Includes...
Philippians 3:1 says Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
Repetition or repeating things over and over is the key to developing mastery in anything and it also keeps us safe. There is tremendous power in repetition. In fact throughout the Bible God often repeats himself, and I believe he does this so we get what he is trying to show us.
Finding things that are really important and repeating them over and over unlocks a depth of insight and mastery that can't be attained any other way. It also helps to develop our self control and discipline.
But, not just any kind of repetition will do. Repetition needs to be done with joy and energy because we are doing it with God. Many people find repetition boring but I have found this often means they are lacking presence in what they are doing.
In nature some of the most beautiful things are very...
How do we make today a masterpiece? I think it has more to do with the attitude we do things and who we are doing them with than what we are doing. We can be doing ordinary things but turn them into a masterpiece because we are doing them with God and with his grace, joy, and energy flowing through us.
Notice we are talking about today... Which means we need to live in the present moment and make the most of today.
Here are some keys we have been discussing that can help us make today a masterpiece...
An interesting thing about life is that it often just takes one thing to really change the trajectory of our lives...
It could be one...
I believe this principle applies to our lives because it reminds us of the one sacrifice of Jesus. Hebrews 10:10-14 says...
And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has...
In the world of finance there is something called the opportunity cost, which is the hidden cost of taking one choice versus another.
Let's use buying $20,000 car as a practical example...
If you have the cash to buy the car is it better to pay with cash or finance the car?
You can own the car outright by paying cash but there could be a tremendous opportunity cost that you are missing out on in all the interest you could have been making on the money.
These days car loans are about 2-3% so here is some math...
$20,000 @ 2% over 5 years = Total cost of the car $22,081
If the $20,000 was invested at 5% per year you would have $25,525 after 5 years. This means that by financing the car and investing the money instead you made an additional $3,444 over 5 years.
If the money was invested at 15% per year, which is possible, you would have $40,227 after 5 years.
So in this case the hidden opportunity cost of paying cash could actually be $40,227 -...
In Ecclesiastes 3:12 King Solomon writes, " I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live."
Be happy and do good. This is a very simple phrase but often hard for us to do because God is supposed to be the source.
God is supposed to be the source of our happiness, but we often go searching for it in stuff and achievements. When we have God with us we can rejoice and be content in all situations because he is always with us. Our happiness is supposed to come from the inside not from external circumstances.
His grace also changes our hearts and empowers us to do good. As he works in our lives he gives us the desire and ability to do good and be a blessing.
Today's communion is a time of thanksgiving for God being with us and we are asking for his help to be happy and do good at a greater level. There is always another level of this and there is nothing better than to be happy and do good today!
...This is a time of year when God is shifting things around and opening new doors, which means that many decisions will often to be made during this time. But, I have found there will be times when we pray and God doesn't give us a clear answer.
It is during these times that I believe God is training us to make good decisions. Good parents want their children to be able to make good choices on their own and as children grow we typically give them the freedom to make more difficult decisions.
So if you are praying for help with a decision and hearing nothing, then it may be time to ask God if he is leaving this decision up to you. The good news however is that if you were about to make a big mistake God would let you know. I once heard a preacher talk about this situation and he said he felt God told him... " Make a decision and I will back it. If you are about to make a big mistake I will let you know."
I am praying for you.
Daniel
We are all faced with decisions whether big decisions or small ones, but what is our process for making decisions?
Decisions can be full of pressure to figure out the correct way to go or we can roll the pressure onto God and ask for him help. Decisions that we make today can be full of so many unknowns in the future, but thankfully God wants to help.
The other day the main car we use for our family broke down, so we are faced with a decision on what do to. We could make this decision on our own but we have learned that it's much better to rely on God help. Here are some steps I have learned to take when faced with decisions like this...
When it comes to increasing our productivity there are what I call the 4 P's of Productivity.
Praying and waiting until we know what to do can greatly increase our productivity. A lot of time is wasted on things that are really not important or on things that we have to do over or correct. When we pray and wait for God's leading he makes us so much more efficient.
To be positioned in praise is to be positioned in the light. And when we are in the light everything flows so much better. Staying positioned in praise can help us get more done faster.
Playing is also another key. Time flies when we are having fun, but it also increases the ease and speed of our productivity because it takes the pressure off. When there is a lot of pressure on us we slow down and often make mistakes that have to be corrected. Playing and having fun increases productivity.
The greatest accelerator of productivity is people. People are the can either...
Hebrews 4:15 says For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus was tempted in all points but he was without sin and he fulfilled a law that none of us could fulfill. Which is really important because James 2:10 says whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
There are two ways to be right with God. One is by keeping all of God's laws and the other is by believing in Jesus for our righteousness.
In the Old Testament there were 613 laws and if you broke one of them then you were guilty of all. Think about this... you could be a really good person and keep 612 of the laws but break one of them and be disqualified.
Jesus fulfilled this for us and now we can be right with God by getting only one point right...believing in him.
And an...
I think God designed time to be squeezed.
And two ways we can squeeze time are by compressing it with deadlines and squeezing the most joy out of the moments we have.
I once came across this saying... More gets done in compressed time.
Let's say you are getting ready to do some task... If you set a timer to get as much done as you can in 20 minutes you will almost always get more done in less time than if the time was open ended.
But deadlines increase pressure which is why we need to pair it with squeezing the most joy out of the moments we have today. This means being more present and aware of God's presence, and having more fun.
In today's communion it's a time to remember that because of Jesus we have God's presence and in his presence there is fullness of joy. We are also asking God to help us squeeze our time the way he intended us to.
I am praying for you.
Daniel
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