We often treat the future as if it's a mystery. As if we don't have a say in it, or any control if it. And while there is some truth  in that, there is a deeper truth also.

We get to choose how we see the future, and the choice we make has a profound influence over the outcome we experience. This episode shows you 5 powerful ways to see the road ahead.

 

 

Tip of the Week:

I may have finally found an app to replace Cardmunch – the iPhone app I previously used to process business cards I received at conferences. The new app is called Card Reader, and it's made by Full Contact. The maker claims is "the easiest way to scan business cards into Google Contacts, iPhone Contacts, & 250+ other apps." The advantage Card Reader has over other card scanners is simple, and powerful: the business cards you scan into it are transcribed by real live humans, not by an OCR algorithm.

If you'd like to be the one-in-a-million who actually does something with all those business cards you collect, give Card Reader a try.

Plus, Full Contact will unify, synch, and keep up-to-date all the contacts in your Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Contacts.

Spiritual Foundations: Grace Is Not A Doctrine

"Grace", to most Christians, is a doctrine. A part of the overall gospel of Jesus Christ. But that's not the case. Grace is not a "doctrine" or a "part of" the gospel. It is the gospel itself, in its entirety.

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17

We tell new Christians they " are saved by grace through faith". That salvation is a "free gift". Then, once they have nought our sales pitch, we begin telling them how they have to "clean up their act".

But performance-based Christianity is a modern invention, not a biblical principle.

We don't "behave our way" into to the life of the Spirit. Many churches teach that we must stop serving the "desires of the flesh" so that we can then walk more by the Spirit… but the Bible says the exact opposite.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Galatians 5:16-18

When we walk by the Spirit, we will naturally be freed from the power of sin.

How then, do we "walk by the Spirit"? Here are some good ways to start:

1. By becoming Christ-conscious instead of sin-conscious.
2. Read the Scripture and look for Christ and His grace.
3. Recalling, meditating on, and speaking out loud the testimony of what He has done.
4. Talk to God, and listen what He says to you (through His word, other people, "coincidences", the "still small voice", a sense of his presence., etc.)
5. Listen to and soak up anointed teaching, preaching, and worship music.

Doing these things will help you walk by the Spirit… and your transformed behavior will flow from you naturally.

Feature Presentation: 5 Powerful Ways To See The Road Ahead

Here are 5 powerful ways to see the road ahead – transforming your thinking, and conforming it to these frameworks, can have a powerful impact on the future you actually experience.

1. Possible. Don't allow your thoughts to rehearse all the possible ways things might go wrong. Instead, meditate n great detail on exactly how things could go right.
2. Provident. Remember that the Universe is the creation of a benevolent God who wants only the best for you. and even when chaos intervenes and things go wrong, it can ultimately work in your favor (Romans 8:28).
3. Peaceful. Peace has very little to do with what is happening around us, and everything to do with what is happening within us.
4. Powerful. The agency in your life belongs to you. You are a "powerful person" – meaning you are not a victim of circumstances, bad luck, or other people's poor choices.
5. Prepared. God has prepared a specific, beneficial, fulfilling destiny for you, and you must remember this, even when you feel you can't see it. Even if you don't fancy yourself a believer, I have a suggestion. Believe your future has been prepared for you anyway. Which belief will allow you to proceed with more confidence, clarity, and control: the belief that life is a random game of chance with no rhyme or reason… or the belief that a force greater than you is looking out for you, and constantly adjusting the odds in your favor? Which believe will make you more calm, proactive, flexible, and give you access to your own personal levels of highest performance?

 

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Question: What are you looking forward to in 2015? How will you use these 5 ways of seeing the road ahead to empower your journey?  Click here to leave your comments.