You Become What You Behold
There is a fascinating story in the Old Testament about the power of focus. What you focus on can affect and transform you…
Hopeful vs Hopeless
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, July 25th 2016 Share the goods! During the Korean War, American soldiers were found dead in three basic states. Some were fighting, some were running away, and some were found dead in the bottom of their foxholes with no signs of violence. Those fighting and those running had similar physiologic changes found during autopsy: 1. Blood was shunted to the skeletal muscles and away from the intestines. 2. The pupils of their eyes were dilated. 3. The muscles of their heart were in a state of constriction at the time of death. 4. The airways to their lungs were dilated. Those found dead with no marks of violence had the opposite changes: 1. Blood was shunted to the intestines and away from the skeletal muscles. 2. The pupils of their eyes were constricted. 3. The muscles of their heart were in a state of relaxation at the time of death. 4. The airways to their lungs were constricted. These findings were compatible with sympathetic nervous system discharge for the fighters and runners. The others were compatible with parasympathetic nervous system discharge. The sympathetic part is also called the “fight or flight response” and is a result, in general, of the outpouring of adrenaline. The parasympathetic part is also called the “vegetative” side of the nervous system. These soldiers’ autopsies demonstrated exactly what this discharge would cause – death! The conclusion of the article was that the soldiers who were fighting or running were trying to do something, even if in fear. They had hope of winning or getting away. The soldiers...
Take Every Thought Captive
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, February 8th 2016 Share the goods! If we were able to control every point of access into America, or only have one point of access then it would be difficult for terrorists to infiltrate the country. But since there are many entry points it makes the job of keeping villains out more challenging. Like a bank robber or jewel thief is how satan attempts to act in our lives. He wants to sneak in and gain access into our minds and lives at entry points where our defenses are down. If we can control our thought life, we can control our decisions. Click To Tweet Notice the Bible does not say “take every demon captive,” but rather 2nd Corinthians 10:5 says to “take every thought captive.” This doesn’t mean that we don’t have to cast out demons, but we cast out demons from demon-possessed people, not normal everyday saints. If we can control our thought life, we can control our decisions. If we can control our thought life, we can control the amount of peace that we experience. MORE TOPICS addiction authority biblical characters career challenges children communication convictions depression discernment emotions failure faith family fear finances forgiveness grace healing identity leadership love marriage men parenting personal development pornography priorities process purpose relationships respect restoration righteousness sex sin success temptation trials women Help us continue helping others! DONATE TODAY Share the goods! Monday, February 8th 2016 RELATED VERSES Romans 8:6 (NKJV) For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (NKJV)...
Cancerous Thinking
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, January 11th 2016 Share the goods! Did you know that cancer cells do their own thing? They have their own agenda and act independently within the body—growing and multiplying as they desire, and destroying the good cells. And this is how negative thoughts work in the life of the believer— each negative thought that we have tends to multiply and metastasize, but God gave us the ability to renew our minds so that each good thought becomes a building block that fortifies us and the body of Christ. But when we allow negative thoughts to grow and metastasize into cancerous thinking those thoughts end up destroying us! Each negative thought that we have tends to multiply and metastasize. Click To Tweet Look at the metaphor in Ephesians 4:15-16 (NKJV) “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head — Christ — from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” Joints connect and build up the rest of the body. The purpose of joints in the context of Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) “for the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, is for the soul to connect and link up with the...
Rechargeable Batteries
You can save a fortune by using rechargeable batteries. But if you do not recharge them on schedule, they won’t do the job. In the same way that batteries must be recharged, the Christian must recharge his spiritual batteries every day!!
Northern Pike
As an experiment, a marine biologist captured a Great Northern Pike fish and put it in an aquarium and created an environment similar to the one that the pike lived in in the Canadian lakes.
From the Bottom to the Top
A donkey was walking around and fell in a hole. While it was sitting in the hole a farmer walked by, looked down and started to pour dirt on him. The donkey looked up and he said, “Why did you do that to me?”
Beauty for Ashes
When we hang onto past hurts and wrongs, it causes us to have a victim’s mindset and it keeps us from getting the best that God has for us.
The Summer House
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, February 13th 2017 Share the goods! A woman who was going through a bad time was trying to find rest for her soul. She had lost her husband and felt alone. She was spending time in a summerhouse trying to put her life back together. She was sitting in the middle of a big open room with high arching windows when a bird flew in. It flew up to the ceiling and was trapped. Trying to get out it flew to every window but nothing happened. It flew to where the light was coming in, but it couldn’t get out. It flew window after window, but it would only bang against the window and fall back. It would try to force its way out of the house through every little crack or crevice. She thought in her heart, “Poor bird, why do you not come down lower see this open door and fly out easily?” Tell God how you feel. Let Him bring the strength that is available to you through His Word. Click To Tweet But the bird insisted on wounding itself, flying against all of these clear windows. At last its wings grew tired. It flew lower and lower until finally, it was on the level with the open door. Then, seeing the way of escape the bird finally found freedom. Just then the woman thought, “I am like that bird. Through my pride and self-sufficiency, I have been flying so high to see the window up there, and God has been trying to humble me so that I...
Day Tight Compartments
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, January 30th 2017 Share the goods! Many years ago, there was an article by a famous physician by the name of Osler. He had some wise observations about worry and dealing with the psychological challenges of worry in the lives of people. He made an interesting analogy, he said that ocean liners are designed in such a way that the steel doors are able to be lowered by the press of a button, so that even if the hall of the ship is pieced by some disaster of some sort, they can lower the steel door and close off the hall so that only a portion of the ship is flooded. The doctor went on to make this important application by saying that in the journey of life, it is critical to learn how to lower the door against the tomorrows that may come in to destroy your life and then learn how to lower the door on the yesterdays that can cause you to worry, and learn how to live in a day tight compartment. Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, but rather worry will empty today of its strength. Click To Tweet Listen to what Jesus said, He said in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” And then in Deuteronomy 33:2, “As your days, so shall your strength be.” No man has ever sunk under the burden of today, but many a man has sunk under the burden of...
The Enemy’s Cell
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, January 9th 2017 Share the goods! One of the greatest and scariest aspects of 9/11 was the fact that the enemy had set up cells in our community. This is so scary because cells are pockets of enemies that are planted so that they can familiarize themselves with our patterns of life. In older times they were called the fourth column. Well, satan does the same thing now. He sets up cells that plant themselves in our minds and they study our thoughts and the things that interest us. Just like the 9/11 cells, these cells in our mind become activated. Don't believe the enemy and his lies. Click To Tweet Let’s talk about some of the cells that the enemy plants in our mind that activate at the opportune time: 1. Fear is a cell that the enemy plants. He tells you that you do not have what it takes to make it. He tells you that you will grow old and your dreams will not come to pass. 2. He plants the cell of ‘unlovable.’ In other words, he tells you that you are unlovable. He really loves this cell with single women because he tells them that they are incapable of being loved and that no man will appreciate what they have to offer. He tells them that they will never meet anyone who will care for them. 3. Age is another cell that the enemy plants. He tells people that they are too young or too old and it is too late to fulfill their destiny. MORE...
Solve for X
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, December 12th 2016 Share the goods! The key to life is to solve for x, for example 3x+4=19. The goal of the enemy is to have you think the whole equation is the problem, when in reality the problem is x. The enemy always talks in generalities, and the Holy Spirit always talks in specifics. This is like saying the Holy Spirit always convicts by solving for x. The enemy always condemns for the whole equation. This is important, if you can solve for x and discover what is holding you back in your walk with the Lord then you can move to the next level. This is the difference between the optimist and the pessimist. Or, we could say, the difference between people whose eyes are full of light and people whose eyes are full of darkness. You see, the optimist says that his problem is x, the pessimist says his problem is the whole algebraic equation. The enemy always talks in generalities, and the Holy Spirit always talks in specifics. Click To Tweet MORE TOPICS addiction authority biblical characters career challenges children communication convictions depression discernment emotions failure faith family fear finances forgiveness grace healing identity leadership love marriage men parenting personal development pornography priorities process purpose relationships respect restoration righteousness sex sin success temptation trials women Help us continue helping others! DONATE TODAY Share the goods! Monday, December 12th 2016 RELATED VERSES John 16:13 (NKJV) However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His...
Metabolize Your Life
Family Leadership Men Personal Development Relationships Women Monday, May 2nd 2016 Share the goods! When we do not metabolize or process the events in our lives we prevent ourselves from being able to embrace the new that God has for us. We’re like a computer that has a very small hard drive, say 3GB, and every time we try to upload a new program to our computer it slows down. I once had a computer that took 15 minutes to “boot up.” I would turn on my computer in the morning and then I would take a shower or eat breakfast, or do a whole bunch of other things. I finally realized that my computer was slow because there was no room on my hard drive for anything new. Get ready for the new things God has for you! Click To Tweet In other words, I had to remove some old programs to make room for the new programs. This is how life is for many people. God has some new software that He wants to load onto the hard drive of our life. But because we haven’t metabolized, or processed previous experiences we are unable to embrace what God is trying to do. It could be said that some people spend their whole lives “booting up.” In other words, they never get to run the program of life that God has for them because they are always “booting up.” They never get to the application of the things that God has for them because of unresolved issues that keep them in perpetual “boot up” mode. The goal of...
The Pocket Knife
A young mountain climber named Aron Ralston was hiking in a remote section of Utah when an eight hundred pound boulder shifted and trapped his arm. For five days, he tried to do everything he could to free himself.
Kathy Ormsby
In 1986, Kathy Ormsby was one of our nation’s top women athletes. She was the current record holder in the 10,000-meter run and was on the Dean’s List at North Carolina State.