The 3-Minute Message

“Sacred Geometry–God Has a Design for Your Life” by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Listen to the Podcast ==================== “Sacred Geometry–God Has a Design for Your Life” by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com ==================== There is a different type of artist now who’s works are not made to last but are just spectacular. You can only fully experience their masterpieces if you are there within hours of their completion and if you can step far enough back to take it all in.  Their canvas is actually not a canvas–it’s sand, a lot of sand. These two guys work on the beach, one from San Francisco and one from the UK. Using rakes and other simple tools they create these beautiful geometric patterns and designs in between the ocean tides. [pics] The big challenge in experiencing their designs is time and perspective.  If you want to see their creations and you come a couple of twelve hours later, after the tide has come in, you’ve missed it. It’s gone. Forever. Even if you make it on time you still may face the other really big problem: being too close to the work. When you’re down at the beach level your perspective is limited. You can only see what’s right around you and even that on a kind of finite dimension.  The only way to fully experience the fullness of the design is from a perspective that is high enough above it to take it all in.  It’s the same perspective God has when he looks at your life. [pics BACK] God is and has always been a designer. In the beginning God designed and created the earth. It wasn’t a random act of throwing paint onto a blank canvas–a little blue here, a little orange there. God had a design for the earth and it was wonderful.  Another example of God’s incredibly intricate design skills is the inner working of our physical bodies.  The bible says that “God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” (1 Corinthians 12:18) And yet another example of God’s work is his precise, specific, and perfect design for your life.  We sometimes have the similar problems of people who want to experience sand art: time and perspective. Time, with God’s process is a little different. His workmanship doesn’t last for 12 hours until the next tide comes in. His work in you lasts forever. Sometimes, though, his time frame is different than we want. Be patient. God isn’t finished with you yet. Be “confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) Probably the biggest challenge for us in this is trusting God without being able to see the entirety of work and his plan. We can only see right what’s right in front of us, what’s right here, and that’s tough.  We don’t, and mostly can’t see, the whole design in our life because we don’t have God’s perspective.  Trust God. Believe that he has a plan and a design that is best for you.  “We know [even though we can’t see]that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,” (Romans 8:28) ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2 ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2

“Jesus is Right Beside You–Say Hello!” by @Kaala► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.comListen to the podcast here ====================The other day I looked up to the sky and said “Thanks God.” Then I thought, “Why are you looking up there?” Then I turned to the seat next to me and said, “Thanks.”It may sound kind of silly or immature to do that but I believe Jesus is not some place way over there as much as he’s right here with us, next to us, within us–closer than our own breath.Jesus is next to you right now. Say hello.Sometimes, though, it’s hard to talk to someone we can’t physically see.There was a story of a minister who had gone to visit a dying man at his home. When he got there he found the man lying in bed with an empty chair next to him.“I guess you were expecting me,” the minister said.“Who are you?” asked the man.“Your daughter asked me to come by and pray with you and I saw the chair…”“Ah, the chair. Sit down and let me explain.”He told the minister that all his life he would go to church and hear how he should pray to God but just felt like it went right over his head. One day, a friend told him that Jesus with him always and that prayer was just a simple conversation. His friend recommended putting a chair next to the bed and in faith to see Jesus sitting there.He said he tried it, loved it and had been doing it for a couple of hours a day. But he never told his daughter because he didn’t want her to think, you know, that he had kind of fallen off that rocker.The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the man to keep on praying.Two nights later the daughter called the minster to tell him her father had passed away. She said she had left the house in the afternoon, after her father had called her over and given her a kiss on the cheek. When she got back from the store she found that he had passed. But she found something strange about his death.She said, “Apparently, just before daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside the bed.”This story always gets me, it does. But it also highlights the kind of relationship and closeness God wants to have with us.One bible writer says,“O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely.”He is close to us.He knows us. He really knows who we are, just how we are and still loves us and isn’t going to leave us.Today, take some time to move closer to Him. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

“Let God Elevate Your Marriage” by @Kaala► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.comListen to the Podcast here====================If you humble yourself in your marriage God will lift your marriage up. It’s a simple if-then setup here. If we humble, God will elevate. We lower, God lifts.Sometimes humbling yourself means taking on mistakes you never made and apologizing for situations you didn’t cause trusting that God will take care of it.Think about your relationships and how many times you’ve stood your ground, certain in your rightness. And maybe you were right.I’m going to say now that there have been some times, you know, once or twice, when I’ve been absolutely right in an disagreement, ahem, argument with my wife.I’m not just saying I was right ‘cause she’s not standing next to me, there was documented fproof of my rightness. I stood my ground in absolute certainty, won the argument, and slept on the couch.That’s a lose-lose, let me tell you.Humility is not weakness, it’s absolute strength. It’s so much easier to fight for your rights, fight to get your way, to prove your point or to win the argument then to be humble. And for what? So you can get your way?In so many marriages I hear things like, “I’m NOT the one who should be apologizing! They should!” Or, “They don’t tell ME what to do. I’m not their…”There’s even a broken model of marriage that suggest that you get your way one day, then yield so your partner get’s there way. The next time is your turn, then theirs and so on.A successful marriage is not about one person’s way. It’s about a mutual way; it’s our way and we have to fight for it. The fight is not with our partners or against them, but with ourself against the need for “my way.” Humility is the key to that mutual purpose.The dictionary definition of humility is that we have a“low view of our own importance.”and with the bible this is relative to someone else’s importance. In our marriage we are to consider our spouse’s needs as more important and above our own.If humility sounds difficult and maybe even a little unjust, it’s because it is! Welcome to Jesus’s world. The bible says“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness…he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!”Jesus deliberately humbled himself, he chose to lower so that his Father could lift.Many of the problems that we will face in our lives are due to our inability to do this one thing, to deliberately humble ourselves. There’s almost no place better than your marriage to see this in action.Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and in due time He will lift you up.

“Finding True Greatness” by @Kaala► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Listen to the podcast====================This message is just Jesus. No frills, no spills…just Jesus. So much of our discussion and understanding of Jesus comes from his actions on our behalf, on what he did for us. And what he did was big there’s no doubt. Planet changing big, country changing, city changing, my life changing, YOUR life changing big.Theologically, he made a relationship with God possible. His life provided us eternal life with God. His sacrifice opened up the door to the most holy, most inaccessible place in the universe: the presence of God.When you think greatness, think Jesus. There is no one greater. No other name bigger than his name. Sometimes, though, we confuse true greatness with the world’s definition of great. We think we have to do this or be that or have this or don’t have that to fit a secular definition of greatness.There was a short piece written a while back by an unknown author titled, “One Solitary Life” that lists all the things Jesus DIDN’T do that we would normally associate with a successful and complete life. The author says:He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in still another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a house. He didn’t go to college. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of these things one usually associates with greatness. He had no credentials but himself. He was only 33 when public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. When he was dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race, the leader of mankind’s progress. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on earth as much as that One Solitary Life.The life of Jesus isn’t validated by worldly standards. His credentials, and ours, come through a life lived in service to God.The gift of God to us is eternal life through Jesus. Your life is no longer your own. You may or may not be called to affect the entire world like Jesus did. But you are called to impact your world, in the place, with the people that God has put in your life. At home, at work, in your city, let God use your solitary life.====================Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c…Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessageFollow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage andhttp://twitter.com/kaalaG+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessageSubscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t… Category People & Blogs License Standard YouTube License

“Are You TOO Dignified for God??” by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Listen to the podcast here ==================== Are we too dignified in our worship? When I was a kid I went to a lot of high school dances. It wasn’t because I was a dancer per se. Uh, uh. I was a break dancer, a b-boy and I’m thinking about getting back into it. In fact, my boys are going to making a little documentary tracking my comeback called, “Breaking Dad.” All this to say that if I’m faced with certain conditions I will automatically start breakdancing. After all the hours and hours and hours of practicing moves and routines there a certain things that force me to move like a Pavlovian dog when he hears a bell ring. I want to be at point in my worship of God that when certain conditions are present, that is, God’s presence is present, I jump, I lift my hands, I dance, I get undignified but don’t even notice myself because my attention is so on God. Think about when this normally happens outside of worship. Umm…how about Superbowl Sunday? Did anyone jump up and down when their favorite team scored a touchdown? Anyone raise their hands in victory.? Obviously, I’m speaking to you Seattle fans out there because there weren’t many opportunities for you Denver. Too soon? Sorry. But you get what I mean, right? Now dancing for some Christians is not something anyone should do and this video message will probably get stopped right now. Still here? Good. Because if King David in the bible, the one God described as “a man after his own heart” was a dancer, than please let’s dance. It’s not about if you have any dancing skills, like you have to be good enough for the show “So You Think You Can Dance” or you have to be Allan Lau my dancing friend or anything like that. It’s not about the dancing moves; it’s about the worshipping heart. David danced in worship, with all his might “while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.” (2 Samuel 6:15) His wife was watching from the window. The bible says that “when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.” (2 Samuel 6:16) David’s response to her clarifies HIS heart of worship. He said that he danced “before the Lord” in celebration and that he would in his worship “…become even more undignified than this, and…be humiliated in his own eyes.”(2 Samuel 6:22) Can you imagine if you were there and saw the King dancing like that? Can you imagine if David came to your church and started doing that? Can you imagine if your pastor or minister started dancing around like that? Hey, we should all be so filled with awe, excitement and enthusiasm that we forget our own selves and worship God’s almighty self without reservation, without thought of self-protection or preservation. God is worthy of all, every part, 100% of our heart and our worship. Let’s get undignified. ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2

“The Beauty of Finishiative” by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Listen to the Podcast  ==================== It’s not how you arrive, it’s how you finish. And while demonstrating initiative is a good thing, I think I’ll take finishiative over that any day. Have you ever started a project, felt the thrill and excitement of that start, then fallen off the finishing wagon? I have. A lot. It reminds me of what my grandfather, Francis Meyer, used to tell me. He raised me after my parents got divorced and he would always tell me “It’s not how you arrive, Kaala it’s how you finish.” No matter what we were doing he would always find a way to interject that statement everywhere. When we were playing checkers and I was winning he would look across the board at me and say, “It’s not how you arrive it’s how you finish,” then triple jump me for the win. We’d be eating dinner and he would look at me and say, “Slow down, Kaala. This isn’t a race. It’s not how you arrive it’s how…” I know, I know, Grandpa. It’s how you finish. I never forgot this (obviously) and that’s good. Because this could be on of the major differentiators between successful and unsuccessful people. Everyone can start. Not everyone can finish. The bible says “Better is the end of a thing than it’s beginning…” (Ecc. 7:8) Paul the Apostle models finishing for us when he says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Speaking of running the race a friend of mine just told me about his first marathon. Now, 26.6 miles is a long time but you know what? When the gun goes off at the beginning of the race everybody starts well. Everybody is feeling good. Everyone has that rush of the start, the high of the beginning. This isn’t a bad thing. It’s just not the only thing. ‘Cause it’s not how you arrive… My friend Ed had trained and put in the time. He was prepared. But at the end and in view of the finish line, something happened. All of a sudden he began to cramp up. He kept his legs moving but the cramping got worse. His feet then his hands then even his face got numb and he panicked. With 285 yards to go, finish line in sight, he stopped. He fell to the ground and stayed there. But, it’s not how you arrive it’s how you finish. The year following Ed ran and finished his first marathon. He ran and finished the next five after that! Sometimes we fall short of achieving our goals and miss the finish. We fall short at work, at home and even with God. The thing is that it’s not really about how many times you fall as long as you keep getting up and moving to the finish. There’s no trick to finishiative, only desire and heart. Keep moving towards the finish line that God has called you to. Keep your eyes on the prize. Run if you can. Walk if you can’t. Crawl if you have to but keep moving to the finish. ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2

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Listen to the Podcast I’m a big fan of marriage. I love it. Love being married. Love what it’s about and love what it means. And I love weddings. As a pastor I’ve done a lot of them over the past 20 plus years and I’ve seen and heard all kinds of vows and promises.There are the Traditional vows–you know the ones–“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife…to have, to hold, til death you part?” Once I got to do Shakespearean-type traditional vows, too: “Doth thou taketh this maneth to be-ith your-eth husband-eth?I’ve also heard and really like what some are calling "personal” vows–where you personalize them with words and ideas that are unique to you.If you’re getting married and working on your vows, or if you are already married and are looking for some inspiration there’s one verse that should be on your wall, your coffee cup and most especially your heart.It’s 1 Corinthians 13. And before you say, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, everyone does that one” it’s not the verse that says:“"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:4–5)I don’t have a problem with reading that at all and have done it many times. It’s the verse above it that’s been getting my attention recently.It’s 1 Corinthians 13:1–3 and it says“f I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1–3 NIV)This should be the goal of every marriage above everything else. Let me explain.I used to think that this verse meant if I don’t love you I was missing something, that I was just a clanging high-hat or china crash symbol. I do still believe that.But it’s in the last couple of years that I’ve also understood it to mean that if I don’t have the love of my wife, if we are not growing more and more in love with each other, I am nothing.If you have faith that can move mountains, or give all your money to the poor, or are a super rich CEO with a fancy corner office and powerful career but your spouse doesn’t love you so what!?! It doesn’t matter. You are nothing.At the end there will only be three things that remain: faith, hope and love. And the bible in 1 Corinthians 13 ends by telling us that the greatest of these is love. Category People & Blogs License Standard YouTube License

“Time Management for When the Wind Blows” by @Kaala► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.comListen to the Podcast  ====================One of the very biblical virtues I’m wanting to take root in my life is diligence, which is careful and persistent work and effort.One of my favorite stories to illustrate this diligence is of the farmhand who could “sleep when the wind blows.”The story starts out with a farmer looking to hire help for his farm. In one of his interviews he asked a man for his qualifications.The farmhand said, “I can sleep when the wind blows.” The owner was puzzled by the response but decided to give the man a chance. Over the following weeks whenever the farmer asked the hand about his tasks he always received the same response, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”A little while later a huge storm swept over the countryside and woke the farmer and his wife in the middle of the night. They ran to wake their helper but found him fast asleep. So the farmer rushed out alone to take care of his farm.What he found were the shutters secured, the tools already placed in the shed, the barn doors locked tight and everything tied down. Even the animals seemed calm.That’s when the farmer understood his assistant’s qualifications and what it meant. When the storm does hit, and it will, the farmhand will be sleeping soundly because he’s been diligent with his time and energy.The bible says “The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” (Proverbs 13:4)There are so many proverbs that make me nervous and bite my nails but the ones on the “sluggard” especially do.Like“A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.” (Proverbs 20:4)Or how about“The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.” (Proverbs 15:19)I had to look up the word to make sure that what I was thinking was what the word was meaning. The dictionary says a sluggard is“A lazy, sluggish person.”Ouch. I don’t think of myself as lazy but there are times that I may stay a little bit longer in the bed or on the couch than I should. And there are things around the house that should’ve been taken care of a LONG time ago.(Sorry, honey.)And there are some entire days that I struggle to figure out what I did that was productive!Let me get practical here. Today, make a list of what has to be done. Then look over that list of to-dos and, beginning with the most important one, work on that one thing until you’re finished or you can’t go any further with it.Then move to the next most important one, do it until it’s done or you can’t go further. Move to the next and so on.If you can do this consistently, day in and day out, you can claim diligence AND, sleep when the wind blows.

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“3 Things to Let Go Of in 2014” by @Kaala► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.comListen to the Podcast====================I read an article once about an Air Force test pilot that got me thinking about who should be in control of my life.One of the planes he piloted was the SR71 Blackbird. It’s not operational anymore but it’s still up there as one of (if not THE) fastest manned aircraft with an absolute speed of two-thousand-one-hundred-ninety-three-po­int-two miles per hour. That’s about a one hour trip from New York to Los Angeles.So he’s flying a speedy plane :)One thing really stood out to me when he said that while he loved flying these extremely fast planes he would never want to be a passenger. It wasn’t the speed that scared him it was the lack of direct control.Think about this: What would happen if the next time you got on commercial airliner they gave you a pair of pilot wings to put on your shirt, a headset and sat you in the captain’s chair? You would now have direct control of that airplane. Would that be a good thing?Most of us, unless we were pilots, would instantly look for someone more qualified and relinquish the controls no problem, no arguing, no debating. Let’s find someone who can fly this plane better than us.If there’s any question on why we have such a hard time letting God be in control the answer should be pretty obvious:We believe we can fly our lives better than God.Here are three things that we should all let go of and let God fly.First, let go of the hurt people have caused you.The bible says to“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31–32)Forgive the hurt. When you don’t you’re still holding on to the controls of a plane you can’t handle.Second, let go of your past. Sure, you’ve done stuff, we’ve all done things that were the wrong things to do. Let it go. Paul the Apostle says,“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12–14)The third thing that should be in God’s hands and not ours is the future. This is all about trust and faith. We can’t know, we can’t predict. We make our plans, our vision statements and goals“…but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.” (Proverbs19:21)Philippians reminds us NOT to be anxious about anything but to let go of those situations and give them to God. If you do the that the bible promises that“…the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:5–7)When God’s in the captain’s seat in your life you can rest easy and enjoy the ride.====================Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c…Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessageFollow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage andhttp://twitter.com/kaalaG+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessageSubscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t… Category People & Blogs License Standard YouTube License

“Worst Marriage Advice Ever?” by @Kaala► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.comListen to the Podcast====================Before I get to the some of the worst marriage advice I’ve ever heard I’m going to start out by telling you the best. Ready? Here it is:Put God first.Amazing, eh? Depending on your original position you’re either saying, “Uh, huh. Yep! Amen!” or “That’s it?? That’s all you got??Absolutely. And when you hear the worst advice I think this will be even more amazing. The first one is a father’s advice to a friend of mine. He told her, *"If you want a better marriage lower your expectations.”*I guess it depends on your goals here so if a mediocre, just getting by, blah relationship is your target than that’s all you–lower away. If however, you’re wanting a deep, loving, real relationship than lowering your expectations isn’t going to cut it. Can you imagine a coach giving a Superbowl pregame talk and saying, “C'mon team. Don’t aim too high here. Just be satisfied that you’ve made it this far. Don’t expect to win, don’t want to win, don’t want the best for yourself and this team!” Alright? Go get ‘em!The solution is NOT lowered expectations as much as it’s increased and improved communications. BUT there has to be a shared vision for this team to work. BOTH players have to want the best for the relationship. If they don’t that’s a different story.The second piece of horrible advice was given to my wife years ago at a “Pastor’s Wives Meeting.” She was told flat out “Just do *it*.”It? “It” as in sex. Just get “IT” done. Close your eyes, tough it out. “It” will be over soon. I guess if you’re all about procreation this would work. But the bible speaks of sexual union as a not just a physical but also a spiritual joining together towards one-ness. It’s a beautiful intimacy that God created to be good and if it’s not something’s wrong. If it’s not pleasurable for both of you something is wrong. I do agree that sometimes people are just not in the mood for “it” and that’s understandable. But a chronic lack of physical intimacy leads to a chronic lack of emotional intimacy. The last one for now is one of the best of the worst. A single guy at work told a friend of ours“Hey, don’t think that marriage lasts forever.”Can you set yourself up better for failure than going into a marriage with the thought that it’s disposable? Uh, oh. Something’s wrong here. This isn’t working like how I expected. Time to get a new one. Craziness.Yes relationships take work, yes they require commitment and effort. If that’s not what you believe than you’re selling yourself short and missing out on the beauty of marriage that God intendedThe bible says that the “…two will become one.”That is the goal, that’s the target and it’s not physically possible. Can’t be done. With God all things are possible. Without God as a foundation in the relationship, our marriage is built on shifting sands and you two will NEVER become ONE. And that’s why God needs to be first. ====================Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c…Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessageFollow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage andhttp://twitter.com/kaalaG+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessageSubscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t… Category People & Blogs License Standard YouTube License

“Do Rest” by @Kaala► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.comListen to the Podcast====================Stop. Just stop. You need to stop, rest and be restored.In that order. You are restored, refueled, when you rest, when you stop.God can restore your soul but only if you stop and rest alongside those quiet waters in those green pastures.Stop what? Stop working. Stop bustling about.Hey, I get it.We’re living in an always on, always connected world. Is it 5 o'clock? Oh, work must be finished, quitting time. Uh, uh. Not anymore. We’re still working here!While nowadays, rest is in short supply, the more pressing problem is that the demand is, too. In other words, less and less of us want, desire or are even aware that we need rest.I have people bragging to me all the time about how little sleep they get, how busy and important to the functioning of the world of the world. Why, without them, God would be hard pressed to keep up himself. Rest? Who can rest?OK. They’re not saying that last stuff but still it seems that REST is somehow for weaklings– especially for men.I asked one group of about twenty-five men how much sleep they usually get. It got real quiet as they all kind of fidgeted and looked at each other. Finally, one guy says, “I usually try for six hours.” Another guy jumped in and said, “Six? I get five.” Yet another guy stood up and responded sneeringly, “Five? Shucks, if I get four I’m lucky!”It’s like a badge of honor or something. Rest? Sleep? Stop? Not me!I’ve heard a lot of reasons why we can’t or don’t stop.If you want it done right…If I don’t do it it won’t get doneWho else is going to…I could give all those reasons but I won’t (even though I did). There are three underlying reasons we won’t rest.First, is we aren’t aware that we’re supposed to. In America that work ethic thing is pervasive. But you know what? On the seventh day God rested. You’re not above God. You need to stop and rest, too.Secondly, it’s a trust thing. We’re running around doing things because if we don’t we don’t believe God will. Jesus said God understands our needs and that even the pagans run after all these things. But“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33)“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” (Psalms 23:1–3)Let me be clear here. You can lead a horse to water, but what? Yep. You can’t make us rest. I believe God gave us free will and in that freedom we choose to rest or not. He can lead us, and does, to the greenest of pastures, and the waters that refresh and restore us, but we, us, we choose to enter into the rest. Today, take a moment or two or three, and sink back into the rest that only Jesus can offer.====================Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c…Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessageFollow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage andhttp://twitter.com/kaalaG+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessageSubscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t…

“Do You Think of Yourself Too High, Too Low Or Just Right?” by @Kaala► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.comListen to the Podcast ====================You are “fearfully and wonderfully,” and, if I may add, uniquely made. You are you. And before I start getting too Dr. Seuss-y here on you, that YOU that you are, is good.Was that too confusing?Let me be clear so there’s no misunderstanding: you are good. Just the way you are.God wasn’t taking the day off when he made you. He wasn’t having a bad day, either. The bible says that“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3)This means that you have the skills, the creativity, the wisdom, the passion and the drive already built in to achieve the destiny God has created for you.So what’s the problem? Why are so many NOT living up to that destiny? I call it the Goldilocks syndrome.Let’s say that there are three types of people out there and, of the three, two are not going to fully realize their potential and won’t receive what God has prepared for them.The first type are the people who arrogantly agree that they are God’s creation, and are in fact, a gift to the rest of us in God’s creation. To them the bible says,Don’t think of yourself more highly than you should.Their arrogance will carry them just to the edge of the promised land; they’ll be able to peek in but their overbearing self will keep them from getting in. They have too much pride and in their self-subsistence have no room for God’s abundance.Think, camel here. As in“it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24)The second type of people are the opposite of the first.To them the same verse says that they should think MORE highly of themselves then they do. There is a JUST RIGHT level they should be at. Just like Goldilocks, there is a “too high, too low and just right” in self-evaluation.Sadly, this “too low” group will never even get to the edge of the promise. They’ll see it off in the distance but think it’s too much for them and won’t even make the effort.It’s the smallness of their heart and mind that prevents the “just-rightness” in their life.Their future is too small. Their plans, goals and dreams are too small. Their image and understanding of God is too small.Thinking too little is just as much a sin as thinking too much of yourself.The good news is that God loves us just the way we are. The even better news? He loves us so much that he won’t leave us that way. Remember, the sick will be healed, the lame will walk and the blind will see with the touch of the savior’s hands.====================Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c…Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessageFollow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage andhttp://twitter.com/kaalaG+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessageSubscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t… Category People & Blogs License Standard YouTube License

“Two Things that Help Reveal Your Calling” by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Click here to listen to the Podcast ==================== The calling of Moses is one of the most dramatic ever. I don’t know about you but I’ve gotta admit that there have been times in my life, alright most of the time, that I have wanted a bush to burn in front of me, too! And for God to clearly reveal his purpose for my life. How about you? You ever wished that God would speak to you that? Wished that he would lead you and give you your calling the way he did to Moses? I’m going tell you right now that God doesn’t usually repeat so if you’re waiting for a bush to burn before you do something for God you’re going to be on that couch for a long time. But, and this important, there is something like that burning bush for each of us that helps to illuminate and reveal God’s calling in our lives. Let’s look at Moses’s fire first then I’ll share TWO THINGS that should be burning for you. One day, while Moses was out shepherding a flock of sheep, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush. Correction, Moses saw that there was fire but the bush wasn’t exactly burning and so, Moses thought, I gonna go over and check this out — “why the bush does not burn up.”(Exodus 3:3) As soon as he gets there God speaks to him and says that Moses will be the one to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses life had already revealed a deep value for protecting and saving the Israelites. And that leads to one of the big ways God reveals his calling for us: Passion. One of the major ways we know where God is calling us to is by that fire within us. God created you differently than everyone else. You have certain things on the inside that ignite when it’s related to your calling. When you are operating in alignment with what God created you for it energizes you. It may be the most difficult and exhausting work but when you lay down to sleep you’re filled up, you’re fulfilled. One theologian says it like this: “The kind of work God usually calls you to do is work (a) that you need most to do and (b) that the world needs most to have done. The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” That “deep hunger” part is the second thing that should be on fire for you. God’s call really isn’t about you, though it is. It’s about how and who you’ve been created to serve. If what you’re doing isn’t serving anyone than that’s not your calling. If Jesus, the one we follow, said that he “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”“ (Matthew 20:28) then how much more should we servants, too? If you haven’t already done so, spend some time and find and know the calling of God for your life. I want to urge you to "live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2

“Where Will You Go in 2014?” by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Listen to the Podcast ==================== It’s not what you know it’s who you know that determines where you’ll go– and you know this to be true. There’s a story about Albert Einstein that Billy Graham told almost 15 years ago. Mr. Graham tells us that Einstein was once traveling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket but he couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his pants pockets. It wasn’t there either, so he looked in his briefcase, he looked in the seat beside him and still couldn’t find it. The conductor said, “Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.” Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, “Dr. Einstein, Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.” Einstein looked at him and said, “Young man, I too, know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.” After Billy Graham finished telling the story he said that the suit he was wearing would be the one he wore when he was buried. “But,” he said, “when you hear that I died, I don’t want you remember the suit, I want you to remember one thing: I not only know who I am I also know where I’m going.” There was a similar conversation between Jesus and his disciples shortly before Jesus died. He was preparing them for his death and told them “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:1–7) This new year, as you’re setting new goals, directions, making plans, dreaming big dreams– all things you should be doing by the way. But as you’re doing all these things remember it’s never going to be how much or what you know. It’s always going to be who you know that determines where you go. ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2

“Fight or Flight or Sing” by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Listen to the Podcast here ==================== What do you do when things are really tough, you’re surrounded, everyone is against you and you’re not sure what to do? Usually, when faced with this type of situation we have what we normally call our “Fight or Flight” options. We have a choice to stand and bang it out or put on our running shoes and get out of harm’s way. There’s a third choice for us, however, and it’s illustrated in the bible in what could have been one of the best movie battle scenes ever. It seriously would’ve looked like an epic Lord of the Rings finale except that instead of swords, archers, orcs and mighty deeds of valor the people won by… singing. Yep. This is the third option when we’re faced with a stressful situation and are not sure what to do. Fight, flight or sing. I want to encourage you to add more praise and singing in your life. In the bible there’s the story of King Jehoshaphat who was told one day that “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar.” The King panicked and called the entire nation to pray and seek the Lord. This makes sense because the nation of Judah, at this time, wasn’t the nation that was going to successfully choose the “Fight” option. They didn’t have the military resources to stand against this enemy. And unless they were planning on abandoning their children, their “Flight” option was out, too. King Jehoshaphat, with no options left, prays, and I quote, “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”“ (2 Chronicles 20:12) The Lord answers tells them: ”‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you… Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.“ (2 Chronicles 20:15–17) So King Jehoshaphat, with nothing else to do and no other options, decides to trust God and leads with singing. He appoints men to march at the head of the army praising God and singing, "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever.”(2 Chronicles 20:21). Again, just visualize a huge movie battle scene but put a choir in the front. The question is not, “Did it work?” but rather “Did God work?” And the answer is yes. Always. When you’re faced with something like this vast army in your life, you’re not sure what to do, you have no options, lead with singing. Sing because you trust in the Lord. Sing because you have no other options and no idea what to do. Sing because the situation is beyond you. Then, stand firm and see the deliverance of God. ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2

“Never Be Lost Again” by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Listen to the Podcast here:  ==================== What happens when you can’t trust your GPS? Apple computers a few months back had some serious problems with their GPS map application and lots of people, who trusted their system, were lead very wrong. Two times I remember typing in an address on two separate trips, then following the GPS VOICE’s instructions, and literally driving in circles over and over again. Now, at a certain point you have to ask how many times would Kaʻala drive in circles before he realizes something is amiss?? We now know that it takes at least 3–5 times before Kaʻala figures out something is wrong! Have you ever been lost? Really lost? Do you remember the feelings, the stress, the anxiety? Even helplessness. I want to share with you one practical, directional truth that will make sure you never get lost again. And don’t just brush this off, “yeah, yeah, yeah…” Lots of people I interact with are wandering, direction-less, lost, without even knowing it. Webster’s dictionary defines lost as unable to be found Thanks Webster! Or, not knowing where you are or how to get to where you want to go I’m going to add “not even knowing where you should go.” See if you recognize this story: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.”(Luke 15:11–12) The younger son took all his possessions, took off, and “squandered his wealth on wild living.” He spent his entire inheritance on this wild living and had to get a job feeding pigs. It got so bad for him that he was looking at stealing the pig food to just survive. He’s stressing, anxious, not sure where his next meal is coming from, no money. He’s not month to month here he’s day to day. He’s not knowing how to and not knowing where to go. This is lost. The bible says: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;” (Isaiah 53:6) When you are turned away from God and are following your own way, that’s lost. This is not just a message of salvation. You can have this “lost” feeling contemplating a new job or career change. You can have this “lost” feeling looking at the bills you have to pay spread out on the table. This younger son, the “Prodigal Son” recognized “lost” and turned back to his Father. He had a whole speech prepared “The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But when he gives the speech his father ignores it and says: ”'Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’“(Luke 15:21–24) When you’re feeling anxious, not sure how or where you should be, lost, remember this one thing: No matter how far away we go our Father’s house is always open. When you know this you will never be lost again. ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2

by @Kaala ► Join the 3MM Community Now at http://3MinuteMessage.com Listen to the Podcast ==================== I think we sometimes get Santa Claus and Almighty God confused. We think that if *we* are nice then God will be nice to us and if we’re naughty we’re in trouble and getting a stocking full of coal. Does our behavior make a difference to God?  Let’s look at *the* song that may have caused this confusion and let me explain. You know the song. In fact, you’re probably humming it right now and if not you will be for the rest of the day after this message. Come on sing along: He’s making a list and checking it twice Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice… Who’s coming to town?  Yep. That’s right. Santa Claus. And he has an if/then arrangement with you according to the song that if you are not naughty but are nice you’ll receive lots of and I quote “Little toy dolls that cuddle and coo Elephants, boats and Kiddie cars too” The song is a teaching tool for children to motivate good behavior. We all know that the song is best understood as “you better be good or you won’t get anything.” We know it makes a difference to Santa Claus but does it make a difference to God if we’re naughty or nice?  And let’s define terms here. Naughty means doing bad things, call it *sin,* or “missing the mark” or “falling short.” Nice means *not* doing bad things but instead doing good things.  So. Does it matter?  Let me say no, no and yes.  First, no, our naughtiness or niceness does not make a difference in God’s love for us. The bible clearly says that God loved us while we were still sinners. (Romans 5:7-8) When we say that God loves us unconditionally, that means, um, unconditionally.  Second, no, our being naughty or nice does NOT affect our salvation or entry into heaven. Again, the bible clearly states that it is NOTHING we do that merits salvation; it is ONLY the grace of God in Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8–9) If at anytime you think your acts of goodness, niceness and righteousness DESERVE God’s goodness and niceness to you you’re worshipping a figment of your imagination. Thirdly, I do say “yes” our behavior makes a difference to God in the way that a loving father is happy or sad by the actions of his loving children.  To receive his love and his gift of salvation it does not matter if you’re naughty or nice, because nothing will ever separate you from the love of God that is found in Jesus. The *only* thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love. And  So stop being motivated to be good out of fear of punishment from God. That’s so not going to happen. When you’re motivated by fear or guilt your life can never be one of confidence, mercy and abundance. Only when our behaviors and actions are motivated to love because God *first loved us* can we truly be joyful and secure.  Be motivated to be good, not out of guilt or fear, but only out of love. ==================== Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=threeminutemessage Like Us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/3MinuteMessage Follow Us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/3MinuteMessage and http://twitter.com/kaala G+ Us: http://gplus.to/3minutemessage Subscribe to the Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-3-minute-message/id682224076?mt=2