The learning-to-thrive Podcast

Contact David for questions and comments: davidhiggtx@gmail.com    

FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, CONTACT DAVID: davidhiggtx@gmail.com

CONTACT DAVID FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS: davidhiggtx@gmail.com

Contact David For Comments and Questions- davidhiggtx@gmail.com

Contact David for Comments and Questions: davidhiggtx@gmail.com   God is not who we think He is; He is who He is and not who I imagine Him to be.   There is some objective truth about God, but it is not my imagination or my sensibilities that define or govern Him. He exists independently of all of our beliefs about Him. With that in mind, there are four questions that we are all wanting to find answers to: Who is God? What is He like? What is He up to? How can I get to know Him better? 

CONTACT DAVID FOR COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS: davidhiggtx@gmailcom   "There has never been a time when I am not completely dependent on God's grace, mercy, and love.” I am not always aware of this need, but it always defines the broader context of my life. I ALWAYS NEED HIM! Understanding this truth will help me to embrace the humility needed to receive grace from Abba and enable me to stand in His strength and express His life. A growing awareness of one's need for God is not a sign of weakness or failure,                it's a sign of growing maturity.      

Contact David for any comments or questions: davidhiggtx@gmail.com   "True peace begins with the discovery that God isn't angry with you...and never has been!" In fact, He loves you completely and fully...and always has.   The Good News is that God has done everything necessary to enable you to have peace with Him and to enjoy a meaningful relationship with your creator. (At the birth of Jesus, the angles proclaimed the Good News to all mankind: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace and goodwill toward mankind) We must change our minds about who we believe He is (repent), and receive His love and the right relationship He freely offers us as a gift! As we believe/embrace this Good News and receive this free gift, our lives are changed! The proclamation of the arrival of Jesus started with "Peace on earth and goodwill toward men." 2 Corinthians 5:19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. Reconciliation is about restoring peace and friendly relations between two parties.

FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS CONTACT DAVID: davidhiggtx@gmail.com   2 Cor 5:19 - God is no longer holding our trespasses against us since the Cross…

Contact David For Comments or Questions: davidhiggtx@gmail.com   "To believe that the circumstances of my life reflect how God feels about me is to live disconnected from the truth of the Gospel." One of the most common mistakes we Believers make is to think that our current circumstances accurately reflect God's feelings toward us.   We often live as if happy circumstances means a happy God, and that un-happy circumstances means an un-happy God. Thinking this way will guarantee your Emotional and Spiritual life will look and feel like a roller coaster.   Do you think that when Paul the Apostle was being stoned and left in the street for dead that God was unhappy with him? ( Hmmmm...I don't think so!)    

CONTACT DAVID FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS: DAVIDHIGGTX@GMAIL.COM   Jesus used the metaphor of the Vine when speaking to His disciples about this in John 15 and described himself as the Vine, and his followers as the branches. In the same way that a branch cannot bear fruit apart from the vine, we too cannot bear fruit on our own, or apart from Him. The Vine is the source of Life and the branch is the receiver of Life since it has no Life on its own.   As long as the branch remains/abides/lives connected to the Vine it will be able to receive the Life the Vine provides. This will produce the Fruit the Vine desires through the branch.   This is the only way the branch can produce fruit. The branch cannot produce fruit apart from the Life of the Vine flowing through it, no matter how hard it tries. It is not the branch's effort that produces the fruit, it is only the Life of the Vine that produces the fruit.   What is the fruit that the Vine produces through/in the branch? The Vine produces the Fruit of its Life or the Fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5)

CONTACT DAVID FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS- davidhiggtx@gmail.com   Jesus used the metaphor of the Vine when speaking to His disciples in John 15. He described himself as the Vine, and his followers as the branches. In the same way that a branch cannot bear fruit apart from the vine, we too cannot bear fruit on our own, or apart from Him. The Vine is the source of Life and, the branch is the receiver of Life since it has no Life on its own.   As long as the branch remains/abides/lives connected to the Vine it will be in a position to receive the Life the Vine provides. This will produce the Fruit the Vine desires through the branch.   This is the only way the branch can produce fruit. The branch cannot produce fruit apart from the Life of the Vine flowing through it, no matter how hard it tries.   It's not the branch that produces the fruit, it is only the Life of the Vine.    What is the fruit that the Vine produces through/in the branch? The Vine produces the Fruit of its Life, otherwise known as the Fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5)    

Contact David For comments OR Questions: davidhiggtx@gmail.com   "God's love for you has nothing to do with how you've acted today, yesterday...or ever. His love for you has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with Him. He loves you because of who He is. He IS love!" The unsettled issue isn't on God's side—it's on ours. Will I believe/embrace this truth? Will I stop striving to earn his love and acceptance and receive it as His gift to me? Doing so makes all the difference in life.    Disappointment is an emotional response to an unexpected event or outcome. Does God ever encounter unexpected events or outcomes in your life?        

Contact David for any questions or comments- davidhiggtx@gmail.com   Our Father invites us to join Him on an adventurous journey of learning to partner with Him as He impacts the world around us and through us through His Love! I had been on a decades-long journey of learning how to follow a series of religious rules and trying to act like Jesus or doing the best I knew how. That eventually brought little more than frustration and burnout because there is NO LIFE in following a Religious System! Life only comes from Him and through learning to cooperate with Him! 2 Cor 5:15 He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but live to Him who died for them. Jn 14:20 In that day [after the HS has come to you] you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Read the whole chapter Jn. 14. See the emphasis on obeying MY NOTE: not THE Commandments, as in the Big 10, but MY Commands…as in LOVE ONE ANOTHER! This is the focus of partnering with God…learning to Love others as He loves us and them! Paul talked about being a co-laborer with Christ

CONTACT DAVID FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS davidhiggtx@gmail.com NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE… You have ALWAYS been the object of the love which flows from God’s Father Heart toward His creation. (John 3:16) Does God still love the world today as much as when He gave “His only begotten Son” to become the savior of the “World?” The parable of the prodigal son is a snapshot of God’s loving heart for His creation. This POV provoked the religious people of Jesus’ day, and STILL provokes the religious crowd of our day. All creation is held together in Christ, and if separated from Him, would cease to exist. (Col. 1:17) Our religion has taught us that only some people are actually loved & accepted by God; those who have jumped through the right hoops. The others can become loved by God if they jump through the right hoops too. This sets up a barrier that those who are addicted to religion can hide behind. “I’ve jumped through the right hoops to gain God’s love & acceptance…they can jump through the right hoops too to gain God’s love & acceptance too.”   Becoming a child of God (through believing/trust/faith) speaks about the “Way of your being”(expression of your life) not the “Truth of your being” which is the Core Truth of your Identity.  Existential Experience (the Expression of your Life- which is how you act in the moment) compared to Ontological Reality (Your Core Identity which God establishes). What about “you’re of your father the devil?”  Was Jesus saying they were demons? Or was it similar to when He said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan?” Was he saying Peter wasn’t a child of God? Was He saying the religious leaders were NOT children of Israel and God’s people? No, I don’t think so. He was saying, “The way you are acting is more like Satan’s children than God’s. Get your stuff together!”

 CONTACT DAVID FOR COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS davidhiggtx@gmail.com

Contact David With Any Questions or Comments- davidhiggtx@gmail.com

CONTACT DAVID WITH ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS davidhiggtx@gmail.com    

Contact David for comments and questions: davidhiggtx@gmail.com

Contact David for Comments and Questions: davidhiggtx@gmail.com

Contact David for Comments and Questions: davidhiggtx@gmail.com   Some Books Related To The Early Church  Pagan Christianity- Frank Viola & George Barna Reimagining Church- Frank Viola Finding Organic Church- Frank Viola Paul's Idea of Community- Robert J. Banks