Category Archives: Busy-Ness Booster (Spirit and Truth)

Risk It! Stay Positioned

Position yourself to succeed.  Often we are standing in a pool of loss when the high ground of a gain is only one step.

Rom:8:37: Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

A winner …. is not afraid of losing.training

A loser …. is secretly afraid of winning.

2Cor:2:14: Now thanks be unto God, which always causes  us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place..

It is always interesting to see the perennial never enough mentality of people.  Our provision in life is so many times dictated by our vision.

The word provision has an interesting etymology.  Pro – before  Videre – to see.  Literally to see beforehand.

Gen22:8: And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9: And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10: And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11: And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12: And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13: And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and

 Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14: And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. (The Lord Our Provider – Jehovah Jireh)

The Hebrew word, jireh, here means exactly as the Latin, provision.  They are both compounds of “to see before.”  The concept is that God sees what we need before we even get to the point of need and “pro-vides” it.

Winners understand the needs of life are “provided”.  What about the wants?

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  John 15:7  NIV

Winners remain and position themselves to receive. Remaining in Jesus is a posture of prayer and righteousness.  Our standing in Him is based on His atoning work on the cross.  Dead, buried, and risen with Him, we stand in full stead as a son before the Father of the Universe.  All our needs are met according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Remaining, abiding, dwelling, habituating….in His city, in His dwelling place, in the courts of our God, in the secret place places us in the constant position of protection and provision through prayer.

Like Abraham they are unafraid to take the challenge because they know that “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.”  They ultimately believe that what they need will be there when they get there.

Winners stay positioned in God, in conversation with God, and believe for victory in God.

This one will take more than one session.  God really is a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) God.  The flip side is that winners know they can recover from any loss at any time… Next lesson…Stand Ground. Give Ground.

Take Inventory

Can I really believe that God will pro-vide?

Am I willing to drop my belief that He will only go so far in some area and that He won’t be abundant?

Make Application

Write what you are going to specifically do in the next 30 days about this.

Risk It! Change

Every great innovation began with a resistence to status quo.  The greatest status quo that hinders is personal character.

Phil:4:8: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9: Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

 

A winner …shows he is sorry by acting differently.training

A loser…. says, “I’m sorry”, but continues to do it again.

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

You would like to get victory over weaknesses, wouldn’t you?  That is what Jesus is all about.  In the book of the Revelation there are many promises to the one who overcomes, stays until the end, “takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin”, keeps moving on.  Our weaknesses, insecurities, nuances of personality haunt us in the path of the winner.  Over and over we will make mistakes, glitch in performance, slip climbing the ladder, fall on our face, get egg on our face, boondoggle……sin.

Yes, one key word used for sin in the Bible is simply to miss the mark.  Shoot at a goal and miss it.  Decide we want to be loving and react with anger.  Decide to keep our minds pure then fill it with trashy books, magazines, and the boob tube.  Promise to a wife or son or daughter or friend or neighbor or coworker or employee or employer and then not follow through.  Sin.

The question is, “What do we do then?”  Do we take a winner’s stance or a loser’s escape.  Do we face up, fess up, and clean the mess up?  Or do we put on a face, say, “I’m sorry”, and fade away only to do it again and again?

Winners change.  Winners find a way to do life differently the next time.

Some years back a famous jewel thief was being interviewed over his life.  He had spent many years in prison.  His modus operandi was to only steal from the rich and famous.  The interviewer asked him what his biggest theft was.  His reply was, “Me.”  The explanation was simple.  He had stolen his own life.  What could have been a great creative mind used productively was used to steal and hurt.    When you refuse to change and use the talents and strengths God gives you, you are stealing from yourself.  Your time, energy, and talent go into actions that only produce hurt and pain for you and others.  Why not change to a better way?  Why not get a new thought process and quit doing what doesn’t work, what only hurts?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12: 1-2  NIV.

Take Inventory

What needs changing in your thought life?

What can you fill your mind with that will cause the old thoughts to go out and new ones come in?

Make a date with destiny.  When are you going to start?

Make Application

Write what you are going to specifically do in the next 30 days about this.

 

 

 

 

 

Pray To Be Changeable

Father, quicken my mind and heart.  I make mistakes everyday.  Help me not repeat them.  Help me overcome the items in life that are so easy to do wrong.  Focus my thoughts on good things, pure, lovely, true, honest, excellent things that cause me to follow through with real change not just being sorry.