Seek Divine Direction

In today's busy world, we are used to getting things in record time. We get our food fast, we relate to people from different time zones in real time via email and instant messaging. Everything is ordered, delivered and expected in a rush and if our demands are not met on time, we complain or take our business elsewhere.

In today's reading, David's men were distraught. The troop had returned to camp to find their homes destroyed, their family and possessions taken away. They were close to stoning David. At that moment, it would have been easy to react hastily under pressure. Perhaps he was tempted to lash out at the men, as he too had suffered loss, or he could have made rash promises of victory and restoration to them.

Instead David did what we must do in our everyday lives. He simply inquired of the Lord. He did not assume victory or conclude that going to fight was the best and only option, He let God decide.

You cannot have a successful journey in life without seeking divine direction in your endeavours. You must yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life to direct and guide you; He will never lead you astray.

He is the divine navigator, follow His lead today.

Return To The Potter

Intelligent Design is the understanding that the complexity, beauty and composition of this world is the work of an intelligent mind as opposed to a random, non-purposeful chain of events. Creationists believe that this Intelligent Designer is God.

The Bible tells us that God is our Potter and we are the work of His hands, products of His labour. A Potter shapes the clay, fires it and then glazes it in order to design different objects for the desired purpose. A ceramic vase is designed with its unique purpose in mind, to hold flowers.

In the same way, God, your Intelligent Designer and perfect Potter knows just what purpose you were created for. You are the work of His hand and only in His hands, can you be moulded, fired up and shaped to fulfil His desired will for your life.

If you want to leave your footprints on the moon, you must return to God, the Potter and ask Him to show you what destiny He had in mind when He was creating you. Submit to His shaping and moulding. Allow Him to fire you up.

Relent in absolute surrender to His decoration and beautification of your life for His glory.

I Have Done Well!

As they had their pasture, they became satisfied,
And being satisfied, their heart became proud;
Therefore they forgot Me.

Hosea 13:6



... Their needs were met; they were content; they were not struggling for sustenance for themselves or their livestock.

"Take your rest, my soul, for all is well. I don't need to continue this rigid discipline; I no longer need to rise early and work into the long hours of the night. I have plenty for myself. I have done well. My provisions have proven adequate. I am proud of my accomplishments."

And in this state of false security, plenty, and pride--they forgot God.

But this world where we live has very effective ways of reminding us that God is in control and that He doesn't want us to "forget" Him.

We tend to do that, don't we? When everything in my world is spinning just the way I have planned for it to spin, I don't really "need" God in my life--just some "WD 40" for small emergencies and extra cash for those unexpected things that I can handle all by myself. Then something really goes haywire."

Thank You dear Lord, that you don't say, "Well, they're getting along all right; I'll just leave them alone." No. You are there all the time, watching, listening for the slightest whisper, catching our tears, and You do comfort, You do console. You haven't taken our name off Your list of loved ones. There we are and there we stay. I would so like to be as faithful to You as You are faithful to me. But, I'm pretty hard-headed and slow to change my precious ways. But You know that, don't You? I love You for Your patience with me.

A Formidable Foe

 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. EPH 6:12

I was talking to the Lord about the struggles that are facing nearly all of us in this crazy mixed-up world and these thoughts came to me. Why in the world do I think--even for a split micro second--that I can in any way deal with the forces of wickedness in the heavenly places--with the forces of evil that come into my world? And I don't mean just scary, Harry Potter, "end-times" kinds of things--I mean anything and everything that is not of God. That would include personal struggles like anger, addictions, depression, pride, greed, self-centeredness, pornography, sexual promiscuity, and everything else that has its roots in this world and is empowered by this world! Read it again!

Rulers! Powers! The forces of darkness! Wicked spiritual forces!

You talk about a formidable foe! Let me clarify and emphasize just a little:

For the conflict that I experience--calling for extended effort on my part--at times great effort lasting for a prolonged period where I am contending with my opponent--is not--this is a very definite, firm, unquestionable, indisputable negative--against the people in my world--my family, my spouse, my children, my peers, or my co-workers--but this contention where I sometimes must fight violently, striving with great difficulty--is in opposition to the rulers, powers, and forces of wickedness in the heavenly places!

My opponent cannot be seen or touched, but I can sense him--his presence--and I can view his sadistic, vicious, often tragic handiwork. I can talk to him although he does not respond to me as coming from himself, but speaks to me through the person [or people] with whom I am interacting--and they are perhaps spouting painful, hateful, thoughtless, cruel words, obscenities or even suggesting harmful, drastic action!

One of his main tools is darkness--signifying ignorance, confusion, misunderstanding, a closed mind or a rebellious attitude. The Lord brings light and life! In Him was LIFE and that Life was the light of men and the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot eradicate it--did not comprehend it--cannot extinguish it--did not overcome it (John 1:4-5)! Paul contrasts this wicked force with the forces of God and tells me, "Anabel, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil [this formidable foe]" (Eph. 6:10-11). But I ignore His words of caution and try to win this battle with MY strength and MY wisdom! How utterly foolish (stupid) of me!

God does not intend for us to fight these formidable forces. HE WILL FIGHT THEM FOR US! Our job is to keep our mind focused on that truth! Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's! (II Chron. 20:15a)

So I--in desperation--cry: "Lord, I cannot do this! I simply cannot! The battle is too much for me! These forces are so much greater than mine! You must do it for me, Lord!" Then believe; "I have given this battle to the Lord. And when I asked Him to do it all for me, He said, 'All right.' He heard me! He took my battle!"

Does that mean that I will experience nothing but victory? No. It means that my strength for this battle comes from Him! Does that mean I will never get "war weary"? No. Jesus, Himself, had to withdraw and rest! Does it mean that I will never be wounded? That I will come out unscathed or still kicking? No. But it does mean that the battle and the outcome of that battle is not mine. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord (II Chron. 20:14). And stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand (Rom. 14:4b).

Do I actually think that anyone or any power could be victorious over the Lord, aborting HIS plan for theirs?

Lord, there is no one besides You to help
in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude (this formidable foe). O Lord, You are our God, let not man prevail against You. II Chron. 14:20 NAS

Humble Yourself to End the Argument

By Rick Warren





“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1 NIV)

As I talk with couples, one of the most common complaints I hear from people is, “We just can't seem to get along. We argue so much. We love each other, so why is it we have major blowups over such minor issues?” I talk with parents who say, “With my kids there is constant tension. I don’t understand why we’re always in an argumentative mode.”

James doesn’t beat around the bush. Long before modern psychology came along, he had some profound insights on the cause of conflict. James 4:1 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” James says that the cause of arguments is conflicting desires. When my wants conflict with your wants, the sparks are going to fly.

The Bible makes very clear that there are three basic desires we have that cause conflict: possessions, pleasure, and pride. These desires are legitimate and God-given unless they’re out of control. When you put them above other people and they become the most important things in your life, they will cause conflict.

So what is the cure for arguments? It’s one of the hardest lessons to learn: humility.

Grace is God’s power to change. What would you like to change about yourself? Whatever it is, you need grace to do it. What do you want to change about your relationships, your marriage, or your family? Whatever you would like to change, you can’t do it on your own. You need grace, and there is only one way to get it: You humble yourself. God doesn’t give grace to people who are full of pride and think, “I can do it on my own.” He gives it when we come and say, “God, I need your help.”

That's where you get the power to make the changes you want to see.

Life Challenges

Life is filled with all kinds of challenges. From the day you are born until the day you expire, you will face one challenge after the next. From the challenges of the birth process to the challenges of growing pains and beyond adulthood, you will either grow stronger from your life challenges or weaker.

I remember in the fall of 2008, I was a freshman in college and had just entered a world ethics course. My instructor was an amazing teacher and he introduced a term into the course discussion that gave me a new perception of problems and opportunities, he called them "probortunities."

He said, "When you come to that fork in the road and are face with a 'problem' in life, will you look at it as a problem or an opportunity?"  As I looked at the question on the monitor screen - being a full time online student - I had to put those critical thinking skills to the test.

Coming from a diversified walk of life, I always looked at my life challenges as problems; never opportunities. Yet, when posed with this question, it granted me a new perspective of how to look at the problems I encountered in my life.

I vaguely recall my instructor stating, "a problem is never a problem unless you make it into one." This is true. Are you going to "turn a mole hill into a mountain" or are you going to embrace the opportunity of a new challenge to overcome in your life?

From that day forward, there has not been a single challenge that I have not managed to turn into an opportunity of enlightenment, learning and growing.

You gain wisdom as you grow older, you learn who you are, where you want to go, and what you want out of life based on the challenges you encounter all your Life journey.

Are you going to look at your problems as blockage in your life and something you cannot overcome or are you going to take every problem as an opportunity to learn, grow, and challenge your greatest potentials?

Happiness

Happiness: Ask yourself, "If I lose everything I own right now, my job, my place of residence, my material possessions, my family, friends and loved ones...will I still be happy?" If you had to stop and ponder this question or you even answered no, then the truest happiness is not within your life. I too was guilty of these thoughts and actions at one time. I had to encounter a situation that I could not control in order to learn what the truest happiness is in life.

Naturally as you go through life, you 'think' that happiness consists of external factors such as money, material things, the people in your life, the type of car you drive or clothes you wear. Yet, happiness is not stemmed from any of these things but merely added to by these things. These external factors only add to the quality of your life based on self awareness and who you already know you are.

Therefore, if you truly look within yourself in your life at this very moment in time, can you truly say that you are happy with everything about yourself and your life? If you answered no or had to second guess the question then again, you are still not at your truest state of happiness.

The truest state of happiness is based on self awareness, self esteem, and self love. These three very important things determine the depth and quality of happiness you obtain for yourself in your life. As you grow older, you gain wisdom and knowledge based on your life experiences. Yet, 'how' much wisdom you gain is based merely on how you choose to change your perception based on what 'appears' to be the negative instances of your lives.

Learning to change your perspective on those negative instances helps you see the positive side of a negative situation. For example, some people sit and scream, "Why the fuck is this shit happening to me, what the hell did I do to deserve this?" Instead, the situation can be looked at as life teaching us something valuable that our family, friends or loved ones cannot. Everything in life is based on trial and error, and cause and effect. Right?

Life can be looked at as one giant magnet. If a battery needs a positive and negative flow to work, and the universe works on positive and negative energy, then humans being made up of the same eclectic energy can determine the outcomes of the negative situations in your lives. If your house catches on fire, you lose your job, and your loving and faithful wife or husband (boy friend or girl friend) walks out on you all at the same time, you are probably going to think that life has some personal vendetta against you.

However, karmic retribution and personal perspectives play a great role in how you will come out of all of this happening at one time. Truly, if someone loves you they won't walk out on you no matter what affects your life. So, a loved one or even family abandoning you in your time of need only proves that the person never belonged in your life or was only there for a specified season.

Changing how you look at your house catching on fire and you losing your job can either be life preparing you for greater advancement or repaying you from some action you committed earlier in your life. How you choose to look at this situation determines how you come out of it, and how long it takes to regain your personal happiness.

I have seen some homeless people that others call bums and they were the happiest looking people I have ever seen in the world. Blessed with an ability to find internal happiness despite the fact that they are homeless, have no place to stay or anything to eat daily, these people have learned to be happy with the little things they do have and most importantly some of them have learned to be happy no matter what life looks like on the outside.

On a more personal level of experiences on learning to be happy no matter what happens in life, I am a survivor of Hurricane Katrina, and losing everything I ever obtained to a situation beyond my control as a resident in a city and state that is not even my native land surely taught me that happiness does not come in the form of material things, my career or cars or even the people who I thought were my family and friends.

When you lose everything and everyone in your life, and you have no choice but to stand and take control of your personal happiness despite what your life may appear to be to others, then and only then through wisdom and personal growth have you obtained the truest sense of happiness from your within you based on self awareness, self esteem and self love.

Are you ready to stand up and take control of your personal happiness?

-Lyfe Lessynz

You Are In Control

There comes a time where enough is enough right? So, when we engage in social relationships despite the intimacy or depth of the connection we share with different people on different levels, we are in control of the pain people inflict on our lives.


Due to hurt and anger based on the infractions the people we share our lives with inflict, we want to point fingers and play the blame game. However, WE are in control of the pain we allow others to inflict in our lives.


True enough, the violating party 'must' take responsibility for their own actions, but we have the power to stop them from hurting us.


Abuse is abuse no matter how severe or minor it may appear, and it's 'not' okay on any level. But the key is becoming aware that you are in control of what people do in your life that hurts.


You want to give the people/person you love and care about he benefit of the doubt in hopes that they would change. However, when we learn who a person is based on how they respond or react toward us, we have to exercise compassion toward ourselves enough to stop the people/person from causing that mental, physical or emotional anguish.


Are you going to stand up today and stop the pain that is being inflicted in your life or are you going to continue making excuses for why it is okay for people to continue hurting you?


You are in control, take a stand in your life now and love yourself more then any person you have ever loved in your life.


- Lyfe Lessynz

What Does YOUR Life Mean To You?

As we walk through life, we are learning each day who we are and who we want to become. Many people have strong family support systems or alternate external support systems that aid them through these multiple transitions in their lives.

But what about the people who don't have family ties or external support systems to aid them in their constantly transitioning walk of life? I am one of those people. However, I did not and not allow the circumstances and situations of my life to conform me or redefine who I am created to be.

I am about to branch out on a touchy area of life right quick, so please bear with me on this one. If life is about personal growth, learning to love and embrace yourself for who you truly are, and constantly redefining yourself to become the best that you can be, and to elevate above and beyond your current life condition, then why do we indulge in religion?

Yes...it's the big question that gets every one's underwear in a bunch. I touch on this because LIFE is about spirituality not religion. I understand clearly that some people need a religious foundation to determine who they are, where they plan on going on their life journey, and most importantly improving their spiritual strength and quality of life.

On the other hand, religion comes with constant restraints of what you can and cannot do, how you are or should think of yourself and life, and why you should or should not be who you truly want and need to be for yourself. Don't get me wrong, I DO believe in a higher power and creator of all things. I do have moral standards and values that I have and do practice in my daily life. Yet, I don't feel the need to follow the leader on religious practices and beliefs.

If I am to develop into who I was created to be or need to be, I cannot find that inner being with religious, theoretical and methodological views constantly flowing in and out of me on a daily basis, I have lived a severely diversified life, and still do in may instances. However, what my life has brought me through does not define who I am...I do.

SO, if in this life we are to be who we truly are created to be then we need to tap into the universe and meditate through spiritual alignment, chakra healing and healthy eating  finalized with daily exercise. Life is too short to allow others to conform our thought processes into what they want it to be, and to persuade us into being something other then what makes us happy. Because the reality is, our lives are about us....not anyone else.

- Think about it, and share your views.