The Russian Connection

WHICH WAY......WHICH WAY.....?

Ever wanted your way and not His way?

We want the comfort of our own plans.

But the Lord has says his ways aren't our ways and his thoughts aren't our thoughts.

ISAIAH 55:8,9

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
   neither are your ways my ways,”
            declares the LORD.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Jeremiah 29:11 says His plans for us are for good and not for evil. He has a hope and a future for us. Yet we always seem to think that if we follow His will, we'll miss out on something... like He's keeping us from fun and from experiencing the fullness of life. When in reality- He is the One who created pleasure. He knows us, our dreams & desires better than we do and has formed a plan just to personally fit us.

When we yield to God we put ourselves in a position for Him to move. Many times God opens the door, but we refuse to step in. Because He calls us to walk by faith... and 99.9% of the time that is not a comfortable thing to do! But in that obedience is a reward and satisfaction that no money or fulfillment in the world could ever give. Because we are operating in the calling for which we were created.

                It take 2 things to do it:

• Commitment
• Submission

 TODAY:

Stay in the will of God.
That is where your grace is; that is where protection is,
and that is where the fullness of your destiny is.

How to be of
VALUE

V [Vision] What is your vision right now? Helen Keller said that having eyesight but no vision, is even worse than being blind.

A [Attitude] Your attitude will determine your altitude. It can either promote you or set you back and ruin your relationships. Controlling our attitude is an every day, all day constant maintenance.

L [Leadership] God has called all of us to be leaders, in one way or another. Maybe to you, its being a leader for your family. Or perhaps, a high position of authority. Whatever it may be, value you it and honor your God-given position.

U [Understanding] Make it a point to understand people and where they come from. It will help you to avoid arguments and getting upset at people.

E [Excel] Anything alive should always grow. Ask God to show you the areas where you can reach a new standard of excellence and take it to another level.

PUTTING IT ON

  COLOSSIANS 3:12 

"PUT ON a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. But beyond all these things PUT ON love, which is the perfect bond of unity"

I love how Paul says PUT ON love. I think in this particular context of scripture, he says PUT ON love, because there will come many times where...quite frankly, we don't feel like "loving" the person next to us.

Just like we physically put on our clothes, or shoes for the day, in faith, we must also put on the right attitudes and virtues. We have to purpose in our hearts to PUT ON Jesus Christ. We need to forgive those who we don't feel like forgiving. We need to quit judging people for their personality quirks and let me be themselves- who God created them to be.

• It is a conscious choice that we have to make and be aware of.
• 1 COR 13:4-8 shows us that love isn't just a feeling, it's a behavior!
  

TODAY:

Whatever you are facing in a relationship with someone, whether it even be a family member or friend, make the conscious choice to PUT ON love even when you don't feel like it. Because if you don't, you will loose that relationship, and one day you will be sorry that you didn't not value it while God had that person in your life!

WHEN SOMETHING ISN'T WORKING

When something isn’t working, you don't have to wait until change is forced upon you, to fix it.It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about- relationships, business decisions, food choices, or any other dimension of your life.

Remember, staying with something that no longer works is a form of  insanity. (Making refference to Websters definition of doing the same things over and over again, expecting differnet results.)

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NLT)
“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

When your standard approach quits producing the desired results, try something new.  If that doesn’t work, try something else. Keep making adjustments until you start producing the result you are after. Don't ever settle and think that there is nothing you can do about it.

• Resisting change is counter productive
• Keep learning to keep progressing

There are a lot of things that can affect the results we produce. Some of them are predictable, others will be a surprise.  But they all have one thing in common.  They all require that we make constant adjustments so that we can stay on course.

TODAY:

What areas of your life need to be adjusted?

                       EVERYONE
                            WANTS TO BE.............
                     A HERO

But before we try to be a hero to the whole world,
we need to make sure that we are heroes at home first.

For some reason, showing kindness and love to a stranger can be the easiest thing in the world, but when it comes to treating our own family members or close friends with respect.....all of a sudden we can seem like a totally different person. 

• Although it is so extremely common, in all of us, it acts like poison to our relationships. It is hurtful, and people feel pre-judged, and often react defensively. 

I think, it is because for those we are closest to, we know they will still love us no matter what, and we can always apologize later....so we're not as careful to watch our tone of voice or choice of words. Which in turn, gives us a completely different result than if we had.

But people deserve to be treated equally. Don't allow someones past or the condition of your relationship with them, to effect the way you treat them. We should never give people the power to change who God has called us be, and what He has called us to do. We are to love our neighboor as ourselves.

TODAY:

Make it your lives goal to be respected most by those you are closest to.

Something way easier said, than done!

SERVANT HOOD VS. STARDOM

 Doing things behind the scenes can often be a huge test of humility. Because those actions aren't seen by others, we don't always receive any recognition or praise.

Q: How do you react when you don't get the credit you deserve?

It's hard not to get mad, or feel hurt. But your effort doesn't go unnoticed. The Bible says that God sees every good thing we do in secret, and He will reward us openly for it. And that is all that matters. We serve an audience of One anyways.

Serving is a huge opportunity. It allows us to show integrity and really exemplify the Spirit of Christ in the middle of a world completely compelled by self-promotion.

• Being a true servant all has to do with the motive of our hearts. That's what God looks at. Are we serving because we love God and love people and want to be a help in the Kingdom of God, or are we just using it as a stepping stone for our own stardom?

Paraphrasing Deuteronomy 8:17-18, this is how it might be addressed to us today-

"Be humble about your talent. Otherwise you may say in your heart that you did it all on your own. But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gave you the ability to do what you do."

TODAY:

  Our confidence should never be in our talent,
but in the power of God and His anointing.

Came across this video today and wanted to share. How awesome isn't this.

 

In the midst of a new season, or perhaps in the midst of a hard trial, always desire to be
GOD-conscious rather than PROBLEM-conscious.

No matter how tempted you might be to upsize the issue at hand in conversation or though, don't forget that nothing is bigger than God.

• No set back is bigger than His power to propel you forward. 

• When you are problem-conscious all the time, it creates within you a pessimistic way of thinking and that can become a lifestyle.

EX: Paul & Silus. 
What if they had begun to have a change of attitude and started complaining.
Or what if they had started blaming each other?
The breakthrough from being able to praise would of never came. 

Philippians 4:6,7,8

^"6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

REMEMBER:

Pessimism is doubt in action. It's the opposite of faith.
Because faith in the Word, expects God's best.

You can do all things through Christ!

 HAPPY VALENTINES

Today is Loves official holiday. A day where we celebrate all the love in our life from family, friends and relationships. Here are a couple of quick ideas if you are still out and about today looking for gifts. These tips are from a few different compiled sources. Check it out: 

    TOP 10 GIFTS FOR WOMEN:                  TOP 10 GIFTS FOR MEN:

    10. New P.J's with matching slippers         10. Gift certificates

    9. Cd mix                                                    9. Cologne

    8. Her favorite book                                   8. CDs & DVDs

    7. Chocolate                                               7. Video Games

    6. Certificate to her beauty salon               6. New Wallet

    5. Personalized teddy bear                        5. Personalized Pen Set

    4. Dinner at a nice resturant                      4. Watch

    3. Flowers                                                  3. Electronic Gadgets

    2. A love letter                                            2. Flat Screen Tv

    1. Jewlery                                                  1. Tickets To A Sporting Event

LEPROSY
OF THE HEART

In Biblical times when people had leprosy, they were complete outcasts. They lived segregated from everyone else, because people did not want to be near them. It was even said that the Lepers were required to carry a small bell that they would ring when approaching a populated town.

We can feel like outcasts too.

Many have grown up being told that they are not good enough. That nobody loves them and no one will ever want them. Everything ranging from kids in school, to your family at home. It might of left you feeling all alone... even in a world with almost 7 billion people.

Diagnosed case? Emotional Leprosy of the heart.

But Jesus can cleanse us from that with a single touch.

He knows our value because He is the one who created and formed us. When we are truly touched by Him, a change takes place that goes to the very depth of our being. We realize that the world is bigger than those who have spoken down to us. There is a second opinion, and we can choose to believe the positive over the negative. It's said that "hurt people, hurt others". But we take it out on ourselves and think we're different....we're not gifted or privileged like everyone else, when in reality, that's not true.

TODAY:

If you feel like you've grown up with a case of "Leprosy of the Heart", you can ask God, and He can touch your life with His love. You can be cleansed from the plague of self-loathing.

MATTHEW 28:19-20:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

For the last couple days we've been talking about what it means to really follow Christ.

One of the greatest examples of this, are the disciples that so closely followed Jesus.
There were 12 to be exact. Some followed Him closer than the others, and one even ended up betraying Him for money in the end.

With our discipleship to Jesus, it is up to us how closely we want to follow.

The word DISCIPLE simply means: LEARNER.

According to Vine's Expository Dictionary, it is someone who "follows another's teachings". Disciples were known as imitators of their teachers, as they lived to showcase the characteristics of their Rabi.

Do you have a strong desire to follow Jesus and become like Him?
Unless you do, it cannot be said that you are truly His disciple!

TODAY:

  A whole adventure lies within our discipleship to Jesus because it is full of learning new things everyday. If you are devoted to Him, be open for what He wants to teach you today!