Reconciliation to Prosperity

We have been entrusted with a message of reconciliation. That the Creator of the universe is inviting us to enter into a restored relationship of faith in Him - that He has determined to enlist fallible humans like ourselves with this responsibility, that He will not leave us to do this alone in our own strength, but instead empowers us though the Holy Spirit dwelling within us transforming us to Christlikeness - these truths are overwhelming in their impact.

This is true prosperity - for the Good Lord has not brought us out of a meaningless existence just to make us more comfortable, but instead to challenge us, transform us and work through us in order to bring about the redemption of the human race.

The responsibility is great, so are the rewards - they make material riches pale into insignificance as a means to the greater end of reaching out to the world.

Feeling great

I am in a thankful mood - the Good Lord has blessed me with a mind that can solve problems and a measure of creativity. I've been working on couple of simple programming projects - just writing a couple of Bible memorization games; and I achieved what I set out to do with a minimum of frustration. It set me thinking:

It is humbling to be reminded of God's greatness - compared to our meagre efforts. As creator and sustainer of the universe, He demonstrates His great power every moment of the day, but we often overlook this because we're just too busy. Then, out of the corner of the eye, we glimpse something. Our thoughts focus on a simple truth, and we gasp in wonder at something that others would consider trite or of little consequence if we tried to explain it outside of the context of our experience of His presence.

It may not be an earth-shattering revelation, but it's enough to convince us of the reality of a God whose love for us is constant. There is a great deal of truth in the old cliche that God is more willing to communicate with us and work powerfully through us than we are to allow Him to do so. Our perspective colours our view of this idea though. We can view this statement with despair, hope, cynicism, resignation or as a personal challenge.

What I do know though, is that even when feeling on top of the world, I see One who would encourage me to seek Him more, know Him better - leaving me unsatisfied with earthly achievement and looking for true greatness in a deeper relationship with Him.

Thanksgiving - a rethink?

I was thinking about what I wrote in my previous piece - whether it sounded a little too trite. Give thanks and then God will step in and make everything better.

So, I thought about this. Am I trivialising something complex here? Upon reflection, I have to state, what I'm advocating here is not some easy way out. Thanksgiving is an act of will. It does not merely consist of mouthing empty words.

Neither is this a superficial call to play-acting as a pseudo-spiritual retreat from reality. Instead, I'm advocating a realignment of your worldview to match a greater reality - to bring your judgement of your situation into line with God's perspective. It's not easy - but it is an essential key to making progress in your spiritual life.

The Power of Thanksgiving

We are reminded in 1Thessalonnians ch.5 v.18 that it is God's will for us to give thanks in everything. One thought occurred to me when meditating on this.

Many people are anxious to discover God's plan for their lives. They ask themselves, "Is this God's will for me." This is perfectly normal. You're in love, you want to do your utmost to please the one you love - so, you ask these questions of yourself, of others whose opinion you trust and read helpful books to satisfy yourself.

You've offered yourself as a living sacrifice to the Good Lord, you've said, "Use me!" But you're still not clear about how you will recognise that next step.

So, here's a key - you want to know God's will for your life? He wants you to be a thanksgiver. He wants a primary characteristic of your life to be that you will be on the lookout for things to be thankful for.

When you have that settled, you will have your life, your mind, your attitudes in line with His will - you will be in a far better position to respond to Him as He continues to speak to you.

Accentuate the positive

I found the time today to create a simple memory game - to help learn Bible verses by heart. Very simple for me to do - I was pleased with the way it turned out, as it gave me an opportunity to think about how to make it as easy as possible for me to input another verse into the system. But I'm more conscious now that I possess skills that other people don't.

That's the odd thing about talents - we all have unleashed potential stored away, waiting for the opportunity to shine. The key is not to envy or feel bitter about other people's talents that we don't possess, or to dismiss our own talents with false modesty.

Fame (sort of)

I found out last week, someone I taught a decade ago is now an award-winning pop star - actually, it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. She deserves to be successful.

But it came as a shock all the same.

It reminded me of the reaction of Jesus' contemporaries from his hometown - see Mark ch.1 v.27 - things like this do make me wonder though.

What are you doing that will amaze those around you when God brings His plans to fruition?

Serendipity

The first time I came across an internet marketer, I had one question. "So, you you are selling a course that, in effect, just teaches you how to sell the same course to other people?" She was honest enough to reply, "In effect, yes." Needless to say I didn't buy into her system, and the company she was an affiliate of is now long gone.

The world of internet marketing has a reputation akin to snake-oil salesmanship, and in many cases, deservedly so. I've gotten into trouble for comparing online forums to bad soap opera before. But that's part of their attraction - the same reason why people slow down as they pass a road accident; to gawp in disbelief at the mess that others leave in their wake.

That's not the whole story however. The high ethical standards and integrity of some of the players in the IM world amazes me. For the past week and a half, I've been working on a challenge with the good Dr. Mani. If you've never wisited his CHD info website before, take a good look. I've been very impressed with the initial results of what I've been putting together. So much so, that I'm working hard to continue and expand what I'm doing.

There's an odd verse in Ecclesiastes (ch.11 v.1) cast your bread upon the waters. There are plenty of people doing that on the Internet. But oddly enough, one of the sites I've come across when working on Dr Mani's challenge turned out to be a very successful general prayer forum run by another internet marketer I have a great deal of respect for, Eric Holmlund: a man who is uncompromising in calling things as they really are, rather than looking for short-term gain at the expense of his subscribers.

The experience had a profound effect on me. It was one of those moments when time stands still as you re-evaluate your priorities. I could see an exciting new dimension to my ministry online opening up in front of me.

That's serendipity - some might say coincidence, a happy accident. Others might interpret it as a Divine appointment - set up in advance. Me? I'm pragmatic. For it to have any meaning or value, the advice of another verse in the same chapter of Ecclesiastes has to be heeded: He who observes the wind won't sow; and he who regards the clouds won't reap.