Putting Things in Their Proper Perspective

A real Christian is an odd number anyway.

He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen,

talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see,

expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another,

empties himself in order to be full,

admits he is wrong so he can be declared right,

goes down in order to get up,

is strongest when he is weakest,

richest when he is poorest,

and happiest when he feels worst.

He dies so he can live,

forsakes in order to have,

gives when he can keep,

sees the invisible,

hears the inaudible,

and knows that which passes knowledge

-A.W. Tozer

change, just happens!

and like a caterpillar peeling out of its caccoon to become a radiant butterfly...

I, too, am peeling out of my old life (and what I always thought I knew) to become my new radiant self. Free to fly, free to be free, free to make my own choices, free to love, free to be happy, free to give when i want to give, free to receive, free to feel what I want to feel, free to control my emotions, free to wholly just be ME!

there are some things in life that are out of my control, like change. some times it just happens. time changes things. time changes people. time changes me. change can be a good thing but it can also just be. good or bad. good & bad. good/bad.

i've been coming to see in myself as i see it in others around me that a lot of this change that happens happen when we allow it to happen. there are some changes that we can't control and they just take place, like people. but there are other areas of change that are within our grasp, like ourselves. i've come to see and experience that with change can come with a dark cloud of fear. fear of the "unknown", to be exact. this unknown can be an exciting time with much to anticipate with what it will bring but at the same time it can be a bit intimidating because you don't know what will be offered and some just don't want change to occur because they're just accustomed to what they know.

there's a saying that always got me thinking that goes, "you can run away from your problems but you can't run away from yourself." many times we think that if we can just "get away from it all" that magically some genie will come and resolve all of our problems by our disappearance from the thing we're running away from. whether that may be circumstances, people or just life in general. but many times those problems we're running away from are just screaming out for some kind of change to happen. but have you ever thought about how maybe that problem is not what's in front of you but what's inside? that maybe the problem itself was not what you see but it was just YOU all along? i've come to familiarize myself with the concept that if things around me and life in general is not changing and i'm not satisfied with the way things are then the only thing left to do is to change myself, my attitude, my perspectives, my actions and most importantly, my heart.

"Blessed are the pure in heart

for they shall see God"

(Matthew 5:8)

-Live Productively

time changes things & people. i've changed. post update soon. it's been a while. my bad

Not an obligation but BECAUSE I Love You

So there's this person in my life who wants to bless me with material blessings or by doing their part as a certain role figure in my life. But part of me already knows that this person only does his/her part out of an obligation as my parental figure.

My Father...

I know his intentions are good but selfish. I could start listing out all the negative aspects of all of his wrongs because just like me, he's imperfect & terribly flawed. With my brother and my birthday just passing by, I already sense that he's feeling a bit obligated to somehow make up for parts of the past that he's let slip on by, leaving bits and pieces of neglect and abandonment making a whole lot of pain that can only be healed by THE healer, the Lord above.

I guess he's wanting to give us presents and gifts saying its from his lady friend in whom he's trying to give her the credit to win over our favor. But it just does not and will not work that way. Anything given out of obligation, especially out of a selfish duty is not a gift wanting to be received. I think sometimes this is exactly how we are to God. We think that we can earn his favor by giving offering, prayers and even time, only out of a selfish obligation to prove to ourselves and others that we're good, righteous,holy, "super Christians".. But just like my father, if his heart isn't in the right place of giving, only expecting to receive my love just bc he gives me gifts does not make me want to give back to him my love, favor or even time because he's doing it selfishly and not bc it's my will but only for His will. But with the love of God, it's free grace that's give to us. it's love that doesn't have to be earned because it isn't works that wins our faith but it's our faith being worked out of that free-grace given by the Lord. And how many of us are stuck in this same predicament without even being aware of it ourselves where we will work to earn faith, salvation and love from God when he gives, freely out of His unconditional love for us.

We'll read our bibles out of a duty for pride or spiritual bragging rights and not out of a love & desire to know what God has to say in response to our prayers. We pray by making a shopping list of do's & don'ts when prayer is to talk to God and align OUR will in replacement for HIS- "THY will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" (Matt6:10) We go to church and serve in the church not because it makes us righteous people but out of a channeling of God's love through us. By physically being in the church building on Sundays don't make us CHRISTIAN, it only makes us religious in which Jesus was always rebuking the Pharisees for being, RELIGIOUS with their hearts far from God. Our longing to be at church should be rooted from a desire to get a touch of the Lord upon our sinful spirits to be healed, just like the bleeding woman who believed that just by a touch of Jesus' cloak she'd be healed from her sickness. And what's astounding about this woman is that it was her FAITH that healed her FROM THAT MOMENT! (Matt 9:20) The church is not what heals you from your sins, its your FAITH in Jesus Christ and the power of His resurrection that heals.

Oh Lord, expand our hearts for you. Holy Spirit move us to trust, not in tomorrow, the church or our own wills but in You and You alone, Father. Our hearts may "plan the course but YOU determine our steps" (Prov 16:9) Abba, "search our hearts, test us & know our thoughts" (Ps139:23) Change our hearts that when we give to you out of an obligation or a duty for our own benefit won't you turn it into an a offering, prayer & time that is given out of a heart that just desires to give to you not for what we can gain but just because We LOVE You!

Can I get a Amen?

-Live Productively

XXV

As a little girl, I have awaited for the day that I will one day turn an age where I saw womanhood to come into full bloom. As I have now come to fulfill this anticipation I'm honestly more blessed than anything. This year's birthday celebration was a lot different than my previous years. Birthdays are supposed to be about balloons, cake, friends and celebrating! but for me this year, my birthday was a whole lot more personal than anything. The only one whom I longed to celebrate it with was with my father in heaven. Normally I'd be feeling a plethora of emotions, hurt and disappointed that my expectations weren't fulfilled as I wished they'd be but not this year. I had everything to my hearts content & more! Not because of the gifts and presents or the showering of love upon me but just because I've come to taste that I AM LOVED, and this for me is so much more than enough for me to celebrate me!

"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake, I am still with you"

-Psalm 139:17,18

Happy XXV to me! Thank you, Jesus.

"I praise you because I am fearfully & wonderfully made" (vs.14)

and I applied for Life Insurance today! I'm covered not just by insurance but by Jesus blood!

-Live Productively

New World Sun- There is a way

-Live Productively

Idols & Tools

Mary Southerland

Today's Truth

"Jesus said to them, "Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns."

Luke 12:15

Friend To Friend
We live in a "stuff" driven world where it does not seem to matter what we have, it is never enough. We are told the more things we have, the more successful we are. We not only want possessions, we want other people's talents, abilities, circumstances and relationships. Luke warns us to guard against "all kinds of greed." It is easy for us to covet a job that offers more power and prestige. We want the power that another seems to possess in their career. We are driven to have the best and to be the best, unable to relax and celebrate where we are and what we do have. Hebrews 13:5 is powerfully clear in its warning, "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never forget you" (NCV). Now that is a fortune.

Be honest. How important are your possessions? How do you view them? Howard Hendricks, a great Bible teacher, was having dinner with a very wealthy and prestigious man. Hendricks was amazed at the humility of his host, knowing the man's impressive credentials and the massive wealth he possessed. At the end of the evening, Hendricks asked his friend, "How did you grow up in such wealth and not be consumed by materialism?" With a smile, the man responded, "My parents taught me that everything in our home was either an idol or a tool. The choice was up to me."

The truth is that we want whatever we put first in life. I have discovered the more I have to live for, the less I need to live on. Too often, greed and jealousy encourage wrong decisions and foster unhealthy and ungodly attitudes. The fact is - greed and jealousy are fruits of idolatry. Everything in life is either an idol we choose to worship or a tool we choose to use for good or bad.

Corrie ten Boom was a godly woman who endured great persecution from the Nazis in the World War II concentration camp known as Ravensbruck. During an interview, she once stated she had learned to hold everything "loosely" in her hands. When asked why, Miss ten Boom explained that after being a Christian for many years, she had discovered the truth that when she grasped things tightly, it hurt more when the Lord would have to pry her fingers loose. The choice really is ours to make. We need to hold our "stuff" loosely while investing financial resources in eternal things. We need to keep our gaze riveted to God's plan alone instead of entering the all too familiar and ungodly "competition" that seems to plague so many people.

To stay away from idols and avoid greed we need to change our focus from what we want to what we have and choose to be satisfied with whatever that is. In Luke 12:15, Jesus issues a warning, "Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns" (ICB). I believe that attaching importance to "things" is sin and will lead to more sin.

I love the story of a wealthy man who prayed, asking for permission to take his earthly wealth with him when he died and went to heaven. An angel appeared to the man and said, "We heard your prayer, but I am sorry. You simply cannot take it with you." The man pleaded so passionately that the angel said, "Let me see what I can do." When the angel returned, he reported, "Good news! God has made an exception for you. You may bring one suitcase with you when it is your time to go." Delighted, the man packed his one suitcase and went on with life. Several years later, he died and appeared at the Pearly Gates where St. Peter who took one look at the suitcase and said, "I am sorry, sir, but you cannot bring that in with you", met him. The man protested, "But I received special permission." Just then, the angel appeared and said, "Peter, it is true. He has special permission to bring one suitcase in with him." Curious, Peter said, "Do you mind showing me what is in the bag that is so important to you?" With a smile, the man replied, "Not at all" and proceeded to open the suitcase to reveal stacks of gold bricks. Peter's face said it all, "Pavement? You brought pavement with you?"

Many of us are in a never-ending and futile quest to accumulate "pavement" here that is worthlessthere! Wealth is all a matter of perspective. We need to understand that our Father wants us to have wealth. We just have to be careful not to settle for earthly money and possessions or human power and prestige instead of the eternal treasures only He can offer.

Let's Pray
Father, I confess to You that the material things of this world often tempt me. Please forgive me for the greed in my life and help me learn how to choose against it. I choose to keep my eyes on You and the eternal wealth You alone can offer. Help me to guard my heart and mind.

In Jesus' name,
Amen.

-Live Productively