Well, here are 1,020 words. What kind of picture do they form for you?

1. Believe and Trust. Jesus Christ, Son of God, Son of Man is alive and well today. He has always been alive and well. He, along with His Father and the Holy Spirit created the Universe as we know it today. Two thousand years ago, He came to this earth as a Man. He lived into His early thirties. He was then wrongly accused by the Jewish leadership and crucified by a Roman Procurator. In the eyes of His Father, He paid for the sins of mankind, and in three days, rose from death to ascend back to His Father in the eternal state. He wants us all to be with Him where He is, alive and well, forever, time without end. Believe in Him. Trust in Him.

For . . . “ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be rescued and redeemed. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith, and redeemed. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” – Romans 10:9-10

He is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before his presence with great joy— to the only wise God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever through Jesus Christ our Lord! – Jude 1:24-25

2. Desire to BE. Create in me an irrepressible desire to take up space in your fullness; To be operative touch with my purpose, my destiny, and the strategic timing of my existence, totally absorbed in my commitment to “BE.”

3. Awareness of the Presence of God. In a world of pain, few people really understand the enjoyment and sheer pleasure of life in the Presence of God. Be one of those persons.

4. God’s Strength and Power in You. There is really nothing quite as satisfying as the quiet confidence that OMNIPOTENCE is operative in your personal experience.

5. The Snare of Religion. Too many of us are too busy being “Religious” – practicing our religion -- to even be aware that God is there.

6. The Lord is My Shepherd. He knows what I want. He makes me relax and enjoy his world around me. He helps me appreciate the deep dimensions of life. He heals the “rawness” of my mind. He will make sure I do the right thing because he has an investment in my life that he wishes to protect. I am not afraid, no matter how extreme the crisis, or how strong the force of evil. For he is at my side, feeling it with me. His power to protect me is absolute, so why should I worry? Dear Lord, you give me a feast right where my enemies can see it. You let them know that I as special to you. I never had it so good. And this is only the beginning. It’s going to be this way for the rest of my life. And I am going to live with you Father, because a Father and his son ought to be to be together – always.

7. The Line of Least Resistance. We go through life taking one placebo (sugar pill) after another, trying to find ways to go with the flow -- becoming disoriented and unhappy when we finally discover that the line of least resistance makes men as well as rivers crooked.

8. Who are You and Why are You Here? Come to understand your over-all place and purpose in the plan of God.

9. Your Fingerprint. Don’t minimize your own ideas. They are as unique as a solitary jewel, and as different as your fingerprint, but far more important. Let your fingerprint be a constant reminder of how different you really are from the rest of us.

10. Failure: A Process of Success. Don’t be frightened of failure. Failure is merely experimentation, a process of discovery by trial and error. Failure is, therefore, a process of success.

11. T, O and E. Trained, Organized and Equipped. Come to realize that God has given you the precise equipment, ability and resources to achieve your objective – your purpose, your reason for living.

12. Creative and Responsible. Decide that you will no longer be a creature of circumstance, but that you will CREATE AND BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN CIRCUMSTANCE.

13. God Controlled, Self Activated – not controlled or manipulated by the ego-needs of others.

14. The Cross is God’s Measure of Your Worth. Believe intensely that your life counts, that when you leave this planet, it will be a better place because you made it so.

15. Confident in Faith. Be prepared to say to the world, “I am here. I take up space. I am real. I am! Now the rest of you out there will have to deal with that.”

16. Do NOT Dismiss Your Emotions. Become a FEELING person, vulnerable to the needs, hurts and heartaches of others. God is a feeling Person. He is “touched by the feeling of our infirmities.” (Hebrews 4:15)

17. Write Your Own Thesis. Martin Luther wrote 95 theses and nailed them to the church door in Wittenburg, Germany in the year 1517, and it changed the world. But he only wrote 95. There remains a thesis for you to write: A THESIS 96 – your thesis – that will shake the world, or your corner of it. It is time for you to be the atom split, the thermonuclear fusion, the beginning of a chain reaction which will be felt in every corner of the planet.

18. Spiritual Warrior. What God wants to create in you is a desire – a desire to be part of an elite, a cadre of spiritual NAVY SEALS, totally absorbed, totally focused on their mission to the world, in their desire to touch others with the love of God.

19. Destructive Perspectives. Avoid cynical pragmatism and jaded perspectives. They stunt your awareness of God.

20. The Pride of Sophistry. Avoid the mental deception of intellectualism. Intellectualism does not equate to intelligence. 21. Humility. Embrace authentic, genuine humility and avoid any kind of elitist thinking.

22. Be a Giving Person. Give someone in need of your time and resources. Let them know that you have their “6” (back) at any time, even if not called upon. Never attempt to manipulate others to give and do your giving in secret as much as possible.

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You want to soar through life instead of stumble through pain? Follow these precepts and you will find your life pleasantly challenging, and immensely rewarding.

--PDM

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