Articles

Today’s thoughts are powerful.

And liberating.

If you grasp them, you’ll cease striving.

Remember the story of the sower?

Jesus told it in Luke chapter 8.

The heart is the ground of the parable.

And boy oh boy does a yielded heart produce!

“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15 KJV)

Some thirty. Some sixty. Some one hundredfold!

How?

“…the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself;” (Mark 4:27–28 KJV)

There’s no secret here.

The heart of the believer is designed to be industrious. It naturally and patiently produces…

“…first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.”

Your inner man connected to God is a creative miracle.

This is who we are

We are creatives – we bear fruit, produce, and bring things forth.

We’re faithful – patient and persistent. We show up every day. We start small and go big.

Faithful Creatives.

That’s our tribe. It’s who we are, not just what we do.

Faithful Creatives are change makers, breakthrough bringers, freedom factories, forward thinkers.

We bring forth fruit with patience and change the world one word at a time.

What do you do when you ain’t feelin’ it?

When the engine isn’t humming and inspiration seems a universe away?

My suggestion…

Persist.

It’s a verb.

Verb: continue in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

Despite being a writer, my English language skills are as rusty as the old school I used to attend as a child.

But I do remember this:

A verb is a “doing” word.

DO your way THROUGH.

The word persist originated in the mid-16th century from the Latin persistere (per- ‘through, steadfastly’ + sistere ‘to stand’).

Press through resistance and do something. Stand strong in your conviction that God has called you in this direction and take a step.

However small.

Sure, every day cannot be a home run, but you can get to first base.

Never let a day go by without at least one small action toward your biggest, most audacious goals.

It may seem like nothing, pointless or pathetic, but press through anyway.

Over time you’ll build a persistence muscle that exerts more pressure in forward motion than resistance presses to back you up.

It will get easier, and even on days when tiredness or discouragement comes knocking, you’ll stand up and step steadfastly through.

Selah.

Pause and think about that.

But not for too long…

Now stop thinking and go do it.

Hold

On

Possibility

Exists

Never give up HOPE.

I like to define hope as “an earnest expectation of good”.

Not some far off whimsy.

Not a some day maybe.

I’m intent and on the lookout for the blessings the Lord has sent to chase me down.

“And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.” (Deuteronomy 28:2 KJV)

Did you see that?

It all comes back to hearing!

Hear, hearken, and HOPE – your blessings are on the way!

The only word rolling around my spirit this morning is very familiar:

"So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17

I think maybe someone needs to hear that again.

And again.

If living by faith is your longing, here’s the key.

If you want to walk with God, this is your ticket.

“Faith comes by hearing [and hearing by the Word of] God.”

God’s written Word is the tuner that connects you to a higher way of thinking and seeing. Knowledge of God’s Word aligns your heart with what He is speaking right now – to YOU!

The Bible is not a tannoy, indiscriminately blasting out dogma to a faceless mass.

It’s a letter.

A poem.

Personal and pertinent.

Eyewitness accounts that connect with the heart.

A personal station playing your song.

How finely tuned you want to become is entirely up to you.

Do you know God’s Word?

Is it first place in your life and thinking?

Many years ago I wrote a Bible School, systematically digging the wells of God’s Word and drinking deeply from its truths. It took me almost 6 years to complete.

And it’s yours for free if you’d like to enroll.

Written for ordinary people who serve an extraordinary God.

Just head over to https://spiritlife.teachery.co/enroll and drop in your name and email to join.

I’ve been pondering the purpose of these musings.

What does my newsletter do?

How does it help, and why should people read?

I have my own ideas, of course, but would love to hear yours.

I frequently remind my students that their ideas hold value.

It's easy to remain silent on the sidelines, as if we have been relegated to the substitution team.

But that’s not helpful to anyone.

You have a voice — a God-given message to share with the world. A story only you can tell.

And right now you can help me by taking two minutes to reply and tell me your thoughts.

What does the Faithful Creative newsletter do for you?

What’s the message that rings true through my communications?

And how can I serve you better?

How can I improve, and what subjects do you want me to share?

These are genuine questions and your kindness in taking a moment to reply would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance.