The 4th Level Of Love

Is it possible to have balance in life? Does the yin and yang effect bring harmony? I think not. It is a good and wonderful ideal; I wish it were so, but, categorically no.

The closest thing I can come to balance in nature is the gyroscope (you can Youtube “gyroscope” to see and example of one). The gyroscope defies nature and gravity with the force that is produced by the spinning rotor. As long as the rotor is spinning it works.

This is more natural way to view life; constant spinning. It is also more realistic because, let us face it, our lives are constantly spinning. But in stead of feeling guilty because we don’t have balance between work and family, business and play, let us embrace the reality of our world and make it work for our benefit

Here are the key words that will need to replace the maladaptive idea of balance; versatility, creativity, ingenuity, adaptability, and shifting. These concepts will help your solve problems, manage chaos, and achieve your goals.

Achieving your goals is the fundament idea. Your dreams for life must be articulated. If they are not specifically stated and written down then you are being carried away by an idea that may be floating around in your mind, directing your actions, and the failure to achieve them is what is causing you to feel “out of balance.” If you are married and both of you have floating ideas about balance in life then you are in real trouble!

Remember, there is no balance. There is only success and failure and failure will precede success many many times. Consequently you will have to be versatile, creative, ingenious, adaptive and shift.

Your good feeling will come in increments first and more fully with major achievements. But the feeling is illusive. Accomplishment is like getting a new car; you get use to it quickly. The same is true with the idea of balance; even if you have a sense of it that feeling is fleeting. Trying to achieve balance will lead to frustration and disappointment. Working toward goals, even if you constantly have to shift and adapt, satisfies.

This entrepreneurial view of life relates to every realm of being, Spirituality, relationships, finances, health related issues and even culture. But it is a huge problem for those who embrace illusion of the status quo of life, who believe that working a job, growing a family, and retiring comfortably is the goal of life; having a balanced life.

The reality is that you are already are versatile, creative, ingenious, adaptable, and shift… you have to in order to survive. But you have not embraced it because you have held on to the idea of balance and harmony. Let it go.

Adapt, shift, be versatile and achieve the goals that God has set out for you to achieve.

I love you – Bryan Martin

For your spiritual exercise today please review and meditate on the following scripture passage and embrace and own for your self the affirmations which follow. This is the Epistle lesson for next Sunday.

2 Corinthians 5:6-17 (New Living Translation)
6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. 7 For we live by believing and not by seeing. 8 Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. 9 So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. 14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Today’s Affirmations
1. I am living and being fully confident in myself and in God, in spite of what is going on in the world around me. I am not fearful, weak minded, unsure, or insecure. I am fully confident.
2. I am goal driven and proactive in doing what is right in the world and that which is honoring God, not just in my personal integrity but in assertive acts of righteousness that further God’s works in the world and helps people.
3. I work hard to sincerely persuade others about the love of God and the need to follow Jesus. I must help them, otherwise they may be convinced to follow some other malevolent way of being or settle into passive self servicing status quo and thus miss the life of love and grace God has for them. I must persuade them!
4. Christ’s love controls me.
5. I must stop the wicked, flawed and negative practice of evaluating people through just a human point of view. I must view people the way Jesus sees them.
6. Even those who, in human terms, are unchangeable and seem to be stuck in miserable ways of living, are objects of God’s great love and eligible for change. While this is beyond my human understanding I know that in Jesus, new life can come even to those who seem so lost. I will never stop praying for and wondering at the transformation of my own heart and mind.

Think and meditate upon these things today.

I love you – Bryan Martin

Use this list to help you get ready for your busy week. Enjoy.

1. Before I set my feet on the ground, while I am still in my bed I will acknowledge that this is the day that the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.
2. I will pray for God’s guidance and power to go before me.
3. I will anticipate every event as being something that God has prepared me for.
4. I will let the love of God shine through me all day long.
5. I am prepared to answer every question regarding God in the world today.
6. I will give the right answer so that each soul will be enriched and brought closer to the Lord.
7. I will give when called upon to do so in a manner that will best help the needy one.
8. I will read a portion of scripture and I will memorize part of it.
9. I will use the scripture to help another person.
10. I will let the Holy Spirit teach me through the example and love of others.
11. I am a leader and I am a servant, too, just as Christ was.
12. I realize that there are competing forces in the world I am on the side of love, justice grace, forgiveness, and peace. I am on Jesus Christ’s side.
13. I will pray the Lord’s Prayer several times today because as I meditate on it, it guides my actions.
14. I will pray of the sick, weak, broken hearted, downcast, impoverished ones and God will hear my prayer and the will be better for it.
15. With every breath I will breathe in the Holy Spirit and I will breathe out praise.
16. I see the Lord’s hand working everywhere.
17. Since God is for me, who can be against me.
18. I can do exceedingly, abundantly more than anything I can think or imagine.
19. When I fail, I will learn from it, be strengthened by it and I will move forward.
20. I will reply, “Yes, Lord.”
21. I will disrupt the disrupter with love and laughter.
22. I am not just part of the solution, by the love and power of God I am the solution.
23. I will turn the world upside down for Jesus.
24. I will let no evil, negative, disparaging, critical, contemptuous, thing enter my thoughts or leave my mouth because I represent the One who is the epitome of love, grace and forgiveness in every situation.
25. Light will flow in me and through me and as I close my eyes at the end of my day I will rest peacefully because I am the faithful representative of the God Almighty and I let the love and life of God flow through me.

I Love You – Bryan Martin

God was pronounced dead many years ago because progressive thinkers thought that science conclusively proved that God did not exist, the premises of religion (the authority of the Bible and other religion’s sacred scriptures) were patently false or disproved, and religion was not relevant in the modern world. This thinking ushered in the “post-modern” era. In fact religious observance in Europe declined to historic lows. Europe, as it turned out, was merely one place in the world.

Religion, especially Christianity, continued to grow in the Americas, especially in the USA and later in South America. And in the East Islam grew more rapidly than can be imagined. Moreover, interest in Hinduism (for example George Harrison of the Beatles) sparked the “New Age” spiritual movement, while Buddhism grew wildly, as seen by a number of Roman Catholic and Anglican priest using Buddhist spiritual practices.

I myself got caught up in a wave of Christian Apologetics which offered rational and philosophical arguments on behalf of orthodoxy Protestant thinking. While attending Santa Ana College I wrote a paper on the proofs of the existence of God and got an A.

Over the years science and religion have made peace among many. But the real downfall of Secularism was not the intellectual backlash but the social political growth of religion in the world to the extent that religion has become, perhaps always was, a force to be reckoned with.

The world recognized the power of religion on 9/11. That event, more than any other, made the world aware of Islam and refocused attention on religion. The world is now keenly sensitive to religious issues and no one denies it. Moreover the growth of religion in the world is astounding!

While I have been a Christian and a religious person for the last thirty-five years I count myself as a new convert to the power and place of religion in the world. My focus has been on the issues of post-modernity; establishing a relevant place for Christianity in the hearts and mind of contemporary culture. No more! I have been born again, again!

As a Christian I am part of a global movement, a powerful, effective, social movement that is, on the one hand, in competition for souls, with Islam, and on the other hand working for peace in the world by spreading peace, understanding and love.

Secularism is dead, Christ has risen, religion is relevant, God and love are real and Christians have meaningful work to do at home and especially globally.

THESE ARE THE MOST EXCITING TIMES IN THE HISTORY OF WORLD. AND CHRISTIANS ARE IN THE CENTER OF IT.

Have you been born again, again? Do you see, feel, understand, and know the significance of your faith in the world today? If not, open your eyes, see the mystery of God being revealed again, and celebrated the resurgence of faith in the world today!

I love you – Bryan Martin

My blog is tardy this morning. I wrote it before my 7am Bible study knowing I could quickly send it afterward. As you will read, I used President Obama’s Cairo speech as an example about how Christian can speak to Muslims.

But my Bible study group is staunchly anti-Obama. They speak openly and contemptuously about President Obama. I was surprised to learn that President Obama declared that the United States is now a Muslim country. “I heard him say it,” one man said about Obama’s speech. I don’t mind the fact that many people in our region believe that Obama and his policies are ruining our country. But when I heard the man say that Obama said that the USA was a Muslim country I was concerned about misinformation being spread.

I had already read excerpts of Obama’s speech but after the Bible study I read the entire speech. The speech does not say that the United States is a Muslim nation.

I want to affirm an individual’s right to say think and believe what every he will about any topic, including President Obama.

As Christians we want to take all the information we can, digest it and use it for advancing the Kingdom of God. Obama’s speech does contain element that you and I can use to speak to Muslims and any other non-Christian persons. Our job is to communicate the Good News of Christ’s love to the entire world; Fresnans, Muslims and every person.

As a Christian leader I will not engage in partisan politics. My observations must not be seen as a political endorsement, not even a veiled one. Regardless who the author is this speech is an example of how to speak to a hostile non-Christian world cogently, without apology, and from a position of strength.

Here are insights, taken directly from the text of Obama’s speech, on how Christians can speak to the Muslim world. Take notes.

1. Acknowledge the tension; “We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world…”

2. There is no quick solution to our complicated relationship; “…but no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust.”

3. We need to affirm our own truth first, and then find common ground, “”I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims.”

4. Get rid of and stop using negative stereotypes… not all Muslim’s are monsters; “…I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear…”

5. Tell them that we are deeply concerned about extremism; “America is not – and never will be – at war with Islam. We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists”

6. We won’t allow the past to happen again, “al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day…9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country.”

7. We are concerned about Israel; “the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.”

8. Women must not be treated a second class citizens, “I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal, but I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.”

9. In spite of our difference (we will not abandon our Christian beliefs), we must learn to resolve our tension; “It is easier to start wars than to end them. It is easier to blame others than to look inward; to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path.”

Remember to approach others with respect, but from a position of strength. Christians are not inferior, need not compromise our beliefs, be embarrassed of our past, or embrace aspects of their world view that we fundamentally disagree with. But we can respectfully talk and share our Christian reality. The only way that the non-Christian world will know about us and our faith is when we share it with them. We have a lot to offer the non-Christian world. Let’s start talking with them.

I Love You – Bryan Martin

Please check each box and recite the following statements out loud.

[ ] In spite of my circumstance and situation in life I control a large portion of what happens in my life, everyday.

[ ] I will meet people today who will need my advice, encouragement and hope and I will be able to give it to them.

[ ] I have the ability to do more than I believe I can; I can accomplish things that are beyond my physical and mental abilities.

[ ] Deep in the core of my being there is a peaceful drive and determination that propels me to do the best I can.

[ ] I have the love and admiration of my friends and family, this in spite of my flaws.

[ ] I love deeply from the heart.

[ ] I will smile and laugh when I see people playing and having fun, especially children.

[ ] Compared to what people experience in other places in the world, I live in a virtual paradise.

[ ] I speak good things to others and improve their lives.

[ ] I have a great story of God’s love to share with others and when I tell them hope and love springs up in their heart.

[ ] The power of the Holy Spirit lives and works in me.

[ ] There is order even in the midst of chaos and I can bring even more order and peace into reality.

[ ] Since I have been forgiven, I can forgive others

[ ] When my imagination runs wild and I ruminate about negative things I can stop, be creative, and love.

[ ] I can end a distraction and focus on the tasks that are important in my life

[ ] Love is the most important thing, but money is important, too, so I can focus on income generating activities and feel good about that, too!

[ ] I won’t let the negative I hear in the world affect me; I won’t listen, it doesn’t matter, It doesn’t help me.

[ ] I will embrace my faith, learn more about it, share it with others in a positive encouraging way because faith and religion are some of the most important issues in the world today.

[ ] I will be known as a loving person because of the things I say and do, and because of the positive loving impact I have in the world.

[ ] The world is a better place today because my life and how God uses me, this mystery is true.

I love you – Bryan Martin

World Population 6.5 billion

Christians 2.billion

Muslims 1.3 billion

You 1

About you, the negative perspective; you are merely 1 of 6,500,000,000 people on the earth at this time. Your life is insignificant. It doesn’t matter if you live or die. Your main contribution is to stay out of trouble and add your genetic material to the mix. The best you can hope for in your life is to be relatively happy, then you die.

About you, the Christian perspective; you are the ONE! You were hand picked and chosen by God. You have a specific task to achieve that will help change the world and bring about God’s rule in the world. Your contribution is absolutely necessary in order to make this happen. Without you what needs to be done can’t be done. You will struggle with your task all your life trying to do it; you will have good times and hardship. Your eternal life has already begun.

The more I read about global religion the more I realize how important your personal faith is. The sad truth is that most religious people know very little about their faith and merely go with the wave of their religion. This is true of Christians and Muslims.

The happy truth is that personal faith will make your life more meaningful and contribute to the welfare of the entire world. When you understand and engage in personal faith you are engaging in global religion. THERE IS NO MORE POWERFUL FORCE IN THE WORLD TODAY THAN RELIGION!

I am asking you not to be 1 in 6,500,000,000. I am asking you make your existence significant and meaningful; be one. Embrace the fullness of your Christianity. Discover the full meaning and power of it. Learn more everyday; be a learning-centered Christian. Do what Christians do. READ, PRAY and LOVE.

The consequences of not knowing, learning and doing is that someone else will… and their influence may lead in directions you don’t want go.

The world needs you. The ENTIRE WORLD needs you to be an informed, equipped, practicing Christian who can bear witness to the love of God. Embrace your faith, Impact the world.

I Love You – Bryan Martin

Five of the top ten Google news stories yesterday had something to do with religion. Whether it was a bombing in Iraq or the President’s upcoming trip to Egypt religion played a role. There was more news about religion than even the economy.

That’s why I don’t understand how people, like the blogger I read recently, who said he was giving up on Christianity. Bottom line was that Christianity no long met his needs. But your faith and religion in general has more to do with what is actually going in the world than with one’s felt needs. In fact there is a world wide competition for souls going on, right now, and you are in the middle of it.

This competition comes from a variety of directions, in particular the right and the left and the east and west.

The religious right and left want your soul for the hot issues in our own back yard; abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, and women’s roles. For example, yesterday a physician who performs late term abortions was murder in church. You’ll be required by the right and the left to form an opinion about his death and abortion in America. Fresno California, my home town, is the center of the Gay Marriage issue. The right and the left are competing for your soul.

Islam is spreading like wild fire, almost as fast as Christianity. In fact of all the world religions, these two, Islam and Christianity are the two major global players, competing for your soul.

So I think it is crazy when the blogger says “I’m giving up on Christianity because it does not meet my felt needs,” because he fails to comprehend the global consequences of religion. Gone are the days when one can accept or reject their faith based on how they feel. The world is awashed in a global religious tsunami that can not be ignored.

What to do? Keep on reading. Christians need to come to grips their scriptures. You have to know what it says so you can speak intelligently about it. Keep on praying, if you don’t have spiritual insight into what is going on you will get washed away in a wave of pseudo-spirituality. Keep on learning. Your learning about Christianity, hot bottom issues and world religions, especially Islam, must be up to date.

I’ll say it again; Religion is the most important topic in the world today. Even if the economy completely crashes, religion will continue to dominate the news. Don’t let them have your soul and don’t hide your head in the sand, like the frustrated ex-Christian blogger. Be intentional about growing in your faith and… in the love of the Lord!

I love you- Bryan Martin