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You were born a small infant but over time you have grown into who you are today.  It didn’t happen over night, it was a process.  You started off with someone feeding you milk, that was all you had for basically the first 6 months of your life, but as you grew you needed more to sustain you.  As your teeth came in you were given soft foods that your gums could handle.  Again, as your teeth grew fully in you were able to consume more types of food, getting nutrients in different ways and you were able to pick and feed yourself.

This should be the same process that we go through spiritually.  When we first come to church, the pastors and leaders feed you. They give you what you can handle, you don’t see an infant eating a steak. But as you grow they might give you a Bible study guide to go over on your own.  Eventually you should get to the point where you are feeding yourself spiritually.

Hebrew 5:11-14 NLT
11There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen.
12You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food.
13For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right.
14Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.

No one can survive as an adult drinking milk only, spiritually speaking no one will grow only being fed once a week by their pastor.  You have to learn to self feed and in the end you should be feeding others 

Take Action

Guess what, there are recipe books out there that will help you come up with spiritual meals, they are called devotionals, reading guides, podcasts and bible studies.  These things will help you develop balanced meals that will have the great impact on your life. 

Camp is over, NOW WHAT? We continue eating, but now we are the ones in control of our meals, don’t starve yourself, eat and be happy.    

Mark 4:3-9, 13-20
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. 4As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. 5Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. 7Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. 8Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” 9Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

13Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? 14The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. 15The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. 16The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 17But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. 18The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 19but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. 20And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

We are the soil and the seed is what God plants in you.  

We have to be aware of what the current status of our dirt is, even dirt from the desert could produce beautiful plants if it was watered and given the right nutrients.  It just takes attention to create the environment in which a seed can survive or even thrive! 

Reading your Bible, staying connected to God, and worshipping are great ways to show attention to the ground you are to receive any seed on.

The goal of every seed is to reproduce and multiply.  

The bad ground condition can result in too little to no growth.  Good ground results in a harvest in your life that is way more than the single seed you started with.

Take Action

What kind of ground do you have for seeds to be planted in?  Would seeds grow and die or will they produce more than what was put in to them?  Figure out where you are in your soil rating and make a plan on how to improve it.

There are times in our lives that we are praying for things to happen, it can be very discouraging at times.  

You begin to wonder if God even hears you.  

He does. We have to learn to trust God about His timing and His way.

There is a story out there about a person that is warned that a flood is coming and they need to evacuate.  They choose to stay instead of listening to the warning.  Well, the rain comes and the water rises.  The neighbors knock on the door and say, “the water is coming up the street, you should evacuate with us.” They decline and say “God will truly save if the time comes.”  

The water rises to the front door.  A man in a canoe paddles by and yells out, “do you need a ride to dry ground?”  He answers “no, God will truly save if the time comes.” 

The water continues to rise and the man moves to the second story of his house.  A guy in a motor boat pulls up and says “let me take you to dry land?” He answers “no, God will truly save if the time comes.” 

The waters continue to rise and the man is forced to climb out on to the top of his roof.  A helicopter flies by and asks, “let me take you to dry land?” He responds “no thanks, God will truly save if the time comes.”  

Not much later he is praying and calling out to God “why haven’t you saved me”  “what did I do wrong?”  God responded with “I sent a canoe, a motor boat, and a helicopter”  What more do you want?”

The moral to this story is… You may not feel God is answering your prayer correctly and that is not how you planned on it happing.  

Psalms 18:33
God’s way is perfect.
All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

God’s word has been proven and His way is perfect.  That being said, He might do things differently than we had planned or what you thought the answer would be. But remember that His way is Perfect.

Take Action

Do not be discouraged by what you see.  Know that God answers your prayers but sometimes His way is some much better.  If you have gotten rid of any prayers because you were not seeing the results that you wanted to see, pick that prayer back up and trust that God has it and it will be revealed in His own time.

There is a wise saying out there that says, “you can pick your friends, your can pick your nose, but you shouldn’t pick your friends nose!”

Ok maybe it’s not that wise, but there is one great line, “you can pick your friends.” 

Picking your friends is an extremely hard thing.  It can be like riding a raft down a fast moving river, sometimes there are rapids and it takes a lot of focus to not sink. Sometimes there are bends and you have no idea what is around the turn, sometimes there are calm and smooth sections where you can just sit back and relax, and finally there are times where you just want to pull over and get out of the river altogether. 

Along this ride, we pick up a new friend or let some go.  There is definitely times that we need to recognize people need to get out of our boat.

1 Corinthians 15:33
“Bad company corrupts good character”

Why would you leave someone in your raft that is paddling in the opposite direction or worse, poking holes in the raft.

The same is with some friends we are around.  They are messing with our character and turning us into someone we do not want to be. 

Character is something that takes time to build, don’t let someone destroy it for you.  This doesn’t mean you can’t talk to people and show them the love of God, but be wise who you are allowing into your circle of influence.  Surround yourself with people that build you up.

Take Action

Think about the friends that are closest to you, do they build you up or tear you down?  Do they help you with your walk with God? Are they pressuring you to do and be someone you do not want to be?  Maybe you just need a break and see if they really need to be in your circle of influence. 

It used to be a big thing in high schools to pick labels for people that represented who they were or who they might become; Likely to be famous,  most likely to invent something, most likely to be president of the United States.  These labels were given because of who they were and what their personality reflected.  It was characteristics that made the personality who they were. 

Characteristics could also be described as fruit.  Like a tree that produces apples, we label it as an apple tree.  What is produced on the outside has come from the inside and is what labels us.

If a tree does not produce apples would you call it an apple tree?

This thought is the same in our lives, if we want to be labeled a follower of Jesus, we better have some recognizable fruit that reflects that.

Fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23  

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

These are the fruits that are produced when you live with Jesus in your life.  

I always like to think about fruit like this; what good is it that a tree grows fruit and it just falls to the ground and shrivels up and decays? Fruit was meant to be picked and given out, to provide life to those who need it. Fruit can take someone from sick to healthy, from hungry to satisfied, from weak to strong. 

Take Action 

Look for these fruits in your life? If you feel like you are a tree with little fruit on it, barely recognizable, work on developing these fruits.  The world is hungry and we have what they need, and after experiencing our fruit they will want what we have.

Proverbs 4:23

23Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

Our eyes and ears are gates that lead to our hearts.  What we let in is what fills us up. 

We have to protect what we see and hear.  Is it good for a young child to stand and watch the aftermath of a horrific car accident? No because it can leave them scarred and traumatized for the rest of their life.  Is it good for a young child to listen to music that is cussing and devaluing women? The clear answer is NO.  

Do they know how to self regulate what the see and hear?  NO that is the job of the parents and people older than them to change the environment when situations like this arise.

No matter the age, there are just things that should not be seen and heard.  These things taint our heart and distance us from God and then in the end, determine the course we take in life.

Good thing that we have the Greater One living on the inside that can speak to us and prompt us to know what is good and is bad.  We can also self regulate by deciding to not listen to any music that is labeled “Parental Advisory” or that is packed full of bad things, or we can use pluggedin.com to read what is in a movie, like cussing, violence, or sexual content before we watch it and then decide not to watch it.

Take Action

You can never un-see or un-hear something, be careful of what you willingly allow in your heart.  If you know you have been listening to music that you shouldn’t or watching videos you shouldn’t, make the decision right now to not allow those things in your life any longer.set

There are times in everyone’s life that you face something very overwhelming. You just want to run and hide. It can be school, work, home life, friends… things can just be hard sometimes. 

For me it was my home life that was rough at times, but there was a  scripture that I always ran to in those moments. 

This scripture was written by David after God had saved Him from his enemies. This has stuck with me in all my times of need and I stand on it because it is true.

Ps 18:1-3
1I love you, Lord;
you are my strength.
2The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior;
my God is my rock, in whom I find protection.
He is my shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety.
3I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and he saved me from my enemies.

There is just something about knowing that God is my fortress and and my rock and that when I call He will save me or when I am weak He is my strength.

It really was a game changer in my life.  I walked around with a confidence that allowed me to take on things that normally I wouldn’t

Take Action
Find and know a scripture/s that you can stand on, that you can lean on with out having to think about when trouble comes.  This way you can take on the world like never before.   

James 3:2-6
2Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.
3We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
4And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.
5In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.
But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.
6And among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

Small but Mighty

Like James was saying, a huge ship can be turned with a small rudder. Something so small can control something so huge.  The same is with our tongue in our lives. It can make a huge impact on the direction that we are going.  

Our tongue can bring death and it can bring life.

Say It!

Speak the promises of God in your life because you have what you SAY!

Mark 11: 23
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he SAITH shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he SAITH.

“Saying”, might be slightly important because Jesus mentioned it 3 times in this one verse. We can have what we say if we believe it and even if you don’t believe it at first the more you say it the more you begin to believe it.  

Saying “I am always sick” casually to friends, can lead to you always being sick.  But casually saying “I am blessed, I am favored” can lead to blessings and favor in life.  YOU hold the power to life and death in your confession.

Take Action

Start speaking LIFE in your words.  A great way to do this is to write them down on a note card and every morning read them until you have no doubt that you believe them, some people like writing them on a mirror and reading them while looking at themselves.

 “I am a child of God”
2 Cor 6:18

“I have what I say”
Mark 11:23

“I am not who I used to be”
2 Cor 5:17

“No weapon formed against me shall prosper”
Is 54:17

“God has big plans for me”
Jer 29:11

“I do not have a spirit of fear, but of power love and a sound mind”
2 Tim 1:7

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

‘Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.’

We were never designed to be alone.  Whether it is for protection, support or for help, another person will always benefit you. In fact this passage says three is better than two and if three is good then 10 is better.

Balanced 

Think about a chair. How much balance do you have to have to be able to balance on one chair leg?  We have all found ourselves leaning back on two legs and we lose our balance and fall to the floor.  Now a chair with three legs takes a lot less focus to stay balanced and off your face.  Ultimately the more legs the better it is.  

Surround yourself with people that are honest with you, that will be there to support you when you need it, that add to your life and not take away.  These people will help you stay heading in the right direction.

Take Action 

Think of the people that add to your life and make sure that you start to make purposeful relationships. Share with them the things that God is doing in your life, celebrate with them, pray with them, and most importantly have fun with them!

Florida is known as the orange state. There are 74 million citrus trees in Florida and with that many trees it is no surprise that 90% of the US orange juice production comes from Florida oranges.

There is nothing like freshly squeeze orange juice.  It is so refreshing, some would even say it’s like a breakfast dessert drink.  Whether you like pulp or not, there is no denying the great taste of orange juice.

What if one day you cut open an orange and began squeezing it out and all looked great, but when you put the glass to your lips and took a sip it tasted like pumpkin juice.  I would be in absolute shock! Not that a pumpkin drink is bad but just the shock of it not being orange juice would surprise me. 

When squeezed, the juice that comes out should match the fruit.  That is the way God designed it to work. How hard would it be to go grocery shopping looking at all the fruit but then trying to guess what will come out when squeezed? The same should be for our own lives.

Matthew 12:33-35 NLT
“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury(what is stored up) of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury(what is stored up) of an evil heart.” 

-Jesus

Production

What is produced and said in our lives has a direct connection to what we have stored up in our heart. 

Luke 6:45 NKJV

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Take Action

What are you putting into your life? What are you filling your heart with?  Is it hours of Facebook that is full of drama or is it praise and worship that is full of joy and peace?

Take a few minutes and evaluate what you are putting in your life. Is it beneficial? Does it need to be trashed? Does my schedule need to be reworked? Identify and make necessary changes. Write them down if needed.