The Power of Choice

For each of us, change always begins with choice. It is the power of choice that the creator has given to us that is the most power gift we have ever received. Any day, any moment we desire we can discipline ourselves to change our lives, simply by making a choice.

In Deuteronomy 30, the Lord through Moses tells His people that they have a choice between life and what is good or death and what is evil. In the Book of Joshua 24:15, the people are once again confronted with the power of choice and commanded to choose whom they will serve.

Throughout the Scriptures we are all confronted to exercise the one power that God has given to us and will never take from us, the power of choice. Today, right now or any time we desire we can change our lives. We can choose to open the Bible and read it…a book that will change our lives forever. We can choose to open our mind to new knowledge.

Any day we desire, we can start a new activity; we can start the process of life change and we can do it now or next week or next month or next year – the choice is ours to make.

However we can also choose to do nothing…but stay the same! We can choose to pretend rather than perform. Many people fear the thought of changing themselves; it causes them to procrastinate and remain the same.

We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, lies over truth and fear and doubt over confidence and courage. The choices you make are yours because God has given you the power of choice.

The hard reality is that we created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. If you don’t like how things are in your life – change it!

You have the power to totally transform every area of your life. It’s called the power of choice! Don’t allow past failures or errors in judgment, to hold you back. Remember the basic things of life; love, kindness, courtesy, family, friends, and faith – and choose to make those the priority of your life.

Don't make excuses for why you are the way you are - release the power of choice and change your life today!

Finish Well

“How To Finish Well”

Early in my life - there were times …when I just did not like myself! Listen…here is why, because early in my life, I was a quitter…I seldom finished the things I started and I made excuses for giving up!

But many years ago I came across two sayings that I have never let go of. Two sayings, that have radically impacted my life. Over the years they have kept my mind; my soul; and my body running when there seemed to be nothing but fumes in the tank!

These two sayings are simple yet – they have kept me hoping for the best, even after hope had gone on vacation! These two sayings have compelled me to get up and get off the ground when getting up was the last thing on my mind.

Here are the two sayings…not deep; not mystical or metaphysical…but practical and common sense:
“Winners never quit – and quitters never win.”
“Many have a good beginning. Few have a good ending.”

Did you catch it? “Many have a good beginning. Few have a good ending.”

This is simple common sense wisdom...that says “When all is said and done, it is not how good you look in the starting blocks. Instead, the deciding factor is whether you make it across the finish line.”

It is tragic when people start out well, but they do not finish well. It is unfortunate, indeed…that “Many have a good beginning. Few have a good ending.”

As important as it is to start the race, what ultimately counts is that we finish the race. Very few ribbons, medals, trophies or advertising contracts are given to athletes with good starts.

You win…in your calling…in your God-given assignment; in your vision; in your marriage; in business and elsewhere in life – not because you show up and get started – but because you are a good finisher.

My hope and my prayer is that in every area of your life – you become a good finisher…that you will finish well.

But this is not just my desire. This is also the desire of your heavenly Father…who uses the writer of the book of Hebrews to express His will for us to finish well!

In Hebrews 12:1-2, the author senses that this congregation of Jewish believers who are undergoing pressure and circumstances beyond their control - is on the verge of abandoning their calling; their commitment and their spiritual heritage. He writes to people who have started the race, but he is not sure that they are going to finish the race. Thus, in the 12th chapter, he persuades his listeners to finish what they had started.

In these two short verses, he gives four sound pieces of advice concerning how to finish well…the race that is set before us!

If we want to finish well:
1) Remember who is around us.
2) Remove what is on us.
3) Rely on what is in us, and
4) Realize who is before us.

Allow me to explore these tips on finishing well.

1. In Hebrews 12:1a - The writer exhorts us to remember who is around us. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” Hebrews 11 lists the names of some of those who surround us. Hebrews 11 provides a catalog of people who have demonstrated overcoming faith—faith that survived in the crucible of existence; faith that flourished under fire; faith that knew how to hold on and hold out.

Hebrews 11 calls to mind such notables as Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Rahab. These inductees into “Faith’s Hall of Fame” now occupy the seats in the coliseum, which surrounds the track on which you and I are currently running the race of life.

The author of Hebrews says to all current runners – that is to you and me and every believer in Christ today - “In order to finish the race, remember a great cloud of witnesses surrounds you.” There are persons in the coliseum seats who are invisible to the naked eye, but visible to the spiritual eye. Those who surround us are witnesses, not just spectators. There is a profound difference between a spectator and a witness.

A spectator is someone who watches you go through something...but either cannot or does not do anything about what you are going through…they just watch you go through!

A witness, in the Biblical sense, is someone who has gone through what you are going through – and thus can encourage you – to finish – because they know that if they got through – you can too!

We can finish well - the race because in the stands we have some witnesses, not spectators—witnesses who themselves have dashed through danger and dilemma and lived to tell about it.

Witnesses are those who have been through trials and turmoil and have found out that the Lord will make a way somehow. We can finish well - the race; we can hold on; we can resist the temptation to quit; to give up and give in…if we remember who is around us cheering for us.

As we run, the witnesses listed in Hebrews 11 exhort us, but these are not the only witnesses. There are other heroes and heroines of holiness who have walked the earth since Hebrews was written. There are great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers; there are the sainted “deacons” and “mothers” of the Church of old…who prayed for us and taught us and if it had not been for their sacrifices…we would not have a race to run!

These and many other witnesses are rooting for you and me. And sometimes all it takes, is for you to silence the noise of your world – especially during this season of the year…get alone with God and His Word…and you may hear the witnesses in the stands cheering for you.

Check back next week...for part 2 as we finish strong in 2010!

We have a great to be thankful for in this nation and certainly if there is anything more important than being thankful for family and the church, I can’t think of it.

The Bible says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

It is God’s will for you and I to give Him thanks both in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18) and for everything (Ephesians 5:20). Here is why…we thank God in everything because we know that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that in the time of trouble He is a very present help.

We can thank God for everything because ultimately He allows nothing into our lives without it being filtered through His love for us…and therefore it is designed to eventually make us better and more like Jesus. "For we know that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord, to them who are the called according to His purpose," Romans 8:28.

THERE ARE NO SHORT CUTS TO OCCUPY YOUR DESTINY

Lazy hands make a man poor; but diligent hands bring wealth.
Proverbs 10:04 NIV

God has prepared a great future of peace, joy, abundance and healthy relationships for each of us. The only thing that can prevent you from living and enjoying that future, which includes having the career; the business; and the kind of home and reltionships that you envision, is your willingness to occupy it!

To occupy (take possession of), the future that God has prepared for you, it is incumbent upon you to recognize that there are no shortcuts. It will take work; effort; as well as, bold, determined faith actions.

The Scripture says “Lazy hands make a man poor; but diligent hands bring wealth.” While this Scripture is specifically speaking of material wealth…it is a principle that applies in general, to every area of our lives.
· If you want to receive the best that God has prepared for you in your relationships – you have got to work at it.
· If you want to receive the best that God has prepared for you in your health – you have got to work at it.
· If you want to receive the best that God has prepared for you in your finances – you have got to work at it.

There are no shortcuts to your Promise Land…to occupy your blessing and live the abundant life that Jesus died for you to have…you have got to work at it.

Proverbs 13:04 reads, “The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.”

Remember God knows the intentions of your heart…however He blesses the labor of your hands.

There are no shortcuts to occupy your destiny; you have got to work for it!

THE POWER OF INFLUENCE

The wisdom of Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

When we consider and evaluate the major influences in our life that have helped to shape the kind of person we are, we must admit that peer pressure, people influence has to rank high on the list. The people we choose to allow into our lives will have a powerful influence either positively or negatively.

Now we are not talking about the casual or occasional contact or encounter we may have with others. But those relationships that we choose to let influence us on a more intimate and personal basis are very important. Even those associations of a business and professional nature, will influence our lives significantly. We should never underestimate the power of influence.

The influence of those around us is so powerful, until many times we don’t realize how much we are being affected because influences generally develop over a period of time!

We often associate peer pressure with teenagers, however it is a powerful force in the lives of everyone including adults…because it is so subtle. If you are around people who talk negative, chances are that you will talk negative. If you are around people who spend all the money they make, chances are that you also will spend all the money you make. If you are around people who go to night clubs more than they go to church, chances are that you will do the same thing. If you are around people who do not read, chances are that you won't read.

People can in subtle ways keep nudging us off our desired course of life, a little at a time until, finally, one day we ask ourselves, "How did I get here?" We must take time periodically to examine; study and evaluate the influences we allow in our lives, if we really want our lives to turn out the way we've planned.

Consider the following questions which may help you to evaluate your current influencers or associations:

1. “Who am I around?”
Make a mental note of the people with whom you most often associate. This is important because you have to evaluate everybody who is able to influence you in any way.

2. “What are these influencers doing to me?”
This is a critical question to ask. What have they got me doing? What have they got me listening to? What have they got me reading? Where have they got me going? What do they have me thinking? How have they got me talking? How have they got me feeling? What have they got me saying?

You've got to make a serious evaluation of how others are influencing you, both negatively and positively.


3. “Is this in line with my life’s purpose?”
“Is that okay?” Maybe everyone you associate with has been a positive, energizing contributing influence. Then again, maybe there are some who have been a drain; some who have been takers; some who have been manipulators; some who have been negative influences.

The point is that you take a close and objective look. Everything is worth a second look, especially the power of influence. Both will take you somewhere, but only one will take you in the direction you need to go.

It's easy to just dismiss the things that influence our lives. One man says, "I live here, but I don't think it matters. I'm around these people, but I don't think it hurts." Well I would suggest that you take another look at that...because everything matters!

Yes, some things matter more than others, however everything amounts to something and you and I are being influenced one way or another. It is vital that we are continuously evaluating and examining to find out whether our associations are tipping the scales toward the positive or toward the negative. When it comes to who and what is influencing our lives, ignorance is not the best policy. Finding out is the best policy.

Jim Rohm tells the story of the little bird, who had his wing over his eye and he was crying.

The owl said to the bird, "You are crying."

"Yes," said the little bird, and he pulled his wing away from his eye.

"Oh, I see," said the owl. "You're crying because the big bird pecked out your eye."

And the little bird said, "No, I'm not crying because the big bird pecked out my eye. I'm crying because I let him."

It's easy for us to simply let influences shape our lives, to let associations determine our direction, to let pressures overwhelm us, and to let the wind and the tides take us where they are going.

The bigger questions are: Are we letting ourselves become what we wish to become? Are we influencing others toward a higher place or are we being influenced to remain in place?

If Only

I’ve discovered that most people only dream of what they could do…IF ONLY! If only they had a better job; if only the teacher was not always picking on them; if only they were taller; if only they had more money; if only they were born in a diffent races or different place or at a different time; if only they were not neglected or abused or rejected or if only they had a perfect family life.

The Bible says that “You are without excuse O Man…” Here’s the reason we have no excuse, the Bible says that “God has given us everything that pertains to life…”

In other words, while all of our life's challenges, set-backs and disappointments are real. They are no excuse for us to remain in the situation we are in. Our past does not dictate our future. Life is not about where you start; nor where you are at present...its all about what you do to move toward the great destiny that God has prepared for you!

We have to learn to play the hand you have been dealt! We have to learn to turn the lemons of our life into lemon-aid! So pursue your dream and remember that for every "no"…it simply means that you are getting closer to your "yes." And all it takes to turn your situation around is one "yes!"

Why not begin now to change your thinking and begin by:

1. Dropping the “IF ONLY” talk… Stop waiting for things to get better, before you make them better. Give up the excuse of “if only.” “If only I had this; or if only I had that.”

2. FACE life as it is…But don’t ACCEPT it as it is… remember that you were created to make a difference in the world. You have greatness dwelling within you and the world needs your contribution in order for it to be a better place.

3. Recognize that YOU HOLD the power to do something with your life, regardless of the economy, your upbringing, your past mistakes. God has given you SEED to plant (your words, your choices, your money, your talent, your abilities. etc.). If all you have is a nice smile…that’s your seed—use it.

4. Don’t wait for the perfect conditions. Don’t wait for a better day…or the right teacher; the right principle; the right time of day; the right time for the stock market, or real estate market or the media or things to get better…before you do what you know to do. Make your life better by thinking the right thoughts…and sowing the right seeds.

5. Don’t Forget Your God-Given Benefits… Instead of focusing on what you don’t have…focus on the good that you already have; focus on what God HAS already done…focus on your Benefits as Believers…

Read Psalms 103:1 – 5 today…and watch your strength be renewed.

The Best Way To De-Stress Your Life

Besides learning to love others as you love yourself…the greatest thing you will ever learn is to forgive! When we hold resentment; bitterness; hatred; anger or revenge; we are bound to that person or that situation or condition, by an emotional tie that is stronger than steel.

The Bible teaches us that we are “Forgive one another even as God in Christ has forgiven us.”

Forgiving is not forgetting – forgiving is a willful choice we make, not to respond negatively to the pain that may have been inflicted upon us. Forgive those who have caused you emotional distress, mental pain or wronged you in any way. Here is the reason why, because as long as you hold on to past hurts – you give that person or that circumstance total control of your life! You make yourself a prisoner of your past; you cage your in and lock out opportunities and you become a victim in your very own mind, carrying around a ton of stress that weighs you down.

Today is your day to de-stress your life and get truly free…by forgiving and moving on! This may be the hardest thing you will ever do - but it will the best thing you have ever done and it will bless you; it will release you; it will de-stress you and it will refresh you.

It is the BEST way for you to bring peace and lasting change to your life!