The Immanuel Principle

Scripture

Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

~Isaiah 45:22, NKJV

Quote

We overcome the absence by the presence of the opposite.

~Jonathan Cahn

Salvation, at least in the present, is not the absence of sin, it is the presence of God. Think about it: how did God bring salvation to this world? Did He do it by removing evil or sending Jesus? Take an empty glass for example: how do we fill the emptiness? We do it by filling the glass with something like water, juice or tea. Thus the solution to emptiness is filling. Think about it, how do we overcome darkness? By focusing on the light. Jeremiah Denton spent seven long years in a Viet Cong prison. Their first phase of torture with total darkness. They threw him in a dark cell. They put a stick behind his knees and ties his hands to the stick. This put him in a fetal position where he was forced to lay on his side. Denton confessed, “I never thought darkness would bother me but it was driving me crazy. Finally, I located a ray of light coming from beneath the crack of the door. I wiggled my way as close to that tiny ray of light as I could get and I focused on the light. It kept me from losing my mind.” This is the Immanual Principle: we overcome the absence by focusing on the presence of the opposite.

To overcome hate we focus on love. To overcome fear, we focus on faith. To overcome a problem, we focus on the solution, not the problem. Overcome emptiness by being filled with something. We overcome sorrow by focusing on what brings us joy. I love to help others. When I am feeling down, I look for someone who needs help. Do I have problems? Sure I have problems but so does everyone else. We can’t settle our focus on the problem or let the problem become our focus. We will never overcome the problem by focusing on the problem itself. Nor can we overcome sin by focusing on sin; we focus on Jesus who overcame sin in our behalf. We don’t overcome evil by focusing on evil; we focus on good. What it boils down to is perspective. Our success depends on our perspective: the way we view things.

Extra

Well we had a two day break and now more arctic weather. January started great but it has been brutal since. June is looking forward to February but it may not be any better. My oldest sister turned 86 yesterday; I can’t believe it. I’ve been an uncle for 62 years. Took June to Lexi and Holden’s last night: she gives Jackson his bath and he doesn’t like it. Holden’s parents come before work and after work. June said the kids feet will never touch the floor. He has yet to sleep in his bed. He is less than a week old and spoiled already.

Pray for Lara. She is in the hospital at Madison with a kidney stone and in pain. She still has nine weeks to go with John Titon. I’ve had more anxiety over these grand girls than I did June or the girls.

We are inside on Wednesday nights at the POINT and outside on Sunday morning. I’ll be glad with this covid thing gets us all and moves on. The hospital restrictions are killing me. Oh well, it could be worse and with the dems in charge, it will get worse.

Notes and Quotes From Cleaning My Office

God and Storms

  1. Storms reveal the awesome power of God
  2. Storms reveal our weakness and impotence
  3. Storms reveal our lack of faith…brings our fear to the surface
  4. We are safer in the storm doing God’s will than in fair-weather outside of His will
  5. What terrifies and horrifies us, Jesus triumphs over {winds, waves, etc}
  6. Jesus is always in the storm with us {keep looking, He is there}
  7. Storms increase our faith {they are faith building exercises}

Quote by Elisabeth Elliot

“If we wait until we are sure we can do a think perfectly, we shall never accomplish the will of God on this earth.”

TOP TEN…Dealing with stress

  1. Have a quality quiet time…Look around and be distressed; look within and be depressed or look to Jesus and find peace and rest.
  2. Vent…see a counselor or talk to a friend. Tension has a way of building and sometimes you need to vent your stress.
  3. Exercise is great if you are able to do it. Physical exercise is a great stress reliever.
  4. Recreation is also a stress reliever. Find something you enjoy that takes your mind off of your problems.
  5. Humor is a great medication for stress…laugh a little…hang out with folks who make you laugh.
  6. Rest…sometimes a nap is the most spiritual thing you can do {Jack Taylor} Junior Hill use to say, “I don’t believe your saved if you don’t take a Sunday evening nap.”
  7. Take a day off…change your routine.
  8. Be proactive…reactive people tend to be stressed. You either act or you will be acted upon.
  9. Learn to say no…don’t get too much on your plate…the world is not on your shoulders…His kingdom will come with or without your help, so relax.
  10. Don’t try to manipulate or control others…this is a sure way to build stress. Remember, the only way that YOU can change others is if they are wearing diapers.

 

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