Quote of the Day: The Theology of the Cross

Life apart from Christ has meaning to the extent that I get my own way, that my will is victorious over the will of just about everyone else.
Wars in the world and in the workplace, wars in the family and in the neighborhood always have that as the common denominator: Someone is trying to gain a victory for his own will over the will of someone else.
(The Theology of the Cross- Daniel Deutschlander [p.14])

Avoid the Path That Leads to Death

Proverbs 21:16

Whoever wanders from the way of understanding

will rest in the assembly of the dead.

This paints a pretty dramatic picture.  Clearly there is no room for compromise here.  If you wander from God and His Word, you will die- for all eternity.  Jesus warned about how the wide gate and the easy path lead to destruction.  This is a very stern warning, but it also offers hope.

If wandering from the way of understanding leads to death, then staying on the path of understanding leads to life.  See how the solution is in the warning?  Understanding this is the easy part.  Disciplining yourself and doing it is the hard part.  Let's look at some ways to help you stay in the way of understanding.

Read God's Word everyday.  This is crucial for building and strengthening your faith.  Developing the habit of reading every day is essential for success in life; developing the habit of reading God's Word everyday is essential for staying on the "narrow path".  This is how you stay on the path of understanding.  This doesn't need to be complicated.  It can be as simple as starting in Genesis, and reading one chapter every day.  How much you read at a time isn't the most important part, especially when you're first getting started.  
Creating the habit of doing it every day is what is most important.  This isn't a race to finish the book as a quickly as possible.  This is the process of building the foundation for your whole life.  Work on it every day.  Take your time.  Build it strong.
There is no reward for simply reading the entire Bible.  The reward is what the Holy Spirit is doing in your heart as you are reading it.  So take your time and study it.  This is for your life, not for a book report.

Listen to podcasts or the audio Bible everyday.  This is a powerful way to keep you focused on Jesus and what you are doing- is it glorifying Him?  Listening to audios is a powerful method of learning.  It is also more versatile than reading.  You can listen to audios just about anywhere, anytime:  while driving, working out, at work, anytime that you listen to music currently.  Listening to audios daily will go a long way to checking your attitude and keeping you focused on what's most important.
Here are some places to get started, if this isn't a habit in your life already:

• Christ for Disciplers podcast
• Gird Up! podcast
• C4D discipleship audios
• Bible Gateway or You Version Bible app

The final piece is associating with other Christians.  This is the piece that most people recognize, but they are also most resistant to it.  Many people have had a bad experience with church and are no longer interested in being part of a church.  The Bible encourages us, as Christians, to "not give up meeting together".  Meeting together with God's people is so important because we are relational beings.  This is also a time that we can encourage each other and lift each other up.

Going to church every Sunday isn't the only way to associate with fellow Christians, but it is a powerful one.  Another way of associating with your brothers and sisters in Christ is by attending a weekly Bible study.  This is a great way of studying God's Word while building each other up.  A Bible study is also a great way to get familiar with the Bible if you currently aren't.

These are three simple steps to help you stay on the path of understanding.  It is your responsibility to actually do it.  Use these three simple suggestions, and may the Lord bless your discipleship.

God bless

Jason Fredrick

Quote of the Day- Paradigm Shift

"So what exactly is a pyramid scheme?"  any modern student of the postwar era has to ask.
Answer:  "Have you been to Washington?  Wall Street?  Madison Avenue?  An ivy-covered university?  A Big Five bank?"

A true community is a relationship where people feel and treat each other's interests with as much care and love as their own.

Such a model- in education, church, military, online, or in business- will turn the modern pyramid structure of society on its head.
(Paradigm Shift: Paradigm 7 Community Is the New Neighborhood)

Quote of the Day- Paradigm Shift

Practicing means experimenting, learning how to treat patients by observing what works and what doesn't, trying to apply the best procedures, treatments, and techniques based on the experience of other doctors as well, and going with the averages-and then repeating the whole experiment when new information comes along.  The medical profession has never denied this approach.  To the contrary, it has been very open about it.
(Paradigm Shift: Paradigm 6 Wellness Is the New Health Care)

It's Time to Break Free!

Do you ever feel like you're not living up to your full potential?

Is life just one long continuous struggle for you?

Do you ever wonder why you can't make yourself do the things you know you need to do?

Do you know what causes all of these problems?

Here's the short list:  pain, regret, guilt, fear, anger...If you are struggling with one of the issues listed above, most likely it's because you're holding on to one of these.

If you find yourself blaming others or circumstances for your problems, you are hanging on to one of these killers.  

If you have developed the habit of making excuses, you are inflicted with at least one of these diseases.

If you want to push through your mental and emotional barriers, it's time to get honest with yourself.  Which one are you infected with?  Pain, Regret, Guilt, Fear, or Anger.  All of these diseases are terminal.  If you don't get honest about which one(s) you are infected with, it will kill you.  

It will kill every relationship you have.  

It will undermine and sabotage every endeavor you pursue.

It will keep you from making the impact in the world that you are capable of.

So which one is it?  Write it down.  Name it so you can begin to confront it.  Start taking actions to lean into it instead of avoiding it.  Start today.  

Who do you need to confess a sin to, and ask for forgiveness?

Who do you need to have a difficult conversation with?  ...an argument with?

What do you need to let go of and forgive yourself for?

What hurt do you need to let go of and stop being angry at the person or people who hurt you?

The biggest reason why most people live with their problems and struggles is because they actually believe that dealing with them will be more painful.  It probably will be...at first.  This is where you have to simply toughen up and be willing to take the pain.  Avoiding it isn't resolving anything.  It's just holding you back.  The longer you wait to confront whatever it is you need to confront, the more painful it will be.  Therein lies the answer.  Waiting another ten years to deal with it isn't going to make it fix itself.  Waiting doesn't empower you to let go and move on.  In fact, waiting does the opposite.  Waiting gives your problem more power over you and robs you of your power to fix it. 

The great thing is, you don't have to do this alone.  Odds are high that you already have someone in your life who can help you with this.  The first step is humbling yourself and asking for help.  Be honest about your struggle and don't hold back.  Be totally honest and transparent.  Don't worry about being judged or what they are going to think of you.  If you talk to someone who cares about you, they will have mercy on you and want to help because they love you.  Who can you talk to about this?

The best place to start, no matter what your challenge is, is God's Word.  Even if you haven't read the Bible in years, or ever, it is still the best place to start.  If you don't own a Bible download the You Version app or the Bible Gateway app onto your device.  Then just open it to Luke 15 and start reading.  This is the best place to start if you are totally out of ideas on how to address you issues. Don't stop there though.  Take the next step.

The next step, once you have begun to go to God's Word for answers is to join a Bible study group.  This group will help you understand more completely how God can help you.  They can help you understand how God, in fact, already has done everything necessary to help you.  It is because Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of your sins that you can let go of all of your worries, your anger, and your fears.  In Christ, you are free from all of your guilt because He has payed the price for all of your sins and wrong-doings.  You can forgive yourself, because Jesus has already forgiven you.  This is what a good Bible study group will help you understand.

This doesn't mean that you don't have to resolve past conflicts with others.  This means that through Jesus you have the power and ability to forgive those who need to be forgiven, confess any wrong doing to anyone you have wronged, and ask to be forgiven by anyone that you have hurt or wronged.  This won't be easy, but it will change your life.  It will free you from the emotional baggage you have been carrying around.

Most importantly, as the Holy Spirit empowers you to look to Jesus and trust in Him, your eternity will change.  As you continue to study God's Word and grow in faith you can be assured that you are a redeemed child of God and the cares, concerns, and fears of this world don't have any real power over you.  You can be assured that because of what Jesus has done for you, you will spend eternity with Him in heaven.

Now get started!  Stop waiting!

God bless
Jason Fredrick

Quote of the Day- Paradigm Shift

Hume also noted that political parties "subvert government, render laws impotent, and beget the fiercest animosities among men of the same nation, who ought to give mutual assistance and protection of each other...and...they always infect the legislature itself." [David Hume, Essays Moral, Political, and Literary, Eugene F. Miller, ed.]

Parties always strive to increase their influence, and after the Twelfth Amendment passed in 1804, the political party system in America grew rapidly, soon becoming a shadow government in every city, state, small town, and neighborhood--exactly what the Framers had tried to avoid.
(Paradigm Shift: Paradigm 5 Principles Are the New Political Parties)