The Power of the Voice

I have been teaching in one capacity or another for over 30 years. I have learned in that time that the art of being a good teacher is really the art of being a good listener. In conversations with one another, if we are truly interested in the people we are speaking to, we are going to be listening to hear if what we are saying resonates with them. If we do not have a quiet spirit then we will not be able to hear the still small voice that guides us and leads us down the path of right communication. It is important to remember that it is not about us, but it is about the people who are around us.

To be a great singer you must be a great listener also. You must be able to hear when you are in key, when to place a note at just the right moment and with the right inflection. You must be able to blend with the other instruments and complement the music as a whole. In order for this to happen, you must be able to hear what the other instruments are doing, and with sensitivity, add your voice to blend perfectly into the music. When you are in harmony with the other instruments it is inspiring and takes the music to new heights. But if you are out of key then this brings discord to the music and discord is strife.

There is a correlation between our communication with each other and music. With speaking and with music we must listen. In music there is a time and place for everything and it is the same with speaking, we must be sensitive to when and where that time and place is. I am sure that all of us have experienced speaking the wrong word at the wrong time and someone gets hurt. Sometimes it is hard to undo something that has inappropriately flown out of our mouth.

The voice is the purest of all instruments because it comes direct from the soul. The beauty that comes from a great voice is amazing and inspiring. When someone has mastered their instrument it is a sight to behold, and so it is with someone who has mastered their words.

It is very important to remember when we are speaking to one another that the voice is meant to be revered, and unless we protect our words we will not live up to the potential God has placed inside of us. It is with God’s voice that the world was created, and it was also with the voice that the enemy of God brought deception into the world. The bible says in Proverbs 18:21 that “life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it eat its fruit.”

If we determine in our heart to be representatives of life we will have favor with those around us. The words we speak become our legacy because they produce what we release them to do. Are our words angry and full of bitterness? Are they selfish and manipulative? Or are they full of kindness and caring for the wellbeing of others?

Everyday each one of us has a choice to make. We can either choose to speak words of life to those around us, or hurtful insensitive words of death.

Proverbs explains it perfectly.

Proverbs 10:11 “The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but hostility covers the mouth of the perverse and ungodly.”

Proverbs 10:6 “Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.”

Proverbs 10:32 “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaks perversity and fraud.”

Proverbs 11:11 “By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted: but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.”

We really do have the power to change the world around us, and this is why we should guard our hearts with all diligence for out of it springs (through our mouth) the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

 

Self Control

It is our nature to want to do what we want to do. We are on a quest to find those things that bring us the most pleasure. But what starts out as a simple quest for pleasure ends up overtaking us and the desire or craving overcomes us physically and or emotionally. Look at a child when they want something. They generally throw a fit and go to whatever extremes necessary to get what they desire. If children are never taught self-control and the concept that hard work produces results, they won’t learn how to channel their gifts and talents that will bring fulfillment to their lives. It’s kind of like lightning. It discharges about 1-10 billion joules of energy and produces a current of some 30,000 - 50,000 amps; it’s three times hotter than the surface of the sun (6000 degrees Celsius). This energy is completely unharnessed, lost in space with no way to capture its strength. Everyone sees its power and admires its beauty, but then it’s gone.

Over the years I have known people with unbelievable talent, brilliant minds and potential who have lived a life of depression; many have been alcoholics or have turned to drugs. They were likely not taught to be disciplined as a child. They never learned to develop self-control and harness their potential to bring out what’s inside, and fulfill God’s purpose for their lives. An article in the November 2009 “Science Daily” says, “For years, the brain chemical dopamine has been thought of as the brain's "pleasure chemical," sending signals between brain cells in a way that rewards a person for one activity or another. More recently, research has shown that certain drugs like cocaine and heroin amplify this effect -- an action that may lie at the heart of drug addictions.”

In many cases, this tragically becomes a lifestyle and people build their entire lives to accommodate their lust. In the past lust has been associated only with sexual desire, but this is only a part of the true interpretation. The bible puts it like this in 1John 2:16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” I think it is interesting to note that the bible says “all that is in the world.” This means that the foundation of all worldly philosophies and wisdoms are these three things.

The “lust of the flesh” means the desire to indulge. Think about this, sexual lust is definitely included but so is every other physical indulgence that drives us – out of control eating, drinking, drugs, lacking moral restraint and being recklessly wasteful. It’s like an unharnessed free-for-all. It is our flesh saying, “More, more, more - feed me more!” When we have to have what we desire regardless of the consequences, then we are overtaken by lust. When we take a risk that could cause us to lose our personal integrity (with oneself and/or with others), then we are overtaken by lust.

“The lust of the eyes” is a different kind of lust; it is the desire to possess. It’s the “I see it so I must have it” state of mind. I think that we have it in our minds that success is measured by the possessions we have. We are overcome entirely by the desire or craving to have certain things. In some cases this is about power, the more we get the more we want. In other ways it is about lifestyle, we think we need the nicest cars, the nicest toys, the nicest clothes. We are convinced that “stuff” will bring us the fulfillment in life we are looking for, so we need more – let’s go shopping!

The sad reality is that in many cases the people that have the appearance of wealth really are strapped financially and are trapped, overcome entirely by the desire or craving to have certain things. And if they can’t go out and get those things then they may become depressed or angry. In many cases this is an attempt to manipulate their environment to get what they want.

This leads us to “the pride of life.” This is the desire to impress. This so often is why we do what we do; we want to impress others. This starts very young. Even in early childhood, children form social cliques, which can be instrumental (for better or worse) in contributing to a child’s self-worth and behavior. In addition, children may feel inferior if they are not able to live up to a parent’s or sibling’s expectations. There are countless factors that exacerbate the pain that compels us to impress others. As we grow older this becomes a driving force as we strive to live up to the standard that we perceive will bring us the status we are hoping for.

The interesting thing is that these three things are interconnected. The lust of the flesh could be driven by a frustration that comes from the desire to impress (the pride of life). For example: someone begins to drink or do drugs because s/he can’t keep up financially with a lifestyle of impressing others. Or the pressure is so intense that there is a need to do something that will bring a little (perceived) pleasure in the midst of the pain. Jesus said (paraphrased), “the lamp of the body is the eye, if the eye is tainted it affects the whole body.” (Matthew 6:22-23) The point is that if we are not looking at the reality that is before us clearly and honestly then it affects every decision that we make. It causes us to live a substandard existence, not experiencing the joy and fulfillment that God intends us to have.

This lifestyle has become the norm in the cultures of the world. This is why the governments that exist are crippled with tradition and pompous greed while their countries are starving and overcome with drugs, violent crime and sexual perversions. No one has the ability to solve the problem because, to one extreme or another, they are all gripped with these three lusts in their own lives. If our lives are selfish and self-centered then we cannot have true wisdom to solve someone else’s problems.

There is a way to be separated from the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life so that they are not the driving force behind our lives. This starts from the inside and it is a transformation that realigns our thinking and gets our eyes off of ourselves and our circumstances. The bible says that the beginning of wisdom is the reverence of God. To acknowledge Him and ask for His wisdom to guide us is the right beginning. He is our creator and He is the reason for our existence, so it makes sense to surrender to Him. This takes our attention off of ourselves and places it on the one who has the ability to solve our problems and give us the right attitude. It is simply to ask the right question and that question is “how can I serve you Lord, what is Your desire for my life?” The bible says to “ask and you will receive.” We just have to study the bible and surrender to the Holy Spirit and let Him show us what His will is for our lives. To do these things disarms the lusts that are the driving force behind us and it empowers us with self control.

I hope this helps in understanding the fundamental forces that are at work against us. I know this can be an excellent tool in understanding what drives the human mind. I hope you find it helpful.

 

Right Living 1

We were given responsibility for and have dominion over the earth, over the seed bearing plants and the fruit trees (Genesis 1:28-29) .

Yet…

• At least 650 million people (many of them children) are addicted to tobacco. Just today, October 20th, 2012, according to the “worldometers.info” world statistics web site, there has been 14,650,000,000 cigarettes smoked by 11:20 P.M. Pacific Standard Time. That is fourteen billion six-hundred and fifty million in one day. Tobacco is a plant and they are slaves to that plant.

• Millions and millions of people are alcoholics, nearly 14 million Americans—1 in every 13 adults – abuse alcohol or are alcoholic, according to infoplease.com, a world statistics center. Alcohol is made from corn, barley, rye and grapes.

• Shocking numbers are slaves to opium and heroin, the poppy plant

• Slaves to cocaine, the cocoa leaf.

• Slaves to the marijuana plant

• Slaves to sugar

• Slaves to unhealthy food

Some startling statistics, aren’t they? These things cause much of the disease that we have in our society. I believe that God's enemy has tried to make a mocary of God by causing as much of mankind to become slaves to the very thing God gave him dominion over.

It’s time for those who honestly want to seek God, truth and wisdom to live a life that exemplifies exactly that, truth and wisdom.  This way we can put a stop to this mocary and step into the rightful place God has intended us to be.

When Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life,” the word truth in the Greek means reality. To me, that means He wants us to be real! God would rather have us say that we are not able to surrender to the lifestyle that He is asking of us right now, rather than pretend to be Godly. This is why the Bible says in Revelation 3:20 “So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.”

If we say with our mouth that we want to do what is right (righteous), and we proclaim that we have the answer( who is Christ), then we need to be at the forefront of right living and setting a wise example. God has empowered us to live a life of victory and that only comes from right living, which is righteousness. God needs us to get real with Him. He needs us to think healthy in every area of our lives, including taking our health seriously. We produce after our own kind, and if we live a life of compromise then the people that we influence will also live a life of compromise and the cycle goes on and on.

That’s why I believe that this cycle must be broken, and it begins with each one of us. If God is going to do a work on the earth then we must give Him the willing vessels to work through. We must surrender to His Lordship. He is the King and we are His servants. He is our older brother but He is also the King and we must honor and respect and surrender to His Kingship. Through Him there is great power to overcome the enemy, but the Holy Spirit of God can only move through an obedient vessel. The Bible says it like this, “If you are willing and obedient you shell eat the good of the land” (Isaiah 1:19).

 

Right Living 2

Keep it simple: I mentioned the verse in the previous blog, John 14:6 where Jesus said, “I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE?” So, lets put it this way:

• I am the way (through Me)

• The truth (reality)

• And the life

So, what Jesus is saying here is "through Me you can really live."

To know God is to recognize that He is love, and if you know Him then you will accept His love and surrender to His wisdom. His wisdom will lay before you what is necessary for you to grow and become mature as a child of God. Without wisdom at the foundation we are shortchanging ourselves. We are not acting upon fundamental truths that will allow God to take us to that next level, a deeper level and a level that will usher in His rule and reign of love. This is His will for each of us individually and corporately. And, pulling in the issue of man’s abuse of substances and food, being healthy and eating right is not a bad thing. Not being strung out on some substance is a good thing!

When the church gathers together there is one reason for it, and that reason is Jesus. Without Jesus there is no church so it is important to remember that He is not interested in our opinion, He is only interested in us lining up with His opinion so that we can experience His love. We must surrender to His love in order to experience it. If we are determined to let Jesus be Lord of our lives then we will not allow anything to compromise the will of God in our lives and in the church gathering. Please ask the Lord if what you are presenting at the church gathering is appropriate to present to His body. Are you exemplifying not only a deep spiritual walk with the Lord, but also health and wellness? This is a very serious question because your answer will show you something.

If you realize that you are missing the mark then repent before the Lord (which means turn 180 degrees and go the other direction), talk to Him about it, and get on the right path. Every day is a new beginning and believe me, we all need to be thankful for that.

I hope that you will join with me and spread the Word. Please keep it real!

 

The Question of Time

Time is the life grid that we all exist within and our lives are laid out in this grid of time. Everything is defined by it, our daily schedules; our children’s development; the number of years we have experience in a given profession. When you think about it, every aspect of our life is defined by time. It defines our existence and it is what governs our perception of our future.

During our life, what kind of impact do we have on the world around us? We define our existence and our meaning by what influence we had on the world during our brief encounter with time here on earth. In our minds we are in a race against time, to find our true meaning and purpose, and to fill the inner emptiness with that elusive substance called success. But if we are honest with ourselves, success is something deeper than monetary gain. It is something of the heart, for you can gain the whole world and still be empty inside.

Just imagine that you are on a train traveling across country. As you travel, you enjoy the scenery and can only see whatever is in the train and outside your window. Other people who are on the train can share what they see, but you are very limited because you can only see what you can see. Our experience of life here on earth is very similar. We, the human race, are traveling through life and all that we can see is bound by this capsule of time that we are traveling within.

Now let’s change our perspective to that of God’s. God is not bound by time as we experience it; He is able to see the whole time continuum. He created the beginning and He created the end. Imagine, if you will, that you are high above the train you were traveling on. The higher you go the more of the train you see. You can see where the train started and where it will end. If you are not restricted to the confines of the train, then you can see all that has been and all that will be.

The human race is traveling down a track and many do not have a clear picture as to where we have been or where we are going. They would rather speculate about senseless theories than believe in the reality of God, and that the earth and the heavens are the product of intelligent design.

DNA, the genetic code, the unimaginable complexities of the simple cell – are all unfathomable and incomprehensible in our understanding. We can continue to discover hidden secrets of the complex system of the world, but we are simply putting pieces together and discovering things that God put in place when we were just a thought in His mind. Did you ever ponder that when God created Adam and Eve, they were already of mature age? An age where God was able to walk and talk with them and give them the responsibility to subdue and have dominion over the earth? What our minds are unable to comprehend is that God sees the beginning and the end. He is able to create something that has the full balance and stability that only time can give.

I am not saying that the earth is a mere few thousand years old, as some in the religious community claim; I do believe that the earth and the heavens are billions and billions of years old, if not older. But what I am saying is that to argue this point is useless. On the one hand what God created has endured the span of time necessary for life to be where it is, and on the other hand God could have created the heavens and the earth much later than has been thought, mature and ancient. My point is this: God knows the delicate balance necessary for humanity to exist within this span of time that we exist here on earth. If the sun was any hotter, or if the moon was not in perfect orbit around the earth, we would not be able to exist. There are innumerable factors to our existence here on earth.

The development of a star is something that takes hundreds of thousands, and even millions of years and there are billions and billions of stars. I will give you a very quick story on how a star is formed. Imagine out in space a clear nebula. This will be a place where 10 hydrogen atoms are in the space the size of a cube of sugar. In contrast, the air we breathe here on earth contains 30 billion billion atoms in the space the size of a cube of sugar. The light from the universe has been flowing through this nebula unobstructed for a very long time. But because the universe is circular it moves ever so slowly in a wave kind of a motion. As this wave hits this clear nebula the atoms go from basking in the light equally to suddenly some of them are shifted and the light is obstructed and they begin to cool down. As this happens they get closer and closer to each other and suddenly light can no longer travel through the molecules and a mass of condensed hydrogen appear and this mass has weight. All matter has gravity.

It is the law of nature that everything must support its own weight, and in space how this happens is that space puts pressure on any mass demanding that it supports its weight. Under the intensity of its own gravity the mass becomes smaller squeezing the matter to higher pressure and density. Most of the time in nature, pressure and temperature go together. In this case when the temperature at the center reaches 10 million degrees, hydrogen burning is ignited and a star is born.

I wanted to tell you this story because this happens over millions of years. And as this process happens out in space it creates all the elements that the world and universe are made up of. For example, when Hydrogen ignites the ash of Hydrogen is Helium, the ash of Helium is Carbon, the ash of Carbon is Oxygen, and the ash of Oxygen is Silicon and so on. So it takes millions and millions of years for one star to go through all of the stages in order for all of these elements to be. What do you think God has been doing before He created man? He was preparing the heavens and the elements so that when the time was right He could bring us into being.

God’s love for us is beyond anything that we can comprehend. I guess the question is, is this about God or is it about you? If it is about Him then we were created by Him, for Him, and our purpose is to surrender to His will and be His child as He intended. If it’s about you then you will be lost in a sea of wonder, wondering how you can solve the mysteries of life and find purpose.

The one thing God does not have is our time. We must choose to give Him our time; He will not take it from us. We must willingly give Him our time and this fulfills our purpose – to commit our lives to Him. Psalms 37:3-5 “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness, delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”

God is good!

Number One Investment

What is the number one investment, you as a person should make? Most of us have great potential and yet we sense that something is missing. Wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly what the number one priority for us is, and how to instill in our children the secret that leads to a healthy fulfilled life? A great proverb says, “Much wealth is in the uncultivated ground of the poor but injustice robs it of its riches.” Do you think that ignorance is injustice? I do! I have seen how that a lack of information keeps people from being able to succeed and solve problems.

It is my opinion the number one investment should be… OUR MIND! In this day and age there is a battle for our mind.

If you have an enemy that you don’t believe in and you don’t defend yourself from, you become an easy target. Your enemy will have no trouble overtaking you, and this is the case with our mind. We have been overtaken and we are seduced in multiple directions. We do not realize the importance of developing habits and disciplines that protect our mind. Our environment should be a safe environment that protects us from the onslaught of senseless mind candy that leaves our brain undernourished. We must invest in our mind and learn to control and avail our self of the tools necessary to accomplish what we desire to do.

If your mind is not healthy then you will not have an environment that nurtures creative thought, and you will not go forward. You will find yourself stuck and in a rut, and this will contaminate the mind, causing the mind to become full of bitter discontent, rerunning the memories of the past. The mind needs to press forward toward a revelation of the future.

If your mind is not disciplined you will rebel against discipline!

The word “discipline” means training to act in accordance with rules, and activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill.

Rebellion is resistance to or defiance of any authority, control, and is at odds with the thought of discipline.

The lack of mental discipline gives the keys of our future to an enemy whose sole purpose is to hold us at bay, and stop us from fulfilling our God given purpose. It is so important to break those habits of wasting time that stop us from developing or improving skills. Time passes just the same, so in order to break bad habits we must choose to use our time wisely.

Children will almost always rebel against being trained to act in accordance with rules and activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill. But it is our responsibility to train them up in the way that they should go. Feel free to turn off those things that suck the brains right out through the eyeballs, such as T.V., video games, etc., and make it important to do something creative and full of surprise. It is important for us and our children to know that learning is a priority.

Did you know that the by-product of revelation is joy? When you learn something that is fresh and new and truly causes you to be enlightened, it causes your heart to be full of joy and gives you a sence of personal growth.

I can’t say enough about the benefits of making the mind our number one investment, because if our mind is broken, then so is everything else. But a healthy mental discipline, and perspective, becomes a lifestyle that translates into success for the body, soul, and spirit.

I hope that this is helpful!

One True Standard

Atheism means there is no God. It is affirming the non-existence of God. If you think about it this is a logical contradiction. The only way to affirm that there is no God is if you have unlimited knowledge. Atheists are saying that they have infinite knowledge to tell you that there is no one with infinite knowledge. Atheism as a system is self-defeating.

Yet, if atheism is true then there is no moral law in the universe.

Without the moral compass of God’s love, anything that is dealing with good and bad is purely the product of your environment and your culture.


For example: Tribes furthest from civilization might have an accepted behavior of cannibalism. In their culture this is okay. But what stops this from being okay in the rest of the world? We have set laws in motion based on what we perceive as acceptable. Case in point: abortion. There are many people that feel abortion is morally wrong, and these people are aligned with our understanding of God’s desire, who is life and the giver of it. However, there are many who feel abortion is an acceptable alternative because they have been persuaded in this direction. They buy into the notion that an unborn fetus (or embryo) is not a “real” child and, subsequently, does not have rights.

Without God in the picture, it boils down to who has the ability to communicate their philosophy the best. Whose ideas give the people the freedom to fulfill their own exotic passions and desires? To believe anything other than the existence of God releases a person from his/her responsibility to find meaning and live by a higher law.

Is there a law above our laws?

The answer according to a liberal humanistic perspective is no, there is not a law above our laws, and this belief is taking root in our society and it is shaping our culture.

At this time in human history ethics are being pushed aside by science. Ethics are looked at as being a cancer that places condemnation on the human psyche that causes the self defeating ills that plague our societies. Ethics are overshadowed by misguided compassion that is at war with moral law. It is driven by the philosophy that everyone is significant in his or her own space and time, and no one can say absolutely that someone is wrong or right. Ethics are looked at with contempt and branded as ultimate social suicide.


The opposite is true! Without God and a moral law to govern humanity, the societies of the world are controlled and driven by powerful self-serving people who, in many cases, only care about their moment-by-moment existence on earth. The weaker ones are subject to the control and whims of the more powerful.

The United States is being rocked at its foundation. It was built on biblical principles yet it is now deviating from its foundation. As a culture, we no longer have a common point of reference that we champion. We think that we can survive without supporting a moral law, and when you choose to exclude God from having a right to exist in your world, you end up with a problem: no possibility of a moral law. Without the light of God’s Word guiding you, how will you differentiate between good and bad? Will you determine what is good and what is bad by how you feel?


Today the United States produces movies that promote this liberal humanistic perspective and they are considered the best grade movies in the world. We are leading the world in the music industry, also promoting this unsolicited freelance lifestyle.


This type of philosophy has the greatest impact on a culture. It’s the philosophy that deals with drama, music, novel, imagination, poets. It deals with existentialism. This is a philosophical theory emphasizing that man is responsible for his own actions and is free to choose his development and destiny. This philosophy deals with the imagination and the idealistic hopes and dreams of humanity.

The problem is that Atheism as a personal philosophy of life basically offers no hope. Without God there is loss of meaning. Atheism teaches that as a whole, life is meaningless. But it then encourages its “followers” to give meaning to their day-to-day activities (environmental activism, civil rights, etc.). This provides them with a psychological fulfillment, but does not address the overarching meaninglessness of their lives. As a result, they have tiny little purposes that ultimately have no purpose.

For the young people and the world today, secularism has not and will not give them any answers. We have generations being raised with a confused and hopeless perception. We are preoccupied and consumed with electronics –games, computer social networking, cell phones, text messaging, and television in addition to work and the multiple activities we are involved in. Electronics have completely captured the imagination of mankind.

And I believe this is how contemporary man is dealing with and responding to the emptiness and loss of meaning, we are being consumed in our minds.

If the atheist has taken this stance and said there is no God and he is wrong, when the atheist dies he has made a horrific mistake. His influence has been against God, who is the giver of life. The end of his life is death, and much worse! He has sown seeds of doubt and ultimately death to those around him.

But with God there is the security of absolute moral law, and His law is one of love. There is hope, there is a point of reference for meaning, and as we have discussed in the past, there is a life of love, joy and peace, and this is the ultimate freedom.