Tag-Archive for ◊ Jesus ◊

01 Mar 2010 Wake Up And Recognize
Author:  |  Topic: Awareness  | Tags: , , , ,  | Leave a Comment

Yesterday I was watching Dr Mike Murdock and among the many nuggets of wisdom he spoke, one word stood out above all the others. This word was RECOGNIZE.

How many things do you and I miss every day because we do not recognize them? Things like – opportunities – blessings – experiences and even relationships.

There is an interesting verse found in Ephesians 5:14 where Paul exhorted the Ephesian church to Wake up, O sleeper! Arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.

Interesting words indeed! The Greek meaning of the words “wake up” includes waking up from sleep, from death, from sickness AND from obscurity.

If you are sick, your mind is usually more focused on your pain or on getting well than on anything that is going on around you – right? It is certainly understandable that you would be distracted and not fully aware of your surroundings when you don’t feel well.

But what other things in life distract you to the point that
you may not fully recognize an opportunity – or even a person.

I made a list today of some things we may miss out on when we are not fully awake (or aware of what is happening around us).

One of the things I wrote down was: Relationships.

  • Do you REALLY know who you come in contact with during the day.
  • Do you REALLY know who you are working with?
  • Do you REALLY even know who you are living with?

Here’s a great example:
There were 12 disciples. They all had the same mentor, they all spent the same time with Jesus, and they all had the same opportunity to know him.

Yet one of these disciples missed the boat completely – yes, he missed it so badly that he betrayed Jesus the Son of God.

Why? He did not RECOGNIZE who He was.

Why not? Judas had his own agenda (money). His mind was focused on this agenda. Consequently he was distracted from his surroundings and so had absolutely no idea Who he was living with during those 3 years.

He had the same opportunity to get to know Jesus as the other disciples had.
But he did not take it. Why not? He did not RECOGNIZE Who he was with. He was distracted with his own selfish goals.

What things could be distracting you and causing you to miss out on a Divine appointment or opportunity?

I wonder how different your life would be if you really did recognize who those people in your life REALLY are? Something to think about no?

JillI am sure that we would appreciate people in our lives a LOT more if we REALLY knew who they were. What do you think?

P.S. Do YOU really know Who Jesus is?
Take a look at the Gospel of John Chap 1:11-12.


What action can you take on this article that will make a difference in your life? Please share your thoughts here
15 Feb 2010 Fear Is Wrongly Focused Faith
Author:  |  Topic: Fear, Focus  | Tags: , , , , ,  | Leave a Comment

One of my favorite stories from the Gospels is that of Jesus walking on the water, and Peter stepping out to do the same.

When the disciples first saw Jesus walking on the water they were afraid. They thought it was a ghost because they had never seen anything like this before. Jesus quickly identified Himself and told the disciples not to fear.

Peter was not totally convinced, so he boldly comes out with this challenge: “If it is You, call me to come to you on the water”. Peter knew that only the real Jesus could do that. So Jesus calls him, and Peter gets out of the boat and walks on the water towards Jesus.

Now here are some keys:
While Peter had his eyes on Jesus he was fine. He was able to walk on the water, something that is humanly impossible.

But the waves were a bit boisterous and soon Peter changes his FOCUS. Now instead of looking up at Jesus, he looks down at the waves and so starts to sink. As soon as he starts to go down into the water, of course fear grips him, he panics and cries out for help.

Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Peter saying: You have little faith, why did you doubt?

What actually caused Peter to doubt?
He changed focus. He did not LOSE FAITH – he changed the OBJECT of his FAITH.

Fear is faith in evil. It is faith in bad things happening.
Fear is distorted faith or faith focused on evil. Pure faith focuses on the good.

Fear is actually wrongly focused faith.

  • When you have faith, you can believe for the best.
  • When you have fear, you can only believe for the worst.

So my question for today is: What is the focus of your faith?

  • Are your thoughts concentrating on the good and expecting the best?
  • Are your thoughts concentrating on the negative situations and expecting the worst?

It is not possible to have both faith and fear. They are extreme opposites.

Jill They cannot live together.

So again, what are you focusing on today?

P.S. You can read the complete story in Matthew 14:24-33 here

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

What action can you take on this article that will make a difference in your life? Please share your thoughts here
Next Entries »