like this; if I were trying to lose weight or get in better shape, I would be contradicting my purpose in that situation to go out and load up on a gloriously delicious Snickers ice cream bar. Does that line up with what you are trying to accomplish? God is not an enabler. He will correct you when you need correcting and reward you when obedience to Him is shown. He may not tell you directly not to have that Snickers bar but, He probably has an arched eyebrow and a puzzled look on His face. Why? It is because you know better, you know that what you are doing is outside of the parameters that are conducive to weight loss. Just like in that example, you can utilize that communion with Him to get where you need to go, where you are designed to go. When you ask, do yourself and God a favor, be specific. If you say "God, increase my territory!", He will comply but because you weren't specific, your increase was barely recognizable. Why? You gave a vague request, you got a vague return. Ask like this, "Lord, I expect that you will enlarge my territory, to bring in 7 new clients today.". That is specific, when you are specific you give God something tangible to work with. He operates out of the spiritual to create that which we see in the physical. BE SPECIFIC, I dare you.

"Who do you say I am?"

Matthew 16:13-20

Peter's Confession of Christ

¹³When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

¹⁴They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

¹⁵"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

¹⁶Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

¹⁷Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. ¹⁹I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." ²⁰Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

I have always taken this scripture to mean that Christ is revealing his true self to his desciples. I still believe that is the case but, I have learned something new about this familiar scripture. Remember, His word is alive, it breathes life into any situation or circumstance that you are in. Jesus is calling, challenging, on Peter to declare who he believes that he is. Peter knew exactly who Jesus was, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.". This scripture is for you, right now, where you are at. Who do you say that Jesus is? Is He truly the Son of the living God in your life? Is he the key to the kingdom of heaven in your life? Perhaps he is somebody you meet with on Sunday morning at "Club Church" and forget about after brunch at Elmer's with the family. Jesus can only meet you where you are at, where your faith is at. If your faith only allows him to bless your food then that is all you will get. If your faith in Him is strong enough to move mountains in your life, then that is what you get. What I am trying to say is, Jesus will meet you at whatever level your faith is at. He will not go too far past it, because you wouldn't believe it anyway. This is the manifestation of reaping and sowing at it's pinnacle. You sow faith, he increases the reaping of that fruit in your life. When you rely on your faith in him, you are giving up "self" in order for God to work in your life. He can't work in your life if you are in the way all the time mucking up the process with "self". You are a tool for God to use, not the other way around. Exercise your faith in Him and just like a muscle, that exercise will cause it to grow into a more powerful force in your life.

I pray that you've gained something for your life by reading this, I know I did by writing it. I also pray that only the true word of God would shine from all that I write and the rest would be washed away, that only the truth would remain.