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!

Work It

I was thinking about how the whole idea to (BE)TTER can sometimes become a little too much for us. We think, “What’s wrong with the way I am? I don’t need to change. There are too many rules. It just seems like a lot of work.”Those are the times when we have to pause and realize we’re making it way too complicated. Jesus had a knack for explaining things in such simple terms, like when He said in John 6:29:”The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”Pretty simple, right? He was referring to Himself – the One the Father sent to earth to BE the Better Life for us. When we make getting better too much work, you and I have to remind ourselves to simply believe in Jesus. We all believe in something anyway. Even if you say, “I don’t believe in anything,” that is your belief. You might as well put your belief to work on something instead of nothing.An old saying we all probably heard a parent or teacher tell us at least once while growing up is, “Anything worth having is worth working for.”In this case, our work to (BE)TTER is as easy as making a regular habit of expressing our belief IN Jesus TO Jesus. It provides Him with an all-access pass to escort Better Life through every arena of our lives.Make a quick work of it by simply saying, “Jesus I believe in you. I need you to please help me to (BE)TTER.”

Grow In The Dark

Lately I keep hearing about how people are enduring some real dark times. Financial stress, job uncertainty, health challenges, family squabbles, and heavy emotions seem to be some of the most frequent issues, all of which seem to intensify during the holidays.

Then I came across two verses in Isaiah 45:2,3 that I have read and heard so many times before but had never understood how they pertain to times of personal darkness, until now:

“I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you the treasures out of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord…”

If we allow God to help us adjust our eyes to the darkness, we can look around and discover valuable lessons to enrich us for our future. The proper perspective of looking to learn during darkness will help us to (BE)TTER.

2007 Disapointments Make You Better

Reading about what people considered the most disappointing aspects of this year, I was surprised to see right near the top was the much-hyped Windows Vista computer operating system. One of the reasons for the frustration was people’s inability to adapt to all the changes. For some reason, most of us have an aversion to change and try to avoid it at all costs. One of the great features of installing the Better Life operating system, God, is that our “Operator,” never changes. He said so Himself in Malachi 3:6: “I the Lord do not change.” Then in Hebrews 13:5 & 8: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” That’s good news, especially for the change-aphobic. Even though jobs, relationships, finances and most everything else changes, God is constant. He doesn’t change but by our efforts to get closer to Him, we do…for the better.