RejoiceIn2007.com

I enjoyed this song/presentation and thought you might too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwJEdo1FlMo

Lessons 32-34 have to do with trusting God to provide for you. Whether it’s knowing what to let go and let God deal with, or activating his enabling grace in your life, or allowing others to be His hands to bless you … developing faith in God is crucial not only to your happiness but also your salvation.

I would love to hear how your faith in Jesus Christ has grown over the last few months. In what ways have you been blessed? In what ways have you let go and allowed God to impact your life?

Perhaps there is no greater skill we can acquire in life than learning to identify and listen to the voice of the Spirit. God continually speaks to us; the pity is that so few of us hear Him. And the reason we don’t hear Him is because we’re either distracted or have never learned to distinguish the voice of the Spirit from our own imagination or the voices of the world. Think of all the sounds, images, and information that clutter our lives. For starters, there’s television, music, newspapers, ringing phones, and the internet. There are the legitimate demands for our attention by our family, employment and friends.

One could feasibly go through his/her entire life and never learn to hear the still, small voice of the Spirit. Unfortunately, living without the Spirit leaves us to our own devices. Alone, we lack God’s direction and end up making mistakes we could have avoided had we heard God’s forewarning messages. When we go it alone, we deny ourselves the sweet peace that only the Comforter can bring.

Lessons 28-31 discuss ways you can learn to identify and hear the voice of the Spirit. As you work on this area of your life, feel free to post insights and understanding you receive here… so that all may be edified.

The only reason we want things or events to happen in our lives is because we want the feelings associated with them. Think about it … we want to feel love, happiness, success, harmony, security, romance, excitement, pleasure, or some other emotion. In our minds, we’ve identified objects, people, relationships or ideas with these emotions. For example, we might want to feel loved and we equate that with a romantic relationship. Or we might wish to feel important, and we equate that with nice clothes or an expensive car. We might want to feel successful and we equate that with a fine home.

It’s important to examine our desired emotions. Some emotions are more worthwhile than others. We should prayerfully identify and evaluate our root desires to determine which ones are worth pursuing and which are not. For example, is your desire for a fine home linked to a desire to feel superior to other people? Or is it because you equate a fine home with harmony? Everyone is “wired” differently. For example, I equate a nice orderly home with both financial prosperity and spiritual harmony. You may not see it that way at all.

Once you’ve identified your desired emotions and what they represent in the physical world, start opening up your mind to the possibility that you can feel those feelings without the physical counterparts. For example, it’s possible to feel loved without having a spouse. It’s possible to feel successful without living in a 4,500 square foot home. Open your heart and mind to the possibility that God could give you the desired feelings of your heart in a way you hadn’t considered.

Start seeking to feel worthwhile feelings as much as you can in your present environment – even if you can only feel them on paper or in your imagination. As you do this, you will draw the people, events and things to you that promote those feelings.

Also, remember to take action on your external environment in ways that support your desired results. There is a distinct correlation between our outside environment and our internal mind and heart. For example, once I realized that I equated an orderly home with success and spiritual harmony, I was able to bring my home into order and thus create that sensation of success and spiritual harmony internally. As I did this, I began to see a significant improvement in our finances and in how our children behaved. In essence, my home told me, “We’re prosperous. We take care of what God gives us, and we live in spiritual harmony.” It verified what I’d been telling myself internally but hadn’t quite believed until my eyes could see some “evidence.”
What is your “why”? The feelings you want to experience? How can you feel those feelings now?

In Hebrews 12:2, Christ is referred to as the “author and finisher of our faith.” When we put ourselves in His care, His goal is to “finish” - “polish or perfect” our faith. His sole objective is to increase your faith to a level that you can return home to live with Him and your Father in heaven. When we are filled with this faith, we have no room for worry.As a fiction author, I’ve gained new insight into the role of our Savior as the author and finisher of our faith. For example, a good author doesn’t give you all the facts in the first chapter. He doesn’t solve the mystery in chapter one or two. He weaves a tale, holding you in suspense, helping you learn and grow with the characters, come to love the hero or heroine, and then wows you in the end with a wonderful conclusion. He might foreshadow a bit, might give you a foretaste of how it’s all going to work out, but He won’t reveal the ending completely. That would ruin the story! You might even know how the story will most likely end (happily or the hero reaching his goal) but you don’t know HOW just yet. That’s how life is. That’s how God works.

If we could relax and get to the point where we truly enjoyed the story, resisted flipping to the end to see how it’s all going to work out, then we’d enjoy life a whole lot more. So how do you do that? How do you truly relax and live in the NOW? He’s already promised us a happy ending if we trust Him in faithfulness! How do you come to truly believe in Him for a happy ending? How do you trust that not only will all things work together for your good, but also you’re going to love where He takes you? (Romans 8:28)

I believe the answer lies in discovering the line between what we control and what God controls. Which part of the creative process is ours, and which is His? Every good author eventually addresses the following questions: Who? What? Why? When? Where? and How? In life, there are only two of these questions you can control - the What and the Why. The rest are all up to God. The sooner we release the following questions, the sooner Heavenly Father can help us fly to our full potential:

• How is it going to happen?
• When will it occur?
• Who else will be involved in making it happen?
• Where is it going to happen?

Once you release these questions to His care, you’ll trust your Heavenly Father, and He’ll trust you. You’ll have a relationship, and He’ll help you fly to your fullest potential. But as long as you struggle and fight over things you can’t control, you’ll be limited in your sphere of influence and opportunity.

Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart and ye shall find rest to your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) A “yoke” is used on animals or people to make it easier to carry a load. An ill-fitted yoke can chafe or strain the wearer. But a custom-made, well-fitted yoke can enable the wearer to carry burdens far beyond their normal capacity. In life, we are called upon to carry burdens. Some we pick up on our own - through poor choices or sin. Others are just part of life on earth. All of us carry one type of yoke or another on our backs. This yoke is what we use to deal with life’s challenges.

The yoke we bear is either one we’ve made ourselves through time and experience, or it is Christ’s perfectly fitted and perfectly balanced yoke that makes our burdens light. When Christ told us to take His yoke upon us, He did not mean for us to keep our old, unbalanced and ill-fitted yoke plus add His as well. He meant for us to lay aside our old yoke and take His new and better one upon us. This group of lessons will teach you some techniques for laying down your yoke so you have room for Christ’s.

I also highly recommend a book by Karol K. Truman entitled “Feelings Buried Alive Never Die.” I recently discovered this book and I can honestly say it’s an answer to prayer.

I’ve been studying and teaching the laws of abundant living, and how to “lay down your yoke” via teleclass and books for years now. But, still I’ve felt as if an important piece was missing. “Feelings Buried Alive Never Die” is that missing piece! If you’ve been trying to practice the law of attraction and God’s other universal laws, but something isn’t clicking for you, buy this book.

Within days of purchasing it, I was able to identify key experiences and feelings which had been blocking my path. Now I’m using “the script” included in the book to transform my negative feelings into positive ones. I’m no longer glossing those feelings over by trying to think positive or be grateful on top of them. Gratitude and positive thinking are powerful tools, but burying old unresolved negative feelings beneath them doesn’t bring complete healing. With this book, I’m systematically resolving those negative feelings and I can already tell a difference within only a week.

My friend and mentor, Leslie Householder, taught me that there really is such a thing as luck - it’s Living Under Correct Knowledge - specifically knowledge of God’s universal laws. Just as an understanding of gravity makes you happier once you learn it (you no longer dive headfirst off couches as my little brother used to do) so does an understanding of other laws by which God operates. They bring happiness and peace when we live in harmony with them. While they have been discovered and discussed by man, their source is God and they are well-documented throughout scripture.

In lessons 9-13 I cover several of these laws: The Law of Creation, The Law of the Harvest, The Law of Gestation, The Law of Polarity, and The Law of Relativity. While Leslie and I normally start a discussion of the laws with the Law of Attraction (or Vibration), you’ll notice I don’t discuss it in Lessons 9-13. The Law of Attraction has become so popular with The Secret DVD and its exposure on Oprah, Larry King and others, that I decided to hold off on it for now. I will discuss it, but when I do, I want to make sure I handle it in a Christ-centered way.

It concerns me that this law is being taught without Jesus Christ at the center of it. He is the power source. The Law of Attraction is sort of like a communication system. We have two ways to communicate - via the light or via the darkness. Jesus Christ is the SOURCE of all light, truth, and intelligence. Satan is the promulgator of darkness, lies, and deception.

Whatever we give our focus, faith and feeling to grows. This process is how we communicate with the light or the darkness. When we are feeling the fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, faith, longsuffering, gratitude and meekness) we are operating in harmony with the Light of Christ - His power from which all good things flow. We are tapping into His power and draw more good to us.

When we lose His spirit (by thinking or doing things that drive it away) we experience darkness, hatred, anger, fear, despondency, ingratitude, impatience and pride. Those emotions draw toward us more of the same. When a person is thinking and acting in this way, what comes toward them isn’t from the Light of Christ. It’s from the polar opposite - the evil one.

This is not to say that everything bad that is brought into your life is because you attracted it or that you thought or behaved wrong. Else why did the prophets suffer? Why do little children suffer? The thing is, we live in a fallen world and bad things happen to good people - regardless. You can be hurt by other people who make bad choices. Illnesses can afflict anyone. But it is in our perception of the things that happen to us wherein our power lies. We can choose to see the good, to find the opportunity, and to let God make it all work together for our good. I talk about this more in Lesson 13.

But there is a lot we can control with our thoughts and actions - by how and with whom we communicate. Stripping these two opposing forces from the Law of Attraction, to me, can lead to pride and arrogance - a trusting in the arm of flesh - that is not only counterproductive, but also dangerous. While I feel everyone may be benefited by an understanding of this law, I feel it is important for those of us who know Jesus Christ to connect the dots for those who don’t. Without Him there really is no hope. Man is not and never will be perfect. No man or woman will ever be able to live in complete harmony with law. It’s impossible to think positive all the time. Toss the Savior from the equation and all is lost. With Him as our central focus nothing is impossible.

In Lesson 8 I cover the importance of music and how it has an impact on our thoughts, moods, and faith. I shared some of my favorite music in the lesson and thought it would be fun to hear what you find uplifting. I know I’m always looking for new artists to add to my library. Please post the names of artists and songs that lift your spirit here. You’re welcome to post the web address of the artist(s) if you have that information.

This month we’re focusing on faith - building it, bolstering it - to such a level that God can move our own personal mountains. If faith is the literal “substance” from which God works our miracles and saves our souls, then building faith could (in a nutshell) be the meaning of life… we are here that we might build faith.

Faith comes as a result of trial and testing. We learn something, we act on it, we see the results, and faith is increased. Or we go through a trial, God is there and helps us through it, and in the end our faith increases. We can either sit back and wait for trials of our faith to come, or we can take proactive steps to build our faith muscles. It is my experience and belief that God likes us to act and not wait to be acted upon! He blesses those who are anxiously engaged in building their faith.

That’s what the gratitude exercises we’re doing in Lessons 5-7 are helping us do. There is no greater faith than to be grateful for blessings ahead of time! I hope you’ll take the time to not only work through these exercises but also make them a part of who you are. I can promise wonderful results!

Please do share your insights, challenges and successes here!

Last night we had a wonderful guest speaker, Phillip Davis of Tungsten Brilliant Brand Marketing, with us who discussed different ways we can integrate our mission into our career/business. Be sure to stop by the member area and listen to the recording of the call. If you had any “aha moments” along the way or have any questions or comments about what Phil had to say, please post them here.