DADDY?

 

 

DADDY?

 

Galatians 4:5

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”…

Ephesians 1:5

...he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

 

I think a lot of people go through life feeling like they are going nowhere and going nowhere fast and going about it all alone. Their lives having no meaning and no purpose. I know I’ve felt like that and sometimes and I still feel like that. When I do though I realize I’m living a lie. A lie that says I don’t belong to anyone. That I’m on my own. NOT TRUE. You/we have been adopted, You are children of the Father, you are called a son or you’re a daughter of the living God. You have access to the Throne of Grace. So why then do so many people live as though they are orphans? There is a quote out there by someone or on some meme that says “Don’t die before your dead.”

We live like that though don't we. We spin our wheels striving for perfection, for God’s favor, for the approval of others, and for joy and freedom and in doing so we set up a fake faith and set up a framework of moralism, legalism and call it religion. We read our bibles, go to church, worship and even serve simply out of duty and self-control. The end result becomes self-justification and not justification by faith in Christ alone.

Here is the truth though. You and I do have purpose and your life has meaning. You were chosen to bear his likeness. You were chosen so that you could come to your Father in confidence, to receive mercy and find grace to help you in your time of need. The only way to break an orphan spirit is for you to be filled with a sense of the Father’s love for you in Christ and serve God out of knowledge of His undeserved grace instead. 

So yes get to it. Don’t settle, take initiative. You can be disciplined, you can create space for your faith, you can take action in your life, you can strive to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength but you don’t have to be perfect. You are not alone in this relationship. You have been declared righteous in Gods sight through Christ. You’re free. Free to accept your weaknesses and know that Christ is at work in the midst of them. You are free to take action and fail along the way, get back up, take action, fail, learn and keep going. You’re a son.

You’re an heir to the KING.

Peace,

Gordon
Have Faith, Live Free and Live Fearlessly

HAVE FAITH, LIVE FREE & LIVE FEARLESSLY



Colossians 1:16
James Chapter 1

Way back in January of this year the Lord was bringing me out of a very stagnant time in my life. Especially my Christian life. I had become so stagnant and stale that my lack of faith was probably beginning to stink like the Nike Athletic sleaves I wear when I work out and haven't washed in a week. Gross.

Recently I was re-reading my journal and stumbled across the journal entry where the basics of what has become my vision statement or battle cry developed. "Have faith, live free and live fearlessly". Those are the words I live by. They stem from a few weeks of early morning Quiet Times in the word. One morning on cold January day I woke up and the sense I had just wasn't good. I felt "off".
I was feeling kind of depressed, tired, grumpy, frustrated, annoyed and literally could feel my "flesh" tugging at me. My inner voice was nagging at me. Trying to get me to give up on everything and put off everything for absolutely no reason. HE was there though. The Lord was good and directed me to Pauls letter to the Colossians.

¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

It was a strange but brief moment when I read that.I was sort of "stunned". Kind of like when a deer gets caught in the bright lights of a passing car. They just stand there. I was hit with the fact that God literally created "all" things by him and for him. Not only on earth but in heaven as well. The visible and the invisible. Thrones, kings, rulers, dominions and authorities. All of it, for his Glory. I realized at the moment that God was BIGGER than me. Bigger than my issues, bigger than that damn inner voice that had been nagging me and trying to get me to give up and become disengaged. It became crystal clear that everything was under his hand. My next question (and kind of obvious question) was this:

How then should I live? What now? What do I do with this?

So I chewed on that for awhile (about 24 hours in the same way maybe a cow chews it's cud. Over and over and over). The obvious laws I make for myself came up to the surface. Things like more Q.T's or make sure I go to church every Sunday, get involved in something at the church or find a bible study, etc, etc, etc....You know what I'm talking about. The usual suspects. So the next day the Lord brought me to the first chapter of James were he is very, very clear that we are to be "doers" not just "hearers". Our faith is meant to be an active faith.

The devotional I was working through mentioned Rahab from the Old Testament. She "intentionally" helped the messengers of the Israelites and literally risked her life to do so. Why? Because she believed and as a result she trusted and then acted. She was "engaged" in her life and faith. Abraham; we know his story and the sacrifices he made. He lived a risky life, he trusted God (not perfectly but God found him Righteous). He "Believed" and therefore acted.  There was no sitting around. There was no binge watching the Walking Dead or Daredevil on Netflix. There was no sitting on the sidelines and letting someone else run the ball. These people were engaged.

Life is not lived in a disengaged or reclusive monkish kind of faith. Life is "lived" in faith and taking action. To have Faith meant that I have believed in the Gospel. I have been set free from sin AND death. I am a brother to the King of the universe and a son of he living God. There is absolutely nothing to fear. Abraham, Rahab, Moses, Paul, Peter, etc...They all had faith and lived as free men and women to walk the talk. It didn't matter what other people thought, they stopped letting others define who they were and understood their identity. They lived fearless lives. It occurred to me and I realized that I had wasted so much time, wasted so much of my energy on stupid shit ( I cussed but it's the truth). Jobs with promise that ended up going nowhere, mistake after mistake, anger towards my enemies that was breeding like a cancer. Disengaging in everything yet looking like I was engaged.

We can engage in life and "do" the work of GOD because while we are broken sinners we are not so broken that we can not be used by God. We've been redeemed. We are not in the drawer where we put our stuff of no use" anymore. We do not have to give into our shame and guilt. We can stop believing that God could never use us or that this boring and disengaged life we've been living is all there is.

We need to stop being "okay" with living in the pit.

In the fifth chapter of first Peter verse 10 Peter says that God has promised to Restore, Confirm, Strengthen and Establish us. We've been made better than we were through Christs redeeming work and has established us as Sons. We can live free and live fearlessly.

Coming out of this stale time in my faith I realized I had been doubting the Gospel. I was begining t believe that God hated me. When we doubt the Gospel it's due to a lack of faith and a daily act of taking God at his word. When the squall came up by surprise and terrified 12 lowly fisherman on the Sea of Galilee they found their Master asleep. The freaked out! They stopped believing that Jesus was going to keep them safe. They lacked faith and Jesus called them out on it. When we doubt the external forces of the world start making camp in our hearts, souls, mind and our strength. They become the driving force in our lives. Work, Kids, Relationships, Stress, Anxiety, Worry and Fear. These things start to drive our decision making and we start allowing them to define us. With no trust in God we lack wisdom, no goals, no over-arching vision in our life and no faith. All of this came crashing in on me at once and it was heavy but lite at the same time. That's when God gave me my vision statement.

"Have Faith, Live Free and Live Fearlessly"

 

• Faith - I can take God at his word
• Live Free - I can ask for wisdom and have a vision for my life. A strategy even. Burdens will not rule my life. I Do Not allow other things or people to "dictate" my life for me. JESUS does that.
• Live Fearlessly - I can stay in the fight and fight the good fight. I can walk in the light.

Remember this though. This is how the Lord got my attention. He may be trying to get your attention in a different way. In a way that is specific to you. This little statement is not some magic pill I take every day. It's a reminder to me to live my faith, get into to the fight. To show up and keep showing up over and over again by his strength, mercy and grace. It's the way I preach the gospel to myself.

What is God saying to you right now? You did not stick with this blog post all the way through for some unknown reason. How's your heart? How's your soul? Seriously take a long, deep look at it. Ask God right now to soft you up and bring you into this abundant life.

God Bless,
Gordon
Have Faith, Live Free and Live Fearlessly

PREACH IT !!!

I'm writing this right now because I need to basically hear it again and I need to ponder and meditate on what Christ has done for me.

As Christians, as believers, as followers of Christ we need to hear the gospel as much as a non-believer. We need to preach the gospel to ourselves so that we do not lose heart, soul or give our minds to idols or lose our strength.

Paul Tripp said on a recent podcast interview with Theology Refresh that "No one is more influential in your life more than you because no one talks to you more than you do." He's talking about our inner voice." You know, the one that we listen to all day long. The voice that interprets and helps us understand (for better or worse) the situations, circumstances or things in life that we encounter daily. The big stuff and the little stuff.

We need to be mindful of that conversation.
This conversation needs to be deeply theological and Christ centered. No matter the situation we are always living out of some kind of version of the gospel but if you're like me we tend to twist it and bend it to our needs and we put that voice in a box.

We will forever find ourselves in situations or circumstances that are way bigger than ourselves, much larger than our own wisdom, strength and we will always be faced with how little we actually control in life and how very little we understand about the world we live in. The world way out there and the world that is just within our arm span.

We need to remember and understand that control is not found in our own souls, strength or wisdom. It will only be found in GOD. The one true God who ripped open the seams of the universe and stepped into our world and invaded it with his grace, love and mercy. We need to preach this gospel of grace and HIS ultimate provision to ourselves all of the time. Not just in our quiet times, Sunday morning worship, bible studies or community groups. We need to be speaking this gospel to ourselves daily.

How:
Be proactive and look to the beauty of the LORD. Isaiah 40 or Ephesians chapter 1 comes to mind.
Remember that the word of God does not just simply tell us who God is but it tells us who we are it reveals our true identity as children of God. Require yourself to rest in order to prepare yourself for the work of God.

Then

React: Create habits of looking back over your life experiences and put them through the filter of the Good News, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and look at how he has been working in you and through you.

Take Heart, Live Free and Live Fearlessly

Gordon

What do Jim Thorpe, James Bond and Viktor Frankl have in common?

During the 1912 Olympics Jim Thorpe, a Native American from Oklahoma was representing the U.S. in track and field. On the morning of his competitions his shoes were stolen. What did Jim do? Jim went dumpster diving and found two shoes in a garbage bin. The shoes were not a perfect match though. They were two different shoes. One of the shoes was too big. Did he throw them across the room in a moment of sheer anger? No, Jim wore an extra sock. Wearing two mismatched shoes and an extra sock he competed in the decathlon, pentathlon, the long jump, high jump and Javelin. He won four of the five events and placed third in the javelin, an event that he had not even competed in before 1912. 

How did Jim react? Did he stomp his feet and yell at the top of his lungs about how much this sucked? Did he curl up in a ball or pass out from the stress? While I’m sure this was not a happy moment for him by an stretch of the imagination it didn’t deter him. He found a way to make it work. It wasn’t perfect but he found opportunity in the midst of a crisis. 

During three stints in different Nazi concentration camps Viktor Frankl spent his time refining his understanding of suffering and meaning. The author of the James Bond novels Ian Flemming wrote Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car by hand while he was on bed rest. He was told not to use a typewriter by his Doctors because they were afraid he might over exert himself. Walt Disney started his first company called Laugh-O-Grams but eventually ran out of money and the company went bankrupt. I think we all know the end of that particular story. 

My point: None of these folks ever gave up. Neither of them stopped what they were doing so that they could just sit around moan, bitch and complain about how their situation sucked so bad. They used their “down” time to their advantage. Now, listen I’m not saying that you’re not allowed to get mad or take a second to have a good cry or complain for a moment about your crappy job or boss. It’s good to get hacked off. Get hacked off, get angry. The world is not a perfect place and it was meant to be something else. You should be angry at that. Pain is terrible, war is terrible, Nazi concentration camps and Isis were and are pure evil and starting a business and then going bankrupt is never a good thing either. What I am saying is that these guys are great examples of people who used their time to their advantage. Malcom X (regardless of what you think about him) spent 10 years in prison. Did he complain or try to start an uprising? No, he grabbed a dictionary and copied it by hand with a pencil...From beginning to end. He opened up his world.  

Whatever you’re going through right now, whatever you’re experiencing that is bad like a bad job, a bad boss, a bad marriage, troubled kids or your jerk of a neighbor? Take a moment to step back. Don’t let your flesh and pride get in the way. Be humble and ask yourself if there is something you can accomplish? What could you possibly do with this time, this moment? Turn this crappy moment into a revival. Use it as an opportunity. If you just simply let your anger rule the day, if you just simply let this draw you into aggravation or allow yourself to get depressed then you’re accomplishing absolutely nothing and you are disengaged in your faith. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of your Father in Heaven. Don’t allow fear to take you down for a T.K.O.

Pray, ask the Lord to take your issue and redeem it for his good and glory. He’s good at that kind of stuff you know. He will lead you through the valley of the shadow of death and redeem and sanctify you in the process. Whatever is ailing you it’s out of your control but how you spend your time in the midst of the challenge is in your control. So, take action, be fearless and life free.

Now, get to it.

Gordon

Have Faith, Live Free and Live Fearlessly

 

IRONHEARTED

IRONHEARTED

Endure, Confidence, Steadfast, Persevere

 

 

 

Hebrews 10:36

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

James 1:12

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

2 Timothy 2:12

If we endure, we will also reign with him.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Hebrews 10:35-36

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised.
 

We clearly have been called to a life of enduring. A life of being steadfast and a life that is not only marked by love for others but a life marked by perseverance.

Do you persevere?

Are you confident?
Are you steadfast and what Paul called Immovable?

OR

Do you curl up in the fetal position when something happens or when pain occurs?

Does fear paralyze you?
Do you push “it” off to tomorrow?
Do you stop moving forward because things are just too hard?
Are you quick to quit?

The world is broken, fallen and incredibly complex. Challenges, obstacles, suffering and pain will come your way. Financial trouble, divorce, problems with raising your children, economic problems, health issues. This list goes on and on and on. Right now I have about 150 followers on our Facebook page. 150 people who are going through and having to deal with something that is challenging in their life or has proven to be an obstacle that seems too big to overcome. So, how do you continue to truly “live” through and deal with the experiences a troubled life?

Go back to the top and review those passages. Consider that not only do they command us to endure and persevere but they make promises that only God can keep.  You will receive what’s been promised by God, You are Blessed, you will receive the crown of life, you will reign with Christ,  your labor will not be in vain, you will reap what you sow by not growing weary.

God is paying attention to your situation. Actually, he’s in the midst of it with you. Your challenge is not being overlooked.

Consider the people of God: Moses with the stubborn people he refused to give up on; Elijah at Carmel going face to face with Baal; the embattled Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel brought into increasing conflict, with a hard-hearted people they were commissioned to serve. The same with the Apostles as they built the Church of Christ together. Trouble, pain, challenge and obstacles are all opportunities for Grace in Gods economy.

Some of the biggest stories in the word of God are of God’s people NOT fleeing conflict, but moving toward it in hope, believing God will be at work in the issue, problem, pain tension and the crappiness of life.

So what do we do? How do we practically day to day deal with the obstacles in our life?

Think About: 

1.      Go to the LORD in prayer daily and seek his guidance, engage daily in your faith no matter what the issue. BE with God.

2.       In all honesty you may have to just deal with it. You can’t yell or argue a problem out of your way. You need to accept it. You don’t have to allow it to keep you from getting to where you want to go but it might change how you get there.

3.       Think: Your issue could be worse. Lose some cash? You could be dead. Lost your job? What if you had lost your leg? Lost your house in the economic downturn? You could have lost it all.

4.      Face the issue, get to work but be humble enough at the end of the day to say “I’ve done all I can today.” It’s in the hands of God now. Ultimately he’s in control and sovereign over your life.

5.       Look for Joy, look for happiness: Thomas Edison lost an entire factory in a massive fire not long after he invented the light bulb. Did it stop him? Nope. He told reporters that he wasn’t too old to make a fresh start.

6.       You don’t get to choose what happens to you and somethings are just simply out of your control. You can’t control them but you can control how you react and behave towards them. You can choose to feel good about it and render a good account of yourself. There are opportunities and benefits lying in the adversity but you have to look for them.

7.       Don’t give up. Be ironhearted. Go around the problem, go behind it, go underneath it or even backward. Keep moving forward, keep going, keep advancing. Trust God no matter how many times you’re thrown back. Retain the power to decide to get up again and again.
 

8.       You might not win the war immediately but you can win some battles.

 

9.    Take a step back. Can you take yourself out of the equation for just a moment? Sometimes when we are stuck, when we are met with some obstacle that is out of our control and that we may not be able to change it helps to stop making it about you all the time. I'm not saying you have to be the martyr for everyone but c'mon...stop with the Why did this happen to me? What am I going to do about this? Me, me, me, me...If you can't solve this problem for yourself how could you at least try to make it better for someone else. How could you use this situation to be of some benefit to others even it's small. You might shock yourself how quickly the hopelessness disappears. You now have a mission. You're not just stuck in the mud. There might just be an opportunity for you to be heroic even.

I work full time in the world of Talent Acquisition otherwise known as "recruiting". I’ve been in corporate America for over 20 years and have been laid off to many times. When companies are losing or times get tough companies typically do not hire which means they don't need someone like me. The first time I was laid off It was 2008 right in the early stages of the economic downturn. Myself and 400 other people walked out of our corporate office together. It was scary. Not only was I losing my job I had also just gone through a divorce.

Those were really rough years especially as a single Father of two girls. It took a long time to find a job. The hole in my obstacle though was starting my own business. I've done that twice now. I did not become a millionaire but I was able to sustain myself until the next opportunity presented itself. I found a way through my problem and I had to trust my Father in heaven through the whole thing. In doing so I learned a lot and became better as a result. During one of those times because I sold an opportunity to the CEO of a small company they actually offered me a job. I took it. It wasn’t the best but I made the best out of it and it actually ended up leading to a better job.

I have been through other challenges as well. Things that were actually worse than losing a job and did not seem like they would ever end. Challenges that tempted me to walk away from my faith. That said; standing on the other side I am a better person because of the obstacles. If it weren't for some of the stuff I've been through I may never had started Insight360. God uses these things to mold us and shape us. We will progressively become more like Jesus because of them.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and his name is Jesus. Trust God, stay in the fight, endure, persevere, be steadfast and immovable. Be Ironhearted.

Have Faith, Live Free & Live Fearlessly

Gordon

Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength

 

Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength

 

From the heart “flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23), "...and without one’s will, desires, passions, affections, perceptions, and thoughts rightly aligned, the life of love is impossible." John Piper

• We must re-orient our desires, passions, affections, perceptions and thoughts. This will take asking God do to this through renewal but it also means taking action, taking actual steps to do so in faith
• Faith without works is Dead - What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? James 2:14. You have to do the work. You can't sit back and let life just happen.

Having a soul in the bible (nephesh) refers to a living, breathing conscious body. One’s whole body, their whole person. In Genesis God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul creature. But we are also to love him with how we talk, and what we do with our hands, and how we utilize our talents, and how we react to challenges, struggles and obstacles –– our entire being is to display that we love God.

• Get to work
• Shake off complacency
• Get moving, add value
• Get involved
• Stop complaining and do something

Strength (Might)

The Greek translation of the word “Might” is “power.” The Aramaic translation is “wealth.” Both of these may actually be pointing in the same direction, for the strength of a person is not simply who he is but what he has at his disposal. Not just strength but all that he has.

• This could include spouse, our children, our house or dorm room, apartment, our pets and wardrobe and tools and cell phones and movies and music and computers and time.
• Get strong: Literally get in shape, take care of yourself so that you can physically live your life. Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? 1st Corinthians 6:19

 

Mind – You love when your thoughts are embraced and taken in by your emotions. You are not truly loving till that transition or hand off happens. To love God with all of your Mind means that you are moving from intellectual to emotion or action. 

• The question becomes what are you giving your mind to?
• Are you learning new things allowing your mind to grow and do what it was created and intended to do?
• Are you giving your mind to things that increase the knowledge of God.

SO, Deuteronomy, Mark and Luke tell us that treasuring GOD is to be applied to the entirety of our lives. The result is an impact in relationships, and what goes on at home, the work place, your community and maybe the world.

This relationship that we have been called to must be wholehearted, life-encompassing, community impacting and exclusive to our God.

What is Insight 360?

INSIGHT360

https://www.facebook.com/360Insight/

Insight 360 Podcast

 

 

Life is crazy. We can so easily get caught up in the day to day where every day just feels like a “Monday”. We end up living with resentment, anger, fear, laziness and become disengaged and we do not grab life by the reigns and live as a people that literally have been set free to live their lives and follow the Lord with all of their heart, soul, mind & strength. Most live in their box or put God in a box and never take action in their lives.

Jesus Christ led a life that was dangerous. Life was not “boring”. His life was anything but mundane, mediocre or average. He was on a mission. His life was not status quo. He lived his entire life (heart, mind, soul and strength) for his Father and changed lives for eternity. If he had just lived a boring life or a life of “Mondays” the Pharisees may not have ever tried to kill him. Thousands may not have followed him and hung on his every word.

2 Things:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Mark 12:29-31New International Version (NIV)

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

Heart

Soul

Mind

Strength

 

This is Insight 360:

360 Living is the perspective of using the core 4 of “Heart, Soul, Mind & Strength” in Deuteronomy chapter 6:4-5 and Mark 12:29-31 whereby we live our faith with intention and as a result add value and have an impact into the world around you. God does not ask for our allegiance he is demanding it from us.

Man's chief end, our top priority in life is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

I Cor. 10:31: ….whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Rom. 11:36: For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen

Ps. 73:25-28 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds

We are called to glorify God by delighting and enjoying him and exposing and demonstrating his transcendent and supreme excellence in all of the areas of life which include your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength.

In Luke Chapter 10 verse 27 a “lawyer” came to Jesus and intended to put Jesus to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And the man answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus looks at him and say’s EXACTLY…“You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

John Calvin said in his commentary of Luke of 10 “Here is the definition of life that brings life. And the product of our love for God will be a regard for others made in his image, those whom God has placed next to us as neighbors.”

360 Living is just that. It is “living” and because in Christ we have been set free we can daily live a life of being engaged with our God, our Father, our Creator and our Lord. Those Core 4 are essentially the 4 corners of our lives and as we seek to follow the Lord and Love him. The Core 4 become our filter to gain a complete 360 degree perspective of our lives and gain insight and wisdom into how we can more effectively love our neighbor.

Proverbs 4:5

⁵ Get wisdom, get insight;

    do not forget my words or turn away from them.

We can easily grow lazy and complacent in our faith when we aren’t striving to love the Lord. Our greatest sin becomes as Adam’s was in the garden, the sin of Omission when we become complacent in our faith. Adam stood by and did nothing to stop Eve from taking the fruit from the serpent. Through Christ as we intentionally fight for and care for our Hearts, our souls, our minds and strength we begin to actively engage with love and intention God in this everlasting life of grace and mercy that he has provided to us.

So, how does one go about “loving” the Lord with HSMS.

1.       You can’t do this on your own. You need faith. You need Christ to provide the power and re-orient love and desire in your heart towards HIM.

2.       Begin the practice of caring for the 4 corners of your life. Let these become your mission statement.

·       Heart

·       Soul

·       Mind

·       Strength

3.       Be intentional with your Heart and your Soul – The Spiritual

• Make the time, create space for the Lord in your life. Make sure you are having "quality" time with your Father in his word, prayer.
• Check your values daily.
• What are you believing in.
• Be vigilant with your heart.
• What are you giving your heart and soul to?
• What are the idols in your life? What their function and what exactly are you trying squeeze out of them? Idols can be a window into the deeper areas of your heart.

4.       Be intentional with your Mind and your Strength – The Physical

·       You have to do the work of God. In 2nd Peter chapter 1 Peter talks about the virtues but says you have to be diligent, you have to make every effort and strive. God has given you the ability to act.

·       You’re free. You are not a slave to this world or this culture. You are free to live and live fearlessly.

5.       Take action – Love your neighbor. Allow the love for your God to move you out of complacency. Step out in faith, take some risks. Do not be afraid. Remove the words "average" and "mediocre" from your life.

 

Welcome to Insight360 - Have Faith, Live Free, Live Fearlessly