Things that make you go hmmmmmm.......

Ever think deeply? Remember Arcenio Hall and things that you go hmmm? What bout SNL's Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey? Why is it that there are always times where simple phrases make us just take it in. Why don't we ever think for ourselves? Why don't we utilize the power that God has placed in us to go deeper than surface information? That is why the Titanic sunk because they thought that the berg was smaller than it was but most of it was below the surface. If there were more problems below the surface with icebergs, then why are we asking for understanding of the surface information that we receive anywhere? The Proverbs give you the depths of information needed but it requires you to go deeper and think for yourself. The good news, it can be revealed with God's help. Don't be just hearers of the word but doers James 1:22. Always jury the information received. Never let surface information to cause you to be a sponge. Sponges soak all things around it until it is full. Don't be a sponge, be selective and determine for yourself the things that you need through the filter of the word of God. Go deeper, think and remember that there should be more things that make you go hmmmmmm.........

Ever said hind sight is 20/20?

Have you ever said that hind sight is 20/20? The things we do in life make us look back and wonder why we had to take this road. Robert Frost wrote a poem called The Road Not Taken. We all have decisions that are made and that decision takes us on a journey. There are also times when you are not sure if you are dreaming or awake. You might be laying in bed imagining things are happening and the vivid images make you believe that you actually experiencing these times. Hind sight is 20/20 just means that there are times when the choices made we might not have all the information. We might not have made that decision if we knew thenp what we know now. Remember that all of these experiences involve YOUR CHOICE. You get to decide what path you want to take or not take. It is up to you. Below is the poem by Robert Frost. After reading the poem please watch the video from Katy Perry "Wide Awake." http://youtu.be/k0BWlvnBmIE Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it was grassy and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I marked the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

Mindful power

I was reading sermons online the other day preparing to speak in Fuel Youth service. I had planned on speaking about emptying your garbage but felt another direction. I found where our minds were compared to computers and I had a topic already written down in that same direction about how our minds are powerful. I started to develop the topic and this is what I came up with. When you think of Steve Jobs what do you think of? Probably an iPod, ipad, itouch, iphone, apple. He created a base of doing things. He was not the creator of great things, but had great people around him. He knew where he wanted to go. A computer genius. A computer has lots of different components like RAM, ROM, HDD, SDD, Raid. Your mind also has a lot of different components. Your mind has a lot of power. Look at the Tower Babel. At The tower of Babel God saw that there was nothing they could not do. Read Gen 11:1-9. Windows allows you to access several things at once. There are always pros & cons of access. If you can access it then it can access you too. Read Luke 11:33-36 “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. (Luke 11:33-35 NIV84). Your eyes are a window to your soul. You can be made unclean only from the inside     Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’ ” (Mark 7:21-23 NIV84). What you see and here will be entered into your brain. What will it do once it gets inside? Do you like your computer to be sluggish, slow and freezing up all the time? What are you putting into your mind. Junk in junk out. Education will develop more of your power. Proverbs 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. (Proverbs 23:7 KJV). A doctor can look at cancer growing on your skin and know it is cancer. I look at I and think it looks like a freckle. What's the difference, we are looking at the same thing? He is educated and I am not. The power of positive thinking. Solomon asked for wisdom in I Kings and God gave him wealth and power and wisdom. Read Romans 12:2.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2 NIV84). If you ask why are on this earth then you need to renew your mind. Lastly, 2 Peter 1:3 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. (2 Peter 1:7-9 KJV). Notice we have these things IN the knowledge of Chrst.                             What will your mind do for God?

Empty garbage

When the garbage is taken to the curb do you worry about someone stealing it? Typically when the "stuff" ends up on the curb it is an indication you have no value in it. What has caused the stuff to lose value? Is it broken? Is it not useful? Have you ever heard one man's garbage is another man's treasure? There is a house in my neighborhood that has matresses, Christmas decorations, furniture and other garbage sitting on the curb. There have been many cars that stop and dig through it hoping to find a treasure item. There is a commercial that asks, "what's in your wallet" and I want to ask what's in your garbage? I can tell what has worked and what has not, just by looking at your garbage. Why do we hold onto all these items that we never use? Weaknesses in our personality, clothing that doesn't fit, items that are never used? Why is it that we feel that we need to hold onto something just in case it might be used. Things in your life that is "just in case" are holding you back. Think about the person planning to climb Mt. Everest and looking at what will be packed can assist you in your life planning. Are there extra items packed for that trip that would be considered "just in case?" Of course not. What are you throwing out? Is it broken? Is something broken in your life that only God can repair? Don't be a hoarder. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your life to utilize what is valuable and powerful. It will open new avenues that will turn your garbage into treasure. For where your treasure is your heart will be also.