jesus

Becoming Sluggish

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In our journey through life it is easy for us to slow down or become “sluggish”.  Life has a lot of hardships and demotivators.  One day we can be on top of the world and the next day find all of our dreams dashed on the rocks.  The tendency when life deals us these cards is to slow down and quit pressing forward.  A few years back, there was a company that specialized in demotivating sayings that I believe every one of us have thought at one time or another.  One saying goes, “CHALLENGES – I expected times like this – but I never thought they would be so bad, so long, and so frequent.”  Another that is written is, “DOUBT – In the battle between you and the world; bet on the world.”

This is often how we feel, and we dwell on things such as this, but the truth of the matter is God thinks of good things toward us not bad.  Thoughts of a future and a hope.  When life hands us sour grapes we have to press on and not become sluggish.  Not to slow down but rather to press forward full speed ahead.  The enemy of our souls wants us to quit and give up, but God wants us to stay on track and press forward.  Hebrews 6:12 says, “that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Do not become sluggish!  Imitate those who have experienced hardship but still pressed on.  Imitate those who have faced disappointments and frustration but kept going and did not become sluggish.  When the going gets tough we must grow closer to God not farther away.  Press on!

Pick up a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses. It is available on Amazon.

FREE on Amazon Kindle until Sunday – my book, Sometimes, Church Hurts

Poem – A Brand New Page

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Here it is a brand-new page,
Nothing written for it is a new day.

The pen of my life is filled with ink,
How will I write, is what I often think.

The regrets of yesterday are ever present,
The wounds of my past even more malevolent.

But what shall I do with this empty page,
Will I make the most of this brand-new day?

I carry all my worries and my cares I still shoulder,
It seems I get worse rather than better now as I get older.

But all these years it has done me no good,
So, I will cast them off, like long of go I should.

I will not write about yesterday on this empty page,
I will make my mark only with this brand-new day.

As I turn the paper to see the unfilled lines,
I leave the offenses that I have carried all this time.

The hurts that have been caused, the pain I still bear,
The resentment its bore, the rub on my soul it wears.

Yet, I will choose to forget and not write it on this page,
I will choose forgiveness, which is seen on this new day.

I am walking much lighter, already it does seem,
Anticipating a new day, with a brand-new theme.

My heart is free, my burdens much more light,
I should have done this long ago, that would have been right.

I am thankful for the fresh start of this unused page.
There is so much hope, with the dawning of this new day.

-Danny Cheney-

Get a copy of my new book, The Cloud of Witnesses.

Raising the Bar in Parenting

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On Sundays, we have been in a sermon series about the Gold Standard and raising the bar in different areas of our lives. (Holiness, Marriage, Relationships, and Parenting) This Sunday morning, I shared about expectations and standards we can use in raising our kids and grandkids. If you read through these lists, you will find they are not your common standards that have been set.

Many people live their life hoping their kids will get a good education, excel at sports or some other extracurricular activity, and have a good job. While those are good things, it is a low bar to be set. You can have a great athlete who is arrogant or immoral. When they are done playing sports or done with their education, what do you have then? Are they good people? Can you be proud of the way they live and the decisions they make?

The greatest goal for our children should be their relationship with Jesus Christ. Check out these lists and see if any of these resonate with you. You can download the PDF Version here.

The Standard I Am Raising For My Kids by Danny Cheney

  • I want my kids to love Jesus and Serve Him.
  • I want my kids to be responsible and be a positive influence on others.
  • I want my kids to live moral lives.
  • I want my kids to be known for their honesty, even if it hurts.
  • I want my kids to love other people and respect those in authority.
  • I want my kids to have a love for the Word of God.
  • I want my kids to learn to pray and know that they can take anything to their loving Heavenly Faither.
  • When my kids are raised, I want them to choose, on their own, to follow Jesus and go to church for the rest of their lives.

The Noticer Returns by Andy Andrews listed these things for the Gold Standard for our kids.

  • To be divinely guided
  • To possess great wisdom, understanding, common sense
  • To have a grateful spirit
  • To have a joyful spirit
  • To be responsible
  • To be a person of good morals, character
  • To have a great and abiding faith
  • To be humble
  • To be hardworking
  • To be honest
  • To have respect for authority
  • To have servant’s heart
  • To accept the role of a leader

What we should teach our kids by Landon Coleman:               (http://www.landoncoleman.com)

  • How to support their church through “tithing.”
  • The importance of making eye contact and speaking clearly.
  • How to practice spiritual disciplines.
  • The importance of taking care of your possessions.
  • How to read and enjoy books.
  • The importance of saying “thank you.”
  • How to apologize and how to forgive.
  • The reality that sin always has consequences.
  • How to be a good friend, especially to the friendless.
  • The supreme value of knowing Jesus and being known by Jesus.

Let’s raise the bar in leading our kids.

4-gold-standard_parenting_11.06.22-standards-pdf-1Download

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The Spirit-Filled Life from my Grandma’s Bible

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I found these notes in my Grandma’s old bible:

Joel said, “I will pour our my Spirit on all flesh.”

Sinner’s verse – John 3:16  – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Christian’s verse – Luke 3:16 – John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

The believer who is baptized in the Spirit will have or be:

1.  Fruit of the Spirit

2. Sensitive to the Spirit of God

3. A desire for perfection (maturity)

4. Easy to get along with

5. Humble man or woman of God

6. Soul-winner

7. Praising Jesus under every circumstance

8. Walk in humble obedience to the will of God

9. Jesus will be real to you, nearer than any other person

These are the results of a Spirit-filled life.  How do we line up?

Here are another couple of quotes from her Bible:

“People say God stopped His supernatural works in the first century. I’ve never heard anyone say the devil stopped his.”

“Would God expect us to go up against a supernatural enemy (devil) without supernatural weapons to fight him?”

Grab a copy of my latest book, Worry Less. WORRY FREE.

A Prayer Idea

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Here is something we can all try.  In E.M. Bounds book The Complete Book of Prayer, he quotes a gentleman that has a great “tactic” of prayer.  I think it would do our community and world good if we employed something similar.

Sir Thomas Browne wrote, “I purpose to take occasion of praying upon the sight of any church which I may pass, that God may be worshipped there in spirit, and that souls may be saved there; to pray daily for my sick patients and the patients of other physicians; at my entrance into any home to say, “May the peace of God dwell here;” after hearing a sermon, to pray for a blessing on God’s truth…upon the sight of a deformed person, to pray God to give them wholeness of soul, and by an by to give them the beauty of the resurrection.”

We should put these things into practice.  It reminds me of what the Apostle Paul said, “Pray without ceasing”.

Is God Enough?

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The Levites labored for the Lord nearly night and day.  They were in charge of the tabernacle and its service.  To be a Levite was not an easy labor job.  It was often a hard task considering they sacrificed animals daily.  It was not for the weak stomached. 

In the book of Joshua, Joshua is dividing the land for the Israelites inheritance.  One tribe would get one place, another would get another piece of choice land.  What did the Levites inherit?  Nothing physical!

Here these great men, served the Lord daily and administered the rites of worship, yet they inherited nothing…well, nothing but GOD!

Joshua 13:33 records, “But to the tribe of Levi Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as He had said to them.”

The Levites had no inheritance but God Himself!  I believe God is enough for them and for us!  So often, we think in terms of a temporal blessing or inheritance.  I would rather have God Himself than a piece of land!  God is more than enough.

So, what do you long for?
Are you in a pursuit for more?

Chasing dreams and buying possessions
Even climbing the ladder of your profession

What is it you live for?
Is it this constant pursuit of more?

Not more of God, but more things
Filling our treasures for that is our dream

Why do we do this? Why do we pursue?
The wrong things daily, that won’t satisfy you.

A little of this, a little of that
So people will envy the place you are at

Is it stuff we are after or the position we can have?
Is it prestige we long for and the recognition we can grab?

In light of eternity, does this really matter?
When life is over, can we take it to the hereafter?

Is it the temporal things that we truly love?
Or would you say, “that God Himself is enough?”

-Danny Cheney-

Grab a copy of my latest book, Worry Less. WORRY FREE.

Are you in control?

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Who is in control of your life?

Some may be thinking about their boss on the job, their spouse at home, or even, in some families, it might be the kids.  The question, however, is directed to the spiritual aspects of your life.  Are you in control or is God in control?

As human beings, we like to be in charge…in control of our own lives.  We don’t like to live our life for someone else.  We may think, “It is my life I can do as I please.”  That statement is true.  You can do whatever you please, but we should be doing what pleases God not us.

The fall of man came because man did what was pleasing to himself.  In fact, Satan fell from Heaven because he wanted to live his own life.  We were born into sin because of what Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.  We now have to endure the tempting of the pride of life.  We have to suppress our desire to live a life of our own will.

John the Baptist said, “That I may decrease so He can increase.”

What a powerful statement!  This sums up the whole definition of surrender.  As a child of God, we know longer seek to live for our own wills but God’s will.  We should seek to die to ourselves, our plans, our own agendas, our pleasures and take up God’s life and plans.

Man’s problems today can all be traced to the fact that people do not want to give up any part of themselves to God.  Christians have a hard time laying down their pride, to submit to the leadership of God.  We can say that we love God.  We can work for His kingdom.  We can pray and read our Bible and still not be submitted to Him.

How can you tell when someone has surrendered to God?  Humility and servant hood.  They humble themselves and care nothing about who gets credit for their service.  They lay down the pleasures of this life so that they can walk in God’s life.  Evidence of a surrendered Christian is seen in the reflection of Christ in the believer.  They don’t tout spirituality they just walk in Christ’s love.

Surrender your life to Christ.  Give up everything to Him.  Quit worrying about what God can do for you and think of what you can do for Him.  Lay down your pleasures, your will and all that is in you and walk in humility.  God blesses those who are surrendered to Him. 

Grab a copy of my latest book, Worry Less. WORRY FREE.

Life Begins

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Last week, I visited my parents in Houston. One afternoon, my mom showed me an old loose-leaf notebook with recipes in it. It was a small black notebook that held recipes from my grandparents. Seemingly out of place was a quote from the great poet, Tennyson and a hand-written page containing, what I am assuming was thought from my grandfather.

On this page, written in red ink, he expounded on where life begins. It resonated with me, because it was as if it was written just for me. He has been gone a long time and I am not sure when this was written, but it was certainly for me in 2022. (Maybe it is written for you as well)

Life Begins

Of all the stupid, silly, useless, inexcusable habits – Regret is the tops.

Check up on yourself sometime and you’ll be astonished how much time is wasted in trying or wishing to undo something that is all finished beyond recall.

Regret is an enemy, and a very persistent one, as well as, a great time consumer.

Regret is useless – you can’t make things unhappen.

The only thing that binds you to an unhappy or unfortunate past is your own regret. Nobody else is going to care much about it.

The past is a closed chapter. The future is full of opportunities and possibilities, no matter whether you are forty or eighty.

Life begins at the very moment you cease to live in the past.

This is a challenge to all of us. The choices we have made in the past, are in the past. You cannot undo bad choices, but you can make a decision to make good choices in the future.

Philippians 3:13-14, “13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” CSB

If you are always looking back, you will never see what is ahead. Press on. Move forward. Let go of regrets and live.

Grab a copy of my latest book, Worry Less. WORRY FREE.