Can you believe this guy, if you look up these verses in the Bible, you will see that there and there, but how did he come up with these ideas about the Sabbath, teenagers and the fact that the Bible is repulsive.
If you're really seeking the kingdom of heaven, the glory of God and the true vision that Jesus had, check out some great Christian articles . These articles are designed to teach and educate Christians.
Something You DonWhat is soul, is it someone dancing around to some great music or is it something inside of us, find out what two people think about the word soul.
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Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.
Greg is currently working on a religious help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.
Faith Belief Or EducationIs it possible that the worlds greatest achievers think completely differently from the majority?
Do you think the Wright brothers could ever have achieved what they did if they hadnt believed it could be done? Was Mark Spitzs seven gold medals in swimming a result of I cant do this? Not to mention Christopher Columbus imagine that!!!!
Have you ever thought that success in any chosen subject be it financial, political, sporting or in anything for that matter could be and was achieved whilst the individual was in a state of negativity. i.e. I cant do that - Thats not possible It will never work.
I myself have been in the company of negative thinkers and let me tell you that their influence if allowed to go unchecked is very powerful and destructive.
Look at what happens if you place a piece of rotting fruit in a bowl of fresh fruit
That is why it is paramount that if you want to be successful in life, you must surround yourself with positive thinking individuals and to share your positive thoughts and attitudes with like minded people.
It is also equally important that you write your goals down and place them in a position where you can see and read them on a daily basis.
In the late 1950s, 1500 students of Yale University were sent a questionnaire with topics ranging from the quality of food being served in the canteen to how easy it was to get books out of the library. However, it is the last two questions which I would like to dwell on.
1) Do you have an ambition in your life?
2) Have you written it down?
Twenty five years later, a postgraduate on discovering the existence of the questionnaires decided to carry out further research on the last two questions. Here are the results of his findings.
Over 75% of the students who completed the questionnaire had ambitions for their lives.
Only 3.3% had actually written their ambitions down.
After tracking down as many of the 3.3% (51 students) as he could he found that all of them had gone on to realise their dreams in commerce, in government and in the professions.
Of the others he had managed to contact, they told him that most of what they had achieved had happened more by chance than design. They had ended up in careers they hadnt planned for because they didnt define what it was they were actually seeking to do.
Is it therefore conclusive that by writing your goals down you are actively programming or reprogramming your brain to change the way you subconsciously perceive?
Formulate and indelibly stamp on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade and your mind will seek to develop the picture.
Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993),
positive thinking guru
Not having been party to the experiment which was carried out at YALE, I can neither confirm or deny it. However, I would like to carry out my own mini experiment to try and prove / disprove the power of positive thinking.
On my website at www.CorrectMindFrame.com I have created a blog with the first item being a positive thought I am going to picture in my mind over the next 12 months and on the anniversary I will report on my blog what has actually happened.
I would like as many people to participate in this project and I would therefore ask if you would be so kind as to visit my site and to note along with your details a goal which you would like to achieve and confirm that you will do what Norman Vincent Peale suggested over the next 12 months. Please also ask as many of your friends, colleagues and associates to do likewise.
Gordon McAlpine is a full time currency trader. He is relatively new to the internet and in particular to positive think and mind manifesting. You can visit his site at http://www.CorrectMindFrame.com to investigate this fascinating subject in greater detail.
Napoleon Hill's wise words are still powerful today, especially in this time of finance crisis and uncertainty. He believed your mental attitude is the most dependable key to your personality.
In his opinion, the view you have of yourself will be the indicator of how others perceive you. For example, if you are a positive, cheerful, happy-go-lucky type of person then your family, friends and colleagues will be attracted to your personality. People will like being in your company as you make them feel positive too.
On the other hand, if you are constantly unhappy, negative and are always complaining about life, others will start to keep their distance as you also make them feel unhappy. Have you noticed his happening lately? Have people started to avoid you?
The thing is, we are what we think about. So if you think about being depressed all day - then you'll end up depressed. But what if you started to change the way you think of your situation, and you made an effort to make the best of a bad job and genuinely look at things from a difference angle, then you'll fool your subconscious mind into believing this.
Strange as it may seem, your subconscious mind does not know the difference between an artificial emotion and the real thing. So if you start to think positively you'll fool yourself into behaving positively and this will have an influence in everyone around you - including yourself.
Why not try it for a few days... after all, you have nothing to lose.
And now I invite you to find out more about how you can move forward and enrich your life to follow your burning desire and achieve success by visiting http://www.ThinkAndGrowRichSuccessNow.com
One of the most handed down, often-quoted quotations is that "If you change your thoughts, you change your life."
It is so true...
It takes a thought to create an emotion, which in turn drives a decision to take an action.
Simple, huh?
All the self-help books, tapes, seminars, etc. show you what to do, but not what to think or how to prioritize in order to do it.
How do you change your thoughts and lifestyle in order to make the right actions?
Nowadays, we live in such a fast-paced world that we don't take the time to 'stop and smell the roses.' We are on a fast-paced train that continually runs on a regular track of toxic habits and behaviors. Sound familiar?
Well then, how do we get off this lethal train?
The first step is to recognize how we neglected to take time - the time to become calm within ourselves. By doing this, we acknowledge how reckless our lifestyles have become.
You might be saying to yourself, "Yeah, but the kids need me to drive them to soccer practice," "I have to make dinner and do the laundry, not to mention the ironing," "Oh, I am so busy with my business and the PTA. Oh, and I can't forget my church group."
Do you see and hear the insanity of it all? If you want to change something in you life, how much of this mayhem do you think you are going to fit in with what you are wanting?
Do you remember that old Calgon commercial? It had the wife/mother frantic, trying to get everything done. With her children screaming and the phone ringing, she finally runs into the bathroom, locks the door, throws up her hands and looks up shouting "Calgon, take me away!"
This advertisement said it all. She just needed a moment of peace. When we are able to take just a few minutes to be with ourselves, we can take what I like to call 'ME TIME'.
Within those brief but valuable tranquil moments, we can start making conscious, clearer decisions about what we want. And remember, changing your thought patterns can create the change that you desire.
My challenge to you is to take a hard look at how often you seize that sacred moment to be with yourself. Is it once a week? Twice a week? Ultimately, my hope is that you become mindful to do this every single day of your life.
This means escaping from all of the chaos for a few minutes. Slowing down your pace; thinking of no one but you. Self- care is essential for life balance and when we forget about loving ourselves first, we can then tumble helplessly into possible burnout, depression, addiction, etc.
The second step is awareness. To realize the more often you think new thoughts, the more often they cross your mind, the higher your standards will be. More often you will be compelled to take the actions that will make you more and more successful in that area of your life.
Treasure in...treasure out.
Garbage in...(well, you get the idea).
For instance, you can have thoughts of being a thin person, but not think of being a financially stable person.
Simply, this means you can become so focused on your weight loss, that you completely neglect your financial goals. Remembering that your thoughts create standards that oversee your actions and decisions, you can have it all. This principle pertains to every aspect of your life, you just need to be aware and focus on your life's balance. Therefore, go ahead and think of what it would be like to lose weight but don't forget to also put thought into how you are going to keep your finances in order.
Once you start reflecting on the past, it is inevitable that your thoughts will create your destiny. I challenge you to set aside some time today to reflect on what is most important to YOU.
You CAN achieve your weight loss goals and enjoy a more balanced life.
"If you change your thoughts, you will change your life."
Copyright 2006 Jeff Cadwell Positive Coaching
Jeff Cadwell
Maximum Life Coach
714-669-2928
http://www.jeffcadwell.com
"Welcome to the beginning of the New YOU!"
I am a Life Coach who is passionate about empowering people to live more robust lives -physically, emotionally and spiritually. My specialty is people who are considering or have had Weight Loss Surgery.
Structuring Your 24 Hour DayI was born David A. Hoover on January 10, 1960 in Bowling Green, Ohio. However, I legally changed my name to David Ben-Ariel (with the help of my Jewish lawyer) during the Spring of 1989. It cost me $300.00.
It also required that I take out a small ad in a newspaper announcing my intentions 30 days beforehand. I placed my ad in the Bowling Green Sentinel.
I also had to appear before a judge (it depends on what county you were born) for him to privately question my motivations. He was assured by my lawyer that I wasn't running from the law or trying to escape some outstanding debt, but that my reasons were religious in nature. The judge accepted that but wanted to impress upon me that I could have "trouble" with that name in America, without elaborating. I felt he meant because it was Jewish and/or could be difficult for some to know how to pronounce. I told him I wasn't concerned about it since I planned on moving to Israel anyway.
My reasons for changing my name were religious in nature. Why? Because I honestly feel that Ben-Ariel is a God-given name. And why would I feel that way? Because after a Hebrew class where my teacher mentioned how many people change their names when they move to Israel, I went home wondering what surname I would have in Israel, knowing my first name is already Hebrew.
I had always liked the Hebrew last name of Ben-Ammi, after reading it in Leon Uris' book Exodus, since it means "son of my people," but while thinking about it and wondering what name my father would've given me, if he would've given me a Hebrew name, I didn't know. I then knelt down in prayer and asked God what name, IF ANY, would He give me since He's my Heavenly Father, and I couldn't ask my dad because he died when I was twelve.
I expected God to perhaps lead or guide or influence me to like a particular name, but immediately ARIEL flashed into my mind and immediately I rejected it. Why? Because it means "the Lion of God" and I felt such a name only belongs to Jesus Christ, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. While wondering about the name of Ariel, I remembered that Israel's defense minister was Ariel Sharon (whom I've since met in Jerusalem and Hebron). I reluctantly decided to keep the name in reserve (since it was really impressed upon me!) until God or circumstances might lead me to accept another, and went to bed.
The Bible mentions MANY INCIDENTS where God chose to change someone's name or to name them before their birth. It is unusual but it's not unscriptural. There was Abraham, Sarah, and Isaac (Gen. 17:5, 15, 19); Ishmael (Gen. 16:11); Solomon (1 Chron. 22:9) and Solomon's nickname Jedidiah (2 Sam. 12:25); Cyrus (Isa. 44:28; 45:4); John the Baptist (Luke 1:13); Jesus (Matt. 1:21); Peter and the two brothers James and John whom Jesus nicknamed "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:16-17); just to name a few.
God promises to give us each a new and unique name in the Kingdom, either in place of or in addition to our current one (Rev. 2:17), as well as sharing Jesus' new name and bearing the Father's name as Priest-Kings (Rev. 3:12, 14; Ex. 28:36; Lev. 8:9). God has many name or titles, descriptive of His wonderful qualities and characteristics (Isa. 9:6). The Jews even teach that God's Hebrew name Elohim (literally Gods) is plural due to the fact that God is too great to be constrained to one name, and is used in the sense of the royal "We." That's why Elohim said "let us...." We understand that it's also because there's presently two God-Beings in the one Kingdom of God, like Adam and Eve were two separate people who both shared the surname Adam as one family unit (Gen. 2:24; 5:2; John 10:30).
God has His reasons why He would change someone's name and who are we to question Him? The April 1980 issue of The Good News Magazine (published by the Worldwide Church of God) carried an article called "History of the Church" that helps us to understand why Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter: "...and He gave him a surname prophetic of the moral and spiritual strength he would eventually demonstrate. Jesus bestowed upon him the new name, before he had earned it that it might be an incentive to him to realize what Jesus had expected."
After going to bed, about to fall asleep, Isaiah 29:1 flashed into my mind. What's amazing is that I had never memorized that Scripture! It reveals that Ariel is a nickname for JERUSALEM! I now understand why God the Father had chosen Ariel for me. Anyone who knows me knows that Jerusalem is always on my mind (Jer. 51:50), especially after my first visit there to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) in 1980. God has shown me that He's stirred me up and given me a burning desire for Jerusalem and Israel (Isa. 62:1, 6-7). I finally realized that God was calling me a "SON OF JERUSALEM."
I got out of bed, got down on my knees with tears in my eyes, and thanked God for truly knowing us inside and out, just like His Word says, and embraced the new name God had given me! I also accepted it as a SPIRITUAL GOAL: to live worthy of one named after holy Jerusalem and all that it ideally represents.
I end my prayers facing Jerusalem every night with "Yerushalayim shel Zahav" (Jerusalem of Gold), a plea for Jerusalem to fulfill its calling (2 Chron. 6:38-39; Dan. 6:10). Later, I began to understand how Ariel can also refer to Judah and King David. Since my family tree is traced back to the British and Scottish Royal Families (the Royal House of David) it's also befitting that Ben-Ariel can mean "son of David" and "son of Judah" (whose tribal emblem is the lion).
I'm convinced that the God of the Bible, the God of Israel, and the God of my forefather David, has blessed me with the name of Ariel. Even if I chose Ariel for myself -- which I did not, I originally objected to it -- there wouldn't be any harm in that since such a practice is Biblical: "One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel" (Isa. 44:5).
God surnamed me Ariel back around 1982, however it wasn't until 1989 that I finally changed my name legally. I knew that even though God had given me the name that I didn't necessarily have to change my name. I was also hesitant to do so because I am the only son and the only Hoover males alive (that I'm aware of) were my grandfather and myself. I didn't want the name to die out, not that I'm married and have any sons anyway (although God assures His "eunuchs" that we'll be given excellent and eternal names - Isa. 56:5). I began to see that Hoover was possibly an Anglicized form of the German Huber (since many immigrants changed their names upon arrival in America).
I also didn't want to hurt or offend my grandfather (Arthur Hoover of Risingsun, Ohio) or possibly get disinherited, but I made up my mind that since I was about to seek citizenship in Israel, starting a new chapter in our family history, I was going to take the lead and change my name. My grandfather ended up dying about four months before the fact, unaware of what I planned to do. So now I've been David Ben-Ariel for years and my family and friends are used to it.
My God-given name is ESTABLISHED BEFORE GOD who mentions Jerusalem twice in it: the City of David and Ariel.
David Ben-Ariel, a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall, shares a special focus on the Middle East, reflected in hard-hitting articles that help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.
Attic Odors And Strange SmellsFrom M. Scott Peck's Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Towards Spiritual Growth comes the following wisdom:
"Addicts are people who have a more powerful calling than most to the spirit, to God, but they simply have the directions of the journey mixed up."[1]
This is certainly true from my life experience; if those who develop dependencies and addictions need something or someone, it's God--and it is God and only God who can get them out of the entangled slavish mess that has become their lives.(Suits, reputations and flash possessions can't hide the truth.Addiction can touch anyone.Lives unravel suddenly without warning.)
These unfortunates seek a revelation or an escape from the pains of life, or both.Both of these things are available in God.He helps us see the revelation and gives us strength to cope with the day-to-day as well as the troublesome in the whole of our lives.
He deals with our brokenness lovingly, gracefully... perfectly.
Perhaps there is also the role here for Satan in mixing up the mind of the addict so they are positively confounded in their search for God and truth.They're blinded by the Liar.
Addicts and those dependent on substances are more passionate and polarised in their views than almost everyone else.Passion is not lost on God; in fact, passion to worship and serve God is the elixir of true life.I've seen dozens of turned-addicts and those who've left dependency become fervent, powerful spokespeople for God.There are millions who've been raised literally from the dead or dying, having taken this path.God is the only Saviour.
The fact that chemical addicts crave the experiences that most resemble a spiritual awakening is compelling in itself.Spiritual experiences that are felt in worship can closely resemble the euphoria of drug and alcohol use, but the source is so pure, the experience so purely loving.It can be believed in truth.
Addiction and God truly go together but not at the same time.
There has to be a 'jumping off point' for the addict or dependent person.They cannot travel with God until they take this 'leap of faith.'It's a sure and certain fact.This step demands a brutal, total honesty with no holding back--a frank admission of the depth of the problem and that salvation is wholly dependent on God.
The king of liars is the one, however, who will tell the addict or dependent person that it's okay to seek God paralysed in inebriation.Satan will seek to keep this person as blind as a bat!
Don't listen to the lie, addict.Go alone with God; trust him alone; find new and true, faithful friends who know how to deal with your condition and do what they say, and you will make it.
And freedom will at last and finally be yours.Then you must keep it.Once you get a taste of this real freedom you will want more, and that will keep you straight.
Copyright 2009, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
[1] M. Scott Peck, Further Along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey Towards Spiritual Growth (New York, Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, 1993), p. 137.
Steve Wickham is a safety and health professional (BSc) and a qualified lay Christian minister (GradDipDiv). His passion in vocation is facilitation and coaching; encouraging people to soar to a higher value of their potential. Steve's key passion is work / life balance and re-creating value for living, and an exploration of the person within us.
Peter Kreeft
