Teenage self advice

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10. Looking at behaviourism of living beings

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Dr. Share Guru

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

I can give some general advice that may be useful to a teenage self:

1. Don’t be afraid to be yourself: It’s important to embrace your true self and not worry too much about what others think of you. You are unique, and that is something to be celebrated.
2. Focus on your passions: Pursue your interests and passions, whether it’s music, art, science, or sports. You will find fulfillment in doing what you love, and it will help you discover your purpose in life.
3. Take care of your mental health: Mental health is just as important as physical health. Don’t hesitate to seek help if you are struggling with anxiety, depression, or any other mental health issue.
4. Learn from your mistakes: Everyone makes mistakes, and that’s okay. What’s important is that you learn from them and use them as…

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The upside of a short attention span

A child’s inability to focus long enough to put their shoes on or hang up their coat can be deeply frustrating for parents, but

“this wandering attention is an important part of the learning process — one that helps them make sense of an uncertain environment,”

writes Rachel Fairbank in Lifehacker. In a recent study, a group of adults and a group of 4- and 5-year-olds played a computer game in which they had to distinguish between two types of creatures. Halfway through the game,

“the feature that differentiated these two creatures changed without the participants being told that the rules changed,”

writes Fairbank. The adults, who focused on the game more intently, took longer than their preschool counterparts to catch onto the unannounced change.

“Having an attention span that wanders all over the place helps them notice all sorts of details”

that help children operate in an unfamiliar world. [Lifehacker]

Focus On Your Unique Path

Dr Austin Ejaife inspirit

“We have all been placed on this earth to discover our own path, and we will never be happy if we live someone else’s idea of life.” ~ James Van Praagh …

James is right on the money here: we will never find fulfillment in our lives if we look for it in places that are never meant for us. If we live our lives based on what others expect of us and from us, we will find ourselves lost. That is because someone else’s idea of happiness, purpose, and meaning in life, defines their authentic self, and not necessarily ours. Searching out our own paths and journeys in life is the only way to become complete and whole.

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A boundless world with endless tasks & a path of life that feels crushed by an unending to-do list

Spiritually, Judaism has been accused over and over again as a path of life that feels crushed by an unending to-do list.The mitzvot, or God’s commandments, have been construed time and again
as an unending set of demands placed upon the world by God.In Jewish culture, the conversation around obligation created the spiritual attitude to fulfill God’s checklist for us.

The Talmud often refers to one who has performed a religious act as being yotze, or “freeing” themselves from the daily requirements of life in the covenant. The problem with this attitude is that it can boil spiritual life down to a task list.
Instead of focusing on how a mitzvah brings meaning and vitality to my life, I can become obsessed with doing it at the right time and precisely the right way.
In other words, Judaism can focus too much on time management instead of soul management.
~ Emor: Soul Management, Rabbi Noah Farkas

How to Start (and Keep) Good Habits

The Divine Creator has given His divine Word to mankind. He demanded some ‘holy men’ to write down those words so that nobody would have an excuse and would say

I did not know.

He also took care that in a certain way everybody would have the opportunity in life to come in contact with either people or with the words declaring Him. All people are created in the image of God and in a certain way have the connection with the Creator inplanted in the self. God wants all creatures to come close to Him. He also would like that they all would become partakers of a marvellous peaceful world. But all people should take the steps toward God of their free will.

To get to know Him and what He wants, God gave us the Book of books to help and guide us.

When we want to go on a big trip, we also prepare ourselves. We take care that we have the right roadmaps and have everything with us that we need for the trip. Going for a better life, we need to undertake some serious matters. It is fine when we have bought some roadmaps to start our trip, but when we do not use those maps, we are nothing with them. It is the same with the bible; When we have a Bible or Holy Scriptures but do not read it, we are nothing with it.

When having such a Sacred Writings and Bestseller, we best make very good use of them. For reading the Bible we also better prepare ourselves and make some arrangements to read it regularly. We should make it a good habit to regularly go through that Word of God and think about it.

Imagine it’s late and you’ve had a long day. You were planning to exercise, fix yourself a healthy meal, then spend some time in God’s Word. Instead, you grab some pizza and binge TV shows. Without realising it, you just reinforced a habit. Research suggests we all have “keystone habits,”† acquired patterns of behaviour that form the basis of our daily routines. Change those, and you can change your life. Here are 5 Ways to Develop Healthy Habits: Remember whose you are. You are called by God and made in His image. Because of His great love for you, you have the ability to become more like the person God created you to be. Identify the “why” behind your behaviour. Do you eat junk food because you like the taste? Or because you’re tired or bored? Once you know why you behave the way you do, it’s easier to replace unhealthy habits with better ones. Draw close to God. When you prioritize time with God, you’re allowing Him to renew your mind (Rom. 12:2). Eventually, this will help you change the way you live. Focus on one key habit. Consistently doing one thing well will yield results over time and make it easier to master other habits later. Give yourself grace. You won’t always get it right… And that’s okay. When you stumble, “fall forward”: learn from your mistakes and keep going. God will still be right beside you, cheering you on. It only takes a moment to start a healthy habit. Plan everything to come to a regular Bible reading, and let God use that choice to begin transforming your daily routines.

Be convinced that the Bible in itself contains enough to fully inform and educate us to go to God and to find the right path of life to enter the kingdom of God. We must fully trust in it.

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Preceding

“I want to draw closer to God, but…”

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19. Today’s thought “God has come to test you …” (February 10)
20. Today’s thought “Everyone whom the Lord calls to himself” (April 26)
21. Today’s thought “You stiff necked people” (April 30)
22. Today’s Thought “Jesus Greater than Moses” (May 31)
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No Nuance November, Day 13

 

ladylapoet

There are people that won’t support you, no matter how talented or amazing you are.

There are those that will support you to see what they can gain from it.

There are those that will support you simply because they rock with you.

No need to beg for support. Just keep being your amazing self and your tribe will find you…

View original post

3 Keys to Reading the Bible with a Fresh Perspective

It is a new year, and no doubt many have made it their ambition to read the Bible more often this year. What nobler resolution could someone have?

But many people will give up in mid-February, when they are slogging through Leviticus and are halfway through their third straight gospel tour. The passages that seem redundant and unexciting tend to drown our Bible reading goals.

How can we keep our Bible reading fresh – even the parts that don’t stir us at first reading – so that we don’t give up on our resolution to read more? Allow me to share a few suggestions.

1. Remember that God’s word is alive

Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active.” Just like God himself, his word is full of life and is always doing something. That means, to state the obvious, that God’s word is never dead or inactive. And that is just as true for Leviticus 3:16 as it is for John 3:16.

The implication is that we can come to every passage with a sense of anticipation that God will work through it. That doesn’t mean we will necessarily finish our Bible reading with intense spiritual feelings. But it does mean that we can be assured that no matter what we read on a given day his word will not return void (Isa. 55:11).

2. Pray for God to open your eyes, and trust that he will

The psalmist prayed, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law” (Psa. 119:18). He recognized that without God’s help, it would be very easy for him to read God’s law and not come away marveling at how great God is. He needed God to give him eyes to see the wonders of his word.

The same is true for us, of course. We must not read our Bibles without asking God to enable us to see the amazing things in it. I confess that this is something that I sometimes forget. Being somewhat of a task oriented type of person, I’ll sometimes sit down at my desk to begin preparing a sermon only to realize an hour later that I had forgotten to ask God to speak to me and lead me to the message he wants delivered on Sunday. It is by God’s grace that I can even recognize my self-sufficiency. I must stop and repent of my prayerlessness, and then ask God to “open my eyes” before I resume my study.

3. Read with a God-centered attitude

It’s very easy to read God’s word with an emphasis on you. What am I going to learn? What am I going to get out of this? How am I going to apply this?

But as you grow as a Christian, you grow less concerned with yourself, and more interested in loving God and neighbors. This gradual self-emptying process gives a perspective that comes to Scripture with a desire to see more of God and less of yourself.

Take, for example, Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Instead of focusing on the “I can do” part, what if you meditated on the “him who strengthens me” part? Your mind will be prodded to meditate in a fresh way of God’s grace to enable you to make it through your trials and empower you for your successes.

Don’t let dull days get you down

As much as it would be great to have an amazing spiritual encounter every time we read the Bible, I admit that is not always my experience. Sometimes nothing “hits” me. But I know that my emotional response is not what makes God’s word do its work in my life. That’s the Spirit’s job.

So if you find that there are some days where your Bible reading seems less impactful, don’t be discouraged. You and I have only to be faithful to read God’s word with the thirst of a deer panting for water. More times than not, when we open the Bible with that kind of neediness the streams will taste quite fresh.

Eric McKiddie serves as Pastor for Gospel Community at the Chapel Hill Bible Church He helps pastors grow as well-rounded ministers of the gospel at his blog, Pastoralized, and through sermon coaching.

Creating Community and Togetherness

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To remember

basics about us as humans = very social creatures.

• massively increased our population > more & more find ourselves to be rather lonely.
• western cultures > normal for a child to move out when they’re 18 and to begin their own lives
•  focusing on careers => families + friends pushed aside
• very toxic view of life
• time to reach out to those you love, those you care about + maybe those you don’t know

Niet op het probleem focussen maar op de oplossing tot alle problemen

Het gehele eerste trimester van 2020 is overheerst geworden door het coronavirus. dat gevreesde virus bracht meerdere regeringen er zelfs toe om noodsituaties in te roepen en het land tot een ‘lockdown‘ te brengen. Hierbij kwamen een enorme hoeveelheid mensen tot huisarest. In Frankrijk mocht men wel tot 1 kilometer verder buiten de woning gaan als men een goede reden had. Hier in België konden de mensen eigenlijk nog tamelijk vrij bewegen, alhoewel er velen zich toch te erg in hun vrijheid geschonden voelden.

Wat op viel bij de reacties die wij op de Vlaamse televisie te horen kregen, was dat heel wat mensen zich zo pessimistisch gedroegen terwijl anderen zich van dit hele coronagebeuren weinig leken aan te trekken en de sociale afstandsmaatregelen gewoon negeerden en zelfs groepsfeestjes thuis durfden organiseren. Duidelijk konden wij heel ernstig betrokken mensen waarnemen terwijl wij ook heel wat mensen zagen die heel onrespectvol naar de zorgverleners de maatregelen negeerden en hun eigen begeerten lekker bot vierden.

Meerdere mensen voelden zich met deze quarantaine maatregelen in het donker gelaten. Anderen lieten in hun hoofd heel wat kopzorgen ontstaan en werden bijna verlamd door vele vragen.

In deze donkere periode is het niet slecht om even naar een profeet te luisteren die vele duizenden jaren geleden leefde. Hij schreef:

“Mijn vijandin, verheug je maar niet over mij, want ben ik gevallen, ik zal opstaan,- wanneer ik neerzit in het duister is de ENE mij een licht! ••” (Mic 7:8 NB)

Zo als het al veel jaren is in onze maatschappij, zien wij vandaag ook wat mensen die de dagen van anderen hun tegenspoed met leedvermaak bekijken. We moeten er echter bewust van zijn dat we ons helemaal niet vrolijk moeten maken over de ondergang van bepaalde groepen. Ook al zien wij bepaalde politici die er niet om geven om een grote mond op te zetten op de dag van velen hun nood, kunnen wij dit niet zo maar laten passeren. We horen steeds op gepaste tijd op een juiste manier te reageren.

In deze donkere tijden moeten we onze geest trainen om ons op de juiste zaken te concentreren wanneer we met problemen te maken hebben. Hierbij kan men zich afvragen waarop wij het beste focussen. Als we ons concentreren op onze problemen, zinken we weg in de oceaan van moeilijkheden.

Op wat wens jij je te focussen in deze tijden van afzondering?

Nieuw op het net is een Jeshuaist website die mensen wil helpen om op de juiste dingen te focussen. Deze nieuwe site stelt zo onder andere voor:

1. Focus of Brandpunt
2. Focus of Optiek
3. Focus op bergrede
4. Focus op betere wereld
5. Focus op familie van God
6. Focus op het leven van Jezus en pogingen doen om diens leven te imiteren
7. Focus op Kinderen van God
8. Focus op Koninkrijk van God
9. Focus op Volk van God
10. Focussen op Enige Ware Bron van Vrede
11. Focus op de Wereld
12. Focus op Wet en genade
13. Focussen op iets of iemand
14. Focussen op Jezus Christus of Jeshua
15. Focussen op levend geloof
16. Focussen op Thora teksten
17. Focussen op wie in de wereld
18. Focussen waarop
19. Focus van een Jeshuaist of van een volger van Jeshua
20. Focus verliezenden

Zoals je merkt, is er heel wat om over te praten wanneer we het over het focussen of richten op iets of iemand. Het is heel belangrijk om te beseffen dat ongeveer een twee duizend jaar er een Joods meesterleraar was die voor geheel de mensheid de weg wenste te tonen die zij moesten volgen. Die rebbe heeft zich ten volle opgedragen aan zijn hemelse Vader, Jehovah God.

Jeshua, zoals die man werkelijk noemde, die wel beter gekend is onder de naam Jezus, legde zijn eigen wil ter zijde om de Wil van God te doen. Hij vroeg zijn volgelingen dit ook te doen en wenste voor hen een licht te zijn, zodat zij de weg naar God makkelijker zouden vinden in deze aardse duisternis.

Om God te kunnen vinden moeten wij Hem eerst zoeken.Hij staat in ieder geval klaar voor iedereen die Hem willen zoeken en Hem willen vinden. Om mensen op weg te helpen wil de Jeshuaistische gemeenschap hulp bieden en heeft ze daarom deze nieuwe website op het net gezet, met als titel “Een Volk voor een Koninkrijk” of “Jeshuaist Focus“.

Website Jeshuaist Focus – Pagina Waar op focussen

De site legt uit “Waarop te focussen” en legt uit waarom het zo belangrijk is om zich te richten naar God en Zijn “Woord“.

Jeshuaist Focus – Woord van God – Tot stand brenger

Naar Gods beeld geschapen moeten wij onze oorsprong herkennen en tot een innige relatie komen met Diegene Die ons leven geeft. Daarom moeten wij Die Levengever leren kennen en als het ware doorgronden. Hiertoe heeft Hij zelf middelen voorzien die ons daarbij kunnen helpen. Op de nieuwe website worden die middelen verduidelijkt en wordt er getoond hoe wij in de Bestseller aller tijden ons vertrouwen mogen schenken, daarin het uitzonderlijke Woord van God te vinden.

De uitweg van deze wereld vol geweld, problemen en pijn is om te onthouden hoe God een voorziening klaar gemaakt heeft maar ook om te mediteren en te oefenen wat Micha zei in de hiervoor aangehaalde passage van de Schrift. Deze “formule” voor bevrijding is nog steeds geldig!

De website Jeshuaist Focus toont hoe Jeshua, de man van vlees en bloed, de weg naar God is.

Wij moeten durven opstaan, de wereld aanschouwen, maar ook de wereld durven de rug toe keren om naar Jeshua op te kijken en met hem naar zijn hemelse Vader, Jehovah God te gaan.

Als we ons concentreren op de persoon van Jeshua of Jezus Christus, kunen wij ertoe komen te ontdekken in Wie alle schatten van wijsheid en kennis zijn, en zullen we een kans krijgen op bevrijding. Hij is diegene die ons naar de beste krachtbron leidt. Jeshua is ook diegene die ons verlost van onze huidige omstandigheden. Afhankelijk van de wijze waarop wij ons door hem laten trainen, zijn woorden en de woorden van zijn hemelse Vader opvolgen zullen we kunnen aanvoelen hoe zij in ons verandering aan brengen.

De juiste focus weten te vinden in een wereld vol onrust, geweld, pijn en verdriet.

We moeten dan ook durven die verandering te laten plaats nemen en een zuivere kijk krijgen op wat er rondom ons gebeurt. Daarom moeten wij ook durven focussen op de wereld, en zien hoe macht en geld deze wereld beheersen, en hoe de mens zich vele goden heeft verschaft. Maar het ligt aan elk individu om tot de eigen juiste keuze te komen.

Als men de juiste lenzen weet te gebruiken om goed te focussen, zal men zo een kijk kunnen krijgen welk een prachtig vooruitzicht God in het verschiet heeft gelegd.

We kunnen er namelijk op vertrouwen dat als wij naar Jeshua kijken en zijn voorbeeld willen volgen, zal hij ons ook de kracht geven om op te staan, zelfs als we gevallen zijn. Mogelijk moeten we enige tijd in het donker zitten en zal alles niet dadelijk vlotten als we gekozen hebben om Jeshua te volgen. We kunnen hem echter ons licht maken – onze reden voor de hoop op redding. Als we dit doen, kan hij op ons schijnen. Als Jeshua ons met licht voorziet dan kunnen er heel wat onverwachte dingen gebeuren.

Als wij Jeshua als ons licht en onze gids nemen kunnen we er op vertrouwen dat als we naar hem kijken, we zullen opstaan, zelfs als we gevallen zijn.

In deze tijden van beproeving , waar een onzichtbare vijand contacten met meerdere mensen tegen houdt, moeten we beseffen dat we toch nog verenigd kunnen zijn door de samenkomsten op het net. (Op de internet bijeenkomsten op het net konden we toch op een gemiddelde van een 40-tal mensen rekenen) Samen konden we ons verenigd voelen en elkaar moed inspreken om in ons geloof verder te gaan.

Mogelijk moeten we enige tijd in het donker zitten. We kunnen Jeshua echter ons licht maken – onze reden voor de hoop op redding. Als we dit doen, kan hij niet alleen op ons schijnen maar kan God wegens het open doen van de hemelse poorten door Christus, ook Zijn licht op diegenen laten schijnen die ook Hem willen ontvangen en prijzen. Als de Elohim op ons schijnt, gebeuren er ongelofelijke dingen! Dan hoeven wij ook niet bevangen zijn door enige angst die gevaarlijke ziekten over der wereld mogen brengen.

We mogen er gerust op zijn, God staat diegenen bij die Hem willen naderen.

Christus roept ons op om voorwaarts te gaan onder zijn opbrengst, zijn volgers die samen deel uitmaken van zijn lichaam.  Samen kunnen we een ecclesia vormen om met ons geloof de goederen van “opbrengst” te produceren door de Vrucht van de Geest. Dat kunnen we doen vanuit onze toegewijde en voortdurende geloofsvorming.
De basis over hoe je dichter bij Christus kunt groeien en dieper in onze wandeling met hem,
en ook hoe dicht bij het hart van God te komen, zijn de essentiële elementen om het “gaan” in actie te brengen.

In de praktijk betekent dit voortdurend bidden, Bijbellezen en bestuderen, gemeenschap met andere volwassen gelovigen en het oefenen van ons geloof in de dagelijkse gebeurtenissen van ons leven. Dit betekent dat we op Jeshua en God vertrouwen, onderdanig worden en hun leiding toestaan ​​zodat we verder kunnen gaan waar zij kansen bieden.

Als we ons realiseren dat we de verantwoordelijkheid hebben om te ‘gaan’, om in ons geloof te bewegen, kunnen we beter de intentie en motivatie hebben om op te staan ​​en onder Hem te komen. Dit werkt voor een nieuwe christen die misschien geen idee heeft wat hij moet doen of waar hij moet beginnen, en ook voor de ervaren voorganger die al tientallen jaren intiem met God wandelt.
Dit kan zelfs werken voor de christen die is gestagneerd en vergeten wat geloof en bedoeling waren. Maar we moeten opletten nergens zo maar te blijven hangen. Constant moeten we in beweging blijven en alle kansen geven om in ons geloof te groeien. Daarom kan voor een al gelovige persoon zulk een nieuwe website ook als een verfrisser nuttig zijn.

Als we de weg van het Joodse, Jeshuaistische, Messiaanse of christelijke leven bewandelen, moeten we oppassen dat we in onze strategieën en strijd God en Zijn doel niet uit het oog verliezen. Heel wat mensen proberen meestal een soort snelkoppeling te bedenken voor succes. Maar in Gods wereld zijn er echter geen snelkoppelingen. Ook in Jeshua’s werreld hoort men meermaals te schakelen en telkens van lens te wisselen om een juiste focus te verkrijgen. Ook bij en onder Jeshua zijn volwassenheid en discipelschap levenslange bezigheden, en moeten we onszelf altijd herbronnen om te groeien en te verbeteren door het Woord, gebed, spirituele disciplines en onze goddelijke relaties. Dit zijn de tools. Jeshua is het middel en onze bemiddelaar bij God.

Onze totale afhankelijkheid van God zal een betere houding voortbrengen die tot betere daden leidt.
Voor velen mag het moeilijk zijn om rijkdom, troost, plezier en zelfs vrienden op te geven om Christus als zijn discipel te volgen en om zich aan hem en zijn hemelse vader te komen om zo te worden aangenomen als Kinderen van God.
Als we de evangeliën lezen, vooral Lukas, krijgen we een zeer dwingende motivatie – de redding en zegeningen die Jezus ons geeft. Zelfs al voelen velen zich in dit coronatijdperk gevangen, met Jeshua is er bevrijding. Alle boeien of kettingen van de wereld worden door hem ontketend. Zij die zich aan Jeshua  over geven worden bevrijd, en dit niet voor een korte tijd , maar voor een eindeloze tijd.
Deze dingen zijn eeuwig, terwijl wat we opgeven erg beperkt en tijdelijk is. Het beste is dat we echt niet zoveel opgeven als we winnen. Een kleiner voordeel opgeven voor een superieur persoon is slim en praktisch, zowel zakelijk als als een discipel van Christus.

Realiseer je je dat onze afhankelijkheid van God helpt om onze frustraties weg te nemen, desillusie te voorkomen en ons gecentreerd houdt op wat belangrijk is in het leven, namelijk de door Hem gezonden Christus? We kunnen vertrouwen op Gods genade, want God zal op zijn tijd voor een uitweg zorgen. Als we ons niet richten op volwassenheid en afhankelijkheid,
dan concentreren we ons op onszelf, dat uiteindelijk vervormt en zelfs het werk van de Elohim vernietigt in plaats van Zijn Koninkrijk op te bouwen.

We zullen niet perfect zijn. Het is een kwestie van spiritualiteit die we ons moeten onderwerpen zoals we genoemd worden omdat Christus dat deed. Zonder een levensbenadering van onderwerping, zullen we onthullen dat onze basis voor het leven geen geestelijke volwassenheid is. Daarom zullen wij en onze gemeenschappen worden belemmerd in groei, evenals ons bereik. We kunnen geen zorgzame gemeenschap zijn als we niet onderdanig en nederig zijn in onze relatie met God en vervolgens met elkaar zijn.

De nieuwe Jeshuaistische website tracht een beeld te zorgen hoe we met elkaar kunnen omgaan onder het leiderschap van Jeshua de hoeksteen van een werkende en groeiende gemeenschap van gelovigen.

Als u denkt dat dit gewoon te veel is en u zich overweldigd voelt, bedenk dan dat het niet van de ene op de andere dag gebeurt; het duurt een leven lang. Als u het nog steeds niet zeker weet, overweeg dan dit. Een van de belangrijkste redenen waarom mensen hun kerk verlaten, is dat ze daar geen echte relaties hebben. Discipelschap is het middel voor het opbouwen van relaties.
We zijn ontworpen voor iets meer in het leven dan alleen het nastreven van wensen en genoegens. Daarom voelen mensen die ‘alles hebben’ zich nog steeds leeg. God heeft geen Lone Ranger-christenen geschapen. Hij heeft ons geschapen om in gemeenschap en met elkaar te zijn; discipelschap is de sleutel tot die gemeenschap. God roept ons om elkaar op te heffen.
Er mag geen enkele persoon in de geloofsgemeenschap zijn die niet ten minste één persoon heeft waarmee ze een vriend kunnen bellen en een relatie hebben met buiten de ecclesia en haar programma’s.

Als wij horen dat mensen problemen hebben in deze tijden van afzondering ligt het aan ons om hen te helpen oplossingen aan te bieden. Met de nieuwe website hoop de Jeshuaistische gemeenschap een instrument aan te bieden dat mensen verder op weg kan helpen om dichter bij God te komen en zelfs om als een Kind van God ook onderdeel te worden van het Volk van God.

Vindt daarom de nieuwe website en maak hem ook kenbaar aan anderen rondom jou.

Jeshuaist focus

Website Jeshuaist Focus – Pagina Waar op focussen

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Voorgaande

Kort overzicht Corona gebeuren in België

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Vindt verder ook te lezen:

1. Wat te doen om een kind van God te worden
2. Voor het eerst in jaren weer een Pesach in isolatie
3. Zending van Met Open Bijbel April 2020
4. Kunnen focussen in een hectische tijd
5. Isolatietijd vrij te nemen voor jezelf
6. Over gaan tot een juiste focus

Aan het einde van de dag…

Aan het eind van de dag kunt u het ook doen
focus op wat je verscheurt
of wat jou bij elkaar houdt.

 

Tekst- en beeldtegoed: Spiritual Awakenings – Gepubliceerd op Purple Rays onder de titel: At the end of the day…

Engelse versie hier / English version: At the end of the day…

At the end of the day…

Dutch translation / Nederlandse vertaling: Aan het einde van de dag…

Purplerays

At the end of the day, you can either
focus on what’s tearing you apart
or what’s holding you together.

Text and image credit: Spiritual Awakenings https://www.facebook.com/SpiritualAwakenings/

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a Path to explore more

When I started with this website, I wanted to share common thoughts or give similar minds an extra open door to reach others, as well as to present a selection of websites, blogs and writings I thought (and think) worthwhile reading or looking at.

For years on all my websites I also presented a “Related” articles list, to give my readers other opportunities to find more writings on the subject. After the many complaints having linked to their article, and having to search for placed links I was asked to remove, from this year onward, I stop to invest time looking for related articles, investing time to read them for after approval, placing links after the posted articles. Now much more time shall come available to publish more articles which are in unison with my thoughts and not bringing readers away from my own sites. (From the statistics more readers from this site went looking at the mentioned site, than receiving readers from the linked site.) At the same time on my websites I shall not any more bringing people to websites which are against me or my beliefs.

After giving all my energy to the world of dance my body could not fit any more the physical world of exuberance and graceful unlimited mobility. Having reached a certain age where they consider a human being not able enough to give enough to the world, I was made redundant, considered to be part of the ‘third age’ group.
First having been very disappointed by the way I was treated, the first two years I did not want to do much with ballet or theatrical dance. Not having to work full time for our living, receiving retirement fund, I could spend more time to my church work. My religious activities started even taking so much time I had less time to write at my own personal blog. (Because pensions not enough to survive I still have a few days a month I work for my living.)

I feel blessed that I am allowed to work at three Bible translations, even when it might consume also a lot of time and lots of thinking-work, being it a seriously very faithful responsibility, not to add or change anything in the saying or purpose of the original words supplied by God. Therefore, those translations in Judaic Dutch (Yiddish Dutch or Flemish), with the eye of two (or three) different groups (namely a Jeshuaist, a Jewish and an Orthodox Jewish public) is and shall be a time-consuming job with lots of thought and consideration).

This does not take away that I would have lost my interest in humanity and how man treats other people, animals and plants. I even became more active, spending also time in meetings concerning our way of life, necessary political actions a.o..
I must admit at meetings and conferences I seem to belong to a minority who strive to get unity in Europe, with some liveable world for everyone. Convinced we have to do something against this capitalist greedy world which does not show respect to the gross of people, animals and plants, I keep going strong and letting my voice being heard.

From  the moment I got retired I did not stop to seek a connection of like minds, to share common positive beliefs, and to be able to learn from each other about how to live life to the fullest.

Jonathan Hilton seems also on such a track. He writes:

Even when things don’t go as we plan, we all know no matter how hard we plan, life will throw us curve balls designed to engender growth. Our lives are defined by the lessons we learn at this moment and the way we handle ourselves. {Mind Connections}

Raising his level of consciousness has become Jonathan Hilton’s passion in life.

and understanding that when I follow and focus on certain core principles in my life and live in alignment with them, things go well. {Mind Connections}

He writes on the opening of his blog Mind Connections, admitting:

When I fall off, and my focus isn’t so sharp, then things are not so pleasant. Conscious thought about where my attention goes allows all of my energies to flow in that direction. {Mind Connections}

With the knowledge that each viewpoint may bring a different set of emotions, a different thought process, and a different reality to the perceiver it only can be enriching to share thoughts and to get to know more people from all over the world and getting to know how they manage to make the best of their life.

We have little control over the perceptions of others, but we may not forget that when we utter our ideas, share our thoughts, we might bring others to other ideas too.

How often do we not wonder if what we are doing is or would be right? How often do we not wonder if we should openly write what we think or if we should write in ways and words others would love to hear? I always have been a bad one at that. By creating my ballets I did not mind criticising the way our society was moving. I never tried to be popular by my creative works. [Choreographing fashion shows was a totally different matter, there I tried to bring the customers to find a connection in a future world to form. (We always had to be seasons ahead, manipulating the fashion trends – and yes, there stimulating human desires of consumption.) There it was also part the business to know beforehand what others would love to wear and see. ] In such way I also kept busy to try to find out what others would like to see and read.

On the surface, it is a simple choice, but in reality, it is a constant battle, {Life is a Mirror}

Hilton notes.
According to him

There is only a short time allotted to each of us to write the story of your life and with that time, we are tasked with a lot of things to accomplish. You have really only one life to get things right and sing the song that you want to sing. {The Story of Your Life}

We can try to make our dreams so compelling, that we will that we can’t wait to work on them, because waiting to experience them, in reality, is too painful. Often it is that enthusiasm which gets us to be restless and gets us up in the middle of the night to scribble something down or even to write certain texts.

A difficulty might be to:

Tune your enthusiasm to the size of your goals and attack it like your story depends on it because it does. That is how you write the story of your life. {The Story of Your Life}

At this blog I want to give, as many people as possible, the opportunity to share their thoughts which they and I find interesting enough to think about. I keep chasing my dreams that we can find enough people all over the world willing to bring others to see how we have to be careful which way of life we want to choose. As a Christian I also would love to see more people sharing the faith in One God and in His Gift and Good News of the coming Kingdom.

Once more, I dare to invite people to join us to share positive thoughts, but also to bring warnings how to tackle ecological and other problems.

Please do not hesitate to contact me, for becoming a part of joining hands across this globe.

Responsible for what we are

More than one writer and philosopher pointed to the fact that we are all ourselves responsible for what we are, have become or what we shall become.

“We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be,
we have the power to make ourselves.
If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions,
it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future
can be produced by our present actions;
so we have to know how to act.”
~ Swami Vivekananda …

The Indian Hindu monk Vivekananda sitting in meditative posture in Cossipore 1886

 

Dr Austin Ejaife *(Ugo1)* also looks at this statement which should be a warning for us all. He writes:

It can be easy for us to lose focus of the incredible potential we possess to make ourselves into anything that we wish ourselves to be. All too often we let the little failures in life get us down, or we lock ourselves up into our current situations in life and our same old routines. But it is true what Swami says here:

today, we are a result of our past actions… and it therefore follows that we can come to be whatever we wish, if we so choose to.

The key is that we must choose to make positive changes… and then act upon those changes now. {Take Action To Bring Yourself Closer To Who And What You Wish To Be}

He too is aware that such changes do not have to happen at once. question is first if we are willing to change ourselves. In which way do we want to grow and mould ourselves when we go along the path of life? Question to be posed is on what do we as a person want to focus?

In this world for many the focus is on material things. Not many are interested in the spiritual richness which can be in front of us. We should be aware were we want to position us in this world and how we want to look at ourselves but also would love others to see us.

Dr Austin Ejaife *(Ugo1)*his advice is

We can make slight changes to our routines that help us to become more positive, more productive, and bring us closer to where we desire to be. {Take Action To Bring Yourself Closer To Who And What You Wish To Be}

But also questions

Why is it easy to get caught up in who we are now and lose sight of who we want to be? {Take Action To Bring Yourself Closer To Who And What You Wish To Be}

So many people fall in the trap of their own ego tripping and selfishness, that they miss the opportunity to become part of a greater unit. Lots of people are also afraid to be confronted with their-self and always postpone to change something essential.

For this reason it is not bad to take in consideration the following thought:

 

“Never again clutter your days or nights
with so many menial and unimportant things
that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along.
This applies to play as well as work.

A day merely survived is no cause for celebration.
You are not here to fritter away your precious hours
when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine.
No more busy work. No more hiding from success.
Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!”
~ Og Mandino

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Preceding

Getting up to bring changes into your life

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Additional reading

1. Change
2. Control and change
3. Only I can change my life
4. A Living Faith #8 Change
5. Concerning the Spiritual Body
6. Control your destiny or somebody else will
7. Sociological changes to be taken serious by the church
8. We will all be changed

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Related

1. The Humans and The Humanity
2. Tunnel Vision
3. I Decided, So I Did
4. Will You Choose Freedom?
5. Choose wisely….#8
6. When things just don’t go as planned…
7. Focal Point
8. Keep Your Eyes On God
9. Isaiah 24-27; Perfect Peace
10. April 25th 2018 – Our Focus
11. Maintaining an Upward Focus
12. Focus; Pt. 2
13. Switching Focus
14. Choosing Our Focus In Challenging Times
15. Distraction from God is extremely dangerous
16. How Big Is Your God?
17. Keeping our Focus on God
18. May 30th 2018 – Seek His Face
19. Choice
20. 28 Quotes To Become Successful With Continuous Improvement

Focusing on being a blessing

When you focus
on being a blessing,
God makes sure
that you are always blessed in abundance.
Joel Osteen

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Concentreren op een zegen

The Reformation shows us why we need expository preaching

In Christianity pastors or preachers should be followers of Christ Jesus and spread the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God. Their first and most important book in their preaching should be the Greatest Book of all, the Bible.

It is not bad to look back at the several people who also tried to be a servant of Christ or to be a servant of God. But the main focus of the preaching may not be on the words of those previous preachers, but always should focus on the Words of God. Too often that is forgotten in several churches, where they shout only a few quotes from Scriptures and fill the main service with their own words and with music, in the hope to entertain the people in their church.

Today we have to ask all those elders, presbyters, expositors to come to preach That Most Important Word. all those who hope to have some mega church running should better remember those who did their best to bring the Word of God to the people: The evangelists in the Second and First Great Awakenings and the Reformers who preached the Word, like the apostle Paul preached followed Jesus who also preached the Word, him following Isaiah, Ezra and so many man of God who where not afraid to preach the Word of God.

*

To remember

Martin Luther  = main spark to Protestant Reformation <=  95 Theses  > because the Word was unleashed.

William Tyndale, John Hus, + many others executed for translating or preaching the Word in people’s language.

Roman Catholic Church prevented Catholics from reading the Word themselves + from possessing a Bible > restricted for a thousand years.

Read word for soul’s health > solace

expository preaching > involves exposition, or comprehensive explanation, of Scripture => presenting meaning + intent of biblical text, providing commentary + examples => passage clear + understandable ==> expose meaning of the Bible, verse by verse.

 

Knowing the blood of the martyrs soaks the ground under thousands of stakes, how dare we insert our own words, opinions, fads, and stunts onto the pulpit? Men died for this Word to be preached. Jesus as the Word suffered and absorbed all God’s wrath for the elect so this word would go out and be preached.

 

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Further related

1. The Reformation shows us why we need expository preaching
2. St. Luke: An Expositional and Devotional Commentary” by William Klock
3. How Relevant is Your Church?
4. 1810 5vols The Family Expositor or A Paraphrase and Version of the New Testament
5. The Protestant Reformation and the Reformers: The Truth Restored
6. Was the Reformers’ Gospel something new?
7. A Swiss Reformer
8. The Human Reformer: Martin Luther Struggled With Depression and Nightmares
9. Scripture Alone, for the Reformers and us!

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Related articles

• Shan George tells pastors what to do with tithe
• Serve God diligently and obey the law
• Chinese House Church Leaders and Toddler Arrested After Singing in Public Park

With the 500th year anniversary of the Reformation coming upon us October 31, many people are looking to history and learning Martin Luther and his the men that came before him.

Martin Luther is generally acknowledged to have been a main spark to the Protestant Reformation. Protestant comes from the word protest, which Luther’s 95 Theses sparked against the Roman Catholic Church’s excesses of indulgences (sin absolution for hire) and other abuses.

The Reformation didn’t happen because Martin Luther put the 95 Theses on the door to Wittenberg Chapel. It happened because the Word was unleashed. ~Mark McAndrew, North Avenue Church

Here, John MacArthur explains in a 1:33 clip How unhindered access to God’s Word changed history.

William Tyndale, John Hus, and many others were executed for translating or preaching the Word in the people’s language. The Roman Catholic Church prevented the Catholics from reading the Word themselves and…

View original post 597 more words

How to set your mind

Colossians 3, 4

Paul said,

The first of the Epistles to the Colossians (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3 v 2).

This is all very well to say, but how do we do it? Paul gives us some great advice to achieve the goal.

1. Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, … anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. (Ephesians 3 v 5 – 8).
2. Do not lie. (v 9).
3. Don’t be racist. (v 11).
4. Practice compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (v 12).
5. Forgive. (v 13).
6. Love. (v 14).
7. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. (v 15).
8. Be thankful. (v 15).
9. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. (v 16).
10. Teach and help others to do the same. (v 16).
11. Sing with thankfulness. (v 16).
12. Do everything with Jesus in mind. (v 17).
13. Love your family. (v 18 – 21).
14. Work hard for your employer as if you were working for Jesus. (v 22 – 25).
15. Treat others fairly. (4 v 1).
16. Devote yourselves to prayer. (v 2).
17. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. (v 5).
18. Always show grace in the way you speak. (v 6).

If these actions become habits in our lives then we will be doing what Paul said to do. We will have set our minds on the things above, not on earthly things.

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Related articles

• Why a ‘soft’ view of sin will only get the church into trouble
• Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
• Christians need discipline, not excessive deliverance – Rev. Attih
• Grace and Peace
• Acts 15 and Salvation by Grace Alone
• Declarations For Identity In Christ
• 4 Questions that will test your spiritual fitness
• One Great Creator
• DIG for Friday the 9th of September…..one offering, one sacrifice…..Hebrews 10 v 12

Life Goes On

Today’s guest-writer with his decease knows that  whether we’re going through the worst of times or the best of times, history and our own experiences show us that life does go on.

Though we can not say this to everybody at any time.

“There is an appointed time for everything.
And there is a time for every event under heaven —
A time to give birth and a time to die…
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4)

I thought about the above passage last week when our daughter gave birth to a beautiful seven pound girl on Wednesday, then a close friend died of cancer on Friday – “A time to give birth and a time to die.”

Twenty years later after our guest-writer Bill was diagnosed with ALS he still goes strong and inspires many people with what he writes on the net, reaching many in countries who would never come to. His writing are clearly inspired by God’s Spirit, Who is able to give incredible powers to those who are willing to give themselves in the hands of God.

*

To remember

life’s great highs + lows = day-to-day life > seem so trivial

we tell ourselves that we’ll never again settle for the trivial life

our emotional or spiritual highs & lows gradually find their old balance => return to a mundane normalcy

=> root cause of much of addiction + depression we see around us

answer? = “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15)

focus not on the personal and professional “highs” missed => make  conscious effort to focus on  good things in life

Life = hard == much easier if we surround ourselves with people that won’t only rejoice with us in the good times but will also support us in the difficult times.

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Preceding: Why are you afraid?

 

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Further reading

1. What Would You Say?
2. Time slowed
3. Courting Joy
4. Still Life
5. Survivor or Fighter?
6. 5 Things You Need to Know About Life (1 min read)
7. Opportunity Meets Impression! (2 min read)
8. The Road Ahead
9. Solace Can be Found
10. It starts again….
11. Silent Screams
12. Just
13. On the topic of crying
14. Fibromyalgia and remission
15. Suicidal thoughts
16. Behind the face,  the mask. 
17. Dignity
18. 005 Coping with depression
19. Losing Friends, Making Friends
20. Experimenting
21. Daily Shorts – Can I Run Away?
22. Perfect Love
23. Depression I
24. It feels weird 
25. The Steps of Falling Apart
26. Better Days: Creating Change
27. 02.47

Unshakable Hope

“Life Goes On”

Whether we’re going through the worst of times or the best of times, history and our own experiences show us that life does go on. This is true, but I don’t recommend saying “life goeson” to someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

“There is an appointed time for everything.
And there is a time for every event under heaven —
A time to give birth and a time to die…
A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4)

I thought about the above passage last week when our daughter gave birth to a beautiful seven pound girl on Wednesday, then a close friend died of cancer on Friday – “A time to give birth and a time to die.”

Those who are grieving and those who are rejoicing have this…

View original post 549 more words

Stop worrying about what you have to loose

“Stop worrying about what you have to loose
and
start focusing on what you have to gain”

 

Dutch text: Stop met je zorgen te maken over verliezen

Sheep Worrying Just don’t do it! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Stop met je zorgen te maken over verliezen

“Stop met je zorgen te maken over wat je te verliezen hebt
en
begin je te concentreren op wat je moet en kan winnen”

 

In English: Stop worrying about what you have to loose

Spotprent op de verliezen van de Spanjaarden tijdens de veldtocht van Maurits in 1597 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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• Poroshenko calls Ukrainians to learn English
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• Asking the Most High for forgiveness of sins and ignorance

Brian Tracy on leadership

Business expert Brian Tracy in his book “How the Best Leaders Lead: Proven Secrets to Getting the Most Out of Yourself and Others” gives you a series of practical, proven ideas and strategies that leaders and managers at every level can use immediately.

Those in charge of churches have to be good leaders. Have a look at what he has to say:

 

You become what you think about most of the time.

Most of the time, leaders think about the qualities of leadership and how to apply them daily.

Leaders have a clear vision of where they are going, and they convey this vision to everyone around them.

Leaders have the courage to take risks, to move forward, to face danger with no guarantee of success.

Leaders have integrity. They deal honestly and straightforwardly with each person. They tell the truth, and they always keep their word.

Leaders are humble. They get results by using the strengths and knowledge of those around them. They know how to listen, and they know how to learn.

Leaders have foresight. They continually look ahead and anticipate what might happen. They make provisions to guard against possible reversals and put themselves into a position to take advantage of possible opportunities.

Leaders focus on what’s important. They concentrate their time and resources, and the time and resources of the company, on the activities that will make the most difference.

Leaders cooperate well with others. They are liked and respected by everyone around them. They go out of their way to get along well with the key people upon which the company depends. They truly believe that people are their most valuable asset.

The best companies (churches) have the best leaders. The second-best companies (churches) have the second-best leaders. The third-best companies (churches), in these times of turbulence, are unfortunately on their way out of business.

The most important contribution you can make to your company (church) is to be a leader, accept responsibility for results, and dare to go forward.

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Preceding articles:

A Brief Thought on Leadership

Failures, mistakes and Initiatives for Excellence and success, Working towards turning a Dream of yours into reality

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