How Are Creativity and Accountability Linked Together?

If someone were to ask, what does it means to be creative, how would you respond? Being creative summons a wide range of possible expressions. Children are judged to be creative who use their imagination to express ideas and those who duplicate other’s achievements.

Another question to ask is what role does accountability play in bringing creativity to fruition? Vincent Van Gough believed his art would become the wave of the future for generations of new artists.

If creativity is to come to fruition it must be bonded to accountability. Remember the man who approached Jesus with the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He was wealthy and religious, yet bored and lost. He needed a special challenge but was unwilling to be accountable to  Jesus’ recommendation. True creativity often requires sacrifice, but God’s abundant benefits more than compensate for what is given up.                                                                                         

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Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. 

~Matthew 5:23-24 New International Version 

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What Is a Formula for Change You Would Follow?

It’s important to believe that the capacity for excellence is available to believers in Christ Jesus. So what qualifies a person for excellence? The mindset for excellence depends on your desire for faith made possible through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Striving for spiritual excellence may seem impossible due to the conflict of living up to the highest biblical standards and God’s grace and mercy. Becoming frustrated and irritable can appear to nullify the most ideal objectives and sabotage the best of intentions.

Would you like to know how to get back on track? Be pro-active in replacing negative thoughts and feelings these with these thoughts and feelings from Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true and admirable, noble and lovely, pure and right, if anything is excellent and praiseworthy, think on these things.” Practice these truths until they become genuine.

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For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 

~Ephesians 2:10 New International Version

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How Can You Be the Person God Intended?

In Matthew 5:13 Jesus encourages us to be salt and light. Salt had the potential to keep meat pure as well as to enhance the flavor of food. Jesus prompts us to be his pure voice in what comprises our world.

Jesus used the symbol of light to remind us that we reflect the light of Jesus in our circle of activity. Jesus asks, “Where is the salt? Where is the light?” It’s difficult to remember what Jesus intends for us to be in a world of distractions.

1 Samuel 28 describes how Saul, King of Israel, permitted trust for God to lapse into careless disregard by seeking help from a woman who promised she could call up Samuel’s spirit from his grave. Saul needed Samuel’s advice, for he had abandoned his relationship with God by refusing to be salt and light as God intended. 

Being salt and light is a choice to love and serve God with your entire self.

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God has made us what we are. He has created us in Christ Jesus to live lives filled with good works that he has prepared for us to do.

~Ephesians 2:10 God’s Word Translation

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What Causes Stress to Get Out of Bounds?

Stress is the product of a hurried, rushed lifestyle. My grandmother’s favorite quip for being stressed out was that she had “too many irons in the fire”. What she meant was that she needed a break from the stress and pressure she was experiencing. She realized it was her responsibility to make some needed changes.

Stress can produce impatience, irritability, even depression, when the pressures of life become overwhelming. Catching up at work or school may appear impossible when stress becomes intolerable. Whatever causes prolonged stress and anxiety, self-defeating thoughts and behaviors create even more stress.

A better strategy for stress management is to ask yourself, “Is what I’m doing honorable to God? If I am ‘God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he prepared in advance’ for me to do, then I will focus on that promise.” 

Whatever God gives you to do, he will enable you to do it in a way that honors him.  

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May this God of peace prepare you to do every good thing he wants. May he work in us through Jesus Christ to do what is pleasing to him.

~Hebrews 13:21 God’s Word Translation

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New Year Expectations for God's Purpose

Expectations are a powerful, driving force, so it’s important to be astute and perceptive in structuring your plans and objectives for the future. It’s possible for us to become arrogant with too much confidence in our self-importance. Then we forget that God Almighty has a place for us, including a specific purpose, and he will see it through to completion.

Understanding that should prompt us, to the best of our ability, to keep moving forward in a spirit of discovery to capture and live within the bounds of God’s purpose. So, what are you expecting God to reveal to you concerning his objective and purpose for this coming New Year?

Perhaps that’s something you could begin praying about today. Why seek God’s insight and approval? Expectations that agree with God’s purpose and plan compel us to give thanks and praise to him for his kindness. What can you possess that’s more satisfying and fulfilling than being a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ?  

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We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails.

~Proverbs 19:21 The Message               

 

It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

~Ephesians 2:10 The Living Bible 

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Choosing a Meaningful Existence

What would you say is the most important discovery you’ve made about your life, including where you are today? That may not be an easy question to sort out. No one would choose a meaningless existence, for  each of us is designed to search for what makes life worth living.

God's purpose for each of us is to benefit personally from our gifts and talents, but also to look beyond our personal needs and wants to see how we can contribute to the wellbeing of others.  We as God's people can expand our vision of what is possible outside our personal needs, or else the tendency to be narrowly focused takes control.

As you commit your life, your gifts and talents to the Lord Jesus Christ, he will bless them for your benefit and his purposes. This definitely builds a bridge to a life that counts for something special, both presently here on earth and for all eternity. This is a wonderful discovery if we choose to be God’s person and love him with our complete being.       

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God has made us what we are, created in Christ Jesus to do those good deeds which he planned for us to do.

~Ephesians 2:10 Phillips – New Testament in Modern English

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Define Yourself from God's Perspective

 My psychology professor assigned a paper consisting of three questions, “Who am I?” “Where am I going?” and “Why?”  Defining myself proved to be a formidable task. Ben Franklin gave this challenge: "Think of three things: where did you come from, what path are you on, and to whom will you give an account."

Ralph Waldo Emerson believed thinking deeply is life’s most demanding task. Mohandas Gandhi declared, “What occupies your mind defines your character. A man is but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks he becomes." Rene Descartes agreed: "I think, therefore I am.”

God's word commands us to love him with our entire mind. The Apostle Paul proposes this test: "Whatever is true and noble, right and pure, whatever is lovely and admirable, if anything is excellent and praiseworthy, think on these things.” This is how you train yourself to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.   

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Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored. But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him.

~Romans 8:8-9 The Message 

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Fueling the Fire of Conviction

Convictions play a significant role in every aspect of life. Criminals will tell you they have the right to violate the law. On the other hand, people who pursue peace and friendship also are motivated by convictions. Faith and convictions are close allies. The Apostle Paul reminds us, “We are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”

The problem may be that it’s difficult to be available or even to imagine God preparing good works for us to do. Faith needs conviction to make us available to God. Conviction is like a fire burning in the heart and mind to produce energy to move us into action. Faith keeps that fire burning. 

Paul was convinced that salvation depends on faith in Christ Jesus,  and that salvation is available to everyone. It was his faith that kept him determined to finish God’s work. Why not, in faith, open your heart and mind completely to Christ you so you can be available to what God has revealed for you to do with your life?

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Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

~Hebrews 11:1 English Standard Version

 

Because of this faith, I now remind you to stir up that inner fire which God gave you.

~2 Timothy 1:6 Phillips – New Testament in Modern English

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Faith's Priority ~ 2020 Vision of Patience for Peace

Finding peace in a world filled with anger and hate does not come easy. Just listening to any newscast can be upsetting. Jesus said, “In this world you will hear of wars and rumors of wars,” and I would say that is true for today. Is it possible to be guided by faith’s priorities including peace and patience?

Of what do faith’s priorities consist for Christians who want to avoid conflict and live in peace? Conflict has always been a part of a human being’s nature whether in the family or in the world outside. Conflict arises within churches and may cause them to disintegrate and die.

Yet God will not be silenced. He calls out peacemakers and empowers them with language that can calm the troubled heart and cause men to be accommodating and seek peace. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that “We are his handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Happy New Year!  

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You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills before you will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands!

~Isaiah 55:12 New Living Translation

“I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”

~John 14:27 The Living Bible

Do not lose your courage, then, because it brings with it a great reward. Remember your reward! You need to be patient, in order to do the will of God and receive what he promises.

~Hebrews 10:35-36 Good News Bible

Goodness and Forgiveness: Lost Virtues?

Aristotle named four virtues that promote goodness: courage, justice, self-control, and wisdom. To these four add forgiveness. Have goodness and forgiveness lost their place in our society? A virtue should reflect goodness, integrity, righteousness and honesty. Galatians 5:22 ranked goodness as a Fruit of the Holy Spirit.

We've heard of people being characterized as having a good heart. The attribute of goodness is intimately connected to a person who also practices forgiveness. This person refuses to hold on to a grudge or keep a lists of wrongs that have been endured. Whoever possesses goodness will consequently practice forgiveness.

Goodness as an attribute of personality will balance what matters for the moment with what matters for the future. The virtues of goodness and forgiveness are given importance by remembering it is by God’s goodness and mercy and the righteousness of Christ Jesus that we have purpose and significance for living this life.  

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Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me perfectly good? No one is perfectly good but God himself.”

~Luke 18:19 Williams – New Testament in the Language of the People

God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are.

~Ephesians 2:10 Contemporary English Version

Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong.
~1 Corinthians 13:5 The Living Bible

Forgiven > Transformed > Forgiving

When forgiveness is perceived as a concrete reality, it paves the way for transformation to take place in one's feelings and behavior. As the Holy Spirit convicts a person of sin, it produces repentance. God forgives our sins and remembers them no more because we are precious in his sight.

 

Forgiveness creates a less stressful environment. When the truth of God’s love is grasped, it makes way for a receptiveness that anchors a transforming change in the way we think and feel about God, ourselves and others. The value of that transformation is that we belong to God and our salvation is secured. 

Listen to the words of God from Isaiah 43: “Fear not for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you walk through the fire, the flames will not set you ablaze, for I am the Lord your God and Savior.” When we forgive someone from the depths of our being, it has the power to transform a life or a broken relationship. 

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God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, who forgives our sins and sets us free.

~Colossians 1:13-14 Contemporary English Version

It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus, and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.

~Ephesians 2:10 The Living Bible

“I’m giving you a new order: Love one another! Love one another as I have loved you.”

~John 13:34 Beck – New Testament in the Language of Today

Teaching Values: Walk the Walk - Part 2

Nathaniel Taylor inquired concerning the Golden Rule, "Which feature is most obvious in human behavior, doing as we want others to do to us or doing as we have been done to?” It's difficult not to criticize when criticized, to refrain from retaliating when emotionally or physically hurt, or to refuse to be defensive when confronted with a defensive attitude.

Jesus preached, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," and he was serious about putting it into practice. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, "Jesus preached to all people the gospel of the Golden Rule. He believed the deed and not the creed would help us in our greatest and ultimate need."

Today Longfellow could say, "Walk the walk, not just talk the talk” or “Don’t be all talk and no action." Listen to Ephesians 2:10. "For we are God's workman-ship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them." Good works represent our faith in Christ Jesus as well as our values and our choices.  

Listening to Your Inner Voice - Part 3

Good management systems prevent the world from disintegrating into chaos. Each of us has an internal management system that directs our thoughts and actions. One of the main features of this internal management system is our conscience. Think of the conscience as an office manager who makes sure everything stays on track.

The conscience plays a major role in determining our success or failure, so  we are born with the potential for conscience to develop in conjunction with what we're exposed to in our environment. Adam and Eve experienced a serious violation of conscience by crossing the boundary line of God's instructions. They felt fear, shame, and guilt.

The development of conscience begins early in childhood. God's word instructs parents to bring up children in accordance with what is good and godly and they will keep it as a guide for life. We're created in God's image and designed to act, think, and believe as he does. God transforms your conscience as you choose to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord.