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Here is today's communion meditation.

 Yesterday we talked about being congruent, which means being the same. Thinking of the word congruent reminded me of Hebrews 1:3 which says Jesus is the exact representation of God. Here is the verse...

who being the brightness of His glory and the express image(exact representation, exact imprint, exact expression) of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

In today's communion we are asking God to help us understand how Jesus was/is the exact representation of Him and what this means for us. 

Today's Health and Fitness Tip

Our muscles lie dormant and atrophy without work and movement, just like faith without works is inactive. Regular exercise both physically and spiritually are important. 

I am praying for you.

Daniel

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Here is today's communion meditation.

 Recently I have been thinking about the word congruent, and going through our program The Abundant Life Blueprint to make sure that everything we are doing is congruent with our message. To be congruent means to be matching or the same. Think about Jesus, he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is congruent in everything he does. 

In today's communion we are asking God to help us be more like him and keep moving to higher levels of being congruent in everything we do.  

Today's Health and Fitness Tip

We can also be congruent in our health. A common struggle for all of us is taking action on what we know to do. As we take action on what we know to do it helps us be more congruent. 

I am praying for you.

Daniel

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Here is today's communion meditation.

I once heard the quote, " I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn't have time." In writing it's easy to keep adding more and more. Conveying the same message with less words takes more time and thought, but it makes the writing simple and powerful. In a similar way it's easy to add more and more to our lives, but it can be challenging to identify the things that need to be removed in order to simplify. 

In today's communion we are asking God to help us identify the things in our life that can be cut away to create simplicity and accelerate growth. 

Today's Health and Fitness Tip

In the area of health and fitness what is one habit that could be removed? For example, maybe there is one trigger food that causes you to overeat, etc. 

I am praying for you.

Daniel

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Here is today's communion meditation.

 Every community has levels and needs leaders. Think of kids, parents, and grandparents.

In the Old Testament we see the model of scribes, chief priests, the high priest, and elders.  

In the New Testament we see something similar with disciples, apostles, and elders with Jesus as our High Priest. 

I think there is something to being a scribe or disciple that prepares us to move up to the next level. A scribe was someone in training who hand copied the Bible. This took diligence and taught them what was in the Bible. But then there is also being a disciple and learning from a mentor. 

In today's world we still use the word chief, think CEO (chief executive officer), COO (chief operating officer), or CFO ( chief financial officer).

To be a chief is to be in a position of oversight, but it takes being a scribe and disciple first. 

In today's communion we are asking God to help us understand...

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Here is today's communion meditation.

Yesterday we talked about the Our Daily Prayer, which I consider to be one of the most foundational things we do in the Abundant Life Blueprint. After praying our Daily Prayer every day for several years, I recently tried praying differently. And almost immediately, I knew I need to go back to praying the same way again. 

While thinking about this I wondered if it was the change in the words or if the change simply made me have a little doubt in my prayer. Then James 5:16-17 came to mind, which says...

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

What is effectual fervent prayer?

The example given is Elijah, and Elijah prayed the same prayer over and over again...

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I consider February to be foundations month, because there were two times in the Bible when the foundation of God's temple was laid in the 2nd month. This month our message is, "To Have the Best, Requires a Foundation of Rest," and part of our foundation is prayer. 

A few years ago, in February we did the Prayer Challenge, which I consider to be one of the most foundational things we do. After praying our Daily Prayer every day for several years, I recently tried adjusting and praying differently. And almost immediately, I knew it was a mistake and went back to praying the Prayer Challenge Daily Prayer again. 

In the Daily Communion Videos, I had also stopped praying the Daily Prayer during the videos, and I felt God was nudging me to include the Daily Prayer again, when one of our partners send me a message asking if we could include the Daily Prayer again. 

Today's communion is a time of gratitude for the Daily Prayer, he has given us, and...

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Here is this week's Yearly Cycle update.

This year our message is "God Saved the Best Until Now," and part of walking in God's best is planning. I once heard the quote that "Planning is one of the greatest expressions of faith" and God is the master planner, designer, and architect. 

Proverbs 22:3 says a prudent man sees danger coming and takes refuge. The ability to look ahead, forecast, and make plans is one of the most important skills we all need. For example, with health and fitness we need to look ahead at the next week and make preparations for getting in our exercise and good nutrition when a busy week is coming. In finances, we also need to look ahead and plan accordingly.

Looking ahead and planning is the difference between just reacting to what comes our way versus having intention and purpose for everything we do. A plan allows us to create the life we want rather than drifting through life.

Here is our filter for...

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Here is today's communion meditation.

 In our new workbook we start every month with a prayer of petition, which is a formal written prayer request. Through the years I have seen amazing results from this type of prayer, but over the last month God has reminded me of a few important keys to prayers of petition. 

In January, I wrote out my prayer of petition, but about halfway through January things weren't going the way I wanted. When I looked back at my prayer of petition for January, I noticed that it hadn't been signed. So, I signed and dated the prayer and almost immediately I started to see things shift again. 

Then yesterday I was in a real estate meeting that discussed the timing of when a contract is considered fully executed or ratified. It is not until a contract has been signed, sealed, and delivered that it is considered official. This reminded me of the process God has taught me for these prayers of petition (but...

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Here is today's communion meditation.

The other day I was in a meeting with a mentor who has been very successful in business. He was talking about how in business, many people become scared when things aren't going well, and they start playing defense rather than offense.

He said, "a surefire way to run a business (or ministry) into the ground is by playing defense. In business you must always play offense."

This reminded me of our Purpose Blueprint in the Abundant Life Blueprint, where we talk about business and ministry. I think of business and ministry as one in the same, because any good business must also use the principles of ministry (doing good for people and being gracious), while all ministries must apply good business principles to be successful. To me business and ministry are one in the same and they play a major role in our purpose. 

In the Abundant Life Blueprint, we have 7 rooms in the house with finances being the center of the room....

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Here is February's Message

Our message for the year of 2023 is "God Saved the Best Until Now," and our message for February is... To Have the Best Requires a Foundation of Rest. 

February, being the 2nd month is foundations month. In the Old Testament there were two times when the foundation in God's temple was laid in the 2nd month. And this month we are focused on creating a foundation of rest. I think all productivity and work comes from a foundation of rest. It is the rest that builds the potential for greater work to happen. 

This month let's consider some of the following areas of rest:

• Resting in God's promises
• Resting in God's unfailing love
• One of the indicators we are resting in our soul is the feeling of hope. Hope is an anchor for our soul and Psalm 16:9 says our flesh will rest in hope. 
• Getting our physical rest and prioritizing sleep.
• Taking time for recreation... which re-creates us.

Our monthly filter for February is... A...