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Spiritual Influencers

According to the Nashville Film Institute’s website ( www.nfi.edu ) top influencers can earn anywhere from $40,000 a year with a modest following to celebrity influences that can earn over a million dollars per post .  They yield a persuasive power over their followers to redirect focus and entice the follower to buy or believe in whatever they are promoting.  Most of us have some realm of influence.  It may be family, friends, co-workers, social media, church, sports, online, etc.  As we emerge from the COVID Cocoon, we need to be “spiritual influencers”.  Imagine how many of us have suffered loss during COVID.  Do you know how many people are battling depression?  How many are struggling to pay their sky-rocketing rent?  There is real pain, real suffering and a serious lack of HOPE all around.  People are desperate for hope, help and genuine love.  They are ready to buy into anything that an influencer will peddle.  Envision a host of people intentional about spiritual influencing? 
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If I Could Turn Back Time for 13 Seconds

     In the Star Trek parody Galaxy Quest , they had a device called the Omega-13 that could turn back time for 13 seconds.  What good is 13 seconds you ask?  It’s enough time to change one mistake.  As you might guess, they had a chance to use it and redeem a life altering oversight.          I often wish that my future self could come back and talk to my present self.   Imagine the mistakes I could avoid.   How often do we say to ourselves, “I wish I hadn’t done that” or “I wish I had done…”   Lately I have been trying to work out in the mornings.   It sounds great the night before, but when that alarm goes off, I only have about 3 seconds to thrust my feet over the side of the bed before I tell Alexa to wake me up in an hour.        Since the Omega-13 device only lives in Hollywood, it seems to me I need to make the right decisions at the right time.  Here’s a couple of things that I have found helpful. Have a plan a.      I know that if I don’t sit up on the edge of bed when
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We Should All Smile Like That

  I just finished watching a YouTube video featuring an aged Peter Frampton and Eric Clapton.  Frampton and Clapton were playing "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".  I couldn't get over the joy on Frampton's face as he was playing.  He loved what he was doing.  He loved playing with Eric Clapton.  He loved making the audience "gently weep".  And he loved everything about it. He was taking in every second and appreciating for what it was, a once in a lifetime moment to play with Eric Clapton.  It was a perfect blending and appreciation for each other and their impact to the world of music.  I didn't sense any egos, just radiant joy.  It was impossible to not smile as you watched Peter play, even Clapton smiled (a rare moment).  Peter's joy was infectious.  As I watched his contagious joy doing what he loves, I wondered if I still exude joy for my passions? What are you passionate about?  What brings you joy?  Pursue those things with all your heart, soul
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Reckless Worship

The term “reckless” generally doesn’t connote positive feelings…unless coupled with a term like “love”.  Negative terms when juxtaposed to a positive word can radically alter our perception of the word.  It comes as no surprise that our worship team was discussing the song “Reckless Love”.  Most everyone seemed to be enthusiastic about the song and even applauded the clever use of ascribing “reckless” to God’s love. I was the only one who initially commented that I don’t see God’s love as reckless, in fact the opposite.  God’s love is planned, predestined, generous and even calculating.  Grudem’s “Systematic Theology” defines His love as “God eternally gives of himself to others”.  I guess you could say that a “reckless love” could fit within that definition.  But I struggle with the term apart from “love”.  I looked up the term “reckless” in Scripture and in every case it is used in a negative sense…without exception.  Here’s some references: “Abimelech hired worthless and 
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In Times of Testing

Today I am reminded of the importance of faith. Being “comfortable” is a dangerous place for most Christ followers. It's easy to be a champion of faith when life is easy, comfortable and good.  Wait until you get shingles on your face (like I did) and see if you are still the poster child of faith.  I have put together some quotes on faith from some of the most notable people of history...and a few others. Encouraging Quotes “Great faith trusts God when there is nothing in the cupboard to eat and no money to buy food. Great faith trusts in God when health is gone, work is gone, reputation is gone, or family is gone. Great faith trusts God while the windstorm is still howling and persecution continues.” ~ MacArthur Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man's power ends. ~ George Muller The Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any
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Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain commit suicide - Why?

Why does somebody kill themself when they're seemingly on top of the world? “For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.”    King Solomon The American dream is to be successful, a self-made individual who doesn’t need to rely on anyone or anything.   The dream is to take your passion and turn it into an empire.   Then why did Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain kill themselves?   Their names are known around the globe.   They had taken their passion and crafted it into something extraordinary.   They had achieved success that most jealously watch from afar.   I do not pretend to know WHY they felt compelled to take their own lives when from my perspective they had so much to live for...including family.   Is this a lesson that money and fame cannot buy happiness?   Others have managed great wealth and empires without destroying themselves or those closest to them.   WHAT could have been so troubling that life needed to end, here
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Too Bad to Forgive

It’s a feeling most of us have had.  We have done something so awful, hurtful, or unthinkable that forgiveness is not a consideration.  We beat ourselves up, replaying the events in our head thinking “if only” I had walked this way, or listened to this friend or been at a different place that night.  For some, it was a one time event.  For others, it was years of satisfying lust, greed, and sinful desires.  We wrestle with what we did or didn’t do playing it over and over in our minds.  Maybe it even stems from anger toward God for not doing what you expected him to do or allowing some tragedy to devastate your life. Like most sin, it doesn’t happen over night, it gradually slips into our lifestyle and permeates our thoughts, ever so slightly changing us, weakening our defenses.  Like an affair, it has been building for weeks, months or years...it didn’t happen in a day.  Let’s face a harsh reality, those things we did can’t be undone.  There are consequences to our actions.  We wa
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