Perspective determines...

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Your Perspective Determines Your Potential

Number 13:30

"And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it."

Your perception will ultimately determine your potential. If you are one who always sees the glass half empty, then your potential for life will be extremely limited. However, if you are one who always sees the glass half full, then your potential is unlimited. A person's potential is determined by their perspective. This is why you must learn to choose the proper perspective in life.

The twelve spies who spied the land of Canaan displayed this principle to perfection. Two spies had a positive outlook on what God could do, while ten spies let the negative determine their outlook. The two spies said, "...for we are well able to overcome it." The ten spies said in verse 33, "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak,..." Two spies knew that God had the power to help them do what He commanded them to do, while the ten spies' lack of faith caused them to see the negative, which eventually eliminated any potential these men had.

By nature humans are negative. Sin always causes you to see the negative. Because everybody is a sinner, then everybody naturally has a negative perception. However, faith is the antidote for your perception. Faith is what causes a person to turn their perception from negative to positive. When you see things through the prism of faith, then you never let the negatives limit your potential. It is important that you learn to look through the eyes of faith and not through your natural eyes.

Always remember that your potential is determined by your perception. When you see things in a negative light, then you have set up barriers which most likely you will not cross. However, when you see the positive through the eyes of faith, your potential has no limit because your God has no limit. If you are going to see the positive through the eyes of faith, then you must purposely look for the positive in everything. There is always something positive in every situation. You may have to look hard to see the positive, but it is there. The negative is seen through a casual glance, but the positive is seen through a principled look. Eventually, you will train your perception to see the positive if you continue to look for it in every situation.

Let me ask you, do you see the positive or negative in your spouse? If you always see the negative, then you are destroying the potential of your marriage. However, if you see their positives, then the potential of what your marriage can become is limitless with God's help.

Furthermore, do you see the positive or negative in your children? Too many parents provoke their children to wrath by seeing the negative in them all the time. When children are constantly bombarded with the negative of what they do, then they will eventually get frustrated with their parents and will do the negative on purpose. As a parent you must train yourself to see the positive in your children. Remember, you increase their potential by pointing out the positives you see in them.

Finally, do you see the positive or negative in every area of your life? How do you perceive things at your church? How do you perceive things on the job? How do you perceive your future? To increase your potential in any area, you will have to start seeing the positive side of things. Always remember that your potential is as great as your perception. Be careful not to limit your potential by having a negative outlook, but remove the ceiling of your potential by having a positive outlook in everything that you do.

Back up

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God's Back-Up Plan

1 Chronicles 1:28-29

"The sons of Abraham; Isaac, and Ishmael. These are their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,"

I have never been one who likes back-up plans because I feel that when you have a back-up plan you have already planned for failure. However, when failure happens, you need to come up with a back-up plan to get you through your time of failure.

God's original plan for Abraham was to have one child who would be the one to carry on the promise of a nation. However, Abraham messed up God's original plan when he had an affair with Hagar, which resulted in an illegitimate child being born. Ishmael was that illegitimate child. Though Abraham messed up God's original plan, God came up with a back-up plan that He used to not only bless Isaac, but also Ishmael. Yes, the birthright went to Isaac, but in God's back-up plan He found a way to bless Ishmael. You can see from the verse above that God's back-up plan included blessing Ishmael by making a great nation come from him.

Christian, maybe you have messed up God's original plan for your life, let me encourage you that God has already come up with a back-up plan so that He can still use you. Yes, I know that you may feel embarrassed and shamed that you messed up God's original plan, but God will always come up with a back-up plan when we mess up His original plan. God's back-up plan is simply a manifestation of His mercy. When we mess up God's original plan, His mercy steps in and comes up with a back-up plan. God's mercy steps in and finds a way to use you from where you are. Though you will never find out what would have happened had you heeded to God's original plan, you can rest assured that God's mercy has come up with a plan to use you again.

Not only will God come up with a back-up plan when you mess up His original plan, but He can still bless you tremendously in that plan. God blessed David in His back-up plan. God blessed Peter in His back-up plan by using him on the day of Pentecost. God used Samson in His back-up plan by allowing him to have the greatest victory of his entire life. God blessed Adam and Eve in His back-up plan by coming up with a plan for man to be reunited with Him through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Yes, God's blessings can still be found in His back-up plan.

Maybe you have done something in your life where you messed up God's original plan. Let me encourage you that God has a plan where He can use you again. Young person, God can still use you if you lost your purity. God can still use you if your marriage fails. God can still use you after you have fallen into sin. No matter how bad you have messed up God's plan for your life, you need to understand that He can still you use.

If you have not messed up God's original plan, do your best to never make God come up with a back-up plan. The greatest blessings that God has for you are in His original plan. However, when you have messed up God's original plan, His mercy will come up with a back-up plan where He can use and bless you in a great way. Don't let your failure bring greater failure, but pick yourself up and find God's back-up plan for your life.

Sacred?

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Turning Sacred Into Wrong

2 Kings 18:4

"He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan."

One of the acts that led to one of the greatest revivals in the history of Israel is found in the verse above. It says that Hezekiah "...brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made:..." What was it about this brasen serpent that caused Hezekiah to brake it in pieces? This brasen serpent that was supposed to be used as a reminder of what God did for Israel became the object of worship for the children of Israel. The brasen serpent was supposed to remind them of how they were saved from death during one of the plagues because they looked to it when Moses lifted it up. These people had turned something sacred into something wrong. They turned something that was to remind them of Jehovah God into something that led them away from the One Whom they were to serve. It is hard to believe that they took something that was supposed to be a sacred reminder and turned it into an object to worship.

However, I find in Christianity that there are many Christians who serve the object and not the God of the object. What I mean by this is that many Christians have spiritualized the act instead of understanding the purpose of it. For instance, there are many Christians who believe they are right with God just because they go to church. They believe their trip to church on Sunday and Wednesday is what makes them spiritual. Church as become more of a ritual that makes them feel that they have done their obligation for the week. There are many Christians who worship the act of going to church instead of allowing God to speak to them while they are at church. Yes, we are to obey God's command and going to church, but just because you go to church does not make you spiritual.

Likewise, going soul winning does not make you spiritual. There are many people who believe they are right with God simply because they go soul winning. There are others who think teaching a Sunday school class or running a bus route makes them spiritual. We often make the object more spiritual than what it really is. Though these are things we should strive to do, they are only a tool to help us become what God wants us to be.

Just because we do what God commands us to do does not give us a right to sin. This is the danger of spiritualizing the act. Just because you go to church every Sunday and Wednesday does not give you a right to commit sin the rest of the week. It is the life you live and your heart of obedience towards God that makes you right with Him. You can go soul winning like God commands, but it is doing right after you go soul winning that makes you right with Him. Just because you walk an aisle and kneel down to pray does not make you right with God. What makes you right with God is leaving the altar and doing what you decided to do at that altar.

Christian, be careful about turning something that is a tool to help you stay right with God into something wrong. Be careful that you don't think performing spiritual acts makes you spiritual and that it allows you to let sin reign in your heart. The object or the act is not what makes you spiritual, it is your heart towards God and sin removed that makes you spiritual. Always remember that doing the things God commands you to do is only part of staying right with Him. Be careful not to worship the act or the object, but worship and obey the God Who commands you to do the act.

Generational

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Generational Dedication

2 Kings 11:17

"And Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people, that they should be the LORD'S people; between the king also and the people."

An interesting phrase is made in the verse above when it says, "And Jehoiada of made a covenant between the LORD and the king and the people,..." This phrase is interesting because chose to serve God many times before. The first time Israel chose God was in Joshua's day. Joshua asked in Joshua 24, to choose whether they would serve the gods of the Amorites or Jehovah God. He made the statement, "...choose you this day whom ye will serve..." However, once again Israel chose God in this verse. We find in 2 Chronicles 15:8, that Asa chose God to be the One Whom they served. In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we find they chose God to be their God. Even in the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar chose God to be the God of Babylon and made a law that anybody who served any other god would be put to death. Darius, the king, also made a decree that anyone who served any other god other than Daniel's God would be put to death. Several times in Israel's history they chose God to be their God.

Why is it that we find Israel chose God to be their God several times? The reason is because every generation must dedicate itself to serve the Lord. Every generation must decide if they will serve God. There were some generations in Israel's history that did not choose to serve God. Ahab was one of the kings who did evil in the sight of the Lord. He chose Baal over Jehovah God. Likewise, previous generations cannot choose God for you. Your parents may have chosen to serve God, but you must choose to serve God yourself. Just because previous generations made God the One Whom they served does not mean that He's the God whom we serve. Yet, if this generation wants God's blessing, then it must choose to make God the One Whom they will serve.

Every time a generation fails to dedicate themselves to God, we lose the lives of those who could pass God's truth to the next generation. This is why every generation must choose God. Every time we fail to choose God, then we fail to reach a generation for Christ. It is important that every generation makes a choice to serve God.

Moreover every generation must train the next generation to dedicate themselves to God. It is your responsibility to train your children to serve God. It is your responsibility to make sure that your children understand the importance of choosing God for their generation. It is your responsibility to make sure that your children understand that your choice to serve God is not good for them. Every generation must understand that they are the first generation for themselves to choose God. There is no second generation Christianity, there is only first generation Christianity. You must train the next generation to become the first ones of their generation to choose God. Every church must train the younger generation to choose God. Every nation must train the young generation to choose God. If we don't train the next generation to choose God, then that generation will stray from God and face His judgment.

Let me ask you, have you chosen God to be your God? Has there been a time in your life where you dedicated your life to God to make him your God for the rest of your life? Furthermore, not only must you make God the God whom you choose to serve, but you must choose Him to be your God on a daily basis. Be sure that every day when you wake up you make a dedicatory prayer to God to dedicate your life to serve Him for that day. That is the only way you will be successful in serving God on a daily basis. Then, be sure to train the generation that follows you the importance of choosing God to be their God.

Great, but...

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It's a Great Place, But...

2 Kings 2:19

"And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren."

One of the things I constantly have to remind people of when preaching revival meetings is that there is no perfect church. One of the stories that I often hear from preachers is how they lost some people because they became disgruntled with the pastor or the church. One of the reasons this happens is because these people who left found out that their church or pastor wasn't perfect. The sad part about this is that many times these people will move to another church only to find themselves unhappy once again because they found the imperfection in the new church. If these people are not careful, they will end up becoming church hoppers for the rest of their lives.

The men of Jericho came to Elisha about a problem they had in their city. When they described the city, they said, "...the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but..." These men found out that Jericho wasn't everything they thought it would be. They found out that Jericho had a water problem, which resulted in them not being able to grow food or crops. Instead of telling the people to move, Elisha told them to stay, but to work on the areas that needed improvement. Of course, the man of God helped with this by casting salt into the water and healing the waters. There are three things we can learn from this story that I believe can help you make your pleasant place of life a better place.

First, realize there is no perfect place. These men learned the hard way that there is no perfect place. No matter where you go, you will find problems. This is because every place is tainted by sin. No matter what church you attend, you will find problems with that church. No matter where you work, you will find problems with that place of employment. No matter who you marry, you will find that every person will have problems that you did not know about. Divorcing who you are married to and getting remarried is not the answer. The answer is realizing that there is no perfect person to marry.

Second, enjoy what you do have. Instead of dwelling on what you don't have, you need to focus upon that which you do have. Too often we dwell on the negatives in our life when there are many positives which we have. Don't dwell on the negatives of your spouse, rather enjoy their positives. Don't dwell on the negatives of your parents, rather enjoy their positives. Don't dwell on the negatives of a church, instead enjoy the positives that your church offers. Don't dwell on the negatives in your life, but dwell on the positives instead. Yes, you can always find the negatives, but you must find the positives and enjoy them.

Finally, work on improving the areas that need improvement. Instead of griping about the negatives, roll up your sleeves and get to work at improving the negatives. You can say, "It's a great place, but..." and never do anything to make it better, or you can say, "It's a great place, but I am going to work at making it a better place." It is a choice that you must make daily. You can complain about your negatives, or you can take the negatives and work at turning them into positives. Instead of griping about your pleasant place, work at improving it to a better place. Most likely that is why God placed you where you are because He knew you were the one who could make your pleasant place a better place. Don't stop at the "but" in life, but work at making it into the place that God wanted you to make it.

Pouting

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Quit Your Pouting

1 Kings 20:43

"And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria."

There's nothing worse than being around people who seem to pout all the time. When you are around those who pout, they annoy and wear on your emotions to the point that you don't want to be around them. The fact is pouters are people who are very selfish and filled with themselves. For instance, being around a spouse who pouts because they don't get their way can wear on a marriage. The person who constantly complains about their spouse not thinking about them can cause their spouse not to want to be around them. Children who pout cause strife inside the home. When a child pouts because they don't get their way, the other children will pick on them causing added stress to the home. Whether it's in the church, the workplace or just in society, pouters are people who you don't want to be around.

In the verse above, we find that Ahab was a pouter. Twice in the Scriptures we see that Ahab pouted when he didn't get his way; once in the verse above and then again in the next chapter. However, we find that when Ahab pouted, he was a person who let his feelings become known to everyone else. Being king of Israel should have caused him not to be someone who pouted. There's no place for leaders to pout. Likewise, there's no place for Christians to pout. Ahab had a God in Heaven who had blessed him in a tremendous way. Yet, because he didn't get everything that he wanted, like a little child he pouted in front of his wife and others. 

Do you find yourself pouting when you don't get your way? It's time that you quit your pouting and learn that God is a good God. Let me make this very clear, life is not about you. The whole reason why anyone pouts is because they seem to think that life revolves around them. Life is not about you and what you get. Life is about pleasing God and giving Him the glory in everything.

When you pout you make others around you miserable. A home that has a pouter is a miserable home. A church who has members who pout when they don't get their way is a church that is a miserable church. A staff that has a staff member who pouts when they don't get their way is a staff that is a miserable staff. Any place where you find people who pout, you find a place that is full stress which causes strife because someone didn't get their way.

The best way to quit pouting is to stop expecting anything in life. You don't need everything that you want. One of our biggest problems is we think that we deserve everything, when we really don't deserve anything. You will never stop pouting until you get to the point in your life when you don't expect anything from anybody. The only reason why you would pout is because you are selfish.

 Furthermore, if you want to quit your pouting then change your wanter. Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." You will notice that when you delight in God, He changes your desires. The biggest reason why a person pouts is because their desires are about themselves. If you change your desires, then you'll stop thinking about yourself and you'll stop pouting.

We don't need Christians who pout, but we need Christians who rejoice in the Lord. You will never show the greatness of God to a world around you until you become a person who learns to quit pouting, accept what God has given to you, and rejoice and thank God for everything that He has brought your way. Be that Christian who changes your desires so that you never pout in your life.