Broken Promises

Bouncing a check is a rather foolish endeavor. When the check hits the bank and the money is not there, the bill is still there plus fees. Writing a check and cashing it when there are insufficient funds is a broken promise. When you make promises that you fail to keep you are not getting away without penalties. They may not be as easy to trace as bank fees, but the penalties of broken promises exist. The person, or persons you made the promise to will be less likely to believe what you say in the future. The relationship is damaged beyond the realm of just words. When trust is shaken everything about the relationship is more fragile than before. Just like it is better not to write a check when you know the money is not there, it is better not to make a promise when you know you either can't or won't keep it. If you do make promises you have failed to keep restoration of trust begins with saying you're sorry. Just like the bank will not allow your account to proceed as if nothing ever happened when a check bounces; A relationship will not go on in the same way without owning and making right a promise that has been broken. Don't waste relationship currency by failing to repair a broken promise. The damage can be far more severe than a few bank fees. You may feel like you have swept it under the rug, but your spouse, your kids, or your friends know you didn't do what you said you would. That blockade will be there until it is torn down by making it right. Have a great day keeping your promises and making repair for the ones that have been broken!

I Am Healed Monday

I'm sure this phrase from Mark 9:24 states the way we sometimes feel when it comes to our health. "...I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" This came from a father that had a son bound by a chronic, debilitating disease. He knew Christ had healed many other people from their distresses. His words to Jesus however, reveal the doubt he has concerning his own case. The man said, "if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!" Jesus responds to him the same way He is responding to us. "All things are possible to him who believes." If that is a true statement, and it comes from the one who is truth so it has to be. We must evaluate continually what we really believe. We must take a firm look at where our unbelief is popping up. The battle between faith and doubt fluctuates. We would like to think we are strong people of faith all the time, but faith is a moving thing. A bad report, a bad day, negative conversation, wobbles in our faithfulness, triggers that set off chronic conditions can all do damage to the strength of our faith. If we are going to enjoy healing the biggest think we need to overcome is doubt. Medical advances are great. The greatest obstacle to being blessed by the touch of the Master's hand though, is unbelief. Have a great day receiving help from God to overcome it!

Get In; But Be Effective!

A line this morning from the late, well known business expert Peter Drucker reads "...attempts to put ordinary college courses online are a mistake." He respects the power of the internet to communicate information, but believes the way that information is communicated must be different than in an ordinary class room. That made me think about the way I tend to communicate the gospel online. I have many times just placed a sermon "as is" on line. That has to be the same mistake as trying to teach a class on the internet like a teacher standing before students in a class room. There are many more creative ways to utilize that same footage and communicate the good news more effectively. I'm sure you know that a godly presence on the web is extremely important, or you wouldn't be reading this. We need to be involved. Our voice needs to be heard. The name of the Lord is to be glorified everywhere including through technology. We just need to be as effective as possible with the audience we know utilizes this forum. I know from that one statement from Drucker that I have work to do and creativity to release. How about you? Have a great day using what you can in the most effective way possible!

Don't Sleep On Justice!

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress." Trayvon Martin was a young man just making a little run to the store and now he's dead. His killer was instructed by the dispatcher to back off. His killer had a documented reputation of being over zealous. His killer used deadly force against an unarmed boy. His killer, based on the laws of common sense, didn't even need to carry arms as a neighborhood watch captain. When our boys can't go to the store to get a bag of Skittles and an Ice tea without their lives being at risk we have a seriously warped society. The fact that the perpetrator of this crime is not sitting in a jail cell speaks volumes about our nation. We declare in our Pledge that we are nation that stands for "liberty and justice for all." Apparently we really don't mean that. If you want an even higher source the Bible says in Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? God is a God of justice just as much as He is love and light. When we operate in justice we operate in harmony with who God is. Where is the justice for Trayvon Martin and his family? Have a great day, but don't forget to lift a prayer and speak a word in your circle of influence to help bring justice to this heart broken family.

I Am Healed Monday

The thought for today is simple. We read about the tremendous miracles of healing that Jesus performed and we are impressed. We know what He has done and we praise Him. However, there is sometimes a disconnect from what He has done to the power that He left for us to walk in. Even after Christ died, rose again and ascended to take His seat in glory miracles were still being released through the disciples. The book of Acts is chalked full of the mighty works of God actively moving through the Lord's followers. We can also have a tendency to believe that our sickness is somehow unique, or our case somehow too special for the Lord to address. The verse that we look at today should encourage us to have an expectation of the Lord's healing favor in our lives. He is on His throne, yet He still works through those who believe Him. There also seems to be no regard for what type of sickness, nor how many may be in need. Your case is not too hard. You are not the only one the Lord is going to skip. The price that our Lord paid when He was brutalized and killed includes you. The Holy Spirit inside of every believer is our authority to take God at his word. Look at this: Acts 5:16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one. Over and over again we are told that God healed every one. Believe that! Declare that over your own life. You don't need some type of super evangelist to pray for you. The power of an endless life is in you too. Have a great day believing in the God who is the same yesterday, today and forever! That God is a God who heals the sick.

Living With The End In View

I don't know why he said this, but John Maynard Keyne said "In the long run we are all dead." Not the most cheerful statement, but chalked full of reality. There are way too many people living short sighted lives. As a result the wisdom of living well is absent. The facts are hard to hide from. The mortality rate is one hundred percent. Unless we are in the generation that sees Jesus return the one thing that we can be sure of is we will one day die. With that in mind, what are the most important things to occupy ourselves with while we live? Since the most important thing at death is a relationship with God through Christ it certainly makes sense to make sure that is firmly in place. Since at death we carry nothing with us it sure seems reasonable to spend more time enjoying love than pursuing things. Finally, knowing we must die we should concern ourselves with the impact we leave behind us. Long after we are gone what we have modeled and memories of how we lived will still be here. Somebody is watching us and learning the lessons we teach whether they are good or bad. We need to make that impact count for good. Have a great day pursuing love and relating to God for in the end what else really matters.

Systematic Improvement

We do not become our best by accident. If we are looking to improve our lot in life we must build ways to make that happen. Our prayer lives improve when we build in systematic disciplines of praying. That does not eliminate spontaneous praying, but that is even strengthened because we have set times that prayer is offered. Our growth in knowledge will only come as we have built in times of learning. Books and knowledgable people can be effective instruments, but time needs to be systematically given. It would be foolish for us to think we can go from zero to 10 miles or 100 push ups. We can systematically grow from 1 mile and increase our push ups in sets of ten. We won't go from owing everyone in town to living debt free overnight. However we can get there systematically paying off one bill at a time. Neither spiritual, mental, financial or physical fitness just happen. We will improve based on the systems that we build in our lives. No systems will mean very little improvement. Have a great day building a plan for a better you!

Interrupting The Dream Sequence

Some of us are admittedly dreamers. We can have so many dreams floating around in our heads that push the envelope that we could be in a continuous state of turmoil. Some of the dreams we have could improve the environments we function in. Others would just set people on edge. The interesting snag in the whole thing is a dream never becomes anything but good intentions until it gets translated into positive action. A dream must be translated into a workable plan. The plan then has to generate some action. Those who are dreamers know every dream does not deserve an action plan. However, no dream will ever be anything other than a dream if there is never any action generated by it. Some of the things people have accomplished is just straight amazing. These great success stories all started in somebody's head as a dream. Who is to say that we don't have something amazing in us that's just waiting to be acted upon? We can't let our best dreams die in dreamland. Have a great day translating your best dream into an action plan!

I Am Healed

Welcome to another "I am healed Monday." Today we view the cross as the instrument that provided our healing favor. The question we need to ask ourselves is was the suffering of our savior enough to provide healing for the things that make us ill? I bring you a phrase from Isaiah 53:5 "the chastisement of our peace was upon Him;" That means the correction, chastening or discipline that was necessary to secure our peace was handled by Christ. He did what was necessary to correct our off balance, out of kilter, non-favored lives. He received punishment in our place. Now we have peace (shalom) with God. That powerful word describes our covenant state with God through Christ. It includes completeness, wholeness, soundness, welfare, health, tranquility, prosperity, safety and contentment. Jesus Christ is our peace. Why would we just expect forgiveness from our sins when Jesus has suffered to bring us absolute soundness in every phase of life? Just like faith in his work secures our forgiveness, we must live in faith to experience our wholeness. Have a great day living in the expectation of wellness!

Opportunity Based Change

Innovation is not the kind of thing that should be done just for the sake of change. A new idea should be joined to an opportunity. Sometimes unnecessary risks are taken just so a person can prove they are on the so called cutting edge. Who are we trying to impress? We do need to think about whether or not we are in step with the age we are in. We do need to be willing to let go of things that are no longer effective. We do need to take a long look at the most pressing needs we have and try to meet them. Those are all doors of opportunity. If we honestly evaluate the people around us that need something and try to help those people, there will be somethings that must be adjusted to make that happen. We cannot operate well being stuck in a fear zone, but there is no value in being a risk taker just because of the rush it can bring. Too many people can be hurt by our desire to be a genius. Have a great day looking for opportunities to help someone and then innovate if necessary.

I Am Healed Monday

I'm going to start calling Mondays "I am healed Mondays" as an encouragement for the people of God to believe God. Divine healing is a part of our benefit package as believers in Jesus Christ. Our bodies from the natural side are prone to weakness, sickness, disease, aging and the negative effects of the fall. What Jesus has done for us on the other hand opens us up to the supernatural power of God. The challenge we have is the supernatural power of God is accessed by faith. The natural decline and the negative impact of the fall are all things we can see. To have our healing breakthroughs manifest we must master the art of walking by faith and not by sight. We have to learn to declare what the Word declares regardless of what the physical evidence may be. (2 Corinthians 4:13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;) I want to encourage you, as I encourage myself, to speak the word of God over our bodies. Say it out loud. Speak the Word verbally. The word of God is both life and health not just to the soul, but also to the body. I'll leave you today with a few verses from Proverbs that speak about the power of the Word on our bodies. Proverbs 4:20-22 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh. Have a great day fighting the natural with the supernatural!