Jesus is my Saviour not my religion!

4GivenMinistry

Religion can easily get messy and confusing. In addition to the most popular religions, there are hundreds of “new” or “mainstream” religions. When you add in the multiple denominations within Christianity, it is easy to get overwhelmed and see how the whole idea of religion loses its significance and focus. The Message Bible spin on Galatians 2:20 supports this concept effortlessly. Eugene Peterson said, “What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So, I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.” Why would anyone intentional repudiate the grace of a God?! I for one certainly do not want to frustrate the grace of God because if righteousness is attainable by the law, then Christ hath died in vain. (Galatians 2:21 WBT) Here’s a couple of things to consider about religion: it doesn’t make you holy nor better than anyone other person and it should never be place above God more less people. In closing, too many people lose sight of a relationship with Jesus because they become fixated on religion. Often, these are misguided attempts to find their worth and gain an understanding of what a true relationship with Christ is all about!!

Thomas A. Edison once said, “There is time for everything” and I assume that he read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 which also reminds us still today that, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every [a]purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.” So what time do you see on your spiritual watch? I believe it’s time to love: your spouse, your parents, your children, your near and abroad family, your friends, and your neighbor. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “Three things will last forever: faith, love, and hope—and the greatest of these is love!”

In lieu of reflecting on what you’re missing, try reflecting on your current blessings. In this season of isolation and separation, it’s a no ‘brainer’ to desire things to go back to normal. Well, perhaps the old normal was really abnormal. So, how do we embrace this ‘new normal’ and survive this season we are currently leasing? Let this soak in for a minute: When God says to His children He will do a new thing, it means you will move to a level of freedom you have never known before. It also means that God is about to surprise your enemies beyond discovery and recovery. In Isaiah 43:19, the prophet Isaiah foretold of the Israelites deliverance from Babylon captivity and even greater; the redemption of sinners by Jesus Christ. Isaiah’s words encourages and inspires us in that same light of hope today and while the coronavirus pandemic has shuttered businesses, restaurants and places of worship, another kind of gathering has reemerged across our communities. Families who were once distracted by the busyness of full schedules, play dates and errands now have seemingly quieter lives. Days are devoid of school, soccer practice and daily commutes, as school districts remain closed and more parents are working from home. Instead, family dinner is making a comeback. Parents are seen more in their yards playing with their young ones. More neighbors are out for strolls with their pets and I didn’t know everybody and their mama rode bicycles. Seriously speaking, what’s so abnormal about all of this? Yes, the number of reported cases are increasing and the death toll is rising but, someway and somehow God in His perfect timing is going to work something good out of all this mess because He uses messy situations to awaken our need for him which in turn grows our dependence on Him, shapes our character, and draws us closer to Himself. Remember this, God ain’t sleep and He promises to make something good out of the storms that bring devastation to our lives.

No one really knows when all this crap will end and life as we used to know it will return back to normal. But, that’s ok! I know there is One that knows the exact date this will all end but perhaps, He doesn’t want things to return back to business as usual. Maybe, God wants us to use this extended time of alienation, separation, and social distancing to fully appreciate the most important asset in our lives which are the people in our lives. This shouldn’t be a shock because He exampled this disposition when He manifested in the flesh, took on all of our sins (past, present, and future), and died on a cross so that we wouldn’t have to spend eternity without Him. Jesus chose to social distance himself from the Father so that through His sacrifice we all would become one with the Triune God (Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit). Watch this; what the enemy don’t want you to know is that families who haven’t talked for years are know conversing again via zoom and other live video platforms, marriages are being restored, friendships are rebooting, families are spending time together, and lives are being forever changed. Yes, God uses the bad things that occur in our lives for the good because nothing He does is bad! Let me put it this way, because of God’s great love for us, Jesus bore not only the judgment of God for sins but also our sickness and disease. Jesus said John 16:33, “…… In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage — I have conquered the world.” Tada!! This means that Corona is already defeated! So, today while your practicing social distancing try distancing yourself from the news for at least a day. Reach out to one of your family members or friends and remind them God’s is with us, we will get through this, and His love will always shine the brightest even in the darkest time.

Why do we find ourselves under estimating what God can do? The answer to this question depends solely on the person reading this devotional. Everyone’s situation is somewhat different however, there are a few common reasons we tend to under estimate the power of God. Most common to our nature is under estimating God’s love, faithfulness, forgiveness, compassion, creativity, capacity, wisdom, power, and His presence. Let’s be clear, God can do anything! There is nothing our God can’t do except fail! Not to mention, He will never lie and the Bible inspired by God contains more promises than all of humanity can count on in a lifetime! Isaiah 55:11 confirms, “The word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” and Psalms 40:45 speaks of God’s awe-inspiring, above-our-understanding ways; “Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you. Were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.” God is amazing and He is able and will do amazing things in your life, marriage, family, vocation, and relationships! So, let’s rephrase the opening question: Can this very God that longs to call us His friends be the God that some of us struggle to believe, trust and worship? God wants to walk with us, talk with us, inspire us, forgive us, establish us, and encourage us. He loves us and He will always leave us in awe at His love, faithfulness, and goodness. Therefore, in this season if your marriage is falling apart, you have more bills coming in than money, you have a child(ren) gone prodigal, you have been furloughed, laid off or terminated expect great things from our great God and never make the mistake of doubting what God can do with you and through you, all for His glory and your good! Rick Warren said one time: “Doubt your doubts and believe your beliefs.” Don’t underestimate God – He can do more than you think. #Periodt

Chew on this for a little bit!

Glory

#HeIsRisen

#ResurrectionSunday2020

Father God, change in me the same change, I want to see changed in others! Holy Spirit , please fix my heart so I can fix my eyes on Jesus! In Jesus’ life changing and perfecting name, Amen!

“So…Why NOT You?”
Author Noel Pinnock, B.S., M.P.A., C.A., CCC
www.noelpinnock.com

  “A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.” This is a profound statement, whose author is unknown; however, the resonating message is that someone else believes in you – your knowledge, skills, and abilities.  This is a powerful notion because our existence is predicated by the way we believe other people perceive us. Even the most narcissist isn’t immune to the power, influence, and phenomenon of the “others factor.” Psychologist refers to this as the self-fulfilling prophecy; whereby, our behavior is influenced by the way we believe others perceive us; hence, the popularized Pygmalion Effect:

– I am not what I think I am

– I am not what you think I am

– BUT I am what I think YOU think I am!

You can see this principle play out well in classrooms to offices across the globe in practically every industry imaginable. In a previous D-mars article, I wrote that Gerry Fusco, CEO of Gerry Fusco Consulting Group, once told me that his father would tell him that he is no better than anyone else and no one else is better than him. This gave him a neutral foundation with everyone he encountered. He was not intimidated by stature, titles, positions, education, etc. He had a general understanding that he could go anywhere and do practically anything that some else did and possibly do it even better. He believed so because his father believed he could but it did not stop with his father’s belief, he had to believe it for himself too. We can find ourselves on a brink of a breakthrough and then doubt enters our psyche and our breakthrough looks more and more like a breakdown and we fizzle out like an extinguishing flame.

So, how do you prevent the fizzle and ignite your sizzle. Well, you have to start with yourself and ask the poignant and burning question, why not me? “Why not me” is self-awareness and inflection question that is aimed at digging deep into your internal belief systems. As you know our beliefs produce our thoughts, our thoughts produce our feelings, and our feelings produce our actions. If you are not taking the action you need to take your marriage, career, business, or parenting to the next level, then I would recommend that you:

1. 1. Conduct a belief self-assessment to determine what’s at the core of “you.” Once you, decide to believe in your imminent success or accomplishment, then…
   2. Develop an action plan that will assist you along the life cycle of this venture, project, etc. but it is all too paramount that you…
   3. Surround yourself around others that believe in your vision and can see the end result with clarion lenses, naysayers are not allowed here. Remember, we innately do more when others believe we can.

Let me say that again, we innately do more when we believe that others believe that we can. I can remember when I was a gymnast and was competing for the gold in a middle school gymnastic tournament at Welch Middle School way back in the ‘80s. I was nervous and the competition was fierce but I can remember my Pershing Middle School coach, Nancy Shrull, who whispered the powerful words of encouragement, “I believe you can take it all.” These words ignited a flame in my heart that solidified my belief that instigated my thought, fueled my feelings that produced the gold medal winning actions. See, it is a cycle and when you know the cycle then I recommend that you enjoy the ride. Be mindful… a lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could; therefore, I leave you with the resonating question, why not you? I believe you can…so should you

Failure is not Fatal…Failing to Change Might Be!
Noel A. Pinnock, BS, CA, CCC, MPA, CPM
www.noelpinnock.com

Three -time Grammy® award winner, Donnie McClurkin, We Fall Down lyrics are definitely on target with this month’s edition of D-Mars, partly, because he was able to successfully capture the essence of catching, correcting, and learning from the power of failure or the errors of our ways. McClurkin wrote:

“We fall down but we get up…we fall down but we get up, for a saint is just a sinner who fell down but we couldn’t stay there…”

The incomparable William Shakespeare is infamous for saying, “To err is human.” The verb “err” means to do something wrong; to make a mistake is “to err“. “To err is human” because all people (“humans“) make mistakes. Unfortunately, we are programmed at an early age to think that failure is bad and this belief prevents individuals and organizations, alike, from effectively learning from missteps. As children, we learn at some point that admitting failure means taking blame! How can we respond constructively to failures w/o giving rise to an “anything-goes” attitude? Executives when asked, reported how many of the failures in their organizations are truly blameworthy, their answers are usually in single digits – 2% to 5% but when asked how many are treated as blameworthy, they say (after a pause or chuckle) – 70% to 90%. Amy Edmondson and Mark D. Cannon (Harvard Business School) writes:

“It hardly needs to be said that organizations (individuals) cannot learn from failures if people do not discuss and analyze them. Yet this remains an important insight. The learning that is potentially available may not be realized unless thoughtful analysis and discussion of failure occurs. For example, for Kaiser [Permanente’s] Dr. [Kim] Adcock, it is not enough just to know that a particular physician is making more than the acceptable number of errors [in misread x-rays]. Unless deeper analysis of the nature of the radiologists’ errors is conducted, it is difficult to learn what needs to be corrected. On a larger scale, the U.S. Army is known for conducting After Action Reviews that enable participants to analyze, discuss, and learn from both the successes and failures of a variety of military initiatives. Similarly, hospitals use “Morbidity and Mortality” (M&M) conferences (in which physicians convene to discuss significant mistakes or unexpected deaths) as a forum for identifying, discussing, and learning from failures. This analysis can only be effective if people speak up openly about what they know and if others listen, enabling a new understanding of what happened to emerge in the assembled group.”

You see, hindsight is always 20/20 but in order to realize the power that is produced in failure we must first be able to acknowledge it; second, analyze it; and third, learn from it. German theoretical physicist, Albert Einstein once stated, “We can’t solve yesterday’s problems at the same level of thinking we are at when we created them.” In order to get back up, as McClurkin exhorts, when we have fallen down requires a change in our beliefs as well as in our thinking because when we change our beliefs, we change our thoughts, and when we change our thoughts; we change our feelings and when we change our feelings; we change our actions. At the end of the day, top of the morning, it’s about taking action after the error, failure, short fall, opportunity for improvement (OFIs), or whatever word or phrase you find acceptable in your lexicon.  Those that catch, correct, and learn from failure before others will succeed but those that wallow in the blame game will not.

Now that we know now that failure is not fatal, let’s examine what life looks like after one does encounter this inevitable dynamic through the lens of forgiveness. Forgiveness is vital force in the failure recovery process. It is vital because we can’t carry stones in our pockets and expect to run at optimal speeds. Again, Shakespeare wrote, to err is human but he also stated in the same breathe that to forgive is divine. Forgiveness is reciprocal my friends because to receive it one must give it and to accept it is to move your life progressively forward. After all, we fall down but we can’t stay there…we have to get back up but getting back up doesn’t end the process it simply begins the process of catching, correcting, and learning from the force that made us fall in the first place. So, there you have it…get at it and rediscover the power in failure, remembering that FAILURE is not FATAL but FAILING to change might be…