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Building an Empire of Hope

Ankle-Biters - Part 1

Jereme DittmerJune 16, 2016

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Jereme DittmerJune 17, 2016

Jereme DittmerJune 15, 2016

Ben Courson

Ben Courson is founder of Hope Generation, host of a global TV and national radio program, and is an author and speaker based out of Applegate Christian Fellowship.

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Napoleon Bonaparte amassed an empire that spanned from Spain to Poland. But he didn’t just have a mind to conquer planet Earth, he also bent his mind on the aching beauty of planet Earth which is chock full of magic.

The story is told of Napoleon and his party sailing the Mediterranean. The crew was discussing God. In the talk, they eliminated God wholesale. God was put on the dock and was thrown out of the equation. Up till now, Napoleon had kept mum, but finally he said his piece. He lifted his hand and pointed to sea and sky. “Gentlemen,” he said, “Who made all this?” 🌅 @dylanjbates
I’d have to agree that it takes more faith to be an atheist than to believe there’s a Creator, seeing as the world smacks of Divine Intelligence.

When I see my favorite painting, “Starry Night,” I don’t deem it a phenomenal byproduct of fortuitous events. I see the fingerprints of Van Gogh all over it (notwithstanding the fact that he DID paint “Starry Night” from an insane asylum). So too, it’s hard to look at earth as some accident, when art is appointed in wild splashes all over it. The fingerprints of God are indelibly planted on creation. The world is a rock teeming with life and awash in wonders!

There are koalas munching on eucalyptus leaves! There are foxes sneaking about ever so slyly! And sloths swimming quite capably! The world is full of critters roaming on this magical planet!

Why get jaded when you wander among the wonders???

Don’t downgrade your dreams to match your reality. Upgrade your faith to match your vision. #momwisdom

Don’t lower your theology down to your reality, raise your reality up to your theology.
Our vision casting can actually change this mote of dust in a sunbeam, and wake up its inhabitants who are snoozing! Passion when put into action offends mediocrity. God is fully capable of laying waste to the average and doing fantastical things in its stead, jolting our thoughts out of mundane grooves into hopeful places via neuralplasticity.
God’s magical, so our faith should be too! The Bible says God made the stars with his fingers! The Milky Way houses 100 billion stars...and there are 800,000 cataloged insects that crawl on planet earth. What?! And David said this is finger-paint and child’s play for God. Psalm 8 says God made this all with his fingers, and yet Isaiah says in His ARM do we trust. If God’s fingers can make gaseous nebulas collapse into stars and all the critters that orbit them, then think what his ARM can do!

Do you not think the everlasting arms can hold up to your dreamality?
Science informs us that what you believe about God is a humongous part of your identity formation. It ensconces a significant amount of neurological real estate. You invest in this deeply. That’s why it’s germane and integral that you believe God’s arm can low key move heaven and earth to speed your visioneering. He wants to love the mediocrity right out of you!!! God WANTS to bless your socks off.

One incredible version (the Hebrew Tranlation) renders Psalms 23:6 this way: “Surely goodness and mercy shall hunt me down all the days of my life.“ I for one enjoy being hunted by goodness and mercy!

God’s not mad at you but madly in love with you and loves to send good things to chase you down. So if you see God as one who kills and steals and destroys, you are literally demonizing him and projecting thief-ology onto Abba! But if you believe (to quote the red letters) the Lord comes to give you “a rich and satisfying life” your experiences will match your belief systems.

Maybe it’s time to upgrade to Hope 2.0 seeing as God is more ready to give than we are to ask. Boom.

Because Paul says we are masterpieces and Genesis says we are God’s image, we are reflections of the Creator and consequently we, too, are all artists at heart! We are given a craft to hone, and it’s our calling to steward the song inside us well. I don’t know if your vibe is helping unfold (rather than mold) a child, or if your jam is being a rock star, if your “ikigai” is to be an electrician or to teach astrophysics, if your destiny is to play pop or jazz, to work at a biscuit factory or to strategize policy in the White House. The world needs your gift. We were all created for excellence. The word “glory” in the Bible means “excellence” and “weight.” When you do things with excellence God puts all his weight behind you.
So when you’re on a stage living the dream in the bright lights, or crushing mocha artwork with your cream patterns as a barista, and pharisees ask you, “Are you doing this for the glory of God, brother?” You can simply respond, “If by that you mean am I doing my craft with excellence in the knowledge that God will put all his weight behind me, then yes! That’s what it ACTUALLY means to glorify God: I do things excellently and know God will put his weight behind me. So excuse me while I keep being a rock star. Am I doing this for the glory of God? I AM the glory of God.” Psalms says we humans are crowned with glory and Isaiah said we are God’s crown of glory.

So instead of asking, “Are you glorifying God today?” Just ask, “Am I being myself today?” The Bible says who you are is the glory of God.

Nothing brings God more glory than just sending it and absolutely blowing everyone away with our talents. #hopeisdope #hopegen #godofhope

There is, according to no uncertain research, a genuine linkage between social media and anxiety and depression.

While I am all about the whole “rage against the machine” vibe, I’m no Luddite. I‘m a far cry from a Quaker, because I know that every generation seems to decry technology, as if progress were the problem when, in fact, it isn’t... Socrates warned against writing since it would create forgetfulness in the learner’s souls in place of them being able to use their memories. Folk bemoaned the printing press, believing that it would overload the world with data and information that would be harmful to our brains. In 1936, “The Gramophone” (a music magazine) reported that kids had developed the habit of dividing attention between the humdrum preparation of their school assignments and the compelling excitement of the loud speaker, describing how radio programs were disturbing the balance of their excitable minds.

But the problem isn’t journals or the printing press or radio or Facebook. All technology does is expand already present human capacities. And all social media does is mirror the humans who use it. Or maybe social media is more of a funhouse mirror, as it warps our humanity, distorting the vitriolic bitterness we FEEL but would never say in person reflected in our gleefully mean tweets. Distorted mirror though social media is, the clear reality remains that computers reflect the users. Maybe the answer is not speaking out so much against technology (which is like speaking out against humanity). Maybe joy is more about knowing how to fast from the Internet for half a day to let God and squad love on you as you go on friendventures! Instagram can be a good thing...but even a good thing becomes a bad thing when we idolize it as a god thing. And what we idolize now we will demonize later. So let God love the heavens right into you, and depression will make like a baby and head out. #joy #hopeisdope #hopegen
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#instagram #instagramers #hope #love #dailyhope #dailyquotes #hopetour2018 #hopeforall #hopefortheday #hopeonthestreet #hopeforthefuture #deppression #technology #tech #adventure #adventuretime #authentic #author #jacksonvilleoregon

A lot of people don’t think they can be chill with the Almighty and besties with the Creator. They find themselves utterly unworthy of being a house for God. They don’t believe God loves them.

A lot of people have got the wrong idea about God.
Our view of God is often predicated upon our immediate surroundings. Culture eats ideology for lunch. In Germany God looks like a police officer. In Switzerland God looks like a banker. In America God looks like a capitalist businessman. Our view of the Creator is reflected in the zeitgeist of our country...and even the atmosphere of the home. As “Fight Club” (the book) claims, every son models his image of God on his earthly dad. Maybe that’s Freudian, but calling God “Father” probably rings psychic cherries somewhere in the subconscious (IF the subconscious exists. Though I’m with Sartre and the existentialists here and question whether the subconscious is even a real thing at all! But I digress). Regardless of what country you live in or dad you have, God isn’t subject to your socioeconomic environment or your land’s body politic. Like the speed of light - the only stable element in existence - God is light and in Him there is no shadow of turning. He’s stable. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever!

God
Is

Love.

And no policy or campaign or daddy issues or extenuating circumstance can ever change that.

God is not the creature of circumstances but the Creator of them (and He’s called us to be the same)! So don’t box God into your home-life experience or your political persuasions. Because whenever you try to box God in, it might sorta work at first... But boy does he have a nasty habit of bursting out of boxes three days later.

And...He’s taillights!

No matter your tribe or tongue, gender or father, God loves you. I know this seems self evident. But a lot of people still carry shame as though they’re not worth God’s blood. The cross literately speaks to a God who loves you to death. And His lovingkindness is better than life.

Game over.

#lovemydad👍🏻

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