Robert J Mullen's Blog » Picking up the pieces

Let your breakthrough begin now

robertjmullen — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:47:57 +0000

God is ready and willing to help us whether we have gone through bankruptcy, foreclosure, divorce, addictions, loss of job, adultery, wrong financial decision, relationships with spouses or children, or quitting in ministry, as long as we avail ourselves to his teachings. For if we do, it will set us free. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32, KJV). Freedom comes when the truth of God’s word is applied to our lives. Recovering from a shattered life is possible as long as we begin picking up the pieces and doing it God’s way. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto” (Matthew 6:33, KJV). The kingdom means his way of doing things and being right with him. In the process of picking up the pieces from a shattered life, we must build our lives on a solid foundation. The reason many have even experienced a life of destruction and failure is because of the lack of understanding the importance of having a solid foundation. The foundation that I’m speaking of is not the way the world views a solid life. The world views a solid life by what we possess rather than on something much deeper and eternal. God must come first in life for he is our provider who brings us the provision we need. It is important how we build our lives and on what we build it on. In order to pass through the storms of life, we have to know what brings true stability and success. Let us look at these next few verses of Scripture.

So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a stupid (foolish) man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell–and great and complete was the fall of it.
Matthew 7:24–27, AMP

The solutions to life’s problems can be resolved by building our lives on the rock, which is God’s Word, and living by what it teaches. Locked up in the Word of God are instructions, and in these instructions are directions to lead us into overcoming our shattered lives.

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Facing The Challenge

robertjmullen — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 03:34:28 +0000

This is a re-post from about 1 1/2 years ago from my book “Picking up the Pieces” which is available on this site by clicking the picture of the book.

In our lives, there are many challenges that we face; these challenges come to us in many different ways.
As these challenges come, we then are forced to respond which in turn will cause some kind of reaction; the reaction then requires a decision. Unfortunately many times people make a decision to respond in fear, panic, pain, causing us to react by giving up in life. Because of these decisions to give up and quit, people find it difficult to recover from anything. When responding to these things in this way, it places people in a place of denial, and if we are in denial, then we allow ourselves to be blinded to the fact that there is no use to carry on and that there is no hope of recovery. If we respond in a negative way with our minds reacting with thoughts of failure, our course of action will result in remaining in a place of stagnation to the truth and experiencing freedom. It then becomes a life of self-destruction without any recovery in sight. In my own personal life as with many individuals, I have been met with tough challenges. With these tough challenges coming my way, it caused me to either face them head-on or to quit in life. Life is full of decisions, and what decisions we make will determine either success or failure. A decision is the act of making up your mind about something. Too many times we give up on whatever it is that we are going through. God has put dreams within our hearts for his purpose as well as for our benefits, and yet, many have given up on these things. We have allowed the faces of circumstances to dictate to us that we can never reach the fulfillment of these dreams. So, we then take the low road that leads us to failure, and we never reach that place where God intended for us to be. Every individual must know and understand their self-worth and that you have the potential to do great exploits, “but the people that do know their God shall be strong and do great exploits” (Daniel 11:32, KJV). So, if we know God (knowing about God and knowing God are two different things), then we also understand how valuable each individual is to God. With knowing these things, we must continue to believe that it is still his desire to see these dreams come to pass in our lives. Merriam Dictionary defines dreams as a strongly desired goal or purpose. Let us begin to make a shift in our lives and begin to turn away from the negative faces that have been looking at us for years and begin to look at the face of God and let him show us what he has for us. We must look through the eyes of God and his Word because it is where we see the plans and purposes he has for us. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5, KJV). Before we were ever thought of or conceived in our mother’s womb God had a plan for us. That plan was in eternity before we ever stepped into time. When we stepped into time after being born out of your mother’s womb is when the dreams and purposes of God have the potential for our dreams to be fulfilled. We must begin to believe what Jeremiah spoke when he penned these words, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV). It is a wonderful thing to discover that there truly is a plan and a purpose for all of our lives, and these plans and purposes are not to lead us to failure and hopelessness and destruction but to prosper and to a hope and future.

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Third Step in Making Adjustment

robertjmullen — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 17:57:57 +0000

Thirdly, enter into God’s abundant life that has for all people. God has made provisions for every Christian to live in victory and abundance. Just because others may not be experiencing victory in their lives does not mean that God has not provided it. He has done everything in his power to give his children the authority and provisions needed to live triumphantly on this Earth.
God wants his people to enjoy life in abundance, to the full, until it overflows. This is fulfilling the will of God. When you focus on the Word of God, you will begin to experience the abundant life.
Since becoming a believer, you have been given authority here on Earth. Never forget that Satan’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy.
Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:7–10, NKJV
We must guard ourselves from the enemy and do not give him authority over things in your life. When coming to Christ, you have been given authority over the enemy. There is no need to tolerate sin in your life because we already know that Jesus came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly.
We must guard our mouth from saying things that are contrary to the Word of God. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]” (Proverbs 18:21, AMP). If we are not careful with our words, we risk saying things that empower the devil. Rather, speak life-giving words. “Jesus came so that you might have and enjoy life in abundance, to the full, until it overflows” (John 10:10, AMP).
God is your source. He supplies your need. The basis for that supply is all of the riches in glory of Christ Jesus. The supply is unlimited. As you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all these things shall be added unto you as we can see. “But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides” (Matthew 6:33, AMP).
As you give your life totally to God and his kingdom, you know that God will gladly give you all of his life. The Christian who gives his best to God and expects God’s best becomes extremely useful in the work of the kingdom.

And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].
2 Corinthians 9:8, AMP

The most important thing to remember in living the abundant life is: make God first and treat others with love. He will supply all the needs and make his grace abound in you, so that you will never lack in any good work to which he calls you.
The challenge that I want to leave with you is begin to listen to what God says, and whatever he reveals and shows you make the proper adjustment. Surrender your life and all that you are doing to God. This will give God access into your circumstances, relationships, in our thinking, in our commitments, in our actions, and in our beliefs.
Begin, to experience a brand new life with all of the pieces put back together and all your dreams coming to pass.
Pray this prayer:
Lord, I know that I may have made a mess of my life. I ask you to forgive me. I know that you have a plan and a purpose for my life; plans for success and not defeat, a purpose to accomplish your will. I realize the need of having faith to make the adjustments that you want me to make. So, God, I ask you to show me how and where I need to make the adjustment. I ask you to show me the right way to go in my decisions. I am willing. Change my situations, circumstances, relationships, my commitments, and priorities. I surrender to you right now. I trust you with everything in life. I thank you and I praise you for turning my life around and changing me. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

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Second Step in Making Adjustment

robertjmullen — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:00:55 +0000

Let us take a look at the second part of making the adjustment.

Secondly, we have to make an adjustment in on our faith toward God and that he is the one who will help you arrive at your place of success. I want to reiterate that faith is what connects you to God; it comes by admitting that there is total dependence on him and that your hope is in him. It brings pleasure to God when we put our trust in him and no one and nothing else. Even though he is invisible and cannot be seen, we are born again and continue to live by us putting our faith in Jesus Christ and experience the change in our life. Faith is where you please God, admit your dependence upon him, and continually seek to rely upon him and his grace.
Although there may be no physical evidence for your faith, you do have sufficient evidence in God’s Word. Your evidence for what you believe is your faith in God’s Word. God is a witness. He will never lie. If you take God at his Word, that Word will stand good in the trial.
The best way to get faith is to hear the Word of God. It is important for you not only to hear it with your ears, but also with your heart. To hear God’s Word in your heart requires openness and hunger for God’s message. “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ” (Romans 10:17, NLT).
Begin by speaking the Word of God aloud and allow it to become alive in you. Our faith is stimulated when we hear it. By faith, believe, receive, and confess it every day. Faith will grow as you are continually hearing God’s Word.
In the Word of God, we can see that God has given everyone the exact amount of faith needed to live in this life. God has not given one person more faith and less to another. “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34, KJV). God does not favor one over the other. Everything that God has made available has been made available to all equally. It just seems as if some have more faith than others do because they have discovered how it works and have accepted it.

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First step in making the Adjustment

robertjmullen — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 04:03:40 +0000

This a continuation of a previous post titled “Making the Adjustment”.

The first adjustment is that we have to secure is our relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to take the time to explain. According to Paul, he taught in Romans the importance of believing and confession with your mouth leading to salvation. The word believe can be defined as trusts in, clings to, and relies on. Confess can be defined as declaring openly and to speak out freely about one’s faith.
Salvation that comes from trusting Christ, which is the message we preach, is already within easy reach. In fact, the Scriptures say, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. Romans 10:8–10, NLT
Your faith in God’s Word is expressed with your heart (believe) and with your mouth (confess). If you truly believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, there is no reason you should not be willing to confess him as Lord. The moment you believe in your heart upon Jesus and confess him as your Lord and Savior, you are born again.
It is God’s ability and our willingness and having faith that we receive this born again experience. It is not obtained by our own work as many have taught, concerning earning your way into heaven. It has to come through God’s power and his grace. We are unable to accomplish these things by our own work.
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.] Ephesians 2:8–9, AMP
We could have never been saved had it not been for the grace of God. Man is certainly undeserving according to his own merits. It is God’s power working through what Jesus has done on the cross and by his Spirit that brings about the new birth. Yet, without an attitude of repentance and faith, God’s power will not work in a man’s heart. Man’s will must be obedient to God’s will before he can receive God’s blessings.
When we are born again, we become brand new people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives us new life, where we are no longer the same. We are recreated living in union with Christ.
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT
The new birth makes you a brand new person. You are created after the image of Jesus Christ and now our actions must be evident within our life decisions. This means that within your heart, you are made to be like Christ.
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. Colossians 3:10, NLT
We must feed our minds with the Word of God so that we are renewed in our thinking, as well as continuing learning more about Jesus Christ. We accomplish this by doing what the Word of God teaches us.
Pray this to ensure your relationship with Jesus Christ:
“God I recognize that I have not lived for you up until now. I have been living for myself and that is wrong. I need you in my life; I want you in my life. I acknowledge the completed work of your son Jesus Christ in giving his life for me on the cross of Calvary, and I long to receive forgiveness you made freely available to me through this sacrifice. Come into my life now, Lord. Take up residence in my heart and be my king, my Lord, and my savior. From this day forward, I will no longer be controlled by sin or the desire to please myself, but I will follow you all the days of my life. Those days are in your hands. I ask this in Jesus’ precious and holy name. Amen.”
Now we can begin to know and do the will of God and begin to adjust our lives to what God wants us to do. By having our spiritual life in place gives a greater opportunity to have true success.
The road map to a successful life is found in the word of God. “This Book of Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that it written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success” (Joshua 1:8, AMP).

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Making the Adjustment

robertjmullen — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:17:28 +0000

Here is an excerpt from my latest book titled “Picking up the Pieces”

When a person finally comes to realize that they can pick up the pieces in their lives, one must also understand that there has to be adjustments made in our thinking, actions, and decisions.

I have done some coaching on my son’s baseball team. I would usually coach the pitchers. If anyone understands anything about pitching, the objective is to get the ball within a strike zone and locating it either left, right, inside, outside, high, or low. Using these different locations would help throw the batter off making it more difficult to hit the ball. However, the pitcher would not always be successful in putting the ball where he wanted it to go. When this happens on three or more pitches in a row I would often say make the adjustment, which meant he would have to get back to the fundamentals of pitching: maintaining balance, landing your foot on the proper line, releasing the ball, and following through. When applying to what has been previously taught one can then get themselves back on track mentally, and fundamentally. I think that in our lives this is also true. Most of us know how things are suppose to work and what we should do, etc. But somewhere in the middle of the season in our lives on the playing field in our game we have a tendency to forget the basic fundamentals, and because of this our focus has become blurred by all of the missed pitches and we just can’t seem to get the ball back where it needs to go.

When this happens, it means that we need to make an adjustment. The most important adjustment that we have to make is concerning our relationship with God.

Since God is interested in our lives, he also wants to make sure that he is a part of your life. Our success can only happen when we include God in all that we do and we include ourselves in all he has for us. This has to be a joint effort. We cannot do anything without him.

I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.
John 15:5, AMP

Ask yourself this question! Are you willing to begin to make this adjustment?

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Trust in the Lord

robertjmullen — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:13:56 +0000

When it comes to dealing with situations in our lives it cannot be dealt with our own human reasoning or with our own wisdom (not saying that people don’t have wisdom); human understanding. Why? Because we get emotions involved in trying to process through problems. This is where we learn to trust in someone who knows how to deal with difficult situations. God’s Word says,:

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7 KJV).

From the beginning of time, God has always made it available for every person to be able to have success in life. Success and successfully coming up with solutions to problems are accomplished by God and His Word and by using the wisdom that comes from both. There is a danger that has existed from the beginning of time; this danger manifests itself through people thinking that they can figure things out and do things their own way rather than going through the process of God’s Word. God has always desired for people to be able to enjoy what God has available to them. He has gone as far as giving the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, a perfect place to dwell. When God created Adam and Eve, he gave them the Garden of Eden with the responsibility to taking care of it. Within the garden, there was provision, and as long as they obeyed him, all of their needs would be met. They would be able to experience continuous blessings; they were to be too blessed to be stressed until the serpent came and deceived them into believing that God was withholding something from them. How is this relevant to us today? We all go through challenges maybe not exactly like Adam and Eve who saw an actual serpent. Our serpent may come in different shapes and sized but have the same results of trying to take us down.

We are all going to be challenged with a decision whether to obey God or to obey self or someone else and yes, even Satan.

Who are we trusting? What challenges are you going through? Who are we obeying?

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Building on the right foundation

robertjmullen — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:22:39 +0000

God is ready and willing to help us not matter what we have gone through, as long as we avails ourselves to his teachings. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32KJV). Freedom comes when the truth of God’s word is applied to our lives. Whatever a person is trying to recover from their lives that has been lost, in order for the pieces to be picked up and recovered must be done God’s way. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33KJV). The kingdom simply means here in this verse God’s way of doing things and being right with him. In the process of picking up the pieces from a shattered life, we must first build our lives on a solid foundation. The reason many have experienced a life of destruction and failure is because of the lack of understanding the importance of having a solid foundation. The foundation that I’m speaking of is not the way the world views a solid life. The world views a solid life by what we possess rather than on something much deeper and eternal. God must come first in life for he is our provider who brings us the provision we need. It is important how we build our lives and on what we build it on. In order to pass through the storms of life. we have to know what brings true stability and success. Look at what Jesus in teaching in these verses of scripture.

So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a stupid (foolish) man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell–and great and complete was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24-27 AMP).

The solutions to life’s problems can be resolved by building our lives on the rock, which is God’s Word, and living by what it teaches. Locked up in the Word of God are instructions, and in these instructions are directions to lead us into overcoming our shattered lives. The truth is found with in the wisdom of God’s Word, but many people try to do things outside of the Word of God, and when they do, it brings disappointment and frustration. The reason is because there is to much human involvement.

What are we building our lives on? Is it working?

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Breakthrough

robertjmullen — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 15:30:11 +0000

Today can be the beginning of our breakthrough from all of our doubts and begin to embrace the possibility that we have the power and the ability to pick up the pieces. We do not have to remain in the same place this time next year because God will help us as we continue to take steps to recovery. As we take steps to recovery, God will will cause our dreams to become a reality. Dreams have been created to be experienced, not to remain dormant. We have to realize that we are not the only ones and that others have experienced similar things that we are going through, and many have recovered their hopes and dreams because they discovered what God has said: “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, ‘Of a truth I perceived that God is not respecter of persons.” (Acts 10:34, KJV). God shows no partiality toward any person but gives the same opportunity for everyone to enjoy the benefits that God has made available.

Lack of knowing something can prevent us from obtaining. The Bible says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge” (Hosea 4:6 AMP). The Word of God provides us with knowledge; however, knowledge cannot be obtained without seeking out the Word of God. Once knowledge is sought out and discovered, we must continue in it. “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; “(John 8:31, KJV). This means they who hold fast to the teachings found in the Word of God, and lives in accordance with them; in other words, must make it a way of life.

Begin today to obtain knowledge needed to get that breakthrough!

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Aligning our thinking

robertjmullen — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:42:19 +0000

For change to come we first must change our minds, thoughts and attitude. This is accomplished when we align our way of thinking with God’s way of thinking. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8, KJV). So, how do we discover God’s thoughts and God’s way? By the Word of God! Without the Word of God, we cannot discover God’s thoughts. Our minds and our thoughts must be renewed by the Word of God.

So here’s what I want you to do: take your everyday, ordinary life—sleeping, eating, working, and walking-around—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1–2, Message

Change is a process by making small changes, and as you make these changes, you will then see that change is possible. Take for instance someone who has been an alcoholic a change of lifestyle has to take place; this, however, is not accomplished in one day it is accomplished one day at a time. They take small steps by approaching one day at a time. We too develop change in this way as we renew our way of thinking by reading and applying the Word of God on a daily basis. Change should become a lifestyle and begins on the inside with outward results in our behavior. However, to have the best results concerning change we have to allow Jesus to bring the change because Jesus said, “without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5, KJV). With Jesus helping us we have the power for change to take place in our lives. We may not have control of some things in our life for example people, so instead of trying to change them, we have to change ourselves.

Are there any changes that you can make in yourself?

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