WHEN YOU THINK YOU ARE NOT ENOUGH

That title surely hits nearly all of you readers. Regardless of plans, intents, hopes, and dreams, life has a way of unfolding "Awareness Bulletins" that try to persuade you that you are not enough. And... and then we seem to be able to present the proof-positive to such inner accusations. Therefore, I wish to offer a bit of personal encouragement about yourself.

Frankly, each of us are not enough in so very many areas. But such evaluation is no reason to cash in our chips and quit. No, what we can do (get to do) is to lean whole-heartedly into the amazing God System that helps each of us to become more than we are. Such is one of His main goals for each of us....on a daily basis.

When you read the inspired scriptures in your Bible, you will note story after story of individuals/groups who clearly were not enough. And yet...and....yet...God displayed such scenes of "lacking people" in order to point out the fact that they were found to have His partnership day by day.

The truth is that none of us are enough...on our own. But we are enough...when we lean into His grand partnership.

From the most successful to the least successful, each of us fits into the above category of...not enough. Yet, it's at this very point that we all get to notice the entrance of Father upon the scene...our scene.

Believing we are not enough is an accurate evaluation. The hope, however, is that we determine to link up with His Spirit in us to do more than we can ask or think. This isn't our imagination. It is, however, God's abundant plan combining resource with hope!

Have a superlistical day! God has designed us to experience it!

Ephesians 3:20-21...He is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever imagine...FROM...WITHIN...YOU AND ME!

 LIVING ON THE CROSSWALK

Church matters. What one believes about church matters. Because the very central theme of Christianity is the Cross, one's continual search for a congregation that pleases us in every aspect is hardly to be one's goal.

Our calling is to walk the incredibly steep terrain that Jesus did.

For this reason, we learn the practice of not giving up; not giving up on ourselves, on others, nor on the church. God does not call us into a walk that brings us inward satisfaction and ease. No, He makes an enormous call. God wants us to tow our own Cross upon which we will repeatedly die for others...including others who betray and victimize us.

There seems to be an incredible violation of the church format continuing day after day. That disruption is this: in general one feels that after struggling, we are surely due a break and (of all places) church should be it. It is upon this drive that one misses the mark.

One of the richer blessings that one finds in the church walk is encountering men and women who do not deny sin and its ramifications. Yet...and yet these very same men and women never let go of the ultimate calling from God...TAKE UP YOUR CROSS and follow me.

I encourage us to continually strive to not give up on one another. Yes, the temptation is strong...so very strong. Yet...and yet, this is the very platform of the Christian format. Maybe if we could make progress in remaining upon our individual Crosses for the sake of blessing one's opposition, the image of fascinating and encouraging Christianity will continue to gain momentum in its reach.

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

Luke 9:23

 YOUR FAITH IS VERY IMPORTANT

I wish to encourage any who feel that you might lack too many good qualities to make much of a positive impact on others. I've lived in that section of negative existence often and then very oftener! What you can accomplish is awaiting for you day by day. Whether an enormous result of an effort or the slight lifting of another's spirit who is struggling a bit, you are quite capable of being a very positive element to one's day.

If any of you are like me, you care about others and know that they need encouragement; but you can look around you and find others who are quite more qualified than yourself. Therefore, I wish to be a persistent voice and enthusiastic cheerleader that every individual has what it takes to bless others. 

I started out in ministry to be shy and extremely hesitant. Yes, I know. Neither of those descriptions sound like me.  They weren't...except...in ministry. And guess what I had become...a very shy and hesitant minister!!! Your faith is very important to you...and to others as well. 

Please keep entering your days with a building of confidence that, while you may not know how to handle some of your challenging encounters, you personally have it within you to shed light upon another's heart that will build and then even rebuild their broken hearts. Your faith makes a difference!!

 THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON

Luke 15 conveys one of the strongest teachings of Jesus for it challenges each of us to evaluate and even re-evaluate our perception of...of one another whenever that "another" seems to fail. Such teachings by Jesus were continually backed by his walk among the clusters of human beings nearby.

The setting of the above story is that one brother was quite disgusted at the lack of the other one. He'd had it with such blatant failure. "He should have known better" seemed to reign from within the elder heart. Yet, and it is a huge Y E T, the scene captures and conveys similarities of where we live and what we are like.

Involved in this grand scenario is a picture of two-types of sinners. One broke the Law. The other one kept the Law. I N C R E D I B L E and here's why.

Both are missing the call of the renewing power of the Son of God. Within such a devastating/inspiring scene is the voice of Father calling to you and to me to awaken to the wonder of His marvelous gift of renewed and energized life!

Therefore, via this simple scene from Scriptures, I encourage you and me to walk the trek that Father seems to anticipate as the path to victory...for others...and for ourselves. It's far too easy to write some people off because, well, we've just about had it with their blatantilistic failures. And yet...and yet, we have a stable knack at dismissing our own blatantilistic ones...don't we? Thus, the fascinating and challenging story of these two men.

Failure isn't what's being endorsed in the above scriptures. No, love for those who fail is. Let me say it again...love for those who fail is.  And such a calling is so deep and so needed and so like Jesus, that we must, must, must have the productivity of the Holy Spirit flowing from within us for the task at hand is far beyond our human ability.

As we seem to take our turns at failing, may there always be some among us who take their turns at wearing the robes of the Prodigal so that relief and hope and renewal may arise to be seen by any who feel that we are not good enough to be a Christian. We aren't good enough; but Jesus pours himself into us and works day by day to build us into His likeness one strand of hope at a time.

Because of Jesus...we have a hope that matches the Prodigal Son!

 RISK IS CHALLENGING...OF COURSE

There might be a reader here or there who needs a word of encouragement regarding risk factors. I feel certain that we each repeatedly experience success due to simple evaluation of a project due to one's wisdom. And yet, I present an alternative concept which is also very much connected to one's success.

Of course, I speak of the value of risk.

Risk might tend to carry a negative and threatening banner of failure. Danger lurks. Fear, then, tends to enter the scene precisely where it also very much wishes to take up residence. And yet...and very much yet...risk may very well lead one to opportunity and success of which many only dream.

I would doubt that any successful person among us ever became successful without the draining and imposing threat of R-I-S-K. The challenge, obviously, is trying to determine whether an opportunity offers value or ignorance.

Both lurk. Bravery and boldness, though, are needed to help one to avoid mistakenly shelving grand opportunity.

What I'm wishing to convey to you is that each of us may find that we've misjudged several opportunicalistical situations along the way. Too, what I'm wishing to accomplish in this note is to encourage you to DARE TO KEEP TESTING the opportunities afforded you for one of those just may be success which, at the moment, is packaged in the fear of failure.

Failing people fail. But, successful people also fail. My message to you is that failure is not the conclusion of our walk. It is simply an important and useful tool. Failure matters and must be acknowledged. But the acknowledgement is to be determining whether one is being shut down or positioned for a re-opening of fabulous re-opportunity.

I like life for while it certainly has its ups and downs, true life uses doors opened/doors closed to lead one to the next strong opportunity. For you, some places in life close from time to time. Yet, be assured such a stall is simply the waiting room for even a better opportunity.

Risk may be challenging; but don't shelve it until you've given it significant evaluation for it just might be your entrance into success. All successful individuals faced this bold challenger known to all as R-I-S-K.

 ONE OF JESUS' MORE REMARKABLE TRAITS

We believe in Jesus. We believe that he was born upon the earth in order to walk our trails and valleys. Jesus is the Highest of the highest of humanity and the Star of Heaven. Amazing is a word we will continue to use as descriptive; yet there is unfathomable beyondness that goes with it.

Jesus relates to us. God experienced our walk as He wore the robes of His Lamb. Suffering to the point of death, our Father walked the walk and talked the talk through His dear Son. God was the Missionary and Jesus was His interpreter.

Due to such holy teamwork, God knows full-well the multi-challenges that you and I face. And.....He's got us!

May we continue to be worshipfully excited and enthused over the One who lived on purpose in order to die intentionally. He did exactly that for you my friend. He. Did. It. And. Did. It. Well.

I know that many of you are walking some rugged paths these days. Please know that I am sympathetic. But more so, know that God was tenderly pre-sympathetic before you ever hit earth.

So...in thinking about you...I wish to remind you that Jesus totally gets you! He got here before you and I did in order to map out, with incredible precision, just what it would take to see that we have that wonderful possession of Eternal Life.

One of Jesus' most remarkable traits is that, even though he was God's only begotten Son, he knew that the ultimate sacrifice of horrific punishment upon the Cross would be what it would take to give us assurance that we could actually live beyond the grave.

Be encouraged my friend. Be very encouraged. Jesus wipes away our failures with His blood and empowers us to live with incredible hope due to His being raised...FROM. THE. DEAD.

 

TRY NOT TO MISS THE HEALING PATH

I deeply desire to be a voice of courage and hope for your heart and mind today. Stress and distraction run major interferences to every person. There are no exceptions as in NO EXCEPTIONS.

We, at times, find ourselves between a rock and a hard place, huh? While our intentions are to be loving and productive, some of our days are turned upside down. When that occurs, we must try not to miss the healing path.

Author Sharon Hersh has a grasp of where we find ourselves living from time to time. Her statement can even seem to cause us to wonder if she might, perhaps, be living in our neighborhood. Take a listen.....

"We all get lost in our workaholism, people pleasing, and numbing behaviors as we try to escape the pain of life and the messiness of loving others. But some of us appear more whole than others, and that may be the greatest danger of all. It results in the last addiction: we rely on ourselves to heal ourselves, and so we miss the healing path." (Sharon Hersh...The Last Addiction)

Note her first five words. We. All. Get. Lost. In. We all...get lost! What I wish...deeply wish...to do is to encourage you that you are not the Lone Ranger nor the Lone Rangerette in the pestering challenges of life.

May we make significant progress in recovering the fantasticalism of getting to be alive by the powerful hope God supplies in perpetuationalistic force! Each of us has reason to be encouraged and hopeful for our Father is alive and He is the Great Healer for our path-etic disruptions that tend to jump out at us.

Have an encouraging day...for God surely is a fan of yours!

 MAKE UP YOUR MIND

From the above title, I'm not suggesting that you make up your mind due to a decisional opportunity that is awaiting. That could be the case; but not this time.

No, I'm wishing to urge us to go with a bit of adjustment. I wish to cheer your forward and upward that you....you are the one who selects what you choose to allow to dwell in your thought processes. Such is of major significance for those elements will consistently combine to "make up" your mind.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

We face daily opportunities, struggles, hopes, and challenges. A power guide from God is that we be very attentive to the ingredients we stir into our thoughts which will "make up" (build) our mind.

While the term "make up your mind" is understandably calling for a decision as to what or which or when or where or.... Yet the Philippians passage calls for us to contribute "make up" thoughts to flow through our brains. "Think" on these things, the Apostle Paul penned. What we choose to "think" about begins to create our daily atmospheric attitude.

So....to make up one's mind isn't always about determining a direction. It can also refer to the ingredients we permit to flow through our heads which will be positive, faithful, and strong on hope. Sooooo....I repeat....

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8

....I repeat because such guidance really does have favorable impact for each of our days ahead.

 JESUS DIDN'T ENDORSE SIN

The very central theme of Christianity seems to be amazingly perplexing. Strangely, it is so because of its extreme simplicity. Perplexing? Simple?

Okay...which? The answer is very uniquely.....Yes.

One of the factors of seeking Jesus is that one's faith is not to be built upon hearsay nor habitually repeated religiously-invented tradition. Our faith is to be constructed upon the format that both our sin and our salvation are real. As surely as is the first, there is full expectation that one is to experience the latter.

No...Jesus most definitely did not/does not endorse sin. But through His most extreme sacrifice, He endorsed the sinner by representing us before the Father. This "shocker" must not be overlooked; but rather absorbed for its remarkable and stunning reality.

God rejected the sin while accepting the sinner. He did so, not by spouting sermons over Heaven's boisterous microphone. No, He did so by clothing Himself with humanity's sinful garb in order to get a genuine grasp of the ultimate need; how to offer legitimate salvation to humanity that would stick!

When the Day of Judgment arrives, our sinful portion will be completely rejected while we will be equally accepted. Rejection and acceptance...both are major and stunning factors which we will celebrate as we live with Him in the Heavenly realm forevermore.

Due to the Cross, sin is whole-heartedly rejected while the guilty one(s) are whole-heartedly saved. Such is brought about because of Jesus volunteering to hang from the Cross.

This truth motivates a powerful praise and worship from within the restored body of Christ...His church. Plus...plus such brings about a clarity as to just why it is that He has required of us to pick up our Crosses...and follow Him.

We don't endorse sin; but we surely endorse the sinner as valuable and precious in the sight of God.

 RELEARN TO LOVE LIFE!

As you age, be devoted to living in the realm of being purely fascinated. I read or hear of far too many individuals who are bored. And then such a mood leads to frustration and then later to deep discouragement....often.

I cheer you forward and upward to renew your energetic enthusiasm for L I F E ! Relearn to love life!

I'm not penning this in criticism of anyone. Rather, I'm wishing to convey a supportive sympathy coupled with a solution. I think that society in general is so very busy trying to work with an "over-scheduled" patternism that...well...many just aren't able to keep up.

Thus the problematic, and often daily, demandilistic conflict.

It's one thing to be wowed by life's events. It's quite another to miss the joy of such amazing events because we have allowed a pattern of "keep up" with others to shoot our lifestyle in the foot...or in some cases both feet. The fruit of such a "hurry-up because we have a loaded and very busy agenda" can be very exciting for awhile. However, when we can't keep up we start to find that the load begins to take on a crippling weight.

Please hear me. I'm not calling for laziness. I'm calling for a move that will increase one's productivity by being involved in fewer things in order to see that our activities really have room to PRODUCE!

Therefore, I sense that too many are trying to keep up with a schedule that is so overwhelming that eventually it becomes boring because one is merely abiding by the loaded calendar rather than thoughtfully engaging in fewer tasks which would/could bring renewal of life to us.

You...are valuable. Do what you can to build an active system of involvement that will be fascinatingly exciting instead of treacherilisticly boring! I'm wishing us to increase our productivity by eliminating a few of the distractions which tend to rob us.

Let the increase in our productivity BEGIN!

 QUIT EXPECTING A LIFE OF THISTLELESSNESS

If a farmer wants to have a harvest of corn, he plants corn. If the farmer's wife wants tomatoes, she places tomato plants in the garden. God professes that we reap what we sow. The idea is simple: what is planted determines the anticipated crop.

Now...do remember that with every crop (as in 100% without exception) weeds and thistles arise in the very center of one's hopeful harvest. In Farm-History, there has never (like in NEVER) been a planting that did not experience the need to deal with weeds and thistles in the very midst. My point?

Quit expecting your life to experience thistlelessness! You have not been singled out as the one to be picked upon by the struggles of life. Every person as in EVERY has to deal with disruptive thistles; sometimes on daily basis. One must not look at another individual and wonder why they seem to have escaped troubles. No one escapes such deep and painful stress.

So...what are we to do? We are to plant what we need to experience life to the fullest with the clear understanding that disruption and even disappointment will spring up here and there. Our secret is that regardless of hurt/painful moments, we will not give up on the harvest which is on its way!

Thistles of discouragement? Thistles of hopelessness? Many times! And yet...and yet we are not to get caught off-guard as if we have been neglected in life. No, we are to awaken to the wonder and reality that weeds are simply a part of the process (and progress) of harvest fulfillment.

Therefore, may we band together to encourage one another to quit expectng a life of thistlelessness! Regardless of weeds, continue to work toward the wonderful and amazing harvest coming your way!

Have a very...like in VERY...nice day!

 THE "AND THEN" CONFLICT

We find scriptures where God said, "Do"; but we realize we don't.

AND THEN

Other scriptures say, "Don't"; but we find that we do.

Each of us should find that we often fit into the above conflict. By "often", I mean day by day...by day. A key element which will help us make spiritual-life progress is to realize (and then do what we can to remember) that each of us wages deep war in this zone of

CONFLICTIONISM.

This post is not a call to deny sin nor to deny the need to confess it. Rather, it is a call for us to awaken to our own failures in order to be a legitimate and effective help to our colleagues who, likewise, severely struggle. It is the very essence of the work which Jesus displayed.

Conflictionism is a call to realize our own sinfulness (and the heaviness of it) so that we can better understand those who live within these identical borders. Jesus was and is impactive because he experienced us firsthand...before we ever got here!

As we each make strides of grasping our own lack, we then become better equipped to identify with the role that Father hands us. He first experienced this in His human Son in order to pave the way for each of us to be of authentic help to our neighbors. Until we do, we will forever be condemning others with our judgmental chatter.

The very beginning of our personal journey is to be handed a Cross to carry from which we are to live. When living upon that Cross, our attitudes and our chatter shifts....enormously so. We learn to die for opponents rather than speak from the pulpit of criticism. Such is a daily walk of an incredibly rigorous and challenging responsibility.

May we increase in the ability to condemn the sin while accepting the sinner....for such is the call Jesus makes from his Cross.

 THE OPPOSITES RESIDING IN JESUS

Learning to walk the trek of Jesus is not a Sunday morning handyism. Rather, it is likely one of the most challenging assignments coming from Father above. We are to....

We are to hate the sin and love the sinner. This is a most fundamental call of Father to any who determine to follow Him. Hate another's sin; but love them dearly. Only Jesus could demonstrate such a wild call.

It is upon this biblical calling that we will often find to be so challenging. If not very careful, we will dismiss it completely. And why? It's easy to love any sinner whom we really love. But it's just as easy to fail to offer the same flow of the Spirit toward the one(s) that we, frankly, just don't like.

To overcome this selective favoritism is to make a major breakthrough for the Kingdom of God purposes as one walks the daily road. Our likes and dislikes must not be moody. We are to always dislike the sin...and to always love the sinner.

Clearly we are able to practice this...but often it's only with those whom we love. And such an inconsistent "practice" is telling. It is telling us that we have much work to do; faith work to believe in one another especially when the "another" is off the spiritual course.

We all find ourselves strolling in both lanes....one and then the other and back again. May we develop a living faith that truly detests the sin while, simultaneously loves the sinner. This is the calling, the very challenging calling, of Jesus the Lamb who died upon the Cross to demonstrate just how extreme faith is to look.

May. We. Carry. Our. Crosses. Daily.

 Jeremiah 9:23-24

23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

 IF IT'S GOING TO BE A DAILY GRIND....

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."

Luke 9:23

Days of smoothicity and troublelessness are deeply desired by each of us. Yet, not one reader is unaware that our days are unable to escape the "rubbing of the wrong way" moments in addition to problematicalistic struggles. Such an observation is not intended to be negative; but it is to place before you the idea that negativity does reside on our streets, huh?

As one grows into the framework of Jesus, it seems that the "grindier" life will become. Why? Because His mission was to rescue the broken, build the abandoned, and...and to save the sinful.

Thus, we find ourselves in a dualistic setting where we are doing what we can to bring relief to all around us who are stymied by the sin-mark while, simultaneously, in deep need of His forgiveness for our own personal abrasivilistic miscues.

Jesus hit earth with a mission to rescue in order to encourage a deeply broken people. And then...and then He handed off His mission to any who would buy into such a marvelous concept. Simply believing involves carrying heavy weight due to grueling determination to give a boost of hope to those around us who are seemingly buried in malfunctionalistic stress and struggle.

May we join the many who continue to labor at following the road of the Cross so that all people of all lands may have opportunity to experience the beauty of Jesus' fantastilistical mission...of rescuing the world. And, yes, such a road is mighty, mighty rugged. So...

...IF IT'S GOING TO BE A DAILY GRIND...

 LET THE BELIEVING BEGIN!!

Ah...it's a new day! Welcome to the world of possibility and potential. I pull alongside of you with understanding that many of you face deep and wide stress and struggle. I, therefore, wish to join the voices around you to hopefully give you a boost.

"Believing" must not be relegated to churchilistic concepts. It is to be a way....a true way...of life. Believing is one's conviction regarding reality when the "seeing" part isn't yet on the table. Believing is the eyesight of the heart....and it is truly real.

While the idea is older than the hills, to believe is to do our walk with a most endearing creative element. Believing causes things that "aren't yet" to eventually come into existence.

Let the believing begin...again...today!!