Freedom to Improvise

But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. - Job 23:10

As the post “There is Freedom in Wisdom” points out, good things happen if you listen to those with experience, follow instructions, and prepare. If plans don’t totally work out, wisdom gives you a sense of freedom to improvise and tweak the kinks.

Some of the greatest plays ever in the game of football happened when the initial plan didn’t work out. Think of a quarterback that goes back to pass only to be blitzed by the defensive team. He decides to run the ball away from the blitz for either a first down or even a touchdown.

It’s the same in the game of life. Take inspiration from today’s song Unfinished by Mandisa. Life is not easy as negatives blitz us from all sides and we all can get down or discouraged but God’s Work in us may not be done. If He started something good, just keep believing it and keep working it until He completes it.

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Decide to Dive

Let us, then, feel very sure that we can come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. - Hebrews 4:16

In the post “Purpose of the Law”, brought out is the fact that it is impossible to be justified before God by our own efforts because no one is perfect. I remember from a sermon at the church I worship at the following point:

The Journey with Jesus begins with a decision (MK 1:16-17), with leaving the familiar (MK 1:12-20), with Jesus saying lets go, with a change in view (MK 1:17) and in following the real Jesus (Ac 9:10-11).*

The things that hinder us many times are self-inflicted. There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called “Dive” that inspires us to take some risk when it comes to finding what’s important in life. The Journey with Jesus requires that we dive right in and start the continual change process by following His Way.

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*"Sermons." FUMC Waco. Web. <http://fumcwaco.org>.

Change for the Better

My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the honeycomb is sweet to the taste. In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul, If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.

In the post “Riches of the Soul”, one idea brought out is to put God’s Word into practice by evaluating our life and determining the changes that need to be made.

We spend a lifetime working hard and trying to save enough to someday retire. But along the way, our greatest activities are to accept the riches of God’s kindness, tolerance, and patience to help us change for the better.

Persistently living as the Bible teaches adds to the riches of our soul which we will have not only in this life but the eternal one too! Take inspiration from this song: Live Like That – Sidewalk Prophets and give it all you have today.

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Called According to His Purpose

All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

As pointed out in the post “Fertile Ground for a Great Harvest”, Paul put a lot into his relationship with the Roman Christians. He knew that by teaching them, God’s purpose for him of spreading the Word would take root and the harvest would be plentiful because Rome was the center of communication throughout the world during this time.

Let us also see this purpose of Paul as our great purpose because the only things in life that last forever are the Word of God and our relationships with His people. Therefore, let us do things daily that last forever by getting to knowing God’s Word and creating a stream of compassion that flows from one Christian heart to another.

The song Who Am I by Casting Crowns points out that our forever home is with God. We are just here on earth for a short time. Our life on this earth will fade away into the sunset but our relationship with God and other Christians will last forever.

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Putting God First

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. - Colossians 3:2

One of the main questions I tried to answer within the post “Responsible To Each Other” was how do we put God first in the future? After reading the passage and giving it some thought, the best way to answer the question is by putting God FIRST in our finances, our interests, our relationships, and in our time.  Like the song Fix My Eyes by King & Country, we should fix our eyes on the things of God.

I remember a while back when I drove to work and saw a double rainbow in the sky. I got out of my truck and started walking up the hill to the office when I realized that I left my badge in my truck so I walked back to my truck and noticed the rainbow again.

This time, I took a few seconds to aim my smart phone to get a picture of the rainbow. If we focus on God’s beauty, we are able to make it through anything and realize that at the end of the rainbow of life, there is a pot of gold because those who give up what’s in the world and follow Christ, receive eternal riches in the kingdom of God.

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No Confusion

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. - Mark 1:35

As brought out in the post “Purpose in Saving Each of Us”, being a leader within our families and those we see the most gives us an opportunity to spread the Good News and give glory to God.

Jesus prayed for direction in fulfilling His purpose. We can do the same each morning as we start the day. He will help us to put things in order and then like the domino effect, our items on our task list will start to fall one after another.

We can be confused at times but when we pray, we get direction so as in this song, Thy Will be Done by Hillary Scott & Family we can know that God has placed us in our present circumstances for a reason.

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The Target is God’s Will

All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28

Joshua had accomplished much of what God had wanted him to as a large portion of the land promised to the Israelites had been conquered by Joshua and his army. As pointed out in the post “Fulfilling Our Purpose”, Joshua had done the will of God. Reading in Joshua 13, he was now up in age, yet God’s purpose for him was not finished.

Like Joshua, let God be a part of evaluating your current activities to discover if you are on target to fulfilling your purpose in life. The target is God’s will and I hope this song called Thy Will by Hillary Scott & The Scott Family moves in you the need to evaluate your current activities to discover if you are on target to fulfilling the purpose God has for you.

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Never Tire of Doing What is Good

And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good. – 2 Thessalonians 3:13

Sharing some thoughts in the post “Leading by Example”, the main problem discussed was idleness. Paul emphasized being an example to others by getting involved, being industrious, and working hard.

These same principles were adopted by the founding fathers of the United States. As the post 4^th of July from the blog altruisticao points out, the founding fathers grasped the understanding that it was through liberty, the kind of liberty they had learned through the Bible and the teaching of Jesus Christ, that mankind would be happy and prosperous.

As it is with individuals and with nations, we can become broken and as the song Keep Making Me – Sidewalk Prophets inspires, there is always the need to be remade. In the process, let us never tire of doing what is good.

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Choose Good News

In the post Creating Order, some thoughts were shared about the Ten Commandments. God wants the best for us but history tells us that humanity focuses more on the things of the world rather than the “Good News” of God. When we pay attention to the world, disorder expands to fill the void of human failure. When we pay attention to God, order fills the void with greatness.

Distraction steals our heart from God. Worry and the senseless noise of the phone, television, and the bad news of the world can get us down. Each of us could use more of God’s “Good News”. Here’s an uplifting video that inspires this thought: Stop the World – Matthew West

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. – Colossians 3:2

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No Fear Because He’s Near

As written in the post Focused on Our Strength, the early church experienced growing pains but the disciples set priorities, discovered their strength, and delegated some responsibilities to those blessed with special skills.

The results were very positive and this same strategy can be applied today by our leaders. Praying constantly for God’s help in receiving the vision. There is no fear because God is always near to hold us up on His shoulders so we can see far in the distance. Here’s today’s video to inspire this thought: Shoulders – For King & Country.

Each one should use whatever gift they have received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. - 1 Peter 4:10

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Nothing is Impossible with God

Many say that David wrote Psalm 8 soon after he killed Goliath. The post How Majestic is Your Name points this out.  I also wrote in this post about my trip to Austin a while back to a concert; about how I could keep up on reading blog posts with the technology of today.

Nothing is impossible with God and as ruler over the work of His hands; we can participate in innovation and create solutions to problems that we once thought impossible.

With new technology of today, we all have the ability to be innovative and creative. This day with God, let us stretch our thinking, dream big, and break old barriers. Here is today’s inspirational video. Enjoy! J : Me and God – Josh Turner.

For nothing is impossible with God. – Luke 1:37

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Acts of Kindness

In the post Act Kind and Receive Kindness in Return, Jesus explains the need for leaders to remove obstacles instead of creating difficulties. The Pharisees and Layers created burdens that made the path to God very difficult.

What Jesus has done for us is make the path to God less burdensome rather than loaded down with the burdens of social ceremonies. In the same way, we should not set up any social barriers.

This day with God, receive inspiration from this video and look for opportunities to offer acts of kindness to others: Kindness Returns!

 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:32

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Journey through Life with Encouragement

In the post Journey through Life with Respect, Joseph invites his brothers to dinner and respects the Egyptian custom of serving Hebrews separately. His brothers show respect to Joseph and humbly give gifts. As we live on this earth, there are several common sense lessons that were brought out in the post.

We should always make God our number one priority. We should always live with integrity in order to build trust with others. We should respect the customs and values of the country in which we live. We should celebrate the successes of others and wish them the best. And we should ask for God’s help in using words that help and encourage others as this today’s video points out: Words – Hawk Nelson.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. - Psalm 19:14

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Deja Vu

Have you ever had something occur and you feel like you have been there before? It’s like on the old TV show “Raven” when she could see into the future. That’s kind of what happened with Joseph as his dream is realized.

In the post Dream Coming to Fruition, Joseph’s ability to see into the future allowed him to be prepared for the famine. Every detail of what was needed could be mapped out so his actions would lead to the dream he had many years ago when his brothers bowed down before him.

It’s the same with us; hope becomes reality through prayers so paint a colorful and detailed picture. Let God deliver His blessings as we study the Holy Scripture. Here is a video I produced a while back with these thoughts in mind: Blessings Throughout Each Hour.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. – James 1:22-24

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Priorities for Success

Written about in the post Our Priorities are Bible characters who are good examples to follow and those that provide bad examples. Abraham was a man who took his relationship with God serious and in turn was blessed. His grandson Esau on the other hand traded his inheritance for a dish of stew. He only looked at what he wanted in the short term.

The lesson for us is to make decisions based on long term success rather than short term desires and to follow God’s plan for our life; being a part of His team. Today I have a video to give some motivation with A Pep Talk from Kid President to You.

He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. – Proverbs 12:20

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Caring for Others

Abram demonstrated that he cared for others. We also show that we care for others by giving back what we have learned in life. What we make happen for others, God will make happen for us.

You may have a child or friend with an issue at school or work and you can be there for them; offering ideas or suggestions. Your purpose in life may not be a great preacher, singer, or teacher but just being free to be you as explained in this video: Free to be Me – Francesca Battistelli.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. –  Philippians 2:3

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