IN OUR OWN EYES WE ARE JUST PERFECT.

The other day my wife said to me, "Sweetie you have added some weight." I thought she was just making stuff up, so I went over to the mirror to check for myself. And as I am standing there in front of the mirror, all I could see was a lean, rugged, good-looking guy. I said to myself, "What weight is she talking about?"
And then later I climbed on a scale and the numbers that popped up confirmed what the Mrs. had been saying all along - I had indeed added some weight.
So why didn't I see the extra pound on my own? How was it that my wife was able to look at me and me an spot the extra pounds and I couldn't?
As I thought about it, I realized that this was one of the challenges we face as mere mortals- our inability to spot the fault in our own lives. Oh yes, it is  easy to spot the fault in others. But we have blindspot when it comes to our own faults. In our eyes we are perfect, flawless and just great. Every other person might be crazy, every other person might be godless, every other person might be overweight, every other person might be a hypocrite, every other person might be nasty. But in our own eyes, we are just perfect.
Sometimes, the only way to get an accurate assessment of who you really are, is to ignore your opinion of yourself and get a second opinion. Talk to the people within your circle, talk to the people who watch you daily; you just might learn a thing or two about yourself from them.
POST SCRIPT:
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Also don't forget to get a copy of my latest novel, MONICA'S CHOICE.  You can download the ebook version for just 0.99 cents on amazon, by clicking on the link below:

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WHAT SACRIFICES ARE YOU MAKING FOR YOUR DREAM?

I was watching a documentary on Donald Trump and I heard him say  that he sleeps just 3 to 4 hours a day. Now, you may not like Donald Trump or agree with his political views, but I think there is a lot to learn from this man.
I do not know all the secret to Donald Trump's success, but I do know that a 3 to 4 hour sleep schedule is definitely part of it. No man can accomplish all that he has accomplished without sacrificing a little bit of sleep.
  Successful people are not successful because they are lucky. Successful people are successful because of the sacrifices they make.
Sacrifice improves your chances of success in life. You can sit around the house talking about divine favor all day. But if you are not making any sacrifices, you are just deceiving yourself.
How far you go in life and how high you fly is determined by how much you are willing to sacrifice for your dreams.
Our world today is filled with people who want to succeed without sacrifice. They want rainbow but they don't want to deal with the rain, they want honey, but don't want to deal with the bees, they want to Donald Trump's success but don't want to Donald Trump's sleep schedule. They want income but they don't want input.
We are in the sixth month of the year. Before you know it 2016 is over. The question is: Are you going to make this year just another year in your life, or are you going to make it a year that counts. The only way to make this year a productive year is to start making some sacrifices.
MONICA'S CHOICE
Dr. Monica is about to marry a man beneath her status. Her parent's think it is a mistake; they think he is a gold-digger with nefarious intent. But Monica is so smitten with love that she is prepared to ignore her parents' warning and follow her heart. Will this be the biggest mistake of Monica's life or will her instinct prove to be right?


Find out by downloading a copy of this latest page turner by clicking on the link below.
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ONLY THOSE WHO GET INTO YOUR HEAD CAN CAUSE YOU HEADACHE.

A few years ago I watched a documentary of the famous Hip Hop artist, Eminem. In the documentary, they told the story of the time Eminem jumped off the stage to attack a guy in the crowd.
Later when they asked him why he did what he did, He  replied, "I attacked the guy because he kept giving me dirty looks."
Now you may say that Eminem is crazy, but it is possible that the guy in the crowd actually gave him dirty looks. Its possible that the guy was there just to tick Eminem off.
The truth of the matter is that, we live in a world  filled with annoying people. They are everywhere. They are in your family, in your neighborhood, on the internet, at your work place, and dare I say, you may even find some in your church! Annoying people will bring out the worse in you if you let them.
When Arnold Schwarzenegger was running for the  Governor of California, someone threw  an egg at him during one of his campaign stops. The egg landed and broke right on his jacket.
For a moment, I thought the Terminator was going to jump into the crowd and terminate the egg thrower. But to his credit,  Arnold played it cool. Instead of getting mad, he simply took off the egg-stained jacket, handed it to one of his aides, and continued with his campaign.
What was the difference between Arnold and Eminem? Both men had run-in with annoying persons. The difference was their reaction.
You goal is not to run away from annoying people. Your goal is to make sure they don't get into your head. You see, it is only those capable of getting into your head that are capable of causing you headache.
I believe that it is possible to deal with annoying people without being annoyed. I believe that it is possible to be around offensive people without being offended. There is a scripture in the Bible that I love so much. It is found in the book of Acts.
"But none of these things move me......"
                                                              Acts 20:24
I think we must get to that point in our lives, where we are no longer easily moved by offenses and offensive people. I've not gotten there yet; but I'm working on it.

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THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE FALSE PROPHETS.

In 1992 we had a preacher who came to town, claiming that he died and went to heaven and came back again. A large crowd gathered to hear him speak. It was one of the most sensational church events I'd ever attended.

A few year later, we had another preacher come to town. This one  claimed that he had been to heaven so many times he knew the names of every angel in heaven. He said, "If there are any angels in heaven whose name I don't know, they must have been recently created."

One of the benefits of growing older in the Lord is that I am no longer sensation-driven. I am no longer intoxicated by sensational preachers and televangelists who talk about dreams, visions, revelations and prophecy.

Just because a man says he saw heaven, don't mean I should believe him. Just because some prophet said they heard a voice, don't mean I should follow them. I am only moved by the sound teaching of the word of God. Teach the complete Gospel and you've got my attention. Start jumping around and talking about spooky stuff, and I will distance myself as far as possible from you.

Does that mean I don't believe in the miraculous?  Trust me I do. I am a Pentecostal for crying out loud!

But there are too many falsehood being perpetrated in the Christiandom that I feel the need to caution anyone who cares to listen. 

Just recently, Alex Malarkey who wrote a book in 2010 titled , "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven," confessed that the book was all made up. In the book, this boy claimed that he went to heaven and actually spoke with Jesus.

Naturally the book was an instant bestseller. Millions of copies have been sold up to date. 

The fact that millions of Christians bought this book shows that sensation sells. People will gather around a preacher who is sensational as opposed to one who is theological. People don't have time for indepth studying of the word of God. They would rather pursue the sensational.

 If I write a book on the Life of Jesus Christ, I bet you that I won't sell more than 50 copies. But if I write a book titled, How I died and came back From Heaven, you can be sure that millions of copies would be sold. 

The problem with christianity is not that we have too many false prophets. The problem is, that we have too many sensation-driven Christians. Until we stop going after the spectacular and the sensational, false prophets will continue to thrive in our midst.
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WHAT WILL I DO IF SOMEONE INSULTS CHRIST?

      According to BBC report, the Islamic militants who stormed the Paris office of the French satirical paper, Charlie Hebdo on the 7th of January were heard shouting as they viciously mowed down twelve lives, “We have avenged the prophet Mohammed!"

      Let me be very clear, I do not agree with Charlie Hebdo's methods. I think it is counterproductive and perhaps mean-spirited to disrespect or insult the prophet Mohammed; a prophet revered by billions of Muslims all over the world.

      As a Christian, I'll get mad if a cartoonist or some secularist decides to insult my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. But will I get even? Will I strap a Kalashnikov and go after the blasphemers of Christ?

      The answer is a resounding no! I may get mad and I may bare my teeth in a vicious snarl, but I'll never seek to avenge Christ. My reason is simple: Christ is big enough to take care of Himself.

THE LAW OF PURSUIT

There is an old saying that good thing comes to those who wait. I’ll like to modify this aphorism, by boldly stating that good things actually comes to those who go out there, and passionately pursue good things. According to the law of pursuit, anything worth having must be actively pursued. The law of pursuit is a law that recognizes passionate hustle. 

 We are living in a highly competitive era. There are too many people wanting the same things you are looking for in life. I once applied for a lucrative job in Massachusetts and the lady at the Human Resources told me that there were about seven hundred applicants for the same job!

In a highly competitive world like ours, only the active dreamers stay ahead. The ones who sits at home, hoping that good things happen to them, will end up disappointed.

A lion understands that it is very competitive in the jungle. He does not sit in his den expecting good things to come to him. He knows that there are too many lions and way too few gazelles available. So the lion goes out and engage in active pursuit.

Even the scriptures teaches us the importance of pursuit. In the book of Mathew chapter 7 verse 7 the Bible says: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

If you fold your hands and wait for good things to come to you; you may end up being disappointed. This New Year, you must make up your mind to actively pursue your dreams. Only those who pursue, obtain. God bless you and happy New Year.