Faith is now!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

True faith gets up and gets going. It’s all good getting ready, researching, preparing, doing feasibility, demographics, statistics, business plans and marketing strategies. But isn’t it fast becoming an excuse for not doing the actual work? Are you really preparing? Or just experiencing the fear of doing something new?

Not doubting, not wondering.

I don’t get it; you don’t have faith? No? Yet you go to bed at night saying “good night, talk to you tomorrow”. You get on a plane and say “see you in 8 hours”, never stopping to wonder if all that is really going to happen. It’s all because you assume it will right? You don’t doubt, you don’t wonder.

Well that is faith; assuming God will perform His word, not doubting, not wondering.

Same old, same old.

“And no man puts new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish” – Luke 5: 37

New Year resolutions require New Year attitudes. No point doing new things the same old way is there?; Just a thought.

Faith is like NIKE

Just do it! You thought NIKE right? I thought faith; If you HAVE TO do it, but the thought of doing it makes you freeze, then do it! Since you HAVE TO do it anyway. The issue here isn’t why or where but when. The more you hold back, the more time you waste, because you HAVE TO do it.

However, if you WANT to do it ,WISH you could do it, or even DREAMED you did it, then we have a problem. For you won’t change until you sincerely see the need to, until your back is against the metaphorical wall and you decide there is just no way out of it. Then you go through it; not under or around it. You face it and do it!!

NIKE always had a point. JUST DO IT!

James 2: 19-20 -Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That’s just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands? (Msg)

 5 things you should do this week.



1. Study your bible for 1 hour  (possibly two 30 minute slots)
2. Pray for someone (some·one/ˈsʌmˌwʌn, -wən/  [suhm-wuhn, -wuh n] noun: not you!)
3. Touch a life with a gift, no matter how small.
4. Have a great day (It’s actually a choice) Ps. 118:24
5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 daily.

Thanks.

How to “make it” in life.

Platon, a world renowned photographer relates his experience with legendary architectural photographer Julius Shulman, who at the time (a few years ago) was almost 100 years old. Platon was a big fan and went to pay homage and the following conversation ensued:

Platon: Have you got any advice for me? I’m a young guy, trying to be successful.

Julius Shulman: I’ve got great advice for you. You represent the younger generation who are all obsessed with trying to “make it”. I’ve “made it” now, and I’m an old man. I can’t even focus the camera well; I need help getting up and down the stairs. This is “made it”? If this is “made it”, then “made it” sucks. The beautiful thing is the journey, and you’re already on the journey, and you have to enjoy every single step of the way.

Dear reader, what about you? Not sure if you’ve “made it”, but I “make it” every single day. For me, it’s about enjoying where I am, on the way to where I’m going.

He continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more. Luke 12: 22-24 (Msg)

Have a great week and please mail this to a friend.

If you’re offered a mile, take a mile!

Yes, I mean the whole thing and not just an inch.

One of man’s greatest emotions is fear. The fear of other people, the fear of rejection, the fear of failure and on and on and on. What this does is keep us in a seemingly “safe” place. It keeps us from trying hard, from breaking the status quo, from thinking outside the box and in a nutshell… it just keeps us from daring. Thus, we become repositories for ideas we are too scared to act on. Ever walked past something and said “hey, I once had that idea!”? Welcome to the club.

Every day we are presented with opportunities; an opportunity to do what isn’t “normal”, or to do what no one else does. Did I just hear you say “crazy thought”? Well, that’s exactly what the world needs now; crazy thinkers; daring innovators and more Eureka! moments. But hold on, before you go running with that idea, just one warning: you may fail. Ready for that? At least you won’t be bogged down with the thought of what might have been. Also an idea is like a seed, it just keeps giving birth to new ones. So have you failed at anything this week? If you haven’t, you probably are daring nothing.

Have a great week.

Don’t come down

And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? Neh. 6:3

Distraction is everywhere you look; on TV, the internet, e-mails, phone, just everywhere. I’ve actually come to conclude that distractions multiply when God is bringing something big your way. Nehemiah valued his assignment, so he called it a “great work”. What he called it also determined how he handled it. Are you doing a “great work” this week? Whether at home, office, or whatever God chooses to call you to. Stay up there, don’t come down..

Stand Strong

Job went from the best times in his life to the worst; and guess what? He didn’t curse God (Job 2:9). Against the advice of friends and family he insisted that things were going to turn around. Have that attitude this week. Get the gear of your life out of neutral, picture your desires met, give life a go, and stand strong!

Giants? What Giants?

Heb. 11: 15 – If they had been thinking with [homesick] rememberance of that country from which they were emigrants, they would have found constant opportunity to return to it. (Amplified)

As a follow up to my last post, please note:

Slaves continually think, speak and act in a way that undermines their self esteem. Hebrews 11: 15 says they would constantly have “found” opportunity to return. We somehow tend to “find” what we think, say and do. So over time our circumstances align with our body language so to speak. In Numbers 13: 30 Joshua and Caleb insisted thay they were able to step in to God’s promises.

They had a choice; either start to think about the land of milk and honey they had just seen, or think of the land of poverty, slavery and hardship they were coming from. Ignore the giants in the promised land and focus on the promise. If God promised you the land, trust him to sort out the giants. Don’t make excuses about the giants Num. 13: 32-33 and don’t make excuses about yourself v 33.

You are at the start of a new year and on the threshold of God’s promises, survey the city, it is yours. You’re not the weak, scared and anxious person you think. Yes, I know your finances are poor now, but step in and watch the economic giants fall. Watch them fall in every area of your life. It’s not a dream, the land is really yours.

Have a swell year ahead.