I Choose Today

I Choose Today...

To believe the truth and not the lie

I love meaning of having a life changing “AHA” moment in life: a moment of realization or understanding by being honest and then taking action (having an immediate response). This brings to mind what I was raised to believe about myself: “stupid, dumb, and would never amount to anything so don’t even try.” But I had an “AHA” moment (which I believe is God breathed) that told me what was being instilled into me was a lie (sudden awakening). I had to look at the ways I was allowing those words to live out in my life: allowing other people’s words to be the truth, not having self worth, self-medicating, running, just trying to survive. I had to break the circle of destruction in my life by the choices I made to perpetuate these lies (brutally honest). But how would I do that when I didn’t have any adult in my life speaking the truth about who I am (a child of God who is unconditionally loved)? I had no tools in my life’s tool chest to navigate this road to healing. The only tools I had were of what not to do or survival tools. But God… “For God

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Love my neighbor as myself

The religious leaders in Jesus’ day were always trying to trap Him by asking questions and debating issues with Him. Mark tells of a time in chapter 12:28-31 (NLT). “One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, ‘Of all the commandments, which one is the most important?’ Jesus replied, ‘The most important commandment is this: Listen O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you most love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all you mind and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.  No other commandment is greater than these.’” As I reflect on my own life, at times in my selfishness and my own personal agenda I am no  different than the Pharisees in the Bible! There are many time that I push and pull in self effort to accomplish my own agenda instead of waiting and allowing the Lord to work. There is no love in this.  This only causes pressure on my wife, my children and my friends.  Jesus said that the most important

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I Choose Today to Fall Deeper

I like The Passion Translation (TPT) for Philippians 3:8, which reads, “To truly know Him meant letting go of everything from my past and throwing all my boasting on the garbage heap. It’s all like a pile of manure to me now, so that I may be enriched in the reality of knowing Jesus Christ and embrace Him as Lord in all of His greatness.” I like the first part of this verse where Paul says, “To truly know Him [Jesus] meant letting go of everything from my past…” If I truly want to get to know Jesus, I need to let go of any hold my past has on me. I don’t want to be fueled by my past; that will only lead me down a road of destruction. Instead, I want to be propelled by the future and the life God has for me through Christ Jesus. To do that, I need to know Jesus not only as my personal Savior but also as my friend, mentor, and confidant by spending time in the Word (which is Jesus: John 1:1). At the beginning of this year, our church was challenged to pray and asked to fall deeper and

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