The Past and the Future

Many people consider things that happen in the past to be of grave importance, but I prefer to concentration on potential for what we can actually change, the future. Sure when something happens in the past often we must deal with it, but we shouldn't linger on it. The faster we can move on from something the faster we can improve the situation in order to prevent future occurrences. Too many people lack the ability to have clear vision of what would be best to do in these types of situations, which leaves us with a lot of hate filled people.

Preparation

Many people are worried about the end times, but they have no need to be since Jesus spent his last days preparing us for what was to come. The holy spirit is our guide during the end times, and if we find ourselves not sure of what to do then reading Jesus' last words should bring some clarification. It's our responsibilities to be aware of the events occurring during the end times, so we can guide others. That is why Jesus spent his last hours preparing us.

What really matters

Many people live their lives thinking that their good deeds somehow tally up in the end, buying them salvation. However, in reality you must always check your relationship status with God, all he wants is our hearts. The past does not matter to God if we have asked for forgiveness. The heart condition is what is of value to God, he likes it when we perform good deeds, but it does not buy us salvation.

Relationship vs Ritual

Unfortunately the majority of people today see Christianity as a set of rules to follow, and if followed correctly will get you into heaven. Sure there are rules you must follow but it's not all about procedure and rituals, the most important thing is your heart condition. God does not care about the amount of money you can give or the clothes you can wear, what he cares about is what we're willing to give up from what we have, simply in response to the grace he has shown us. I think that if more people understood the relationship aspect of Christianity, they would be less reluctant to hear about it.

Motivations

Everyone has their own motivations. Very often humans will have a purpose behind the things they do, it's less likely that you'll find someone going around doing something for no apparent reason. It's important to always have your end goal in mind when working towards something, otherwise you might lose track of what you originally wanted. For some people it is a personal goal they set for themselves, others are compelled by the love of Christ. Whatever our motivation is we have to keep it in mind at all times, in order to make sure our path stays in the way originally planned.

Teaching

The best form of learning is to experience something for yourself. Similarly, trying to convince someone of the truth usually is a difficult task because their previous misconceptions get in the way. Often they won't end up accepting the knowledge you have presented to them in the end, instead they will keep their own and brush your's off as false. With these type of people, it's necessary to let them experience things for themselves, so that eventually they'll realize the truth in your words.

God's Anointing

Each and everyone one of us has a calling from God which we can choose to obey or ignore.The result of every person's calling is not self-glorifying, however it is the Father's glory that is expressed. Earthly boundaries such as education and experience do not have any real affect on the work of God. However, if you truly love God then it won't be a problem to leave every behind for his purpose.

Material Things

I do agree that the world we live in is becoming a harder place, prices are going up, natural disasters are occurring more often, but we need to realize that these things are only of the world and don't have any real part in the scale of our lives. The things of this world won't even be an issue once we are in heaven, we most likely won't even think about them. It's almost as if life on earth is a dream, and any harm done to us by the world only affects us in the world.

Getting to the point

Many people who like to dance around with words for long periods of time often waste my time. I do not want to learn from somebody who does not make it clear what exactly they are teaching. However, Jesus always made his point whenever he taught. He often used parables and other instances that allow us to relate his teaching to real life situations. That is why he was able to teach so many people such valuable knowledge that was passed down for generations.

Jesus

People seem to relate Jesus to other wise men in the world, but he was different. As Jesus stated himself he was the son of God, and the passageway to salvation. He was the sacrifice to pay for our sins, that we can be clean enough to enter God's kingdom.Ordinary wise men cannot perform supernatural miracles, which Jesus did. There is no one else in the world that did the king of miracles that Jesus did.

Wrong Motivators

People today are affected by the support or denial of others more than they were before in my opinion. A person will often start some sort of campaign, but if they do not have supporters for their cause, they will change it in order to meet the interests of the people. A lot of people who use twitter only use it because they want their average lives to be of some special value. However, people who use twitter for that purpose gain nothing most of the time, considering the amount of people competing for the same goal.

Ever too old to learn?

I think that we can learn a lot from people that are more experienced than we are. People like our teachers and parents are there to guide us in a general direction of how to live life properly when you are out on your own. People tend to develop a closed mind as they grow older, but in reality there is always a possibility to learn. We should always have an open mind to new lessons we have to learn. However, it's necessary to filter the information to make sure that you are indeed learning the information you want to know about.

Ignoring the Larger ISsue

Many people ignore the larger issues they have in life, and so they take it out on the smaller issues that don't have as much of an impact. I think one of the reasons we do this is because it's so much easier to deal with the smaller things, while the larger issues might take a lot more time and energy. However doing this only causes the larger issues to grow, making them an even bigger issue. They end up surfacing eventually whether we want them to or not either way, so the only choice we have is when to deal with them.

Words

I think that people today put too much value on words alone. In a lot of churches I see, it seems like everything is theatrics, a weekly ritual. People sing and dance loudly, then they speak of practically the same thing every time. More value needs to be put on the actual results of what we say. If we continue to judge whether something is effective or not simply by the words of another individual, then we'll only become more easily manipulated, and even less efficient.

Genuine Relationships

When a genuine relationship with God is created, you don't need to worry about not being sure what to say or do. Everything is presented in a way that allows you to see God's will for your life. Forgiveness is only the first part of accepting Jesus, there is still a job to be done afterward. Like pastor Paul has mentioned, love God and love your neighbor and everything else will fall into place.

Stregnth

Most people define strength as physical abilities to perform actions others would not, because of their lack of physical strength. Personally I believe strength to be any form of an ability to accomplish a task worth fulfilling. It's vital for us to take hold of the things in our lives that give us strength, the things that encourage us. Without motivation we'll often find ourselves questioning most things we do. However, with purpose, we'll always have an answer, we just have to find it.

Lies

Lies are an inescapable part of our human lives in this world. It's so easy to lie these days, the only thing stopping us is our conscience. That's why it's necessary to make sure people understand the importance of honesty in society. Without honesty, we would not have any basis of truth for cooperation within the people. The only thing lying leads to are other acts that are destructive for a group of people.

Preparation

I don't agree that we shouldn't prepare for the future. I feel like that kind of thinking is a little bit paranoid. I don't see the purpose in not planning for tomorrow, even if there is a chance it won't be there. Planning and not being able to fulfill those plans have no consequence, but not planning and then tomorrow comes and you find out you aren't as prepared as you should be does have consequences. In my opinion it just doesn't make sense to me.

Acceptance

I always think that things will go better in your life if you take situations and cause positive outcomes, rather than sit in your own sorrow; drowning in the world. I don't think negative reactions to any situation is helpful, I think it's an impulse we have a hard time ignoring as human beings. However, I'm positive that we can control ourselves if we are determined enough, there's no reason for us to be pessimist's, there are plenty of things to be happy about. Even in death we can still make good decisions for what we leave behind.

Free Will

IF we did not have free will's, then it would be pointless for God to have created us. We would have simply been slaves to one fate, and that's not anything someone would want to accomplish. When you give a person the ability to make their own choices, then you are allowing them to reveal their true nature. Otherwise the decisions people make are of others, rather than doing what they believe to be right.

Judas in Us

If we do not have a cornerstone of reference, our lives are easily changed by events and circumstances that bring forth that change. Without a model in which to shape ourselves, we change according to external factors that cause us to compromise who we are. When you have something to look back at when lost, it gives you a clear vision of what you should be, then even if you feel as if you are changing, you can always look back at and see the truth. Once we have a model for our lives, it's important not to let it slip away or we might lose who we want to be.

Being prepared

If we don't prepare for tasks before they happen, we will find ourselves struggling with consequences. Preparing does not take a large amount of time or energy, just the discipline to think about the situation, and predict possible problems that may arise. As a people it's our responsibility to prepare for future events, if we wish for the best. That's why the most successful people in there are generally where they are because of successful planning in their careers.

Be Prepared

I think being prepared is one of the most important things we should be doing in an advanced society. Particularly when thinking in terms of competition. Whichever person prepares more for a battle will have a much better chance in winning. It's the same situation for any aspect of our lives, the more we prepare for a certain occasion the more the results will go according to our wishes. Being prepared requires a sort of "foresight", so that you can predict problems that might arise at a later time.

Surving the End Times

When thinking about the end times it helps to remember that anything that happens on the earth is only temporary and is nothing when compared to eternal life. Just like a dramatic experience we might go through as teenagers, then when we grow up and look back on that experience, and just laugh. Things always seem worse in the present, but when we reflect upon it in the future, we realize the truth of the situation. This is how we should think when nearing the end times.

Our Selfishness

Our selfishness is often a difficult obstacle to overcome in our lives. We might not have the intention of being selfish, but we do things in which we try to implement our own modifications into the plans of others. It's our nature to trust ourselves more than other people, because we can be 100% certain of our own intentions, but our trust in others is often unstable. It can be an annoyance in different aspects of our lives, even though it is just a defense mechanism, we have to learn to put our trust in others.

Why things seem easy

The reason why some things seem easy to us is because it's as if it's natural to our bodies to perform whatever the task may be. One person might find jogging to be easy because they're physically fit and have the mental capacity to strain themselves. Others might find it easy to solve complicated mathematical problems because they've spent years developing their intellectual capacities to the point where things that are impossible for normal minds to figure out, are possible to analyze and understand. Similarly, if we spend years devoting to serving Jesus, then it will be natural for us to do whatever he asks. That's the reason why overall it is easy, even though at times it's in fact difficult for the common person.

We need others

There's evidence all around us that organisms are not meant to survive on their own. Even down to the level of an atom, we search for a pair, whether that pair is God, a relationship, or just friends. Without having people to rely on, you're in danger because we all fall every now and then, and with no one to pick us up, we might never rise again. Some people are born with the people they need, others have to spend a little more time in their lives searching.

Having a Change in Heart

In order for someone to come to a point in their lives when they realize a lot of things are going to have to change. This point comes upon us in moments when we feel powerless, and that there is a problem in our life that needs to be removed or it will consume us. It's difficult to try to communicate this to someone while seeming completely average, the only will they will acknowledge what you're saying is if they feel like it is of great importance to them. So we should try to present something important to people's lives while making them feel as if it's crucial for them to listen.

Trying to Remove Something

The more someone tries to make us avoid a specific topic, the more interested we will become in it. It's not because we simply wish to be rebellious, but rather it gives us a sense of curiosity as to why this person would want to hide it from us. It's something that comes down from our subconscious, that originated as children. It is the same concept as a parent telling a child not to touch something, which ultimately leads them to touching it simply to see what would happen.