Attitude Is Everything

Subject: Attitude Is Everything

January 28, 2013

Attitude Is Everything by Jim Rohn The process of human change begins within us. We all have tremendous potential. We all desire good results from our efforts. Most of us are willing to work hard and to pay the price that success and happiness demand. Each of us has the ability to put our unique human potential into action and to acquire a desired result. But the one thing that determines the level of our potential—that produces the intensity of our activity and predicts the quality of the result we receive—is our attitude. Attitude determines how much of the future we are allowed to see. It decides the size of our dreams and influences our determination when we are faced with new challenges. No other person on earth has dominion over our attitude. People can affect our attitude by teaching us poor thinking habits or unintentionally misinforming us or providing us with negative sources of influence, but no one can control our attitude unless we voluntarily surrender that control.

No one else "makes us angry." We make ourselves angry when we surrender control of our attitude. What someone else may have done is irrelevant. We choose, not they. They merely put our attitude to a test. If we select a volatile attitude by becoming hostile, angry, jealous or suspicious, then we have failed the test. If we condemn ourselves by believing that we are unworthy, then again, we have failed the test.

If we care at all about ourselves, then we must accept full responsibility for our own feelings. We must learn to guard against those feelings that have the capacity to lead our attitude down the wrong path and to strengthen those feelings that can lead us confidently into a better future.

If we want to receive the rewards the future holds in trust for us, then we must exercise the most important choice given to us as members of the human race by maintaining total dominion over our attitude. Our attitude is an asset, a treasure of great value, which must be protected accordingly. Beware of the vandals and thieves among us who would injure our positive attitude or seek to steal it away.

Having the right attitude is one of the basics that success requires. The combination of a sound personal philosophy and a positive attitude about ourselves and the world around us gives us an inner strength and a firm resolve that influences all the other areas of our existence

SIX SIMPLE WAYS TO CREATE A CLEAR PATH TO SUCCESS

SIX SIMPLE WAYS TO CREATE A CLEAR PATH TO SUCCESS

Bishop E. Bernard Jordan

Here are Six Simple Ways to Create a Clear Path to Success: 

1. If you want to run a winning business, you have to set clear goals and then work to achieve them. Keeping track of the progress you make along the way will help to ensure that you are staying on course.
2. Set up rewards for all of your achievements. A rewards system is one of the best ways to keep up business motivation for yourself and your employees. For each goal that is met, have a special reward.
3. Set a timeline for your goals and keep revisiting them. Stay on top of your goals and what is being done to accomplish them. Make any adjustments as needed and stay focused on crossing each one from your list.
4. Remind yourself why you started in the first place. What was is that made you decide to start your own business? Reawaken the passion you had for your product or business that was such a strong motivator. Spend a day or two getting yourself back to the  beginning.
5. Stay organized. When you can stick to a clear daily routine, you will feel motivated to complete your tasks each day. A messy schedule and workspace can leave you frazzled and it is hard to concentrate on what needs to be done.
6. Form successful habits. Develop habits that will lead to success. If a morning walk helps to clear your mind and prepare for the day, do it.

A Must Read! 3 Things to do Before Jesus Returns

"We have never been closer to Christ's return than we are right now. There's no generation that's been closer to his return than this generation."

- By Pastor Greg Laurie
As the world anticipated a final closing to life on December 21, 2012, many were left wondering what to do to prepare for the imminent return of Jesus Christ. Fortunately, Pastor Greg Laurie, of Harvest Church in Riverside, California, provided some insight as to what Christians need to do prior to Jesus' return. 

View Pastor Laurie's advice below:

1. Be Alert and Ready To Go
Believers must be alert, watching for him, as Luke 12:37 suggests, Pastor Laurie said. "We have never been closer to Christ's return than we are right now. There's no generation that's been closer to his return than this generation." Believers also need to be ready to go, Pastor Laurie said. "Have your bags packed, and your comfortable shoes on." In other words, "be engaged in activities you won't be ashamed of when He comes," he explained.

2. Live a Godly Life
"It's a good thing to ask yourself… this place that I'm about to go, this thing that I'm about to do… would I be embarrassed or ashamed to be doing such a thing if Jesus were to come back. If the answer is, 'yes,' then don't do it. If you can't pray over your plans for the evening, don't do those things," Pastor Laurie said. Believers should live godly lives knowing Jesus is returning, Pastor Laurie said.

He cited Romans 13:11-13, "And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy."

Pastor Laurie added that a believer must also not be "competing" with others, referring to the desire to prevail over other people, to want the highest prestige, the most recognition or prominence.

3. Stay Away from Immortality
Now is not the time to party and drink, Pastor Laurie suggested. Instead of being drunk on wine or spirits, believers must remain under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he said. Stay away from immorality, he added. Pre- or extra-marital sex is a sin against God; He is not okay with it, as some might think. "Looking up p*rnography is like throwing gasoline on a fire," Pastor Laurie warned. "You don't beat lust, you starve it."

Conclusion:
Pastor Laurie concluded stating that he doesn't know when the world will end. "But maybe the end of your world is closer to the end of the world," he told the audience, asking, "Are you ready to meet God?"

Source: All Christian News

---

Original Page: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OluFamousBlog/~3/T3aM_eCcVTg/a-must-read-3-things-to-do-before-jesus.html

Things You Never Knew About Your Brain

I'm the engine that keeps you running all day long, and I'm here to share the mysteries of how I really work.

100 Billion Nerve Cells

So you might want to take a moment before you blame me for not being fast enough, failing to get easy math right, or even forgetting your friend's birthday. It's not really my fault: Information travels through me between the rates of 0.5 metres per second and 120 metres per second. Even though I weigh about three pounds, I'm a fuel guzzler that uses 20% of your body's energy.

Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine For Me

My amygdala and hippocampus (two parts linked to depression) light up when I hear laughter, as does my nucleus accumbens, which is a key player in pleasurable feelings. Chuckling reduces stress hormones and lowers blood pressure too, decreasing your chance of heart attack and stroke. In one 2012 study, researchers found an increase in oxytocin (also known as the "love hormone", which enhances my reward centres), when subjects listened to infant laughter.

I Get Better With Exercise

Exercise helps more than just keeping your bones strong and heart pumping. Art Kramer, from the University of Illinois, found that memory-one component of my many functions that declines with age-can improve with treadmill usage just three days a week, working up to an hour a day. Exercise increases blood flow to me, which delivers vital oxygen and glucose. MRIs revealed that areas pivotal for decision-making, planning, and multitasking also improved in those who went on the treadmill.

Watch Your Blood Pressure

There's a large body of research connecting high blood pressure and how I function. Hypertension (high blood pressure) puts a constant stress on me and your cardiovascular system, and it can physically be spotted on MRIs as white matter lesions. Don't ignore warning signs like having a "high-normal" reading, blood pressure creeping up slowly, or only getting high readings at the doctor's office.

Google Is Making Me Weak

A 2011 study from Columbia University found that you've been relying more on the Internet, less on me. That means I'm going to forget more over time. Study author Betsy Sparrow, PhD suggests we should focus on "greater understanding of ideas and ways of thinking," and less on memorisation.

Some Of Us Crave Junk Food

In one study, subjects were shown the names of foods they liked, and the parts of me that got excited were the same parts activated in drug addicts. This may have to do with dopamine, the hormone linked to motivation and pleasure, say researchers. The thinking goes that those with fewer dopamine receptors may need more food to make me happy

There's A Powerful Link Between Music, Nostalgia, And Me

In a 2010 study, researchers found just listening to a meaningful song from childhood brought on a happiness triggered by the fond memories.

I Can Predict Future Events

Findings from a 2012 study reveal exciting new evidence that my front-most region, the frontopolar cortex, helps predict future events from past experiences. It's not exactly psychic-superpowers, but I am able to make short-term predictions and think strategically about the future by drawing conclusions from recent patterns. For instance, the study's participants could anticipate slot machine payoffs based on previous trends in the games.

I Get Distracted Easily When We Go Shopping

Two cool new studies: One looked at the MRIs of participants watching deceptive ads (think: late-night infomercials). When I was cloudy from stress, lack of sleep, or low awareness, I was most likely to urge you to buy. Another study on shoppers noticed I may subconsciously push you to more expensive products if attractive, potential mates are nearby, so we impress them.

Sometimes, Even I Think You Should Trust Your Gut

One study showed students to be happier when they used me for simple decisions, and used their "gut" for more complex ones. In another study, participants let my unconscious state do the grunt work, and they showed less buyer's remorse. So, when you think hard on a big decision 'new job', don't get stuck on one of the factors (salary, long-term potential, location, et cetera) and instead, sleep on it.

Brain games might not do much for me

In a recent study, 11,430 volunteers aged 18 to 60 completed a series of online tasks for a minimum of 10 minutes a day, three times a week, for six weeks. Even though participants improved at the tasks, researchers believe that there wasn't a boost in general memory and learning abilities. Want to get sharp in your downtime? Listen to more music. Stanford University researchers found that it helps me better organise chaos, pay attention, make predictions, and update memory.

I Get Stimulated Easily, And Not By What You Might Expect

A 2011 study in Addiction Biology found that frequent tanning will fire off the same "reward" response for me as drug addiction "ie, I want to do it again and again." Ditto for binge eating, being popular on Facebook (!), or other obsessive activities. Find healthy ways to stimulate me: exercise, spending time with friends, treating yourself to a day of relaxation.

Ladies: I'm More Moody With You

Physically, I'm about ten per cent larger in men than women. It doesn't make guys smarter; it just lets me control their different bodies. Note that, neurologically, it's more common for women to suffer from mood disorders-but men are more likely to have ADHD or language disabilities.

I Peak In My 20s

Memory starts declining at around 27! Even though my ability to function doesn't start deteriorating until as early as 45, we will start losing some of my cells in your 20s. Beat the odds: Eat your way sharp with these seven research-backed foods like blueberries that help reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, and maintain your memory, and also boost my acetylcholine levels 'which helps improve memory function.'

Drinking Yourself Stupid? It's all myth

Alcohol disrupts brain function and hurts motor activity, like speaking or walking in a straight line. But it doesn't kill off entire cells; and adults who drink in moderation do not risk losing brain cells. As a bonus, a glass of red wine a night might protect me from stroke damage, according to a 2010 study.

You Can Train Me To Be Less Impulsive

In an isolated 2012 study, researchers found that people in a simulated gambling task could teach themselves to be more cautious bettors. With more research, scientists believe they can help with new developments in treating addiction and impulse-control disorders like ADHD.

Your MobilePhone Scares Me

New research from the National Institute of Health showed that less than an hour of mobile phone use can speed up my activity in the area closest to the phone antenna. Although the verdict isn't out yet on mobile phone usage and cancer, many more studies reveal mobile phone radiation could be linked with other disturbances, like sleep problems. Do us both a favour and limit use, or try a headset or earpiece.

Some Parts Of Me Never Sleep

It's important for you to get a good night's sleep, even if I'm busy: Sleep helps stabilises memories and it also may help me process them, by encoding the emotional bits and ditching the unnecessary details to remember the order of events.

I Can Be Reprogrammed To Be Happier

In one study, adults classified as pessimists showed higher death rates over a 30-year period than those who were optimists. To rewire me to become more optimistic, take positive actions! Recent research shows that genes play only a 30 to 40% role in your life outlook, and you can shift from being a pessimist to an optimist over time.

Meditation Is Groovy

A recent report found that those who meditated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks showed significant changes in my parts linked to memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress. Try silently repeating a calming word again and again to prevent distracting thoughts from inundating your brain, or focus on your breathing to be more in the moment.

Stories from DailyMail

 

I Can Trick You Into Thinking

But being swamped at the office or home isn't the kind of activity I need to stay healthy. People lose concentration by being immobile; exercise helps me rewire and shield against Alzheimer's disease, among many other health benefits. Help me by fitting in at least three to five sessions of cardio for 30 minutes a week. Can't swing that? Walk to work, park your car farther from the supermarket, take the stairs, or try dozens of other ways to get more movement in your day.

Eat omega-3s, Vitamin B, Complex Carbs, Antioxidants

Omega-3 fatty acids help my intellectual performance. Choline (the fat-like B vitamin in eggs and other foods) minimizes fatigue and increases my alertness without a trip to the closest Starbucks. It also helps with memory and stress resistance. Complex carbs are useful to improve my mental performance.

Prevent or better manage diabetes to keep me healthy

In June 2012, a nine-year longitudinal study showed that participants with diabetes who didn't control their blood sugar levels suffered from cognitive decline. Take control of your diabetes or prevent the disease completely by swapping everyday foods high in sugar for healthier choices, staying active with exercise, and seeing your doctor regularly.

---

Original Page: http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/43963/2013/01/02/things_you_never_knew_about_your_brain.html

Jack Hayford Explains What Holiness Really Is

Jack Hayford explains what holiness is really about and why it matters so much to God

As often as the word holy is used by Christians, you'd think that we could all agree on a uniform understanding of its meaning. We read our "Holy" Bibles. We receive "Holy" Communion. We sing the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy" and acknowledge the "Holy" Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. We understand the word generally to mean "divine" or "of God."

But when Christians start to discuss holiness, they discover that the  implications of the word vary widely. It seems that holiness can mean anything from a name for the pope to teetotalism and not wearing makeup.

What do you think it means? What does the word holy (or the closely related words sanctify or sanctification) suggest to you? The word in some form—holy,  holiness, holiest, allow, hallowed—occurs nearly 700 times in the English Bible. Certainly, it's an important word. The average believer seems to feel threatened by the idea of holiness. He tends to see it as something unapproachable, a demanding standard of life that seems to be well beyond him. Believers tend to define it by "feel" more than by fact, and the feeling seems to be, "Boy, that's way beyond me (although I sure want to try my best!)."

The Holy Spirit desires to bring each of us to complete personhood. This practical pursuit—our partnering with Him as He comes to help—is geared to make us whole or holy. That's what "holiness" is really about—wholeness. What the Holy Spirit is up to is bringing the whole life of Jesus Christ into the whole of our personalities so that the whole love of God can be relayed to the whole world.

The word holy is derived from the medieval English hal, an 11th century word that is the root to such contemporary words as health, hale, whole and holy. Obviously, holiness is more than an esoteric spiritual attribute, and it relates to more than merely the invisible. Holiness involves the completion in all parts of the human being. As the Holy Spirit rebuilds you to the depths of your being ...

*Your spirit can be revived to life in God (made holy).
*Your soul can be restored in mind and emotions (made whole).
*Your physical body, habits and conditions can become disciplined, recovering to well-being (kept healthy).

Now, doesn't holiness look like a far more desirable goal, even a practical, attainable reality? God wants to make us holy—just as He is.

Because both terms—holiness and sanctification—have become smothered in religious verbiage, we must uncover the truth about holiness if holiness is God's goal for us. If full sanctification is something each of us should truly desire, and if you and I are not likely to hunger or thirst for something that we don't understand or feel intimidated by or have a distorted idea about, then we need to explore the real meaning of holy some more.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Paul prays for the believers in Thessalonica: "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." His words reveal three aspects of sanctification or holiness, which is the same as full recovery of the three-part nature of man (spirit, soul and body).  

1. Holiness/sanctification is for now.

2. Holiness/sanctification is something God Himself will do in you.

3. Holiness/sanctification involves your peace, completeness and wholeness.

In short, God is ready to do everything He can to put you fully together, starting today! Paul's prayer holds a tremendous promise: "May the God of peace ... sanctify you." The essential idea of the word eirene (peace) is unity, of fragments or separated parts being brought together. This is a wonderful promise, relevant to our own broken hearts. 

Holy as He Is Holy
The phrase "be holy as He is holy," far from being a prohibitive summons or unattainable goal, actually gives us a glimpse into the Father's heart and desire for us. The phrase is used first in Leviticus: "For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate [sanctify] yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy" (Lev. 11:44). It's used again, in essence, in Jesus' words, recorded in Matthew's Gospel: "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (5:48). Here are both an Old Testament and a  New Testament summons calling you and me to be perfect. How can this be? How can we possibly measure up?

A divine call that was intended to beget hope instead produces fear and condemnation. We will never really gain ground until our sense of being "failures before we start" gets broken. If the walls of our personalities are going to be rebuilt, we must come to a place of comfort and confidence about both the goal and the process.

Nothing hinders the pursuit of holiness more than a sense of condemnation, which always includes guilt, unworthiness and the sense of impossibility about ever being able to truly measure up to God's standards. We must fully "own" the truth that our holiness has been secured before God by virtue of our position in Jesus Christ. Jesus' sinless record was credited to your account. The epistle to the Romans often uses the word  justified, a word indicating that God has made a positive legal judgment about you. 

By the standards of the highest court in the universe, He regards you as holy when you put your trust in Jesus Christ. 

God's Word also gets specific about holiness in practice. God wants us to get on with lives that are lived "holily," lives in which we practice holiness in thought and conduct. This implies growth. It's as if we grow up into the holiness that Jesus has provided for us. Once we grasp this, we are on the way to understanding "be holy as He is holy" in a new way.

What is the Lord Jesus really saying here, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect"? I used to think this was solely a commandment, but I have come to see it as more of a promise. Here's what it really means: "Because your Father is holy, you are assured already that you are en route to holiness."

We come to understand two important points: (1) holiness in God's changeless nature, and (2) His promise about our new nature. These understandings bring us to a settled confidence about our future.

Holiness is that attribute of God by which He preserves the integrity of His own being. This means God never needs to be reminded to be good, loving, wise or wonderful. He doesn't labor to accomplish what most of us define as "being holy." Instead, because God's very nature is holy, He will never be less than what He is already. His holiness guarantees the changeless integrity of His own being.

What does that mean for you? It means He'll never be without love for you. He'll never be less than merciful. He'll never be anything other than just. And He'll remake you so you can reflect His integrity of being in your own personality and actions.

I don't need to tell you that the human personality falls far short of God's integrity of character. Our integrity has been shattered, smashed and damaged, reduced to far less than it was made to be. The good news is that we don't have to remain that way. Here comes our Savior! He comes not only to forgive us but also to restore us. His plan is to give birth to each of us all over again and, through this new birth, to place in us a new seed. It's like a new genetic principle: We are to be "born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever" (1 Pet. 1:23).

First John 3:6, 9 says: "Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he [is] born of God."

I used to read those verses and want to give up. I would say: "Well, I think I'm born of God, but this says that if you are, you don't sin. But sometimes I still do. I don't want to, but I do. I love the Lord, and I'm trying to become more holy, but I sin."

Then the words of verse 8 would haunt me: "He who sins is of the devil." Doubt and futility would grip me: "Since I'm not sinless yet, am I really saved? So in reality, I must be 'of the devil'?" Years went by, and no one ever told me differently. Like many people, repeated trips to the altar and the prayer room seemed to be the only way I knew to assure God's acceptance. But one day I learned that the same verses that had confused me held a mighty truth.

My misunderstanding was overcome simply by discovering the tense of the Greek verb. In this verse, the original language actually says, "Whoever is born of God does not keep on sinning." In fact, the chapter immediately preceding already establishes the idea that it's only by the help of the Spirit of Jesus that we can grow in our ability to resist sin: "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:1-2).

So what the Bible is really saying is this: "Whoever is born of God does not keep on sinning." Those of us who have been reborn just don't make good sinners anymore. The more we grow, the harder it gets to keep at it the same way we did before. The message is also this: The seed of His new life in me assures me that my destiny is to conquer sinning. 

How often, before you knew Christ, did you sin and feel justified in doing so? Remember feeling free to retaliate, to let your temper flare or to serve yourself selfishly? Have you noticed since your rebirth that an inner sense of wanting to please God has begun to predominate? Are you more sensitive toward doing His will? 

Here's why: What is born of God doesn't want to keep on sinning because He has planted His seed in you. God's seed is in you! He says, "I birthed you into My life, and therefore, the attributes of My personality will be forthcoming in you."

As any photograph of me reveals, I have a receded hairline. I didn't plan to be balding. In my early 20s I didn't make a decision: "I think I'll start losing hair." But I did begin losing it, and anyone could've predicted that it would happen. Both of my grandfathers and my dad had precisely the same hairline, and the same genetic principle that caused them to be balding was transmitted to me. My brother and I have patterns of baldness similar to our forebears. The biological genetic "seed" transmitted to us.

This rather silly illustration points out how God is saying to you and me: "My seed is in you, and since I am holy, increasingly you are going to be holy too." We shall be holy for He is holy. We shall become perfected just as He is perfect.

Holiness—His holy nature—is progressively going to fill my broken, weak and damaged parts. The character and constancy of my Father will grow in me. 

Why the Holy Spirit Won't Rest
The Holy Spirit is after that growth and rebuilding in each of us, no matter how long it takes. We see this exemplified early in the story of Nehemiah, who oversaw the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls. 

Nehemiah was the cupbearer (i.e., a respected adviser) for King Artaxerxes, who ruled the 127 provinces of the massive Persian Empire. When the king asked about Nehemiah's sad countenance, the Israelite explained his desire to complete reconstruction of the city walls and gates. 

The king replied, "How long will your journey be?"

"And I set him a time." Nehemiah registered his request (Neh. 2:5-6). How long a time did he ask for? As we learn later in the account, Nehemiah asked the king for 12 years! I can imagine a man asking, "May I have a two-month leave of absence?" or "Well, King, Sire, I would like the opportunity to be there. Could I possibly have a year?" But 12 years?

Amazingly, the king agreed to Nehemiah's request. From his reaction at the time he first received Hanani's report of the dire condition of the Jews in Jerusalem, through his willingness to risk his life asking for the king's permission to leave his position, and now to his request for an incredibly long leave of absence—more than a decade—Nehemiah exemplifies the character and heart of the Spirit of God. Nehemiah could not be content until his people were taken care of.

In this way, the Holy Spirit will not rest until you and I are taken care of. He comes to work in us and with us to rebuild the walls of our God-ordained personalities, and He will not be deterred by the probable length of the task. As the king agreed, so it is today: "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever" (Ps. 138:8).

Whatever time it takes, He is committed to your completion, and that completed work will be a work of holiness unto the Lord—worked in you by the Holy Spirit of God. He will complete the job of restoring your personality. He will "reprogram" you.

The Gospel of Matthew reports that as many as touched Jesus were made whole—thoroughly whole (14:36). John indicates that a well of the water of new life will bubble up inside you (John 4:14). By the direct action of the Holy Spirit, God will cause that well to burst open so that rivers of the Spirit will flow out of your inner being. That flowing is designed to work a full restoration of the real you.

Jack Hayford is the founding pastor of The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, Calif. A prolific writer, he has authored almost four-dozen books and composed more than 600 hymns, songs and choruses, most noted of which is the classic "Majesty," written in 1978. Hayford is also founder and president of The King's University, an accredited, Spirit-filled interdenominational institution in Los Angeles.

---

Original Page: http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-growth/14575-wholly-holy