Consider the Possibilities

The athletic apparel company Adidas has a slogan that goes right along with our (BE)TTER mentality: “Impossible is Nothing.”

 

In the same vein, long before running shoes and sweat pants, what Jesus said while talking to His disciples in John 14:10-13 is what I believe for our lives

 

“The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.”

 

As we ask and keep on asking God to be active in our lives, ANYTHING we ask is possible. Miracles beyond anything that we have dared to imagine are possible.

 

If you have something, or many things, in your life right now that seems like there is no change in sight, stop thinking it’s impossible and dare to imagine the possibilities.

 

It doesn’t matter in what area we’re asking for some sort of a miracle, Jesus didn’t put restrictions on the asking, He said “WHATEVER you ask.” And I believe it – for me and for you.

The Need for Speed

I have often said that what you meditate on will manifest for you, which is basically another way of saying what Proverbs 23:7 says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

 

I read a story about a man who had so many speeding tickets that he got a letter from the California Department of Motor Vehicles stating that if he got one more ticket, his license would be suspended for a year. It also suggested that he meet with one of their state psychologists. He thought it couldn’t hurt, so he made an appointment.

 

During the meeting at the DMV, the issue of having so many tickets was brought up, to which the man with all the tickets replied, “Everyone gets speeding tickets.” “Not true,” said the psychologist. “The average person may get only one ticket every four years.”

 

The man with a lead foot was amazed, he had thought everyone was like him, amassing a stack of violations. But he realized at that moment what he had believed was wrong and destructive. He quickly changed his mind that day and from then on stopped getting speeding tickets.

 

Think about it: Are you unhappy with certain things that are happening in your life? What do you, not just hope, but really need to (BE)TTER? Ask yourself, what am I thinking that may need to be changed? Then change it…FAST!

Internal Affairs

We all go through periods of time when we feel like our efforts to be a better person are at a standstill. We may have made bad decisions, people let us down or we just did some stupid things. Discouragement bordering on depression can set in causing us to wonder if we even want to try any more. It feels like the most tumultuous place to be is inside of us.

 

During times like that, where can we find the motivation we need to continue the effort to be all we can be? These verses in Galations 5:16-18 from The Message Bible offer us a look inside ourselves to see what’s really going on:

 

“My counsel is this, live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit. Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why not choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions.”

 

So if we make God’s Spirit our own internal motivational speaker, then we become free spirits – steady, animated and full of life? I like the sound of that, don’t you?

 

Some might say, “But that’s not my cup of tea. I just can’t get into God.” That’s okay. If you’ll just take your mountain of troubles to Him, asking for help, He’ll get into you.

Higher Motivation

A psychiatrist named Viktor Frankl who lived through Nazi death camps said this in his book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning:’ “He who has a WHY to live can bear with almost any HOW.”

 

Dr. Frankl found that every day of being in those camps he was able to face the HOW of extreme cold, malnutrition and possible death because he was motivated by the WHY of wanting to see his family again.

 

That makes me think, what’s our motivation? Who are we living for? Why should we (BE)TTER?

 

Proverbs 16:2,3 says, “All a man’s ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.”

 

Man, I want my motives to be right. I want God to be proud of me. Like most people, I want to be successful for the good of my family and my future, but God’s approval of all I do in every part of my public and private life should always be the highest priority.

 

To keep the motivation to (BE)TTER more about His pride than ours, we need to check our motives with Him every day, making sure our plans are in His plan.

The Sweet 16

For those of us breaking bad habits and unwanted behavior patterns, we have to remain active in designing our lives.  We simply cannot allow the past to overwhelm our present or derail our future.  We can’t just be passive, letting life do whatever it wants with us.  If we do what we’ve always done, (which in many people’s case is NOTHING) then things don’t get better, they seem to get worse.  If we truly want to (BE)TTER for ourselves, our family and our future, we have to do something about it.

So with that in mind, here are 16 practical suggestions for replacing bad habits with healthy ones.

 1. MAKE LIKE MOSES – For a time, separate yourself from the people, surroundings and circumstances that contribute to repeating bad behavior.

 2. RECRUIT A HEALING HELPER – Having someone close to you who is trustworthy, believes in you and encourages your efforts will further empower you to (BE)TTER.

 3. CHECK YOUR MIRROR – Regularly look at yourself to get honest about where you are right now.  Do you like what you see?  What adjustments need to be made?

 4. REASSIGN PAST PAIN – Decide not to allow the past to discourage you but let it be a marker to encourage you about how far you’ve come and what you’ve learned from those experiences.

 5. READ! READ! READ! – Find books on subjects that interest you and develop the desire to read for knowledge and sometimes just for fun.

 6. KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON – Realize there are no magic cures to make bad habits disappear overnight.  Life is an endurance sport but the prizes are worth the pain.

 7. REJECT THE REJECTION SUGGESTIONS – Eject the thoughts of unworthiness and ugliness and replace them with quality memories, experiences and relationships.

 8. DON’T BE A DWELLER – The mind can only consider a limited number of issues at one time.  Don’t dwell on the past.  Rather, contemplate the new quality of life.

 9. RESPOND, DON’T REACT – Practice keeping your spirit in the right spot – on top and in control of your body, mind and emotions.

10. ACT AS IF – You ARE a work of art, so act as if you are valuable.  Take good care of yourself.  Carry yourself with confidence and expect goodness to follow you.

11. REACH OUT – To help yourself, help others.  When you give of your time, talent, energy and money to invest in a cause, you’ll see yourself get better.

12. GET GRATEFUL – Deciding to be thankful for what you have will take you off “Victim Island” and put you back into reality to see how good you actually have it.

13. HAVE A HOBBY – Hobbies will help move your mind away from somber issues, stimulate creativity, acquire new knowledge and form new relationships.

14. PURSUE PASSION – By practicing the basic necessities of daily prayer, Bible reading and Godly fellowship, your passion will present itself from inside of you.

15. LAUGH. A LOT. – Doctors say that the inner organs are given a massage during a hearty laugh.  The Bible says laughing is like medicine.  Laugh to live long.

16. SMILE – Notify your facial muscles that you have decided to be a shining, contagious example of what God can do in a person’s life.  Go ahead, smile and the world will smile with you.

There you have it.  16 Inspired Ideas for Better Life.  

Try one or try ‘em all to (BE)TTER.  Let me know how it goes.

Come Clean

When I bought a newspaper this morning, the cashier charged me only 50 cents instead of 75. When I told her the actual price, she was surprised because she had been only charging 50 cents all morning long and nobody had said anything. She thanked me for being honest, then took my extra quarter.

I had thought for a split second about not saying anything but man, I hate feeling guilty about something! I know it was only a quarter, but what if next time it’s a dollar? Or a hundred dollars?

What if it’s not money but I know that I got away with something that wasn’t right? Those things can add up, dulling and dirtying our right and wrong detector, also known as the conscience.

Hebrews 10:22 says, “Let us draw near to God with sincere hearts in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.”

Even when we know we haven’t done the right thing, we can still go to God knowing that He will forgive us and wash the heaviness away if we let Him. No matter how big or little something is that we feel like we get away with, nothing is worth the weight of a guilty conscience.

Like we learned in kindegarten, honesty is always the best policy, especially if we want to (BE)TTER.

The Wave

Out running yesterday I saw something unusual. As I spotted a fellow runner approaching, I noticed she was struggling with each step. When I got close enough to give her the runner’s wave, she smiled and weakly returned the wave.

The interesting part was that when she waved, I saw a pack of cigarettes in her hand! Then I realized why she seemed to be laboring so hard, she was probably out of breath and hadn’t built up her wind yet.

Now you may think I’m going to lecture about the dangers of smoking, but I’m not. Granted, smoking and running don’t seem to be the most effective combination, but the point is, at least she was running in between puffs. She gets an “A” for effort in my book.

Many people thinking about the decision to (BE)TTER in life are waiting until the day they have conquered other bad habits before even attempting to improve in another area. The problem is, that day never comes and the life they have dreamed of seems to move further and further away.

That kind of thinking reminds me of a saying I’ve heard since I was a kid: God catches His fish before He cleans them. Basically that means we don’t have to fix everything on our own. Just come to God, just as we are, messes and all. He’ll take us in, love and transform us, making us better and better and better.

My deal is, even if we’ve not perfected every area of our lives, don’t let that stop other efforts to get better.

Let’s do what we’re able.
God will do the rest.

Keep The Faith

The other night after speaking, I met a family whose story broke my heart and inpired me at the same time. They told me their 15 year old daughter had been kidnapped 116 days before and that the police were now no longer actively involved in searching for her.

The mother smiled, yes smiled, as she told me that although she still often cries, she hasn’t missed a day of work since their ordeal began. The father then told me they set a place for their daughter at the dinner table every night and visualize the celebration that will occur when she returns, walking through the front door of their home.

They were laughing and joking around as they went on to tell me how so much of what I had spoken about was just for them, encouraged them to hold on and fired up their faith to stay strong.

I can say the same thing about them.

Their faith and upbeat attitude in the midst of living a horrific nightmare are more than enough to invigorate you and I to, no matter what, keep the faith.

If they can do it, we can do it.

Action

I’m still thinking about the world’s shortest verse that I learned in Sunday School, “Jesus wept.” It not only shows that Jesus empathizes with the human condition, the story goes on to tell how compassion then caused Him to do something extraordinary at Lazarus’ grave.

In verse 38 & 39 of John 11 it says, “Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ He said.”

To feel for someone who is suffering or in need can be a powerful form of motivation. I read that Bono said one specific little boy in Africa changed his life. The sight of that little boy has sparked him to use his influence to speak up for those who have no voice and start campaigns against poverty and AIDS.

I guess standing in someone else’s shoes can alter our perceptions and cause us to do things differently. Helping someone else always helps us to
(BE)TTER.

Compassion causes action.

Friends

As a kid in Sunday School they used to have contests of boys against girls to see who could memorize and recite the most verses of scripture each week. The winning team would win prizes, usually some form of super-sugary candy.

Every single time, one of us would say, “Jesus wept,” because as the shortest verse in the Bible from John 11:35, it was the easiest to remember.

Reading that verse now, I see it a lot differently than just an easy ticket to candy. Jesus was expressing grief with the family of a man named Lazarus who had just died. And having been close friends with Lazarus and his 2 sisters, Jesus was genuinely sad for those surviving and sorry about losing a friend.

The Savior of the World cared enough to show emotion and empathy alongside a grieving family. I find that character trait in our Savior to be very endearing. We all feel better knowing we have someone who will be happy with us or hurt with us when we need it.

We will all (BE)TTER at handling life as it comes knowing He’s not just a “Big God,” He’s also a true friend, not only way back then but right here and now.