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Jul 24, 2018    |      Comments Off on Got a decision that needs to be made?

Got a decision that needs to be made?

I’ve encountered groups of people recently, and not so recent, who customarily, in the face of a decision, freeze.

They say…“We need more time to decide.” or… “We need to slow down.” 

If you’ve experienced this too, then you know the heart ache of watching hope and progress get stuck in the mud. It’s tragic.

MOMENTUM BUILDING…

Knowing what is essential to save the life of your organization/family/personal life, etc, or at least reinvigorate it, is not too difficult anymore.  Social media, and our small-world of networking, is making it easier to ask for help and find similar situations from which to gain confidence and determine the best course of action.

Getting people to actually make the decision is where the difficulty lies.  Why? Because….Decisions are scary and they demand responsibility toward action, causing the fearful’s brain to terrifyingly scream, “It’s better to not decide.”

Fear in action…

Fearful people are also afraid of admitting they are afraid…So…they camouflage their fear under the excuse of needing more time….explaining it away as being responsible and good stewards.  In a meeting of fearful people, with no risk taking leadership in the room, fear will win every time.  It’s why the org is stuck and rarely ever breaks through the next growth barrier.  In all reality, the only growth barrier any organization has, is a lack of courageous and wise leadership.

Fear… lies to its listener.  It whispers, “If you have more time, you can move away from the decision. Maybe someone else will make it for you.  Maybe it won’t need to be made at all.” 

If the fearful have control…the org gets stuck in a rut.  The only difference between a rut and a grave, is six feet.

Wisdom lived out…

Wisdom hears fear’s whispering, and will consider the possibility that fear has something worthwhile to contemplate.  Wisdom then thanks fear for the concern, and then courageously moves forward, and quickly.  Fear can have no control in an organization if that organization wants to be healthy and productive.  If decisions can’t be made, due to fearful people controlling the momentum, then a leader must rise and have the courage to replace the fearful, with the faithful.  (It’ll require a different post to explain the dangerous process of replacing fearful types with faithful types.)

The reality is, fearful people don’t have it in them to step over the edge of the cliff your org needs to rappel life-savingly down.  The fearful will strangle the faith attempt…its just too scary for them. (They can change from being fearful to faithful, but again, that’s another post.)

In the Church-World, where I am thankful to get to lead, the decision making for mission accomplishment, is where God is swiftly moving and leading us.  He’s running ahead of us looking back with a big smile, beckoning us to keep up.  If we move to slow or not at all…well…the Lord will out pace us, and will move out of sight very soon.  He will keep moving, without us, and find a courageous leadership team who can keep the pace with Him.  This creates a missed growth opportunity for everyone in the Org, tragically, due to a few fearful types controlling the speed of the whole thing.  What a missed opportunity.  Fear motivated leadership creates an Org that continually misses out on opportunity for character building, growth, health, and mission accomplishment…and ultimately…victory!

The work of a great leader is to make tough decisions.  In the faith world, those decisions need to be made in wisdom and with speed.  Decisions in Church world, have the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars leading and backing them.  That same creator commanded us to, “GO!”  And, my experience has proven that God moves swiftly when it comes to the Great Commission.  He’s patient with us personally, but that is different than being slow in accomplishing the great commission and stepping out in faith as the Church.

THE SOLUTION: 

Surround yourself with wise, faithful, and holy people who never allow fear to have the final say! Build great team and trust with them. Surround yourself with people who won’t bow and submit to the fake god named fear. Surround yourself instead with people who hunger to fit in the ranks of the greats of biblical history who did astounding things for God and His Kingdom. God is perfect love, and perfect love casts out fear!

You have an adventure that God wants to orchestrate through you…be faithful, not fearful, and get ready for an adventure that will carry rewards into eternity!

Life is short. Decide.  Make a decision now.  Count the cost, and decide!  Make the decision a yes or a no…and either one will have inevitable consequences.

Taking more time to decide yes or no will leave you in the dust, in the form of a rut or grave.

If you have a decision that needs to be made…Decide Now! And get ready for the consequences, and the next decision, and the next, and the next.  Faith advancement requires courageous decision after decision after decision..for the rest of your life.  What an adventure!

Be wise, and be courageously swift.

Decide.

 

May 5, 2016    |      Comments Off on A Warning To My Enemies…

A Warning To My Enemies…

To those who have been in my way for so long…you are my enemy!  You have tried to block me, stop me, haunt me, taunt me, belittle me, embarrass me, and forget about me.

It is not working.  It will not work.  May the lyrics of the song “I Want It” by my fav band, Blue October, teach you why you have failed…and any further attempts from you, my enemy, will never succeed!

To all of you in the way
I push you aside
Flames burn down together
I refuse to ignite
I won’t walk away (that is not in me)
I’m here to stay

So I raise my hand in grace
Pray for the ones I wish I could erase
Cause we are who we are and we’ll be who we’ll be
Live for the moment and the mystery of everybody owns a scar
To show us how we got this far
Cause we are who we are and we’ll be who we’ll be
Don’t ever think you’ll take away the fight in me

I want it…
I want it more then you ever did…

Here’s to starting over
I heard you’re shutting down shop
Boy I’m taking it over
I’m never gonna stop
Here’s to the ones who said that you couldn’t win
Here’s to the crazies getting under your skin
They’re always gonna talk
But I’m never gonna stop
I won’t walk away
(I want it, crave it, bottle up and save it)
I’m here to stay
(I want it, crave it, I won’t behave I’ll turn it up more)

So I raise my hand in grace
Pray for the ones I wish I could erase
Cause we are who we are and we’ll be who we’ll be
Live for the moment and the mystery of everybody owns a scar
To show us how we got this far
Cause we are who we are and we’ll be who we’ll be
Don’t ever think you’ll take away the fight in me

I want it…
I want it more then you ever did…

In case you are wondering who my enemy is…let the Holy Word of God make it clear…know-your-enemy3

12 “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.”  Ephesians 6:12

To the reader of this short blog.  Your enemies are not people! There is one thing I am positive about.  Every one of us are fighting a battle. Please make sure you are not confused as to who the real enemy is.  Kick your enemy’s butt, by wanting “it” more. Jesus is THE ultimate “IT” factor!! The devil is defeated by the power and blood of the Lord and Savior Jesus, the Christ!  If Jesus lives in you…then welcome the scars…He has them too.  They make us better.  They create the story that inspires the life change in others.  Fight the good fight…never give up.

If you need to go further and read more from the Word of God, then click these passages below for further battle prep…

Ephesians 6:10-17

Romans 8:31-39

Philippians 3:12-21

Philippians 1:21

If you have other Bible passages that encourage you and strengthen you, then please add them to the comments section so that others may benefit from them too.

Jul 9, 2015    |      Comments Off on Your Greatest Battle…right now!

Your Greatest Battle…right now!

You will become what you are becoming right now.

You, at this very moment, are in the greatest battle you will ever wage in all your life. You are fighting for what, one day, you will become.

wagingwar

There are forces, seen and unseen, clashing for influence in your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  These forces can typically go unrecognized by you.  You might or might not feel the stress of the war being waged.  You likely won’t understand the battle until you are able to look back on the whole thing, years from now…and see what you’ve become.

You can influence this war’s result.  You can influence what you will become.  You are becoming it right now, whether you feel like it or not.  The people who have become something remarkable…the people who have become something extraordinary…they are not better than you, smarter than you, and most definitely not luckier than you.  No, they just chose to notice the battle being waged. They made a choice to influence the outcome of what they become.  They made a decision to influence the minute by minute battle waging on them, right now.

They accepted the fact that they will become what they are becoming right now.  They chose to deliberately steward what the end result would be.

What do you want to become? end-result-wide

 

Until you can answer the question above…you will be at the mercy of the consequences of the war being waged on you right now.

It’s kind of like a summer boat party that happens everyday in your town’s closest lake.  If you’ve got several friends, then the odds of you being pushed out of the boat and into the lake everyday are highly likely.  If you know you are going to get pushed into the lake everyday, then you can predetermine how you are going to respond to that spontaneous splash everyday.  When you predetermine how you are going to respond, then you will control your response when it actually happens.    fall-in-water-660x371

Everyday, you get pushed. You get pushed in areas of life way more important than boat parties and lakes.

If you don’t predetermine how you are going to respond when you get pushed, then you will be at the mercy of emotion and other external forces that want to determine how you will respond.

This is the same as your end result as a person.  What do you want to become?  Predetermine it and don’t let any other forces determine your end result.

This is easier said than done.

If you want to be a person who determines your own end result…then you can only be successful at becoming that end result when you have clearly defined the end result you desire to become. (Maybe read that again…)

What do you want to become?  Write it down.  Clearly define it. Then make minute by minute decisions that help you become it starting right now.

Maybe that is what God had in mind when He had Jesus say, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

You will become what you are becoming right now.

 

 

Jun 17, 2013    |      Comments Off on What God CANNOT do!

What God CANNOT do!

I’m not sure if I’m like other communicators in the fact that I have rhythms of communication focus. Meaning, I have soapbox issues that I stand on as a critical focus of my preaching and teaching and thought process. Sometimes the focus/soapbox lasts only for a couple of weeks. The one I’m focused on lately has been one that has been my focus of thought for nearly a year. In fact, I’m not sure it’s a soapbox, and is instead, the central focus of my life and teachings and will remain so. My current focus has been on the fact that God created two laws that everything in life centers on. The laws I refer to are found in Leviticus 17:11 where God simply says, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.”

Law One: The life of any creature is in its blood.
Law Two: The life blood must be shed in order for atonement/forgiveness.
God’s entire life system is built upon these two foundational laws. Why? I don’t know…Ask God someday…He created the system. I have found that it doesn’t do me any good to fight God and His ways.

Another critical factor and soapbox of mine about God is the fact that God is described as being both Mercy & Justice. I tend to think that God would argue with Himself a lot because of these two bi-polar traits. Justice and Mercy are opposites…God is both. Makes my head spin.

One other critical factor of God is that He is Perfect thus Pure Holiness to the extreme.

These traits create some “CANNOT” factors for God. There are some things that God CANNOT do. Keep following my thought…

So…as history goes…We all sin and fall short of God’s glory. God says when sin happens, He, in His perfection cannot be around sin, so He has to separate Himself from us. The only way we can be reunited with God again is for forgiveness to take place. God’s law above say that can only happen when lifeblood is taken. Meaning….somebody has to die to pay for the sin so atonement can happen. Did you notice that atonement is At-One-Ment?

This is where God’s bi-polarity of Justice and Mercy conflict. God in His extreme MERCY trait chooses for us not to die to pay for the sin and instead chooses His only Son, Jesus.
With Jesus’s death, His lifeblood paid for your sin and mine. Do you see how God’s Mercy trait is fulfilled by letting us live, yet God’s JUSTICE trait is fulfilled because His only Son died? Mercy and Justice were fulfilled. God’s mercy said, “people can live.” God’s justice said, “Jesus will die in their place.” Then God’s mercy flooded back and God thus mercifully raised Jesus from the dead. God’s justice is going to swing back our way again…how? When God sends Jesus to Judge all of mankind. Justice served. All complete. Mercy to Justice to Mercy and ending with Justice. Every human being given the choice to choose God’s mercy or His justice. It’s your choice. Heaven is Mercy. Hell is Justice. If you go through Jesus, God promises Mercy. If you choose not to go through Jesus, God’s Justice will be served. Both Justice and Mercy are traits of Love. Heaven and Hell will be full of people whom God loves. Love is giving you a choice. You have the freedom to choose the trait of love via Mercy, or you have the freedom to choose the trait of love via justice. Its a pretty simple way of life and it demonstrates a pretty cool God!

Fact…God’s cool and He likes you and He gives you freedom to choose to live how you wish…with consequences of whatever your choice is.

I say all that to make this point. I’ve heard people argue about how incredible God is and they wonder if there is anything that God CANNOT do.

There are some things that God CANNOT do.

1. God CANNOT go against His own law. This would mean that God lacks integrity and therefore would not actually be God.
2. God is perfect…He CANNOT sin.
3. God is love…He proved it by taking the lifeblood of His only Son to prevent you from having to die for your own sins. Thus God CANNOT love you more than He already does…or less. God IS love.
4. Because God is perfect and holy…God CANNOT break His promises.
(BTW…My list of 4…I’m sure is incomplete…so…please add anymore things that you think God CANNOT do in the reply section of this blog post!)

Thinking on these 4 points of things that God CANNOT do…here is a Bible verse to back them all up.
19 God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
Numbers 23:19

What are some of the promises of God…. (The list below is not exhaustive…and by all means you don’t have to keep reading to the bottom…However…If you could use some encouragement on the promises of God…below is just a teasing of the greatness of God and some promises that God CANNOT break! I find it easier to follow God knowing that there are some things that He CANNOT do.

Thanks for your time in reading to this point. I am honored.
I look forward to running into you someday and speaking with you about any of these things!

God Bless
Trent…

Some OLD TESTAMENT Promises…

God’s promise to bless Abraham and those that bless the descendants of Abraham.

Genesis 12:2-3
2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

God’s promise to break the bonds of slavery.

Leviticus 26:12-13
12 I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.

God’s promise not to lie to you or change His mind on you.

Numbers 23:19
19 God is not a man, so he does not lie.
He is not human, so he does not change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

God’s promise that if you search for Him you will find Him.

Deuteronomy 4:29
29 But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

Joshua’s testimony that God’s promises in the Bible never failed.

Joshua 23:14
14 “Soon I will die, going the way of everything on earth. Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the Lord your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!

God’s promise of protection in the Bible

1 Samuel 2:9
9 “He will protect his faithful ones,
but the wicked will disappear in darkness.
No one will succeed by strength alone.

God’s promise to judge us by our hearts not our outward appearance.

1 Samuel 16:7
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God’s Promise that His love never fails.

1 Chronicles 16:34
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.

God’s promise to heal a nation.

2 Chronicles 7:14
14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

God’s promise of fruitfulness and prosperity

Psalm 1:1-3
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand around with sinners,
or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
and they prosper in all they do.

NEW TESTAMENT promises of God.

The promise of power from God

Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The promise of right standing before God

Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.[a] 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.

The promise that all things will work out for good.

Romans 8:28
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[a] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

God’s Promise in the Bible of comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
God Offers Comfort to All
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

God’s promise of a new life in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

The promise of every spiritual blessing.

Ephesians 1:3
Spiritual Blessings
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.

God’s Promise in the Bible of salvation.

Ephesians 2:8
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

God’s promise to finish the work He started in us.

Philippians 1:6
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

God’s promise of peace when we pray.

Philippians 4:6-7
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

God’s Promise to supply all of our needs.

Philippians 4:19
19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

The promises of Jesus in the gospels.

Jesus promise of rest.

Matthew 11:28-30
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Jesus promise to find purpose in life.

Mark 8:34-37
34 Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul?

Jesus promise of our names written in heaven.

Luke 10:20
20 But don’t rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven.”

Jesus promise of eternal life.

John 3:16
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus promise that He will return for us.

John 14:2-3
2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

Oct 7, 2012    |      Comments Off on HYDRATE — Winning from the inside 30 (Matthew 6:22-23) Light

HYDRATE — Winning from the inside 30 (Matthew 6:22-23) Light


22 “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! Matthew 6:22-23 (NLT)

Whoever said…”the eyes are the window to the soul” must have stole it from Jesus. Have you ever looked at somebody and noticed immediately that there was something shady about them? Or, think of it in the opposite….have you ever looked at somebody and noticed immediately that there was something very inspiring about them? I think we can instinctually recognize all kinds of things by looking at the eyes of the people we encounter. I think we can see pain, joy, love, inspiration, hate, and many other traits by just looking into the eyes of the people around us. The next time you are in a group of people, just sit back and do a little people watching….specifically looking at their eyes. Be careful with it…don’t stare too hard or too long! 🙂

Being a lead pastor for as long as I have now, and being privileged to interact with thousands of people, I have learned that you can tell a lot about a person, and what they might be experiencing, by reading their eyes. The phrase, “actions speak louder than words,” rings true and if you watch people’s eyes, you can predict with strong accuracy whether or not they are doing well or not. I have learned that you can actually tell how a person is doing by looking into their spouse’s eyes…this is especially true of wives. I can tell a lot about a husband by watching the eyes of his wife. The next time you are speaking with a married couple, watch the eyes and countenance of the wife. You will be able to guess pretty accurately whether or not the husband is a good husband. Do her eyes tell you she’s alive, encouraged, and full of joy? Do her eyes tell you she’s been verbally beat down and discouraged? Do her eyes show that she is embarrassed to be around him as his eyes wander to the young blonde who just walked by? If you pay attention, its pretty easy to read people. You can tell a lot about how parents really are by looking at thier kids eyes when they are with their parents. Do the kids eyes read fear, joy, courage, security or something else? In fact, anytime somebody is present with the person who is in authority over them, you will be able to tell what kind of boss/authority the person is by reading the eyes of the one who is under that person’s authority. I have personally discovered that when I am with someone who knows I’m a pastor, and they can’t look me in the eyes, time has proven that they probably have some kind of sin in their life they are engaging in. There are a thousand different scenarios here. What I am saying is that if we practice, we can get very good at reading how a person is doing by simply watching their eyes.

The danger in doing a lot of eye reading is that we might get really good at determining how other people are doing but miss the most important person we should be reading…ourselves.

Take a look in the mirror…read your eyes. Tired? Abused? Joyful? Peaceful? Angry? Resentful? Hopful? Prideful, arrogant, etc, etc…? What are your eyes telling you about you?

If you think about the simplicity of this teaching of Jesus’s, then you and I will recognize that we follow our eyes. If our eyes engage in pornography then we will be filled with lust for sex. If our eyes are engaged on all the toys our neighbor owns then our hearts will be filled with jealousy and greed. If our eyes are continually engaged in our work, then our hearts and minds will be absent from our home life. If our eyes are engaged in the Word of God, then our hearts and minds will be filled with the things of God.

The point is that our eyes are continually focused on the things we are committed to. What we are continually focused on with our eyes, is what we are committed to, and is what we become. I am actually excited for you that your eyes are currently reading this post about eyes, because it says that you actually are desiring to learn and be challenged about Holy things of God. You will become what you are committed to. What are you committed to? If you have a hard time determining what you are committed to…take a look at your calendar and your checkbook. It doesn’t lie. Eyes don’t lie either.

The most dangerous eyes to have are the eyes of pride. Do you know what that looks like? I have found that prideful people don’t know what it looks like. I think Jesus refers to prideful eyes when He says in Matthew 6:23, “And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”

There is nothing like being around somebody who is obviously wrong about something, but they insist they are right. It could be a little thing like arguing about directions while driving, or it could be a person who is confidently “right” about Jesus being a fake. It could be someone or a group of someone’s who think they are right about moving the company/church forward, but all the while they are wrong and all the signs point to their wrong-ness, but they demand to be right anyway, all the while leading the company/church into destruction.

Most of the time, I have no problem admitting when I’m wrong. I am a very opinionated person and I have a lot of conviction when I make statements and decisions. I have made quite a few statements, and made decisions, thinking I was right, but actually I was wrong. When this happens, I personally do not have a problem admitting it. A majority of people can’t stand the person who can’t admit they were wrong, and even worse, they continue to live in their wrong-ness, even when everything around them is proving they are wrong. This kind of person is dangerous. This kind of person is not like Jesus at all. I think this is the kind of person that Jesus is referring to in the passage we are looking at today. This person thinks their darkness is actually light.

I think there are two dramatic situations that are eternally dangerous when it comes to someone thinking they are right, but they are actually wrong. I think of a person who says there is no God with great confidence. The other kind of person I am thinking of, is the so called Christian, who refuses to be fruitful for the Lord Jesus Christ because they only want what they want in what they think is “their” church.

Jesus says, about the person who thinks they are living in the light, but their “light” is actually darkness, that their light is actually a deep darkness. Can you think of a better satanic trick? If the devil can get you to think with pride that you are right and everybody else is wrong…he wins your soul into hell for eternity…all the while you were thinking you were right/holy. That is a deep-deep darkness that you actually thought was light. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 11:14 that the devil disguises himself as an angel of light. There is no greater satanic trickery…than to get someone to think they are right, when they are actually hell bound. Ouch. I have encountered people like this in church settings. These people will even use a bible verse…out of context…to “prove” their point. But they are actually wrong. The Bible in several places describes Hell as a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Can you imagine, if you lived your life thinking you were right about there being no God, but when you died and found yourself standing in the presence of Jesus Christ as a non-believer, and you ended up in hell?…there will be WEEPING. Can you imagine being a church goer most of your life, stubbornly demanding that your church be designed for exactly what you want, at the cost of new people giving their lives for Christ, thus producing no fruit, and you end up eternally separated from Jesus because you were fruitless as you pursued your personal preferences in church?….GNASHING of teeth! Gnashing of teeth is someone yelling with deep regret at what happened… “I should not have been selfish.” ….Eternally.

That is a nasty, mean spirited darkness…but they thought it was light…they thought they were right.

You know how to prevent your light from actually being darkness? Humility. I’m going to risk sounding un-humble in what I’m about to write…

If you really don’t know something…then shut-up… and listen to the person who knows.
If you are trying to be something that you simply are not…stop it!
If you are in a position of influence that you have NO business being in…quit now! (But you argue…quitting is for losers! I say, really? You’re not a loser if you quit picking your nose. You’re not a loser if you quit wetting the bed. You’re not a loser if you quit trying to be someone that you are not!)
If you are wrong…quit being stupid in your wrong-ness and admit you are wrong and watch how people will actually be inspired by your new found light.

Jesus is the light! Focus your eyes on Him. Do what He tells you! Only pursue what He wants of you and not your own wants.
Make sure your light is actually light and not darkness.

Speaking of eyes…2 Chronicles 16:9 The EYES of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Speaking of eyes…do you remember the lyrics to this old hymn?

Turn your EYES upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the LIGHT of His glory and grace.

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