Forward & Upward, Pt. 5. Rooted & Grounded in Truth

Part Five: Rooted and Grounded in Truth
3 John 3:3, For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Knowing and living in truth is based on a relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “You know where I am going.” Thomas said, “We don’t know where you are going, how can we know the way?”
John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”  [you know me] 
5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
When Jesus said that he is the way the truth and the light, He could have also said that our way is not the truth and the life. 
Strength does not naturally occur. Certainly, we are all born with a certain degree of natural strength. We are not born with any strength in moral and spiritual terms. Increasing in strength requires training and development. Increasing in strength requires learning and coaching.
We need strategies to grow and increase in strength. I’ve attended a couple of track meets with Lexi supporting her. Being in that environment reminded me of how much I enjoyed competing in track and fields and coaching many years ago. The story I have often told of my coach Bill Bennett shouting from across the field at the beginning of practice when we made us run four laps around the track. “Hudson push yourself!”
Besides I did discus and shot put, so why do I have to run? All that was from my track and field experience, not football. 
So when I watch young men and women compete today, I find it amazing to notice that strength and skill that can come from training and coaching.
And all of this comes from truth. What is the connection? You cannot become good and doing track and field events without learning the truth involved with the event you are doing. The truth becomes your standard, your habits, your practice, and your performance.
What is the definition of truth?
Webster’s
1) The body of real things, events, and facts : ACTUALITY. 2) The body of true statements and propositions: 3) fidelity to an original or to a standard.4) sincerity in action, character, and utterance
Biblically
As to pertains to the kingdom of God, truth is a fundamental characteristic of God, Truth is a virtue that the person of God should practice.
Truth is that which is consistent with the mind, will, character, glory, and being of God. Even more to the point: Truth is the self-expression of God. 
Truth is ontological, —which is a fancy way of saying it is the way things really are. Reality is what it is because God declared it so and made it so. 
3 John 3:3, For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Truth is God’s Way
Psalms 86:11, "Teach me Thy way, O Lord, that I may walk in thy truth" 
"I have chosen the way of truth," he said (Ps.119:30). 

Forward & Upward, Pt. 4, Strategies for Strength

Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory." ~ Romans 5:2 (NLT)
The Strategy of Better Priorities: 
Matthew 6:31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Forward & Upward: Pt. 3 The Good Eye

Forward & Upward: Pt. 3 The Good Eye
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!" – Matthew 6:23-24
How we see or perceive is one of the important keys to victorious living, success, and fruitful ministry. 
Your “eye” (or your focus and perception) is the lamp or floodlight for your whole body.
A “good” eye is clear focus on the right things.
A “bad” eye is a lack of focus and seeing everything.
"Perception is how we see and understand what occurs around us—and what we decide those events will mean. Our perceptions can be a source of strength or of great weakness. Faulty perceptions lead to misdirection & disconnection. We participate in creation and destruction of our obstacles. So what are your perceptions today?" (Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way)
There things in life that we can and cannot control. Our perception is one of the things we can control. We want to have "healthy eyes," which is seeking things as they are and through the Word of God. Bad perception taints our world and our reality. As Jesus said, when your eyes are healthy, your whole body (life) is full of light. On the other hand, when you eyes are unhealthy, your body is full of darkness.
Through good perspective, we can always greet our obstacles with:
with energy
with persistence
with a coherent and deliberate process
with iteration and resilience (Like Thomas Edison)
and an eye for opportunity and pivotal moments
Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 10 for he looked for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
People who don’t see purpose are easily persuaded not to follow.
2 Kings 2, And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.

Forward & Upward. Pt. 2, Roads & Rivers

“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. ~ Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV
Isaiah 43:18 (GNT) But the Lord says, "Do not cling to events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
God does the amazing and the impossible! "Roads & Rivers" will be created for you in 2019.
“We are laborers together with God.” 1 Corinthians 3:9
Seeing new things requires shifting focus from former things  (Understand why this important)
Moving forward and upward requires both natural and supernatural intervention.
Roads speaks of the natural—things you need to do. Rivers speak of supernatural — things only God can do. 0
One we control. The other we do not control.
One is what you do. The other is what God does.
1. PEACE “Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old." Let the past stay in the past. Do not live in the past or look back as if you had no bright future.
2. PURPOSE "Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it?" No matter how much you have done or how old you are, God is still doing new things. It will "spring forth" meaning that the "new thing" will come quickly. You need to "know it" in faith, not just wish for it.
Why it is essential to look forward and press forward:
Things that “spring up” can only do so in the future. The seed you have planted can only emerge in the future. If you look back you will miss it.
3. PROVISION "I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert." God can do the impossible for you. He will pave a road through your wilderness.  He will provide a river through your desert....provision in a dry place.