Having An End Goal Matters

by Rich Farm

“But know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for Himself; The Lord hears when I call to Him” ~ Psalm 4:3

“The proper focus of holiness is not on being set apart from something (i.e. the world), but on being set apart for something.” ~ Michael Horton

Recently someone gave me two pictures, a snail, slowly moving along his course, then it turning into the snail from turbo the kid’s movie.  Then they saw a turtle struggling, moving slowly to get where it had to go, but then when it hit the water, it took off.  How many of us have felt this way in our daily lives?  Whether it was for work or ministry or family or even just personal growth.  We feel this drawing to be something more, to do something greater than where we are at.  Maybe even some of us have had others speak into our lives that we are meant for so much more, yet if you look at our daily lives rather than seeing the turtle in the water or the speedy snail turbo, you would see the others struggling to get where we need to go.  I feel like this so resonated with my life, especially my spiritual walk, and feel like it may resonate with many of you as well.

I believe many of us have these dreams of greatness but expect them to just happen immediately to us.  I’ve always been an all-or-nothing type of person.  By that, I mean that if I can’t get to where I feel like I am supposed to be immediately then what’s the point in trying?  Boy, what a dangerous self-destructive way to live.  That mentality created some major trials in my life, in my finances, my marriage, and many other things along the way.  You basically paralyze yourself from making any bit of progress in your life.  We have to remember life is a journey and we all need to go through a process, especially those who are called to greater things.  I remember the advice that the psychiatrist gave to Bill Murray in the movie “What About Bob?”  Bob was plagued by countless phobias that it caused his life to be substandard because he was afraid to do anything.  This shrink’s advice was in a book he wrote called “Baby Steps”.

This is the mentality we should take in our growth, both personal and spiritual.  Each step we take, each decision we make toward that dream or goal is a step in the right direction no matter how big or small.  Remember what the Scripture says, “though a righteous man falls seven times, he will rise again”.  This should alleviate our fear of failure.  Philippians 3:13-14 says, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”.  I believe that if we have that end game or end goal in mind and focus on that it makes the journey more bearable.  It gives us a sense of hope and resolve to see it come to pass.  We should always see that end as something to strive for, to fight for.

If you are struggling in your marriage, the end goal is to desire what God’s design for family and marriage is, one man, one woman for life.  As you have that end goal in mind then you begin to make decisions and take actions to work toward that picture of perfection-by perfection I mean God’s way.  If your business is struggling and on the verge of closing up, you focus on the end game that God called you to this to be a blessing to others, and again you will make decisions based on the end results you want.  Life is a refining process, nothing is instant.  It takes time to purge any junk so that the pure is left.

Just as the verse above said “forgetting what was behind”.  Our past can be the biggest hindrance to moving forward in life.  So, if you messed up and you repented, then you need to move on.  God doesn’t hold our past against us when we’ve repented so why should we.  Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “lay aside every encumbrance and sin that entangles us”.  Encumbrance means weight, impediment, or hinderance.  This could be past guilt or shame, wrong beliefs, or wrong perspectives we have about life.  Verse 2 says to “fix our eyes on Jesus” so much like the Philippians verse we have to have a picture of the end goal.  As we do this and understand what Christ did for us and the power of our relationship with him, then we can manifest verse 3, “not growing weary or losing heart”.

Principled Men and Women

by Susan Snelling

The Founding Fathers were wise in their vision for America. The Framers of the Constitution were purposeful in the way the American government was established, and the protections that were placed in the Constitution are there for a reason. The Founding Fathers did not compromise on freedom, nor did they talk out of both sides of their mouth. There was a purpose behind every word written on that document.  When people try to veer away from the original intent of the Constitution and twist the Framers’ words, the document becomes just another piece of paper and the very thing the Founders fought against and the Framers sought to protect us from becomes a reality. Tyranny results and anarchy looms. It is the duty of the American people to educate themselves on original intent so they cannot be fooled by slick-talking politicians, academicians, and media types who have an agenda that would take America away from the Constitution.

The ideology that the Founding Fathers put into the Constitution is one of Judeo-Christian principles. America was not formed to be successful under any other kind of government. The only influence and worldview that supports this grand experiment of American government, is the Judeo-Christian worldview. Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence wrote: “Without morals a republic cannot subsist any length of time, they therefore who are decrying the Christian religion, whose morality is so sublime and pure (and) which insures to the good eternal happiness, are undermining the solid foundation of morals, the best security for the duration of free governments.”

However, there are politicians and influencers who would ignore the warnings of the Founding Fathers and try to have it another way. Dismissive of America’s founding principles, they worm their way into the political landscape, seeking to undermine the principles of what this nation was formed from. These are politicians whose ideologies are diametrically opposed to the Constitution. They play into the Hegelian Dialectic, influencing policy and the direction of this country away from the vision of the Founding Fathers. The Hegelian Dialectic is a philosophy that involves a thesis and an anti-thesis, resulting in synthesis. This is fine if you debate whether to use salt or sand on icy roads, but not if you discuss unchangeable principles and inalienable rights. This was a method that Carl Marx used in forming his thesis on communism.

Those who practice the Hegelian Dialectic play middle-of-the-road politicians like a violin, those politicians who do not stand solid on the Constitution but placate the enemy of freedom and try to have it both ways. Unfortunately, it is not just found on the left but some on the right are all too willing to oblige. In contrast, there was nothing middle-of-the-road or moderate about the Founding Fathers. Make no mistake about it, moderation in politics, which is a compromise in principles, is not a virtue as some would have us believe. Moderation in politics is a vice and one that compromises with principles. When it comes to our alienable rights, there is no compromise. It requires principled politicians and citizens who defend the Constitution.

Another way of ignoring our founding principles is when leaders deal with a crisis in an outright power grab. A tragic example today is how the government at the federal and state/local levels attempted to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic. The government (politicians and bureaucrats and/or those pulling the strings) said the only way for the people to be ultimately free from the pandemic is to isolate, lock down, and vaccinate. This was false—a lie. The end result when you infringe on inalienable rights is slavery to the state. Those who pushed to live their lives and use common sense approaches to protect themselves as well as use alternative treatments to the government-sanctioned ones were demonized and attacked early on, sometimes physically and most definitely through character assassination.

When your political leaders think that violating your inalienable rights is part of the process to the solution it will not end well. Those who refused the “vaccine” were persecuted and many lost jobs, careers, opportunities, recreation, education, relationships, and proper healthcare. They forced churches to shut down or if you met you couldn’t sing! Clearly a violation of religious freedom. (Yet Planned Parenthoods were allowed to operate). Petty tyrants arose out of leaders at all levels of government. Immutable, unchangeable principles that our government was established upon, those inalienable rights that come from God, had to be ignored in order to achieve the result. Bad leaders took an opportunity to enact an agenda that robs us of liberty while promising the opposite. It will take a while to come back from the damage done on a psychological, societal, and financial level to the average American. Remember, once our freedom is gone it is almost impossible to restore.

Barack Obama said to never let a crisis go to waste. His mentor, Saul Alinsky, said that if there isn’t a crisis, create one! Obama followed this tactic in his administration. Later on, the response to the Covid-19 crisis was an outright power grab. That is what they are attempting with the Green New Deal – global warming agenda. Just go for it. Skip over any discussion or debate. Don’t let the people decide. Whether the Hegelian Dialectic is used or an outright unconstitutional power grab, the end result is that We the People become slaves of the state.

Principled politicians cannot be played by those factions that would steer America away from the Constitution. The Founding Fathers expected that future generations would embrace their ideologies and thereby defend and protect the Constitution. As Daniel Webster wrote: “Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not cluster, and what has happened in 6000 years, may not happen again. Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.”

In order to maintain liberty, our rights that come from God must be protected, and never compromise our guiding principles expressed in the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. When the next “crisis” comes along how will the American people respond? I hope to immediately refuse to go along with anything that tramples on our natural rights and that is in how our government deals with anything. Our inalienable rights are not up for negotiation. These times require principled men and women who stand up for our Constitution and our Christian foundation as a nation so those who attempt to enslave us wouldn’t stand a chance.