podcast

You have a clear channel to an infinite reserve of creativity.

Keep Swinging – A Cure For Creative Block!

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So in creative circles, there’s often talk of writer’s block or creative block or I guess the singing block or whatever painting block, you know, these blocks that prevent us from producing our best work. OK, but really, honestly, with regard to writer’s block, and this may be I may be speaking from just a place of providence or pride, but I really do not pay any homage to the muse. I don’t like looking outside for some kind of divine infusion.

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Yeah. Or for the planets to align over your keyboard. Yeah. That will suddenly produce this magnificent work for the world to enjoy. I just don’t believe in that. You know, it really just leads to a passive acceptance of like inactivity in our creative lives. You know, instead, what I what I moved towards and what I lean towards is the idea that we are able to tap this endless reserve that resides in our heart. You know, the scriptures tell us that in the heart resides an eternal spring.

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When we’ve connected to Christ, when we have connected to the vine, there is no lack of life. There is no lack of divine juice that will flow through our branches and out to the world. John 4:14, says that whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him, speaking of Jesus, that Jesus shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be like a well of water springing up onto everlasting life, this everlasting spring of life that bubbles up within us.

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And in this in this well, I believe in this well. And what comes up from it is a story of stories and abounding overflow of encouraging words, songs without. No all of the wonderful creative expressions that we can share with the world, whatever form they take in Proverbs, chapter eight, verse four in The Passion translation, it says, Words of wisdom are like a fresh flowing brook, like deep waters that spring forth from within, bubbling up inside the one with understanding these deep waters that spring forth from within us, bubbling up inside and overflowing in whatever kind of creative capacity we choose to give them access to.

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In a I think the thing is that it does take time to dig that well deep enough and open up the flow, you know. But once you’re there, there’s really no limit to the life you can pour out in your generous service, creative service to the world. But we don’t just dig by thinking, yeah, we don’t excavate by just hoping or even praying. And I believe in all of those things. I think we should be setting time aside to think.

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I believe that we should be digging deep. I believe that we should have deep roots that are and be rooted in hope and faith. And I believe that we should be praying. But it has two things, particularly in the creative life. We have to move from prayer to practise. Yeah, well, we’ve got to we will exercise all of these things in our efforts to serve. But there’s only really one way to hit the gusher and open up the fountain, and that is to pull out your spade and start digging.

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Now, I like looking at the original meanings of the word dig. You know, I’m always amazed to discover that it’s multifaceted. The Hebrew word for dig when I read it means right. If I want to dig deep enough and open up that creative well said keeps flowing. I as a writer need to write what a revelation. And for you, the root. The root meaning behind this wonderful word dig. You might be surprised to find out that it might mean paint if you’re a painter or something, if you’re a singer or play if you’re a guitarist or build if you’re a builder or shoot if you’re a photographer or mix or stir or craft.

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It’s amazing how a. Third, as small as dig can be so multifaceted, and of course, I’m only joking. I have no clue what the root Hebrew verb is that that is translated dig. All I want to say is you dig by doing. Yeah. You got to unlock the well and really to open up a clear channel to that infinite reserve that dwells in you. I’m reminded of the story of Isaac in the Old Testament and it says that, you know, his forefathers had dug these deep wells and the Philistines had come and filled them up and he kind of really dug those wells.

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And, you know, you may find that the Philistines have come in, you know, insecurity, fears, procrastination, perfectionism. And they’ve just shovelled all that junk into the mineshaft. Yeah, they’ve shovelled all of that dirt into the well. But honestly, with faith and action, faith coupled with action, you can unblock those ancient waterways and become both the recipient and the conduit for a glorious gushing river of creative life. Sir. And you just got to step over all of your self judgements and just begin doing it.

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Of course, we start imperfectly. Of course, we stumble on the way. You know, I’ve made a habit now of writing every day, and I. I no longer ask myself if I feel like it or if inspiration is present. As long as I present my iPad on my laptop and my keyboard, you know, and the Holy Ghost. And he lives in me. So he’s always present. He’s always ready. He is. He is ready.

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Ready, ready. Yeah. Inspiration will hit the moment you hit the keys. And that’s just for writers. If it’s a paintbrush or a or a guitar string or a trumpet mouthpiece, whatever it may be. Yeah, it’s actually in the doing, you know, God in you makes for very favourable odds that something will spring up if you just let the bucket down. You know, once your creative habit is established, you’ve really done the hard part.

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Now it’s really just a matter of come into the wellspring every day and keeping those conduits clear. And you do that just by drawing water. You got to just keep the fluid moving. You know, we talk about creative flow. You know, once that flow is underway, it takes a great deal less energy to keep it flowing then it certainly does if you just wait for it to strike every five years. Yeah. And then secondly, and I think that this is a real key to kind of endless production is to make your work public.

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You know, that way you hold yourself accountable to ship something of value each day and really the hunger of the world for quality content. It does remain unabated, even though we’re overwhelmed with the amount of content that’s thrust upon us, quality, content, content that really speaks to the heart, that delivers to a specific audience. There is a vacuum that exists. And, you know, if for all that you bring and that vacuum will suck some great stuff from your heart, if you allow it to, you know, just put yourself in its way, put yourself before that audience and allow their heart and their hunger to draw the very best from what is planted inside of you already.

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Put yourself in the gravitational demand for passion. Filled quality work and marvellous work will be drawn up from this this deep well that the scriptures talk about within. You find someone to serve a company of people you can build and encourage and commit your creativity to produce something of value for them as often as you’re able. Now, for me, it’s daily, but, you know, make it daily, weekly or some other schedule, but just keep it regular and commit to deliver on time.

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And, you know, just on a regular basis, you know, might be podcasting. It could be creating a film and uploading to YouTube. It could be a Facebook live. It just just putting quality content out there for others to benefit from, you know, taken together. Creative habit plus commitment to go public makes for a muse tapping well, drawing machine that will never fail to deliver something refreshing and new. And then and of course, just like on a fine.

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We’ll need some days are going to be more awesome than others, you know. But Don is always better than perfect, so don’t get too hung up on every shot, you know, flying out of the ball park when you swing, just keep swinging. There is always a good word, song or image that you can share. Well, thanks for listening. Hopefully it’s been an encouragement to you today. If you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at Davidleemartin.com.

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Have a great day.

As Christians, we have a secret weapon. It is not our education or history, nor our prowess or personality, although at times all of these may come into play. The real differentiator is the presence of One greater than ourselves, one who is rooting for our breakthrough, and planning for our prosperity.

Commit Your Business To The Lord

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The scriptures really are the richest treasure that we have on this Earth. So just replete with wisdom and endless in what they can teach us, endless in the depths that we can plumb and draw life from. I mean, really, the it’s just I’m never cease to be amazed at how this book can continue to deliver year after year, decade after decade, century after century, and people never exhaust what can be discovered there. It really is so much like the character of God himself in that, you know, like four centuries and millennial, there are creatures around the throne of God who are continually awakened to the glory and the majesty of the one that they serve like day and night.

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They they cry, holy, holy, holy. Other than beyond any description, beyond any conception, this being that we call father, this being that we call God is way beyond anything that we can ever begin to conceive. And yet he is here with us. He is in our hearts. He is in our life. We are in connect, connected to him, related to him. And he has given us his words. And I think that this is the secret weapon that we have.

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You know, it’s not necessarily our education or our history prowess or our personality, although all of these come into play, God did not violate the men and the women that he used to record his words in the book. He worked with them. He inspired and filled them and guided them in what they did. And he inspires, fills and guides us in what we do as well. And this is the differentiator. It really is the presence of God, the presence of the greater one who lives in us.

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And he is rooting for your breakthrough. He is absolutely planning and has planned for your prosperity. You know, Proverbs teaches that we shouldn’t lean on our own understanding, but commit our works to the Lord that our thoughts might be established. I like the passion translation of the verse. It says, before you do anything, put your trust in God and not in yourself. And every plan you make will succeed. And then kind of a marginal rendering of this is literally commit your business to the Lord.

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And I say instead of hustling, we start hearing Jesus. Jesus said that he did nothing that he didn’t first see the father doing. And through that vital connexion he had with heaven, you know, he didn’t take one step apart from the blessing of God because of that, his steps were established, confident and unfaltering. Now, I wish I could say the same thing about myself, but, you know, despite my fumbling efforts at times, I am still learning to pry myself away from this stubborn self-reliance.

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You know, it’s really clinging habit that I need to break. And I’m sure many of you would relate to that. You know, this addiction to do it myself, you know, it really deserves its own 12 step programme. But, you know, but at the same time as kind of my some of my less successful efforts in that direction, I have been learning to lean more fully on God. And the results of that, leaning on him, leaning on his wisdom and leaning on his direction are evident in our lives and essay in partnership with Jesus.

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We’ve really built a tremendously fulfilling, satisfying lifestyle business from the ground up, and it’s really furnished us financially in ways that were previously unheard of for us. And to be honest, if you’d known me back in the day and my aversion to business, you would absolutely recognise that it’s. Totally a miracle of God’s grace work in our lives, and so I think there are two things that committing our business to the Lord means for us. It means No.

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One, that we recognise that our business ultimately belongs to him and no to that we accept that he is the senior partner and that he is passionately committed to our success. And so from this place of confidence in God’s commitment to us, in this place of confidence, in God’s commitment to you, it becomes a great deal easier to commit to him. You know, we’re not a holding on to things in the same way because we trust that his hand, these things in his hand will be much better administrated than if they are merely and as you know, carrying on reading there in Proverbs 16, again, from the Pashtun translation, verse 26, a person who is skilled in business discovers prosperity, which is great news.

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But the verse isn’t complete. It goes on to say, but the one he trusts in God will be blessed beyond belief. Like there’s like over and above, you know, God plans to give you a future and a hope to prosper everything that you do. And this is intimately tied to your intimacy with him. You know that verse that from Jeremiah 29:11, very popular verse for some like that’s the promise box, one that they reach for, you know, for.

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I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. But then the verse actually continues. The context of this is this vital connexion that we’ve been talking about. Then you will call upon me as like it continues in verse twelve. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart in a seeking God is isn’t is not a diversion from our business activities.

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It is business activity. You know, he is a great business man. He’s a great he is in the business of supplying the entire world. Yeah. He is in the business of raising people up to raise people up. He’s in the business of building people. He’s in the building business of building you. He can make the darkest and most hopeless situations turn around and become hopeful. You know, he was able to turn the cross into the instrument of victory as opposed to the instrument of death.

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There is nothing that God cannot do. And with him on our side who honestly can be against us and spending time in consultation with him and not, you know, it doesn’t slice precious hours from our productivity. It really is the source and the fount of all of our future success. And a spiritual commitment really forms a foundation upon which we can then confidently build our business for many years to come. And thankfully, you know, our father’s activity isn’t confined behind church walls.

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His presence and counsel have been woven in to the very fabric of our lives. I love the Hebrew meeting meeting. I love the Hebrew meanings of this word. Commit. If you if you look them up in the kind of theological word book or strongs, there are a number of different facets to this word commit. And one of them is to wallow, to wallow. And I just got this picture of like wallowing in the wisdom of God, you know, in the same way as you might, like, get Clive in a hot tub and sit back and like, let the warmth feel your body and just relax and just let the concerns of the day drift away.

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We can wallow in the wisdom of God. It’s not something we’re not us. We don’t just want to take a quick shower. Yeah. We don’t just want to dip our toe. We want to climb in and we want to fully commit and fully immerse myself in the wonder of God’s word. And another one is to roll together, you know, like this this idea of like rolling together with God, you know, committing ourselves one to another and allowing.

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Allowing him to take us on an adventure, you know. What are your plans for today? What hopes do you hold for your growth and your prosperity? You know, and if if, like me, you still have like that the vestiges of that addiction to do it myself? You know, we want to make sure that we don’t get robbed of these beyond belief blessings that the scriptures talk about, you know, as a result of wholehearted commitment to building God’s kingdom.

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Yeah. And building our business, building our lives, building our families in conjunction and in connexion and friendship and partnership with the king. Well, thanks for listening. Hopefully it’s been an encouragement to you today, if you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at Davidleemartin.com. Have a great day.

Passion may motivate, but putting your hands to the plough and prioritising those projects that burn beneath the daily grind will cause them to surface and move your trajectory away from just slogging through to breaking through.

Passive VS Passionate Smackdown

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I’ve really been enjoying reading the book of Proverbs in The Passion, Translation and Proverbs 12:27 says A passive person won’t even complete a project. I believe kind of a probably a more kind of word for word translation of that something like the King James would set would talk about a lazy man not even going out to harvest the things that he’s planted. Yeah, but a passionate person continues the verse in The Passion. But a passionate person makes good use of his time, wealth and energy.

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And as Christian creatives, we’re really working out what God is working in us. I believe that the creative spirit of God dwells in your spirit, and he is really itching and looking to partner with you on projects that will not only change your life, but the lives of those you minister to and by minister. I’m not talking about necessarily in a religious context. All of life is a life of service, which essentially is a life of ministry. Whatever realm we are operating in, God has equipped us and anointed us to bring value to the table.

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So whatever your strengths and gifts, he is there to make those gifts shine. Yeah, but this can only happen when you translate what’s in your heart all the way through to your hands. It’s got to it’s got to come through from just merely residing as an idea or a hope and actually something that we put some skin in the game, too, that we put our hand to. Scripture tells us that God prospers those things that we put our hand to.

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Okay, so it’s not just what we think about. It’s not just the things that we might do one day. Maybe it’s really putting, as I say, skin in the game that brings possibilities to bear and opens up potential. You know, our results always guarantee to know that not we know that from experience. You know, will acting always lead to the desired outcome? No, but it will lead somewhere. At least we’re making progress. At least we’re growing.

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At least we’re learning what whatever the outcomes are, there is something of worth and something of value that we can draw from the experience and the journey that we take when we begin to put feet to faith and put our hands to those things that reside presently, maybe just in your heart or in your head. So why do many people get caught up in a life of a busy life? Yeah, of passivity, a busy life of passivity. It seems like the two things are contrary to one another.

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But from what I’ve observed and from my own experience, you know, I certainly see that most of us are busy. It’s just what we are busy with that really determines how much we’re able to bring to the table and the kind of income and the kind of impact we can expect to have. And it’s it really isn’t just all about activity. Don’t misunderstand me. It’s not all about just hustle and hassle and, you know, sweat and blood, because that’s really not the nature of God.

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God wants to lead us in rest. He wants us to be people of hearing, not just hustling. Yeah, but we do tend to fill our days with activity. The more time we have, the more things we do. We tend to find to fill that time. You know, we’re running here and there, even if just in our mind, even if just in our thinking and it ties us up in knots. Sometimes it seems that there is less time than we have activities to fill those minutes and hours made available to us.

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And so and passivity is a busy, busy life of passivity. Passivity is I’m really coming at this from the perspective of those projects that may be important to us, but they’re not urgent. And and we kind of often the hours that we’re feeling are not filled with the activities that are most precious to us and and are not moving towards our most eagerly desired outcomes. Creative projects like Dormont in the tomorrow treh begging for attention. And, you know, every so often they get a cursory glance if we feel inspired or guilty enough, guilty enough to reach over.

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Kind of shift them a little further up the priority list, but oftentimes they just end up being shuffled back down again. You know, in this in this scripture, it says a passionate person makes good use of his time, wealth and energy. And as we know, time, wealth and energy all have a limited supply. And so it’s up to us where we choose to invest them beyond the necessities. There are daily choices that we make in regard to the direction that we choose to pursue in our book.

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Writers don’t begin as bestsellers. Entrepreneurs rarely start their journey with their finances. Flourishing ideas are just the beginning. But they must, as I say, move from the heart to the head where we begin to make plans and set priorities. And finally to our hands, sorry to our head, where we make plans and priorities and finally to our hand, where we give substance to the hope and bring value to the world by translating or crystallising those ideas into something tangible.

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You know, I’m committed to do all I can to lay my life on the line and spill as much goodness into the world as I can. And with God’s help, I believe that I can help others do the same. I believe you are called to that very same ministry. You are called to bring value to the world. And with God’s help, you are called to help others. Yeah, that’s the way the cycle works, you know.

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And so my question today is, what are the recipients of your time, your wealth and your energy? And where are your most precious resources being spent? You know, time, wealth, energy, you know, give give some consideration today how you might complete some unfinished projects and don’t aim for for for perfection. Shoot just for produced. Published in public. Yeah. A completed project in need of betterment is always more useful than a near perfect project stalled in the pits, you know, say and as you’ll find as you bring projects to completion, as you bring ideas to completion, it will add confidence to you and confidence will lead to you connecting more fully with your dreams and the desires that faith has planted in your heart.

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Instead of perceiving yourself as someone who doesn’t quite make the grade, you look in the mirror and you’ll begin to see a finisher, someone who takes what they know, takes what they have and makes it real. You know, instead of doubting yourself, you’ll discover that the well of motivation runs far deeper than you realise, you know it will. And that motivation will spill into your tomorrow and continue and carry you beyond just the ideas and intentions that you have right now into bigger, braver, bolder endeavours.

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You know, passion may motivate your movement, but putting your hand to the plough and prior prioritising those projects that really burn beneath just the daily grind and the necessities of our lives, you’re beginning to give priority to those things, will cause them to surface and move your trajectory away from just slogging through to actually breaking through. You will discover that it is possible to passion from many of the things to to profit from many of the things that you’re passionate about.

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And as much as it sometimes sounds like motivational mumbo, you know, it’s really not acting daily toward your desired outcomes is the one essential that can really change the game. You know, of course, it will take courage. There will be days where you find discouragement. Absolutely. But it will be worth it, you know, but you’ll never know just how worth it. It can be until you make the decision to find out. And instead of passively looking and hoping and considering and thinking and even praying sometimes can be a way in which we procrastinate, because there has to be a time where hard moves from to head plans are made and then to hand where we actually put our skin in the game and begin to work on those projects that we believe can take us where we actually want to go.

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Well, thanks for listening. Hopefully it’s been an encouragement to you today. If you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at Davidleemartin.com. Have a great day.

Rest and relaxation is not unproductive. It is the unseen root system that nourishes our productivity.

The Importance of Rest = The Importance of YOU

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I feel very much that I’m preaching to myself this morning because I’m guilty of being over busy, but I want to talk about the importance of rest today and finding time out. Yeah, and creative people, entrepreneurial people, people who are very much who very much believe that they are able to make a difference in the world, sometimes find it hard to switch off. And and it’s often because I work and play or our passion and what we do and the pursuits, our passion and pursuits are often one in the same, you know, our art and our life is so connected that it can be really difficult to switch off.

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I mean, I don’t know if you can can relate. I mean, I’m chronic with this, you know, and it’s just I have to keep reminding myself of the importance of rest and that there is a well that we can drink from that will refresh our creative endeavors as much as we would like to think it possible. Batteries will deplete if we don’t plug in to a source and allow ourselves to be recharged. And God has given us a number of different ways to do this.

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There’s obviously prayer where we can plug in and receive and there is this thing called rest in. And, you know, we should really treasure those moments where we unplug from all of our business and plug in to a source that can replenish, refresh, revitalise and kind of bring our creative juices back to full, you know. And I think that, as I’ve said, creative entrepreneurs often find it difficult to switch off, you know, and we’ve kind of swallowed the lie that we should always be.

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And I put this in inverted commas, productive, that inactivity somehow is unproductive, that massive action burning the candle hussle, compulsory rites of passage, and that somehow rest and relaxation I like shoved right to the very bottom of the list. And yet rest is the unseen root system that actually nourishes our productivity. And I love the way that that father wave rest into the very fabric of human life. I mean, every day we have to close our eyes and shut down.

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But he also, like, baked in this concept of Sabbath. And, you know, even after and I’d like God does not get tired. Let’s face it, he is quite different to us. He doesn’t have the same limited capacities. And yet after the most humungous creative outburst in all of history yet of flinging planets into orbit, orbit and the like, God rested to enjoy all he had made. Scripture tells us that God saw everything he had made and behold, it was very good.

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And the morning and the evening were the sixth day, and then the heavens and the earth were finished and the host of them. And on the seventh day he ended his work and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had made. And he blessed it and sanctified it because he rested from all his work that he created and made. And I think that the lesson, or certainly one lesson that we can find here is that rest equals appreciation.

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You know, when was the last time you stopped to appreciate your accomplishments, to celebrate your victories, however small or large they may be? You know, every day in the call of the day when the heat of the day was over, you would find papa walking in the garden with his son, with his daughter, taking time with his friends and family in Genesis three eight to teaches us that they heard the voice of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.

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I’m sure that this was a a daily a daily communion that would take place. And, you know, really, let’s let’s just imagine the kind of conversations that may have been exchanged during those beautiful hours. And so rest doesn’t just mean appreciation, doesn’t just mean stopping and appreciate appreciating how far we’ve come, what we’ve done, you know. And recharging of batteries, rest is equals relationships. And when was the last time you enjoyed some refreshment with your friends?

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And I’m terrible with this because unlike so project driven, so outcome oriented, that I sometimes miss the the the deep importance of investing in relationships. I’m ashamed to say it, but it’s true. You know, when was the last time that I and I can ask you the same question, put work aside and engage just in just some childlike frivolity, you know, a rich exchange of hearts with Larna, my wife, my children, you know, that these things that sustain our soul in ways that could never be purchased, you know, they’re not written on paycheques and page views.

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They’re absolutely priceless. You know, one of one of my favourite places in the scriptures and as you know, by now, I’ve got many of them. But it’s Hebrews chapter four. I mean, this is just just such a beautiful piece of scripture. And it talks about a rest that we’ve been invited into, not an enforced rest, not a rest. That comes as a result of simply not being able to put one more foot in front of another.

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It is an open invitation where God says there remains, therefore a rest for the people of God. Hebrews four nine. And there’s a promise of this this promise and this invitation to cease from all of our craving, proving, running, reaching, you know, the half written novel, you know, the budding blog that we’re doing, the musical manuscript we’re writing, whatever it may be, whatever your project may be, all of them can wait.

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Yeah, it’s time to switch off the camera, close the laptops, stop scrolling whatever scroll you are doing, and just take some time out. Step out for a moment. From our incomplete arrangements into our father’s finished symphony drink in his goodness, unhindered by the anxiety that always wants to be doing all the time. It’s really is learning to trust that even though we’ve not completed, even though we ourselves in many ways are not complete, even though we have questions, even though there may be circumstances that are not yet tied up, even though our business may have some leaking, some Lee key points or whatever it may be, all of these things that keep us up at night, you know, there is a place of trust where we can come in and be anxious for nothing, but in all things by prayer and supplication, let our requests be made known to him in a way.

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And it’s really in his complete work that we can enjoy feeling complete even in the midst of so many incompletions. Yeah. You know, so sometimes really the destination is the journey itself. I love Hebrews four seven in the message Bible. It says God keeps renewing the promise and setting the date as today the original invitation. I mean, how beautiful is that, that this invitation into the rest of faith is renewed every day and the date resets? I mean, we’re not talking Groundhog Day.

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It’s not it’s not like, oh, no, not another day of rest. It’s actually this beautiful invitation that like, hey, I know you’ve got lots to do. I know you’ve got lots to think about. But, hey, now now is the time. Hear my voice today. Now if you will hear his voice and not hard and your hard God is always present to partner with you in what you do and to actually lift and carry and shoulder the burden of it.

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Yeah. So rest. Rest is appreciation. Rest is relationships. And rest is also knowing the significance of right now, this moment. You know, don’t allow tomorrow’s hopes or worries to steal the joy of today. Hebrews 47 again today, if you will, hear his voice taking time to switch off, to recharge, refresh, renew, to listen. Taking time to recognise that in all I give in in all of our giving out, sometimes we need to just give in, give up and give over and let Grace go to work on our behalf.

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Let me read this verse from Isaiah 64:4. This is the amplified version because it’s it’s just got something beautiful to teach us. It says Fall from of old. No one has heard or perceive by ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides you who works. And this is what I want to draw out at this time, who works and shows himself active on behalf of him, who earnestly waits for him. Isaiah, 64 four in the amplified God actually works and shows himself active when we cease from our own anxious activities.

00:11:02.900]
Praise God for that. You know you are important. So I just encourage you today. Don’t forget to join your father in some cool moments today in the cool of the day. Yeah. Put your shades on and go for a walk with your father. Go for a walk with the king. Yeah. And let his love pour into your heart. Well, thanks for listening. Hopefully it’s been an encouragement to you today. If you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at Davidleemartin.com.

00:11:37.580]
Have a great day.

God wants you to succeed. His plans are for your good, to prosper you and furnish your future with remarkable rewards. Through wisdom, you’ll gain insight and revelation that give you “understanding of your design and destiny” (Proverbs 1:4 PASSION).

Seek First The Kingdom And All These Things Will Be Added

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00:00:03.360]
Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you seek first God’s kingdom, God’s way of being, God’s way of doing. That’s really all that righteousness is God’s way of being and doing and aligning ourselves with that in all that we do, in all that we think, in all that we say. And I believe that here here in this verse, this secret, that is no secret. I believe that this is what unlocks all of our creative aspirations, all of our creative dreams.

00:00:50.010]
And yet sometimes I think our anxiety and our impatience causes us to run in other directions in pursuit of the very things that God wants to give us. And sometimes that pursuit is hijacked and like I am guilty as charged and we run after a thousand other opportunities, you know, our eyes glistening with all of the shiny promises that are emblazoned on the sales pages and paraded on the news feeds, you know, and and she comes like the harlot in the book of Proverbs, enticing us with pictures of easy riches and our senses satiated and like the ultimate significance in on the world stage.

00:01:42.720]
I mean, like God help us, please, Lord, help us not to fall for these seductive ways, because ultimately that is what a lot of this is and it’s not necessary. I’m not actually criticising people, creating value and selling it, you know, and putting themselves out there. I do that myself and I want to learn to be a great deal better at it. But what I wanted to point out is our susceptibility to be drawn away from those things that the Holy Spirit has married us to, that that each of us has a clear, specific call, a clear, specific purpose, a good plan that was prepared for us before the foundation of the world that God has designed and developed us and shaped us to walk in.

00:02:54.940]
And like in all of the noise of the marketplace, yeah, with all of these different voices saying come hither, come to me, go this way, go that way, wisdom, the Bible tells us, is stand. Also standing in the marketplace, Proverbs 1:20 to 21. In the amplified Bible reads, wisdom cries aloud in the street. She raises her voice in the markets. She cries at the head of the noisy intersections in the chief gathering places at the entrance of the city gates.

00:03:32.080]
She speaks and wisdom’s arms are full of the riches that we seek. Whether those are riches to fill our bank accounts, riches to fill our hard riches to fill our mind. Wisdom has them all. She has to cry so loudly because the marketplace is so noisy. Voices from every corner are vying for our attention. But with wisdom, wisdom has the words that will empower you to reign in life. Proverbs one verse one in The Passion translation says that.

00:04:14.500]
God wants you to succeed. God wants you to be blessed. God wants you to be enriched. God wants you to have an impact. God wants to raise you up and give you a voice and allow you to walk in a manner that is richly fulfilling to you and deeply helpful to others. Yeah, his plans for you were good, we all know the verse, you know, his plans for you are good to prosper you and give you a future to furnish your future with remarkable rewards.

00:04:54.690]
Far above all you could ask or imagine. And boy, oh, boy, I tell you, tell me if I’m wrong. We can ask and we can imagine some pretty wild things. Through wisdom, see again in The Passion translation Proverbs 1:4, I love this the way this is rendered through wisdom, you’ll gain insight and revelation. And that verse says that will give you understanding of your design and destiny. And from this foundation.

00:05:29.300]
From this foundation of discovering your design and destiny in God, through his work, through working with and listening carefully to the Holy Spirit from this foundation, your house will be built on a rock in your authority and your influence will flow again. Back to the amplified Bible Proverbs 24:3 and 4 through skilful and godly wisdom is a house, a life, a home and a family built and by understanding it is established. I’d like to add business there to.

00:06:06.490]
And by understanding it is established on a sound and good foundation and by knowledge shall all its chambers of every area Carrabba’s Shaqra, both solo local, Mbulu McCullogh, she Karaman my whole abaca and by knowledge, Charlottes chambers of every area. Every realm of life, every part of your existence shall be filled with precious and pleasant riches. A deeply rich, satisfying, intimate relationship with your spouse. A rich and rewarding relationship with your children, a business that prospers.

00:07:03.120]
A social life that flourishes. Businesses that grow personal dreams, hopes, ambitions, intentions that bear fruit. All of this is ours. If we will follow hard after wisdom and shut out some of the other voices that are currently vying for our attention. And again, I want to stress, I’m not saying that all of those voices should be drowned out and all of those voices should be shut up. We just need wisdom to know which ones to listen to in whatever season we are.

00:07:43.900]
We are walking through and to to to safeguard ourselves from being from being dragged in every direction. That’s like being put on the rack. Sometimes we wait, we go to our social feed and it’s like like we willingly strap ourselves in the rack so we can be stretched in, you know, five directions at once, pulling all of our bones out of joint, pulling all of our sense of peace and wellbeing out of alignment. But, hey, let’s climb off the rack.

00:08:19.300]
Let’s let’s climb off the hamster wheel and let’s let our hearts find rest in the company of God’s word that our hard find rest in the company of the one who made us and whose design and desire for us is certain and sure and. And planned and prepared. You know, your artistry will impact multitudes. I believe that your honesty and humility will hone your voice to penetrate the cacophony and find your tribe. So let prayer proceed, production led pursuit and passion for God underpin your prosperity.

00:09:12.670]
Well, thanks for listening, hopefully. It’s been an encouragement to you today, if you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at Davidleemartin.com. Have a great day.