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- Uncategorized (86)
- 25/05/2010: God working in us
- 11/11/2009: God’s Sovereign Choice
- 10/11/2009: Have Faith to Chage 2
- 09/11/2009: Have Faith To Change
- 08/11/2009: Decline and Fall of People
- 31/10/2009: Your Heavenly Vision
- 28/10/2009: Be of Good Cheer
- 27/10/2009: The Poor in Spirit
- 09/10/2009: A Spirit Straight From God
- 08/10/2009: A Body Submitted to the Holy Spirit
Archive for June 2009
Stay F.O.C.U.S.E.D. 4
19/06/2009 by John Marsden.
Stay F.O.C.U.S.E.D. 4
Utilize God’s power.Read Philippians 3:20-21Please don’t misunderstand what Paul is saying to the Philippians and us. He’s not telling us to look for the return of Christ and passively wait to be changed. Put in context he’s reminding us that the same power source that will change our earthly bodies into heavenly one is available to right now. This isn’t a call to resignation of our weak flesh it’s a reminder to refocus on our ultimate object and draw on his power for life change.
Whatever goal God calls you to you will only be able to accomplish it with his power. Devote yourself to asking for his help to reach whatever target he’s called you to go after. He will give you the power you need because he’s on your side. He wants you to take all those little steps that will result in your completeness.
Have a great day
John
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Stay F.O.C.U.S.E.D. 3
19/06/2009 by John Marsden.
Stay F.O.C.U.S.E.D. 3
Consider the outcome of unfocused people.
Read Philippians 3:18-19
The sad fact is that most people live in what one author termed “default mode.” They go through life being acted upon by circumstances or other people, but show little or no incentive to reach for something more. Life is lived for the weekend. Comfort, convenience and luxury are the driving forces behind life. “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die” is the motto. That’s life in default mode. Even professing Christians fall into this category. I didn’t say genuine. I said professing. If you come across a church person who lives for self - their greatest concern is pleasure - reconcile yourself to the fact that they’re not living for Christ and have never really known him. That’s the distinction. Genuine believers consistently seek to live for Christ. They give up self-seeking. Christians in name only operate in default mode. Take note and stay away from those models of behavior. Their end is a wasted life. Their focus was on the wrong goal. Really they live unfocused lives.
It was Flight 401 bound for Miami from New York City with a load of holiday passengers. As the huge aircraft approached the Miami Airport for its landing, a light that indicates proper deployment of the landing gear failed to come on. The plane flew in a large, looping circle over the swamps of the Everglades while the cockpit crew checked out the light failure. Their question was this, had the landing gear actually not deployed or was it just the light bulb that was defective?
To begin with, the flight engineer fiddled with the bulb. He tried to remove it, but it wouldn’t budge. Another member of the crew tried to help out … and then another. By and by, if you can believe it, all eyes were on the little light bulb that refused to be dislodged from its socket. No one noticed that the plane was losing altitude. Finally, it dropped right into a swamp. Many were killed in that plane crash. While an experienced crew of high-priced and seasoned pilots messed around with a seventy-five-cent light bulb, an entire airplane and many of its passengers were lost. The crew momentarily forgot the most basic of all rules of the air-”Don’t forget to fly the airplane! “From Dropping Your Guard by Charles R. SwindollHave a great day
John
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Stay F.O.C.U.S.E.D. 2
17/06/2009 by John Marsden.
Stay F.O.C.U.S.E.D 2
Observe the example of successful people.
Read Philippians 3:17
It’s the wise man or woman who finds successful people and hangs out with them. If you see someone who has reached a level spiritually that you’d like to attain, spend time with them, watch their example and put it into practice in your own life. I think that sometimes we enjoy hanging out with spiritual losers because it makes us feel better about ourselves. We find someone who’s a good role model for us but rather than watch and learn secretly despise them. We adopt the attitude of Mark Twain who said:
“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.”
If there’s an improvement that you want to make find people who are living at the level you want to be and follow their example. It’s a guaranteed path to reaching your goal. I really enjoy being around the friends that God has put in my life. Men who have had success in their own lives, men who will challenge, correct and help me on my journey.
Have a great day John
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Stay F.O.C.U.S.E.D
17/06/2009 by John Marsden.
The requirement for attaining any goal is to stay F.O.C.U.S.E.D.
1. Fix your thoughts and actions on the goal.
Read Philippians 3:13-16
Determine your goal, otherwise you won’t accomplish anything. Find God’s target for you in the present and go after it.
It was a fog-shrouded morning, July 4, 1952, when a young woman named Florence Chadwick waded into the water off Catalina Island. She intended to swim the channel from the island to the California coast. Long-distance swimming was not new to her; she had been the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions.
The water was numbing cold that day. The fog was so thick she could hardly see the boats in her party. Several times sharks had to be driven away with rifle fire. She swam more than 15 hours before she asked to be taken out of the water. Her trainer tried to encourage her to swim on since they were so close to land, but when Florence looked, all she saw was fog. So she quit, only one-mile from her goal.
Later she said, “I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the land I might have made it.” It wasn’t the cold or fear or exhaustion that caused Florence Chadwick to fail. It was the fog.
Many times we too fail, not because we’re afraid or because of the peer pressure or because of anything other than the fact that we lose sight of the goal. Maybe that’s why Paul said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).
Have great day
John
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Good Living
16/06/2009 by John Marsden.
Good Living
Ephesians 5:8-20
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,. 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
5 Keys To “Good Living”:
1. Find out what pleases the Lord In the place of guessing what God wants, we discover what He wants and then live obediently. What do you KNOW God wants you to do?
2. Expose the darkness.In place of staying quiet about darkness, turn on the light and let others see how dangerous it is in the dark. What are some “dark” actions that seems harmless to some people, but the end result can be dangerous or deadly? (Getting drunk, etc).
3. Live wise.In place of living foolishly fill your life with wisdom. Why or how do people fool themselves into believing worldly or wordy focus is alright?
4. Be filled with the Spirit.In place of being filled with wine, Paul urges us to be filled with the Spirit.What the signs of someone filled with the Spirit?
5. Always be grateful.In place of complaining or whining there needs to be a spirit of thanksgiving. What are you thankful for? Make a huge list of thanksgiving on the chalk or dry erase board in your room if you have one.
A bad question that many—even Christians– ask is “How far is too far?” The real question is “How can I please God?”
Have a great day
John
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