A Changed Perspective | Ps Bruce McCleland | Living Principles Part 2

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A Changed Perspective | Ps Bruce McCleland | Living Principles Part 2

Living Principles

January 14, 2024 • Ps Bruce McCleland • Acts 9:17, Matthew 4:19, Acts 12, Psalm 91:1, Matthew 15:1–5

Join Pastor Bruce as he continues with Living principles this week and teaches us on how to change our perspective and to stay in God's presence.

We live in a community and we are a part of each other's lives, so with that, it's our responsibility to be influential and push for change. We need to breathe lives into each other. Life can be unpredictable and We can all get shaken by it. We often become so shook in our emotions and in our being so much so that we get deflated. We can get shaken by so many things in our lives including our surroundings.

The thing is as much as we are a community, we get heavily influenced by our surroundings, our childhood, the people around us and even our location. Depending on our traditions and ethnicity and so much more, we get used to certain things our entire life and these somewhat shape our lives. These also have an impact on our dreams but when we are born again, we change - we become transformed. The nature of who we are changes because we draw from Christ and not our past. We become a new creation. We become citizens of heaven and therefore it becomes our influence.

When Jesus transforms our lives then our viewpoint also changes. How we see life and obstacles changes. We stop focusing on our problems and start focusing on God.

For example, in the case of Simon Peter:

Peter asked to join Jesus on the water but sank when he stopped focusing on Jesus and Jesus grabbed him up. The same Peter later denied Jesus the night of His crucifixion due to fear but scripture tells us in Acts that when Peter was in jail he was sleeping. That’s because his position had changed- he was not focusing on himself but he was resting in the shadow of the Almighty.

Another story is of Paul (Saul).

Saul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, He went blind and God gave him an instruction to meet a man named Ananias. Saul then met Ananias, and Ananias prayed for Saul, and his eyesight is returned ... .and then later on post-baptism, the Bible says that he was then filled with the HOLY SPIRIT. So, God dealt with his sight (Vantage point) and then dealt with his heart.

That is what God does, He deals with our hearts, and only He can do that. In Matthew 4, Jesus calls us to follow Him and He will make us fishers of men. He calls us to follow Him first, to come into proximity with Him. He will transform us but first we need to follow Him. We need to make an active choice to follow and grow our relationship with Him. We are not called to have an encounter with Jesus on Sunday at church but we are to have a relationship with Him everyday. A relationship with Him will lead to change in our lives.

If we don't change after encountering Jesus then instead of repenting, we will keep repeating the same mistakes and sins over and over again. Jesus transforms our lives. He changes who we are, He changes our vantage point and our hearts, like He did with Peter and Paul.

Therefore, in order to change and encounter Him we need to be in His presence.

Generosity | Bruce McCleland | Living Principles Part 4

January 28, 2024 • Ps Bruce McCleland • Psalm 16:8, Psalm 15, Proverbs 22:6

The way in which our decisions have an impact on those around us and generations to come is the same way in which God's vision for our lives has a generational impact and implications. God is not caught off guard by our decisions - He has a plan and a vision for our lives regardless. We are a generational people and live in a generational space. Our morals and way of life have an impact on the generations to come. The laws we follow also have an impact on us - the same way God's laws have an impact in our lives and families. So, this week join Pastor Bruce as he teaches us on generational consequences, God’s plan and generosity. We see this with His commandments - He created them for us to live a life that is not oppressive, not filled with greed, and a life of generosity. So, when we share God's laws and commandments with our kids, we are giving them ideologies to live by. Even if they deviate, they will always return. We see this in the book of Proverbs 22:6. We trust in these commandments and we share them with our kids because they are instructions from God for us to thrive - they are for the human family to thrive. When we become the children of God then we are called to follow and replicate Him and His ways in our lives. One of His ways and qualities is generosity. So because He is a generous Father we ought to be generous children. In order to move from a culture or a generation of greed then we have to learn to be generous. These are the ways in which we can: We can only expect what we've shown: If we are generous with all that we have (not just with money) then we can expect to see that generosity in our lives. This can also be generational because our kids learn from and imitate us. If we are greedy then our kids will be greedy and if we are generous then they also follow suit. We can't expect what we haven't grown: We need to have a vision and a value for our families. This also applies to our walk with God. We need to see God's vision and follow it. God wants us to grow and not just to show: God wants us to grow. We can grow our faith by reflecting on our past, and then we will be able to see God's mercy and provision in our lives. This is how we grow our faith. In conclusion, when we live generously then we have an impact on those around us and this grows the opportunity for them to be generous as well. We have influence over people around us and we need to do right and follow God and His ways. Our choices have a generational consequence but when we give our lives to Jesus then He makes us new. So what decisions are you making and are you considering the generations to come?

Being Decisive | Bruce McCleland | Living Principles Part 3

January 21, 2024 • Ps Bruce McCleland • Jeremiah 18:1–10, Psalm 15, James 1:5–8, Matthew 5:37, Romans 7:21

What are you trusting God to do this year? Have you included Him in your plans? Is He at the center of it all? As Christians this is what we should do - make plans, have a vision but overall let God guide us. It should not only be with our vision and dreams but with our living principles as well. Part of our living principles is being decisive. Sometimes we get bombarded with options and we become too indecisive. Sometimes we make decisions that we don't fully agree with because we are indecisive. In this week’s teaching, join Pastor Bruce as we continue with Living Principles while focusing on Being Decisive in our walk with Christ and in our lives. In the book of James we learn more about being double minded. The book teaches us not to doubt but to trust in God and become stable in all we do. The truth is, if we are indecisive about one thing then we can be indecisive in other areas of our lives as well. Being indecisive is having instability and being double-minded. This means that we are not anchored in one thing but get swayed by a lot of things in life. Indecisiveness creates spiritual instability as well. If we are double-minded then we can't do anything significant for God and His kingdom. What causes Indecisiveness - Fear of failure - Fear of missing out - Fear of being hurt So how do we settle being indecisive? - Make a choice : We have to choose a side, we can't choose both. If we don't make decisions and make the right choices then we will be tossed from side to side. Making a choice gives us stability. - Overcome trauma: We need to overcome our trauma because we can sometimes find ourselves victim to our past and our hurt. We become so used to certain reactions and ways but God doesn't want us to remain the same. He does a work in us and He transforms us - In Him we can overcome our hurt and trauma. - Be inquisitive: We need to be people that learn. We can't rely on others to grow our faith. We can't wait for preachers and cell leaders to connect us to God but we need to learn more by reading and studying God's Word. We need to be learners, researchers and seekers. This is how we will grow. We need to constantly be at the feet of the Father, we need to draw near to Him because the more we draw to Him then the more we will become like Him. Double-mindedness has a lot to do with our hurt. Our previous experiences play a part in this but Jesus molds us - He transforms and reshapes us. So let Him transform you and do only what He can do. So what are you choosing?