Tag Archives for " Inspiration "

What I see for America!

What I see for America!

Memorial Day is a time to remember brave countrymen and women who sacrificed their lives, and Why? This country was united under one unshakable idea! One Nation (or people) Under (or submitted to) One God! …. Not any God, and certainly not many gods!

They inscribed this wisdom on our coins and in our courthouses. They proclaimed it boldly in this great nation, and to their credit fought and died to uphold that vital idea. Any nation can be blessed by this revelatory understanding, and other countries have embraced this principal idea along with America. The price is high, and so are the stakes. Our nation united under this idea has withstood enormous evil and great tyranny thrust against it. However, today we facing perhaps the greatest foe to ever come against us. Another idea! The idea that we do not need One God in order to be One Nation. By the way, that statement is true! However, we cannot be the same nation that “One Nation Under God” produces. The idea is that men and women are willing to lay their lives down so that our nation can remain under the blessings of the one true God. If you are born again, or have received Christ as Savior and Lord, you are a believing Christian. As a believer you have access to the Holy Spirit who is able to teach you, reveal to you wisdom and the enlightenment you need to not be overcome by the new attacker of our American Idea. Man does not and cannot discover God. God reveals Himself to men and women who believe in His Idea, the truth… the revelation truth that comes from One God and sets men free, and free indeed. Here is an awesome prayer to pray over yourself, your family, and your country.

Ephesians 1:15-23

Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

NKJV

I see great things ahead for our Stars and Stripes and other nations who embrace Christ! We need to understand the message of those who fought and died for a God Ideal, not just a Great Idea that our nation was founded upon. We must not fall to the enemy who wants to destroy her with, “Another Idea or other voices.” We must know and hear the One True God!

2 Peter 1:1-11

To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

NASU

Blessings,

Fred Hughes

What is all the buzz about?

If you know me personally, you know that I am a big time want-to-be technology geek. Alas, I have to rely on four much younger and true geeks who are willing to put up with this old guy! Raymond, Dusty, Clint, and Ryan each help me keep my tech-itch scratched, poor guys! I love the buzz! I want to be in on everything that is happening.

Most people have one or two areas of interest they like to keep up with the latest buzz. What is it that draws you to the buzz? Technology, fashion, headline news, hot cars, cooking, stock prices, movies ….. what pushes your buzz button?

Five things to consider concerning your pursuit of the buzz:

1.) Is the buzz benefiting your life in some way? Entertainment can be a reason and benefit enough. It can also be a productivity thief. You have to weigh the cost and gain!

2.) Buzz almost always introduces something you do not have and is an enticement. How do you respond to the constant call to new acquisitions? The buzz can have a devastating effect on your finances and that can affect your relationships too!

3.) In many areas, the buzz can blind you to see things in a very biased way. Are you able to step away from it long enough to see from other vantage points or perspectives? What does it cost you to always follow the buzz: friends, family, money, time?

4.) Are you able to see trends and cycles in the buzz? Sometimes the opportunities are right there in the buzz! Can you successfully analyze and apply the information that you are gathering from the buzz that will assist you in making good choices?

5.) When do you need to be creating the buzz rather than listening to it? There comes a time where the buzz needs to be all about your leadership and directives. Most people are buzz consumers. Only a few people learn how to be buzz producers. These are the world changers.

The fish lays thousands of eggs at one time, the chicken lays only one or two, but she creates a lot of buzz about what she does! So, what kind of eggs did you have for breakfast this morning?

What is the buzz all about in your life? Surprisingly enough, it may be a healthy question to ask yourself.

Philippians 4 :6-8 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.”

Stand your buzz up next to Philippians 4:6-8. Measure it well and prosper, my friend!

Blessings,

Fred Hughes

Read this and other blog posts on our websites.

www.byfredhughes.com ~ www.decision1.org

God Loves You!

Rom 8:31-39 God’s Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 

37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV

What a brilliant and powerful view these scriptures portray of God’s intentional love for us. If you are a believer, there are no more comforting words than these. Simply put, God loves you, and there is nothing you can do about it! God does not change, therefore, under no condition will these words not be true. Nothing, not even you, can change the way God loves you. He made you so that He could love you! He made you capable of loving Him back! But, He does not force you to do so.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. NKJV

What incredible Love! We cannot earn it, we do not deserve it. We can receive it, or reject it, but we can not be separated from it!

Psalms 139:14-16

 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. NKJV

It sounds a bit like God loves you and has a plan for your life! Oh, I think He said that!

Jeremiah 29:11-12

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. NKJV

Why does God love you so much? Well, for one thing, you were made in His image! When you are born again, you are born from above. In short, you are His kid! There is a family resemblance that He likes! The other reason and the most important one is that it is His nature; it is who He is! It is not dependent upon you at all.

1 John 4:8 God is Love.

Love is not what God does! Love is who He is! And nothing can separate His love from you. Fortunately, there is nothing you can do about it! God loves you.

Fred Hughes, M. Photog.

Read this and other blog posts on our websites.

www.byfredhughes.com ~ www.decision1.org

Your First Response

Most of the time your first response to a crisis will define the outcome! Your first reaction will move you toward victory or defeat, joy or depression, faith or doubt, expectancy or dread, success or failure. Tribulations, trials and troubles are going to show up in life. They are unavoidable, but what you do with them and how you react to them is your choice! Some people internalize. The pressure inside mounts and eventually explodes outwardly, or it eats away inwardly like cancer destroying your health and life. Others over-react in an emotional rage or lose all self-control. They wind up doing the most foolish and often harmful things making fools of themselves.

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But, God can turn your troubles into triumphs!

The key is to not panic or allow fear to overcome your thoughts and emotions.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

God gives good gifts! Fear, terror, fretting or worrying are not good gifts from God! I think it is interesting that to do battle with fear we are given three gifts from God.

1. Power ~ Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you… Romans 8:11 The same power that raised Christ from the dead, dwells in you, by the Holy Spirit.
2. Love ~ 1 John 4:18 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
3. Sound Mind ~ 3 John 2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth. The soul is your mind, your will, and your emotions — what you think, what you do, and how you feel. Philippians 4:8 …Think on these things. “Think on” means: to meditate, think about, have soundness of mind, the ability to manage your thoughts, sound advice, or reason. Wisdom does not operate well in an environment of fear. Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, … Verse 2, For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. I have the Mind and Spirit of Christ. Nothing can separate me from His love. His Word renews my mind.

The Promise, not the problem, must be our focus. God always attaches the provision to the promise, not the problem. Exercise power, love, and a sound mind, and they will keep the solution within your grasp. You choose how you respond and react to trials and troubles when they come. Remember, all of God’s Promises are “yes and amen!”

When trials and troubles come, Christ is the Light that will guide the way. Do not be afraid! His Word and promises are true in every area of your life. Triumph in Christ! Build on the solid foundation, and the storms will not be able to prevail against you.

Fred Hughes, M. Photog.

Read this and other blog posts on our websites.

www.byfredhughes.com ~ www.decision1.org

photo-By William Bout

Get Wisdom!

by Fred Hughes

As an entrepreneur, it is my job to evaluate business practices and decide what and where to invest the companies resources. I was considering recently what value all of the self-help and business coaching materials I have acquired and studied, really are worth to me and my enterprise.

Quite honestly, I often consider much of what is out there a lot of hype and recopied clutter. (Anyone, understand what I’m saying?) There is a lot of noise but not much substance to much of the available training. So where do we search? What are the main things we actually need to do well? It turns out the same answers have been sought after for thousands of years. Moreover, the foundational principals and precepts we are looking for have not changed, they remain the same.

3 John 2-4 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

One of the basic understandings of how we prosper, and according to these verses, how we stay healthy is that we need a soul that prospers. Your soul that it is talking about is your mind, will, and emotions. The soul is what we think, how we react or respond, and what we determine to be the truth which we choose to follow. Finally, one of the greatest joys we can experience is to see our children or mentees actually walk in the truth we taught them as we pass to them the same prosperity we enjoy.

One of the true treasures of life is a prosperous soul!

The ability of the father or mentor to establish truth and wisdom into the next generation is called legacy — not only prospering yourself but passing it to generations to come. That will never happen unless it is based upon truth. Truth stands through time and validates the wisdom and understanding being passed!

Proverbs 4:5-13 Get Wisdom! Get Understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you. Hear oh my son, and receive my sayings, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.

Get Wisdom! Get Understanding! What great advice from a father to a son.

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, without doubting…

Notice that we are talking about the wisdom and understanding that comes from God, not the world. There is a big difference!

1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God…

Please understand that the wisdom that comes from God is far better than the wisdom of men. So if you are a Christian (a believer, a son), you have access to the wisdom of God. That wisdom is the truth, and it is the truth that will set you free — free from making poor business decisions and free to build a legacy of truth that can be transferred to others.

The self-help stuff has some value, but if you want real wisdom and understanding, there is a better source, my friend.

GET WISDOM! MAY YOUR SOUL PROSPER!

Fred Hughes, M. Photog.

Read this and other blog posts on our websites.

www.byfredhughes.com ~ www.decision1.org