Thoughts from a Random Mind

With few exceptions the vast majority of people feel they are good. This thought raises a couple very important questions. First of all, who decides what the definition of ‘good’ is? It’s a relative term used far too loosely. Like the word ‘normal’. I would venture to say that everyone has their own personal definition of both ‘good’ and ‘normal’. I believe most would admit they weren’t choir boys, but they haven’t robbed a bank or committed murder, so they feel they are good people. They hope they have been good enough to go to heaven when they die.  

The opposite of ‘normal’ is ‘abnormal’. We all have our own personal definition of ‘normal’ and anyone who fall outside the parameters of their definition are ‘abnormal’ or just plain ‘weird’. Just because I’m different than most people just makes me different than those who declare themselves ‘normal’. 

The shocking truth of the matter is what Jesus said in the gospels about being ‘good’. In Mark 10:18 ... “Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially] good [by nature] except God alone.’” Here is one verse that describes what is or at least should be: “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), and to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?”

It isn’t easy to be Christ-like in this life of decadence and evil, but that is what we’ve been commissioned to do. Know what God expects of us as His children and then do our level best to be just that. We don’t know what good is, but the author of all creation and man’s first breath does. Read His Word and follow His lead. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

            Christianity isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being transformed. It’s a progressive thing; like sanctification. Some things are instantaneous, like salvation ... forgiveness is yours once you confess Jesus as your Lord & Savior. 

To make progress with our faith we need to do some things. We should read the scriptures frequently; daily if at all possible. It is your guidebook regarding how to live this life in Christ. This is the nature of sanctification. By definition sanctification means: "to set apart for special use or purpose". We are being prepared to be used by God with any and all gifts that He bestows upon us.

Once redeemed, the transformation begins. We must lean of the Triune God for all things eternal and worship Him for who He is; the Creator of His own Master Plan for mankind ... Almighty God. 

To not allow the sanctification process to take place is like going day after day without drinking a drop of water as a means of hydrating yourself. You will dehydrate, become weak, and eventually, over time, cease to exist. No rational mind would purposely do that to themselves, so why do that to yourself spiritually? Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

 

The Spotlight Effect

Are you the type of person who requires the attention of others? It seems to me that far too many people honestly believe that they are the center of attention. It’s more than likely not at all true, but some folks thrive in that world. They want to be seen a certain way and even put on airs to create the illusion that they are superior to those around them. This is a psychological phenomenon referred to as “The Spotlight Effect”.

Some folks have a strong tendency to overestimate how much they are noticed by other people. From years of observation I feel like people in general are far too self-absorbed to seriously care about someone other than themselves. The “other” people are too busy dealing with their own lives than to pay any significant attention to yours.

If you actually worry about what others think of you or your new haircut, or your new outfit, it’s probably time to shed that conceited view of things and realize that the only people who DO pay close attention to you in public are more than likely the gossip mongrels who would have nothing positive to say about you anyway.

It behooves each follower of Christ to understand just who they are in Christ and realize that others opinion of you are worthless. Accept that God loves you just the way you are. Understand that any area of your life that needs altering can be taken care of by the Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit. Realizing these things can liberate you from thinking you’re in the spotlight.

Until next time, treat all others the way you’d like to be treated.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

 

I’ve read lately about a lot of celebrities who were raised in organized religion, yet as an adult don’t follow any organized religion, but rather choose to say they are spiritual or they believe in a higher power. While saying this some actually dismiss organized religion as divisive and patently false. Some, heavily influenced by the world that has come to adore them for their craft, be it singing or acting, etc., seem to find no need for any sort of God. They must then also abandon the idea that we are fraught with unrighteousness (sin). They conveniently dismiss anything that would interfere with their newfound lifestyle. The future reckoning will surely be quite a surprise to millions of people who have abandoned what they once believed.  

It’s sad to me that society as a whole has slowly turned their back on the one true God in favor of something or someone more palatable. Scripture gives us an OT example and a Proverb that says it all. 

1 Samuel chapter 8 tells the story of when Israel first demanded of God that they should have a mortal King just like the other nations. In the end God gave them what they sought after and the rest is history. A bumpy, uneven history of evil kings and righteous kings. High points and low points. Destruction and captivity. God had been their king, but Israel thought they knew better. The scripture is Proverbs 14:12 NIV which says: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” 

The crux of the matter is that we DO NOT KNOW the correct way to go or the right way to live our lives. We think we do; we believe we do, but in reality we are like a person in a pitch dark room who can’t even find the light switch or the door. We can’t save ourselves and we are incapable of pleasing God on our own. Believing in God means absolutely NOTHING if we haven’t allowed that belief to change our lives. The devil and his demons believe in both God and Jesus, yet in spite of that belief, have set themselves up as the main enemy of the Most High King. Their fate is already sealed. Yours is not. 

Don’t turn your back on God for something that seems more to your liking. The end result for you will not be pretty. Don’t believe that? I sincerely hope you’re right. That would be like playing Russian roulette *. As with Noah ark, it’s not too late for you until the door closes for good. 

            Until next time, start making sure your spiritual house is in order.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single bullet in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against the head or body, and pulls the trigger.

Thoughts from a Random Mind

Christianity goes against the basic secular nature of the unsaved. Autonomy is the art of self-governing, which is exactly what man wants. Man’s basic “I got this” mentality is flawed on so many levels. Man would rather go thru his mistake-riddled life doing it his own way, than submit to a “higher being” THAT CANNOT BE SEEN. I realize to the carnal mind that sounds completely ridiculous, but what if it were absolutely true? 

Many folks simply don’t want to know. They don’t understand it and frankly, in many cases, do not WANT to understand it. It takes faith in the unseen. It takes trusting someone you cannot experience with any of your senses. That’s wild. The phrase “Let Go & Let God” is quite literally true. You have to take your hands OFF the wheel and move over to the passenger seat. God, thru His Holy Spirit, will steer your life in the way that He knows will benefit you the most. 

Life can tend to be difficult for everyone, not just a select few, and not as many as you would think are willing to invest in what sounds like a myth or fairy tale. Frankly, it sounds too good to be true, but if you engage your faith and extend your trust to touch the unseen / unknown, then you just might be surprised at what transpires going forward. You honestly have nothing to lose but time. If you invest in God with your whole being and it was a fallacy, you’ve lost nothing, but if it turns out to be real, you have set yourself up for an eternity free from sin and filled with blessings. 

Don’t misunderstand, you don’t turn your life over to God to get blessed. You do it to receive forgiveness for all the misdeeds you’ve done, perhaps even unknowingly, against God and your fellow man. You do it to change the trajectory of your life. You do it because there is NO OTHER way to have your sins removed once for all time. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

                  I know who I am. The world says I’m broken. The world says I’m weak. The world says I’m a loser, all because I dance to the beat of a different drum. I know who I really am. I am a child of the King! I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. And God doesn’t make losers. God makes winners.

            Knowing what I know from scripture, humbles me and inspires me. Knowing that God loves me and even took the time to define love in His word, blesses me. The world has a skewed view of love which resembles lust and sex and all the things that fly in the face of decency. Our enemy creates one thing and that is chaos. God creates everything that is good and right and fair and decent.

            I understand what I was and I understand who I am now. Once you meet God and follow Christ you begin to travel down a narrow road that leads to everything that is influenced by the light and the glory of Almighty God Himself. I WAS broken and frail and unable to make correct life choices. I AM blessed, holy, righteous, sanctified, and forgiven thru Christ’s blood and God’s grace. No one can alter my final destination. And all that I have said here that applies to me applies to you as well. Why? Because according to the Word of God, He is no respecter of persons; in other words God never plays favorites. If you are Born Again you are His child, now and forevermore. The world cannot ever take that away from you no matter what the enemy whispers in your ear. Our enemy is already a defeated foe and he knows it. And now so do we. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Quote Contemplations

 

“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” – Theophrastus*  

            If you allow yourself to consider how quickly time flitters by, you will realize the reality of the above quote. Time is an interesting subject. Time is frivolously spend by many without a single thought of it being wasted. Time is not something that can be reclaimed. Once it is spent it is gone for good. Time cannot be retrieved, but it can be wasted as if it were worth nothing. 

            How can time be related to Almighty God? He lives OUTSIDE of time. 2 Peter 3:8 NIV tells us: “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” Therefore, God is not on our timeline. So when we ask something of God understand that He isn’t using our system of time. With that is mind it’s possible that Creation itself may not have taken a literal seven days. But that discussion is for another day.

            For us on earth time is registered in 24 hour increments, which represents what we refer to a ONE DAY. 365 of these 24 hour increments translates into ONE YEAR and so on. God deals in terms of infinity and eternity, so we really have no way of knowing how long a minute is to God. Frankly, it shouldn’t be important. If you love and trust God then however long you must wait for something to manifest itself should not phase you. Just know that God is in control of all things and knows all about you and your situation at all times. Trust Him to lead you where He knows you need to go. Time should be largely inconsequential to us. When it’s important you’ll know, when it isn’t you’ll know that too. 

            Until next time, spend your time doing something of value for others.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries        

*  Theophrastus [c. 371 – c. 287 BC] was an ancient Greek philosopher and naturalist.