[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZMkSIOfCWA&rel=0&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1&w=425&h=344]
Wordless Wednesday: Refreshing
True Confidence: Final
We finish our discussion on True Confidence (Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four ,Part Five)
So what do we place our confidence in?
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
This is what makes all the difference. God makes all the difference.
In the 2000 Olympic Games, a young female diver named Laura Wilkinson was not expected to do very well. The Chinese have dominated the sport and were looking at taking home more Olympic Gold Medals. On top of that, before the Olympics, Laura had broken a bone in her foot and was not expected to be in top form. Also, her father had a stroke and her mind was also on his health during the games.
During the Olympics, Laura fell back into 8th Place and it looked like a done deal for the Chinese divers who had won 7 of the last 8 Olympics in diving.
But all of a sudden Laura started hitting her dives, she started diving more perfect than ever before and on her final dive, she landed in first place and won the Gold Medal. 
Laura jumped up, hugged her coach and soon after a reporter came over and ask her about her performance.
Laura didn't say "I knew I could do it." "I believed in myself." She didn't say "I've worked so hard and now it has paid off."
She said "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
You can go to her website at http://www.laurawilkinson.com/
Click on Dive Videos, 2000 Olympics and then "Interview From the Heart" and watch the interview.
When you go back and watch her dives from the 2000 Games, you can see her mouthing some words on the platform before each dive and in fact she was saying "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Now, can we simply recite a verse and go and win a Gold Medal? No.
But what Paul is talking about in this verse is a much deeper Confidence. A confidence that frees us from worldly failure. A confidence that lets us know that no matter what challenges in life we may face, we can overcome them by putting our faith in God. It does not come from within but from our faith and trust that having a relationship with God will help us overcome anything in life.
You cannot give this type of confidence to people, it has to be earned through faith. I am living proof that it works.
Paul tells us to set aside all these worldly metrics of false confidence and put our faith in Jesus.
Recently, a lot of people lost large portions of their retirements, their home values and some even lost their jobs. We are in the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. But we will overcome.
No matter what you face in life, no matter how dark your future looks, no matter what the world stakes up against you. You can do all things when you put your faith and trust in God.
The World's Investment Portfolio
The World's Portfolio:
The Savior's Portfolio:
DO NOT WORRY: MATHEW 6: 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Who is the Richest Man that you know...
As I am concluding much needed vacation with my family and spending some time on the beach with them and then with Mickey Mouse, I found myself totally wrapped up in a book that I want to recommend you all to read. I have a mentoring relationship with a friend in my church, where I am the mentor and he is the mentee (but I must tell you that in his walk he actually mentors me a lot of the time). One of the things that I have encouraged him to do is read a chapter of Proverbs a day, correlating to the day (so today we would read Proverbs 18 and so on). This book, by Steven Scott, puts a little more insight to Proverbs and gives you good insight to King Solomon's Proverbs. Questions that I have been asking while I read this book is, Who is the smartest man you know? Who is the wisest man you know? Who is the richest man you know? Are they the same person? If so, are they mentoring you? Are you emulating them?
Let us take this a different way. Who is the most kind-hearted man you know? Who is the most generous man you know? Who is the most patient man you know? Who is the man of God that you look up to and want to follow? Is he the same man? Is he mentoring you? Are you partnering with him in life?
Every day is a different day and brings with it its own set of problems and controversies that need to be resolved and/or conquered. Whether we are at work trying to meet a deadline or beat the competition; whetherr we are at home trying to be the Spiritual Leader of our home, or in some cases are trying to save a marriage- we have to realize that life was never meant to be easy. If we truly believe God and his Son, Jesus Christ, then what are we doing by trying to do it alone. This logic is a lie. We are given great wisdom when we are told to carry each other's burdens. Whose are you carrying? Who is carrying yours?
We are the body. Our legacy is that which we leave with our children and what type of man or women they will be. Will Christ be at the center of their lives. Will they look for a mate who shares their same faith. Will they be actively serving God? This is our legacy and what God is calling us to do- Go and make disciples. Mathew 28:19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Wordless Wednesday: From God
Busy Week, New Podcast
Hey everyone it's been a busy week but I put up a new podcast Here
Also, head over to the Facebook Group and join in on one of the discussions.
Living by the Spirit
Matthew 26:41
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
Luke 6:41-42
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
John 6:63
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
John 15:1-8
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Romans 13:13-14
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
Ephesians 5:18
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Colossians 1:10
And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
Philippians 3:3
For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh.
James 1:14-15
But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galatians 3:5
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Galatians 4:6
Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father."
Galatians 6:7-8
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 5:13-26
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.