19 JulOnward, Forward and Upward

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“They” were right about one thing (sort of, anyway)–it is all about who you know.  The only thing is “they” kept their vision too low.  To be clear, to move up in life, get ahead of the pack, and attain higher levels of success and achievement, you must know the right person.  Not to be confused with just any person, I’m talking about the Person who can open doors no man can shut–and then shut doors no man can open!  I’m talking about the Lord, Jesus Christ. 

When you realize that knowing Jesus is MORE THAN ENOUGH to put you over in every area of your life, it dissipates the stress, hustle and bustle of trying to get things to happen.  Not that you don’t work at it any longer or put in the necessary effort to show yourself faithful and diligent, but it’s now turned to a different audience.  Not the boss, the neighbors, the community influencers and leaders, and so on, but the heavenly audience.

This is freedom!  Because now, instead of trying to please everyone and be “all things to all men”, you can take a deep breath, relax–and focus on being your best for God.  When we stop trying to be right with everyone else is when we are truly free to be right in Him, as He intended. 

He’s the Source of true and lasting promotion; it won’t come from any other direction.  “For no one on earth…can raise another person up.  It is God alone…” (Psalm 75:6, 7, NLT).  Don’t waste anymore time playing kiss-up, fretting over others’ opinions of you and seeking approval outside of the loving arms and Presence of your heavenly Father.

I say over myself often, “As the righteousness of God, I move onward, forward and upward”.  And God honors that. He’ll do the same for you, and any believer, who will acknowledge Him as their Source of everything. 

Now that’s good news!

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25 MayKeep Your Dreams In Sight

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Keeping up with God and all He has called you to can be a daunting–although exciting–quest at times.  Managing the multiple responsibilities of daily life can often take the focus away from the dreams still yet to be realized.  And that’s what we have to remember to guard against as we go along life’s path.  The God-given dreams that still remain in dream land have an ultimate destiny to become reality.  That is if we don’t lose sight of them and the necessary focus required to realize them.

As with everything, the Word of God offers counsel on how to keep our dreams front and center and ready for manifestation.  A major key is found in Habakkuk 2, where we are instructed to write the vision and make it plain (v. 2).  But God didn’t stop there.  He also told Habakkuk why he should do this:  “that he may run that readeth it”. 

Write down your dreams, prayers, desires and whatever it is you are trusting God to bring to pass in your life!  For sure, by writing them down, they’ll remain easily referenceable and  ’top of mind’ for you to reflect upon, plan and pursue, as you stay committed to seeing them through to fruition.  And somehow, for me at least, they become more tangible once they’re inked.  It’s cathartic–at the very least–and gives us the necessary focus and momentum–at best–to see our dreams come to pass.

God is the Dream Giver and the Dream Fulfiller.  Follow His advice and write down your dreams.  In this way, you won’t lose sight of the greatness still to come in your life.

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23 MarExpect the Best

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Expectation plays a big part in how things come to pass in our lives.   If we’re expecting good, wholesome things, in line with God’s best, then that’s a great asset.  However, too often, people really aren’t expecting the best–in fact, they’re expecting the worst!  And then it happens.  Why?  Because we usually get what we expect.

If that’s you–and you’ve been guility of expecting things that are not truly the best (and we all have at some point in time)–then give yourself a shake and get on with training your thoughts and expectations on God’s best for you.  All the time.  You’ll be delightfully amazed at how your outlook will change and, with it, the happenings of your life.

Expect the best–from yourself, others, and most of all, God.   It’s the only way to live if you want to experience days of heaven on the earth.

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11 FebMy Favorite Thing

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I remember the moment like it was yesterday: sitting there in a selection interview for a campus leadership council during my undergrad years, these questions, among others, came:  “What is your favorite thing?  And why?”.  Almost without a second of reserve, I replied “a book”.  I’ve always loved words–the spoken word, writing, communication in varied formats, but that wasn’t the ‘why’ behind my answer.   Instead, as I went on to explain, a book was my favorite thing because within the pages of a book there are no limitations.  With any given book, you can be transported anywhere and experience anything, things which otherwise might always remain too distant to reach or too costly to obtain.  A book, however, brings close those things and opens those worlds to all who dare to journey within its pages.  My final answer went something like that and–after all these years–it’s still my favorite thing.

But nowadays it’s not just any book, but the Book, the Bible, the living Word of God, that’s my favorite.  The original Source of all truth, light, beauty, success, power, love, and every other great thing one could long after, are contained–and accessible–within its pages.  This Book truly offers the promise of a new life to anyone who will dare to take it at face value and believe it!  It has the power within it to transport you from every hard, cold, dark, uninspiring place that exists into the most glorious, joy-filled days of heaven on earth. 

If there was ever anything worth claiming as my favorite thing, the Word of God is it!  How about you?

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02 FebAnother Level

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Here we are…another year, another decade!, and with them both, I believe, comes another level. I’ve been thinking about that more and more lately. Thinking about how no matter where we find ourselves at this very moment in time, there is always another level. New years, new beginnings, fresh starts so to speak, usually inspire a push for becoming better, and we should take advantage of that inspiration for sure. But when the excitement of the “newness” wears off, like it eventually does with a new car or a new pair of shoes, and if I can bring myself to say it, even a fabulous handbag (smile), then we must go deeper to sustain our reach to the next level.

God is that sustenance. Because it’s the Lord Who takes us to every new level we enjoy. He is the One Who can truly take us to new levels of love after a devastating heartbreak and new levels of forgiveness after betrayal and new levels of success after already amazing accomplishment and new levels of healing after sickness and new levels of grace after falling really short of the mark.

So if you were wondering, yes, another level is here for you. No matter what you’ve done or where you are in life’s pathway, there is another level awaiting your arrival. Knowing that is a deep comfort that keeps me hopeful, motivated and reaching forward—come what may.

All things truly are possible with God—including your next level.

P.S. Let me know what new level(s) you’re going for right now.

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