Happy Thursday!

Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. -Proverbs 26:20 NLT

What a statement!

I’m guessing everyone’s been to a gossip fire before. Sadly, most of us have wasted too many valuable hours and days telling our gossip fire stories.

If we’ll be honest, if we’ll admit it: we’ve even been the person to single handedly keep some fires burning… with the logs of our combustible words.

The Apostle Paul instructed Christian people how we should talk: Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. -Ephesians 4:29 NIV

I think about my friend Levi Brown. He’s a fire fighter. Whenever he gets that call, he lays his life on the line without hesitation. Levi suits up, hops into his fire truck and races to the fire. Just as soon as he arrives to the scene, he and his fellow fire fighters do everything they were trained to do. They rescue people out of the flames, they put out every fire as quickly as possible. And our community cherishes her fire department. We pray for our fire fighters, to be safe and successful every day.

Today, I’m talking about another kind of fire. It’s not started with fuel, spark, and air. This kind of fire doesn’t char the physical bodies of its victims. Much worse, the gossip fire chars the reputation of its victims… it torments minds and mutilates the souls of good people. If you’re a gossip fire survivor, then you know what I’m talking about.

James 3:5-10 NIV Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be.

I think when we all look back over our lives in the end, some of our biggest regrets will be the regrets we have from starting and fueling various gossip fires throughout our years. Even though I’ve been very careful not to do this very often, still it’s happened more than I’d like to admit. The longer I follow Jesus, the less I want to be involved in the charring of innocent victims… and the more I want to sacrifice my life to fight the fires.

Once again, from Proverbs 26:20, “Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops.”

I could write so much more on this topic, but I’d love to hear from you guys today! Please add to my teaching with your brilliant thoughts. I just finished praying for you all. Make this another most triumphant day. With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube

Happy Wednesday!

Do you ever assess your life and think, “My life has not turned out as I originally hoped, this is nothing like what I envisioned… there are so many circumstances spinning out of control, so many severely damaged places in my heart (from hard living and shattered dreams), too many big things I long to change about my personal world… I wish I could change direction, do something different… I wish I could start again!”

Here’s a happy thought for you today: Life is never too late for a new beginning! God specializes in second chances. Every once in a while, maybe once every decade or two, you can (and should)… start again!

I believe that’s exactly what God was trying to say through His great prophet Jeremiah…

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

Then the Lord gave me this message: “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.

Jeremiah 18:1-6 NLT

Really, this blog idea first came to me while reading yesterdays facebook status from my daughter Heaven Balsamo:

I’m starting a new chapter in my life! (:

Then, I fumbled into Jeremiah 18 and couldn’t deny the obvious parallel… a right now message from God to this blog tribe.

“O Israel (and Chuck, John, Lori, Kelly, Eslye, Nuala, Elaine, Levi, Mel, Emily, Jacob, Kristin, Vicki, Sandi, etc.) can I not do with you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand.”

For all the areas of your lives not turning out as the potter had hoped… will you trust Him crush you into a lump of clay and start over?

In his best selling book, Good To Great, Jim Collins preaches, “Good is the enemy of great!” I agree with Jim and have found in my own life, how tenaciously I oftentimes fight for good when God is going for GREAT!

Take this blog to prayer. Be honest with yourself and with the God. Maybe this year is supposed to be the year of crushing something (or everything) in your life into a new lump of undeveloped clay. Or, you could put up a fight… and hold on to yesterday… and carry on as a tiny fragment of what should have been.

Be courageous! Don’t be afraid of change…

“When anything begins to hinder more than it helps, it is time to abolish it.” -anonymous

Winston Churchill once said, “There is nothing wrong with change, if it is the right direction.”

Rosanne Cash (Daughter of the late Johnny Cash) said, “The key to change… is letting go of fear!”

Here’s a great video about change: Jesus Culture, Holding Nothing Back.

Just like everyone other day, I just finished passionately praying for you all. Make this a most triumphant day. With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube

Happy Tuesday!

Are you suffering from a peace deficiency today? Losing your mind because of situations beyond your immediate control?

Do you wish things were different? Feel like things are oftentimes moving from bad to worse, like your entire world might be starting to unwind?

Do you find yourself spending more and more time each day begging God to fix more and more broken parts of your life? Or even worse… do you find yourself praying less and less, because you’ve lost confidence in His ability to help?

Chewing off your fingernails? Pulling out your hair? At the brink of tears at least a few times a day?

If this is your predicament, then anxiety has constricted itself around your heart… snuffing out your ability to live in the beauty of now!

Jesus talked to his disciples about anxiety in Matthew 6:25-33. Here’s what he said to them and what He’s saying to us today:

“That is why I [Jesus] tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Think about the power of what Jesus is saying here. “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers…”

I have to admit, that too often in my own life, these things do dominate my thoughts… as if I were an unbeliever.

But I am not an unbeliever! I believe in God! My salvation is not a hoax. On February 17th, 1991 @ 10:45pm, I fully trusted Jesus as my Lord… and I am [still] certain [today] that God, who began the good work within [me], will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. (Philippians 1:6 NLT)

Sometimes, just like everyone else, I forget that God cares about my success more than I do. I forget that He is the Supreme power of the universe… that He is the one who promotes His faithful servants. Sometimes I forget that I have a Father in heaven who loves me with an everlasting love. I forget that He has a trillion ways of fulfilling His promises to me!

We need to trust God with today, tomorrow, and forever! We need to fret less and trust more. With all we have, we have to fight against the fears that come to wipe us out… and we have to remain in the faith that creates our favorable future!

Remember: fear is a force just like faith is a force. Fear is confidence in the devil just like faith is confidence in God. Fear invites destruction just like faith invites the miracles of God Almighty.

Maybe this is why David was so careful to eradicate anxiety from his heart. In Psalm 139:23-24, David says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

You should do the very same thing today! Locate your fears and eradicate them through prayer! Rediscover that confidence you once had in God. If you do this, I promise, things will start to change in your life. Momentum will start to shift in your favor once again!

I just finished praying for you all. Make this a most triumphant day everyone! With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube

Happy Monday Everyone!

Because there are 31 chapters in the book of proverbs and every verse is so amazingly dimensional, some people read a chapter from proverbs each day… and they repeat this routine every month! I’ve been doing it 20 years, and what a difference this has made in my life!

Since today is August 23, here is something from Proverbs 23, verse 12 “Commit yourself to instruction; atune your ears to hear words of knowledge.”

I believe one of the great differences between success and failure is the presence or absence of knowledge and wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “Using a dull ax requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That’s the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed.”

When I was 19, I was an empty pod waiting to be developed.

• Thank God for the endless beauties of His written word and the desire he gives us to feed on it’s timeless truths.
• Thank God for all of the amazing authors in our world, and all of the great books they have written to give us advantages!
• Thank God for the people who inspire us to read lots of books!
• Thank God for you, the people who read my blogs!

If you’re in a rut today, commit yourself to [new] instruction; atune your ears to hear [new] words of knowledge. Make a new commitment to reading your Bible, everyday! Go to a book store and pick up a few great books! Register for a conference! Go to a church where spiritual wisdom is pouring out like rain!

Today, I’m reading a new book, Appoint Us A King from my dear friend Gail Strother. It’s not in the bookstores yet… I’m privileged with a pre-published manuscript and the honor of writing a review for the back cover. This book is blowing me away! Unbelievable! Please pray for Gail’s success and thank God you’ll all be able to read this masterpiece very soon!

I’m wondering… what are you reading, how are you currently sharpening your ax for greater strength?

I just finished praying for you all. Make this a most triumphant day! With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Today, I preaching part 3 of my New Sermon Series, The Forgotten Power Of Expectancy! The amazing thing about this is how highly expectant I’ve been about today… since last Sunday, I’ve been daydreaming several times a day about 10am, Destiny Family Center, today!

What are you expecting this day will bring you and yours? If you’re expecting another average Sunday, then that is exactly what you will end up with. If, on the other hand, you’re expecting this day to be the greatest day of your year, or even the greatest day of your life… then THAT will have a chance to happen!

“We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aid, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn.” -Henry David Thoreau

“Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy.” -Brian Tracy

“High expectations are the key to everything.” -Sam Walton

“Aerodynamically the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know that so it goes on flying anyway.” -Mary Kay Ash

A man once told me to be careful about potentially raising the expectations of my followers to an unachievable level.

He was deeply convinced that some people are just not supposed to dream. He felt like these imaginary people we’re untalented and incapable of high achievement, and perfectly content with mediocrity… and for me or anyone else to disrupt their contentment would be wrongful.

I thought about his apparent wisdom and concluded: to leave a person (apparently happy) with low aims and little or no substance, just because I fear the risks of pursuing an unrealistic dream… is just the same as leaving a person alone because I fear the risk of a relationship gone bad.

“It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.” -Alfred, Lord Tennyson

When my life is over and I am kneeling before my Father’s awesome throne, I can’t imagine He will punish me for “creating too much hope” for people! God forbid, that I should come before Him, having never inspired positive change for my fellow man.

I want to be remembered as the messenger of God Almighty who brought faith back to his faithless generation! If people loathe me, may they loathe me only because I refused to let them slumber… because I refused to leave them undeveloped.

Today, if you should find yourself trapped in average… will you spit on every pathetic reason for expecting little or nothing of your self, your future, your church, your dear friends, and everyone and everything else connected with your average existence?

Every once in a while, we have to take a long hard look at what we have become, what direction we are facing, and how expectantly we are pushing onward to the bright blue horizon! We have to courageously admit when we have settled at middle ground… and rouse the frustration of our predicament, until we reinvigorate our slumbering expectations!

Every time we do this, we start to live again!

Here’s a beautiful song for this moment: God of This City, by Chris Tomlin. Greater things are still to be done in you!

Wow, that was mouthful! I hope todays blog adds tremendous value to your amazing lives. I just finished praying for you all. Expect a most triumphant day and then have one! With much love…

Dream Big, Live Bold, and Make the Difference!

Chuck

The Donate Link, Facebook, Twitter, Make me a Legend, Destiny Family Center, You Tube