When we choose the path of unbelief and fail to receive by faith the Blessing that belongs to us as God’s children, it doesn’t only hurt us, it grieves the heart of our heavenly Father.  (see Hebrews 3:8-12)

From The Blessing of the Lord Makes Rich and He Adds No Sorrow With It by Kenneth Copeland.

What would happen if we took our places and played our parts?  If we played the music the Maestro gave us to play?  If we made His song our highest priority?

Life makes sense when we accept our place.

From It’s Not About Me by Max Lucado.

Dying to all your selfish desires is the only way to live.  You must die to life as you want it or as the world advises you to live and live only by what God says in His Word.

…quote from Change Your Heart Change Your Life by Dr. Gary Smalley.

God is not interested in behavior modification; He’s interested in heart transformation.

Grace transforms your heart.

–Joseph Prince

Receive God’s grace today!

The power to reign is based entirely on Jesus and Him alone.

The secret of reigning in life lies with receiving.

Excerpts from Destined to Reign: The Secret to Effortless Success, Wholeness and Victorious Living
by Joseph Prince.

Faith, like love, is only revealed in action and word.  There is no faith without confession.

Confession is faith’s way of expressing itself.

To discover more about expressing your faith, I highly recommend you read Power Of Your Words by E.W. Kenyon.

Last week we practiced surrender.  It was such a great week for me that I don’t want to quit.  I think I’ll just keep surrendering every day and see where God takes me.  This week, I thought we could add on the practice of gratitude.

Clearly, praise and gratitude (thanksgiving) are how we enter into God’s presence.  So, whenever we start feeling distant from God, if we would start praising God and giving him thanks for His goodness, we will be in His presence and we will know it.  I learned a technique from Tony Robbins’ Get the Edge that he calls the Hour of Power that really seems to work well when I do it.   Here’s what you do:

1. Prepare the night before by putting your walking shoes and workout clothes by the bed.
2. When it’s time to get up, don’t linger in the bed.  Get up put on your workout clothes and shoes.
3. Drink 8 ounces of water.
4. Go for a walk (I use my treadmill)
5. During the first 5 minutes, you’ll focus on your breathing (four short breaths in through the noise and four exhales out through the mouth)
6. During the next 5 minutes, you’ll thank God for all the things and people you’re grateful for.  You start with yourself and move outward.  For example, I’m grateful for salvation, my five senses, the ability to walk, etc.; then I move outward to my son, my parents, etc.
7. During the next five minutes, you make a positive confession.  Something simple, like “I love my life.”
8. The remaining 45 minutes are just time for exercise and thinking about your day and the things you.

You may have to get up a little earlier to do this challenge but it’s worth it.  Even if you can go a full hour, try to do the first fifteen minutes.  It’s well worth it.

Let me know how your week goes.  I’d really love to know.

This week I thought I would start a new type of series of posts that will help us grow into more of who we were created to be so we can live life on purpose.  Hopefully, these little challenges will at least serve as reminders to do things that the Bible instructs us to do.  My goal for these posts is for life to get better and better each week as we complete these challenges because we are becoming better and better.

You game?  Good!

This week, let’s practice the gift of surrender.  Surrender is defined as “to give up, relinquish possession or control over”.  When we receive the gift of salvation, we get to take part in a great exchange.  We get to give God our broken, ragged, empty lives in exchange for His grace, righteousness, and power.  For most it’s easier to receive God’s gifts than it is to surrender our lives.

But to get maximum success in life we must live up to our end of the exchange.  Surrendering to God allows Him to do what He wants to do with our lives and puts us in the center of God’s will.

In her book, Surrender All, Joni Lamb explains a path of surrender.  Here are the steps that Lamb outlines:

• Step 1:  Acknowledge your need for God
• Step 2: Offer a prayer of surrender by asking for forgiveness, believing Jesus died for your sins, and committing to surrendering your life to God’s will.
• Step 3:  Use your gifts–wait, watch and pray for God’s plan to reveal itself to you.
• Step 4:  Be prepared to surrender again and again.

This week my challenge to you (and myself) is to practice this path of surrender starting wherever you are along the path and surrendering your will to God’s will each day.

BTW…be sure to check back in at the end of the week to let everyone know how your week went.  I look forward to hearing the praise reports.