Encouragement for 2010 - Dr. Don's Letter of Encouragement

CHECK LISTS FOR THE COMMITTED CHRISTIAN

As we come to end of 2009 it is time to examine where we have been and where God wants us to go as we move into 2010. My prayer and motto for 2010 is: “Father, in 2010, help me to be more like Jesus than I have been.”

In this letter of encouragement I hope to help you become more aware of the power of the Holy Spirit to help us live a more successful Kingdom life-style. Satan is on an all out attack against the Christian and the family. He will tempt us to lower our morals, values and ethics to achieve self-serving goals. May God help us to grow daily in a deeper love for God and others and depending the Holy Spirit to live a victorious Christian life-style.

Prayerfully examine your life in the light of these check-lists. Use the Spirit-controlled check list to stay focused on the one who loves us more than we know. Here are some Scriptures to mediate on as you allow the Holy Spirit to adjust your belief system and your life-style.

Galatians 3: 3 (NLT) “How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect (mature) by your own human effort?”

I Thessalonians 5:23, 24 (NLT) “Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord comes again. God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful.”

SOULISH CHRISTIAN DEFINED:

• He does not draw upon the Holy Spirit for his power.

• He leans upon self-power.

• He follows the dictates of his pleasures and delights

• He uses natural wisdom to attempt God’s work.

• His everyday existence is governed by his carnal nature.

• He is excessive in his curiosity.

• He emphasizes his superiority in clothing, speech and deed.

• He desires to shock people into recognizing how smart he is.

• His only joy comes when his selfish wishes are satisfied.

• He likes to argue and debate.

• He holds tenaciously to his minute opinions.

• He assumes an attitude of self-righteousness.

• He is easily assaulted by evil spirits.

• His thinking is easily becomes confused.

• His emotion’s vacillates very quickly.

• He is overly-sensitive and interprets things as aimed at him

• When neglected or overlooked he becomes angry.

• He is filled with pride.

• He never honestly seeks the will of God.

• He labors for the Lord with a mind teeming with schemes and plans.

• He mainly depends on feelings.

• He is unable to maintain a calm spirit. Confusion causes inner unrest.

• He is easily discouraged.

• He is an expert in finding fault and quick to criticize.

• He is slow to forgive.

• He has a tendency to be hasty and not wait on god.

• He acts from impulse rather that principle.

• He is guided by sudden thoughts which flash through his mind.

• He cannot rely entirely on God.

• He puts his attention more on the task than God.

• He can only reach another’s soul and not his spirit.

• He delights in high-sounding, spectacular words and phrases.

• He wants to impress people with his knowledge.

• He longs to be seen and seeks prominent positions.

• He loves to use spiritual phraseology.

• He is self-satisfied.

• He uses his gifts as personal possessions to promote himself.

• He lives for the moment with little thought to sacrifice for the future.

• He is happiest when people recognize his “greatness”.

• He says, “GLORY TO GOD.......AND TO ME.”
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THE SPIRIT-CONTROLLED CHRISTIAN DEFINED:

• He draws upon the Holy Spirit to do the work of ministry.

• He leans upon the Holy Spirit’s power.

• He puts aside his own pleasures and desires to please the Father.

• He uses God’s wisdom to attempt God’s work.

• His everyday existence is governed the Holy Spirit.

• His joy comes directly from God, not from circumstances around him.

• He allows the Holy Spirit to use him to advance the Kingdom of God.

• He exalts God by his life-style, speech, and clothing.

• He desires to point people to God and His greatness, not to himself.

• He avoids arguments and debates.

• He is flexible and teachable.

• He knows his righteousness t comes through the blood of Jesus.

• He is not easily assaulted by evil spirits.

• His thinking is saturated with the Mind of Christ.

• His emotions are stable because his mind is being renewed daily.

• He is not overly-sensitive because his mind is fixed on God.

• When over-looked its okay because he is “crucified with Christ”.

• He is filled with humility

• He honestly seeks the will of God.

• He serves the Lord with heart open to receive instructions from God.

• He mainly depends on the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

• He maintains a calm spirit and nothing disturbs his peace.

• He is not easily discouraged

• He is an expert in finding the good in people.

• He speaks the truth in love.

• He is quick to forgive.

• He waits on God and is not hasty.

• He acts on God’s principles rather than from impulse.

• He is not guided by sudden thoughts

• He relies entirely on God.

• He puts more attention on God rather than the task itself.

• He is able to reach another’s spirit.

• He refrains from using words or phrases that detract from God.

• He has no desire to impress people with himself.

• He seeks to promote Christ rather than himself.

• He is satisfied when God is exalted.

• He uses the gifts God gives him to promote the Kingdom of God.

• He maintains the presence of God even if it requires sacrifice.

• He is happiest when people recognize Christ in him.

• He says, “GLORY TO GOD AND TO HIM ALONE”

May God help us all to yield and cooperate with the Holy Spirit so we can become more like we were created to be. May Jesus be free to express Himself through us.
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Dr. Don Phillips (408) 363-0547 LifeCoachDon@att.net  http://www.drdonphillips.com/

Check out my blog: http://drdonletterofencouragement.blogspot.com/

WHAT HURTING PEOPLE NEED

WHAT HURTING PEOPLE NEED
By Don Phillips

In this blog and the ones following I will share some of the tools and principles that I have used in counseling for the past 38 years. I will try to keep my blogs brief and to the point.

As I face the remaining years of my life, I am praying that God will use me to direct many more people to Him as the ultimate and only Source for healing and growth. I know that I am only a resource to direct them to the Source. God has called me to be an instrument of His healing power to help heal lives and relationships and to encourage pastors and church leaders. I hope to help my dear brothers and sisters to better counsel people. I will do this through my blogs.

I know that many of you, like me, are inundated with information. I will make my blogs as brief and helpful as possible. Here is my first blog:

WHAT ARE HURTING PEOPLE LOOKING FOR?
My prayer and passion as I minister to hurting people: “Father, as I counsel people, help me to be so yielded to You and so dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit, that more of you will flow out of me than myself.”
Deep in the heart of the hurting people, who come to us for help, there is a cry coming from their pain that may sound like this:

“When I struggle with life, I don’t want you to apply some psychological principles to my life. I want a wise, spiritual saint who can peer into my soul and direct me, through all that’s there, TOWARD GOD.”
Those who are hurting need someone to help them who know how to yield to the Holy Spirit and meet them where they are with the compassion and power of Jesus Christ, the Healer. They need someone who recognizes that they themselves are not the source of help but just a resource to direct them to the SOURCE. Will that someone be you?

Here are some of my favorite Scriptures relating to counseling:
“..and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.” (I Corinthians 2: 4, 5 - The Message)

“So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.” (Col. 1: 28, 29 – NLT)

"The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him who is weary. He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens my ear to hear as the learned" (Isaiah 50:4).

Here are some powerful quotes from two of my favorite mentors:

“In a spiritual community, people reach deep places in each other’s hearts that are not easily reached. They openly express love and reveal fear, even though they feel so unaccustomed to that level of intimacy. If anything good happens in our conversations with each other, it will have more to do with who we are in Christ than what we say or do. It has more to do with whether I listen to and follow the Holy Spirit.” Larry Crabb

“Our life is full of brokenness– broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s presence in our lives?” Henri Nouwen

May God help us all to be so intimate with Him that rivers of wisdom and the power of the Holy Spirit will flow through us to those who need healing, encouragement and restoration.

In future blogs I will provide the reader with some tools and principles that God has used in my ministry to bring healing to broken lives and relationships. Please feel free to respond to me at the email address below and ask questions.
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Don Phillips LifeCoachDon@att.net (408) 363-9547 www.drdonphillips.com

Cross Over The Bridge

GOING FROM BRIDGE “NOWHERE”
TO BRIDGE “SOMEWHERE”
By Don Phillips

During the recent presidential campaign there was much criticism about the Alaskan bridge that was built to “nowhere.” Many people today are on a BRIDGE TO NOWHERE! They are desperately trying to find fulfillment and success that will bring deep joy and contentment. In this article I hope to help us see that God has provided a BRIDGE TO SOMEHWERE!

A few times lately God is waking me up at 2:00 AM with one-liners ringing in my heart. Recently he woke me with these words: “MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY!” I know that “Daddy, Papa, Abba God wants us to make room for Him.

This morning January 16, 2009, at 2:00 AM, these words were impacting my mind and spirit; “BRIDGE TO SOMEWHERE,” and “CROSS OVER THE BRIDGE!” After getting up and spending an hour in prayer and the Word, I sat down and began typing these thoughts on my laptop. As I sit here typing, the Holy Spirit is filling my mind and heart with some things I feel He wants me to share with you. He has a destiny for each of and He has provided the way and provisions for us to get there. Jesus is the way (the bridge) to get us to our destiny. I appreciate the gospel tract that shows a gulf or canyon between man and God and Jesus is the bridge, in the form of a cross, to lead us to the Father.

Jesus Christ is truly the Bridge that leads us God and all He has for us. Jesus is the DOOR to eternal life but many stop at the DOOR and don’t go any farther. Jesus is not only the WAY but He is also the TRUTH and the LIFE! May God help us to enter into the full abundant life He has for each of us. We need to CROSS OVER the bridge but not take up residence on it.
In the mid-60’s we lived on the campus of Golden Gate Baptist Seminary in beautiful Mill Valley north of San Francisco. There were times when we would be driving home across the Golden Gate Bridge, and the fog would be so thick we could hardly see. As we passed through Waldo Tunnel into Marin County, we were blessed with a beautiful view of a sun bathed scenic Sausalito and Mill Valley. I often thought this is a beautiful word picture of going from darkness to light, from chaos to order, from death to life, and from sadness to Joy.

In my book, HEALING BROKEN LIVES AND RELATIONSHIPS, I relate a prophetic word spoken over me in 1980 through Ernest Gentile. He prophetically saw this large crevice with people on either side trying to build relationships. They were getting frustrated because the bridge of relationship they were trying to build kept falling down. He saw a husband on one side and his wife on the other side of the crevice trying to relate to one another. He saw parents on one side and their children on the other sided being frustrated because they couldn’t seem to connect. He also saw members of the body of Christ trying to build bridges of relationship but to no avail.

Then Ernest saw me at one end of the crevice on my hands and needs, crawling into the open crevice. As I was crawling, I was praying and counseling and the crevice was closing behind me causing the disconnected parties to come together. He said, “Don, I see you as a GIANT ZIPPER.” When I heard those words, I wept because the Lord has commissioned me to be a reconciler. He has called me and anointed me to help reconcile people to God and each other.

When the word came to me; CROSS OVER THE BRIDGE, I remembered that in the 1950’s Sandy Patti sang the song,“Cross over the bridge.” Here are the lyrics, see if you can pick out the spiritual significance of these words.

CROSS OVER THE BRIDGE Sung by Patti Page (Written by: Bennie Benjamin and George Weiss)

If you're a guy who's had a gal
In each and every port
And you've forgot the rules of love
That life has always taught
And if you broke as many hearts
As ripples in a stream
Well, brother, here's the only way
That you can be redeemed
Cross over the bridge


If you have built a boat
To take you to the greener side
And if the boat is built
Of ev'ry lie you ever lied
You'll never reach the Promised Land of love I guarantee
'Cause lies cannot hold water
And you'll sink into the sea

I know it isn't easy
To resist temptation's call
But think of how your broken heart
Will hurt you when you fall'
Cause some day you will find
That you are hopelessly in love
And she'll belong to someone else
As sure as stars above
Cross over the bridge

Cross over the bridge
Change your reckless way of livin'
Cross over the bridge
Leave your fickle past behind you
And true romance will find you
Brother, cross over the bridge
Cross over the bridge

Let me glean a few things from these lyrics that the Holy Spirit may use to convey some things for our serious consideration.

If you're a guy who's had a gal In each and every port. And you've forgot the rules of love,that life has always taught. And if you broke as many hearts as ripples in a stream. Well, brother, here's the only way that you can be redeemed.

Ø Are you searching for love in the wrong places? In the pursuit of love and deep satisfaction have you broken the heart of God and those who love you? Do you know the “rules of love?” God so loved you that Jesus died to make a way for all of us to know and experience His unconditional love. When we repent of sin and invite Christ to be our Savior and Lord, we learn how to love ourselves and others with His kind of love.

Ø “Well brother, here’s the only way that you can be redeemed.” We must CROSS OVER THE BRIDGE JESUS CHRIST. As believers in Jesus, we know that Jesus is the ONLY way to be redeemed, to be purchased and freed from slavery to sin. Redemption happens through repentance, and by allowing the blood of Jesus to cleanse us and then we will be able to MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY GOD.

If you have built a boat to take you to the greener side and if the boat is built of ev'ry lie you ever lied, you'll never reach the Promised Land of love,I guarantee'Cause lies cannot hold water and you'll sink into the sea.

Ø In your pursuit of deep satisfying love, have you tried to build your own boat to get you there? Was your boat built on lies and manipulation to get you to what you believe is a “greener side.” If you try to get there any other way but God’s way you will never arrive at the PROMISED LAND OF LOVE. You will drown in the waters of despair and hopelessness, I GUARANTEE,

I know it isn't easy to resist temptation's call, but think of how your broken heart will hurt you when you fall.'Some day you will find that you are hopelessly in love and she'll belong to someone else as sure as stars above.
Ø God knows it is not easy, but He makes it possible for us to RESIST TEMPATION’S CALL.

Ø Think and consider the seriousness of your decisions to find love your way. Don’t let the enemy of your soul, break your heart and the heart of those you love and cause you to fall. Don’t waste your life by pursuing love in the wrong places. If you don’t let God love you into a relationship with Him then you will never find the kind of love that meets your deepest need for love.

Cross over the bridge. Cross over the bridge. Change your reckless way of livin', Cross over the bridge. Leave your fickle past behind you and true romance will find you. Brother, cross over the bridge. Cross over the bridge

Ø If you haven’t found true love in Christ, then it is time change your mind and repent and leave your reckless way of living. Please don’t continue living a confused and vacillating life, Cross over the Bridge called JESUS!

Ø The Holy Spirit is encouraging us to CROSS OVER THE BRIDGE (JESUS) AND CONNECT WITH A LOVING GOD WHO WILL GIVE YOU LOVE, PEACE AND JOY BEYOND MEASURE. The Holy Spirit also wants to help us to connect better with each other. WILL YOU YIELD TO THE HOLY SPIRIT AND LET HIM DO THAT?

To learn more go to my web site: www.drdonphillips.com