Someone said that a failure to plan is a plan to fail. And unfortunately, I for one, have had more than a few occasions in my life where failing to plan was my undoing.

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But I have a little something to add to those words of wisdom. If you’re seeking to live out your enduring purpose in Christ, you will also need to remember that the best laid plans are nothing if they aren’t first and foremost prayed plans.

Truly, we can plan our work and work our plans and become quite successful. But we have to remember that Jesus also said that it is unprofitable to gain the world and lose your soul.

The best this life can offer amounts to a comfortable ride to the grave. You want to live a life that you can be excited about, even when you have to face tough times? Plan life on your knees! Proverbs 16:3 says if you commit your work to the Lord, your plans will be established.

The finest house ever made is worthless if built on sinking sand. So, trust the Great Carpenter with your life’s construction. And remember that He has built an eternal mansion with your name on it!

It is one of the most common magic tricks of a magician. Take a sheet of paper or a dollar bill, fold it a few times, and then rip it into pieces right before the eyes of the audience. Next, they do a little presto-change-o, hocus-pocus, or abracadabra! And voila!

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This sort of reminds me of the subject of forgiveness. I submit to you that forgiveness that is for real is four-fold, and cannot be true forgiveness without all four of these elements intact. Sure, many a psychologist (secular and even Christian) tend to focus on one, two, or maybe even three of the things I am about to share with you, but the often get them out of order. Yet, even if they do get them in the right order, they tend to leave out the fourth facet, thereby leaving their patients with something that might appear to be noble, but are not the complete kind of forgiveness that God approves of.

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It's time for your EPIC comeback!

Have you ever watched “The Amazing Race” reality show? You know, where couples compete against other couples by looking for clues that will help them be first to complete a worldwide race?

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Some couples get so lost that before the show is halfway over, they know that they have zero hopes of winning the race. And when they get to the finish line, their predictions are confirmed. Why don't they win? In most cases their problems come when they fail to pay attention to the clues along the way.

The race of life for the Believer is a lot like that. As you live out your enduring purpose in Christ, just know that along the way, God will give grace sufficient to persevere through whatever seeks to hinder or confuse you. But you must be on the look-out for it!

We walk by faith and run with patience. And through the eyes of faith, we see the ways God causes all things to work together for good to them that love Him. So keep your spiritual eyes open!

Wait! I just found a clue… [then last crash of the music] It says, "The difference between “Amazing Race” and “Amazing Grace” is the letter G… Keep GOD at the center of life's amazing race and in the end you'll take first place!" We gotta go! We gotta go!

Welcome to Your EPIC Comeback podcast episode 3. In this show, we will discuss the letter “E” of your EPIC, which is “Endurance”. But first, I’d like to share some insights concerning the state of America in light of the political and social climate today.

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ENDURANCE -- Merriam-Webster's simple definitions of the word are the ability to do something difficult for a long time; the ability to deal with pain or suffering for a long time; or the quality of continuing for a long time. Jesus used the word in Matthew 24:13 when He spoke of a time that the world will face that will test believers with trial and tribulation. He says that, "Whoever endures to the end, the same shall be saved."

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The Greek meaning of the word endure (or as transliterated, hoopomen'o) is to remain, i.e. abide, not recede or flee ; to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one's faith in Christ; to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments. In light of today's departure from reality where it is even being legislated that people are allowed to feel and act in whatever ways makes them happy, the word "endure" is becoming increasingly foreign to western philosophy and religion.

Yet, it is among the subjects most often approached by Jesus and the writers of the New Testament. As one progresses through the gospel of Matthew, it is easy to see the patterns of a world growing in animosity towards the true and living God and therefore towards His people. You can likewise see the same pattern as you read through all of the epistles and the Revelation that make up the rest of the New Testament.

Though we, as Christians, like to think and speak fondly of changing the world for the better, we must never forget that the Scriptures promises that the world will see tribulations unlike anything we can perfectly imagine. And Scripture also shows that these increasing tribulations are leading up to a time of the ultimate passing away of the world as we know it as a result of the unrelenting wrath of almighty God against sin.

[shareable cite="KEITH L. BELL"]Though enjoyment can and should be expected, endurance must never be neglected.[/shareable]

We cannot ignore these facts of Scripture for at least two reasons: First, if we are not going to believe what the Scriptures say will happen as far as this dying world is concerned, then, what else in Scripture can we really stake our eternal souls on? Secondly, what gives us the right to think that we will somehow re-write Scripture by our so-called prayers, faith, or good works, when not even Jesus would allow Himself to do or say anything that contradicted Scripture, but in fact continually stated the fact that "It is written..."

If Jesus didn't see the necessity to act or speak in a way that presented a different dialogue than that which God's word promised. If Jesus would go so far as to declare to us that in the world we will have tribulation. And if the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ himself is called the Word of God and has told us that this world will pass away, then who are we to think that we can bring about a different ultimate outcome?

God's word tells us that we must endure because, by the very definition of the word, we will have to live in a world that will be increasingly hostile towards the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. I want to have a beautiful, joyful a happy life just as much as the next man. But the reality of Scripture tells me that I had better practice the joy of the Lord which gives me the strength to count it all joy when (not if) I encounter various trials and sufferings (James 1:2), because Jesus promises that I will have to endure them throughout this life.

So is this to say that there won't be great times we will get to enjoy in life?

You ever have someone in mind who you admired, but you knew they didn’t care much about you, yet for some strange reason, you felt like going out of your way to get their attention anyway?

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Don’t feel ashamed. All of us have a desire to be liked, loved, or needed. We can express that need in a variety of ways. But here’s a better way to address the urge to be approved of—especially when it comes to those who couldn’t care less about you...

Go out of your way to find yourself in the quiet presence of the Lord. Tell Him how you feel when you are ignored or overlooked. Let him know that you don’t want to put so much stock in other’s impressions of you. Then ask for strength to go it alone if necessary.

You see, people rarely have much time for those who they can’t use. Its just the fallen nature in us. Instead of running after people, try waiting on the Lord, prayerfully lingering in his presence. And watch how he strengthens your heart!

He has wonders to perform through us! Our trouble is that sometimes we think so much about those who think so little of us that we get so little accomplished that we prove them right.

The 4th of July is the time that we celebrate our nation’s independence. And among other things, one of the primary reasons our forefathers came to this land from England was to be free to worship the living God.

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In just a few hundred years, the world witnessed how a people dependent upon God can rise to become one of the greatest nations ever. Yet, it wasn’t long before we plateaued as we set God’s word aside, and began a steady decline in power.

As you live out your EPIC, know that one of the greatest temptations you will face is to begin to feel like you don’t need as much of God’s word as before. But that is the farthest thing from the truth!

Take a lesson of life from the disciples. One day, after just about all of the people who constantly followed Jesus, turned their backs on Him to never walk with Him again, Jesus asked those who remained, “Will you go away from Me also?” Their response was, “Where else will we go? Only You have the words of eternal life!"

You want to stay strong and keep getting stronger? Make to God your Declaration of Him-dependence! Stay in His word and stay ready!

Do you have trust issues when it comes to God? I'd have to admit that sometimes I do. Here's the issue: Just when I decide to trust God to get me through, a new aspect of the trouble presents itself.

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Like Peter, it seems just as I get the courage to step out of the boat onto the sea of my difficulty, the wind and the waves increase intensity! But that's when a small voice reminds me that the storm I face is the very reason I first decided to trust the Lord.

When our reasons to trust God rage against us it is only because we are beginning to rob them of their power! The flesh, the world, and the devil do not like to be challenged by faith, so they retaliate with fear.

Someone said that fear is just False Evidence Appearing Real. But let's BE REAL for a moment. Sometimes the evidence is not false but IS as real as it appears. So, I'd say that fear is more like Faith's Enemy And Rival...

If our faith is not tried by real circumstances, then how will we know the true power of the faith of Christ in us? Trust the Lord beyond what you can see, no matter how real the issue is! Step out! Stay faithful! Stay ready!

In this minute, I discuss the importance of cleanliness of the heart in the sight of God, and how it is much more important than how you look on the outside.

There is a prevailing sort of success-driven mantra we often hear that says you can do absolutely anything you want. Just put your mind to it. And while that may be true for many things we could attempt, it seems that it has little to no bearing on many Christians who have tried their hardest, even for years, to accomplish something worthwhile. Has buying into the “I can do anything…” mindset left you frustrated and feeling a little defeated? Well, have you considered the source of your strengths?

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You might be able to accomplish just about anything you put YOUR mind to, but even if you reach that goal, you will not find fulfillment if you are not accomplishing that which God has put HIS mind to for you. Always remember that we are still ‘servants’ of the Lord and He still has specific purposes for each of us. And If we focus too much on our perceived strengths, we will rarely feel the need to lean and depend upon the God who is the absolute source of all of our power.

But there is another important aspect to all of this. It is that you might be failing to recognize the value of some of your weaknesses. And sure, such words would rarely be heard in a secular motivational speaking event. But we as Christians understand that man’s ways of seeing things are often not God’s ways. And though from time to time we need a friendly reminder, we know that when we are weak, God is strong.

Take, for example, the apostle Paul.  There is probably no greater world-impacting Christian you or I can think of.  In his day, facing the dangers he met with everywhere he went, the apostle Paul proved to be probably the mightiest man of God who ever lived since the birth of the church.  But here is where Paul’s strength lay; Paul was weak (2 Cor. 12:9)!  Of course he had strengths, but it was his weakness that helped define His ministry.  How do I know?  Well, Paul himself said that all of his achievements, all of his social status and all of his education, he counted as dung.  So what else did he really have left but his weaknesses?

And it was even when he was either left for dead or asleep that Paul was taken by God into the third heaven where he heard things that were unlawful to repeat (2 Cor. 12:2-4).  And after such an awesome revelation, he had to be humbled by God, so there was permitted “a messenger of Satan”, an insurmountable obstacle, a weakness that was sent to harass him in order to keep him humble—to keep him weak in “Paul” but strong in the Lord (v. 7)!

You see, God has created us—weaknesses and all.  And He allows us to have some of our weaknesses, such as areas of our lives that we just cannot seem to improve in or overcome on our own, so that like the apostle Paul, who sought God over and over again to remove his own thorn in the flesh, when we turn to Him, God infuses our lives, our weaknesses with His omnipotent power.  Then we learn to say like the apostle Paul learned: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13).

What has been the greatest power God has displayed in your life up until now?  I’ll tell you, it was when He saved you and made you completely righteous in His sight!  And how did you have to come to Him for that to happen?  You had to come humbly by faith without works, because not only were you weak, but you were absolutely impotent to save yourself, right?  If God did such a powerful thing for you when you were His enemy, how much more will He do for you (and through you) now that you are His child?

Be like a child before a heavenly Father and consider the source of your strength, and remember also that the Lord Jesus Christ said that “Without Me, you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).

How should you respond when you’re on your EPIC Comeback and a close friend or a loved-one does not trust or believe in you? I try to remember Jesus.

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Matthew 13:58 says that Jesus did not do many miracles in his hometown of Nazareth. Why not? Well, we know it wasn’t because he couldn’t. He’s God!

But it was because they didn’t believe in him, thereby making themselves unworthy of his best.

Like Jesus, you must stay focused. Even if it means that those you love are not walking with you for a time. God first–all others second. And remember this… People can never really know you until they can also believe in what you’re most passionate about.

Jesus proved this back then, and He will declare it again in the last day when He says to many, “I never knew you…” You are saved because you believed in what Christ was most passionate about, which was dying for sin and saving your soul.

Wow! God died for you! I believe I’ll leave it right there…

[shareable cite=”KEITH L. BELL”]People can never really know you until they can also believe in what you’re most passionate about.[/shareable]