Is there a goal that you are pursing?  How badly do you want to achieve it?

What are you willing to endure to achieve your goal or arrive at your destination?

Are you willing to be inconvenienced or even ridiculed?

Consider the story of Alvin Straight.  At 73 years of age, Alvin wanted to see his brother Henry, who was 80 and whom he had not seen in ten years.  Alvin felt an urgency about his visit as his brother had just suffered a stroke and his health was declining.

Alvin didn’t have a driver’s license because of impaired vision and he didn’t trust public transportation.  The only thing that Alvin did trust was his John Deere lawnmower even though it was nearly thirty years old.

Alvin attached a ten-foot trailer filled with gasoline, food, clothes and a sleeping bag to his John Deere lawn mower and on July 5, 1994, he took off to see his brother Henry.

By the way, Alvin lived in Laurens, Iowa and Henry lived in Wisconsin.  Alvin made the 240-mile trip driving his 1966 John Deere lawnmower at a top speed of 5 miles per hour.  He drove primarily on back roads and arrived in Mount Zion, Wisconsin six weeks later.

Alvin’s journey was memorialized by a 1999 Walt Disney movie entitled “The Straight Story” which was directed by David Lynch and featured 78-year-old Richard Farnsworth as Alvin.  The movie was so touching that Farnsworth was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actor that year.

Can you imagine how Moses must have felt?

The first time he tried to help his people he ended up on the backside of the desert.

Talk about discouragement . . .Moses had every reason to be discouraged.

He was going to change the world! He was going to create a better environment for his people!  He was going to make a difference!  But instead he was rejected by his people. . .exiled from power and lost his position of prominence.

Life as Moses had known it . . .was over.

The first 40 years of his life, Moses had been somebody.

A few days ago, I was meditating on the word. . .when three words came to my mind.

BLESSED, BROKEN and MULTIPLIED

The Lord directed me to start searching His word. . .as He directed I looked. . .truthfully, for a part of this teaching. . .I was just typing with my eyes closed as He was directing my thoughts into keystrokes on my laptop.

The first thing He said was. . .”let my children know that I want them ‘BLESSED.’”

What does it mean in the natural to be “blessed?”  According to the Roget’s New Millennium Thesaurus” the word blessed has 24 entries:  as a noun, a verb and an adjective.  To be blessed in the human sense is to be:

“happy, blissful, contented, fortunate, joyful, redeemed, saved, welcome, commendable, to be privileged, to possess, to not be in lack, need or want and to be favored.”

In the context of this teaching, the word blessed will mean to not be in lack and to be favored.

The very first thing that God said to Adam and Eve was not. . .

go to church every Sunday,  

read your Bible, pray or support world missions although all of these are wonderful.  The first thing He said is found in Genesis 1:22:

“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.”

Have you had someone say bless you. . .after you sneezed?  That’s nice but let me tell you what’s really spectacular.

In Genesis 12:3 our Heavenly Father explains what His blessing is all about:

Are you feeling pressure in your everyday life?  On the job. . .in your finances. . .at home either in your role as a spouse or a parent?

You want to get ahead but sometimes the pressure is almost overbearing.

Peter Marshal, a former Chaplain of the United States Senate, once told the Lord:

“When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.”

Perhaps, we need to catch a visual of ourselves becoming like the Hope diamond. . .the most famous of all precious stones.

There seems to be four main causes of pressure. . .whether generated externally or internally.

First, we get overloaded with more to do than the hours of the day will allow us to complete.

Second, we allow our emotions to create worry, anxiety and frustration. . .which drains us emotionally and physically as well.

Third, we begin to play worst case scenarios in our minds . . . imaging the worst things that could possible happen. . .if something is not completed or doesn’t happen.

If it isn’t obvious that we’re living in the end-times. . .just read the headlines in your local newspaper or listen to your favorite broadcast, cable or internet news source.

There’s an old Ray Charles song entitled “Born to Lose.”  One refrain of the song says:  “Born to lose, I've lived my life in vain; every dream has only brought me pain.”

The news media has adopted that philosophy and terminology that bad news sells a lot more than good news. The worse the news … the better in their opinion.  They produce a constant stream of bad news for you to wallow in.

We’re not minimizing the troubles in the world. . .they are plentiful. . .but we don’t need to get caught in despair over what’s happening around us and to us.

There’s still a lot to be thankful for … and a lot of very good people doing miraculous things to change people’s lives for the better.

Here are seven ways to overcome troubled times. 

1.     Don’t RSVP to the Pity Party

SEEK … LISTEN … OBEY

Matthew 6:33 says:

 “But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Job 36:11 in the New Living Translation says:

 “If they listen and obey God, then they will be blessed with prosperity throughout their lives. All their years will be pleasant.”

2 Chronicles 26:5 says:

“…as long as he sought the Lord, god made him to prosper.”

Seeking means to be bold and go after it.

A seeker can’t allow himself or herself be deterred by delays or detours along the way.

In order to receive Biblical prosperity you have got to seek His righteousness then all things will be added unto you.

All things include your mortgage and cars being paid off; your debts paid in full and a properly funded retirement fund.

Dr. Fred Price was the first Faith teacher I ever listened to. God used him to change not only my life but that of my entire family. In changing my life. . .Dr. Price's teaching also changed the lives of thousands of others who've heard me speak over the years. I know Dr. Price is enjoying his first day in heaven.

Gearing up for the new year? I'm going to share with you seven things to learn and practice during the remainder of 2021.

1.     Learn to maintain your momentum.

Here are seven keys to igniting and maintaining momentum.

First, stop seeing yourself the way others see you.

When we’re confident of who we are in Christ. . .when we exercise our faith . . . when we know we are on the right path. . .then we should never be moved by what others. . .including well-meaning friends and family members may say.

Second, despise not small beginnings.

Zechariah 4:10 says:

“Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. . .”

Have you ever wondered. . .God, why do I have to go through this?

Or perhaps, you thought. . .why am I having to go through the fire?

While I realize that no one wants to go through hard times…

I can tell you with absolute certainty what you will find in the fire.

It’s your miracle.  That’s right.

Your miracle is in the fire.

My favorite Bible story as a child was about the three Hebrews thrown into the fiery furnace.  I loved this story even more than Daniel in the lion’s den.

Before we go any further. . .once again. . .I’m going to make a powerful, life-changing statement that I want you to write down.

“My miracle is in the fire.”

You can even personalize it.

When God stirred me for us to teach. . .It’s Yours. . . Receive It.  I thought it was for a Rich Thoughts for Breakfast call. . .BUT GOD always has a better idea.

John 1:12 in the Amplified Bible says:

“But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the authority (power, privilege, right) to become the children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name.”

According to Strong’s Concordance the Greek word for receive is H2943 and it means:

“to take with the hand, lay hold of, any person or thing in order to use it; to take what is one's own, to take to one's self, to make one's own; to receive (what is given), to gain, get, obtain, to get back”

Salvation is a gift. . .but we must receive it.

Healing is a gift. . .but we must receive it.

God’s promises are gifts. . .but we must receive them.

Holy Ghost power is a gift. . .but we must receive it.

There are times when people won’t receive a gift, a blessing or a compliment because of some false sense of humility.

Stop saying you don’t deserve compliments for a job well done.

Learn to receive praise and compliments with humility and graciousness.  Accepting someone’s compliments doesn’t mean that you’re automatically taking credit from God.