I CAN SO ALL THINGS

Philippians 4:13; I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

One of my favorite Bible verses ever, Philippians 4:13 is perfect motivation to keep me going when I feel like giving up. The interesting thing about it is, it can make you feel like anything is possible because we follow Christ. If we put our mind to it, we can do it. I have a little question for this though, is this REALLY what the verse means? Let’s take a quick look. 

Now, as we must do with all verses, and really anything in general, we must look at the context. While verse 13 is very widely known, how many people actually pay attention to the other verses in here? 

Here are verses 11 and 12:

11 Not that I speak in respect for want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need. 

Paul is saying here he learned how to be full and hungry, to have a lot and to have a little, and still be content with what he has. Then he proceeds to follow it up with the iconic verse 

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”. 

So what is the message Paul is trying to convey? 

Well, I can tell you what he DOESN’T mean. He isn’t saying that since you are now a Christian you are bound to become a millionaire, be the most popular person in the world, or even be able to fly. Paul didn’t write the verse to say that if you are a Christian you now have a cheat code to being successful. There is a pretty good chance that we DON’T end up being richer than Elon Musk just because we are Christians. The “I can do all things” isn’t stating we can fly..

What it means is we can go through all things in this life because Christ is our strength. Paul is saying we can go through everything, good and bad, through Christ. We can get through the hard times, and we can enjoy the good times. We can get through suffering, and we can live through everything being good. More than that, we can be content in any and every circumstance. 

So before you go and start flapping your arms and quoting Philippians 4:13 to yourself, remember, the chances of us flying just because Jesus is our strength are slim. Our mission as Christians is to serve Christ, so He will give us the strength to do so in the good and the bad. The verse is just a reminder that when we feel like we should give up, we CAN keep going, because He gives us the strength to do so in both the good and the bad. 

-Christopher Haney

Thursday Devotion- April 23

Hey guys, I'm doing a blog post every Thursday. It will be a weekly blog post that will probably last until next year. It is a really good topic and will help us in areas of our lives that we might struggle in, I know I struggle with some of the stuff we are going to talk about. Ok first thing you need to know I will be writing my posts from a really good book, but I give full credit to the author of this book: Richard Carlson PhD. This man is a Christian if you were wondering.  Ok let's begin with the introduction of the book.

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 "Whenever we're dealing with bad news, a difficult person, or a disappointment of some kind, most of us get into certain habits, ways of reacting to life -- particularly adversity-- that don't serve us well. We overreact, blow things out of proportion, hold on too tightly and focus on the negative aspects of life. We are immobilized by little things-- When we are irritated, annoyed, and easily bothered-- our (over) reactions not only make us frustrated but actually get in the way of getting what we want. We lose sight of the bigger picture,focus on the negative and annoy other people who might otherwise help us. In short, we live our lives as if they were one big emergency! We often rush around looking busy,trying to solve problems, but in reality, we are often compounding them. Because everything seems like such a big deal, we end up spending out lives dealing with one drama after another. After a while, we begin to believe that everything really IS really a big deal. We fail to recognize that the way we relate to our problems has a lot to do with how quickly and efficiently we solve them. As I hope you will soon discover,when you learn the habit of responding to life with more ease, problems that seem "insurmountable" will begin to seem more managible,and even the "biggies" things that are truly stressful,won't throw you off track as much as they once did.

Happily, there is another way to relate to life-- a softer more graceful path that makes life seem easier and the people in it more compatible. This "other way" of living involves replacing old habits of "reaction" with new habits of perspective. These new habits enable us to have richer, more satisfying lives.

I'd like to share a personal story that touched my heart and reinforced and important lesson- a story that demonstrates the essential message of this book. As you will see, the events of this story planted a seed for the title of this book you are about to read. About a year ago a foreign publisher contacted me and requested I attempt to get an endorsement from best-selling author Dr. Wayne Dyer for a foreign edition of my book "YOU CAN FEEL GOOD AGAIN" I told them that while Dr. Dyer had given me an endorsement for an earlier book, I had no idea whether or not her would consider doing so again. I told them, however, that I would try.

As is often the case in the publishing world, I sent out my request, but did not hear back. After some time had gone by, I came to the conclusion that Dr.Dyer was either too busy or unwilling to write an endorsement. I honored this decision and let the publisher know that we wouldn't be able to use his name to promote the book. I considered the case closed. 

About six months later, however, I received a copy of the foreign edition and to my surprise, right on the cover was the old endorsement for the earlier book from Dr.Dyer! Despite my specific instructions to the contrary, the foreign publisher had used his earlier quote and transferred it to the new book. I was extremely upset, worried about the implications as well as the possible consequences. I called my literary agent, who immediately contacted the publisher and demanded that the books be taken off the shelves. 

In the meantime, I decided to write Dr.Dyer an apology, explaining the situation and all that was being done to rectify the problem. After a few weeks of wondering about what his response might be, I received a letter in the mail that said the following:

"Richard. There are two rules for living in harmony. #1) Don't sweat the small stuff and #2) It's all small stuff. Let the quote stand. Love Wayne."

"That was it! No lectures, no threats. No hard feelings and no confrontation. Despite the obvious unethical use of his very famous name. He responded with grace and humility; no feathers ruffled. His response demonstrated the important concepts of "going with the flow," and of learning to respond to life gracefully with ease. For more than a decade I have worked with clients, helping them to approach life in this more accepting way. Together we deal with all types of issues-- stress, relationship problems, working related issues, addictions and general frustration. In this book I will share with you very specific strategies-- things you can start doing today-- That will help you respond to life more gracefully. The strategies you are going to read about are the ones that have proven themselves to be the most successful by clients and readers of mine over the years. They also represent the way I like to approach, the path of least resistance. Each strategy is simple, yet powerful, and will act as a navigational guide to point you in the direction of greater perspective and more relaxed living. You'll find that many of the strategies will apply not only to isolated events but to many of life's most difficult challenges. When you don't "sweat the small stuff", your life won't be perfect, but you will learn to except what life has to offer with far less resistance. As we learn in Zen philosophy, when you learn to "let go" of problems instead of resisting with all you might, your life will begin to flow. You will, as the serenity prayer suggests," Change the things that can be changed, except those that cannot, and have the wisdom to know the difference." I'm confident that if you give strategies a try, you will learn the two rules of harmony. #1) Don't sweat the small stuff, and #2) It's all small stuff.  

As you incorporate these ideas into your life you begin to create a more powerful a loving you."

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This is some powerful stuff, and he puts it in a very simple way that is easy to understand. I hope that you will enjoy going through this book, with me, that Richard Carlson wrote.  All this book is really about is "Simple ways to keep little things from taking over your life."

I can't wait to dive into chapter 1 next week. Hopefully you are as excited as I am!!

- Sophie Shearman.

Two Genders

Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

When God created the world, he created two genders, male and female. He put this in the bible because it is important for us to know. Today this world has messed that up and says that you can be any gender you want. One survey said that there are over 70 genders and some people even say that there is no fixed limit to the amount of genders there are. There are even people who say that they identify as animals! Even if everyone agreed that there are two genders, there are men who act like women and women that act like men.

1 Corinthians 11:14 -15 “Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.”

The bible says that it is a shame for a man to have long hair and it is a glory for a woman to have long hair. This can also go backwards meaning that it is a shame for a woman to have short hair and a glory for a man to have short hair. Now the bible doesn’t say how long is long, or how short short is, so use you best judgment on that. This also goes for clothing too.

Deuteronomy 22:5 “The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.”

These verses tell us that men and women should act and look different and this is just one of the many things the world ignores but as Christians, we need to do what these verses say. This could mean not hanging out with some of out friends or deleting social media profiles.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

If you are reading this and you are confused about your gender, talk to your parents, your pastor and most importantly, God and if you know someone who is confused, talk to them and pray for them.

-Isaac