Have you ever wondered how to get a fresh start?

Over the years. . .I’ve heard that expression so many times.

“Brother Harold, I just want a fresh start. How can I make that happen?”

Truthfully, you can have a fresh start with God’s help. . .and guess what? He’s ready to help you. . .so let’s get going.

1 Corinthians 1:26 MSG

“. . .Everything that we have—right thinking and right living, a clean slate and a fresh start—comes from God by way of Jesus Christ. . .”

Romans 8:11 MSG

“When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ's!”

Why does God want you to have a fresh start?

Charles Spurgeon, the English Baptist Pastor known as the Prince of Preachers, once said:

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”

As I read and re-read that quote. . .I started thinking about the current political climate in this nation and around the world.  There is more instability, lies and manipulations than I’ve ever seen or read about in history.

There is also a great deal of turmoil in the lives of people, including believers, on every level.

Truthfully, I put all the personal and political acrimony out of my mind and I went into a place of rest. 

While I was reading the Word and praying. . .the following words dropped into my spirit.

“Don’t pray doubled-minded.”

Immediately, I thought about James 1:8 which says:

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

According to Strong’s Concordance the word double-minded is the Greek word dipsychos (G1374) and it means:

“He’s gone to his eternal reward.”

Sounds great, doesn’t it?  The phrase is mentally soothing. . .emotionally comforting and spiritually authoritative.

The phrase is the religious way of saying that someone has gone to heaven.

I am not minimizing the ultimate reward we receive as a born-again Child of God. . .the privilege, honor and blessing of being able to spend eternity in His presence.  In fact, I’m blessed beyond measure to be going.

However, there are seven reasons why our reward is more than a one-way trip to heaven.

1.      If you give to or do for others. . .you will be paid for it. . .that’s your immediate reward.

Mark 9:41 says:

Sometime back I remember reading what I thought was a well-reasoned article on decision making.

After a couple of paragraphs. . .I knew the writer was either a hamburger short of a happy meal or he was having a bad day when he wrote the article.

If that seems harsh. . .consider his suggestion on how you should make a MAJOR decision.

The author suggested the readers write out all their choices, put them in a hat and draw out one. He then said … if you’re disappointed in the selection you know one of the other ones is the right choice. The author encouraged people to repeat the process until they found the right decision.

Now in fairness. . .let me say, if you’re choosing a restaurant…I don’t have a problem with that method…but not a decision that affects your family, career or life goals is a different matter.

By then, I knew I had to write “Making Decisions. . .God’s Way.” In a rapid fire order. . .God gave me the seven keys and a week later directed me to finish the teaching.

On August 30, 2017 while riding in the car with her Mom, Abby. . .Sophia Lee PreJean, our most precious Grand Sugar at two years of age, was recorded saying. . .

“I am wise

I am kind

I am gracious

I am strong

I am loving”

Then with an Academy Award winning smile. . .Sophia would say it again.

Needless to say my fine wife Bev and I watched that video over and over again.

Not only was the video cute. . .but it was instilling in Sophia. . .a set of beliefs that will serve her well all the days of her life.

If I had a penny for every time someone said to me. . . “the enemy is just trying to hold me down” or “my circumstances are holding me back”. . .I would be able to pay for my dream trip of two weeks in Bora Bora.

When people say that to me my usual response is. . .you know. . .you’re right. . and I don’t want to know your circumstances.

Dictionary.com defines circumstances as:

“a condition, detail, part, or attribute, with respect to time, place, manner, agent, etc., that accompanies, determines, or modifies a fact or event; a modifying or influencing factor”

Spiritually speaking. . .I define circumstance as the circle you’re standing in.

We shouldn’t be standing still. . .we should be moving from glory unto glory. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

In which case, we would be leaving our circumstances behind.

So for me. . .the question is why do I want to hear about what the person ought to be leaving behind.

Every time someone painstakingly reviews, renews and refreshes their circumstances they are forcing themselves to live them again.

We don’t need to revive our current dilemma . . .we need to seek answers. . .ways to rise above our circumstances. . .whatever they may be.

In 2011, I preached a sermon at a Wisdom Center Women’s Meeting for Dr. Mike Murdock entitled “How to Make America Great Again.”

That was my title long before Donald Trump ran for president and made a catch phrase of Make America Great Again. 

It’s no myth … but a proven fact that this country was made great and would not even exist were it not for God. That may seem like a bold statement but there are volumes of historical facts to back it up.

Since we are about to celebrate our 242^nd anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this teaching is one part history lesson and one part call to action … so we can remain One Nation under God.

The United States of America is and has always been a country like no other.

Former Prime minister Margaret Thatcher of Great Britain once said, “Europe was created by history, America by philosophy.”

There are so many ways God was directly involved in our country but here are five strong ones.

Sometimes we fail to recognize when we are changing or being changed...by the people or circumstances around us. 

There are seven things we need to recognize for they give us the power to change our daily lives and our destiny on planet earth.

1.         Recognize your Enabler

God gives you the breath of life. . .PLUS He enables, enlightens, empowers, equips and energizes you with everything you need to fulfill your destiny.

As a born-again believer you are the recipient of the power of God.

At your disposal you have the nine power gifts of the spirit. . .found in1 Corinthians 12:1-11.  You also have the motivational gifts of the spirit.  Romans 12:6-8.

And the very good news is that God doesn’t want you to miss how much good these gifts can help you.

1 Corinthians 12:1 in the Amplified Bible says:

“NOW ABOUT the spiritual gifts (the special endowments of supernatural energy), brethren, I do not want you to be misinformed.”

2.         Recognize your opportunity