Category Archives: Decision Making and Guidance

Decision Making and Guidance, Eternal Life, Holy Spirit, Your Identity in Christ

Realign your Identity with The King of Kings

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10 NIV)

As a Christian, I take it seriously that I am and remain allegiant to the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. The book of Revelation, penned by the Apostle John, given to him straight from Jesus Christ in a vision, gives guide me the perspective of self-identity. When I read the scripture below, I think of the fascination many have with the Tudor Episodes, the historical plays of Shakespeare, the Game Of Thrones, and many others of this ilk. I also am a British history buff, and nerdy buff of the Baird, yet I am deeply humbled and awed when meditating on this scripture – I take it from John, written for me: Revelation 1: 4-7 NKJV:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Catch a Vision of the Son

I hope to help you realize that you are the masterpiece that scripture indicates that you are. Many Christians suffer from a Spiritual Identity Crisis that can undermine self-confidence and success in every area of life. Your effectiveness, as you seek to live your best life in a socially sensitive culture can be affected. Many look daily for recognition — some may seek approval by being liked on Facebook, for example. If we understand our identity as a son or daughter of God, we can retain our confidence while having no problem, insofar as we commit to discern how we are affected by and respond to the influence of our culture and its social media in the context of being an eternal spirit.

I have appreciated the guidance of Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and run my scheduled life by his outlined strategies. I appreciate His wisdom in areas relating to personal growth in my relationship to Jesus Christ, and in my business life. Behind The 7 Habits material, that sold over 25 million copies, lies Covey’s life view:

You and I are God’s own children. We have infinite potential, infinite worth, and we should not compare ourselves with others in any way on the basis of status, position, appearance, fashion, or any of the world’s value systems. All of these systems are false sources of self-definition, and we are surrounded by them. We live in a media-saturated world that continuously tries to define who we are. Unless we counteract these false scripts, they become deeply planted in our hearts and minds and also in the hearts and minds of our children.  Dr. Stephen Covey

It is important to identify ourselves correctly — define your sense of who you are as a redeemed child of God, purchased by Christ who gave His life for you — yes you were individually called into His kingdom.

If we don’t see our identity as a child of God, our view of ourselves can become shaped by culture. Covey aptly notes: “…if we do not have a deep sense of our true identity as a daughter or son of God the Father — if our basic sense of self, comes from other people, we may develop a false view of life, based on scarcity rather than God’s love or abundance”.

Give yourself an identity checkup.

If you were going to Toronto and you used a map of Vancouver, you would get lost. If you felt confused and sped up, you would get more deeply lost! Similarly, if we use a map of the culture for our life, directed by the scripting of others — of parents and friends without Christ, as a Christian we will get lost.  Conversely, all of your decision-making and planning can now be mapped using God’s GPS with His view of His children’s pathway — our heavenly mindmap. Let the Holy Spirit and the Word of God be your guiding principles in all that you do, going forward. Can you commit to this? Commitment can save you from being sucked back into the confusion of false identity.

The Psychologist James Marcia developed views on identity statuses, commitment to your identity being one,  expanded on here by Susan Krauss:

The four identity statuses are built from high and low positions on two identity dimensions. Dimension one is “commitment.” People high on commitment have a firm sense of who they are and feel strongly about the choices they have made. People low in identity commitment have an uncertain sense of self.  Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D., Psychology Today article

I like what Covey says: “A scarcity mentality is the tendency to define oneself in terms of being better than, or not as good as, another person”, yet if we know that we are a child of God the Father, as a brother or sister in Christ, we are protected from the world’s false ideology of self-identity. Don’t become a slave of others who try hard to define you through their filter of the world! YOU are a child of God!

We can get derailed from doing important thinking — self-examination important to our destiny. Krauss writes:

At the opposite pole on both dimensions, people low in commitment and exploration fit criteria for “identity diffused.” People high on exploration but low on commitment are in a category that Marcia called “moratorium.” This means that they have placed a hold on making the major decisions in their lives.  They’re thinking hard about what they want to do but aren’t ready to commit.

These scriptures below, beautifully depict you as a child of God.1  Hold them close and believe that you are indeed a masterpiece of God! I and my brothers and sisters in Christ are royal king-priests and queen-priests, and Christ is our King of Kings, a Royal priesthood. In identity, I am fully committed to Jesus as my Lord and King-Preist who loves me.

Scripture articulates your identity and defines who you are. If you are not fully committed I appeal to you, consider who your potential below. You are:

BELOVED: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3)

A CHILD OF GOD: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)

DELIGHTED IN: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

FORGIVEN: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

WASHED CLEAN: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)

FREE: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)

A TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” (1 Corinthians 6:19)

ADOPTED INTO GOD’S FAMILY: “The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” (Romans 8:15)

CO-HEIR WITH CHRIST: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.” (Romans 8:17)

RIGHTEOUS: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

NEW: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

A SAINT: “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)

SET APART: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” (1 Peter 2:9)

AN AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)

A CO-LABORER: “For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9)

A SWEET AROMA: “For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 2:15)

NEVER ALONE: “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)

A MASTERPIECE: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10)

WONDERFULLY MADE: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14)

BOLD: “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” (2 Corinthians 3:12)

HAVING GUARANTEED VICTORY: “You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.” (Psalm 18:35)

HOLDING A SECURED FUTURE: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11)

WHOLE IN CHRIST: “In Christ, you have been brought to fullness.” (Colossians 2:10)

1 I want to thank Ben Malcomson, Assitant to the Head Coach of the Seattle Seahawks for compiling this scripture list — one of many on the Identity of Christians Listed Scriptures above are of the NIV. 

Decision Making and Guidance

Christians must stay free of mental traps.

Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, all who are mature should think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. (Philippians 3: 13b-15)

Though the Christian knows we have a privilege to allow God to lead us along the path of life, we are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information that needs to be essentialized to navigate in this complex world.

For spiritual discernment to function, we need to hear the Spirit of God directing our life at every juncture and submit to His leading of “the still small voice” of conscience and live accordingly (1 Kings 19:11-13). When we are Spirit-led, we can make the right decisions as we align our thoughts and actions with Christian character formation.

There are psychological traps that we must discern. We construct thought patterns formed by habitual thinking that can destroy our lifestyle, deplete energy and waste time. If these mind traps occur at an unconscious level, they remain unknown to us, and the need to renew our mind in many areas may not occur to us.

I have a prayer that I say daily: Lord, save me from destructive mind traps, thoughts, lusts, etc. Let me hear your guidance to more promising thoughts unto prosperous change that I may know and discern your leading — to experience true Spirit-led fellowship and knowledge of your Word in Christian accord with your will.

The apostle Paul counselled us to focus on one thing and strive toward the goal of knowing Christ to live aright giving us hope. We renew our mind in Christ also by detecting what is contrary to His plan for your life: “if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you” (vs. 15 of our text). The Holy Spirit will guide you to discern the right path and show you how to detect thought patterns that can side-track clear, godly thinking.

Mental traps often remain below the level of awareness. We fall into them automatically, without making any conscious decision. The first requirement for getting rid of them is to learn the art of detection.

Antithetical thinking is an important device in constructing sound theology. Similarly, in scientific research, the German mathematician Carl Jacobi was known for his ability to solve hard problems by following a strategy of man muss immer umkehren or, loosely translated, “invert, always invert.” [1] — looking at the opposite of the solution at the same time.

By detecting a spiritual mind trap (the opposite of being free to hear Christ’s Spirit), you can ask the Lord to give you victory. We all encounter these potential weaknesses that humans are prone to, in our character development as we aim to “have this mind which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

Major opposing distractions, can blindside clear perception and kill good thinking. For example, when I was going to write this article early this morning I read in the New York Times that Greg Allman had just died at age 69. Allman played at the Kitchener Blues Festival a couple of years back. I had bought Live at the Fillmore East in 1970 and enjoyed the songs, particularly Greg’s writing of The Whipping Post and the phrase “Oh Lord, sometimes I feel tied to the whipping post…” Most people can relate. Christian’s lives are not simply joy rides. Naturally, I searched for the song on YouTube and cranked it up on my stereo, while showering.

Each trap is related to another trap. For example, I will note one of the mind traps Dr Andre Kukla, of the U of T, points out: the mind trap of fixation which is what occurred for one whole half of an hour of listening to songs and obsessing about Greg’s death! Finally, I listened to the Spirit and got to work. I moved from the fixation on Greg Allman’s death and his music, to quickly prepare my mind for writing.

Mind traps articulated by Professor Kukla directly oppose Christian living by fogging the mind relating to Paul’s counsel: “if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. (Philippians 3:15) In this case, He used the genius of Kukla [2].

I will note how the mind trap of persistence relates to continued fixation in my illustration. I have increasingly moved away from nostalgia by becoming aware of wasted time reflecting on my unconverted old life.

Detecting Unconscious Persistence versus Conscious Perseverance: I have found that you can detect continued fixation on old themes or projects that have lost their value in life as you seek to allow Christ to renew your mind. With the help of the Spirit I ask the following: Am I persevering for Christ or unconsciously persisting? The difference is that persevering can be good while persisting is usually very wasteful.

We persevere when we steadfastly pursue worthy aims despite the obstacles encountered along the way. If I detect that I am trapped, and realise that I have been persisting, I can stop the behaviour. I can save my creative bandwidth (thought), physical energy, or continual fiscal or time invested in any venture/relationship/goal that has lost its value; or is heading toward a degenerate or an unprofitable ROI metric for Christ or for the good of my fellow man).

This morning I suffered from instantaneous persistence without contentment or progress toward a desired good end of serving God and man. Such persistence can become perpetual which then becomes frankly, delusional.

The psychologist, James Allen wrote an entire essay on King Solomon’s wisdom about how our thinking can shape our life: “as a man thinks so is he” (Proverbs 23:7)

Decision Making and Guidance, Spiritual Guidance, Unorthodox Doctrine

Cutting the ties of darkness that bind you

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15 NLT)

Dr. Henry Cloud wrote a piece for Success magazine 10 Things Successful People Never Do Again predicated on the idea that we have to change to progress. We must allow ourselves some pretty radical changes if we are to evolve in our life-journey. The Holy Spirit will lead us into the destiny that God is guiding us to in our distinct lives according to His higher values.

Chose your yoke-fellows wisely. The Scripture commands all Christians not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers? This scripture applies to marriage, business partnership, and church alignment. Paul offers profound insights into relationships. He writes out of both love and pain, about severing relationships and mending them. He writes in a way that is decidedly centered on God, as seen in the person of Christ. Paul is humble and meek; he is bold and adamant. Moses made it clear to the Israelites that ungodly influence can lead God’s people astray: “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped…for the LORD…is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:12-14 NLT)

Why is it important to cut your ties with darkness? When Paul says, “Do not be unequally yoked,” he means first, that we should not associate with believers who don’t actually live for Jesus, and second, that engaging in any intimate relationship or partnership with someone who does not let Jesus be the center of their lives will ultimately lead to our demise. We must cut ties with whatever or whoever leads us to darkness. Influence can be subtly corrupting. “For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. “Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord…and, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:16-18 NIV)

Wasn’t Jesus loving? Christ engaged with people who didn’t understand who He was while on earth, to reach out to people and reveal the love of God. Nevertheless, He didn’t want to see relationships with unbelievers lead His followers into darkness. The Corinthian believers were to change the world, not to be changed by it. Paul wanted to see the Corinthian believers separate from their old way of living and fully embrace the ways of Jesus. Thus, his question which applies to all Christians today: How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?

Kindness versus close or intimate relations with non-believers must be understood in context. For more depth on this subject read Influencing others for Christ.

But this is complicated. False teachers and leaders are even within the church; old friends can turn on you and become your enemies, and there are broken relationships among the followers of our Lord. There may be things in the Bible that are very clear to one following the Lord closely adhering to the Word, to form correct doctrine while desiring to live according to Sola Scriptura. Within the church, some follow a man or a woman, who some may feel they have prophetic insight (who may say or write: “God told me” or “my angel said”). However, we must follow only the Lord’s teaching found in the Word of God and never follow a teaching that the Bible does not condone.

Consider that the educated doctorates of Israel did not believe the teachings of Jesus though He was their Messiah. The scripture regarding cutting our ties with darkness was written by Paul of Tarsus to the Corinthians. Paul had been one of the leading Pharisees (named Saul). He was a leading doctorate student taught by Dr. Gamaliel. He turned from the darkness of twisting scripture to follow Jesus Christ as did the Pharisee Nicodemus.

Jesus Teaches in the Synogogue

 

 

Decision Making and Guidance, Eternal Life, Purpose Driven Life for Yahweh, Wisdom & Knowledge

Consider your days that remain.

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90: 12 ESV)

Psalm 90 is a prayer offered by Moses on behalf of Israel as he considered the 40 years that they had wasted in the wilderness, frequently disobedient to the Lord. The main problem was that they would not trust God enough to move into the promised land. Rather they became fearful and complained, despite the encouraging report given by Caleb and Joshua that “we should go up and take possession of the land for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30).

We can lose our most effective timing and greatest blessings while whining and complaining. This first Exodus generation wasted 14,600 days (40 years) due to fear, which the Lord viewed as contemptuous behaviour. God judged Israel for their mistrust (verses 14-12, 20-23)

In his prayer Moses asked the Lord to redeem the lost time for the next generation of Israelites: “Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.” (Psalms 90:15) Steve Jobs, though he was a highly successful man, faced a terminal illness — a shrinking lifespan. Being a meditative man, contemplating his remaining time, he became very focused:

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.” Steve Jobs

David praised the Lord when he fathomed God’s presence in his foreordained life and acknowledged His creation of him. He also knew that his time remaining was preordained and measured: “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” (Ps 139:16 ESV) The following table depicts the approximated remaining 24 hour days left based on our current age, knowing that the Lord has numbered our particular allotted time on earth.

Days-to-age

Charles Stanley, a great leader, and preacher continues to minister weekly. In his eighties, he frequently warns those who have deferred acceptance of Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour from sin. He admonishes to accept the gift of  eternal life, emphasizing that “you may not be alive tomorrow”. If you are not yet a Christian, this will help you find peace when you wondering “how long do I have?” or if you face an illness. When we begin to comprehend God’s Grace we are moved by love, which alone is The Motivation for Accepting Jesus

Consider your age and consider the days that you have remaining on this earth to serve the Lord and expand His kingdom, advocating the Gospel, helping the poor, encouraging others, while meeting your goals. Let’s learn to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Moses was 120 years old when the Lord took him. Don’t gamble your time away without rational purpose. You may not have quite that long.

If you doubt or fear death: The Manifesto of God’s Love

Using our time wisely: Living in view of the Second Advent of Christ

Why I take time seriously: My Testimony

Decision Making and Guidance, Discernment and Thinking, Spirit Led Leadership Today

The importance of who we marry

“…swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” (Genesis 24:1-9 ESV)

The story of Isaac and Rebekah
This is the story of a man seeking a bride for his son after his beloved mother Sarah had died. The story begins when Isaac’s father Abraham instructs his trusted servant to find a wife for his son, not from the inhabitants of Canaan where they lived, but from his native land, from people he knew were living closer to his God. This was so important to Abraham that he had his servant swear on it.

Abraham had been promised major blessings by God if he led his children also to walk with God and serve Him. This blessing was to be for all his children for all future generations. Bottom line, Abraham must “command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD”. He must also position future generations to follow the Lord.

“Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18: 18-19 ESV)

Abraham wants to make sure that he is arranging success for his son Isaac according to the promise of the Lord – and this includes future generations. We can see two important tactics that can lead to better futures for our children:

1. Protecting their Social Life That they are not allowed to mix socially with or marry those who do not follow the Lord – who have entirely the opposite interests and friends, and
2. Marry in the Lord The apostle Paul’s advice to marry “only in the Lord”— is counsel that should govern the conduct of all Christians (see 1 Cor. 7:39) and it not to be fluffed off when faced with social decisions. Parents are to govern the social connections of the children, especially regarding marriage.

The Bible teaches that Christian children need some guidance by their fathers to find a godly woman or man suitable to develop a future life with, where their children will also be taught to follow the Lord as fist priority. Future generations and their children will also be taught to follow the Lord as fist priority. Husbands and wives must collaborate to lead the family for Christ.

What if they children do not follow this counsel? Perhaps the children rebelled, or there was not Christian leadership agreement in their home when growing up. If they have married outside of the Lord, the hope now would be that both the husband and the wife (the children once married) both find and renew a relationship with the Lord and His Word. God’s love is patient and cannot be exhausted. “The Lord…is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NIV)

Abraham’s concern for God’s promise for Isaac and his children  All children born into Christian homes have a higher purpose when they are born. The narrative moves to God allowing Sarah to become pregnant after being without child into her old age.

“Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.” (Genesis 21:1-3 NIV)

Often, no explanation is given as to why God commands certain ways of living, but there is a principle that we reap what we sow. The seeds that we sow or allow to be sown into our children’s’ lives will eventually be harvested. In fact reaping is a farming law: we reap the same that we sow, more than we sow, later than we sow. If our children are exposed to others who drink unto drunkenness, share pornography (a pandemic among teenagers), have friends who commit adultery, or who disdain Christianity, it follows that this is the crop that you will see harvested in your own children’s lives. I can’t emphasize this biblical principle more: Whatever we sow we’ll reap, what we sow, more than we sow, later than we sow. We have the privilege to water and plant and God causes the increase (1 Cor 3:6-9).  And if we don’t water and plant good seed, nothing good grows.

Abraham’s desire that Isaac inter-marry with a woman who was not native to Canaan where he lived appears to be a further expression of the notion of the two lines of blessing and curse seen in Genesis 9:25–27: “Cursed be Canaan!” but “Blessed be the LORD the God…” Truly the downside of not following Jesus Christ as Lord is the final curse of eternal death. The blessing is eternal life as Jesus promised: ““I am telling you the truth: those who hear my words and believe in him who sent me, have eternal life. They will not be judged, but have already passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24 GNT) The inhabitants of Canaan were considered to be under a divine curse for their sinful lives (see Genesis 15:16). The seed of Abraham was to be kept separate from the seed of Canaan.

The servant in search for Isaac’s bride The account of the servants success was accomplished because he achieved finding Rebekah as a wife for Isaac prayerfully by faith. The lesson here is that if our intent is to follow God’s will and marry in the faith of Jesus Christ God will lead the way until it is achieved to His glory. The servant of Abraham had success by faith and praised God for finding Rebekah for Isaac. “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out…”

“When I came to the spring today, I said, ‘LORD, God of my master Abraham, if you will, please grant success to the journey on which I have come. See, I am standing beside this spring. If a young woman comes out to draw water and I say to her, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar,” and if she says to me, “Drink, and I’ll draw water for your camels too,” let her be the one the LORD has chosen for my master’s son.’ “Before I finished praying in my heart, Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water, and I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’” (Genesis 24:42-45 ESV)

God understands everything to do with love and how it is only able to be nurtured in full in the context of loving God first. (see The Manifesto of God’s Love)