DECLARE GOOD THINGS TO YOUR LIFE

You have been declaring or saying bad things about your life all those times and it is time to change it. What you are now is the product of what you have declared in the past. All those complaints and sighs of frustrations will come alive because our words has creative power. There is no good of emphasizing the setbacks of your life. It will just pull you down and the more you inviting misery to your life.

When Jesus came into your life, your life had a radical change. He promised that everything became new, but you must believe it, say it, declare it and live it. You must declare good things to your life. If God has declared good things to your life, why can't you? God declared that He will do new things in your life. He declared that you are more than conqueror. He declared that nothing and no one can separate you from the love of God. He declared that you were designed now to triumph. Declare these words in your life.

It is now time to turn your life around. Declare good things in your life. Yes, there will still be limitations and challenges, but instead these challenges make you retreat and make you say bad things, take these challenges instead and declare God's promises over them. It is time to declare that you are a winner, you are blessed and the great things are yet to come.

Declare good things.
What you declare happens.

LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST - Quotes Posters by Art Roy Remy [Palawan Photos]

Declare good things and blessings to your life. Enjoy these quotes to inspire you to live life to the fullest. These are quotes I shared and taught in my latest speaking engagement where I shared the message, "Come On In, The Water Is Fine." The photo backgrounds are shots I have taken from my recent vacation in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. Enjoy, live life to the fullest.

WHAT TO SAY WHEN YOU ARE WEAK

A radical truth from God -

Let the weak say they are strong. - Joel 3: 10

It didn't say, "Let the weak say they are weak."

Most of the times when we are weak, we complain and emphasize our weakness. Most of the times, we declare our discouragements, our disappointments and our frustrations. And the more we speak about our weakness, the more we get weak and oftentimes, this aggravates to doubt, fear, and anger. God says in this passage, that we must declare the opposite. When we are weak, we must declare we are strong.

This does not mean that God doesn't care of our weakness. The truth is the opposite - God cares for us so much that He is giving a formula for us how to be strong. This also doesn't mean that we ignore our weaknesses. The truth is clear, God recognizes our weakness. He said, "Let the weak..." so it means God knows our weakness. The truth is - God is offering a formula for us how to be strong and what to say when we are weak. And God said when we are weak, we must say we are strong.

The reason is this - our life go to the direction of what we say. Our words has a powerful creative power to change things. God wants us to say " we are strong" when we are weak, because there is no need of emphasizing weakness, but rather to emphasize our strength in God.

Let the weak say they are strong.

It also didn't  say, "Let the weak think that they are strong."

To think is not enough. We must declare what we believe. This is the reason why "faith comes by hearing", and not by reading the word of God alone. When we hear, it means someone spoke, and it includes us in this regard. We must speak the word of God so that we can hear. And by so doing, our faith increase and our strength too.

Let the weak say they are strong.

It didn't also say, "Let the weak invite friends to talk about their weakness."

Our weakness can be passed to others when we emphasize too much about it. Words of discouragement can influence others. God said, "let the weak say they are strong."

You produce what you say. Your life go to the direction of what you declare. If you are weak, you can never be strong by saying you are weak. Better declare and say that you are strong. This is not my idea. This is God's. Say what God wants you to say.

So when you are weak, you know now what to say.

PROPHESY GOOD THINGS AND BLESSINGS FOR YOUR LIFE

The word of God says, "We will eat the fruit of our lips." It simply means that we will produce what we are saying. In essence, every time we speak, we are "prophesying" our future.

If we always complain, we are projecting a future filled with lack and disappointments. If we always say "I will never be good" then it will happen. If we always say, "I will never progress" then you are projecting this to your life. Whatever you say, you are prophesying your future.

5 years from now, you will be by what words you are saying right now. So, why not use words to bless your life? Why not speak words which releases blessings to your life and to your future? 

Declare that you are a child of God - so loved by God and that God's plans for you is to bless you. Declare that you will be prosperous. Declare what you want in your life not the things you don't want. Declare the promises of God in your life. Declare your dreams. Declare what you want for your family. Declare the fulfillment of your goals.

This is your life. Why prophesy things that are bad for you when God already laid in His words His promise that He gave you an abundant and victorious life? Use words to bless your life.

Prophesy good things for your future by speaking faith-filled words.

radical quote | joel osteen

YOU DON'T HAVE TO PRAY TO BE A VICTOR; YOU ARE ALREADY A VICTOR

Thanks be to God, who gives us victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren,

be steadfast, unmoveable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord

for as much as you know your labor is not in vain 

in the Lord.

- I Corinthians 15: 58

__________________________________

God did not create you to become victim of circumstances.

You were created to be a victor. God has promised you to live

a life that is abundant and victorious. 

You were not created to be dominated by challenges.

You were created to dominate any challenges.

The general approach for a victorious life starts in this - 

Be Thankful

The verse said,

"Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The truth is this, we don't actually have to pray to have victory.

You don't ask what you already have.

God has made us victorious thru what Jesus has done on the Cross.

We are already victors.

You need to claim it, believe it and be thankful for it.

When you are thankful that you have a sure victory everyday,

you will automatically live as a victor.

Believe That You Are Greatly Loved

The verse said,

"Therefore, my BELOVED brethren..."

The word "beloved" originated from God. He is Love.

And the key to be tough over any challenges is to believe that you are loved.

Why is it that there are some who are depressed in life though they already have all material things they want?

It's because they need the most important of all - "to be loved."

When you believe you are loved, you can proceed without hesitancy, without doubt,

without guilt and without condemnation.

Take note that the word "beloved" came before the word " be steadfast."

If you can't believe you are loved, you can never be steadfast in life.

Be Tough

The verse said,

"Be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

Toughness is not being cruel. Toughness is not being without emotion.

Toughness is not being filled with anger and hate.

A true tough person is a person who can love.

Look at how fathers will risk everything just to save their children who are in dangers. Look at how a man will forsake everything just for a love of a woman. And just consider how the Lord Jesus forsook everything just to die on the cross. That's real toughness, man!

You can only be tough if you know you are loved.

God loves you.

The people who knows and believes that Someone loves them

are the people who can endure any difficulties and who can withstand any trials.

A person without love can easily quit, and will easily give up.

Love - this is tough.

Remember, you are already a victor.

Act like one.

YOUR DOUBLE BLESSINGS

Everyday, as children of God, we don't just have a blessing, but a - double blessing.

In Psalm 73: 26, it says,

My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

The writer of this Psalm was realistic to admit that his flesh and his heart fails, but he didn't stopped there. He finished the statement positively. Isn't this a great principle to change our life and our mindset? Yes. we can be realistic to admit our limitations and weaknesses, but always remember to end your declarations positively. Don't reverse it as some people do. They will say good things about life and about God, but sad to say, they will end their sentence negatively. It ought not to be so, but rather we must be realistic, and yet end our declarations with positive words, and declarations that express God's promises for us. Just like in this verse, we can end the sentence by saying -

 This is our double blessings.

Yes, there maybe double failures, which are the flesh and the heart, but praise God, there are double blessings for our double failures. This what makes us winners though sometimes our flesh fails. There are sicknesses, and diseases that sometimes afflict us and limit us. But our life should not be stopped by these limitations. In our limitations, God can work His possibilities. We also experience how our hearts fail sometimes. We get discouraged and we get disappointed. But praise God, God is the strength of our heart and our portion forever. This is our double blessings as children of God.

First, God is the strength of our heart.
Second, He is our portion forever.

The strength of the heart cannot be measured. It is unquantifiable. This signifies that this is what we need first in life before the portion. The portion can be measured. This is quantifiable. This can be the car you are asking for, the business you are praying for, the breakthrough you have been waiting for. But we must remember that it is strength first that we need, and not just the portion. Practically speaking, don't just ask your portion to be rich. Ask God to give you strength to handle the portion. For example, don't just ask for riches, but the strength and the capacity to enjoy those riches. Many have riches, but they don't have the strength in their hearts to handle the riches.

The portion actually means, "a share, a part." Isn't this a great reminder for us that what we have is but a portion? Yes, you and I cannot have everything in life, because if you have everything in life, what you will you need God for? You and I just have portions or parts because our everything must still be our God.

But God has promised this already - He is our strength of our heart, and our portion forever. You and I were guaranteed that what we have is always a double blessing. You and I will not just material blessings, but will also have the heart to handle these material blessings. You and I will not just have breakthroughs, but will also have the courage and discipline to handle these breakthroughs. You and I will not just have promotions, but will also have the enjoyment of these promotions. These are the blessings of the Lord which makes rich and He adds no sorrow with it. This again is a double-blessing- you are being made rich, and there is no sorrow with it.

Also, consider the promise, "they are new every morning, great is His faithfulness." What are the double- blessings here? Well, it is His mercies, and His faithfulness. As you read His words, you will be amazed that there lots of "double-combo" blessings of God for us. Wow! This is the reason why we can live everyday victoriously and abundantly.

Open your two hands everyday. You are about to receive double blessings.

WHAT YOU ARE DOING TODAY IS NOT CALLED "A ROUTINE," BUT " A JOURNEY

Office work?

Homework?

School days?

House chores?

A job?

A project?

Well, believe it or not, whatever you are doing right now has a significance. It is not just a mere routine but rather a part of your journey where you can choose to be happy, exciting and fulfilling.

We must not reserve our happiness just for the milestones of our lives. Life is not all getting some awards. Life is not all graduation, celebration, party and vacation. The thing you are calling as "routine" could be the place where happiness is just lurking around. All you got to do is appreciate and be happy. We hate routine, and we are all on the look-out for something extra-ordinary to happen. But if we reserve our happiness just for the extra-ordinary moments, we will be missing the most important part of our lives. God did not give you a milestone, but what is called "A day" and He said, "This is the day which the Lord has made."  When you are happy for the ordinary days, extra-ordinary days will just be the bonus.

This "ordinary" or this "routine" is called the "journey of your life." You must look at it in an eye of appreciation. The thing you are calling "routine" is actually the thing building you to reach your dreams. However,  you are missing its happiness because you are postponing your happiness to your destination, and hence you are not enjoying the journey.

We must not reserve our happiness to the time when our dreams come true. The practical reason for this is - dreams never stop as long as we live. When we achieve one dream, another dream will come. So if we confine our happiness just in the achieving of our dreams, we will be missing the happy journey we are in.

When we look life just as a goal, this is the reason why you look on what you are doing right now as just a mere routine - boring, insignificant and stressful.

Office workers have postpone their happiness only to the time when there is a vacation, or maybe every 15th day- the payday, or maybe there is a hang-out with friends. What you are doing is you are postponing your happiness to "someday" and not "today." You are reserving your happiness to the destination and not in your journey. Sadly, this is also the reason why some will go for their dreams at all cost though it may cause them their health, or their relationship. They are blinded that their happiness is only be received when their dreams are achieved, only to find out that it cannot make them fully happy at all.

The students are postponing their happiness only if there is no classes, or maybe when they graduate, or in time of vacation. They don't realize that everyday of their class is part of their journey. They thought if they just graduate, then everything will be happy, but you will be surprised that arriving there will be another phase of the journey. And ironically, they will look back someday wishing they could have been happier in the past.

For example, this is funny but true, family members prepare for one big family occasion in expense of true happiness with each other. How many family members became irritable to each other in the preparation for the party? Why they became irritable? It is because they have postponed their happiness only when the party is all set. They cannot see that even in preparations for the party is a time of bonding and happiness. Why? It is because they treat the preparations and the work as just routines, and not a journey toward their destination.

The moment you look at life as just a mere routine, you will miss lots of important things actually happening in your life. You cannot just post in Facebook only the milestones of your life. You cannot base alone your significance in it. Life is not all about your "milestones" and successes. You can still post the "common" days with a positive and happy outlook. It is because it is the small things that counts- your time with the one you love, your time with your family, the good thing you learned today, the food you ate, the blessing of being alive, the privilege of work. Again, it is because it is the journey that counts.

What you are doing right now is significant. It is not called "routine" but "a journey." It is a part of your life, a part of the fulfillment of your purpose here on earth, a part of God's wonderful plan for you. When you start looking at your work as a journey, you will start appreciating life one step at a time. You will appreciate the people you are with, your friends, your family, and yourself.

I have written this post with love. I can never call writing in my blog as just part of my "routine." Never. This is my passion. I enjoy doing this. This is but the result of a happy, positive, full of love, wonderful journey in life.

Your day is not called "a routine" but a blessed Day.

It is called "a journey of life."

Live it to the fullest.

"This is the day which the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it."

LIFE DOESN'T BRING YOU JOY; YOU BRING JOY TO LIFE

Photo courtesy: Kirsten Paulick

When your expectation of joy absolutely rests in what life can give you, you will be disappointed. Life is not all good days, there will be bad days. Life is not all riches, there will be scarcity. Life is not all laughter, there will be crying. Life is not all mountains, there will be valleys. Life varies.

This is our common mistake why we cannot have true happiness - we expect that it is life that will bring us joy. Well, here's a radical truth and here is the understanding of how you will truly have joy in this life, and it's this -

Life doesn't bring you joy; you bring joy to life.

This means - joy is a choice not a circumstance.
It is not what happens to you but what you make happen in life.
It is not how someone or something in this world has made you happy; it is how you bring joy to someone's life.
Meaning, joy is not from outside-in, but from inside-out.
This also means that joy comes from within first.
From the joy you have within your heart, you will be the one to give joy to this life.
And how can this be? Or how can you have joy within your heart?

Well, it's none other but to have the Very Source of all joys. It is having Jesus in your heart. No wonder Jesus said, -

"These things have I spoken unto you, that MY JOY will remain in you , and that your JOY will be FULL." - John 15: 11

Without Jesus in your heart, you can never be happy even you have everything in these world. Life can never make you happy because the only one who can give you joy is  the One who made life. The only way to have joy and to truly enjoy life is to have Jesus. This is why joy is from inside-out.

Thus, you are the one to bring joy to life because Jesus is in your heart as your joy.
Since Jesus is in your heart, you are not dependent on life to bring you joy but rather you are the one who brings joy to this life.
You bring joy to good days and bad days, to riches and scarcity, to laughter and crying, to mountains and valleys. You can fully enjoy life because of who you have and not what you have. And you can enjoy life to the fullest, as what Jesus said, because you are the one who bring joy to life.

"No wonder I am enjoying life to the fullest."

TOUCHING LIVES ONLINE [ AND OFFLINE]

Almost everyday, I am sharing inspirational and radical truths through this blog. It has already been a habit at 4AM after my solitude with God and meditation of His words that I always write something here in my blog to inspire people. I consider it a tremendous blessing to touch people's lives online. But somehow God impressed upon me that I got to do more than just touch people's lives online. God impressed upon me that I can do more when I leave this chair, go out and touch people's lives in a personal and incarnate basis. 

This is breaking the usual. This is getting out the comfort zone. This is going for the second mile in serving others.

5AM, I am already out. It was a long ride. I will speak to and inspire the whole security force of Rustan's, a big mall in Makati. It was a blessed experience to share the love of God to these security guards. I was thinking how we just ignore these people in many establishments and we often forgot that they too are people who need Jesus. And this was a big open door from God to introduce them to a new life. There in their gathering, I was enabled by God to share to them the radical love of Jesus. I shared to them that the Greatest Security Guard of their lives is none other than Jesus, and that every security guard must have a "Security God." Eventually, after the love of Jesus has been shared, all of them opened their hearts to Jesus and they received Him for a new relationship and salvation.

Today is another day of making this love incarnate to people. And it didn't stop there, after that, I have to go to Pandacan, Manila which is far from my place to conduct a Gospel service. It was a blessed night to share  the message of God's love to the people wherein they all received Jesus in their hearts.

For the whole week, it has been a joyous blessing to touch people's lives - counseling people, sharing the word of God in various small groups from one house to another. In one of our house session, three "gays" joined us. They thought they will not be welcomed but they were received with love. They were teary-eyed when they heard God's love for them. I know that their transformation will only start in salvation. The law cannot change them. Religion cannot save them. Only Jesus can. They accepted Jesus  in their hearts and their hearts were beaming with hope that they can have a better life with Jesus.

Somehow, I looked back this year, that God has given me this knack to reach out to selected groups of people. I remember at one early morning, our team has ministered to construction workers in one street giving them free breakfast and the Gospel. Also in another effort of love, I have ministered to suicidal "emo" students of one campus. In another engagement, we have fed and shared the gospel to tricycle drivers. God has indeed blessed this second mile of serving others.

I have realized these radical truths in going "offline" in order to do the extra-mile in serving others:

1. True happiness is when you make others happy.

2. There is always an opportunity to help people. Just go out and you will see.

3. Christianity must not be confined inside the church buildings.

4. The more you go out to help people, the less you will think of your own problems or struggles.

5. The more you see the plight of people out there, the more you will see how blessed you are.

6. And you are blessed because the blessing ought not to stop with you, it must be passed to others.

7. When you have the vision to help others, God will always give the provision.

8. Your work, your position, your office are not hindrances but ought to be avenues in helping others.

A friend of mine who is already with the Lord in heaven, told me when she was still alive and battling with cancer,  "I will not go to heaven defeated and sad. I am on my way to heaven helping other people. And if I die, I will die while helping people." I saw her victorious and enjoyed her life till her last breath.

These are thanksgiving and introspections of God's goodness in my life. To be a help is already a blessing.

And here I am again, writing these things with prayer that anyone who read this will be inspired and be blessed by God. I will keep on writing in this blog to help more people out there, but after writing a post, I will again be back in the streets and in the houses or wherever God will lead me to share His words, help and touch people's lives. It is indeed different when love becomes incarnate. 

God "wrote" the Bible.

Yet, He still came down, lived with humans, and died for them.

He cannot afford to be just online and sitting on His throne.

WITH GOD, I HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? - Psalm 27:1 

 

When fear engulfs the heart, it cannot function properly. Fear and faith cannot sit side by side in the heart of a Christian. One must reign and one must command. When we live in fear, all of our decisions will be motivated by fear. Likewise, when we live by faith, all of our decisions will be based in faith.

I Will Not Fear My Past. Past is past and all of it has been covered by the Cross. I must not live base on my past but on the present. To fear the past is to live in guilt. Guilt makes a coward out of a man. The loss that was in the past should be forgotten and face the day with the Lord. David said, “The Lord IS my light and my salvation.” That is present tense. Yes, to erase the fear brought out by the past is to live for the dynamic present. You must enjoy the work that you have right now. Whom shall I fear? Nobody. Not even yourself for there is forgiveness in God. When God allowed you to live today in the present, it is already the guarantee that God has been gracious to you regardless of your past.

I Will Not Fear My Future. God is already there. Why should I fear? All the challenges which I will face are all prepared by God and I have nothing to fear.  I declare that His thoughts are thoughts of peace, blessings and abundance.

I Will Not Fear My Enemies. The only time I have to fear my enemies is when I face them by myself. But when I meet them with the Lord in my side, I should have nothing to fear. Victory was already given and it was already assured. All I have to do is claim it. To fight in a war with lots of fear is to lose that fight even before it starts. The enemies of our faith are masters in psy- war. All of our battles are being fought initially in the mind. It is the common ground. The devil can make you feel so worthless. The devil can make you doubt your salvation. The devil can make you feel so guilty. But putting God in our thoughts we can claim the victory in our lives. To be closer with God is to be fearless against the enemies.

I Will Not Fear Myself. This is very common in many Christians that we commonly say, “I fear myself what I can do when I am angry or depressed or when I am in total end of the line.” To fear self is to be defeated by it. It means that self can be out of control. That is why we pray every day “Lord, please hold me. I need you every hour.” In order not to fear self is to submit to God.

Whom shall I fear? You know the answer. There is a kind of fear that will establish your soul and that is your fear in God. That is the only kind of fear that is helpful. It is the only fear that comforts. Take note of this- fear changes life. It just depends on who is the subject of your fear. If you fear challenges, it will change you to inferiority. If you fear your past failures, it will change you to guilt. If you fear the enemies, it will change you to cowardice. If you fear your self, it will change you to mediocrity. But if you fear God, it will change you to goodness and an abundant life.

HOW YOU STOOD UP AFTER A FALL MATTERS MOST THAN THE FALL ITSELF

"Peter stood up..." - Acts 1:15

All of us know the story of Peter denying the Lord. We have heard messages to messages drawn from this biggest mistake of Peter. We have read how he cried in repentance, and how his life was devastated by guilt and sadness.

But seldom we heard how "Peter stood up" after that known failure of his. Oftentimes, we focus too much on the mistake of someone instead of focusing on how he managed to rise from his dilemmas in life. The words in Acts 1:15 commended, appreciated and vindicated Peter, -

"Peter stood up." 

The saying is right which says, "It is not how you fall that matters but how you stood up after you fall which really matters." Yes, "Peter stood up."

He stood up and learned from his lessons.
He stood up embracing God's full forgiveneness.
He stood up to the challenge to face whatever people will say.
He stood up to lead.
He stood up to still unleash the potential that God has given him.
"Peter stood up."
He stood up saying to himself that from this time on, it will be different.


He knew it is easy to think of himself as the person he has been. Yet he realized that it is far more powerful to see himself as the person he can become. The mistakes and disappointments of the past may seem to be a major presence in his life. But at that very moment, however, he chose to leave them completely behind.


This may describe you too.
You may have fallen. You may have done some big mistakes in your life.
But let it be that the words be said to you will be, - 

"You stood up."

You stood up from the mistakes of your life.
You stood up learning from your lessons.
You stood up never accepting that defeat is the last chapter of your life.
You stood up rising now to the occasion.
You stood up to the challenges.
You stood up now enjoying life fulfilling your purpose.
You stood up saying to the world and to yourself, "From this time on, it will be different."


People will remember how you stood up after a fall more than the fall itself.
Above all, God favors the one who stood up after all through trials, pains and mistakes.


And you can say to the world, 


"O, all those challenges, trials, pains and mistakes, at times, they may have put me to the ground.
But that is not the end of me. I rose up. I stood up.
And by the grace of God, I am still standing."


That's what matters most.

CHOOSE GOD'S POSSIBILITIES OVER YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES

The reason why we are oftentimes disheartened is because we allow the circumstances and the situation determines our joy when it should be vise-versa- our joy determines our circumstances and situation. Yes, I understand, hard times and difficult circumstances happen in our lives. I have my big share in the past of how it is to have difficult times. I have experienced how it is to be in the rock-bottom.

- I have experienced to sleep in a bus terminal because I was a vagabond;
- I have experienced to be in the streets, drunk and broken;
- I have experienced to be in bad places and lived with no direction.

But I finally realized just like what a certain writer said, "No one cares of you being miserable, so rather, be happy." And freedom and blessings came into my soul when I fully embraced that in all these difficult situations, there is a gracious God who loves me and planned my life to be abundant, prosperous and victorious. When I started to shift my sight from the circumstances to the possibilities, from crisis to where Christ is and from defeat to triumph, my life also started to shift towards fulness.

This is what I have learned-

Circumstances and situations should not break me but mold me.
Circumstances and situations are but platforms where God will bless me.
Circumstances and situations are but a stage where God will show His power in my behalf.

There is a verse in Isaiah which said -

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose." - Isaiah 35:1

The circumstance and the place was unlikely and difficult - wilderness, solitary place and a desert. But what God was implying here was this -

when you chose to embrace God's possibilities and power, and you chose to be a winner no matter how your hard your circumstances are, time will come that even these circumstances will be glad and will rejoice for you.

Yes, God's grace picked me up and I chose to be victorious. Since then, I lived a forgiven, fulfilled, happy life with love and direction from God. I have experienced now the upward way of life. I have discovered my potentials and purpose. I have renewed relationships. I have found fulness in using my talents, time and potentials to help many people. Yes, I am living now a victorious life.

And you know what? One time I visited those places where I used to squander my life, and somehow I felt the truth of the verse. The circumstances and the situations where you once in will be glad and rejoice for you because they were not victorious over you, as if -

- the bus terminal is telling me, "You won. We didn't have you."
- the dirty streets are telling me, "You won. We didn't have you."
- the bad places are telling me, "You won. We didn't have you."

You know what got me?
God's grace.

You may have bad times, but the bad times ought not to have you.
You may have failures, but failures ought not have you.
You may have tough situations, but tough situations ought not to have you.

And what the next verse has said was true to me -

"they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." - Isaiah 35: 2

This is the actual bus terminal where I used to sleep six years ago- miserable, rebellious and vagabond. I took these photo when I recently visited the place. Just imagine what I look like at that time.

And this is where I am now - happy, forgiven, enjoying life and touching the lives of many. GOD IS GREAT!

CRITICS AND CONFIDANTS

There are two kinds of people in your life. 
The first group are people who truly loves you and help you. 
The second group are people who doesn’t like you. 


The first group is your confidant. The second group is your critics. 


You become unhappy in life when you focus to please critics and neglect your confidants. 
The key is this, focus on the first group and invest all you got in them. 
The second group? 
Ignore. Avoid.
That’s the only best way to overcome them. Leave them to the hands of God. 

Stay away from mindless, pointless quarreling over genealogies and fine print in the law code. That gets you nowhere. Warn a quarrelsome person once or twice, but then be done with him. It's obvious that such a person is out of line, rebellious against God. By persisting in divisiveness he cuts himself off.

Don’t hate them nor even criticize them for soon you will be like them. You can still love them- but from a distance. Your best desire for them is not calamity but enlightenment. 


By the way, here’s a radical truth. You can benefit from both to thrive in life. 
You need confidants to discover your strength. 
You need critics to prove your strength. 
But in any case, both are stepping stones and not hindrances to your journey. 
The bottom line is this - 


It is not how people treat you that defines who you are in life.
It is how you carry yourself with love, kindness, joy and victory regardless of how people treats you.

WHAT GOD SAYS TO WHAT YOU SAY

WHEN YOU COMPLAIN, YOU REMAIN; WHEN YOU PRAISE, YOU WILL BE RAISED

Complaining will never improve a situation. The truth is- complaining just aggravates the situation. The reason why the Israelites was not able to enter the Promised land already given to them for almost 40 years, when it could just be conquered within two months, is because of - complaining attitude.

Truth - when you complain, you remain.
You remain in mediocrity.
You remain in your old attitude.
You remain in your old situation.
You remain in your cold heart.
You remain in any struggle you are in.

It has been said that the victory over any struggle lies in what you say during those struggles. When you complain, you will remain in those struggles.

The only way for breakthrough and unto freedom is this -

"Praise God."

In praising God, you lift up all your heartaches to Him. It expresses that though you may be in pain yet you are still firm that you will remain true. In praising God, you are letting it all go and letting God to be God.

Don't be surprised when you praise God- you will be raised.
You will be raised to victory.
You will be raised to promotion.
You will be raised to the fulfillment of your dreams.
You will be raised to become a better you.

It is amazing that God moves in a mysterious way when He blesses us. We thought He raises things in order to promote us but the truth is, He is not raising the things, He is raising us. Yes, over any criticism, over any impossibilities, over any hindrances, over any lack. And in His time, God's glory is revealed and He is honored because you praised Him in advance though you were in a hard situation.

"But in everything by prayer with thanksgiving..."

When you complain, you remain. When you praise, you will be raised.

EXPECT GREAT THINGS

You have within you the power and ability to solve every problem and deal with every challenge that life presents. 

Your faith or whatever you believe in this world is always working to make your world the place you expect it to be. If you expect to be lonely, and sick, and without money -- then your mind will find a way for that to happen. And when you expect to be healthy, prosperous and loved, then your mind will find a way for it to happen.  The word of God said it clearly, "As he thinks in his heart, so is he."

Stop for awhile and try to evaluate yourself with this question -
Is what you expect for yourself the same as what you want for yourself? 


The people whom we view as successful, are those who fully expect to get what they want, whatever that may be. And they find a way to get it. 

Your mind must have specific goals in order to reach them. Not just "a bigger house" but specifically what house, on what street, in what neighborhood, how many bedrooms, what color carpet? 

Know what you want, fully expect to get it, and take the necessary actions to bring it about. Know that there will be obstacles, and that you will find a way through them. You can do it.

Expecting for something bad will do you no good, but frustration and fear.

Expecting for great things will radically change your life.


God promised in His words that His favor is always "new every morning" and "great is His faithfulness." Wow! What could be greater than the greatness of God's faithfulness?

William Carey said it best - "Expect great things from God. Expect great things with God."

BE THANKFUL FOR THE THINGS YOU CAN'T DO

Oftentimes, we always gets frustrated of our inadequacies. We lament and we feel as a failure on the things we want to do but we can’t do. A person wants to paint but it is not his gift to paint and thus ends in frustration. A young man wants to explore the world but lacks the money to fulfill it. Response? Frustration. A mother wants to do everything for her kids but found herself short. An aspiring singer wants to fulfillment in her career but lacks the exposure and the equipments. Her response? Frustration.

Even you has a share of this kind of story. You want to do something but you found yourself short, inadequate and lacking. You oftentimes end up in frustration and ask “Why can’t I do it?”

But you know what?

You can be thankful even of the things you can’t do.

Why? You may ask.

For these simple reasons –

It prevents you from being proud.

We got to accept that we are not like Superman. Actually after observations of Superman, I found out that even Superman or any superheroes has limitations. We have seen how Superman has his weakness that Lex Luthor can even at times defeat him knowing that Luthor is not that super-human like him. That makes Superman - human.

And that is the purpose of your weakness, too-  to remind you that you are but human. It is a reminder for you to be humble. God said, “without Me you can do nothing.” At one time, an atheist has questioned this truth – “Why is it that  I can still do many things though I don’t believe in God?” My answer was- “Your unbelief doesn’t make God non-existent. Whether all of this world says there is no God, still God will be God. And the fact that you can do something though you don’t believe in Him, is even a favor from Him and you have nothing to be proud of.” 

So, if there are things you can’t do, be thankful for it prevents you from being proud.

Another reason why you ought to be thankful –

It prevents you from your own destruction.

God will not commit mistake in making you not to do a certain thing. A seemingly hindered event, schedule or appointment could be a disappointment to you but you actually don’t know that God has just been protecting you all the time. God will not give you something that will destroy you. So be thankful if you cannot sing like Celine Dion though you dream being like one. Be thankful if you cannot be like Manny Pacquiao. Be happy if you cannot be popular like the celebrities. You are what you are.

This leads to the reason that will inspire you –

It is pointing you on what you really can do.

Yes, on what you are really good at. Oftentimes, because we want to do many things we end up doing nothing. We cannot be Jacks of all trade. We may have a knowledge of a little bit of something but we must be good of what we really good at. The reason why you are not allowed to do a certain thing is because you are being pointed to the thing that is really meant for you.

So what if you cannot sing like Josh Groban? So what if you cannot be like Kobe Bryant? Be thankful of who you are. For sure, you can do something worthwhile. Discover it and focus on it.

And of the things you can't do, be thankful. You are just being prevented for your own good.

The God of mercy shall prevent me... - Psalm 59:10