Positively Good Productions
Sowinig blessings and life lessons to encourage, refresh, and benefit our lives.
Life on Earth is a brief sojourn. It is only
temporary, a test of our faith, a transitory
screening, a journey to the ultimate destination
of eternity. It is critical that we live our lives
with a focus on the afterlife.
We are ambassadors on this earth. We are only
here for a short period of time. Our true home
is in heaven. The Scriptures contain numerous
teachings on the brevity of life. Everything
comes to an end, including the good, bad, and
difficult times.
To make the most of our lives, we must
understand and accept that our lives are
ebbing away in comparison to eternity.
While thinking about death (our own
and others') is uncomfortable, it is also
comforting to remember that the
forthcoming realm, the new Jerusalem,
will be a permanent dwelling with no
more tears, heartbreak, anger, or pain.
We are told that if we are true believers,
we will never die. Yes, our physical
bodies will die, but our souls will live
forever in a world free of death, pain,
and sorrow.
Understanding that both the best and
worst of times will pass... allows us to
critically evaluate our lives and learn to
appreciate how blessed we are on so many
levels... as well as not take our journey for
granted.
Our past is in the rearview... it's gone... it's over. It
has served its purpose. Knowing the consequences
of our past hiccups helps us better recognize and
avoid potential problems in the future. Our past has
a way of better preparing us for our future.
This is a new day!
Let us look back on our past and see how far we
have come along, and accept that life is but a
series of phases... it is all fleeting.
Even when our troubles seem bigger than they are
and our lives feel like a spiral into the abyss... life is
constantly changing.
Life is an amazing journey that is constantly changing.
Time flies!
Time seems to accelerate as we get older.
Many of us, especially as we age, gauge
the passage of time expectedly, thoughtfully,
retrospectively and gratefully. In other words,
we look at time, right now, and assess how
quickly time is passing by at this moment, and
we also look back and assess how fast yesterday
or last week went by.
Every thought, feeling, emotion and situation in life
are all temporary. There is nothing that we have in
this life guaranteed, with the exception of change.
Whatever our perception of time might be...
it's temporary.
NOW is the time to seek God,
be grateful, walk in our calling,
savor new experiences,
and use our lives wisely!
Right now is temporary. Once this moment is gone,
we cannot bring it back.
Many people strive for...
Living the good life.
Our culture’s egotistical reality and their unhealthy
preoccupation with status and success can corrupt
God-honoring aspirations through systems that
reward self-aggrandizement over charity, and
egocentricity over humility.
Worldly possessions can bring us a measure of
worldly stability and security; however, things of
the world have only fleeting value. Understand that
this is also a phase that will end.
Some have compromised their integrity for a perceived
greater good. What can be seen and touched...
will not last.
We must set our trajectory upon God rather
than our own self-aggrandizement.
Every thought, feeling, emotion and situation
in life is temporary.
By thinking a new thought, we can often feel
a new feeling, it's all temporary. Feelings change
as dynamically as our needs change, it's all
temporary.
Emotions are also temporary. That's why they are
called emotional states, it's all temporary.
Every situation in life... they are all temporary.
fulfillment for instant gratification...
a temporary thrill.
More money = greater happiness?
It is easy to allow temporary things to consume all
of our energy and efforts and become more of a
harsh taskmaster... than a luxury.
Self-centered desires can rob us
of true joy and happiness.
The temporary can cause one's emotions to teeter
fiercely at times. Sadly, many people have
remained unfulfilled and wondered why their
lives, regardless of their lot in life,
still comes up empty.
He who loves money will not be satisfied with
money, nor he who loves abundance with its gain.
This too is vanity (emptiness). When good things
increase, those who consume them increase. So
what advantage is there to their owners except to
see them with their eyes? The sleep of a working
man is sweet, whether he eats little or much;but
the full stomach (greed) of the rich [who hungers
for even more] will not let him sleep.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-12
“If you make a habit of buying things
you do not need,
you will soon be selling things you do.”
Filipino Proverb
Many who are rich in temporals are poor in
spirituals. Some who are poor outwardly are
inwardly rich!
There are valuable pursuits available to us:
God, love, justice, faith,
compassion, contribution,
redemption,
just to name a few. These should be pursued
with great fervor.
One can do many things without God such as:
acquire wealth, start a business, get an education,
buy cars, homes, etc., but we truly believe that...
true peace, joy, and fulfillment in our lives can
only be realized... when God is at the helm of our
lives.
God does not want our things. God wants our heart.
Our things, however noble, cannot justify deformation
of the soul.
Many who are rich in temporals are poor in
spirituals. Some who are poor outwardly are
inwardly rich!
What is contentment?
Money can’t buy it, and poverty doesn’t give it.
Contentment comes from being satisfied and
thankful for who you are and where you find
yourself in life.
When the good life is
separated from the God life...
it is futile and meaningless.
Many are
Spiritually hungry,
in this land of plenty... and will
remain unfulfilled without God.
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor
he who loves abundance with its gain. This too is vanity
(emptiness). When good things increase, those who
consume them increase. So what advantage is there to
their owners except to see them with their eyes? The sleep
of a working man is sweet, whether he eats little or much;
but the full stomach (greed) of the rich [who hungers for
even more] will not let him sleep.
There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun:
riches being kept and hoarded by their owner to his own
misery. For when those riches are lost in bad investments
and he becomes the father of a son, then there is nothing
in his hand [for the support of the child]. As he came
naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he
came; and he will take away nothing from all his labor
that he can carry in his hand.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-15
God has no ending, but the
universe does.
We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty
handed as on the day we were born.
We can't take our riches with us.
Ecclesiastes 5:15
What we leave behind us at death:
1. Our worldly goods.
2. Our reputation. The reputation for wisdom or folly, for
integrity or dishonesty, for kindness or severity, which our
life has been building up, death cannot destroy, through
whatever experiences we may then pass. We must be
content to leave that behind to be associated with our
name in the memories of all men.
3. The influence for good or evil we exerted on human
souls.
What do we take with us?
1. Our faith in God.
May we always remember and never forget:
Possessions are not permanent...
We can appreciate our money, fame, success, and
possessions more by not allowing them to define us
or become a horrible taskmaster who owns our soul.
