Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Dialog: Mankind's Purpose??; One Path to God??, How we KNOW??,

Today (8/20/08) I received a message from a young lady in reference to my posting of “Understanding other's interaction with your Path”. I’ve posted a couple of my blogs on other websites. After answering the questions, I thought this would be a good chance to further reveal (in summary), some underlying principles concerning Faith in Jesus, our relationship, and my Duty within Kingdom Wealth Creation. Below is a copy of that dialog….
** names have been changed to protect the innocent...lol**

------ Original note ------

From: Hou
To: your-turn
Subject: Hi
Hey J, great blog on understanding your path. Can I ask what you feel your purpose is for being here and what is God?s purpose for mankind in general? Do you believe that all religious paths lead to the same God and if not, how do we know the one we are on is the right one?
Thanks,
B

My Response:

Hey B. Thanks.

Well, the answers to your questions can obviously get very detailed, but in the interest of time I am going to try to summarize real quick.

My Purpose:
What is My Duty?
1. To give to the people of God
a. Better understanding of relationship with Him
b. To move them to a place of blessing by understanding:
Faith, Duty, Relationship, etc.
c. Knowledge and understanding
2. To establish the ‘Programs’ of the Kingdom that will take care of and prosper God’s people

If you'd like to know more go to my blog:
http://kingdom-wealth.blogspot.com
It’s a mix of information, but if you look at the bottom, you'll see more of what I'm about.

Purpose for mankind:
There are different angles to take on the subject depending on how you are really asking the question and without digging into Scripture….
In the bigger picture man is playing a smaller role in a larger story, but sense we tend to wrap everything around us being that we ‘think’ and have intelligence, its about us first. But I submit that the story is about a relationship between the power of God over lucifier (who thought he could be equal to God), to prove to him He (God) is the almighty and no equal; AND a story of a relationship between God and His Son. Our role is to choose the path that only truly comes through Faith in what script God wrote. That God had the power to do what He did in the way He did it… using Jesus. That Jesus would perform His Duty and respect Gods path for Himself even when He (Jesus) had the power to do it differently. And such is the free will we have to choose as well….


And FYI… if you review my purpose at this point, you will understand that it’s not my mission to convince the world of these facts. I believe everyone should believe whatever he or she believes, but KNOW why he or she believes it, and understand it, and be sure of it. If it (the thing they believe) were really true then why should anyone get mad at another for not believing (the mistake Religious people make)? If it’s TRUE then the reaction should be relief that what you know is truth, you have that truth IN you, and you are more than happy to share it with anyone that wants to know. Thus, my Duty #1 summarized another way from above is to make sure the people that already claim Christ Jesus as the way the truth and the life, actually understand why they believe what they believe, so they can be SURE of what they ‘say’ they believe. As well, for them to truly commit to God and understand their relationship with Him, who they are, their purpose, and fulfill their Duty on earth. All of this is supported and helped by MY Duty #1. Then My Duty #2 is to further their existence in the Kingdom on earth, and in doing so the whole earth prospers. (long story short)


Paths to God:
No, only one path to God and that is through Jesus Christ and everything it means to ‘believe’.

How do we know:
I'll tell you how I know....
Background: I didn't grow up in the 'church', but grow up like most blacks with a quasi-understanding that I guess I was suppose to be a Christian... lol. But no reinforcing or anything- just associated by default that came from a history they tore our people from their roots of religion back in Africa and the Islands (slavery actually saved a race and established them to prosper in the freest, most prosperous place on earth- go figure). And I’m glad because my path to God was pure and untainted. I had to find Him and draw closer without being convinced by others. I had to find Him through all my dismay and lack of understanding. I’ve had/have to keep hold of Him through all my inabilities, faults, and unworthiness.

But to get to the point...
I took the better part of a year and studied all the ‘major religions' about 10yrs ago. Studied their history plainly- not their disciplines and from that I determined....

#1 Logically:
Only one "religion" proved itself to be True... all of them except 'Christianity' came from one source... some man created them all... and logically it doesn't make sense that some dude can disappear for a minute and come back saying he has everything that God ever wanted people to know- therefore follow him.... HUH??? are you serious... just doesn't make any logical sense.... there are no checks and balances there. You are essentially putting all your trust in one man that what he said hundreds or thousands of years ago is going to get you to ‘heaven’ or God.

#2 Historically:
Again- check the history behind the stories....
The Bible- written over 1600 yrs- 39 authors - 66 books that all come together to form one concise message.
Look at the history on everything else- where did THE SOURCE of the info come from?? As well, multiple copies of the "books" in the bible found in multiple places around the world- checks and balances- they all match up

#3 Spiritually:
I've experienced God for myself in multiple ways through Faith in Jesus.

I hope this answers your questions. So, what do you believe about the questions you asked me? What is your take on the situation?? Can you answer the same questions for me? Thanks- J.

Oh yeah…. I’m detail oriented soooooo… what I consider “real quick” is not so real quick…. Lol. Take care-J
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WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THIS DIALOG???

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Understanding other's interaction with your Path

Understanding other’s interaction with your Path.

The Path to "greatness" in the Lord in fulfilling your Duty can sometimes be a hard one to 'swallow'. Many will not understand why you have to do things the way you do them. The reason your path seems so hard. Why you may struggle when you 'supposedly' believe in God. Those closest to you will question you, will wonder 'why', will mean well by telling you- do something else, why struggle, why not choose an easier path for now and try your path later when situations get better. The human reasoning and intellect in you says what they say makes logical sense and they probably are correct. BUT, this is all part of the process the Lord puts you through- to test you, to prove you, whether you'll follow His will. TO prove in you IF you really believe what He told you. You will question yourself- did I really hear from the Lord. You will wonder if your recent mistakes you've made is the reason you seem to struggle or are so far away from achieving your goals. “Is God punishing me?” There is no problem in the questions, because you can't stop the mind from wondering, but don't allow others, even those that love you, produce DOUBT in the path that you KNOW God has given you. Can you hang on by Faith??? Can you allow HIM to accomplish His perfect will in your life?

Remember Job... God said there was none like him on earth... one that fearth God and 'shuns evil'. Job 1: 8. But God chose a path for him that even though he didn't understand, he held on to God by faith in whom God was. The closest people in his life did what they humanly were suppose to do... not understand what God is doing in his life, question what he is doing, and eventually end up trying to produce doubt because of their lack of understanding. His wife told him to curse God and die. His friends doubted, and questioned him left and right. Yes, he complained. He had lost everything. He didn't understand and was suffering. But I love one of the questions God asked Job when He responded to Job: Job 38:2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?" 4: "where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me if you understand". God’s thinking and ways of accomplishing His will is far beyond ours and who are we to think we know the right path and way to accomplish it…?? Let God be God and you play your role.

One of the greatest compliments I ever received was from someone in one of the closest positions in my life, such as Job. They just couldn't understand why I had spent so many years working on the vision God gave me, because so much time had passed and nothing seemed to come from it. So, after figuring out that they couldn't get me off the vision, they offered ways of compromise- "work on it when you can because you need to take care of these other things. Everyone else does it that way." We think, especially in America, that compromise is good, but I submit to you that Compromise is not apart of God's vocabulary. You should be understanding but never compromise authority, God's will in your life, God's standards, or yourself!! But when decisions had to be made that created a direct conflict of what this person wanted of me and my time compared to the path God had given me, they paid me THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT I could have received- "You act like this thing is your God; you worship it like it's God". Now at the time I had no reaction but I played the statement back in my mind later and of course questioned myself- "have I gone to far?" But I realized some time after, that it was a compliment even though they meant it to be derogatory. If I am consumed in the path, my Duty God gave me such that it can be said by those closest to me that I place my duty above everything around me; I go after it like it were the highest priority to the point where it becomes god on earth, THEN I'm on the right path AND what I'm doing is pleasing to God!!!! The key here is that you have to know that God placed you in that Duty and on that path. You can't make something up for yourself then stubbornly stick to, hope that God will bless it and get on board with you, then claim that every time someone says something against it, they are "hating" or don't want you to succeed. If you lack wisdom and don't understand your path, ask God and seek Him out about it. If you are sincere about doing His will, He will let you know in His own way, but remember James 1: 5-8!!!!

Things to do to keep you on path:
1. You have to be sure 1st that you are on the path God gave you, so that when all the questions come and the advise comes from those around, you can keep your faith in what God is doing with and in you.
2. Understand your relationship with God. Read, study, and listen to understand HOW He 'does things'. The question in everything is how does God feel about this? How does He react to these things? What does HE THINK? And the only way to know and understand Him is #1 through His Word; #2 through your experiences with Him in your life; and #3 other's experiences with Him in their lives and their 'testimonies'. But you cant truly understand #2 or #3 without understanding #1, because without the context of God in His Word, then how you process #2 and #3 is open for interpretation, and human thought- yours or others and you can determine whatever you want and potentially never understand God, yourself, your Path, or the situations around you.
3. Know that you know that you know that God gave you this 'thing' to do, to accomplish
4. At the least hold on by faith that God is, and He wants the best for you, and that even though situations may not make sense. When you question yourself- hold on... just hold on until He decides to change things. It doesn't mean you do nothing. There is STILL work you have to DO. You've got to play your role and continue to move by faith in actions to prove your belief.
5. Better yet is to get to a place mentally, spiritually, and emotionally of Next Dimension of Faith. Don't doubt!!! When you get to this place, fear doesn't exist any longer. You are set in your path and what you SEE around you doesn't matter any more. (see the Next Dimension of Faith Study in this blog for further understanding of your path/mission/purpose on earth)


Lastly, Think on this statement that came to me on 8/5/08:
"You should be concerned if everyone understands you. Greatness requires a path few understand, a mission few know how to establish, and a discipline few will ever realize" ™

> J.Bruce

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Desire... Dedication... Discipline... to Achievement

What do you think it takes to WIN at anything?? Not to get lucky, but to actually WIN… to become the Victor at something?

The 5 Ps and 3Ds:
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Desire… Dedication… Discipline!!!!!!!!
!


It all begins in your mind. All battles are won first between the ears. It's first about how you THINK about situations… how you SEE them. This leads to DESIRE. Desire is a strong wish or craving. You see "it". You may want "it". Now you have developed a strong wish for "it".

Now what is the next 'step', the next 'level' to achievement of that Desire??? The "it" you want. The answer is DEDICATION!!! Dedication (Lat. dedicatio, from dedicare, to proclaim, to announce), is to immerse oneself with sincerity into a certain subject or properly the setting apart of anything by solemn proclamation. Will what you strive after become a dedication in your life? How serious are you about what you 'say' you want? Will you IMMERSE yourself with Sincerity into the subject of your Desire? This is an ACTION!!! Desire is a thought!!! Dedication COMMENSES Action, but can not hold you in forward motion towards achievement.

Once Commensement has begun you fill good about taking steps forward. You DO a little work, you read up on something, you consider its avenue for achievement, you decide its really for you, and you fill good about that. But true achievement only comes with DISCIPLINE… SELF Discipline!!!

Consider the definition thereof…
(Self) Discipline refers to the training that one gives one's self to accomplish a certain task or to adopt a particular pattern of behaviour, even though one would really rather be doing something else. For example, denying oneself of an extravagant pleasure in order to accomplish a more demanding charitable deed. Thus, self-discipline is the assertion of willpower over more base desires, and is usually understood to be a synonym of 'self control'. Self-discipline is to some extent a substitute for motivation, when one uses reason to determine a best course of action that opposes one's desires.

I submit this to you:
There will always be choices to be made especially with your time and attention. The world is full of distractions. We all have numerous desires… it's a part of human nature. You think 'it' and therefore it becomes a desire. But ask yourself what have you truly dedicated yourself to? What have you or will you disciple yourself on and what will you discipline yourself to? Achievement is rarely if ever about luck. Sure there can be some divine intervention from time to time, but why live your life waiting on something you don't know when or IF it will ever happen??? You've been given a mind and freedom to Think… to Act… and to Decide. And if you are in America, you have been given at least the opportunity to exert that freedom of mind to decide on your life. What we do with those decisions will determine the sum total of our life. We will all make some good decisions and some bad. But this subject of achievement of the "IT", goes beyond just making a decision. A decision can be made from your desire or turn into a desire. A decision can permit Action and Dedication. BUT whatever subject, whatever desire, whatever purpose, whatever cause, whatever person, thing or "IT" you place your 'discipline', your 'willpower', your 'self control', your 'motivation' ON, that must supercede other desires.

Look at the graphics below.



Triangle 1 is an example of what most people DO in their lives. We have many desires all pulling for our attention. We then dedicate ourselves to some of those desires, but never really turn them into a situation of disciplined achievement. We don't truly focus on their achievement through purposeful, dedicated action of denying onesself of other desires and making "IT" a priority. The unfortunate situation is that we 'think' that we have made something a priority because we took action, but it's not in the discipline category. So we have effectively fooled ourselves. Of course most achievable goals start with some sort of dedication toward them, and that's great, but how or when do we decide to change those goals into disciplined efforts…???? How much time do we have to spend on it to be convinced? How much information do we need to make the decision? Who needs to influence us into action? Its all personal to who you are…



Triangle 2 is what we need to do in our lives to accomplish our desires and dedicated goals. Choose which desires/goals we will dedicate to and apply the willpower of discipline to achievement. In the face of other choices, that which you are disciplined to will rise to the top. You know if you are truly disciplined to something when you apply your time, attention, and effort to its achievement in the mist of all the "other distractions" of life!! Not that it will be the only 'thing' you work on, but a disciplined goal Will keep your time, attention, and effort even in the face of adversity. You will think about it, you will desire its necessity, and you will be drawn to its achievement. If you are purposefully dedicated, you can't let outside influences or options, or people to sidetrack or distract you from achievement of a TRUE DISCIPLINED GOAL!!! It will consume a piece of who you are. It will define a piece of who you are.

Summary:
So, I ask you are you fooling yourself on being dedicated to your goal/desire or is it just a thought that you have applied some action towards? It's a gut check we all must have with ourselves throughout life, if we are to truly achieve things in life, make them happen, and 'win' at what we do. Luck seems to me to be a failed plan for achievement, and dedicating oneself to something without discipline for its achievement is like hoping that your thought and movement into action will make you "lucky" enough to become a success. It's all about what you believe in and are you willing to put forth the effort it takes to achieve what you want in life or your DUTY. The time is always NOW and the choice is always NOW. The decision is yours, but we have to be careful because every opportunity has a timeframe and a place for its achievement. There is a window of opportunity. You must make the decision to achieve it when its available and you are able to apply your discipline to it. Most everyone CAN be a success and achieve greatness, but few will make that decision to do what it takes to make it happen. The choice is always YOURS… move, make it happen, and achieve!!!

The 5 Ps and 3Ds:
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Desire… Dedication… Discipline!!!!!!!!!


Take care-J.Bruce

There are scriptures that will be posted with this item that will be added later. I need to get in quiet place again and hear what they are clearly... but this will get you started thinking. Think about how this principle applies to all areas of relationship, profession, religion, etc. It can be pretty powerful if you grasp it and apply it.