Is God in Control?

Hello everyone, I recently had someone tell me that they did not understand why bad things happened. They were speaking about something that happened in their life personally that affected our family when they made the comment. I heard this person say, “Well God is in control, why didn’t He stop that?”

 

I want to address that today. For the most part, God is not in control in our world today.  There is going to come a time when Jesus returns and then God will be in complete control.  But right now, we are in control of what we allow and what we don’t in our lives.

 

Think about it.  If God is in control, He is really bad at running the world.  As a matter of fact, He isn’t very good at just running the city where I live.  Everyday, people die here from murder.  People steal and do other bad things.  Our country is even worse because of all the bad things that happen.  There are wars that kill people.  If I was God and I was running the world, I wouldn’t want to put my name on it.

 

God can only operate where we allow Him to do so.  God is not going to just come into your life and make everything OK. The Bible says the God works all things for good but that doesn’t mean we sit back and do nothing and “poof” God makes it all better. How many people reading this are struggling?  God can take control of things were we let him. But he can’t control things that we don’t. 

 

The reason bad things happen on this earth, is because there is a real devil that still has control of part of this earth. And he does bad things to people all the time. God allows this because he is not in control of all the earth. He owns it but he’s not in control of all of it. I have complete ownership of a company. But I don’t control everything that goes on in our company.  I need to add this – God doesn’t make anyone sick.  1 Peter 2:24 says that by Jesus stripes we were healed.  The devil puts sickness and disease on people – not God!

 

I know this is going to sound strong, but the truth is it’s our job to take the weapons that God has given us and drive the devil out of our life. The devil is not going anywhere on his own. We have to drive him out using God’s power.

If you are reading this and you don’t know Jesus, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my friend Jesus. Would you like a personal relationship with Him? All you have to do is pray this simple prayer. Say, “Jesus, come into my life. I make you my Lord and Savior.” If you prayed that prayer, I believe you got born into the family of Christ. The Bible says that Jesus will always be with you. He wants a relationship with you.

If you prayed, would you please leave a comment saying, “I prayed”. We would love to know you did.

 

Also, if you would like to learn more about who you are and how God really sees you, please click the link below. We would love to send you study material absolutely free.

 

http://eepurl.com/gLci8D

 

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

 What is True Love?

Today I want to encourage you with this thought. Love is the missing ingredient in the world today.

As I look at our world today, I see more strife and more division between people than I've ever seen in my lifetime. In the United States, we seem very divided based on political ideologies. It seems that if you believe the way the left believes, you hate the right. And if you believe the way the right believes, you hate the left. If you look at social media, this message is all over it. I see hate speech from both sides. The common denominator between these two different viewpoints is hate. And hate is the opposite of love.

1 John 4:8 says that “God is love.” If this was a math problem, it would look like this God = love. Where there is no God, there is no love. If we call ourselves Christians (which simply means to be Christ like), then we should act in Love. That is the true way to act like Christians. Love prays for the president whether you like him or not. Love prays for the police whether you like them or not. Love does good things for people we don’t like. Love mows the neighbor’s yard when you don’t like him. God (Love) sent His son to this world to take the ultimate punishment for our sin against Him because He loves us!

I think it’s time we started loving people like God does!

If you are reading this and you don’t know Jesus, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to my friend Jesus. Would you like a personal relationship with Him? All you have to do is pray this simple prayer. Say, “Jesus, come into my life. I make you my Lord and Savior.” If you prayed that prayer, I believe you got born into the family of Christ. The Bible says that Jesus will always be with you. He wants a relationship with you.

Congratulations! If you prayed, would you please leave a comment saying, “I prayed”. We would love to know you did.

Also, if you would like to learn more about who you are and how God really sees you, please click the link below. We would love to send you study material absolutely free.

http://eepurl.com/gLci8D

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

Mind Control

 Hello everyone,

Today I want to talk about mind control. When I think of mind control, I think of Jedi mind tricks from Star Wars. How cool would it be to have the ability to change someone’s mind? Well we can. We can change our own minds. Have you ever heard someone say, “Well I can’t help the way I feel about something?” That’s just not a true statement. Your thoughts control how you feel. Is there someone you want to forgive but just can’t seem to do it? Is there something you would like to get rid of in your mind but don’t know how? Hopefully this will help.

Our minds are constantly feeding on something. We get to choose what we let in our minds. I know people who listen to every news report about the bad things going on in the world and that is always a topic of conversation with them at some point. They feed everyday on the news and they talk everyday about the news. They are renewing their mind everyday with the news. Unfortunately, this is toxic thinking. I am not suggesting we should be ignorant of what is going on around us but if we constantly feed or mind on things, it will effect us.

Maybe you struggle with something someone has done to you. Do you rehearse it over and over again in your mind? Do you think about what they said or what they did and how wrong it was? What are you feeding your mind with? You are feeding it with thoughts about what that person did. Consequently, you stay in a strong emotional place around them. Even if what they did was really wrong, you don’t need to feed on those thoughts. You might say, “Well there is no way I can change the way I feel and I can’t control my thoughts.” Good news – Yes you can!

How do we control what we think? The Bible says that we should renew our mind with the Word of God. In Romans 12:2 it says don’t be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. How? Spend time in the Word. Spend time reading your Bible or listening to it online. When we do that, the way we think and feel will change. It may not change overnight but it will over time.

Do you want to be free from old bad ways of thinking? Then feed your mind something else.

If you don’t know Jesus and would like to have a personal relationship with Him, all you have to do is pray this simple prayer. Say, “Jesus, come into my life. I make you my Lord and Savior.” If you prayed that prayer, I believe you got born into the family of Christ. Congratulations! If you prayed, would you please let us know.

Also, if you are new to the family and would like to learn more about who you are and how God really sees you, please click the link below. We would love to send you study material absolutely free.

http://eepurl.com/gLci8D

That’s Another Opinion of the Minion

News

 Hello everyone,

Today I want to talk to you about the news. I think we spend way too much time watching what is going on in the world today. Now don’t give me wrong, I do believe we should keep up with current events and know what’s happening. But I think it’s easy to get overwhelmed and caught up in Covid or what’s going on in this country or what’s bad that potentially could happen in that country, etc. And if we’re not careful we can spend hours watching.

I think we would be better off if we decided to be the news instead of watching the news. I heard a story onetime about a person who was going to commit suicide after school one day. I believe it was a girl and she had very low self-esteem. While she was at school, someone walked up to her and told her how nice she looked in the dress she was wearing. It changed her whole day, and she didn’t commit suicide. Wouldn’t it be great to be the person who paid her a compliment and changed her trajectory? What do you think the world would look like if we all found a way to encourage someone? I think that’s what it means to be Jesus ‘s hands and feet in the world.

We get the opportunity just to help someone else feel better about themselves. So today I want to encourage you to find someone to encourage and blessed with your words today.

If you don’t know Jesus and would like to have a personal relationship with Him, all you have to do is pray this simple prayer. Say, “Jesus, come into my life. I make you my Lord and Savior.” If you prayed that prayer, I believe you got born into the family of Christ. Congratulations! If you prayed, would you please let us know.

Also, if you are new to the family and would like to learn more about who you are and how God really sees you, please click the link below. We would love to send you study material absolutely free.

http://eepurl.com/gLci8D

That’s Another Opinion of the Minion

Waiting on Faith

Hello All,

Today I want to talk about what to do while we wait for the things our Faith has produced to come to pass. As we have discussed, as soon as we activate our Faith, it is done in the spiritual realm, but it can take some time to get from there to this natural realm. For me, the waiting is not my favorite part. I would rather have everything happen instantly. In my own life, I have seen God work miracles both ways. God’s timing isn’t always ours. The Bible says a thousand years is like a day to God. (2 Peter 3:8)

So how do we wait? This part is like running a marathon. I’ve been able to do this twice in my life. A little less than two years before my first marathon, I weighed 350 pounds. (I wrote a book about my spiritual journey to freedom from food. It will be out in a couple of months. If you would like more information, please like my page, @authortomoswald, and I will get it to you.)

When we start using our Faith, it’s really exciting at first. We are enthusiastic and know God is going to do what we asked. A marathon is much the same way. When you stand at the starting line, you are really excited and those first few miles go by in a blur. In a marathon, after that things just move a long for the next several miles. Our Faith can do the same thing. If God doesn’t do what He said He would do immediately, in the early stages we don’t think anything of it and things just keep going.

But then something can happen to try to stop our Faith. Maybe we are believing for finances and we get a notice that financially things got worse. Maybe someone we are praying for took a step away from God or maybe we got a bad medical report. This where we have a decision to make. We give in to fear and stop using or Faith in God or we can continue to believe what God said about our situation regardless of what it looks like. Much the same thing happens when you run a marathon. It’s called hitting the wall. This happens around the 20th mile or so. All the sudden, you feel tired. Your feet start to hurt. The fun and excitement you felt at the first mile is gone. Yet there are still six more miles to go. Even though you have run hundreds of miles leading up to that point, the last six of a marathon can be tough. You must decide to quit or finish it.

If you decide to keep going in a marathon, as you round the last corner the goal is there! You run the last few blocks with your eyes fixed firmly on the finish line. All those hours of training. All the sweat and all the hard work finally pay off and like Paul said, you finish your course. Using our Faith is much the same way. If we push through the hard part and keep our eyes on God’s word all the sudden the answer to prayer is there. All our Faith produced what we were asking God to do!!

If you are reading this for the first time and are thinking, “How do I get in on the God thing?” Have you invited Jesus into your life? He is the God of today. He’s not just a life insurance policy for after you die. If not, just pray this simple prayer. “Jesus, I ask you to come into my life. I believe that you are the Son of God and that you died for ALL my sin and that God raised you from the dead. I make you my Lord and Savior.” If you prayed that prayer, you are now part of the family. If you prayed that prayer, would please let me know by commenting on this and telling me?

That’s another Opinion of the Minion

Is There A Plan for Your Life?

Hello everyone,

Today I want to answer a question that we have all struggled with at some point in our lives.  Is there a plan for our life?  Let me ask it another way, does God have a plan for your life? 

The answer to that question begins with the most despicable act ever committed in human history.  Do you know what it was?  Think of all the horrible things you know about - murder, racism, hate crimes, mean words, assault.  The list goes on and on.  Here's the answer - eating fruit from a tree.  I know it sounds bad, but when Adam and Eve ate from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they gave the devil all authority over the earth. 

The Bible says that the devil came to kill, steal and destroy and that's exactly what he did.  He killed the divine link between God and man.  He stole man's right to be part of God's family and he destroyed the tight relationship between Adam, Eve and God.  The devil hasn't changed.  He's still doing this today.  I can't imagine how it felt to Adam and Eve. The whole Cain and Able thing would never have happened if they hadn't eaten from the tree because the devil wouldn't have had authority to operate in the world.

Here's where it gets interesting.  The first thing God did after He found out what happened was deal with the devil.  He told the devil that there would be enmity between him and man and that man would bruise the devil's head.  God knew how bad this was for the world and for His children.  He knew what the devil would do throughout the years.  He could see all the holocaustic things that would happen over the next several thousand years.  What did He do?  He immediately announced the plan to bring Adam and Eve back into right relationship with him - Jesus.  This is what He was talking about when He said he would bruise the devil's head. 

He announced the plan to save the world from all the destruction that would come from the devil.  Adam and Eve would one day have a chance to get back in right relationship with God through Jesus sacrifice.  God didn't abandon them.  He had a plan B.  It was Jesus and it was perfect.  It was a great plan for the world because it allowed us to be part of his family again.

Let's fast forward to today.  Are there things in your life that you think disqualify you from having a good life?  Have you ever done something you wish you had not?  Maybe you have done something so bad that you think God can't help you anymore.

Is what you did worse than what Adam and Eve did?  Absolutely not!  The Bible says in Jeremiah 29:11 that God still has a good plan for your life.  It may not be his original plan but He always has a plan B and C and D and E....  There is nothing you can do that disqualifies you for the good plan He has for your life?  Why?  Because for God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son and when He did that, it provided a great plan for your life!

So don't let the devil lie to you anymore telling you that you have done something so bad that God can't give you a good life.  It's a lie.  Start believing what God says about you.  You will be surprised where He can take you.

That's another Opinion of the Minion. 

Love Does Not Boast

Hi Everyone,

Today's topic is boasting.  When I looked this word up in the dictionary, one of the definitions was to brag about yourself or to brag about your stuff to others (that's the Minion translation).  It's interesting because it is very similar to pride but we will talk about pride in the next post.  Again, I want you to notice that bragging is an action, not a feeling.  We don't feel bragging, we say something that is bragging.  So what does this mean?

We all know the one upper.  In fact, sometimes we have been the one upper.  You know the person.  If you tell as story, they have a bigger one.  If something good happened to you, something better happened to them.  So we shouldn't brag about things in our life right?  Well if that's the case, then we should never tell anyone when something good happens to us or when we do something great right?  Wrong!  I want to stop and say that just because you tell someone about something you have or did, does not make it bragging.  When you tell a story to puff yourself up, that's bragging.

Let's look at God for a minute.  If God is love and love doesn't brag, then what happens all the times in the Bible where God talks about who he is and what he's done?  Is he bragging?  Certainly not.  When we brag, we normally do it to impress people and I don't think the Creator of the universe needs to impress His creation.  So what is He doing?  He's trying to build our faith.  When God tells you something about Himself, it's not because He's trying to brag.  He wants you to know that He's able to provide all things so that when you have lack, you can trust in and rely on Him.  He wants you to know that He can heal people so that when you are sick, you will go to Him for healing.  He wants you to know that He created everything so that when you need anything, you can go to Him.

So here's what I have learned today.  There's a difference between bragging and telling someone about something that's happened to you.  That difference is motive.  When you brag, you want people to look at you and how great you are.  When you tell someone about something great that you did or happened to you and you do it to encourage them, then it's called ministry not bragging.

Let me finish by asking you this question.  Do you find yourself ministering or bragging when you tell people what's happening with you?  I know there are places in my own life where I can do this better.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Love is Patient Part 2

Hello everyone,

I wanted to take moment to tell you about a few things where I have/am learning to love by being patient.  I didn't really understand the power of the force of patience until recently.  See, patience provides room for love to grow.  It's critical.  Let me explain.

Last week, my wife and I were going through the normal things in life.  We were working and raising kids.  Now each of our children is fearful and wonderfully made.  That means sometimes we wonder about them.  Just kidding.  That means they are wonderful and amazing children.  They are God's gift to us and I get excited when we catch glimpses of what's really inside them.  But there are other times where they are challenging.

Parent's have you ever been frustrated because your children don't grow up as fast as you would like?  Have you ever wondered if they would grow up at all?  I can't tell you how many times my wife and I have worried over our children because of their choices or how many times I would ride them about a choice they made over and over.  But what I realized was that in some ways, I wasn't being loving.  Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't correct our children because the Bible says that God corrects those he loves.  But what I am telling you is that in other cases if we will be patient with our children and give God room to grow them up, they will progress so much faster than all our nagging.

The other thing I noticed this week is an area in my personal life where I was not being very loving with someone because I wanted them to do something and they didn't do it.  I got agitated and rolled all sorts of things around in my mind to tell them but in the end, the Lord was telling me to be patient.  See, I was walking in selfishness which is many times the opposite of patience.  What I wanted the other person to do was a good and right thing but I was not giving them time to do it on their own.  I have decided to love them and be patient and wait.

Patience doesn't come across as an action verb.  When you give something to someone, they can see what you give them.  When you do something for someone or say something nice to someone, then they know it immediately.  But with patience, the person you are loving, may never know that you are loving them and waiting.  I think that's what makes it so strong.

How many times do you think the Lord has been patient with us.  How many times has he wanted us to make different choices and we make the same mistakes again and again.  But guess what.  He never walks out of love with us.  It's impossible for God to be anything but Love toward us so I know he is patient with me every day.

Let me leave you with this.  If you are struggling with patience, then ask the Lord to help you stand in faith and pray while you wait.  God is able to do much more that we can ask or think so dare to ask big and then wait.

That's another Opinion of the Minion.

Love is Patient

Hello Everyone,

Today I want to start talking about what love is.  Our topic for today is patience.  Have you ever had an experience were you were not patient with someone?  I know I sure have.  If you have children, especially teenagers, it's easy to lose your patience with them.  On our streets today, you can see how impatient people are with one another.  Well, when we are acting impatiently with each other, we aren't walking in love.  That doesn't mean we don't love, it means in that particular instance, we aren't walking in love the way we should.  Also, there are opportunities for you to be patient whether you pray for them or not.

I have heard in Christian circles for years that you shouldn't pray for patience because God will cause something to come in your life that requires it.  But here's the problem.  God is not saying that if you are patient, then you are walking in love.  What He's saying is when His love is developed in you then you will be patience.  So what you need to pray for is that His love will so grow inside you that you will be a patient person.  You aren't doing work to prove love.  Love is working which causes results.

So what is patience?  One definition is - the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.  What does that mean?  Well for me personally, it mean's loving my children and being patient while I am waiting on things to develop in their lives.  One of the most interesting characteristics is waiting without getting angry or upset.  Let me say to my children, I apologize for the times that I am waiting on you to develop but being upset at the same time.

Now I want to say a thank you to my wife.  She has shown me love by being patient with me.  Overall, I'm a good dad and a good husband but there are a couple of things that I need to get straight.  My wife has known about them since we met and she's loved me and been patient with me for a long time.  Thank you Honey.  I love you.

So what does all this mean?  Start believing God to change you and out of His love, ask for him to grow the attribute of patience.  Then find an opportunity today to be patient.  Maybe you need to be patient while other people are ahead of you in line.  Maybe you need to be patient with someone while you are driving.  Maybe you need to be patient with one of your friends or your parents while they figure things out.  Regardless of what it is, find a place today to show someone else love by being patient.

I'm Getting a Divorce ... But NOT from My Wife

Hello Everyone,

It's been a long time since I have posted anything but as I have said before, a couple of times, I am going to start writing more.

Today's topic is Divorce.  Let me say that I am totally for it but not like you think.

This came up inside me because of an individual in my life.  This particular person (It's not one of my family or friends) continues to be a constant source of wrong thinking, upset and worry.  You know the type.  The person who is constantly saying something or doing something just to be mean and upset you.  The person that you constantly catch yourself thinking about what you want to say to them and how you want to give them a piece of your mind.  You go through the day and play different conversations out in your head.  They said this and then you would say something back that would really put them in their place.

But the truth is that 99% of the time these conversations never happen.  When you actually talk with someone it never goes the way you thought it out.  The net effect of the whole situation is that you didn't say all the things you wanted and you let that person dominate your thought life for some part of the day.  Maybe you worried about what they would say or do and how it would effect you or someone else.  Maybe you got really angry and dreamed about getting them back.  So when WE spend all that time going through those thoughts and replaying what that person said or did over and over again we miss things.  See I could have all that time thinking about my God or my kids or my wife.  I could have spent that time planning what I was going to do to bless them or bless someone else and then doing it.  But I chose to spend the time day dreaming in a negative way about that person!  So to those thoughts, consider this your official notice - I'm getting a divorce!!

Now let me tell you about a few things about divorce.  My ex-wife and I owned a house and I paid every payment on that house.  But here's the thing - as soon as the judge signed the divorce decree that was no longer my house.  I was no longer allowed in that house without my ex-wife's permission.  That's exactly what happens with our thought life.  You can choose what thoughts you let in your house and which ones have to stay out side.  They may ring the doorbell and ask to come in but you can tell them no.

So to that person who is causing us so much trouble, let me say that we have irreconcilable difference so it's over.  You are no longer allowed in my thought life.  I expect you to say ugly things and I expect you to be selfish and manipulative but I am no longer allowing you in my home!

Here are a few other things that have been served their divorce papers.

Politics - We are through.  I'm divorcing you from my thought life.  I will vote as the Lord leads me but I will not take you to dinner anymore and I will certainly not invite you back to my place.  I know that their are family and friends who would like us to stay together but we simply don't belong together.  Note:  If you like to talk about politics, what are you actually doing?  Remember, discussing a problem without implementing a solution is just complaining.

Judgmental attitudes - It's over between us.  I know we have only been together for a short time but you have been a complete negative in my life.  But I don't want you to meet my family and I don't see us growing old together.  Have you ever spent time judging people?  You know - She shouldn't wear that dress or he shouldn't drive that car.  I actually caught myself judging someone the other day while I was driving down the road!!  I don't know one thing about the person!

Other detrimental areas - I've seen you with other people so you aren't even true to me.  When we are together, you are abusive and cause me to lose my peace.  You don't want me to go to church; you don't want me to tithe; you don't want me to love my wife.  As a matter of fact, you are jealous of anything that I think about other than you.  You are so narcissistic.  It's over between us.  Pack your stuff and get out of my life.

Now friends if this stirs something in you and makes you want to divorce some of those stinking thinking areas in your own life then let me say this.  You must be vigilant.  Those areas can be stalkers and they can try to track you down to get back with you but don't let them.  Stay Vigilant!!!  If you know me and you see me making a V sign with my fingers it's for vigilance.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Focus

Hello Everyone,

Today I want to talk about focus.  Where do you focus the majority of your thoughts?  Do you consider all the bad things going on in the world today?  Do you consider something bad that's going on at school or in your personal life?  Wherever you put your focus, there you will ultimately go.  Let me give you a few examples.

In the Bible, there was a guy named Job.  Now he was a really rich guy and had several sons and daughters.  Interestingly enough he was very afraid that they were saying awful things about God or sinning in some way.  So what did he do?  He offered sacrifices just in case they might have sinned for them everyday (I think it was every day but if not, it was very often.).  Guess what happened?  Ultimately the things that he was afraid of, the things where he put his focus, came upon his children.  Am I saying that Job caused this, nope.  The Bible said it.

Let's shift gears a little.  How many of you have every ridden a motorcycle?  Several years ago, I got my license with a friend of mine, JC.  Now he rode all his life so he was a natural.  Me?  I looked like someone who needed training wheels for his motorcycle and I still do.  I much prefer a four wheeled motorcycle with leather seats, a good air conditioning system and plenty of room.  I think those are called cars.  Anyway, when I was learning to ride, they taught us how to turn.  What we were told was to look where we wanted the bike to go, not where the bike was going.  So we would focus on where we wanted the bike to go and it would go that way.

Let me give you one more example and I will make my point.  The other day, I was thinking about my company and about being an employee.  I run my own company and we do a lot of Oil and Gas work.  As some of you may know, the price of oil has dropped a lot lately and that has caused some slowness in the industry.  I was worrying a little about my business and whether we would be able to sustain our growth even though I knew that the Lord started this business and I knew he was watching it and causing it to grow.  The problem was my focus was on the price of oil and how drastically it could impact my business.  I wasn't focused on where I wanted it to go or what the Lord said about it.

I started thinking about being an employee and how easy it must be to just go to work and do your job.  After that, an employee collects his or her paycheck and that's it.  I started feeling a little sorry for myself thinking about how they don't have to worry about whether or not the check will cash (most of the time) and how easy that must be.  Now my business is really fine but I wasn't focused there.  That's when the word of the Lord came to me.  He said something like, "You should be like those employees you are thinking about.  If you would just keep your eyes on Me and roll the care of it over on Me, things would be much better for you!"

That's what I did.  I put my focus back on my faith in God and what He is doing in our business.  Immediately, I could see where things were going and how good things really are for us!

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Toothpaste

Hello Everyone,

It's been quite a while since I wrote anything but today I want to talk about toothpaste.  Toothpaste comes in all different sized tubes and in more flavors than I can count.  There is wintergreen, spearmint, peppermint, and the list goes on and on.  Now I am not sure about how it comes packaged in other parts of the world but in the United States, most of the time it comes in squeeze tubes with a screw on cap.  The tubes are normally bright colors to make you feel good about using their brand and to make their brand look good.  It's supposed to be pretty important stuff because it helps us keep our teeth and gums in good health.  I can't remember how many times my mom asked if we had brushed our teeth before we went to bed.  As a grown up dad of five, I can't count how many times I have asked the same thing to ours.

So why am I talking about toothpaste?  It's because we humans have a lot in common with that tube.  At a factory somewhere, there are machines and people that put the toothpaste in the tube but did you ever notice that you don't really know what's in the tube until you take the cap off and squeeze the tube?  You can't see through the tube normally.  As I said a minute ago, you can see the outside of the tube and it may look great but you can't see the inside.

Some of you have probably figured out where I am going with this.  See, we can't really know what's inside a person until there is pressure put on that person.  It's when the pressure comes from all sides and starts to really squeeze that we get to see what's really inside their "tube."  We are all the same way.  We can look great on the outside but have real trouble on the inside.  But let me tell you this.  Whatever you put down on the inside of you is going to come out in words when the pressure is on.  Just like that factory, if you put God's word in your heart and you meditate on it regularly, that Word will come out of your mouth when you get into a tough situation.  If you're putting negative thoughts and ideas down in your spirit then those same negative things will come out of your mouth under pressure.

Let me ask you this.  What kind of toothpaste is on the inside of you?  Is it good thoughts?  Is it based on the Word of God?  Is it something that will help you when the tough times come?  Or are you saying things to yourself like, "I'll never make it.  My dreams won't come true.  I'm not good enough.  I'm not pretty enough.  I'm not smart enough."  If you are doing that, then stop because those negative thoughts are lies.  You are good enough, smart enough, pretty enough and God can make your dreams come true.

Let me end it with this.  Check out what's on the inside of your tube because the pressure will come and it will come out.  If you don't like what's there, then change it.  It's not hard.  Get a good Bible and start feeding on what God says you are and what God says you can do.  Then when the pressure comes, you will start using the words of your mouth to bring you out of that situation and into the place God has for you.

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

What's Steering the Bus?

Hello All,

I am finally getting around to writing again and I apologize for taking so long to get back to it.  Today I want to talk about what's steering your bus?  What's directing your life?  The answer to that is easy - our thoughts direct or life.  The bible says in Proverbs 23:7 that as a man thinks in his heart so is he.  What does that mean, your thoughts are steering your bus!  Have you ever sat around and worried about a big test.  Every time you think about it, you become afraid of failing it?  Then when you actually take the test, you don't do so well?  I know I've done things like that.

Let me tell you about one area that this has happened and what I figured out to do to stop it from happening again.  My company had a big client up until about a year ago and I listened to several people who would worry with me about this big client and what they were trying to do to us.  We all worried for several months and then I found myself worrying about what would happen if we lost them.  How would we survive and what would we do.  Now there was no real obvious signs of things going wrong with them but my heart began to be fixed on how we would lose them.  Sure enough, at the end of last year they fired us!  Just like Job, the thing that I feared had come upon me.  I believe that this is always the devil's plan for our lives.  He is constantly trying to steal, kill and destroy.

Now thank God that He is gracious enough to see us through our mistakes.  When I realized that I was doing it with another place in my business, the Lord showed me what I was doing and I was able to stop.  Why didn't God show me before I lost the big client?  He was trying to tell me, I just wasn't listening.

If we just stopped right here this would be good news but this isn't as far as it goes.  See, we can set our minds on good things and they will come to pass too!  There is another aspect of my business that is starting to go really well.  It is actually multiplying.  I don't mean it's growing, it's multiplying.  Now we started talking about this business at the first of the year much differently.  When I started this year, I was talking about this business being much larger than it is now.  I was seeing it, I was believing it and I was expecting it.  Guess what - that's exactly where it's headed.  As I am thinking in my heart, so is it.

So let me ask you, where are you seeing yourself?  What thoughts are you allowing to run around inside you?  Do you see yourself as overcome or overrun?  If you are struggling with this today, do me a favor.  As hard as it may be, take 10 minutes a day and start to use your imagination.  See yourself overcoming the thing you are struggling with.  See God stepping into your situation and it turning around.  See yourself as the victor not the victim.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Fear

Hello everyone,

Today's topic is fear.  It's something we see all around us and something we deal with daily.  If you ask any of my five children or possibly my wife, they might tell you that I look really scary in the morning because my hair looks so bad in the morning!  OK, all joking aside, I want to take a more serious look at fear.  Just this past week I was in a meeting with someone who told me that a little bit of fear was a good thing.  This person was trying to make a point and she was very very wrong.  Fear will kill you.  There is nothing remotely good about it.

In her example, she stated that if we don't teach children to fear their hand getting burned by a hot stove, they could get hurt.  What she should have said is that if we don't teach children to respect the heat that comes off the stove, they can get burned.  But they definitely should not fear the stove, there's nothing good that can come from fear.

Now I can already hear someone saying, "Mr. Minion, the Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  That is what the King James Bible says but what that word fear means is deep respect and reverence of the Lord.  Remember this, the Bible says that God is Love and that perfect love casts out fear.  That means that if we go near God that His love will cast out fear.  Let me put it this way.  I'm a dad and I definitely want my children to respect what I say but I certainly don't want any of my children to ever fear me.  It would hurt me to think that one of my own children was afraid of me.

I don't even think that horror movies are good for us.  Think about it.  They can desensitize us to what fear actually does.  We like to watch movies that have fear in them because most of the time there is no "real" fear that would come after us from them.  But they teach us to live with fear and that fear can be amusing.  I personally prefer comedies because I like to laugh.  The Bible says that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

So what about fear?  I heard a preacher say one time that the shadow of a dog never bit anyone. How often do we sit around being fearful of what might happen.  I know someone who is going back to school and this person is afraid of some things that might never happen.  This person is worrying about things before they even come up.  Now I'm not telling you to plan for things and make sure you know what to do if something happens but that is much different that worrying about it.

Earlier this week, I was in a situation at work and worried about it for two days.  The particular thing I worried about never even took place so I worried for nothing.  Worse than that, we can't stand in fear and faith at the same time so I wasn't even standing in faith while I was worrying about it.  How dumb was I?  I have recently realized that there were several areas of my life where I was worrying about things and I am making the decision to quit.  Fear is of the devil.  I am striving more and more to work with one of my wife's 2 Ts (trust and thankfulness) - trust.  When I role the cares of those things over on to the Lord, He can take them and do something about them.

Can it be that simple to stop fear.  The answer is yes.  Quit choosing to live with fear and start choosing to live with trust in God!  When fear comes, tell the devil you aren't buying and choose to walk away from it!

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Letting Go

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post in a long time and for that I apologize again.  I know I need to write more and I hope to in the future.

Today's post is about letting go.  It's a message that has come to me from several different places in the last week which usually means the Lord is trying to tell me something.  I want to start with an illustration from a very good friend of mine, CS.

He recently told me about something that happened to him.  He was visiting with one of his closest friends when several of his friend's family showed up and had a lot of negative things to say about C.  They were very bitter about some "perceived" wrong that he did to them.  Now from our discussions, I don't think he really did anything wrong to them but this perceived transgression was really bothering several of them.  Here's the kicker.  This happened over a decade ago.  They have been harboring this grudge for a long time and guess who wasn't bothered about any of it until recently? - CS.  He didn't even know it was out there.  Pretty crazy stuff.  What's my point?  If you harbor a grudge against someone the only person you are really hurting is yourself.

I think that's a good point but I want to talk for a minute about the definition of letting go that the Lord keeps bringing to my heart.  I have to let go of the past.  In my current life, I don't have as many "things" as I once did.  I don't live in as nice a house as I used to and as a matter of fact, my ex-wife still lives in the nice house where I used to live.  I also don't have a boat like I used to.  And here's something else from my past that I don't like - I can't run as fast or as far as I could five years ago.

I've noticed lately that I have spent some time regretting not having the "things" that I used to enjoy.  What makes it worse is I am facing a couple of struggles.  Lately, it's been easy to be frustrated about the past and not really notice the great things that are going on around me.  So the Lord finally dealt with me to let go of the old house and let go of the boat.  Part of the problem of remembering the "good old days" is that they really weren't all that good.  I was just remembering the best parts of the "old days" and forgetting all the hard stuff that made them not so good at the time.  Another part of the problem is that while I was focusing on how things were, I forgot to focus on the good plan that God has for my future.  I'm on the verge of a couple of very significant breakthroughs in area's of my life that will put my family and I in the best financial place I have ever seen.

This year one of my businesses suffered a pretty big setback but it's still going strong and looks like there are opportunities to grow back some of what we lost.  Another of my businesses is on the verge of taking off in a way I would never have seen back in the good old days.  So what the Lord was finally saying to me is that at this stage of my life it's time for a new beginning not a being bogged down in trying to my recollection of the good old days.  But in order to move higher, I have to let go of some of the things I have held as important.

Something else I noticed was that I was holding on to feeling guilty about some bad choices I have made.  The worst part about that is I can't change any of them.  I can make choices about my future.

So I want to encourage you.  If your are holding on to things that are holding you down, it's time to let go and move up.  It's time for you to move out of your past and move into your future.  Maybe the devil has told you that because of something you did wrong it your past, that your life can't be as great as you would like.  That's just simply a lie.  Did you know that after the prodigal son came home from wasting all the money his father gave him that his father not only took him back but blessed him with fine clothes and a big feast.  God has a great plan for your life and nothing in your past can stop you and God from achieving a bright future. So let go and get going!!

That's another Opinion of the Minion

Consistence

OK today I want to talk about consistence.  That's a good word even though it can be a hard one.  I heard a preacher named Gloria Copeland say that God told her that in consistency lies the power.  I think this is such a true statement.

As many of you may know I went to law school and have my license so I am a lawyer in Texas even though I don't practice law very much.  Now when I went to law school, I was determined to give it my best shot and whether or not I failed, I was going to try hard and I was very successful.   Right after I realized I was going to do fine in law school, my goal changed to becoming a lawyer.  I wanted to try cases like Perry Mason (He was a lawyer on an old TV show and I think he won ever case except for a couple.).  I was determined that I was going to be the best trial lawyer ever.  Guess what.  After my first year of law school I was so high in my class I got asked to be on the law review which is a pretty prestigious deal.  I was doing great.  Now after that first year, what if I walked up to you and said, I'm through year one of school and I'm not a lawyer yet so I quit!!

You would have probably looked at me and said something like - Well you can't be a lawyer yet.  You haven't made it through the next two years of school and you have to take (and pass) the bar exam.  It's ridiculous for you to think you should be a lawyer yet.  Just hang in there and do what it takes to get to your goal.  You have to consistently chase it for a few more years before it gets there.  If I then said - That's it I don't care if I'm not supposed to be one yet, I quit anyway.  You would probably think something was wrong with me.  And you would be right.

But I have done this many times and I have seen other people do this more times than I can count.  No, I'm not talking about quitting law school but I have seen so many other people quit on their dreams before they ever had a chance to materialize.  The reason they quit was because they expected to reach their goal without doing what was necessary to get there.

Let me use another example that will bring this closer to home.  As many of you know, I used to weigh 350 pounds.  What if I tried to diet for two weeks and got frustrated because I hadn't lost all the weight I thought I should and I quit?  Let me see a show of hands from anyone who has ever tried to lose weight and quit your diet when you didn't see immediate results.  OK put your hand down, I can't count all the hands!  I did it myself more than once.  See for me to lose the weight I had to consistently eat the right things and exercise over 14 months to get where I wanted to be.

But that's not the only place it can effect you.  How many of you were believing to get out of debt and haven't?  Well don't quit.  If you will consistently spend less money than you make, you will come out of debt.  How many of you have pursued a dream to be a writer or an engineer or a singer or something else?  Well don't quit!!!  If you will keep pursuing your dream, you can achieve it.

I want to leave you with one thought that is a little harder than the ones above.  How many of you started believing God for something and you haven't seen it yet?  Maybe you are believing for a loved one to be saved or someone to be healed.  Maybe you are believing God to heal your marriage or something else.  Maybe the situation looks pretty bad right now and you don't see how God is going to fix your problem.  Maybe you wonder if He even wants to do it.  Well let me tell you that God does want to fix your problems but He needs you to have faith and the right actions to go with it.  He needs you to be consistent with doing them and He will see you through!!

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

Dirty Politics

Hello Everyone,

I spent a lot of time talking about politics. And I think that it's important to give politics it's due. But it saddens me to see so many people get so excited and so animated about this subject and then when it's over the excitement goes with it.

I wonder what would happen if people channeled the same fervor and excitement that they have for the political issues and directed it toward constructive pursuits.  What would happen if we got very excited about helping our young people today?  What would happen if feeding people that needed food got as much a tension as much excitement as whether or not it's okay to burn the US flag or not?  What would happen if people got as excited about loving their neighbor as they did about condemning their neighbors choice and political party?

I think we would live in a vastly different world. Guess what poverty, low self-esteem, financial need, and  stress those don't have a real political party. So let me ask all my politically active friends what are you doing every day to help someone else in need?  Jesus praised people by saying, "When I was hungry you fed me when I was imprisoned you came to visit me when I was in need of clothing you gave me clothing."   He never said when I ran for political office you bombarded Facebook or the social media of the day with long laborious posts condemning the other party.  He didn't mention how you should vote.  When He judged people, he said, "When I was hungry you didn't feed me, when I was naked you didn't clothe me and when I was in jail you didn't visit."

Now before my far right wing or far left wing readers write me some critical comments, let me say that I am not against anyone voting there conscious.  As a matter of fact, I plan to early vote and I have already made up my mind how I am going to vote.  Many Americans gave their lives over the last 250+ years to give me that right and I plan to honor them with my vote.  I am completely for voting and doing what's right for this country.  I'm just appalled by what I hear through the media, Facebook and other places about politics from what some public entertainment figure has to say to what the left and right media have to say.

What troubles me is that I don't hear much about people helping others.  I remember one time I helped someone by giving them some supplies that they needed for their young kids.  The Lord told me to give them so much and I decided to give more than what the Lord asked me to do.  Now let me say that I did not hear the audible voice of God telling me to do anything.  I just knew in my spirit it was the right thing to do.  Anyway, after I gave them what the Lord told me to plus some, I felt like the Lord was smiling at me and was proud of me for what I did.  It was like He was saying, "Son, you act like me more and more!"  As I sat there in the car that day, I wept with joy at being that close to God and knowing that I pleased him.  I have never ever had that feeling or anything close from trying to make a political point. 

So what am I trying to tell you today?  What I'm saying is that it's high time we got off the sidelines and quit just talking about what needs to be done how we should vote what the right politician is doing or not doing and it's time that we stepped out and started making a difference in somebody's life.  So I want to encourage you today. After you're done voting and making speeches and talking about what's right and wrong with America please take the time to find that single mom and your church that needs a helping hand and give her some help. That's what causes me to have pride in America.  It's seeing Americans helping Americans not bickering and arguing about the political system or who should be in office but just an American helping someone who needs help!

That's Another Opinion of the Minion

Faith

Today I want to talk about faith.  Did you know you have faith?  "Well, wait a minute," I can hear you say, "I'm not even a Christian.  I don't believe in that faith stuff."  My friend I beg to differ with you.  You do have faith.  What you have faith in is a totally different question.  While I was working out at the gym today, my trainer showed me a video of the guy who recently jumped out of that balloon from the edge of space.  Did you know he had faith?  In what?  Gravity.  He believed that he would return to earth when he jumped out of that capsule.  If he hadn't believed it, he would never have jumped out.

See we operate in faith all the time.  When you get out of bed, you have faith that you will be able to stay on the floor (gravity again).  You have faith that you are breathing air.  You have faith that the round ball in the sky providing light is the sun.  We have faith in all kinds of things.  Yes some of us have faith in God and that's a very good thing.  According to the bible, the opposite of faith is fear.

Fear is faith that something bad is going to happen.  If you have fear that you are going to die in a car accident, you are really saying that you have faith that this will come to pass in your life.  That's not a good thing.  Now I know some people will say that they had faith in God for this to happen or that and it didn't.  Why didn't your faith work?  I can't say for sure.  There are a lot of reasons that you may not have received what you wanted.  But let's look at the other side, there are many times when we fear something will happen and it doesn't.

I am amazed sometimes at how much fear and faith we see everyday.  Some fear is stronger than others but some faith is stronger than others as well.  I want you to know that fear and faith are not equal even though they are opposites.  Faith in God will always beat fear.  So let me ask you what you are afraid of today?  In the last couple of weeks I have been afraid of a certain thing.  But here's what I learned, when I started trusting God and putting my faith in him, that fear had to shrink away.  So let me ask you this?  Where is your faith?

Is it in something bad or something good?  The answer is something you have to decide but know this - you will operate in faith in many things today.  You only get to chose what you have faith in.

That's another Opinion of the Minion

The Box

Hello everyone,

Today I reposted what I believe to be the most significant thing I have ever said.  The post is called, the Box.  Recently my girlfriend and I were discussing homosexuality and I will not discuss whether it is right or wrong.  You have a bible, find out for yourself.  But I do want to stress that hate for people of that lifestyle is totally wrong.  See our job isn't to judge it's to love.  If you look at thing's through the lense of the Box, it will change the way you look at people.  So, here's the Box.




I have given this a lot a of thought and I believe that the Lord showed me something that changed the way I view people.

You see, when God creates a person he gives them abilities, passions, desires, talents and all sorts of wonderful attributes that we seldom ever see. Then he takes all these things and puts them in a box with silver wrapping paper and very pretty red ribbon tied in a bow around it. He calls the box - You. It is a present to the world. When I saw this for the first time, I looked around at all the people walking by and said to myself, "Merry Christmas!" because all I could see were beautiful boxes waiting to be opened.

The problem is many people don't even know what is in their own box much less have taken the time to look in someone elses box. This starts when we are in school. As we grow up, we learn all kinds of new things about ourselves: what we like, what we don't, the changes that our bodies go through, we learn things in school about the world and we learn about social interaction. But sometimes that social interaction teaches us that the stuff in our box isn't all that important.

Have you ever felt like the stuff inside you doesn't really matter? Can you look back to a point in your life where you were doing something you really enjoyed and someone else called it or you stupid or worthless?

When you pull the most precious parts of your life out of the box and let other people see them, it is scary because you are definitely vulnerable at that point. But know this, the Lord put all those wonderful things inside and they are of great price and value. Don't let someone cheapen what is so precious by their comments.

Everyday, I see people who are alive but aren't living. I think it is because they have told themselves that the treasures in their box aren't important or worth much so they don't do anything with them. They may not have done this openly but below the surface it happens. You have to know that if God took the time to create you and put all those treasures inside you, they are important both to him and to me.

When was the last time you looked in your box and pulled out something you truly enjoyed and used it? When was the last time you opened the box? When was the last time you were passionate about anything? Are you so caught up in the rat race that your box isn't important any more?

Here is another interesting question - When was the last time you opened up someone else's box to see who they really are and celebrate the gifts inside them? Do you always know what is wrong with your husband, wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, kids, friends, parents, family, coworkers but never look inside the box for what is so awesome about them?

Husbands, what would happen if instead of criticizing your wife, the next time you saw her, you decided to look at something that was so precious to her, so beautiful, so tender, so amazing and something she loved about herself? What would happen if you nurtured that gift and encouraged it to grow? What would happen if, after you opened her box, she decided that your box was the most special one on earth and decided to touch the core of who you are? What if you both decided to go deep in your relationship?

Boyfriends, what if you looked at her and decided that you wanted more than just what was inside her clothes, you wanted what was inside her heart. Girlfriends, what if you decided that you wanted the same thing? What if you wanted to explore who they are and make them the best person they could be while they did the same thing to you? What if you looked at them and asked, "What can I give?" instead of "What can I get?"

Is this a little intense? Yes. Is it worth it if just one person decides to open their box or open someone elses? Yes. You see, I believe that I got to see a little glimpse of the creation through the creator's eyes when He showed me this. It was truly an eye opening experience and I can definitely say I will never be the same. I got to see how He looked at and longs for His creation to be all that we can be and how His love for us goes so deep His heart aches for us.

So I guess the real question is what is in your box? I want to know.

That's the Opinion of His Minion

What Were You Thinking?

OK, today I want to talk about something that is extremely important - thoughts.  I want to share something that has recently come to light in my life.  My thoughts will dictate where I go for the day. 

Now I have heard people talk about this a lot and the bible even says that we are supposed to cast out bad thoughts but I never really got it until recently.  Now I have tried unsuccessfully to get rid of those bad thoughts for years and for years I thought I wasn't spiritual enough or something because it never worked.  See a bad thought would get in my head and I would start trying to get rid of it but it wouldn't work.

But here's what I recently discovered about those thoughts.  They had a very direct effect on my mood and feelings.  I once had someone tell me that I needed to lead my heart (my emotions) and I can definitely see his point.  Now I am not saying that your emotions are not important or that you shouldn't listen to what you are feeling because that's not true.  But I do want to spend a couple of minutes talking about how your thoughts effect them.

See, if you concentrate on something long enough, it will definitely effect the way you feel.  What's worse is if you meditate on something bad, many times your thoughts will run wild.  You can end up dreading or mentally walking through all kinds of situations that never will actually happen.  Have you ever gotten a piece of bad news and not been in a place where you could do something about it instantly?  When that happens to me, I can get really worked up over nothing. 

I remember just recently I was feeling like things were off.  Now as you may know, dealing with my emotions is a relatively new thing for me as I have only been doing this for a couple of years.  So as I sat there trying to figure out why I was feeling like I was in a funk, I did a mental inventory.  My relationship with my kids was very good.  I was getting them the help they needed.  I was seeing good things happening in my business.  It was growing and I had made several very positive changes that were showing great results on a business that was doing well before we made them.  I was (and still am) dating a great woman.  She is the most amazing person.  I know she loves me deeply because she tells and shows me and I love her very deeply too.

So as I sat there trying to figure out why the funk, I noticed that I felt like something was wrong and it made me feel a little strange.  But when I did a mental inventory, everything was going (and still is) great.  So what was going on?   Here is what I discovered.  When I went to bed at night, if I wasn't careful, I my mind would wander all over the place and most of the time, I was running bad scenarios through my head.  I didn't mean to do this but I didn't stop it from happening either.  Now I know life is full of things that happen that are bad.   The bible even says that we will have trouble.  I also believe that we should plan for certain contingencies in our lives.  That's a smart thing to do.  But I was planning on all kinds of stupid contingencies.  As I planned through each one that was bad, I realized that it had a negative effect on my emotions and thus a negative effect on my mood.

But there is good news!  I figured out how to cast down the thoughts and it was really simple.  You don't make them go away and keep your mind blank.  You fill your mind with good thoughts.  What if I started planning for the good things that God has in store for me?  What if I started thinking about how He wants to bless me and how He has the power to do so?  What if I looked back at some of the sweet texts that my beautiful girlfriend sends me and think about how much she loves me and I love her?  What if I start thinking about all the good things going on at work or with my kids?  I noticed that when I do this, my emotions are good and my spirit lifts.

So what am I telling you?  When you feel your emotions are in a bad place, check yourself.  If there are good reasons for your negative emotions, then don't deny them - deal with them.  But I think you will find that many times we get upset for no good reason.  When that happens make the conscious decision to meditate on good things and not bad ones.

That's another Opinion of the Minion.