So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
I once read about a young college student who burnt out the engine of her dad’s car. It was the end of the semester break, and she was going to head back on the coach, a 5 hours journey with a lot of stops along the way.
Amy had been given a lot of Christmas gifts, which included a laptop, a printer, and some exercise equipment. Her dad rather than have her deal with the entire luggage decided to lend her his car as he could use her mothers.
He told her that she could leave it back in a few weeks. Amy was overjoyed; it felt like he had given her another present. The trip back took less than half the time and was so much more comfortable. Amy made sure to park in a safe place, planning not to use it until driving back at the end of the month.
Now and then she would take short trips to the mall and back. Pretty soon, she was taking her friends for shopping trips and nights out to nearby cities.
Then her best friend needed a lift home, which was over a two-hour drive. On the way back she noticed a red light flashing on the dashboard but as her dad took such good care of the car, she didn’t think it was anything serious.
Just to be on the safe side, she didn’t drive it again until heading home. Just after setting off, Amy noticed smoke coming out of the hood and decided to get off the motorway and find a garage. Next came a few loud sputters, and then the engine died.
When the tow truck driver arrived, it didn’t take him very long to figure out the problem. The red light on the dash was the oil indicator. Amy had neglected to check the light; now the engine was beyond repair.
A few hours later, her dad arrived at the garage where the car had been towed. Amy was terrified. She had abused her privilege and ignored a simple warning. There was no excuse for her mistake as she had been told on many occasion to ring if anything unusual happened to the car.
She knew he would be furious and there was no defence for her behaviour.
Amy told her father how sorry she was for her carelessness, but he just told her to sit in the car while he assessed the damage. After learning that the car was worthless, Amy’s dad arranged for the garage to dispose of it.
Now it was time for Amy to face his wrath.
As they drove away from the trashed car, her father asked Amy, “where is the best restaurant in town?” That was the last thing that she was expecting to hear, but she directed him to it.
As they sat at the table looking at the menu, Amy couldn’t even think about food. Fortunately, her father ordered for both of them: boiled trout almondine. They sat in silence while they waited for their food, every minute felt like an hour.
When the trout arrived, Amy’s father said to her, “Now I am going to teach you a lesson you will never forget.” She knew she deserved whatever she got. Would he make her pay for a whole new car? That would take forever and mean cancelling her summer plans. Maybe he would just tell her how much of a disappointment she was. In some ways that would be a worse, knowing she didn’t live up to his expectations.
Her mind was racing about what was going to come next.
Then he took the knife and fork in his hand and said, “I’m going to teach you how to remove the skeleton from cooked trout.” Not a word was said about the car at the meal— or ever.
Amy’s dad was probably furious about the car, who wouldn’t be? But he knew that she had learned her lesson without a telling off from him.
Amy lived well into her sixties but never forgot her father’s act of forgiveness. His grace made a more significant impact on her than any punishment ever would have.
This story symbolizes Gods level of forgiveness. Whenever we ask for forgiveness, we are forgiven. All we need to do is believe it. Ask and receive that your joy may be full. (John 16:24)
Just as God forgives us, we also need to show that forgiveness to others. Many times people hurt us and we do not forgive them as our minds are clouded with anger.
It would be very hard not to say; ‘how could you be so stupid not to check the oil, everyone knows a red light means danger— alert— stop.’
But if we take this approach, relationships can be damaged. When we are angry we can say and do things we can regret; comments can be made that can not be taken back.
When a person is genuinely sorry, sometimes the best approach is just to do what Amy’s father did and say nothing.
This is not easy to do by any means, but when a person is expecting you to go off the handle and you don’t, your act of grace can have a more profound impact than any telling off could.
Have a good week.
Rev J Martin
I was caught in a rush the other day and had to heat some food up in the microwave. Something that I try to keep to a minimum as I was always told it was not that healthy, but it was just one of those moments when I needed it.
The thought reminded me of when I was younger.
Remember when you had someone that would tell you, don’t eat that, don’t wear that, or I wouldn’t travel there. When we are younger, we had family members, friends or other people in our lives trying to give us wisdom.
We rarely listened, and even when we did, we convinced ourselves that it was our idea.
At that moment I thought; we all need that voice in our lives. Someone to tell us to make the call, or to remind us that when we say sorry all will be ok, or someone to say, ‘if you are out of breath walking up some stairs, maybe it’s time you walked to the corner shop rather than take the car.’
But the voice is not there.
Achieving what we want in life is not easy, and there is no one to keep you on track, you are sadly on your own. Something that I recommend that has worked wonders for me is reading from the Bible every day. It centres and calms the mind so that you can think clearly.
The key action that turned my life around was the day that I discovered the Great Book and started to let its wisdom wash over me. I became more understanding, loving and compassionate and shared that wisdom with family and friends.
It changed the direction of my life.
When we are going around in our mundane lives, yes it can be boring, but it is safe, it’s easy. But this is not the life destined for us; we were created to do great things.
What I found is, there are two reasons we underachieve in life, one, the fear of failure, ‘what if I don’t succeed, what if I invest my time and it doesn’t work. And secondly, the fear of success, ‘what if I do succeed, what if it leads to bigger things.”
When you read from the Bible God will speak to you, the words will translate into the message you need to hear. Fearful thoughts fade away. You will gain an unshakable faith in your abilities, and in time you will find the direction you must take.
You will soon discover that success is an ongoing process, not a destination as we are led to believe, there will be setbacks along the way, you will stumble and fall, but you must carry on.
As humans we want the easy way out, we don’t want to put in the work. Everyone wants to be successful and live the high life, but they want it handed to them. This is not how the world works.
Finding our own truth is something that we must all do, and for me, this can only be achieved reading the word of God. Through scripture, God will speak to you, and you will know what you must do.
I wish you all the best on your journey. May you find what’s true to you.
Enjoy your week.
Rev J Martin
Sometimes, I felt like I didn’t have what it takes, but here I am. I inspire and touch 1000s of peoples lives each month.
And you know what?
You are right here beside me. Supporting me, pushing me forward. So, I just want to thank you.
Thank you for reading my words, on my blog or Facebook page. Thank you for downloading my books, and thank you for leaving me the reviews that helped me get my message of faith out into the world.
Each of us is capable of so much, but we need to go after what we want. If I had of let the negative thoughts win, I would not be in the position I am today.
It reminds me of an ancient story about a master who got his three servants together and said, “I’ve got these talents.” (Now back in those days a talent was a measure of gold.)
So, he said to the three servants, “take these talents and see what you can do with them. I’m taking a journey, and I will be gone for a while. When I come back, we will go over the books and see how you did.”
The master said to the first, “here is five talents for you. Five. Heres two of them for you. Two. And here’s one for you. One. Take those talents. See what you can do with them. When I come back, we’ll get together and go over it all.”
The servants said, “okay.” The master set off.
When the master came back from his trip, he called for the three servants, and asked, “How did it go with those talents. Your five, what happened?”
That servant said, “Well, I took the five talents you gave me and put them to work. It was a little shaky at first, but things soon got rolling. I worked as hard as I could, and my talents grew to seven, eight, nine, ten. In the end, I double my talents from five to ten. The books will show.”
So the master said, “ Good job.”
Then the master turned to the second servant and said, “ I gave you two talents, what happened?”
That servant said, “about the same thing happened to me. I put the two talents to work. Working hard they grew to four talents. I doubled my talents from two to four. Books will show.”
And again the master said, “Well done.”
To the last servant, the master said, “ I gave you one talent. What happened?”
That servant said, “Well, I took that one talent you gave me, and I carefully wrapped it, and I dug a hole and buried it, camouflaging it.” I guess so no one would steal it.
He said, “fortunately, nobody got it. I knew you were going to be here today so I dug it up. Here it is, safely wrapped. I did not lose it while you were gone.”
According to the ancient story, the master said, “ take that talent away from him and give it to the man that has ten.”
Now, you might say, “Well, I don’t like that arrangement. The poor guys only got one talent. He’s got ten; it ought to be more even.”
The moral of the story is; what ever you don’t employ you forfeit.
Put another way, whatever you don’t use you lose. Lack of use causes loss.
If you tie your arm to your body and leave it there long enough, you’ll never use it again. It’s over for the arm. The only way to keep the use of the arm is to keep using it.
When you give up due to lack of faith, fear, doubt, or worry. You lose automatically. If you don’t use the gifts and abilities God has graced you with, they will diminish.
Ambition unused decreases. Strong feelings unused diminish. Faith unused decreases. It will decrease, it’s a law.
Today, I want you to know that you too have been graced with many talents. If you choose to sit back and not use them, then you will live a very unrewarding and frustrating life.
Many people will say, but I don’t know what my talents are. Well, make it your mission to find out.
God given talents are things that you do naturally. Write, talk, paint, provide service, listen, motivate, and educate.
Often you have done them most of your life. They are never forced, they are straight in front of you, but you fail to see them. We take them for granted because we think they are irrelevant. Looking back over your life with purpose you can easily find them, and I welcome you today to do so.
Now, like a muscle that has not been used for a very long time, it will take rehabilitation until your natural talent flows as freely as it once did but it is worth the effort.
Show your gratitude to your heavenly Father today by using and increasing your talents.
Thanks for reading.
Rev J Martin
When growing up I was always told, you need to grow a thick skin. For anyone that may not have heard that expression, it means not to let every little thing get to you.
For me, this has always been difficult as I’m a very sensitive person.
Now, like all things being sensitive has its advantages but also its short comings. On the plus side I’m more connected to people, often thinking of others before myself. And with this comes happiness.
On the down side, I’m very easily hurt.
What I have found throughout my life is, many people have had a much harder up bringing than me. They had to learn to bury their feelings to survive.
Most of my heartache is whenever I come up against these people.
Yes, what they say is often hurtful, but it is all they know. Their method of defense is attacking. To keep the attention off them, they will keep the focus on you; this could mean talking about you behind your back or even calling you names to your face.
It is so hard not to take offence.
But over the years I have started to see through these type of people. The more spiritual I become, the less and less I let myself be offended. People can try to hurt me, but it’s not until I give what they say or do permission to hurt me, will it do so.
I’m not saying that you just take it, but I have learned to forgive them and move on with my life. I do not torture myself going over and over what was said, or what did they mean by this or this or this.
Many people when hurt will simply cut the people that hurt them out of their lives. If you mention forgiveness to them they would say, they don’t deserve my forgiveness, I’m better off without them.
And yes, when you hear some stories they are right, but, and this is a major but, you do not forgive for their benefit, it is for your benefit.
Many people will say, yeah yeah, I’ve heard that a thousand times. How can holding these feelings of anger or hatred hurt me?
When you don’t forgive, when you hold onto negative emotions, you create a blockage between you and God. Jesus said in all Gospels, forgive so you will be forgiven.
What Jesus meant was give away all the negativity that is blocking the pure love that is flowing from The Father, turn over all your hurts and worries to Him to judge and settle.
In my new book, I will approach the area of forgiveness; how it can affect you in your personal, business and social life. Through stories taken from scripture and real life events, I will explore the true power of forgiveness, explaining different ways to approach it.
Overcome deep emotional pains that maybe holding you back.
There is a Healing in Forgiving is currently on free promo at Amazon until Friday, I truly think that it can benefit you and your family to have a deeper understanding of the subject. Link below
There is a Healing in Forgiving
Thanks for your time today.
Rev J Martin
If you look at Pastor’s in America, they are nearly always portrayed having a perfect family, wife and two children. An advert for the church.
It is beautiful and powerful to see.
It’s almost saying when you are a good person and do the will of God you will be graced with a perfect life.
Yes, on many occasion this may be true, but in my own personal experience, I have found that God will put into your path exactly what is needed for you to evolve into the person that He sent you here to become.
People that have grown up in a very dysfunctional family often go on to help others going through similar situations; doing social work, counseling, etc.
People that have grown up with a sick mother or father often go on to be a carer, a doctor or nurse.
We all have events happen to us in life that steer us in a particular direction.
However, some people look at it negatively, rather than look for the silver lining they look at it as a cross to bear. Asking questions like, Why did this happen to me? Why was I brought up this way? Why can I not get a break?
They take it personally; only looking at how it has affected them rather than looking at the bigger picture. They fail to see that the hand of God is even within devastation and destruction.
Many people that have had a bad start in life think God has abandoned them. This could not be further from the truth.
For many years I was not happy, the more I tried to fit in with others the unhappier I became. For the longest time, I did not understand why God had made me this way. I was caring, loving had great compassion and empathy but yet I walked alone.
I was walking a road that was very overgrown, but every time I walked the beaten path rather than being happier, I fell further into despair.
Not until I embraced the word of God did my life fall into place. Only then could I see; all the hardships I had been through were simply preparing me to connect deeper with people.
Making the link my life was simplified
My main message that I would like you to get today is no matter how hard or difficult your life may seem right now, take a step back and see things from a different perspective. Your life may not be the way that you would like it to be, but it is exactly how it is meant to be.
Everything that happened to you in your life has made you the person you are today. You may have gone through hardship, but how can you turn that around to your advantage?
What has your journey been preparing you to do?
What lessons is God trying to teach you but you are failing to hear?
What fears are you walking away from rather than meeting head on?
Simplify your life by asking yourself a different set of questions; when you do, you will quickly get a different set of answers. Start to ask questions that empower you, help you grow both personally and spiritually.
Ask questions to bring your life from where it is now to where you would like it to be.
Have a great Sunday.
Reflect. Relax. Unwind.
Rev J Martin
Anxiety is something that has affected me for most of my life. I can go years without an episode but then I can have a few days where it has me in its control.
Anxiety happens to people when they are too sensitive, or tend to over think things
For the longest time I used to fight it, but I have learnt to work with it.
I personally feel anxious when I get into a situation that I am not in control of.
I'm in new territory.
What gives me great relief is writing down all my options.
Write down why do I feel the way I do? Put my thoughts on paper
Then I work on what is in my control, what have I the power to change?
Many times when I do this I realise the problem is not as bad as I first thought.
Fearful thoughts can quickly magnify a problem, your heart starts to race and you lose control of your thinking. When this happens worry can get you going over and over the problem, then anxiety kicks in and the body goes into a state which is hard to get out of.
We all have triggers. Finding your trigger is vital. Events that starts the negative cycle of worry.
Knowing what they are puts you in control.
You no longer have to be taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions, instead you can determine when you get on, how long you stay on, and when you get off.
First post on the go.
Thanks for reading.
Rev J Martin
The main constructive feedback that I receive from my readers is, they would like a longer book. It is something that I have been praying about for a long time; a message that I can share.
Then, the other day a feeling came over me, and a very clear idea came into my head, it only lasted about 10-15 minutes, and unfortunately, I was busy meaning I couldn’t sit down and write it out.
In trying to describe what I felt a book is starting to form.
In the writing and researching the ideas two other books started to form, they will be mid length books and the first of these I hope to release Mid-August, the other Sept – Oct. My full-length book I plan to release mid-December.
Each book will have a powerful message which I look forward to sharing.
My main prayer is that my Heavenly Father will work through me to enrich my reader’s lives, that you will be healthy, happy and live a life of love and joy.
Have a great day.
Rev J Martin.
There are two paths in life: Should and Must. We arrive at this crossroads over and over again. And each time, we get to choose.
Should is how others want us to show up in the world — how we’re supposed to think, what we ought to say, what we should or shouldn’t do. It’s the vast array of expectations that others layer upon us.
When we choose Should the journey is smooth, the risk is small.
Must is different—there aren’t options, and we don’t have a choice.
Must is who we are, what we believe, and what we do when we are alone with our truest, most authentic self; it’s God calling us to take action to fulfil our destiny.
Must is what happens when we stop conforming to other people’s ideals and start connecting to our own. Because when we choose Must, we are no longer looking for inspiration out there. Instead, we are listening to our true calling from within, deep within our soul.
Must is the reason that I am writing this post today, the rest of the days I was saying I should write a post. Simple words, but incredibly powerful how they can shape your life.
But if Must is so great, why do we not pick it every day?
Well, it turns out that choosing Must is scary, it’s hard, and can feel a lot like jumping off a high cliff when you can’t see what’s down below.
Must is taking that leap of faith. Must means action.
Grab a piece of paper and write the numbers one through ten on the left side of the page. At the top, title it “What I should do?” This is the things that you have been meaning to do, but for one reason or another have been putting off.
You’ve got ten minutes to write them down.
Go.
Welcome back.
These are the ten things that are holding you back from living the life that you were destined to live. Ultimately, it’s fear that is stopping you, but you may never admit it.
You may list many excuses; I’m not talented enough yet, I’m not confident enough, I haven’t got the money. I’m too fat, too thin.
Line by line, walk yourself through each one, have a conversation about all of your fears. These are the biggest obstacles standing in your way.
Fear will never go away unless you face it.
Sometimes our greatest fear is that we will achieve great things. There is a famous quote— below.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frighten us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Marianne Williamson. Author, Lecturer
You have something special inside of you, and it’s about time you gave your best shot; honor that calling in some small way — today.
Now go back to your list, and stroke out the word should at the top, and write in the word Must; WHAT I MUST DO. Choosing Must needs to be a daily practice, a recurring choice for you to see progress in your life.
If you feel a knot in your stomach because you can see the enormous distance between your dreams and your daily reality, take one small step towards it by doing something — today. It could be as simple as checking what options are available or making a call.
If you’ve been peering out over the edge of the cliff but can’t quite make the leap, dig a little deeper and find out what’s stopping you — today.
There is a recurring choice in life, and it occurs at the intersection of two roads. We arrive at this place again and again. And today, you get to choose.
Take the word ‘should’ out of your vocabulary; it is such a dangerous word for making a change in your life. I should eat healthy— maybe tomorrow. I should speak up for myself— will it really make a difference? I should look for a new job— I might be unhappy here but at least I can do my job with my eyes closed.
I’m sure you have some of your own, so how do you make the change?
From today change all the should’s to musts; if you find yourself saying should— change it to must.
I must eat healthier, so I have the energy to go for the adventures that I love.
I must speak up for myself, what I have to say matters and is the truth.
I must get a new job; I need a new experience; I want to grow in my personal and spiritual life.
When you make the decision that you MUST do something your mind kicks into action, listing the series of steps that need to be completed. Should is almost an excuse that we use to put things off.
Change a should to a must today; give birth to a chain of events that could change someone’s life.
Have a fantastic week, and remember God only wants the best for you, which means living a life without fear.
Rev J Martin
The world is speeding up; no one wants to wait. I am showing my age, but I remember when it would take minutes for the Internet to load. Dial up. The younger generation could not last one day of my childhood, but then again I don’t think I could last a day in theirs.
Often I go for coffee and see a group of friends sitting looking at their phones, occasionally chatting to one another about what someone has posted on Facebook or Snap chat. Sitting at the same table but miles apart.
Is spending time with friends not about spending time with friends?
I am all for technology as a tool, but it is starting to take the upper hand.
Even the way we pay has changed. Now there is contactless, where you can pay by just hovering your card over the card reader. When the assistant asked me the other day, do you want to go contactless?
It dawned on me, that’s what the world is slowly becoming; contact less.
Communication is getting faster, but people are drifting apart. Where is God in all this? Sadly on the sidelines; only to be called on if something goes wrong.
With constant notifications popping up every few minutes, I know too well how hard it is to pull yourself away.
What can we do, well, like all change it starts with you.
It’s so important to take time each day to connect with nature; leave the phone on silent for a while. You will be surprised at what a difference it will make.
When the mind and body is relaxed, pain and tension subside. An idea can come out of nowhere to solve a problem that has been stressing you out for some time.
Even in the writing of this, I realize that I need to take my own advice. There is always something to do; even when I am resting my mind is always active.
It’s a mental break that is needed.
With constant stimulation from morning to night, you can push yourself for weeks and even months without noticing, you are slowly getting run down; to the point that pain or illness sets in.
God has a way of slowing us down; it is for our benefit in the long term— although, it may not seem that way at the time.
Unaware that it is self-inflicted, we go to the doctor, and he gives us some pills, resetting the balance for while.
Then a holiday comes in just the nick of time, but instead of being full of energy to go on adventures and visit friends near and far, we fall exhausted and spend most of the week in bed.
Take a mental break from the madness, start connecting face to face; turn off from the world, and see the difference it can make.
Enjoy your weekend and don’t forget father’s day.
Rev J Martin
Live Today With Faith 