David Murdock Are You Really A Christian

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David Murdock Are You Really A Christian?

My Halloween post that got my Christianity questioned…Am I a Christian because I colored my hair, put on a hat, a flowered shirt, darkened my eye brows and beard, took a picture…and then posted on social media saying…

“Its Halloween time…Getting ready for the kiddos…#candytime”

Guess by some religious standards, and Christian beliefs my “Christianity” is in question.

For the record…I love the yard ornaments at Halloween, pumpkins, dressing up with all the different mask and themes and passing out candy to all the neighborhood kids…guess some may call them little demons (smile).

I personally choose to create a joyful atmosphere and ignore all the satanic gestures behind Halloween that hold some “Christians” in bondage… I take a different approach to this holiday from years ago and make it work for my enjoyment.  I am free to live!

I may not be a Christian by some beliefs…however, Romans 10:9 says…If I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart  that God raised him from the dead I will be saved.

I guess that may not make me a ” Christian, ” but it does free me from sin giving me full benefits of salvation…Now I think that’s pretty awesome. FYI…I have confessed with my mouth and believed in my heart Jesus Christ and that God raised him from the dead.

It does make me wonder about different things, does the “religious” crowd really believe that the thief on the cross really went to heaven?  All he said to Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom and Jesus says, “today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43 ) I don’t really see the confessing part Paul was writing about in Romans…But should that really concern me?

Jesus came that I could live…So I like celebrating holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.  Now we know Jesus rose from the grave on Easter. We get dressed up and remember the cross and that he rose on Easter Sunday. Sometimes we even buy something new to wear, even see the hats come out on this glorious occasion… Then we dye eggs and hide them, I do love hiding the eggs. However, I’m not really sure what eggs and chocolate bunny rabbits have to do with Jesus coming out of that grave.

Then there is Christmas, that’s when Love came to town… Jesus’s birthday, whether it’s really in December are not, no one seems to mind. I love Christmas, the tree, lights, music, mistletoe’s. I just can’t help it, but I love this time of year! Then we get to have Santa Claus hanging out at the mall, and just think we get to celebrate Jesus birthday by buying each other gifts. Now come on, Life is good!  I love going to the mall this time of year, the hustle and bustle is stimulating as we get ready for Christmas day. There is nothing like hearing someone say, Have a Merry Christmas!

I guess you may be wondering why is David writing about this…

I am writing this blog about this Halloween post because I’m always concerned that there may be someone out there needing encouragement, they may be hurting, ready to give up on life, on the edge of no return. They may be reading what I have written or posted that might make them think differently or encourage them about their situation, and then they see a comment with a different philosophy causing them turn away with a “bad taste” of Christianity in their mouth.  This bothers me!

My desire is not to change someone’s philosophy, but it is to create thought about life, about what you believe and to make a change in your life, if your life isn’t what it should be. My desire is to create hope!

Jesus summed it up in Matthew 7:12 … Do for others what you want them to do for you!

Jesus also said, “the thief comes to steal and to destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)  My desire is to always bring hope to any situation you might be facing.

Don’t get caught up in all the “religious” propaganda that you forget to live your life the way Jesus intended. You were born with purpose for a purpose. There is hope in every situation, just look for it. Never Give Up!!

Happy Holidays…….

David Murdock

 

Change Your Philosophy and Increase Your Value

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Wanting Change…Needing a Change…But Are You Willing To Change?

Change Your Philosophy and Increase Your Value.

Have you ever asked someone how they’re doing and they respond “same ole thing just a different day”, nothing ever changes. People blame the government or a particular political party over their hardships or job loss. You’ve heard the saying, the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer… We tend to blame others or situations in life over our struggles, when it’s us that needs to change.

You will never have change as long as you blame someone else!

You’ve seen where some people make it while others struggle trying to make it. If you listen to their conversations you can see their difference by their philosophy. Sometimes people live life thinking that whatever will be will be. They can be hard workers and never seem to go anywhere in life, always working from the bottom of the pile. Some spend more time working hard on the job, when they need to work harder on themselves. They need to change their thinking; they need to change their personal philosophy.

Philosophy is simply a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live, a personal outlook or viewpoint.

I believe when you change what’s inside of you; you will change what’s around you. When you change what you say, you will change what you believe. When you change what you believe, you will then change your life!

Never wish life were easier, wish that you were better-Jim Rohn

Change Your Philosophy!

  • Don’t wish life was easier…Work at being better!
  • Don’t pray for fewer problems…Learn more skills!
  • Are you waiting on a pay raise…? Why not become more valuable!

Work on changing yourself; work at being a better you! If there is something you want changed, but it never changes, shows a change in philosophy is needed.

Someone who stays in an abusive relationship shows there needs to be a philosophy change. If you’ve wanted to lose weight and you can’t, a change in philosophy is needed. If you need more than 24 hours in a day…It’s not ever going to change…You must change.

If you’re struggling with your life today, nothing ever seems to go right… ask yourself why?

Your life will never change until you change. Life will not get better until you get better.

Life doesn’t get better by chance…It Gets Better by Change!

It’s not what happens, but it’s what you do when it happens!

You will increase your value when you change your philosophy…….

David Murdock

 

Is Your Perception The Truth?

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Cindy and I were taking our morning walk today; we walked through one of our favorite areas, the Garden of Prayer that is by our home.

The Garden of Prayer is not a real “garden” as the name may suggest, but it is a wooded area that someone has taken and put in different spots to remember Jesus Christ. The garden consists of a replica of the tomb where Jesus had been buried and the stone had been moved and now the tomb is empty. There are several other areas throughout the garden where you can pray.  The garden path takes you to an area that has been named Golgotha, this path ends on a hill where three crosses have been erected in remembrance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. I love coming here and praying.

Today was different; Cindy noticed another path of rocks going up a hill. We notice a wall built out of rocks at the end of the path. The wall looked like it was 7-8ft tall and went a 100 ft or so across.  I had never seen this wall showing through the woods before. It was like my eyes were opened to something new.

I could tell Cindy was feeling adventurous and wanted to go check it out, so I said lets go see what this wall is. As we walked across the wooded area and started up the path, Cindy decided to stay back and let me check it out, 🙂 (remember this is in a wooded area) I went on ahead.

The rocky path up to the wall was very steep, I had to hold on to some branches and walk myself up the path. As I got near the top, I noticed some railroad ties, then I could see clearly what I thought was a wall…yep the wall we had seen was actually rail road tracks. I could not believe it…I started laughing; there wasn’t a wall at all, it was train tracks.

Now, had I not examined what I was not really clear about, and had accepted an unclear perception as real, that would have become my truth.  I would have left there thinking it was a wall. We would have discussed that and wondered what was behind that wall, telling our friends and family about this wall that we had never noticed before, through the woods.

What I perceived as real and what was actually real was different as night and day. There was a gap in what I perceived to be real and what was actually real. After seeing the tracks, I could not believe I had thought this was a wall.

God made something very real and clear to me from this, about life and our relationships.

When you’re looking at something from a negative perspective and it isn’t really clear, what you see can very well be different than what actually is.                                                                                                                                                  When we believe something negative that we feel to be truth and don’t really have any real knowledge or facts about it, and make a decision based on a perception and not actuality, eventually, we will have a negative reaction.

When something is unclear or unsure, before you make a decision based on your perception…Examine It before proceeding. Never allow a negative perception to grow without examination.

Don’t become deceived by a negative perception of something you believe to be true, that really isn’t. Don’t be blinded by the spirit of darkness… Sometimes our perception blinds us to the truth.

Remember what we believe will grow in our mind, negative or positive.

It’s vital that we stay away from any negative perception.

Close The Gap…Examine Your Perception!

Is It Negative or Positive?

Think of Good Stuff Today…                                                                                                                                                 (Philippians 4:8)

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Should You Really Forgive?

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There Is A Deadly Disease That Could Be Killing You!

Did you know that unforgiveness is classified in medical books as a disease? Wow, who would have thought to not forgive someone that has wronged you is a disease that the unforgiving person incurs for refusing to forgive. What’s even worse, this disease has been linked to cancer.

According to Dr. Steven Standiford, chief of surgery at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, refusing to forgive makes people sick and keeps them sick.

Studies show that 61 percent of all cancer patients have unforgiveness issues. They are now using forgiveness therapy to help treat other diseases like cancer.

Other studies showed that when internalizing, suppressing and hanging on to negative emotions, anger and hatred, it creates chronic anxiety. Chronic anxiety then produces excess adrenaline and cortisol, which depletes the production of natural killer cells, which fights cancer in your body giving way to a disease that, takes your life from you.

It is vital to stay away from negative energy.

The effects that negative emotions have and harboring anger, hate, all the negative garbage that you keep inside will eventually destroy you. I know to forgive is easier said than done…However; It is a choice you have to make…Your life depends on it!

The simple definition of Forgive…is to stop feeling anger toward someone who has wronged you and to stop blaming them… It’s not that easy…But to keep it inside of you and to let it stew is giving that person power over your physical being not to mention your spiritual being, your soul.

Jesus said to the disciples…For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14,15. (NIV)

To forgive was a major thing back when Jesus walked with the disciples. To have eternal life in heaven, you will have to have forgiven those who’ve wronged you. That should be enough in itself to walk in forgiveness.

I hear people all the time say they have forgiven people, they just haven’t forgotten. That sounds good…but what part of what they did have you not forgotten?

When you think about what they did, what do you feel?  Don’t hold a grudge. It affects you more than them.

I realize to forgive and forget is impossible, that is why forgiveness is something we constantly do.

Choose to forgive and let go the emotions that comes with the pain, resentment, and anger. These emotions will destroy you and stay festering deep inside you. Yes, we still remember the offense, and yes, we can learn from it, but to truly forgive, we treat the person as though it never happened.

You may be wondering, do you have to stay in relationship with someone who has wronged you…if you’re in a relationship that is emotionally unhealthy and it always gets the best of you and continues to bring you down?  You have the right to protect yourself or anyone from harm whether emotional or physical. Forgiveness is not staying in an unhealthy environment that brings you to an emotional wreck.

Forgive them from your heart and remove yourself from that unhealthy environment.

The scriptures state in Proverbs… Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20 (ESV)

Should you forgive? …….Only if you want to live a healthy life.

Remember…Forgiveness is for your health.!!

What Happened?

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Don’t give up on your Dreams!
You can have the life you want, the life you desire……

Have you ever heard that before??

I’ve gone through life some days feeling like I can do anything…I can conquer the world! Bring it on, I am a winner…I am on top of the world…

Then… there are times life seems to be the hardest thing to do…The dreams I had were mysteries that turned into nightmares. What Happened?

Have you been in this place before?

Sometimes we can become so overwhelmed with life and it feels like it’s out of control. Worries fill our mind; we seem to be in a constant turmoil. Everything falls apart, nothing works out. We seem to have a life full of worry, full of hardship and struggles. We wake up one day older…You wonder what happen, it wasn’t always this way. Now look, I’ve lost my job, lost my marriage, my family… Wow…what happen to my body, it changed overnight!?!

All of a sudden wisdom hits us, we wake up and realize life is real and depression comes against our minds…What are we going to do?

Think!! Courage sometimes manifests itself in the quietness of the morning when you wake up to another day and you try one more time…

Don’t Stop!! Your struggle is proof you have not been conquered!

When things look “Impossible” all it takes is a minor change to create a different outcome…Change the Impossible to I’m Possible!

Don’t allow the worries of life to cloud your mind. Let the worries go!!

Worrying is trying to control life’s problems through the mind.
Your mind wasn’t created to worry!

God designed your mind to create, not worry. How can you create if you’re busy worrying?

The Bible is full of Wisdom if we would only apply it…
Trust God and Believe Matthew 6:34…Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Your Dream is waiting on you…You are a masterpiece designed by God himself.

Now Pick Yourself Up…
Put Your Worries In Your Pocket…and…Go After Your Dream!!!!

Let Go!!

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Are you glad 2015 is over? Have you been waiting for something good to happen and it didn’t?

It seems sometimes good things just happen and other times they don’t. We dream about something new, something different. We say we need a change, yet everything stays the same.

We get excited about Thanksgiving having turkey, ham, dressing and all that good stuff while being with our families. Then knowing Christmas is just ahead with the spirit of giving, the lights, excitement in the air, watching Hallmark movies; then the New Year is upon us. Of course, this always stands for change, what we didn’t do in the past year we will do in the New Year.

New Year’s Eve is exciting, the countdown begins. We tell everyone this is going to be a good year. We become predictors of the future; we feel the excitement in the air. We begin to make some New Year’s resolutions. It may be we’re going find a new job, spend more time with family, lose some weight, join a gym, just going to be happy, and the list goes on…

Year after year we make some sort of resolution. Sometimes we achieve, but more often than not, we don’t. Some of us would really love to lose 10-20 lbs., but we love eating more and of course who wants to commit to that dreadful word called exercise.

We talk about moving into our future, hating our past, yet we live the present on the memory of the past. We sit around and describe the way life was back in the day and how we handled things different back then. This goes on and yet nothing changes. Do things besides your age really change with a new year?

Nothing changes without a change! You will have to “Let Go” of something before you can move into another season. Letting go is one of the most important things you need to understand if you want to bring change.

There are times we need God to answer. We need him to direct our path, but we refuse to “Let Go” and trust him. We say we believe Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. But our self-will gets in the way and we won’t “Let Go”.

Be honest with yourself; what change have you really wanted and it hasn’t happened. Why?
Is there something you have to “Let Go” of and haven’t.

I used to be a smoker. I loved to smoke after eating and it was so good with a cup of coffee. I loved to think and smoke early in the mornings. When I got stressed, I would lite one up and it would relax me. If you’ve never been a smoker you may not understand this.

The downside to me smoking was waking up coughing, the miserable feeling of when I had smoked too much. I would be short winded; so many different health problems began to arise from this habit. I had to make a choice…I had to decide what mattered most. I had to “Let Go” of a habit that was hurting me more than helping. I could just talk about quitting or make the decision to “Let Go”.

I made the decision to “Let Go”. I didn’t write this story to get someone to quit smoking; it’s about letting you know nothing will change until you “Let Go” of something. You have to decide what you really want, then decide what you will have to “Let Go” of.

Refusing to “Let Go” is not an option if you want change in 2016. What is it you need to change; your health, friends, job, what is it?

To bring in the new, you will have to “Let Go” of the old.

• To have a positive mindset… Let Go of the negative.
• To be healthy…Let Go of unhealthy things.
• Need forgiveness…Let Go of un-forgiveness.
• To let go of anger…Let Go of offenses.
• Need weight loss…Let Go of things that make you gain weight.
We can go on and on……

It’s seems simple to do, to have change…But we all know one of the hardest things to do is to “Let Go”.

Keep in mind….  Nothing in your life will change until you bring a change!

What are you willing to Let Go??

Conflict Resolution

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Conflict is inevitable because of differences in people. It is a part of life. People have different opinions, values, personalities and different needs. We all filter incoming communication and life in a different way. It’s so important that we learn how to manage conflict effectively.

“The root of most conflict is either born out of poor communication or the inability to control one’s emotions or behavior”.                                                                                                                                                          

Conflict frequently happens from lack of information, poor information, no information, misinformation, or not sure what to do with the information. This reflects a communication and behavior problem.

Conflict rarely resolves itself. Conflict resolution is the ability to recognize conflict, understand the nature of conflict, and to be able to bring swift and just resolution to the conflict.(dealt with proactively and properly).

Having conflict with a person may not necessarily end the relationship but how we manage it could. The sooner conflict is dealt with the better. Do not allow conflict to go unresolved. The ability to manage or resolve conflict and the capacity to recognize and understand others will rely on how effective we are in our communication.

To be effective when communicating you will need a combination of skills including verbal and nonverbal communication, engaged listening, managing stress in the moment, and understand your own communication style and those of the person you’re communicating with. Communication styles are often misunderstood and can cause conflict where there really shouldn’t be.

Expect conflict, however, turn it into opportunities for growth and learning. You can recover from conflict and have a stronger healthier relationship. Remember communication is the key to resolve conflict. ~David Murdock

Communication…

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Have you ever worked with someone and it just seemed so hard to connect or understand each other? Maybe even in a relationship and it may seem that they were speaking another language or maybe you did not really get where they were coming from or vice versa. Or maybe your intensity wasn’t as high as another person and it appeared you didn’t have any passion, and it became frustrating trying to relate to each other or understand one another. So you stay frustrated or move on, only to continue to have issues and not really understand what is happening.

Being raised in a family with 7 children and being the youngest, sometimes as a child my communication seem nonexistent at times. I grew up with comments from my family saying he doesn’t talk much. By not talking I am sure this had an effect on my communication skills and understanding of what communication really is. I didn’t quite understand why, but I had nothing to say while others just talked all the time. I would watch others speak their thoughts fluently and seemed to be persuasive with their speaking while I seemed reluctant to speak.

They all seemed like great communicators and as I have become older and through much pain I now realize…Communication Is More Important Than You Think.

It’s more important than you’re taught.It is the most important ingredient there is in any environment. Every relationship will demand some form of communication, your job, finances, health even our salvation we receive from God hinges on communication, according to Romans 10: 9…
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (KJV)

Communication is the center piece of every area in life. It is the heart beat of every relationship.

However…The Degree of Your Success Will Depend on How Effective Your Communication Is.
So it just can’t be communication in itself…It has to be Effective Communication.

Effective Communication is a Foundational Key to Health, Happiness and Success in Every Part of Your Life.

  • Communication defined… is the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.

Communication is giving and receiving or the exchange and importation of information, thoughts, and ideas expressed verbally, written down, through sign language, and body language knowingly or unknowingly.
Effective Communication is arriving at a desired effect or having a purposed result.

We begin communicating in our mother’s womb, we kick, and we turn and twist around to find comfort. While in the womb we can begin to hear voices with the mother’s voice being the clearest. Studies show that the baby’s heart rate speeds up while in the womb when it hears its mother’s voice. Communication has already begun. Then of course as we grow, our communication skills grow with us good or bad.

Since we are all uniquely made and so different we can expect to have issues at some point in time with communication. I think that the older we become, the harder it will be to change our communication skills without pain being the persuader for us to change. Sometimes when a relationship goes bad and we really want it to be good, we then make efforts to change or learn how to better communicate.

Do we try to be effective in our communication in the work place with our coworkers?
If you work 40 hours a week for an average of 50 weeks a year for 5 years, you would have worked 10, 000 hours with your co-workers. That breaks down to spending over one year of those five years with a co-worker or co-worker’s. Spending that length of time with anyone I would think we would want to be effective in our communication.
Just a Thought…I wonder if Effective Communication became a curriculum from 1st grade -12th grade as a standard course what would take place in our culture.

Ask Yourself…

  • Do you know how you communicate?
  • Do you know how you need to receive incoming communication?
  • Is your conversation always one sided?
  • Do you listen more than talk?
  • Do you talk more than listen?
  • How do you gauge success in communication?

Ask those you’re in relationship their thoughts on what or how you say something.
Begin watching your response to things being said to you.

  • What is your reaction?
  • What do you feel?
  • Why?

Make a decision today to begin to dialogue with those around you and begin communicating and make it effective.

What Is Your Belief?

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I have always been amazed at people who say they believe in God, they believe in heaven and hell but yet do not obey Matthew 22: 39…Love your neighbor as yourself.

Today would you be willing to ask yourself these 10 questions and answer them honestly to yourself?

  1. Why Do You Believe What You Believe?
  2. Do You Really Believe IT?
  3. Would You Die for What You Believe?
  4. Are You Persuaded What You Believe?
  5. Is What You Believe Truth?
  6. How do you know it’s Truth?
  7. Just How much Do you pray?
  8. How much do you Personally Read the Bible?
  9. Do You Really Believe God is real?
  10. Do you really believe in a heaven and hell?

If you set a chair on fire and as it began to be inflamed with a red hot blaze,

Would you go sit down on it?

You probably wouldn’t think about doing that…Why?

You know it’s Hot…You Know It will Burn you…You Know It will Destroy You.

 

Now…We Say We Believe in God…! That He is alive…We Believe the Bible is True…He is coming back soon. Etc…

He is Alive…

However we continue to break his commandments without thinking twice, without thinking of repenting. It appears we have no fear about it.

 

Now we know the chair is Hot…So we don’t touch it, much less sit on it.

If we viewed our belief in God like the fire…We would know his commandments left to right…When we messed up we would repent so fast, why because we know the consequences.

 

We Believe in the Mercy Seat….We are protected….But have we really studied Hebrews10:26…where there is No Redemption for Willful sin…This is a terrifying thought…My prayer is that if we willfully sin and truly repent his Mercy will be given. Then there is 1st John 5:16 talking about the Sin of Death. Wow.!! We can only hope nothing fatal happens without the chance of repentance taking place. Ignoring these scriptures doesn’t change the protocol God has set up; like it or not.

 

We want the Blessings…only the Blessings…We only want to see a God that loves us, gives us unconditional love and mercy that lasts forever. We ignore Proverbs 9:10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. (KJV)

 

A Scripture you might want to consider…John 15:10 (KJV) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

 

Bottom-Line…Jesus said if you want to abide in My Love….Keep My Commands.!

 

Abide means… to remain; continue; stay:

Sure sounds Like a Condition to me…

 

Show Some Love Today.!!