Is There a Compelling Motive for Suppressing Atypical Ideas?

Someone noted that if each person would take a moment to give consideration to an atypical idea that spontaneously became conscious, it was possible that good, wonderful results could be the prize.

It is important to analyze thought patterns to determine if they are good or evil, so a commitment to “do no harm” should constantly dominate. Abraham Lincoln wrote, “Our best judgment is constantly demanded to separate good from evil.” 

The next step in bringing your creative insight to fruition is to nurture it like a seed planted in good soil and properly watered. An idea Abraham Lincoln pondered for years was the Emancipation Proclamation Act, but getting it through Congress with war raging took creativity, courage, and faith. Your ideas blessed by God could be analogous to Jesus’ “Parable of the Mustard Seed”. Although just a thought, if loaded with potentiality, God alone knows the future.

           

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For God will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. 

~Ecclesiastes 12:14 New International Version 

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What Is the Mandate God Assigns to Each Believer?

The Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed some people were able to know things not naturally learned. These people may realize they possess insight designed to benefit God’s plan and purpose for them as well as for others.

What greater motive for creativity and accountability could there be, realizing you are privileged to be doing what honors and pleases the Lord God? Jesus referred to this as laying up incorruptible treasures in heaven.

Jesus gave us a related truth in the “Parable of the Mustard Seed”. The wonder and power in a tiny mustard seed is similar to the power of faith and trust God assigns to believers in Christ Jesus. Jesus confirms in John 16:13 he would send the Holy Spirit to guide believers into all truth he had taught. 

That mandate is to learn whatever is within the scope of your ability to assimilate and then be accountable to God for that information.    

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Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove to be faithful. 

~1 Corinthians 4:2 New International Version

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How Much Power Is Stored in the Smallest Particle of Faith?

The first sentence of Genesis 1 tells us that God created the heavens and earth. The word created means to bring into existence what did not previously exist, and this perspective is attributed only to God.

Did God intend for human beings to be co-creators with him, filling the earth with new innovations and designs? For centuries humans have been innovators and inventors by using their intelligence and intuition to pursue ideas for the betterment of self and others.

Jesus’ Parable of the Mustard Seed reminds believers that faith and trust, no matter how small, are capable of producing enormous results when blessed by God.

Quality not quantity is the issue. So faith, like the tiny mustard seed, is the force behind creativity and accountability. So you, like the smallest particle of God’s creation, can respond to his design and purpose.                   

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Each of you should use whatever gifts your have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

~1 Peter 4:10 New International Version

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What Can Overcome the Tendency to Worry?

Is it possible for worry to be in control of your attitude? Attitude is a powerful force in determining behaviors that are positive or negative. Worry saps mental and physical energy in addition to obscuring God’s blessings. Worry tends to fixate on what is negative.

I recently heard about a man who lost his family’s restaurant by gambling while trying to win enough money to pay past bills. Imagine the shame and guilt he felt facing his family with such devastating news. Worrying can set in motion risky behaviors and bad choices.

Seeking forgiveness for throwing away what God has provided is where to begin, but this will not negate the suffering you experience for bad decisions. God will provide strength and courage to turn again in faith to the giver of life itself. Take courage, for you can survive with a tiny mustard seed faith. 

God’s power and grace are greater than all our sins and mistakes.               

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Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your heart and mind as you live in Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 4:6-7 New Living Translation

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Let Your Faith Blossom

Faith is difficult to measure in real terms although it’s not a matter of how much faith one possesses, but of how active it’s expressed in each area of life. Jesus noted that faith the size of a mustard seed has the power to move mountains. Ronald Reagan came to Washington with that kind of faith and ended the cold war.

Faith should be thought of as growing and never reaching its peak. Faith is forever reaching onward to what God has in store for those who love and serve Him. Abraham believed God and by faith set out to discover what God promised was his destiny.

Listen to the Apostle Paul’s testimony. “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them as worthless so that I may gain Christ and be found in him.” Give your faith a chance to grow and blossom by discarding every obstruction that holds you back.  

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Abraham never doubted. He believed God, for his faith and trust grew ever stronger, and he praised God for his blessing even before it happened. He was completely sure that God was able to do anything that he promised. And because of Abraham’s faith, God forgave his sins and declared him “not guilty.”

~Romans 4:20-22 The Living Bible

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The Voice of Conscience: Turn It Back On - Part 3

Most people struggle to stay in line with the dictates of their conscience. We know that impulsive decisions often indicate we're out of compliance with good judgment and are vulnerable to damaging our integrity. Still we find it difficult to override the tendency to self-indulge, even though self-indulgence ultimately leads to negative consequences.

Our conscience attempts to remind us that self-indulgence is not suitable for good health. Succumbing to self-indulgence causes our integrity to suffer. We become manipulative and controlling in an effort to fulfill our desires, but still we feel empty and like Ezekiel 37 describes as "a dessert full of dry bones, with no life, direction, or purpose."

Yet what God can do with faith the size of a mustard seed has no bounds! God told Ezekiel to say to those dry bones, "Dry bones, hear the voice of the Lord: 'I will make breath enter you and you will come to life.'" Permit God's power  to penetrate your life so your conscience and integrity can be restored and healed. This is a wise choice.