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Friday, February 21, 2020

Personal Relationship?

Do you have a "personal relationship" with God?

"I am the good shepherd". I know My own sheep, and they know Me,...


The Book of John Chapter 10
1.“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
3. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
6. Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.
8. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.
9. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.
10. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
13. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14. “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
15. just a the Father knows me and I know the Father (John 17)—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. (The Gentiles) I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd (The Church/Bride).
17. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.
18. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”...

25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,
26. but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 
27. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 
28. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 
2.9 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 
30. I and the Father are one.”
31. Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 
32. but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33. “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34. Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”? 
35. If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 
36. what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 
37. Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father... 

40. Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 
41. and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 
42. And in that place many believed in Jesus.

Faith is not...

trust, or belief, or confidence, or conviction, or credence, or reliance, or dependence, or optimism, or hopefulness, or hope, or expectation, or any attitude or principle you can put into practice.

John 5:39-40 You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40. yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (CEV) With all your heart you must trust the LORD and not your own judgment. 6. Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.

FAITH IS A RELATIONSHIP! With God the Father, by the Holy Spirit, because of the sacrifice His Son Jesus.

In this relationship, we grow in;  trust, belief, confidence, conviction, credence, reliance, dependence, optimism, hope, expectation, and anticipation.




        Saturday, February 15, 2020

        Hyperfocus: The Ability to "Pay Attention"??

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperfocus

        An ability to "Focus" to the exclusion of distractions.

        How is this an attribute of someone with ADHD?


        "Deficit" of Soul?

        God's will is that your balance sheet be balanced!

        Deficit: short·fall  /ˈSHôrtˌfôl/  noun: shortfall; plural noun: shortfalls
        a deficit of something required or expected.

        PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFICIT  By N., Pam M.S. 
        Any cognitive, emotional or behavioral performance of an individual that is below average.
        -------------------------------------------------

        Laying in bed tonight I ruminated on the past week; Live in the 'Here and Now", "Be Present", "Be awake/Aware", "Listen/Pay Attention", be led by the Holy Spirit. The word "Deficit" came to mind.

        I was reminded of...

        Proverbs 3:5-6 (CEV) With all your heart you must trust the LORD and not your own judgment. 6. Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.

        And realizing the truth of...

        Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

        Tonight I realized God was going to make a deposit into my account (My Soul)!

        He said "As iron sharpens iron, be ready to get your axe sharpened".

        Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

        Vagaries? GOD IS NOT SURPRISED!

        noun - plural noun: vagaries
        an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behavior.

        The vagaries of life are unexpected and therefore cannot be anticipated. But God is not surprised! 

        The same is true of "vicissitudes".

        "When you talk of the vicissitudes of life, you're referring to the difficult times that we all go through: sickness, job loss, and other unwelcome episodes. No one can escape the vicissitudes of life"
        Vocabulary.com

        Tuesday, February 11, 2020

        Patterns of behavior.

        Identity, Self-conception, interpretation, and a unique perspective.

        Patterns of behavior are a result of who we perceive ourselves to be, our sense of identity. Our conception of self is derived from how we interpret our unique perspective that exists in the now but choice gives us the ability to break patterns of behavior.

        Stop relying on your memory and reason alone. Embrace the Lover of your Soul's guidance. Discover who He created you to be, and overcome the lies that have led to destructive habits.

        John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 

        John 8:31 Jesus said to the Jews who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teaching. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

        Monday, February 10, 2020

        And behold, I Am with you always,

        There is never a time that the Holy Spirit is not present in our lives.

        Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

        Luke 12:32  “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

        Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

        The Present Moment

        I call it the Here and Now.

        The present moment is "where" and "when" we exist and have our being. Our understanding resides with our thoughts in the present moment. Our experience is informed by our "perspective" which is derived from a combination of our five senses, our memory of the past that validates the present moment, and our ability to reason, which anticipates the future. Because of this, each individual has a "unique" and limited perspective.

        Our perspective, is limited by the laws of physics and the nature of our inertial frame, which is our physical body. This is why the truth of Proverbs chapter 3 verses 5 and 6 is so important to understand. And why being Spirit-led is an essential aspect of every believer's walk.

        If we are born again, we are conscious of the Holy Spirit's presence. According to His will, the Holy Spirit "informs" our perspective and therefore increases our understanding so that if we trust and obey, we can participate in what He is doing in the present moment (Revealing the Kingdom).

        The present moment, the here and now, is the only place where a child of God is led by the Spirit of God. It's where the Holy Spirit reminds us of His leading in the past: John 14:26. It is where He speaks prophetically to us about the futureJohn 16:13 

        The present moment is the only place where we can exercise Biblical Faith as we trust and obey the Holy Spirit's leading in the here and now!

        Jesus said, "I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees, present-tense, the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. Jn 5:19

        Jesus also said, "The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Jn 14:10

        Thursday, February 6, 2020

        The "Here and Now" and the Presence of God

        The "Here and Now" is where we pay attention. To pay attention means to consciously focus on one aspect of that which we are aware.

        We can be aware of many things in the here and now and still not pay attention to them.

        Definition: the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others.

        "Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information"
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention

        "Attention is the cognitive process that makes it possible to position ourselves towards relevant stimuli and consequently respond to it. This cognitive ability is very important and is an essential function in our daily lives."
        https://www.cognifit.com/attention

        "Attention is a complex cognitive function which is essential for human behavior. Attention is a selection process for an external (sound, image, smell...) or internal (thoughts) event which has to be maintained at a certain level of awareness. It is not a stable but rather, fluctuating skill."

        http://www.happy-neuron.com/brain-and-training/attention

        From all this information we begin to understand that paying attention takes conscious effort.

        Two Bible verses come to mind…

        Romans 8:14 All that are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God.

        John 10:27  My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

        And this one…

        Matthew 10:19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

        These verses speak of the present-tense indicative verb of paying attention to the Holy Spirit in the here and now. Not just acknowledging God's presence but recognizing Him and "choosing" to pay attention and to engage in your relationship with Him.

        The enemy does not want you to do that. He will use distraction by trying to get you to focus, not on the present situation I call the "Here and Now" but on the past using condemnation/hopelessness or the future using speculation/fear... Or both.

        Reality does not exist in the future or in the past.

        We exist and have our being in the "Here and Now". It is where we make our choices and decisions that will shape our future. Do you trust in your limited perspective and understanding in your situation, or will you choose to pay attention to the Lover of your Soul and trust in His Guidance and Counsel? "Now" is the time, and "here" is the place we create the future God wants us to have.

        Philippians 3:12 (NLT) I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.

        Proverbs 3:5 (CEV) With all your heart you must trust the LORD and not your own judgment. 6 Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.

        Tuesday, February 4, 2020

        Choices

        Choice is all about your ability to choose. If you say "I have no choice" than you believe a lie. In the old testament, God says "choose you this day, a blessing or a curse". Fundamentally, those are the two choices we have.

        In The Sermon on the Mount Jesus speaks about making choices...

        Matt 18:9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

        If your flesh causes you to sin, well you have a choice. From the hyperbole in the Sermon on the Mount to Paul's practical advice from his own experience...

        Rom 8:12-14 "Therefore Brethren we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if you through the Spirit put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the children of God."

        Galatians 6:7-8  ESV  Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Col. 3:5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6 For which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.

        Know this...

        1Cor. 10:15. No temptation has seized you, except what is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also provide with the temptation the escape, to be able to endure it.

        The only thing you have no choice about is about making choices.

        You have a choice! Sow to the flesh and reap the curse. Sow to the Holy Spirit and reap the blessing.

        Learning to overcome our fleshly nature through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, this is the process of sanctification. God's will is for us to be overcomers.


        Monday, February 3, 2020

        Righteousness, and Peace, and Joy IN THE HOLY SPIRIT?

        Romans 14:17 For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives.

        RIGHTEOUSNESS

        PEACE

        JOY