“SPRINT BASED LACROSSE” is the ninth course of an ambitious “Feed the Cats certification program created by Tony Holler.
Feed the Cats is a revolutionary way of training, coaching, and teaching that values specificity, essentialism, performance, and love. After gaining a world-wide following in Track & Field, FTC has now gained a strong foothold in American football. Book this course.....
This presentation rocked the lacrosse world at the IMLCA National Clinic held in December of 2020. Tony Holler is the first presenter at IMLCA to never hold a lacrosse stick… yet the presentation got rave reviews.
“Sprint Based Lacrosse” takes an overview of the traditional approach to sport training (lift weights and get tired every day), and turns it upside down. Feed the Cats is the name of the new model and speed is the priority. The foundation of that speed is rest, recovery, and sleep.
Head track coach at Plainfield North High School. 40 years experience coaching football, basketball, and track. Member of Illinois Track & Field Hall of Fame and Co-director of Track Football Consortium with Chris Korfist
Head Boy's Track & Field at Plainfield North High School (IL)
As good as modern medical technology is, it will never be able
to save you from a problem caused by an unhealthy lifestyle.
Instead of
getting modern medical improvements for each problem, it is much better
to live in such a way that you will not fall ill.
One ounce of prevention is certainly better than one pound of
healing. Here are seven tips on how to live a long and healthy life. In
addition, the same lifestyle that helps you avoid disease also helps you
lose weight.
Get Enough Physical Activity
People had to use their physical bodies as part of their everyday
labor in the past. Today, though, someone may get up, drive to work, sit
down, drive home, and then sit down for the rest of the day. There is
no physical labor in such a life. Physical inactivity is one of the
leading causes of a variety of illnesses. If our typical work does not
demand us to strain ourselves physically, we must incorporate sports,
running, walking, and other activities into our lives. I
Go to sleep when you feel sleepy
This might sound simple, but many people stay up even when their
bodies tell them that it's time to sleep. Yoga and Doctor Ayurvedic also
say that it's better to sleep at night and active during the day.
However, people like students will drink coffee and stimulants to learn
until late at night. The other develops the habit of staying active at
night and sleeps during the day. While we can do this, finally taking
victims of health. Alternative health doctors say that unnatural life
like this is one of the factors that contribute to the causes of cancer
and other diseases
Eat only when you're hungry.
This is likewise a simple concept, but we frequently ignore the
body's messages. You will not digest your food effectively if you eat
out of habit or due to social pressure at a given time of day, even
though you have no true appetite. Acidity and indigestion set in,
increasing the likelihood of other, more complex disorders developing.
Having an appetite is a sign of excellent health, but if you don't have
one, you should wait a while before eating. (If you still don't have an
appetite after waiting a reasonable amount of time, see a doctor because
something is wrong.)
Quickly regularly, systematically
If you are going to ask people to work 365 days per year without
rest, they will complain and say that they must have a break or they
will break down. But we never bothered asking or thinking about our
digestive organs we forced to work day after day without rest. They
cannot protest the way someone will go to his boss, but they give us a
signal that they cannot work without stopping. When we ignore the
signals and still force them to work, the organs broke down. That is why
fasting is needed. Don't eat for one complete day. It gives a break on
your digestive organs and also helps in removing waste from your body.
Regular fasting allows someone to get extra time for intellectual or
spiritual pursuit. Fasting is not for ascetic in the cave, but is a
reasonable practice that can be practiced anyone.
Wash with cold water before going to bed
As mentioned above, the right sleep is very important for health
care. If you wash your important motor and sensory organs (hands, arms,
eyes, legs, mouth, genitals) before going to bed using cold water, this
will calm you down and prepare you to sleep well.
Perform regular meditation
Your body is linked to your mind. Many of these era diseases are
psychosomatic. Stress and anxiety took their victims on our physical
health. Meditation is a mental exercise that, among others, allows you
to escape life's worries. Learn simple techniques and do it regularly.
Get up at the same time every day.
"Early to bed, early to wake" is an old adage that "makes a person
healthy, wealthy, and wise." I'm not sure if it will make you wealthy,
but it will undoubtedly keep you healthy. Your body requires just the
right amount of sleep, not too much or too little.
Seven Tips For A Long And Healthy Life. It is necessary
for us to maintain our diet and physical fitness. In our daily life we
use various kind of work to maintain our body healthy.
In order to lose weight, your body must burn more calories
than it takes in, but keep in mind that your body needs calories for
energy and when you exercise your body needs even more calories. Before I
talk about energy, the first thing you must understand is that losing
weight and losing fat is not the same thing. Just because you lose
weight, does not mean you lose fat, and just because you lose fat, does
not mean you lose weight. When people talk about losing weight, what the
really want to do is lose the excess fat on their body and obtain an
attractive figure.
Everyone has a different approach to training and nutrition, here's a few things I've found helpful over the years.
When you eat, the body uses most of the calories for energy. If you
eat more calories than the body uses, it will get stored as fat. If you
do not consume enough calories per day you will lose weight, but you
will also lose energy. When you do not consume enough energy (calories)
for your body, it will start using up your energy stores to make up for
the energy deficiency. Unfortunately, the energy stores used is not your
stored fat, but instead it's protein and carbohydrates (carbs) that
will supply most of the energy (stored fat makes up a very small
percentage). Your body will take the protein and carbohydrates from your
muscle cells; causing your muscle mass to reduce (say goodbye to that
toned attractive look) which forces your metabolism to decrease (a low
metabolism = slow or no fat burning). When this happens your body
requires less energy to maintain its new lower body weight (remember the
body weight is lower because you loss muscle), which is why your body
conserves energy by slowing down the metabolism. In other words, the
body has adapted to the new lower energy (calorie) intake which means
that you will no longer continue to lose weight.
Keep in mind that the weight you had lost in the first place was
mostly water weight and you will eventually gain it back in the form of
fat, not muscle (in order to get your muscle mass back to the way it was
before, you have to work on rebuilding it). When carbohydrates and
protein that are already in your body are used as the energy source,
your body will lose water weight because both carbohydrates and protein
hold water in the cells. In essence, you are dehydrating yourself to
lose weight. So yes the scale will go down, but approximately 75% (if
not more) of it is water instead of fat. And just so you know,
exercising while consuming a small calorie intake just makes the
situation worse. This is because when you exercise, you start burning
off more energy and the more you workout, the more energy your body
needs. I already told you above where the energy comes from, and if you
do not give your body the energy it needs, it will just feed on your
muscles even quicker now that you are exercising. So eat more food! In
addition to this, when you cut down too much on your calorie intake,
your body will start storing calories because it doesn't know when you
will eat again. The calories that are stored will be stored as fat. So
in other words, when your body is storing energy, it's basically storing
more fat.
To summarize my point: Not eating enough calories results in muscle
loss, dehydration, slower fat burning, and your body will always adapt
to a lower calorie intake.
Bottom Line: if you can't maintain that lower calorie intake for the
rest of your life, you will gain your weight back when you get tired of
starving yourself!
To lose weight properly (burning fat) you must increase your
metabolism (weight training) and your need for oxygen (aerobics) while
eating enough calories each day (nutritious diet) to give you energy and
maintain the protein in your muscles because protein helps build
muscles, which indirectly burns fat. This brings up another good point:
When you build muscle your weight will increase because your muscles are
made up of mostly water, but your body fat percentage will decrease
because building muscles increase your metabolism (in other words,
muscles way more than fat, but take up less space than fat). So keep in
mind that losing body fat can't be measured by a scale; use a measuring
tape and also look at yourself in the mirror, and then you will see the
true results. One of the best ways to know if you are losing more body
fat than water is by using a body fat analyzer.
Make sure that you focus on fat loss not weight loss. Your goal
should be to lose weight by burning fat, not losing water from your
muscles. Remember this when you choose your weight loss program.
The home invader is dead—the coroner loads into a van the lifeless human body of the attacker you killed. The responding Police have asked their questions, documented the scene, and left your house. You stopped the immediate threat, but now a whole new set of emotions come over you. What do you do now?
A recent late-night home invasion in Michigan isn't much different than the numerous others we've talked about on the Concealed Carry Podcast Justified Saves episodes. However, something the homeowner said led me to write this post.
I'm a religious man, so it’s still tough, [appearing to tear up] scared to death. Who knows when we’ll be done with that, I guess. Hard to go back in your own home after this happens in it.
When we decide to use deadly defensive force, all that matters is surviving the moment, and our brain helps us stay focused on that task. However, once we survive the violent attack, we have to deal with the lingering complications of a traumatic incident.
Byron Township, Michigan Home Invasion Shooting —
The incident in Michigan went down like this.
A homeowner and his wife awoke shortly after midnight when they heard noises outside their home. The noises were the sound of a man smashing out the truck's windows belonging to the homeowner. The homeowner, called Alan Lenhart, Standing at the front door, yelled for the man to leave. But, instead of going, the suspect advanced toward Lenhart. Linhart said he could see the man holding a handgun.
Linhart locked the door, grabbed his “deer hunting gun” from the safe, and loaded it. The suspect went to the back of the house, yelling for Linhart to give him the keys [to the vehicle]. The suspect climbed the back steps and began pushing on the back door to gain entry. Linhart yelled:....Read the full article.....
We live in a world that values self-effort. It has a “Pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps” mentality that actually causes us to struggle. As a result, we try to solve our own problems through our own methods but see no success.
The good news is that God is waiting for us to turn to Him so that He can save us from all our fruitless, exhausting efforts. (Continued below...)
All around us we see people carrying burdens God never meant for them to handle. Some of those burdens are bad attitudes, negative emotions, addictions, and other things that hold them back from succeeding in life. This is painful and can lead to bitterness and discouragement; however, God is asking us to give Him those issues we can’t handle. He wants an opportunity to become deeply involved in our lives and show us favor. “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matthew 11:28-30, MSG).
Trying to force things to work is never the solution. If we end up feeling frustrated, it’s because we’re taking the wrong approach to the issue. We were actually created to be in union with God so that we would succeed in everything we put our hand to. “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5). Abiding in Him means not only accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior but also allowing Him to walk us through the situations we need help with.
Society tells us that any good thing we want in life must come by our own doing. However, apart from God’s intervention our efforts won’t amount to anything. We may see some temporary results, but they come at a high price and don’t last. No matter how well-intentioned, our works without God’s grace are empty and meaningless. “And since it is by God’s grace, it can’t be a matter of their good works; otherwise, it wouldn’t be a gift of grace, but earned by human effort” (Romans 11:6, TPT).
Working for the sake of working doesn’t work; all it does is make us feel like we’re on a never-ending treadmill without ever reaching what we’re striving for. Under the Law of Moses, the people were required to constantly perform, but their works were empty of faith. Now that grace has replaced the law, we need to have faith in God’s grace. “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:28, 29). This was true during Jesus’ ministry, and it’s still true today.
Jesus is grace in human form. Accepting Him means accepting the offer of help God extended to mankind when He sent us His Son. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” (1 John 4:9). Christ moves us from simply existing to a life of abundance, joy, and success.
TO LEARN ABOUT TEACHINGS THAT EXERCISE AN UNREASONABLE USE OF POWER
AUTHORITARIAN DOCTRINES
THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS
This is a very interesting doctrine that I became aware of in my
younger years in ministry; however, I was not fully aware of its actual
meaning and destructiveness in the lives of believers. What does it mean
when it’s said that the end justifies the means? From what I’ve
learned, what this essentially means is that at times certain decisions
can be emphasized by leadership that the assembly of believers should
support unequivocally even if the avenue for implementing such is sinful
as long as the end result promotes the advancement of the Kingdom of
God.
What is meant concerning the sentiment of promoting the Kingdom of
God could mean many different things depending on the faith at hand. It
could refer to increasing the capacity to reach more souls for Christ.
It could mean enhancing the financial status of those in leadership. It
could mean the allowance of the leadership hierarchy to have many wives.
However, what we could infer as to what it’s really all about is simply
to have the ability to exert control over the assembly of believers by
means of Scripture for power, money, and sex.
When certain Scriptures are used in this manner, they might appear to
support God’s kingdom. If you are going to follow God, then you will be
told to follow Him with no reservations. Probably one of the main
scriptural sections that are used to support this perspective is found
in the book of Joshua. Let’s go there and see what this was all about.
Suggested Reading: Joshua 2:1-24
The Lord has chosen Joshua to lead the Jews out from the wilderness
wanderings by crossing over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan,
the land that God promised them for an inheritance. This land would be
theirs by means of conquest. The first place that Joshua sets out to
conquer is a place called Jericho.
He sent out two spies into the city, who eventually lodged at the
dwelling place of a prostitute named Rahab. While there, it was their
mission to obtain information about this fortress - its gates, fortified
towers, military [forces,] and the morale of its people.201 In the
meantime, somehow, the king of Jericho was made aware that there were
two spies sent from the children of Israel who could be residing at
Rahab’s house. So, he sent messengers there in order to apprehend them.
She, finding out about this before they arrived, being aware that all of
them were in danger for their lives, asked the spies to hide on the
rooftop under the flax fibers which were attached to the stalks of a
plant that were placed there. In those days, flax fibers were laid out
in heaps where the sun would dry them so that they could be used for
weaving them into linen cloth.
5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it
was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue
after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
When the king’s messengers arrived at her house, they asked her where
the spies were. And here is where the end justifies the means. She told
them that they had already left. In other words, she lied. Some would
say that the situation was such that lying or committing sin was the
appropriate response. And because the result was beneficial, that being
of the saving of the spies’ lives, therefore, this story is about a type
of sin that could be accepted by those in the leadership of the New
Testament church as warranted by the situation at hand as long as it
promoted the Kingdom of God.
Let’s take a look at another Scripture that could be used to convince
God’s people that the end justifies the means. Please go to the book of
Matthew.
Matthew 16:24
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
This is a powerful Scripture, especially when presented over and over
again. All of us want to do God’s will. For many believers, they don’t
know what God’s will is, so this verse sounds like what this could be
all about. If we deny ourselves for God’s sake and take up our cross,
then we’re told that He will be pleased with us. Deny in what way? There
could be many ways that believers could be told to do such and such for
the benefit of the kingdom. One of them, which we’ll take a look at
next, is in the area of financial giving that is also found in the book
of Matthew.
Matthew 19:29
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake,
shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
It’s true that churches need money to pay staff, building expenses,
outreaches, etc. They should let the assembly know when they need money
and what it is to be used for. What this verse seems to be saying is
that if we forsake (give up) real estate property or even our family who
are not serving God for Christ’s sake, then we’ll receive a hundredfold
and inherit everlasting life. Some might even interpret this verse as
saying that God would give us more real estate holdings and a new godly
family if we forsake this or that for Christ’s sake.
The story of Rahab and the spies, along with the two verses just
mentioned about forsaking this or that, is quite compelling. They appear
to convey to us that God will excuse sin as long as it promotes His
kingdom. Furthermore, they seem to stress that in this life, we should
deny ourselves of whatever it is for Christ’s sake or for those who
operate in His stead, i.e., leadership when they request from us
whatever it is. And if what we own or if our family is inhibiting us in
our walk with God with respect to obeying leadership, then we should
sell all that we have and give it to the church and/or divorce our wife,
and find a new one who will support us unequivocally.
Has anything I’ve mentioned sound right to you? You might say it kind
of sounds right, but. Believe me, there are many believers who are
under church leaders that espouse one or more of these perspectives. Are
they correct in their perception of the Word of God? Well, there is
another way to look at this view of the end justifying the means, which
is what we’ll undertake next.
The end result of furthering the kingdom of God does not justify the
means of promoting sinful words and actions for the assembly to agree
with and implement.
In this respect, we’ll begin by taking a look at an Old Testament
saint that most of us are familiar with in respect to an animal called a
lion. Does this animal recall to you the name of this person? There is a
book of the Bible named after him. I think you know now who I’m talking
about. Please go to the book of Daniel.
Suggested Reading: Daniel 6:1-28
3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes,
because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him
over the whole realm.
In 538 BC, Cyrus of Persia, the subordinate prince under King Darius
of the Medes, conquered Babylon. He decided to appoint one hundred
twenty governors over the kingdom, along with three administrators, one
of whom was a believer in Yahweh called Daniel. Over time, he outshone
(showed himself prominent) over the two other administrators. With this
consideration in mind, King Darius is now considering consolidating the
number of administrators and making Daniel the sole one.
Somehow, word of this got back to the other two presidents along with
the administrative officials, i.e., the governors, princes, counselors,
and captains. So, they banded together in order to prevent this from
happening. They tried to find out something about Daniel’s behavior that
they could present before the king that would disqualify him, but they
found nothing. What they did come up with, however, was a clever plan to
not only have him removed from his position altogether but also to have
him killed.
7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes,
the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a
royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a
petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he
shall be cast into the den of lions.
They came before the king and asked him to approve of and establish a
royal statute for thirty days that in effect said if anyone prayed a
prayer to anyone for thirty days other than the king, then they would be
cast into a den of lions. The king signed the decree being unaware of
the deception involved.
10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his
house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he
kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks
before his God, as he did aforetime.
When Daniel found out about this decree and that it was signed by the
king, we would assume that he was aware of what was going on behind the
scenes. He could have simply stopped praying for thirty days and waited
until the time was up, and then resumed his daily routine. To the
natural mind, this sounds like the right thing to do, doesn’t it?
However, as a man of God, he continued on in his daily routine,
praying three times a day. We could look at this and say he was
reckless. I would respond by saying that he probably brought this
situation up to the Lord and asked for guidance. If God wanted him to
stop praying or even leave the geographical location for his safety, He
would have communicated so to him.
Another thing to contemplate was his testimony before God and the
people, most of whom were unbelievers. What would have been the message
to those that knew he was someone that followed Jehovah. Would his
decision to stop praying send a clear signal to them that His God
couldn’t protect him from not obeying the king’s decree?
The governmental hierarchy could now carry out its nefarious plans to
the fullest. They arrived at Daniel’s house at one of the times of
prayer and found him praying as they knew he would. This was reported
back to the king, who begrudgingly cast him into a den of lions
overnight. All appeared lost. Daniel would be torn apart by these hungry
lions.
19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto
Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the
living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver
thee from the lions?
In the morning, the king quickly arrived at the den and cried out to
Daniel, asking him if his God was able to deliver him. And David replied
back, responding that an angel of the Lord had shut the mouths of the
lions, thus preserving his life. What happened next is quite
astonishing.
24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had
accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their
children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and
brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the
den.
Not only was the king glad for Daniels’ sake, but he was well aware
of this insidious plot. He commanded that all those men who were
complicit in this scheme, along with everyone in their family, be cast
into the den of lions. And so, they were no more.
What this story tells me is that Daniel didn’t use any sinful means
to try to get out of this situation. As one of the administrators of the
kingdom, he probably could have tried to hire some hitmen to get back
at those whose intent was to kill him. As I’ve already stated, he could
have stopped praying for thirty days. The final thought was that a man
or woman of God should not use sinful words or actions to promote the
Kingdom of God.
With that said, let’s take another look at some of the verses from
the book of Joshua and draw a different conclusion as to why Rahab might
have responded the way she did to the messengers of the king.
Suggested Reading: Joshua 2:1-24
3 And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the
men that are come to thee, which are entered into thine house: for they
be come to search out all the country.
4 And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence they were:
5 And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it
was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue
after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them.
When the king’s messengers asked her to bring the spies before them,
she responded by saying that they had already left her dwelling earlier
that night. And that if they were to go after them immediately, they
could possibly catch up to them. It’s true that the spies’ lives were
saved in this regard, but it’s also true that she probably was not a
believer in Jehovah. She did what her natural mind told her to do.
However, but for the sake of argument, what if she was a believer?
Would she have acted any differently? I don’t know. It depends on her
walk with God. She might still have lied. On the other hand, she might
have gone to prayer and asked God for guidance. It’s possible that she
might not have hidden them at all based on what God’s response to her
might have been. But to use what happened here to condone sin is in
itself sinful.
Don’t allow someone in leadership to convince you that committing a
sin of any kind will promote God’s kingdom. This should show you right
away where their faith is centered. It’s certainly not on the Word of
God and reliance of the Holy Spirit.
Now, let’s go back and take another look at the verse from the book
of Matthew that talked about self-denial and realize that there is
another way to translate it.
Matthew 16:24
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
It’s true that Jesus said that if anyone would come after Him, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross. But how else could this verse
be translated? We know from comparing Scriptures that Jesus wasn’t
saying that if you deny yourself of this or that means you are taking up
His cross. In this sense, if this verse was interpreted in that way,
then what we would be talking about is religion, i.e., doing this or
that to please God.
What this is actually talking about is a person’s eternal standing.
It’s about no longer relying upon our self, our good works, but
repenting to God the Father and believing in His Son as to who He is and
what He has accomplished for salvation (the bundle of benefits
received, one of which is the indwelling Spirit). When Jesus said follow
me, this referred to what should be taking place following salvation.
What should be taking place is learning how to walk in the Spirit, which
is another way of saying learning how to rely on or be in subjection to
Him, which is not accomplished by sinful means or coercion.
This brings us to one of the most egregious abuses of power in the
church today. And that is using Scripture to take advantage of believers
financially in order to benefit the kingdom of God. As I’ve previously
mentioned, believers should give support to missions, for leaders’
salary, for church building obligations but not in an unscriptural
manner and oppressive approach. Let’s take another look at this verse
from the book of Matthew concerning this approach.
Matthew 19:29
And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake,
shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
One thing that resonated with me after I read this verse was the idea
that if someone forsakes thus and such, they will inherit everlasting
life. What this conveyed to me is that this was talking about salvation.
Before any of us were saved, we had areas of our life that we
considered prominent, i.e., riches, family, sinful desires, addictions,
etc. As for myself, I had many things that I thought were of paramount
importance. I took drugs, I drank too much, I had affairs with different
women, I spent my money on foolish things, I hung out with the wrong
crowd, and I had very little respect for others.
Then, there came a time when I didn’t like myself anymore. I no
longer praised who I had become. I needed a complete overhaul. At this
time in my life, I had just finished taking an elective course in
college, which was on the life of King Saul. What resonated with me was
all the different ways in which God (Jehovah) interacted with him. I
wondered if this kind of relationship with God could occur in my own
life. I was not unfamiliar with religion as I had been an altar boy in
one particular mainstream faith in my younger years, but for some
reason, I never had a personal relationship with the God that I thought I
was serving.
However, what I did determine was that if God truly existed, then I
would hopefully find Him in church or in at least one of them. Where
that church was located, I had no idea. So, I began to attend many
different faiths. They all seemed to have the same things in common. Do
this or that, as spoken in the writings of the faith, obey the
leadership so that God would be pleased, and you will probably go to a
better place at physical death. This didn’t appease my longing for God
at all. I had been involved in this type of religion before. Then one
day, something occurred that set me on the right road to finding this
one true God who would change my life forever.
I was working for my dad at a spa and grille that he owned. It was a
holiday Sunday, and I was getting out of work at noon. As I was about to
leave, a local parade was passing by. So, I decided to follow it to the
center of town, where at which location it dispersed. When I arrived at
this place, I heard a loud voice in the distance. When I turned around
in a three hundred sixty degree manner, I saw a large gathering of
people standing before a staging platform, where it appeared that
someone was speaking. So, I decided to walk over and find out what was
going on.
As I approached, I heard a young man talking about God. He said that
God wants to become personal with us. He wants to give us a new nature.
This got my attention. He presented the gospel of repentance and faith,
to which I didn’t respond. However, I did get the address and time of
the next meeting.
This gathering was to be held at one of the church member’s houses.
When the day and time arrived, I showed up. There was a barbecue taking
place, and I was offered free food and drink, to which I would never say
no. After everyone was finished, one of the pastors was introduced.
He proceeded to give a message, which was followed up with an
invitation to respond to the gospel message. He asked if anyone was
interested in walking up to where he was standing. So, I did. He said
that if I confessed the words that he proclaimed, God would come into my
life and fill me with His presence. I repeated the words he said, but
nothing happened. He, in turn, paused and then said something remarkable
to me. He said that God showed him that I was dating a married woman,
and I needed to confess this as sin to Him and break off this
relationship. I proceeded to confess this sin in front of all who were
present and acknowledged that I would no longer date her. Right after
this pronouncement, I was saturated with God’s presence. I found God, or
instead, He found me. To me, this was an example of forsaking
something, in this case, an illicit relationship with someone, that was
hindering me from being saved.
As far as the scriptural declaration that if we forsake all, we’ll
receive back one-hundredfold. If you want to say this means material
possessions, that is your prerogative. If this were the case, we would
be playing the game, Let’s Make a Deal with God. To me, what I believe
this refers to are incomparable spiritual riches.
I have one more thought for you to consider in respect to forsaking
real estate or family, as some leaders might command. While it’s true
when Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all that he had and give it
to the poor, and he would receive eternal life. But I believe that this
stumbling block was that which was the predominant issue that was
preventing him from becoming saved. This obstruction of an ever-present
sinful desire is different for each unbeliever.
Before we close our discussion on this topic, I just thought of
another section of Scriptures that some churches could use to provide
additional support for their teachings that a believer has the right to
forsake his wife and possessions for the Kingdom of God’s sake.
Please go to the book of 1 Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 7:26, 29-30
26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.
A lot of what Paul was talking about here in respect to marriage and
owning property seemingly had to do with the words that he mentioned in
this verse, i.e., for the present distress. Some commentators believe
that these words convey to us the political conditions of the time in
that Nero was the current Caesar who had begun to persecute Christians.
29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
He goes on to declare that the time is short or was made short by
their impending persecutions and trials.202 And when he said, they that
have wives be as though they had none, some leaders could take this to
mean that if your wife is inhibiting you from serving the Lord
faithfully, then you should divorce her. This is not what he was saying.
Based on the historical context, what he was saying was that if trials
or the situation might become so difficult that even those already
married will have to live as though they were not married …. perhaps
Paul was referring to husbands and wives being separated from each other
because of economic distress or persecution.203
30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that
rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they
possessed not;
Due to trials and persecutions, grief will come, but don’t let it
gain uncontrolled mastery over you. Stand [readily] prepared to escape
for [your] life, or meet death, as the providence of God may permit.204
And if you own property, consider it as though it doesn’t belong to you
in the sense that it can be taken away at any time. These verses appear
to have nothing to do with giving our earthly possessions to the church
or divorcing our wives for the furtherance of the kingdom.
Be careful when there is a continual mention of giving all that you
own to the church for the furtherance of the kingdom. Be careful when
you are told that sexual sins are considered acceptable if they further
the kingdom. Be careful if you are instructed that all types of sin are
approved by God as long as they promote His kingdom.
I would like to leave you with this verse, which I believe exemplifies the perspective that the end does not justify the means.
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
Do what we know is right according to God’s Word, and if we don’t do what it says, then it’s sin.
Do you know that there is something else that authoritarian leaders
will use to justify their control over their followers? We looked at
this, albeit briefly, in an earlier chapter. Let’s take a look at it
more in-depth in the chapter that follows. It’s composed of two words --
one word beginning with the letter n and the second word with the
letter r. I’m sure you’ve got this.
But before you do, I would like to leave you with an article that
talks about what should be the focus for each person, each institution,
each country, i.e., the outcome or the means.
THE MINDSET OF MAN: [“THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS!”] WHY THIS MINDSET?
AUGUST 26, 2020
All of history reveals a mindset which promotes the END as a justification of the MEANS.
America has used this mindset since its founding. All nations use
this mindset (to a degree) to advance their self-interest. This mindset
is what creates our wars, contention, hatred, and destruction of
property. Politicians think of their END vision and then implement a
MEANS for accomplishing this END. It [doesn’t] work for mankind because
this thinking is [backward] and diabolical. Will America’s leaders (we
vote in November) develop new thinking? I doubt it!
America’s leaders will likely use this belief that the ‘end justifies
the means’ to further their political agenda. The Donald will think in
this manner. Joe Biden will think in this manner. This mindset goes all
the way back to Niccolo Machiavelli. Lying is justified. Corruption is
justified. Refusing to balance our monetary affairs is justified.
Blaming another country (like China) for the Covid-19 virus is
justified. Our leaders are steeped in this mindset that the [end]
justifies the MEANS. What is their END? This mindset [doesn’t work,] and
yet our leaders continue with this mindset.
God’s logic (within [Scripture]) says that the MEANS is the key to
the
END.
Justice starts with the MEANS. The Commandments of Yahweh are based
upon the MEANS. [Problem-solving] must start with the MEANS. Yet, our
world system operates with the opposite mindset. Destruction is
guaranteed with this mindset of the END as justification of the MEANS. I
can guarantee more war, contention, and destruction when I witness this
mindset within our leaders.
America is the Super-Power on planet Earth as I write. China wants to
be the next Super-Power. Russia would also like this [role,] as would
Europe. We live in a world where select leaders conceive their goals and
plans with this mindset of ‘the END justifies the [MEANS.’] [It’s] a
mindset which leads to war, contention, and destruction. Yet our
political leaders have no interest in changing their thinking. This
diabolical mindset is why our world system is collapsing from within.
It’s our thinking which creates our END result.
Today, [it’s] our Central Bankers who devise and conceive new
policies for promoting an END (prosperity) via a MEANS of corruption and
fakery. Money units are created out-of-nothing (the mind of banksters)
and then circulated to select clients for the purpose of promoting a
conceived END. The end is control (over the marketplace) and [fake]
prosperity which never advances human happiness and progress. The END is
a misguided mental image [that] produces more strive, contention, and
destruction. [Yet,] these thinkers [don’t] change their thinking.
Justice and real progress must be based upon the logic of the MEANS as key and the END as a Result of the MEANS.
With a valid MEANS that is based upon truth, liberty, and justice,
the END can emerge as a RESULT. Today, [it’s] our THINKING which
produces false [results,] and the results which emerge create more
destruction for mankind as a whole. Our world system is [collapsing,]
and yet our leaders continue with this mantra that the END justifies the
MEANS. Will American leaders change their thinking? My sense is NO!
A favorable END never arrives as our THINKING is diabolical and corrupt.
Thinking must change. The [mindset] of our leaders must be based upon
God’s logic of the MEANS coming before the RESULT. Justice, peace,
stability, freedom, and progress must be based on sound logic and
thinking (at the start). Today, our leaders [don’t] THINK with a logic
that produces these needed results. Watch as America elects another
administration this fall and watch what happens as they implement their
THINKING. Will real peace, happiness, progress emerge? I would suggest
that this is impossible given their THINKING. As a man thinketh so is
he! Proverbs 23:7.
The MEANS is key to the END.
Justice in the NOW is needed. Freedom in the NOW is needed. Equality
in the NOW is needed. The NOW demands a new mindset based upon the MEANS
(coming first). This [isn’t] happening. I will suggest that our
THINKING produces our RESULTS. If our thinking [doesn’t] change, then
more of the same will result (unhappiness). We need new [leadership,]
which thinks with a mindset of the MEANS coming before the END. That is
my viewpoint and perspective! What is yours?205
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ITJ1wj
Website: http://bit.ly/1RQnYJ8
New Covenant Ministries - Ministerios NuevoPacto - Harbor Church,
Block
Island
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