Always Too Soon To Quit

It’s always too soon to quit! Ever have one of those times in your life when you can’t decide whether to push on or just quit? Well I have! Unfortunately I have done both! When I was a young man I dreamed every day of being a professional tennis player. Literally every day I would work on some component of my game. People told me I was too slow, or too late or not good enough but I knew different. I practiced with the best players I could find every day. They would beat me 6-0 6-0 on a daily basis but I just kept working. I would condition when they were sleeping and I work harder when we were side by side. Everything in my life was about this dream. I was in better shape than anybody I ever played against and I knew that if a match went into 3 or 5 sets I would win because I had put in the hours to prepare for those situations. My senior year I went undefeated and had the opportunity to earn my USPTA (United States Professional Tennis Association) certification. I was the kind of kid that always came off the court bleeding somewhere because I was willing to dive for anything and everything. It was amazing the balls I could get to when I threw my body and heart around. I was all heart with a little bit of talent. The unfortunate reality was that I had not trained my mind as well as I had trained my body. One day I lost in the finals of a regional event and completely lost my mind! I jumped in my car drove wildly out of the parking lot and a few moments later crashed horribly into another car. The accident was bad but the injuries to my body were minimal compared the scars on my mind. I never played again and often times I think back at what I could have done differently. I gave up on a dream that I had carried all my life.

I know now that God had a different plan for me so I am grateful for how things have worked out but I have never forgotten the feeling of quitting and the ache in my soul that it left for years. It was the emotional drama of the whole mess that broke my spirit and killed my dream. It was my choice, but I made that choice from an undeveloped mind.

Well here I find myself 20 years later, a multi millionaire and living my dream of financial independence, until a few months ago when my world got turned upside down. While I am not quite ready to talk about these events I find myself having to decide to continue pursuing my dream or folding up the tent and moving on. It is like a flashback to the car accident and all the rush of emotions that twisted my mind. The advantage I have today is that I have read hundreds of books, been to hundreds of seminars and developed my mind to a point where I feel like I have been prepared my whole life for this moment in time. I am strong, My God loves me, I have an awesome family and I know God has a plan for me and will use this time to make me stronger. It is the valley and I know He is here!

I know many of you out there either have or are experiencing difficult times right now and I believe that you are also searching for some answers. Don’t quit! There is a message in our mess and a testimony in our tests. I have been through the darkest days of my life and I know that there is a light coming through and its Gods promise. Join me and cast a new dream. I am ready to run or at least jog again and I want you to come with me. I know it hurts, it hurts in my soul too but we are all together, and with God for us who can stand against us. I am so excited about re-launching and finding that inner strength to serve again. Some will judge, some will doubt, some will watch and some of you will run!!. The only way the enemy wins is if we stay down and have no story that could inspire others to also get up.

It is always too early to quit! What do you dream about? The question is not can you dream, but do you have the courage to act on it one more time?? When we begin to dream people will always emerge to try and steal it. Usually this resistance happens from people who have never really had a dream before but sometimes it comes from people who are very close to you. For some unknown reason they feel you should suffer longer or hang your head for an allotted time. Or maybe they will try to constantly remind you of your mess. Well I say don’t listen to them but listen to God. He wants us to get up and be used! He needs our testimony a lot more than he needs our depressed or defeated spirits. God is the giver of dreams and the mender of broken ones. Pleas join me in transcending above the walls of doubt, pitty, envy, jealousy, fear or any other internal or external force that wants to keep you down. Is there a dream in your heart? Has life buried it? Have others told you its too late or you can’t or shouldn’t? Don’t believe it!! Pursue your dream no matter how far fetched it might seem to others. Be careful of the dream assassins or the pharisees of today that want to keep you down.

You are worthy, you are able and capable, now just be willing. Learn from the past, be humble but passionate and go claim your destiny. I am with you all the way and if you want some help just let me know and I will do whatever I can!!!!

God bless you my friends I am SOOOOO grateful for YOU!!!!

Loyalty or longevity??

One of the more difficult things any of us will ever have to deal with is the difference between longevity and loyalty. When I was a little boy my best friend lived across the street. We spent every waking moment together building forts, climbing trees, riding bikes and any other outdoor activity two boys could find that created excitement and adventure. For over half my life we were very best friends, I thought we would be buddies for life! One day he told me that his family had decided to move to a new neighborhood. It was only 10 miles away but when all you have is a bike that is another country. We committed to stay in touch and create every opportunity we could to spend time together. We were brothers!! I remember crying incessantly as they packed up the moving truck and drove away. All my life up to that point he had been my best friend. Well that was the last time we ever spent any time together. He was a year older so when he moved he made new friends and I was no longer a priority. ....

So it goes with so many of us as adults. It is easy to confuse longevity with loyalty. We tend to think that since we have known someone or spent so much time with someone that there is a bond of loyalty that transcends all things. Unfortunately that just isn’t true for most people. Loyalty seems to be conditional on “what have you done for me lately”. Truly one of the most painful experiences we will ever deal with is to realize that your “loyal” friends were really based on what value you added to them. When there is little value you add or a time that actually you are in deep need of a friend as a resource of time, love or grace these friends seems to disappear. As we get older this can become very unsettling. I have found that unless you can find some sort of loyalty, you cannot find unity and peace in your active life. We are all connectors, God made us this way, we are designed to share this experience called life, and without loyal friends as a witness to our testimony our lives lose a little purpose. I want to encourage you to never give up on building deep meaningful relationships. There may be times that you have been so hurt that you say to yourself “forget it, I am done with friends, I will keep the few I have and never experience that pain again”. Please don’t let the enemy convince you of that lie. We all need each other and someone out there right now needs you and your painful experiences. Your testimony will be their inspiration and strength.....

Carl Schurz, a loyal friend of Abraham Lincolns said “My country right or wrong; when right, to keep her right; when wrong, to put her right”. This is what I call loyalty! To stand by a friend or country no matter what! When things go wrong they stand by their side and help make it right or love them through their hardship. Theodore Roosevelt said “I would rather be faithful than famous”. So many people choose popularity or profit over loyalty and brotherhood. All of us have probably been guilty a time or two when it comes to our absolute loyalty but I am hoping we can make some adjustments from this day forward. Every one of us will some day need the love and support of our friends. Join me in making a decision that no matter what goes down for your true friends you will be there for them. True loyalty breeds deep peace. Knowing that God loves me no matter what give me deep peace in my life. Lets represent this same attitude with our brothers and sisters in Christ.....

Lets embrace grace and restoration over guilt and condemnation. Ask yourself a question; is there someone you need to call? Is there someone that you have not been there for? Can you decide to make the choice of loyalty over profit or popularity? The question we should be asking is not what have you done for me lately but what can I do for you now! How can I help you get back on your feet, serve you or add value to you? Just a simple phone call or email can change a life. Reach out, go past the 50/50 style, it is never right to do the wrong thing and never wrong to do the right thing. You are good people! Decide today and call someone, you might just change his or her life. You may think you are just one person in this world but to one person you might just be the world! the definition of loyalty is “The willingness to make an investment or personal sacrifice to strengthen a relationship.” Lets live it!!!

We All Need Each Other!

Archbishop Desmond Tutu often speaks of an African concept called “ubuntu”. He describes our existence as a community. “A person is a person through other persons; I am human because I belong, I participate and I share”. Our life is not a solitary journey but one in which people join in and share in our experiences. It is in this place that we are the strongest and most vulnerable. When we allow people to share in our lives we either gain great strength and courage or experience great pain and abandonment. I have experienced, and frankly probably caused, both! It is my prayer that I have learned from these experiences so deeply that I will walk with much more enlightenment and compassion for all!!

We all need one another but we must learn to operate within a circle of mutual respect, not a chain of command. The basis of all gatherings must be love and respect, and to embrace each other as brothers and sisters. Every one of us is broken in one way or another. Therefore we all need each other in order to complete who we were designed to be. The Greeks used the word “ecclesia” to describe gatherings of Christian brothers and sisters, later to be called the “church”. The problem with most churches is that they become a power and control source. It seems that whenever we pull together a group of people in any kind of structure someone feels it is necessary to appoint a leader and therefore make rules and take control of where they go and what they do. We all need one another but we do not need to be controlled. The African concept of Ubuntu is a common sharing of all to extend the community. It’s the companionship that carries us through the stages of life that are most painful and without these rich relationships we would probably never make it. My heart aches for those that have had to walk the path of pain or shame alone.

I would like to extend the concept of “ecclesia” to any group of people that are committed to the community of brotherhood. Martin Luther King defined love as “understanding and creative, redemptive goodwill for all mankind”. Christ told us to “love one another as I have loved you”. He laid down his life for us and our sins. “one love, one blood, one life; you got to do what you should. One life with each other; sisters, brothers. One life, but were not the same. We get to carry each other, carry each other” to borrow a line from arguabley the greatest band of all time, U2! “Love is a temple love is the higher law”.

I believe the ecclesias of the future will be virile, courageous, nurturing, grace filled communities that center their practices on helping each other not controlling each other. The ecclesia is a group not a building! It is all of us coming together to carry each other. I believe that many of us will gather and carry the true message of Jesus to the world. Grace, love, acceptance and a true brotherhood that is committed to each other no matter what. That we walk in communion with the spirit that no one will be left behind. As God will never leave us, we in return will never abandon one of his children. The turn off of modern church and organizations is the judgmental and controlling nature of most leadership. It is these very groups that repel people from God more than accomplishing the great commission. Many people can’t imagine ever trusting another community enough to want to return to any kind of faithful practice. I am a Christian and I love Jesus but I often feel I have more in common with people outside the church than inside the church. Most of us get just enough religion to inoculate us from it! We get force fed rules through fear tactics! It becomes about power and control instead of relationship and liberation. It has gotten to a point where religion has nothing to do with Jesus and the message of his life and death.

Lets gather in love! Lets embrace our differences and carry each other. We do need each other but we don’t need to control each other. Lets commit to serving, healing and representing the true message of love and grace. You are worthy, you are beautiful and I am proud to call you my friends!!!!!!!!!

Be a Visionary Leader

When I was 23 I met a young man by the name of Brad Duncan. He was full of life, dreams and ambition. I worked very hard to earn his respect love and trust and I can honestly say he has been the most influential person in my life. In the early days of our development he taught me to really let go of any restraints on the size of my dreams. He was clearly a great leader and I bought into his vision for life. I would like to share with you what he taught me.

We started off with taking the time to really identify a clear picture of exactly how I wanted to live. He encouraged me to think out as far and wide as I could. My dreams included children that I didn’t have yet, in laws that I have since lost and ministries that now touch children all over the world. It is amazing now to look back after so many years and realize how powerful that broad scope of thinking really was. Secondly Brad then helped me share this vision with thousands of people around the world that have joined in on this cause to live a life of significance. We have been able to reach over a million people now all over the world. We have shared stages with hundreds of thousands of people, made recordings of messages in 7 different languages and now share this blog with over 40,000 of you. To make a vision come to life clearly you have to inspire other people to join in on your quest. Finally he helped me structure a work habit of passionate calm persistence. That may sound like a oxymoron but it is like the swan going across the water. Calm on the top but with the feet paddling like crazy underneath while maintaining a complete focus on finishing the mission. All three qualities of equal importance! Ever watch Jordan in the final 30 seconds of the game, or John Elway in a 4^th quarter two minute drill or even catch an old recording of Muhamad Ali? Each of these athletes stayed totally calm with a fire burning inside at an extreme level and only one thought on their mind.

All great leaders, including you, need to develop this inner strength in order to make great impact. After you have developed these characteristics and accomplished your goals the second challenge arises. Learning to never abuse your power and genuinely motivate people instead of manipulate people becomes the real test of life. There are many ways to crash as a leader but the top three that I have seen seem to be the most difficult to avoid. First of all learning to restore people instead of destroying people. When you are in a position of leadership it is easy to forget how difficult life can be. It is easy to sit on our self appointed throne of judgment and discard people instead of the time consuming and transparent efforts it takes to restore people that struggle in life. We must always remember that the only reason we have ever been able to accomplish anything is because of Gods blessings and these very people. A second common tripping point for leaders is to lead people into confusion instead of leading them into a cause. When we reach our personal milestones we can forget that others are still in the middle of their climb. We can become consumed with wanting to maintain what we have instead of being committed to learning and growing and changing in order to help the people around us achieve their dreams as well. Preservation vs. growth becomes the battle. We spend all of our time teaching what we did, instead of continuing to evolve and develop new methods for helping the next generation of leaders. This typically leads into the third point of failure, which is the distortion of justice versus the upholding of justice for the common man. John Maxwell goes into great detail on these topics is several of his books. We can easily slip into manipulation over motivation. We begin to distort the truth to preserve our own little empires. Some even abuse the Word of God in order to keep people in fear and under control. Manipulation means moving people for the advantage of the leader while motivation means moving together for mutual advantage.

Be committed to never forget the common man and his battles in life. Be humble in your approach to servant leadership. See it in your mind, say it to everyone, show people the way and never forget where you came from! We all have so much to do, so lets all serve, love and lead with grace, humility and compassion.

Convert Your Energy

I recently was blessed with the opportunity to start my own little vineyard and wine business. It’s more of a hobby than anything else but I am really enjoying the opportunity to work with the earth and all its elements. To turn something that appeared to be unfertile, baron raw land and turn it into something as beautiful as a vineyard is truly an amazing experience and metaphor for life. When I first walked on the land I was struck by the incredible contrast. The land is bordered by a half mile of frontage on the mighty Columbia river. The landscape is etched by the finger of God with massive mountains and rock cliffs surrounding this epic valley that was a lake over a thousand years ago. Fossils can be found hundreds of feet up the canyon walls. It truly takes my breath away every time I step onto the grounds. However, the land itself seemed so void of life. There was nothing but sage brush, weeds, piles of rocks and old relics from the structures of the migrant Indians from over a hundred years ago. If you didn’t know better you would say that nothing could possibly grow here. The contrast of the living water and baron sage lands were breathtaking.

I find that there are so many similarities in our world that we participate in every day. The number of chronic drug addicts that live near the greatest hospitals in the world, the people that beg for money outside of banks and the homeless person that stands off a Microsoft freeway exit asking for a hand out.

One of the first things we had to do at the vineyard was to access the water resource from the ground and convert the energy from the earth into power to run our electrical needs. We have learned how to take a negative source like the cold from a well and turn it into a power source as it changes temperature. We have harnessed the power from one and turned it into another through geothermal dynamics.

I would like to ask you to do the same with your life. I would like you to take an inventory of all the things that are creating negative energy in your life and find a way to turn them into a positive resource that fuels your passions. If there is someone that is causing you emotional pain I would ask you to be still and pray for them. There is no way you can have negative emotions towards someone you are praying for. This will fuel your heart. If there are destructive habits in your life I would ask you to start speaking wellness and better decision making. Claim how great it feels to be an overcomer and a witness in life. Confess how great it feels to be living a testimony of grace and love. This will fuel your soul and set you free. You are converting the negative energy into a resource that is accelerating your life. Start calling a problem a challenge, a failure a source of wisdom and a seasonal cold into a warm (a positive cold). All things can be converted into a resource of energy. Energy is life, life is love and love is God. Everything works together for the greater good if you just convert your energy.

Life is a decision. We are all surrounded my epic beauty and devastating failure. We will all end up somewhere, the only question is where? You have everything to do with this destiny. Thoughts, words actions, habits, character, destiny, legacy!! Your life is yours for the making. Develop the mental discipline and muscle to convert your energy and turn everything into the resource of choice!!!!

Don't Function within Your Disfunction

My Northbend property is entered by a quarter mile driveway that winds back into a mountain paradise surrounded by massive 100 year old fir trees. It truly is heaven on earth with a view of the mountains, a 14 acre lake, field of dreams baseball field and a ropes course we use to help young people. At the entrance to this driveway is a small house with what appears to be the meanest dog on earth. Every time someone walks by, this crazy dog comes ripping around the corner as fast as it can barking and frothing at the mouth like he is going to eat you for lunch. To this day every time I walk by this dog he scares the stuff out of me. For years this dog was controlled by an invisible fence and shock collar. It was designed to keep the dog in the yard and prevent it from attacking passers bye. If the dog got to close to the fence it would give It a little shock and as it got closer and closer the shock would become more severe until virtually dropping the dog to its knees. The dog became so aware of this invisible fence that it would charge at us like a carnivore, but pull up like and F-14 in a combat maneuver just before getting debilitated. This concept worked so well that the dog became totally conditioned to its limitations. The owners of the house turned off the system years ago but the dog has never changed. He still flies at us barking his head off and ready to rip us up but comes to a screeching halt every time! It still scares the heck out of me but the dog honors this limitation that doesn’t even exist anymore!

So many of us are just like this dog but perhaps not quite as extreme. There are so many limitation we have on ourselves because “we have always been this way” or “it’s just the way I am”. These things are just simply not true. You have learned to function within your dysfunction. Do not embrace anything that is not your best. The only real competition in this world is our own belief system and the only ageing process is the erosion of our dreams. We don’t stop dreaming because we grow old, we grow old because we stop dreaming. Learn to break free of these things by first of all recognizing them then agreeing to no longer tolerate them. You can never change what you are willing to tolerate. As long as you accept and accommodate these issues, you will stay right where you are. Once you recognize it I want you to take little bite size moves away from it. Try drinking one less cup of coffee a day, or shift to tea for the afternoon then build up your changes until you have broken the addiction. Try giving up one cigarette a day for a month. Think about it, within a month you are free! Forgive one person a week for a year. Start with simple affirmations in your car. Tape them to your steering wheel and say them once in the morning and once on your way home.

Most people take too steep of a curve to break free and then quickly fail and lose hope or interest! We need to learn to take baby steps in order to run like a champion. Action leads to confidence and confidence leads to bolder actions and the results of this fuels the fire to being even more bold, and so on it goes till the issue is gone! I call this the little win/wind theory. Every little win puts a little more wind in your sails. With each win we get a little strong and a little closer to our designed intentions. The power is within you and it is greater than the addiction or apathetic habits. But you’ve got to change your attitude, affirmations and little daily habits. Great people are not made in a day they are made daily!!!

Rise up in your authority, and be the one to break these chains, set yourself free and then be the witness to change others. Be willing to show the enemy that you are more determined than he is!! Remember, the same power that rose up Christ is deep inside of you! Your collar has been taken off; there are no more limits in your life. The price has been paid in full! No longer function with in your dysfunction for the sake of ease and comfort. Rise up and live in confidence, authority and peace.

Dis Changes Everything

About a year ago I wrote a blog about how the word “dis” changes everything. It was a play off the statement that we use quite often when epic events happen in our lives. “this will change everything” Sometimes during our life events happen that change the course of our life. Then there are those things that change everything but nothing at all. “everything’s changed but nothings changed”....

Most of you know my life has just gone through one of those events. Some things change everything in a physical sense but nothing on an internal sense. It is very important to be able to separate the two. We may have a lot of changes on the outside but they don’t have to change what we believe at the core of who we are. Many people would like to say that when radical changes happen on the outside that they suddenly have a clear view of what’s going on in the inside. That the actions they have taken clearly point out what’s going on in the inside. I believe we should always remember that we cant judge a book by its cover or even the first few chapters. The events of a persons life may only be preparing them for what is to come. The past does not predict your future, like others would like to predict, it simply prepares you for it. Dis allows you to place distance between a stance! Time cures a lot of things. ....

I know that in my case my world was rocked and I had to really take some quiet time and get away from all the noise in order to hear the inner voice in me. What I learned was that it hadn’t changed at all. I still deeply yearn to add value to peoples lives, I am enriched by the opportunity to help heal those that have pain in their lives and that the faith I have in God, family and friends haven’t changed in the slightest. In fact they are deeper and stronger than ever before. A failed relationship does not make you a failure but it does make you more compassionate to the hurting people out there in this world. ....

If we aren’t careful these issues can really begin to affect our health. We can turn ease into disease if we aren’t careful. When we have peace in our hearts we radiate energy that is called resonance or charisma. But when we are not in peace it looks like we are unhappy and perhaps infected by a disease that people don’t want to be around. This would be called dissonance! Another dis that changes our lives. ....

I find it truly amazing that three letters can make so many positives into a negative. Respect to disrespect, courage to discourage, honor to dishonor, obey to disobey, ability to disability, engage to disengage. Is it really that simple that three letters, which are primarily controlled by our minds and the decisions we make, can change our lives forever? My studies over the past 60 days have revealed to me that clearly we are destined for greatness. But, we have to decide to fulfill Gods purpose for us. We have to have the courage to show up and be willing to do what ever it takes to fulfill this destiny. We have an appointment with significance, lets not make it a disappointment!! Cut dis out of your life if it’s a negative. Take off the cover and discover what God has in store for your. Find the courage to connect where you have disconnected.....

You have what it takes to make your desires come true. In the latin translation desire means “of the father”. This tells me that when we are in a quality state of mind that our desires came from God and that what he has placed on our hearts no one can ever erase. Listen to the quiet whisper and know that you are loved and that there is a great plan for your life. Start by listening, then praying, writing, speaking and ultimately taking action that will lead to your habits, character, and destiny. I am proud of you!....

Anybody got anymore dis’s you want to discharge!!:)....

Proud Foot Prints

My mom used to have a picture on the wall in our house that often times confused me as a little boy. It was a picture of the beach alongside the ocean with a set of foot prints embedded in the sea shore. I really never took the time to read it so I thought it was a bit of a lonely picture and all I remember was a question in the writings about why did you leave me? It wasn’t till much later in life when I learned it was a story about someone who felt that God had forgotten them and he thought the footprints were only his. As most of you know the story actually went on to explain that at these times in their life that God actually carried him.

I would like to send all my love out to my friends from the North. Today is their Thanksgiving, and being a culture that is focused deeply on their families I would like to send my prayers and sincerest respect. You are all like family to me and I love you very very much. It is times like these that we carry each other through life! You have all been there for me and I promise to always be there for you! It is our faith, love and grace that has brought us together and it is our willingness to embrace these beliefs in our long term relationships that will keep us together. All of us are searching for ways to better serve our loved ones, our community, our nations and our God. We are all making footprints with every step we take. I am proud to say you are developing a legacy that your children’s children will be able to follow in so many ways. You are all charting a course for significant impact because you are willing to listen, strengthen and inspire. It is your testimonies that are shaping our lives and leaving proud footprints. As we know the only way you can have a testimony is by your willingness to overcome the tests of life. We are under construction and living in a constant repair shop where God and family are putting us back together.

I pray that God delivers me from pride and consumes my soul with his love and grace. I may not be able to change the world but I CAN change the world in me as I dance between unity and diversity! We are all so different yet we all want the same basic things. We want peace, happiness, security and to know that we have made a contribution in this world. I would have to say the attribute that I love the most about my family in Canada is how well you dance between unity and diversity. Your willingness to be bold and strong in who you are and how you think while at the same time totally accepting, loving and respectful of your neighbors that think completely different! It is truly inspiring to me and penetrated my spirit at the deepest level.

I am honored to be your friends and very proud of your footprints in the sand. Clearly, you are all willing to carry each other! My only prayer is that all of us down here in the States are infected by your humble graceful approach to life. I sense a great awakening in the hearts and souls of my fellow countrymen. I am proud of you and excited to see where our paths will take us and what our footprints will look like many years from now.

Dont fear the unpardonable sin.

It seems that so many years of my life have been spent dodging fear and the consequences of living an imperfect life. My greatest fear was not the earthly punishments but the eternal price of making bad decisions or worse yet of having bad thoughts that might cost me my eternity. Nobody should have to live under this kind of fear and pressure. There is no joy in this life and certainly not the way God wants us to live. I really believe that this is why perhaps so many of you have avoided God and his word. I really don’t blame you if you think that a relationship with God includes such fear, pain and judgement. What I want you to know that this is simply not true and purely the teaching of people who use fear as a technique of strong influence and control. However in most of our cases it only pushes us farther away!!. I remember as a young Christian fearing that I had performed or thought the “unpardonable sin”. Blasphemy of the holy spirt. I thought that my thoughts of doubt or anger were interpreted as that, or that if I used the Lords name in vain or walked away for a season that I may be destined for Hell. My friends this simply is not true. Gods love and eternal life are about a relationship that once agreed upon can never be broken. Be in peace with this and never live in fear again. We all sin every day but our sins are not greater than Gods grace! I am convinced that beyond a shadow of a doubt that a Christian can not commit the unpardonable sin. It is only through a decision to continually reject the person of Christ that this could happen. And, even that is correctable with a simple prayer and confession of the Lord as your savior!!

There are so many leaders that love to keep people in fear in order to maintain control. The apostle Paul called them a “brood of vipers”. They were the pharisees that wanted to hang the law over every ones head instead to the finish law of grace in Jesus. They were losing control and the only way to maintain it was through confusing the word of God and using fear as a tool of manipulation. I have seen this so often today that it makes me ill to realize how long I bought into it and perhaps how many of you steered away from a relationship because of this painful teaching.

You would think that if the unpardonable sin was really possible that Paul, who wrote two thirds of the new testament, would have made if a focus point. But, in fact he never mentioned it in his writings.

When you hear teachings that put fear into our heart and place you under bondage you need to do some homework. Starting off with is it from the old or new testament? Then look it up in the proper context. Because if you get the wrong text you are only left with a con! Nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. Not even sin, because his blood is greater than your sin. Knowing that ALL of your sins are forgiven is crucial for our health and peace of mind.

God does not keep an accounting of your failures so neither should you. Only the evil, you yourself, and the people around you will bring these things to your remembrance. Never forget the main clause of the new covenant, “he will merciful to your unrighteousness, your sins and your lawless deeds”.

Be a king

Each year in either July or August I take my sons and a group of boys on a trip to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. This is a group of boys that have had some struggles or lost their Daddys to tragedies. It is a trip I look forward to every year. We are in search of the elusive yet mighty Kenai King. Actually, we are there to have a great time, drink in the majesty of Alaska and help these boys heal. But the great treasure is to catch one these mighty 70 pound plus King salmon. The Kenai is the homeof the world record caught on a rod and reel at 97 1/4 pounds. It was landed near the mouth of this amazing river less than 20 years ago. The biologist say that the reason these salmon are so much bigger than any other salmon in the world is because they spend up to 7 years in the ocean as compared to 4 or 5 years like the typical salmon does. This would translate into more nets avoided, more whales and salmon sharks have either near missed or eaten one of their buddies, countless attacks, assaults and of course a lot more meals. To be the king of the species and the greatest they have had to endure a lot more life than all the others.

Sound familiar? We all have to be willing to endure the heat if we want to enjoy the warmth and light of the fire. All greatness had to go through similar tests in order to become a leader. The greater the challenges the greater the growth and opportunity to impact others. I am sure if you look in your history you will find that all of the significant people of your family tree had to go through tremendous amounts 0f adversity. Moses had to free the slaves and part the sea then spend 40 years in the desert. David had to slay the giant and then deal with massive grief as he wrote the psalms. Sampson had to topple buildings and deal with his shame and blindness. Daniel had to spend an entire night in a lions den. Nehemiah had to rebuild the walls of Jericho against all odds. The bible is full of great testimonies of struggle, defeat, failure and then a great rebirth of strength, compassion and impact. Hallelujah!!!

It doesn’t matter where you are right now. You and I have made mistakes! We may have failed a thousand times, but understand that it does not dictate your future nor does it change how God looks at you!! We are all programmed for greatness and victory. However, at the same time most of us have to go through multiple years of pain, struggle and growth in order to be prepared to lead. Rise up and claim what is yours. Repeat these words “I have what it takes, I am more than a conqueror, I am intelligent, I am talented, I am successful, I am attractive, I am an overcomer, I am worthy!!” doesn’t that feel good!! Its true and your spirit rejoices when it hears the truth!! You are an original, the only one of its kind. You are valuable and there is a great need for your story to be told! Only you can help certain people that are similar to you. If you don’t then who will. Please stand up and be counted. Heal and go become a healer! The universe is waiting for you to stand up and overcome so it can applaud your great comeback. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Take that first step by writing down a few things that you want to do to help others. Go ahead write them down and let those marinate in you spirit for a bit. Your thoughts are the seeds that become your words that ultimately lead to the actions that will change our life.

Say this “ I may have a lot to overcome, people may have tried to push me down, maybe I dint get the best breaks, I know I made a few bad decisions but that does not change who I am, I know I can fulfill my destiny”!! once again I am proud of you for saying these things out loud. We have all made mistakes, all we are charged with is the responsibility to learn from them. We may have to make the same mistake multiple times in order to really learn the lesson and how to avoid it. Just learn to humbly digest what you need to from these events but for Gods sake don’t walk around in fear or shame. Thank God he doesn’t keep an inventory! We all have things to overcome but when God is for us who can be against us??? God says he will bring you out with two times what you had before!!! Stop waiting for God and realize that maybe God is waiting for you! Your thoughts, words then actions are the key to getting up. You can do it! I can do it! We can do it!!

Pease feel free to comment hear and let me know how I can pray for you and add value to you!! We are family and family never gives up on each other! Remember, just like the Kenai King, the greater the adversity the greater one can become.

One Door Closes, One Door Opens

A few years ago I was invited to attend a church ministry with the Goad family at the Monroe state prison. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life!! I remember entering the inner section of the prison to perform some music for the inmates. There was a series of doors that we had to go through in order to get into the music room. One door would open but the other would not open until the door behind me closed. As that door closed another door would open and we would proceed from chamber to chamber until we reached the appointed room. In a lot of ways life is like this, it operates in a very similar way as these rooms did. We have to let doors close behind us like disappointments, failures or successes in order for the next door to open. For some reason we all want to play God and keep every door open. Unfortunately this can be harmful or distracting to the new future that is about to unfold for us. We seem to think that if we keep the doors open we can go back and clean up some of the messes or drag our success into our next project. Clearly this is not possible and there is nothing we can do about our past but there is so much that we can do about our futures. Where we are going is way more significant than our past anyways. If we have the right attitude, we will give birth to more in the future than we have lost or achieved in the past. The wisdom and humility will guide you to much greater
success in your vocations, personal development and relationships. All too often we allow adversities, disappointments and setbacks to deter us and before long we are not moving forward at all. Ever thought about why your windshield is a hundred times bigger than your rear view mirror? Stir up the gifts in you. The seeds of greatness are in your thoughts! Let your seeds take root by talking about the things you want to do and the people you want to help. So many of you have encouraged me over the past few months as I have gone through the most painful chapter of my life. Your words and prayers have lifted me up. Please do the same for yourselves. Together we can all help to heal the hurting soul of the universe.
Be a victor not a victim. Let those doors close and don’t let them keep you in bondage. Your past does not predict your future, it simply prepares you for it. Its not how you start its how you finish! Remind yourself that God loves you no matter what and he wants you to live a life of celebration and victory. Learn to block out the
negative things you hear in your head. I had a so-called
mentor/friend tell me I would be cursed if I made certain decisions! That I would never rise above it and never see my dreams come to pass! This so called Christian clearly does not know the same God that I know! We need to learn how to separate ourselves from hurtful people or situations. They are not bad people they are just in a season of their life that causes them to act this way. Have grace towards all people! Don’t get angry, just learn to love them from a distance. Life is too short to be pulled down by negative, jealous, cynical people. Some may choose to abandon you based on events in our lives.
Love them anyways! People may hurt you and some will leave you but your destiny is not tied to the people who walk away from you. We need to listen to the quiet whisper that is urging us to get up and claim our life of excellence. Have you ever sat in a movie like Rocky or Rudy or Gladiator and seen them down on the ground, beaten, bloodied and near complete defeat? What did you say under your voice? What were you whispering? What did you feel your spirit urging them to do? GET UP! COME ON! YOU CAN DO IT! YOUR ALMOST THERE! DON’T QUIT NOW! Am I right? Yes of course I am! Well then can you imagine what our God that loves us with agape love is whispering in our ears. Not only is he encouraging us to get up but he is saying; I love you! You are forgiven, you are worthy, I am with you, lets do
this together!!!. Isn’t that amazing!!
Now go take the time to be still and listen to the quiet whisper and be encouraged by his unyielding love and grace.

Does God punish us for our sins?

Once again we have to separate the word of God into two segments. The old testament and the new testament. clearly in the old testament God punished and brought his wrath down on man multiple times for his disappointment and anger in mans behavior. But you will not find any mention of God doing this or threatening to do this after the life of Jesus!! Many Christians live in fear of being judged or punish by the wrath of God. This in no way to live your life and not the way God wants us to live! Do you want your children to fear you?? Of course not, so why would God want it any different?
I remember a leader in my life saying once that God was trying to teach me a lesson or get my attention when we nearly crashed in our airplane several years ago. We had lost power to both engines at 27,000 feet and glided for nearly 8 minutes through clouds and mountain valleys. Fortunately the engines re fired at 2000 feet and we were able to make an emergency landing on one engine in ukiah california. I remember this man talking to several hundred people explaining how God will use tragedy or disaster to get your attention or even punish you for doing the wrong things. What an outrageous statement and an even more painful one to hear. After deep studies I can confidently conclude that this is not how our loving God works in these days after what Jesus did on the cross for all of us. Some even have said the tragedy of 911 is Gods wrath!! What an outrage!! Terrorism is the work of the Devil not our Lord that loves us completely. I dont think that God and a terrorist would agree on anything do you???
My friends, I can promise you that all of our sins have been punished on the cross. God is on our side and when he is for you then how can anyone stand against you?
Some people talk about the punishment of David for committing adultery. Let me remind you that David was under the old covenant and was dealt with according to the law not the testament of grace. In psalm 32:2 David said "blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin" this was also quoted on Romans 4:8. What do you think this meant? David was looking prophetically into the covenant of grace. He was describing you and me and how our sins are not judged but are washed away by the blood of Jesus. To not impute sin does not mean to never sin again It just gave us a place to go with our sins. Did Jesus die on the cross to free us from never committing a sin. Well I hate to break it you but if that was the purpose; he failed! NOT! It means that our sins will no longer be counted against you nor will you be punished for them.
So once again we are back to the question of will this freedom and grace and non judgement cause you to go out and sin freely?? I really doubt it! It has had the opposite effect on me and probably you to!! It has caused me to fall deeper in love with him. It should give us all strength and confidence to break free of any strong holds in our lives.
Remember this! We are all sinners. God does not have a measuring stick of sin like man does. They are all the same to him. Jesus said in fact! " you shall not murder, but i say to you that whoever is angry with his brother has sinned or whoever even looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery". Jesus showed us it was impossible for anyone to be justified by the law. Only He could fulfill the law on our behalf and justify us by grace. There is no curve system for sin. They are all the same and all we need is a relationship with Jesus to deal with them. God does not judge your failures.
All your sins were judged at the cross. Praise God! Now lets go serve and make a difference for him and all he has done for us!!!!!!!!!!!!

"thou shalt not vs. I will"

I am not sure about all of you but I have lived most of my life thinking that God was angry or disappointed in me. In doing so I avoided getting close to him because I was embarrassed or ashamed or felt unworthy of his love. The other reaction that would occur is that when I would fall I would run and hide from him thus making the problem worse because I would try to fix it instead of trusting in Gods love and grace. Many people like myself believed that God is a God of love, but at the same time believ that God would get mad at me and could perhaps bring his wrath down on me or lift is loving hand of protection based on my personal failures. This is crazy and confused teaching and does not represent how God really feels about us based on the new testament. This thinking is clearly old testament and based on the LAW.
God is not sometimes good and sometimes mean, sometimes happy and sometimes mad, or sometimes loves us and sometimes does not!!! We think that God is happy with us when we do good and angry when we do wrong. This is completely wrong but unfortunately a belief of many of us. Under the Law God demanded righteousness from man, but under grace God provided righteousness for us. Under law, everything depended on man and his obedience, but under grace everything depends on Jesus and what he did on the cross. The law demands but wont get up and help us but grace has already done everything for us!! Hallelujah!!
In Exodus 20 the Lord said around 20 times orders of "thou shalt not" as compared to what the Lord sais in the new covenant in the book of Hebrews. 8 "For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." so Basically the old testament law was full of shalt nots and the new testament is full of I WILLs.
Isnt this amazing!!! I think again that so many of us have this image of an old man with a beard and long hair. Sometimes happy and sometimes very angry. I am choosing, and would encourage you all, to create an image of God as just one simple word. LOVE. Perhaps the image of a loving gentle Jesus would be better for all of us. After all Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit are actually the trinity as one!!! Hollywood and church history has painted God in an image of an angry wrathful old man when in reality he/she is a gentle caring embodiment of love itself. first John 4:8 "God is love"
God is present tense love!!! You are forgiven already!! Stop being robbed of an intimate, open and loving relationship with God. Instead of avoiding him when we fail, lets just trust in him and know that he loves us anyways and is always here for us. His grace is greater than all our failures. Thank you God!! Your love and mercy brings me to my knees, fills my eyes with tears and makes me long to be closer to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is Grace a License to Sin?

I recently have heard people say things like "too much grace in not good", that it will encourage people to sin and not hold them accountable. Has it ever occurred to you that there is sin going on everywhere anyways? Even with or without grace on the table. I recently had a preacher tell me that a grace doctrine is just an excuse to allow you to do whatever it is people want to!! Can you believe this??? Have you ever noticed that the greatest treasures are always surrounded by the most obstacles. That the greater the prize the greater the price will be. Call it a coincidence or the enemy trying to deceive us. I believe the enemy is working very hard to confuse us and separate us from the truth of grace in order to slow down our great commission. Well I believe God is raising up and entirely new army of leadership that will live and lead by grace and excellence. An army of people that will achieve abundantly, lead many and heal multitudes. The more of us that understand that the Law is about deserved favor (when you obey) and grace is undeserved favor. We will be blessed by believing on him.
John 1:17 kjv "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus" If the Devil can keep you under the law he can keep you defeated!!!! Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace". this means the more grace you receive the more power you have to overcome sin"
However I have seen a lot of leadership react to seeing sin by teaching even more law. That is like adding more fuel to the fire because the strength of sin is the law.. Sin is strengthened the more law is preached. They are trying to manipulate us by saying that even though we are saved we have to keep doing right in order to be righteous and be blessed. Righteousness is a gift! If it has to continue to be earned how could it be a gift?? There is nothing you can do that will make God love you more and there is nothing that you can do that will make God love you less!!
Let me be clear that a life of sin will ultimately lead to defeat and destruction. But it will not lead to a separation from Gods love! Our goal is the same, but the question at hand is how do we live a victorious righteous life? Some think it is by living more by the law but Jesus said it is through having a relationship with him.
I truly believe that as people begin to comprehend this incredible gift, his sacrifice on the cross and his unconditional love we will be moved deeply to fall more and more in love with him and thus live a better life." The more we know we are loved and never judged the more loyalty and commitment we feel.
Embrace this my friends, let this resonate in your hearts and souls. Do your own homework and seek only Gods truth. How do you think your father wants you to live, sad and defeated or elated and victorious? The answer is clear and simple.

From LAW to GRACE

God etched in stone on Mt. Sinai the Ten Commandments so we would know his laws and therefore would have knowledge of what sin is, and drive home the reason for a savior. With out the law from God to Moses there would be no sin or knowledge of sin. Theses were not designed to make us Godly, they were made to expose our ungodliness and our desperate need of a savior. What has happened is the enemy has convinced so many to hold the law over our heads and make us feel constantly guilty and remind us of how unworthy we are. Many christians then literally arm the devil thorough this and drive us farther away and alienate us from our Lord and savior. But the truth is with Christ, and what he did for us on the cross, we have been redeemed from the curse of the law. We have been saved from this chronic outcome. Jesus has fulfilled the requirements of the law through his sacrifice on the cross. The moment you place the law of moses between you and God you are negating the finished work of jesus, for if righteousness could come through the law then Christ died in vain. The statement that" we have to keep the law to be blessed by God" is totally false. Or, the statement "Gods love in unconditional but his blessings are conditional" is also false. Salvation and righteousness is a gift not a reward for perfect obedience.
All of these false doctrines are what turns most people away. Many of us have hear "being a Christian is hard" . In actuality it depends on what law you embrace. Old testament or New testament. The law of Moses or the law of Jesus Christ. The authentic Christian life is actually a life of rest and peace. It is time we all stop trying to to earn our righteousness and just accept the gift. It is time to rest in the fact that you are forgiven for all past present and future sins in your acceptance of Jesus Christ as your lord and savior. God is not interested in mere obedience and submission. He is a God of love and all he wants is a deep loving relationship with us based on his eternal love.
Dont work to be blessed, work because you ARE already blessed. Gods way is to bless you first, and then the knowledge of his blessing gives you the power to really go for it in life.
I pray that we all find peace in knowing that we don't have to keep praying again and again for forgiveness because he has already forgiven us. PRAISE GOD AND NOW GO LIVE IN HIS AUTHENTIC LOVE AND PEACE FOREVER!!

Grace

The enemy of our life is constantly searching for ways to separate us from the Lord. His number one tactic is to divide and conquer! If he can not steal our soul then his goal is to keep us from being a spokesperson for God. Once you are saved the only ploy he has against us it to keep us from sharing the Gospel of Christ. One of the more common techniques he will use our failure against us. So many Christians and Christian churches help out the enemy by placing so much guilt and condemnation on anyone that experiences failure that we spend the rest of our life ashamed. The devil knows that if he can make you feel incredibly guilty then more than likely you will not be a bold advocate for Jesus. If he cant steal your soul he wants to put a gag on your spirit. In many modern Christian environments there is little, if any, authentic grace offered. Think about this for a second, if someone had experienced any kind of failure in their life and yet at the same time was shown the power of the new covenant and knew that they were already forgiven, they would become an incredible spokesperson for the love of Jesus and the real reason and significance of his death on the cross. The truth that through his blood ALL our sins have been forgiven. Past present and future. That we are guaranteed eternal life in Heaven regardless of what happens in our lives. If we knew that this kind of grace would be extended by our Lord and by the people we love it is very likely that through that deep level of love and respect we would honor him by making better decisions in our lives. All he wants is a relationship. He does not expect obedience he just craves our love and communication. Gods love for us is not performance based. Gods way is not about what we do but its about what's already been done by our Lord who took the cross to wash all our sins. If Jesus could utter in some of his final words "forgive them father for they know not what they do.", then shoudn't we attempt to do that with all or christian brothers and sisters. If we can help people restore their love and faith quicker then they can be used by God more profoundly. So we should all be healers and restores! It may take some time to restore them in their name and form but their confidence in christ should start immediately.