Hello June 2022

Let’s stop for a moment and think about what historians might write about this current time period in, say, 2122. What do you think they would say about COVID, mass school shootings, decaying morals, and a lack of civility toward each human being on earth? Living Life is about perspective, knowing what you believe, why you hold that belief, and where your belief came from. Knowing that YOU can change your belief about someone or something is an entirely different perspective. Recently one of my teaching mentors said he heard this phrase: “Immaturity is always in a hurry.”  WOW, isn’t that true?

In previous posts here this year, I mentioned that my women’s small group is taking one year to focus on “PRAYER.”  With each of the Bible Studies on Prayer, we are deepening our process, learning how to pray the names of God, praying the promises back to God which is in the Bible, learning how and why God answers the way he does, and how spending time with Him as our father enables us to become dependent on Him for guidance. 

Matthew 18:20 reminds us of this: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” What a wonderful promise from Christ. In my business of coaching and mentoring others, I frequently find there is a “hole” even a “desert” in the lives of those who seek out someone or something to fill that hole and water that desert deep inside them. What happens is, over time, this barren landscape of their heart and soul ceases to function, and the person becomes jaded, hard, cold, negative, and many more adjectives I will not mention here. How can a person like this be revived? Platitudes like bandaids will not fix this. Taking a pill or drinking something to numb the emptiness will never fill the hole. God created us to be in a “relationship” with Him and other believers.

Again, we can open our Bible and read from Matthew 11: 28 – 29:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” 

There are some 34 verses that speak to this in our Bible; Check out: https://www.openbible.info/topics/god_desires_a_relationship_with_us

This change starts with YOU. It begins inside YOU. It begins with a decision to “CHANGE.”  John Maxwell has said many times, that a person changes three times. 

You change when YOU HURT enough that you HAVE to change.

You change when YOU LEARN enough that you WANT to change.

You change when YOU RECEIVE enough you are ABLE to change.

Each of these three statements does not happen overnight. They take time, and a process ensues. Where are you right now? Are you trying to fill a deep hole? Are you in the desert? If this is you, then you are aligning with the first statement.

If you are in the process of being in a relationship with God, in your Bible studying and reading daily, attending church, and in a life group or small group study, then you are in statement number 2.

If you are a more mature Christian and you find yourself equipped to lift up and serve others, and give back what you have learned, then you are in statement number 3. 

It takes time and faith to realize that your Heavenly Father walks with you every minute of the day and night. You might be a person who prays only in crisis. What you may not realize is that God is always right there beside you day and night. He is there before the crisis, during the crisis, and even after the crisis has passed. When we walk daily with Him, acknowledging His presence, thanking Him for the bounty and blessings all around us, and we lean on Him even in the small daily tasks, we see Him and our lives very differently. 

Did you know you can pray the promises in your Bible back to God and test Him? Look this up for yourself; go to 1 Thessalonians 5:21. What does it say there? “…but test them all; hold on to what is good…”  or James 1: 2-3, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”  There are some 57 verses on this concept alone in your Bible.

Praying scripture back to God is a promise in itself and never comes back void! The ministry called https://Proverbs31businesswoman.com  is a great example of this. Here is some information about this concept from Proverbs 31 Woman.

1.  Jesus did. Simple and so important. This can be found in Matthew 23:37-39 and Luke 13: 34-35.
2. God is Bound By His Word. How do we know this? One key element to understand about praying scripture or praying, in general, is that God has established an order in which He’s chosen to get things down in the earth realm. Read Isaiah 55:11.
3. His Word is Truth. When we pray the WORD, we are praying the TRUTH! John 17:17 tell us this: “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.”

4. Helps Us to Maintain Our Focus on God. God isn’t looking for selfish letters like a child might write to “Santa”, He is looking for something else. Ask God what “He Wants For You” in whatever the issue is you are bringing to Him.  Romans 12:2 says this: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  There are 67 Bible verses on this topic.
5. Helps us better understand scripture and apply it to our lives. The Bible is not some ancient document that has no relevance to our lives today. It is a living document meant to be relevant for all of eternity. The stories within its covers are examples we can use and correlate to our own situation today in 2022. When we understand the Bible, and how the situations of old are the same as the sinful lives and situations we find ourselves in today, we can learn and apply. This application is built on several key principles:  1. Context. 2. Understanding how the original audience would have understood the text in their time. 3. Coming to grips with the time gap between the original audience and ourselves today. 4. All moral commandments and principles are in the Old and New Testament and are “timeless truths.” 5. Each passage has one and only one correct interpretation and many applications in life situations. Do not add or subtract from the text in the Bible. 6. Always approach each passage and study scripture with prayer, humility, and lean on the Holy Spirit.

Let’s circle back again to those historians in 2122. No matter what they write and how they interpret things here in 2022, the Bible and its truths will still be relevant. God never changes.

Reach out at any time with concerns, questions, or to be a client.