Eleanor Roosevelt, former First Lady, once said:

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; and small minds discuss people.”

If you’ve got a great mind. . .focused on ideas. . .say “I do.”

Yes, I know we can't see you reading this blog. . .but God can. And He's the One who counts.

People who think about and act on ideas. . .are the ones who become winners in life.

Henry Ward Beecher once said:

“The ability to convert ideas to things is the secret of outward success.”

Some years ago, I read where ideas go through three stages.

First, it can’t be done.

Second, it might can be done but it’s not worth doing.

Third, I knew it was a good idea all along.

How do you see yourself?

Wait. . .don’t answer that.

Too many people, especially Christians get down on themselves because they’re not looking at themselves through the mirror of God.

We don’t generally see ourselves the way He sees us.

We should never let our friends, relatives or society label us. . .instead we need to find out what the Word of God says about us.

Let’s talk about how God sees you. And then believe He means what He says.

1 Peter 2:9-10 in the Amplified Bible says:

“But you are not like that, for you have been chosen by God himself—you are priests of the King, you are holy and pure, you are God’s very own—all this so that you may show to others how God called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were less than nothing; now you are God’s own. Once you knew very little of God’s kindness; now your very lives have been changed by it.”

First, you have been chosen by God Himself.

“The greatest achievement of the enemy is not an active sinner but an inactive Christian unaware of the power available to them.”

I recently posted that statement on Facebook and Twitter….it generated a lot of likes, retweets and shares.

There are some believers. . .I choose not to say many believers. . .who continually wonder why they are not walking in the prosperity and success promised in the Bible. Truthfully, it’s because they do not understand or fully utilize the power of God available to and through them in their daily lives.

How do we walk in the power, success and prosperity of God? It all begins with faith.

The next three scriptures are going to make you SHOUT!!!

God is continually looking for people “whose heart is loyal to Him.”

Is God looking for you? I believe He is.

2 Chronicles 16:9 says:

“For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.. . .”

God is not just sitting back in heaven. . .watching the New York Yankees play baseball. . .He’s continually looking for someone. . .searching the whole world over.

Why is He looking for the right people?

Does He have a job for them?   Not necessarily.

Does He want them to work in foreign missions or pioneer a new church? No, not necessarily.

Why is God. . .looking for you.

“You just don’t know what I have to deal with.”

"Nobody knows how unfairly I'm treated at work."

Reminds me of a country and western song.

“Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.”

And if you want things to get better than they’ve been. . .you need to stop talking about it. . .rehearsing your hurts. . .leave the past in the past and move on up.

We need to get a grip on what’s been holding us back from achieving what God created and endowed us to do. . .and from fulfilling His vision for our lives in 2019.  It’s time to breakthrough our comfort zone and the things that have been holding us back.

Here are seven ways to do just that.

Do you need things to change in your life?

On your job. . .in your family. . .and most importantly, in your own life.

We have a revelation for you. . .nobody can change your life for you. It must be an inner work initiated by you.

My Mom prayed for me to be saved but I’m the one who had to walk the aisle to the front of the church.

Later, she prayed for me to have a deeper relationship with God. . .but I’m the one who had to decide to pursue God in earnest.

Don’t get me wrong I believe the prayer of the saints can softened hearts and position people for personal breakthroughs.

But everyone must become their own agent of change.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power Of Positive Thinking, once said:

Okay, I’m going to admit it. . .one of my favorite Disney/Pixar movies was Monsters, Inc. You’re probably surprised it’s not Toy Story but that would be my fine wife’s favorite.

There are a number of reasons why I really liked it but none of them worth our time here. Maybe, except to say the monster behind the bedroom closet door has some amazing parallels to life.

Way too many believers think there’s a monster behind every door of opportunity they get to open. They’ve convinced themselves. . .incorrectly, I might add. . .that there’s nothing good behind previously unknown opportunities or found in previously unused potential. . . but that’s just not true.

We need to expose and defeat the monsters that hold us back from achieving the potential God has placed within each of us.

But let me digress for a moment. Another great story line was used in a movie entitled Major Payne which premiered in 1995. It’s about Major Payne, a retired Marine, who is now the Commander of the ROTC unit at this private school. I will admit to you it’s one of my favorite movies despite a little language.

There is a particular scene in the movie where a young man, maybe 12 years old, who is in Payne’s ROTC unit, but is continually frightened and complaining about a monster. Major Payne follows the boy to his room and asks where he’s hiding. The lad points to his closet.

As Harold loves to tell everyone, I was born on the 4^th of July. He takes great pleasure in making sure the entire country honors me with fireworks, parades and picnics.

And the truth is … I do have a deep love for this country. I was not born on the 4^th of July by accident.

It’s no myth … but a proven fact that this country 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. Thanks to David Barton they can be easily found … documents straight from our founder father’s papers.

Although many young people are not taught … 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 facts as to how God was directly involved in our country but I’m only going to go over five.

1. A Haven for Religious Freedom.

The majority of our first settlers came over to find the religious freedoms they could not enjoy in their own countries. European countries not only had a national government each also had a national religion. It was not a matter of choice of religion.

That is why the principle of separation of church and state was so widely emphasized by o

I was sitting in my home office early one morning this week meditating on what God would have us teach tonight on SUNDAY NITE LIVE.

Suddenly, the word dream flash before my eyes.

Those who know me know I’m not talking about dreams while you sleep unless it’s a night vision from the Lord.

I’m talking about the God-directed dreams He puts into your heart for you to accomplish.

So here are three questions. . .

What if everything you dreamed about came to pass and all the things you prayed for. . .happened?

Do you expect your dreams to come true?

Do you have a plan on what to do when they manifest?

Think about this. . .

Over the years, I have. . .sadly. . .had a large number of people talk to me. . .with tears in their eyes. . .about how they lost everything they owned because of bad advice from well-meaning friends and or family members..

Couples who got in on the ground floor of a ‘can’t miss’. . .explosive money-making opportunity. . .at the urging of a family member or friend. . .only to watch the company go belly up. . .and their money disappear faster than an ice cube in hot tea on a summer’s day.

Dreamers who were robbed of their dreams by the doubts of someone who’s biggest decision is whether to have next Saturday’s breakfast at iHop or Cracker Barrel.

Listening to the wrong people. . .give unwise advice.

I could go on. . .with other sad stories I’ve heard. . .but let’s move on with seven reasons to not to take their word for it.

First, when I say don’t take their word for it. . .let me clarify who ‘they’ are.