The strong

The truly strong are those who recognize their weaknesses and make sure they don't fall by them.

If I know my weakness is alcohol, for example, I make sure I don't go anywhere near it. That makes me strong.

What's your weakness? Are you being strong about it?

Being criticized?

It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. 

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat. 

– Teddy Roosevelt, to the French in Sorbonne, Paris on 23 April 1910

5 things I'd do if I were single

For those who are single, each day that passes makes it more difficult to resist the pressures and temptations to rush into a poorly considered relationship. "You're not getting any younger, are you? When are you going to get married?" "So, things didn't work out right with so and so? Man, you have no luck..."

And to top it off, you have all those Hollywood productions promoting one-night stands and disposable relationships as the most normal thing in the world. All this inevitably tempts singles to think, "I must be the only person in the world who doesn't have anyone."

Lies. Your mind knows it is.

Your heart on the other hand, makes you believe that's the truth.

Very well. Here is what I would do if I were single today:

1. I would stop comparing – I am who I am, you are who you are and Charlie Sheen is... himself. No one is the same. Why then compare your life to other people's? Comparison is a source of much anxiety and frustration. Be yourself and don't worry about others. If your best friend is getting married, good for her. Her happiness does not need to be your sorrow, neither should it make you rush into marriage just so you won't get "left behind".

2. I'd Invest in myself – If I want to attract a good catch, I need to be one. Besides, when I invest in me, I learn to value myself. Those who have high self-esteem will not accept to be used or treated in just any way. They won't settle for just anyone.

3. I would only like someone who my mind approves of – The heart does not think, it only feels. And because of these emotions, many get married and then divorce. Therefore, before allowing my heart to develop feelings for someone, I would use my intelligence to choose the right person whose characteristics are compatible with mine. If the person doesn't pass this test of intelligence, my heart would be forbidden to like her. And, that's it.

4. I would go up to the person – Using my mind and not my heart, if a potential candidate appears, I would go to her instead of waiting for her to come to me. (I would do the same if I were a woman; it's a matter of my own faith.) We would talk, see if there was a future, and if I saw it didn't, I would be sincere and just cut it off. Life is too short to deceive yourself and others.

5. I would run to the Best Matchmaker of all - God. After all, it was He who created me this way, with a need to have another half. So I would throw the problem back to Him. I would do like Abraham when he looked for a wife for his son Isaac. Bulls-eye. You can't miss. In the end, true love is born out of faith. That's why, faith is the most certain way to find the person that will make you happy. That would be my guarantee.

There, I said it.

How to cut off bad roots

You have identified the root of your problem. Very good. Now, how do you cut it off? That's the question many have been asking.

By definition, cutting is an aggressive act. Even a smooth, razor-sharp, small cut will cause some injury. Cutting means something sharp penetrates something else and makes an opening, an incision, or wound. In other words, it's an intrusive, forceful move that alters the original state of a body or thing. In the case of living creatures, it can even kill them.

Cutting off a root, therefore, is a forceful act of your will. You can't wish a bad root away. You have to be ruthless, aggressive, and razor-sharp in your determination to cut it off. What is the axe you can use for it? It's often what hurts that root the most.

Humbleness is the axe to cut off pride.
Generosity is the axe to cut off greed.
Self-control is the axe to cut off anger, excesses, and addictions.
Diligence is the axe to cut off sloth.
Kindness is the axe to cut off selfishness.
Courage is the axe to cut off fear.
Sincerity is the axe to cut off hypocrisy.
A pact with God is the axe to cut off demons and curses.

Do you catch the drift?
To cut off a root, you must hit it where it hurts, with what hurts it the most, and repeat the process until it's gone.

Painful. Hard work. Certainly not overnight. 

But effective.

Uncovering the roots (2)

(Read yesterday's post here)

The Bible talks about sins that are known as “deadly”, in other words, the most harmful and dangerous—because they give birth to other sins. Let’s look at some of these sins, or bad roots:

10 Principal Bad Roots	100s of Bad Fruits
Anger	Anger causes behavioral problems, destroys relationships, makes a person difficult to get along with (leading to loneliness), aggression, and health problems related to stress.
Pride	Pride does not allow a person to recognize his own errors, and makes him stubborn and arrogant. He cannot ask for forgiveness, is overly self-confident, and keeps friendships at arm's length. No one can stand a proud person. He or she ends up alone.
Sloth	This makes a person disinterested, relaxed, and slow. This person starts things but does not finish them, and is not dedicated, zealous or active in what he does. They tend to accept things as they are. Many suffer financially because of physical or mental slothfulness.
Greed	The love of money and material things is mentioned in the Bible as “the root of all evil”. The fruit of this root are destroyed marriages, lies, problems with the law (even prison), destroyed friendships, family quarrels, fathers that are too busy working to raise their children, worry, etc.
Envy	Bad feelings at the success of others. Gossip, grudges, inferiority complexes, insecurity, low self-esteem, enemies, etc.
Lust	This is primarily an uncontrolled sexual appetite, but is not limited to sex. It includes any burning desire for something that you should normally not have, including every form of abuse.
Gluttony	In essence, this is a lack of self-control—the root of all addictions and excesses.
Selfishness	This gives rise to individualism, feelings of ungratefulness, abuse, and makes a person self-centered, indifferent to the needs of others.
Fear	Gives rise to inaction, attitude-paralysis, jealousy, suspicion, depression, financial misery, procrastination, shyness, doubt, negative thoughts, etc.
Hypocrisy	Pretense and false behavior that cover all the other roots. It empowers all the other roots. Like the earth covers and feeds the roots of a tree, hypocrisy strengthens the bad roots in a person’s life.

There aren't many root sins, even though there are some that are not mentioned above. But the bad fruit that they cause are never-ending.

What is useful about this is that when you observe any problem, in you or in any person, you will invariably see that that problem has as its origin one or more of these principal roots.

Your job is now to understand which one of these roots has caused your problems. Then, you will need to expose them. Be sincere, acknowledge all the bad roots in your life, and bring them to light. Then, you will be ready to wield the axe to cut off each one of them!

More on that tomorrow.

Click image to enlarge.

Uncovering the roots (1)

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way… The heart knows its own bitterness. Proverbs 14:8,10

Why do I do the things I do? Why do I behave this way? Where do my problems come from?

The wise seek to understand (through reason) their own way. Knowing ourselves helps us identify our weaknesses and, as a result, come up with new strategies to deal with them.

The heart knows its own bitterness – in other words, deep down, we know where our bitterness comes from. If we seek to understand our own way, we will discover the roots of our problems. What makes it hard, unfortunately, is the pain of recognizing these roots. Many times, we don’t want to give in and admit our bad roots. We find it more convenient and easy to simply blame others for our failures, and use circumstances as excuses to justify our problems.

When the Lord Jesus taught that, “A tree is known by its fruit”, within the context of that teaching, He pointed to the root of all bad fruits, which is the human heart (Matthew 12.33-35). Notice:

• The heart is the symbol of emotions; it’s where feelings and emotional debris reside 
• The heart refers to our soul 
• Our spirit is linked to our mind, where God enables us to reason 
• Our soul, on the other hand, is linked to the heart, which cannot think, does not do the intelligent thing, ignores reason and values emotions 

The Bible talks about sins that are known as “deadly”, in other words, the most harmful and dangerous—because they give birth to other sins. Let’s look at some of these sins, or bad roots, as we continue on this subject tomorrow.

I hope you’ll be back here for this very interesting follow-up.

The heel of the loaf of bread

A couple was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Intrigued by what was behind that rare achievement, a guest at the dinner party asked the husband:

"What's the secret to staying married for so long?" He replied, "It's quite simple, really. You know the heel of the loaf of bread? I love eating it. But every morning when we sit for breakfast, I cut it off the loaf and give it to her."

Not satisfied with the answer, the guest turned to the wife and asked the same question.

She replied, "It's quite simple, really. You know the heel of the bread he was telling you about? I hate it! But every time he gives it to me, I eat it without complaining."

Now share the wisdom and send this to a couple you know!

Beautifully imperfect

I can't feel happy for… (2)

Okay, so if you did your homework from yesterday’s post, you should have a name or two (or several) of people who bring out the worst in you. No matter how hard you try, you can’t feel happy for them.

Now, think of the answers to these questions:

Why does that person’s success make you feel bad?

What feelings do you get when you hear that something went the wrong way for that person? Why do you think you have those feelings?

How do you explain those feelings? What do you tell yourself to justify having them?

What would have to change in you for you to feel good about that person’s success? What is stopping that change?

What can you do, beginning right now, to start moving towards that changed heart?

Yes, you are suffering from an envious heart. Maybe you’re judging that person from your own experiences and struggles in life. Deep down, an almost inaudible voice tells you, “Who does she think she is to get everything handed to her on a platter, when I had to struggle for every little crumb I ever got in life? That’s not fair.”

You are a prisoner of your past and ill-formed principles and values.

The good news is you can change that. But you need to go to the root. And now that you know what it is, be ruthless. Cut it off.

You will feel so different and so free.

I can't feel happy for...

Is there anyone you know whom you really can't feel happy for, no matter how hard you try?

A relative, a brother or sister, mom or dad, son or daughter, a colleague, that guy in sales, that girl in school, your ex... Anyone?

Do you secretly rejoice when something bad happens to that person? Do you get sad when something good happens to them?

I'll give you 24 hours to think about this one. We'll come back here tomorrow to continue.

See you then?

P.S. If you're really brave, write down any names that come to mind as you think about this. Have that paper ready for tomorrow.

How are you coping?

When life's problems get out of hand; when the stress is too much; when you really don't want to face the music — how do you cope?

I have noticed how people develop "coping mechanisms" to deal with unpleasant situations in their lives. It's the refuge they run to when they just don't want to deal with their problems. I've compiled a list:

• addiction
• affair
• fraud (the lure of easy money)
• pornography
• anger
• hurting others
• becoming overly critical
• burying their head in work
• shopping
• comfort eating
• going on vacation
• nightclubs
• divorce and remarriage
• throwing money at the problem
• riding emotional rollercoasters
• just letting it be, trying not to think about it
• waiting, giving it time
• learning how to live with the problem
• painkillers
• music
• religion

All of the above are common things people do or resort to as a way of simply coping with a situation they cannot, will not, or don't know how to resolve.

Of course, these escapisms don't really lead to an escape from your problems. They only enable the problems to grow and eventually blow in your face.

The sooner you come back to reality and decide to do something smarter, the better your chances to succeed.

Sometimes you need a helping hand to get started.

Should, Would, Could

I should’ve, would’ve, could’ve done this or that.

But you didn’t.

Get over it.

The problem with these three modal verbs, so essential to the English language, is that they are backward-looking, and are often used to express regret. Not much can be done about what you should/would/could have done but didn’t. Learn a lesson perhaps, but not much more.

A lot more useful are shall, will, and can. These ones demand that you look forward, be bold, believe, and take action.

Guess which ones spiritually intelligent people prefer to use?

I get to the root of things

Here's one of those times I love the rendering of The Message Bible. What a way to express these verses, and how deep the truths they reveal:

The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out. But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be. Jeremiah 17.9,10

I have nothing else to add. Just meditate on it.

(Hey, don't click away yet. Meditate on it. Really.)

The First Step to uncover the roots

Renato Cardoso explains the first step to uncover the roots of your problems. An inspiring and thought-provoking message that invites you to re-think many of your long-held concepts of life and faith. Full length.

The RootEvent.com – the event is on-going until October 23rd.

Hope for you

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34.19

If you're going through many afflictions in your life, here's why you can have hope: If you're righteous, God will get you out of each and every one of them.

"But I'm not exactly righteous," you may say. "Does that mean the Lord won't help me?"

That's right. Sorry.

But notice: Being righteous doesn't mean being perfect. Righteous, in God's eyes, means your crimes have been fully paid for. You're righteous not because you never did any wrong, but because your wrongs have already been punished for.

"When did that happen? How was I punished for my wrongs?"

You never really were fully punished for your wrongs. In God's eyes, full punishment means you'd have to pay with your life. Thankfully, your wrongs were laid upon someone who agreed to be your substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why and how, through faith in Him, you can be made "righteous". But only through faith in Him.

Do you have a sincere, real faith in Him?

So don't worry because of your afflictions. He will deliver you from them all. Not one of them will prevail against you.

Meanwhile, just hang on. And stay righteous.

Changing your life – 3 steps

Changing your life is not as simple as changing your hairstyle, your shirt, or rearranging the furniture in your living room. You're talking about years of deep-rooted habits, behaviors, and problems that are not going to change overnight.

You want to:

• rebuild your marriage 
• start your own business 
• quit an addiction 
• get your child to be more responsible 
• become debt-free 
• etc. 

Whatever it is, if the change is significant, if it’s worthwhile, then you have to realize that it will take time and effort from you. It won’t happen overnight.

Here are 3 things you need to know and do if you want to change your life:

1. Know WHAT you want to change — What are you not happy about? What do you want to see instead? When do you want to see it? Write it down in 3 sentences or less and keep reminding yourself of it. Keep it in front of you and make sure you think about it ALL THE TIME. 
2. Identify what sacrifices you have to make and MAKE THEM — There is no getting away from this part. If you want real change, you have to be prepared to pay the price for it. And this the real test of your will. I hear a lot of people say they want to change their lives, but when you look at what they’re doing, you see that they don’t really want to change. Pay the price and make the necessary sacrifices to change. To rebuild your marriage, start by changing yourself and no longer try to change your spouse. To become debt free, start cutting back on small luxuries and putting that extra money towards your debt; get a second income and work hard to pay off your debts. Want to quit an addiction? Stop buying the drug, cigarette, alcoholic drink, or whatever enables that addiction; change your phone number; drop old friends who are bad influences, etc. In short, MAKE the SACRIFICES! 
3. Realize it’s going to take time and it’s going to be a battle – and so you get yourself ready for it. You decide that you’re in it to win. Whatever it takes, as long as it takes. There will be times when you will fail miserably and disappoint yourself, God, and others. But you have to PROMISE YOURSELF that you will not stop fighting! If you get knocked down, you will get up and fight another round! Remember, you’re the only person who can defeat yourself! Giving up is to guarantee your defeat. Fighting on is giving yourself another chance to win. 

Next time you’re changing your shirt, remember that changing your life is not that easy.

Make a commitment to change; follow these 3 steps, and go for it!

I was wrong

Are these three words really that difficult to say? Yes, they are. Difficult. Humiliating. Scary even.

I was wrong.

After admitting you were wrong, what will others think of you? What will that do to your reputation? How much blood will your pride bleed? How much smaller will you feel?

That’s where you go wrong again.

1. Others will always think whatever they want to think about you. If you think that not admitting to your mistakes will make people think highly of you, think again. 
2. Saying “I was wrong” can actually improve your reputation. Nowadays, people prefer sincerity and honesty to perfection. (Yes, they know you’re not perfect.) 
3. If your pride bleeds, that’s actually good for you. 
4. Whoever admits to his or her mistakes will always be the biggest person in the room, not the smallest. 

Only the strong can say, “I was wrong” and still sound like they’re right.

My husband is difficult...

What about you, are you easy?

In fact, calling your husband or wife “difficult” is the wrong choice of word. Human beings are very complex creatures. Everybody is difficult by somebody’s definition.

The right word to use here is "different." Your husband is very different from you. Your wife may be so different that you may wonder sometimes if she’s an alien from a planet in a galaxy far, far away…

But notice the consequences of these two perspectives. If you see your spouse as “difficult”, you will always be frustrated and keep trying to change him or her. (As if people were Play-Doh...)

But if you see your other half as "different", your first attitude will be to seek to understand why he or she is, does, and acts that way. Understand — not judge or criticize.

If I understand that, unlike me, my wife likes to go out; if I try to appreciate why that is, and what it represents to her; then I will know how to adapt to that and not let that difference frustrate me. Neither will I attack nor try to change her. Maybe then, she'll be so grateful for my understanding that she will want to please me too.

People only change when they recognize for themselves their need to change. Criticism and pressure usually serve only to strengthen a person’s position. In other words, the plan backfires.

Is that what you want?

No Bible for a month

That was the crazy idea tossed around in our church staff meeting a couple of nights ago. We were talking about how the people in the Bible didn't have the Bible to read every day, nor did they have a church to attend every week, and many like Abraham and Noah and Joseph did not even have a prophet to guide them.

And yet, they fared pretty well in the faith department.

In contrast, people today have access to all kinds of spiritual support and Christian resources, and still their faith is so weak and messed up.

The difference is simple: 

Bible-time people were doers of what little they knew about God. Bible-carrying people today are just getting fat with knowledge that they don't exercise.

Then the idea came up, which doesn't seem so crazy after all:
What if you were to decide to NOT pick up your Bible for a month, and instead take what you already know from it and apply it to your life?

The results might surprise you...

P.S. Wanna ruffle some feathers? Forward this email to a few friends and watch the reactions...

Faith by geography

We know that human beings are largely a product of their environment. If a person was born to English parents, he will speak English, love fish and chips, and probably like football (which he would call soccer, had he been born in America). Had he been born in Japan, he would speak Japanese, eat Japonica (Japanese rice) every day, and have baseball or sumo as his favorite sport.

Of course.

Unfortunately, birthplace and circumstances also affect people's faith. Most people profess the faith that they acquired as a consequence of their geographical location.

An average of 8 in 10 Americans are born “Christians”, whose parents also declare to be, er, Christians. It’s no different with Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Spiritualists, or even Atheists. Most people profess the faith that was handed down to them by their parents.

If you had been born in Saudi Arabia you’d probably be a Muslim. If in China, you’d be a Buddhist, a Taoist, or even an agnostic.

That kind of faith, however, is just the fruit of tradition, culture, and social influence. It’s a false kind of faith. It’s religious, has no rhyme or reason, and does not work when people need it most. Intelligence tells us that true faith in God (who has no nationality nor is He subject to any culture) cannot be subject to the customs and traditions of a people.

So, where does true faith come from?

It is the result of reasoning, of using your intelligence to consider God’s works. When you think about God’s creation — how He created things and people, for what purposes, etc. — you will reach conclusions that will lead to a true, pure faith.

No religion stands the test of intelligence.

Where does your faith come from — its geography, its environment, or by way of your intelligence?

When it comes to faith, you have to be off the map.

Root Event Official Song

Root Event Official Song
Lyrics: Evelyn Higginbotham, Divya Verma
Music: Divya Verma
Sung by: Daniel Guerrero
Clip: Todd Higginbotham


How can it be – I make the same mistakes?
Time after time, the cycle turns right back again
I try to move on but I am drawn, to the same old game
I cling to these roots, to keep me standing

And I’m told to accept this as part of life “It’s how it is”
But reasoning tells me it’s not meant to be this way
Oh God You can help me to find where this is coming from
I refuse to do nothing; I need to see a change!

Whatever it takes
I’ll cut off these roots
So I determine; I cannot stay the same
I need Your roots, I need Your strength
I need to start all over again

Is it physical or spiritual?

If you have a physical problem but you don’t take any steps to resolve it, then the problem takes on another dimension: it becomes spiritual.

• Obesity 
• Lack of sexual interest in your husband or wife 
• Addiction or any substance dependence 
• You feel pain or discomfort, but you don’t seek medical help 
• Your doctor has told you what you need to do, but (for no good reason) you don’t follow his advice and your health gets worse 
• You are anorexic or bulimic 
• You are excessively lazy, fatigued, or sleep more than what is normal 
• You barely sleep 
• You are not able to concentrate for extended periods of time 

We can add much more to this list. Please note that I am not saying that these problems are spiritual, necessarily. I am saying that having one or more of these problems and not doing anything to overcome them indicates a spiritual problem.

It is impossible for a person who is spiritually sound to be indifferent or passive to a problem or condition that destroys their body. The normal and natural thing is for a person to strive for their well-being and that of their loved ones.

Therefore, many physical problems are not overcome because the root of that problem is spiritual.

Kill the root and the tree will die.

Countdown to Root Event: Videos

Introducing: The Incompatible Partner!

Unmissable product for anyone who wants a headache!

My wife and I use humor to drive home a very important point: How people pretend they don't see obvious signs of incompatibility in their partner.

The "ad" was created as part of a series of messages about compatibility and incompatibility in relationships. You may watch the series here. (The ad appears in the sixth video in the series, here.)

Watch the series before criticizing!

Seasonal roots

Some trees bear fruit only every few years. An avocado tree, for example, may take between 5-13 years to bear its first fruits.

Just because you've gone a few years since "that problem" last manifested, it doesn't necessarily mean it's gone for good. If the root is alive, it will come up again as sure as night follows day.

Bad roots need to be killed. Not ignored. Not left alone. Not just prayed over. They must be ruthlessly exterminated.

How good is the designer?

Faith is a result of intelligence. How good/big/powerful is the God you say you believe in? Are you sure you have thought that through?

Everything has a cause

Nothing exists out of nothing. Deal with your roots, or your roots will deal with you.

Where were you on 9/11?

Lest we forget.

It was a Tuesday afternoon in Johannesburg, South Africa. I had held my morning healing service at the church, had a quick lunch, and was going about other church business in my office. Then the phone rings. It’s a friend all the way from Brazil who asks me, “Are you watching this?”

“Watching what?” I reply. “You don’t know what happened in New York this morning?” my friend asks, making me feel like the least informed person on the planet. As I sense the urgency in his voice, I run to find the nearest TV set and turn it on.

Shock and awe. I don’t remember how the rest of the call went. It took me a while to take in what I was seeing. Was that for real? Was it really happening?

When the penny finally dropped, I remember one of my first thoughts was about the audacity of the terrorists. I was sure even Hollywood couldn’t have thought of that. It brought Jesus’ words to mind: “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” (Luke 16.8)

That is a sad, hard truth to swallow: Evildoers are bolder, smarter, more dedicated to what they do than those who do good. 3,000 people lost their lives in the attacks that day. The evildoers were only 19. That’s 1 terrorist for every 157 victims. Take a moment to think about these numbers.

The mistake that the sons of light often make is to limit themselves to being law-abiding citizens. They complacently just get by with good behavior. Meanwhile, the sons of this world are scheming, and daring, and pushing through their latest evil idea.

We need to wake up. God too needs terrorists — people who will give their lives to terrorize the devil. 

Where are these people?

P.S. While not forgetting the main point above, do you remember where you were on 9/11? Would you care to share any interesting thoughts by leaving your comment here?

The dumb, the smart, and the wise

The dumb: Those who feel they need to go out there and make their own mistakes. "Let me be myself!"

The smart: Dumb people who eventually graduate (n.b. not all do) from the school of life and learn from their own mistakes. "I've finally learned my lesson."

The wise: Those who watch the dumb and the smart screw up their lives, and then learn from them. "Thank you for teaching me that."

How to beat emotional cancer

I got this request for help and guidance from Caius, who writes:

I used to attend the UCKG, I got married in the Church, but left because I was disappointed. Did I leave because some pastor helped himself to church money? Or because of an usher’s bad testimony? Or because I disagreed with some doctrine or campaign theme? Was it something I heard reported in the media? None of the above. I left for the same reason some bishops, pastors, staff, and church members also leave: They got disappointed with themselves, as they gave in to some feeling that took the place of their faith. 

I tried to get back a few times, tried to change, but so far in vain! I am that person that you described in the video, with a few aggravating issues: Today I have a phobia of life, I wish I would just cease to exist (I just lack the courage to act on it), I just want to disappear, to become a beggar in some faraway city... And mind you that I live a pretty comfortable life — I own a house, a car, a business, have good health, intelligence, I’m married, don’t have any addictions, nor am I going through serious problems. I just don’t have any motivation or anything that makes me find this life interesting. I lost my faith, to be honest. Pray for me, and may God hear you!

I replied to Caius, and asked permission to publish his e-mail, as I believe it could be of use to many:

Caius, I don’t think you’ve “lost” your faith. Faith is inherent to life, so if you're reading this, it’s because you’re still alive and therefore faith is still in you. The problem is that this faith is being choked by something, and it needs room to “breathe”. The oxygen of faith is hearing the Word of God like a child — start afresh from the beginning.

In addition, being highly sensitive is like suffering from an emotional cancer. When we lose control of our emotions, especially the bad ones, they take over and compromise our spiritual health. Medicine offers no cure for cancer, unless all cancerous cells can be completely removed. The same applies to emotional cancer. We have to pull it out of us, stop feeding it, starve it, ignore it, despise it — until it loses all its hold of us and dies.

This is done through intelligence and reasoning. We must learn to question our emotions, and stay above them.

Emotions are not real things. They are just temporary feelings. How many emotions have you had in the past, and where are they today? They go as fast as they come — but the decisions we make last forever.

So Caius, use your head to run your faith and your life just as you have used it to run your business.

You will beat this. And I am praying for you.

Rockefeller’s Testimony

The U.S. first billionaire said once in an interview:

Yes, I tithe, and I would like to tell you how it all came about. I had to begin work as a small boy to help support my mother. My first wages amounted to $1.50 per week. The first week after I went to work, I took the $1.50 home to my mother and she held the money in her lap and explained to me that she would be happy if I would give a tenth of it to the Lord.
I did, and from that week until this day I have tithed every dollar God has entrusted to me. And I want to say, if I had not tithed the first dollar I made I would not have tithed the first million dollars I made. Tell your readers to train the children to tithe, and they will grow up to be faithful stewards of the Lord.
— John D. Rockefeller, Sr.

Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times. Garland, TX

He began tithing even as a child, and became one of the richest men in the history of mankind through the business of petroleum. He came from a poor family and an absent father. But his mother taught him to put down a root of faithfulness, which still today brings prosperity to the Rockefeller family (his fortune when he died in 1937 was US$ 760 billion, adjusted to today’s rates. This is more than 12 times the wealth of Bill Gates). 

Being faithful upon little is a test of character. Before giving much to someone, you test that person’s character by observing how he or she behaves when in charge of little.

Just as God gave oil to Rockefeller, He wants to give sources of wealth to His children. There are many treasures yet to be discovered, millionaire ideas, opportunities... Of course, God is hoping to find faithful and diligent servants whom He can give them to, before they fall into other hands…

Put a band-aid on it

If you were like me when you were a child, you loved having a band-aid on. There was something cool and fun about it. And I suspect the Johnson & Johnson people knew about that too. They made all kinds of fun band-aids, of all colors and cartoon characters. You almost wanted to get a cut and bleed a little just so you could have one on.

Band-aid is good for what it was made — grazes and small cuts. Alas, it doesn’t help heal anything else.

Life too offers many different kinds of band-aids for our problems.

Got a problem with your parents? Lock yourself in your room and put your iPod on. Trouble communicating with your spouse? Go out for a drink with friends. Feeling angry? Go punch a wall. Money is short? Put it on the credit card.

Band-aid solutions for life abound. They’re cheap, easy, and offer immediate relief. That is, until they become expensive, ineffective, and useless.

When the root causes of problems are not dealt with, they only grow stronger. The problems come back worse every time. And cutting the root off becomes harder and harder.

How many band-aids is it going to take, and how much more loss and pain, for you to realize you need to deal with the root?