Menu
By Stephen Luther | Blog , Keys to THRIVE , Wellness
God has given us everything we need to live a godly life (I Peter 1:3) and offers us abundant life (John 10:10). It is our desire to equip you with the keys to unlock this potential and THRIVE in life.
To THRIVE in life we need to have: Togetherness, Holiness, Relevance, Integration, Vision, Expectancy
“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” I Thessalonians 5:24
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” II Timothy 2:13
He has called you, He is faithful, He will do it! Let that sink in for a moment. God can’t be unfaithful because he can’t deny Himself. This means we can expect God to show up and make things happen. So has God called you to THRIVE in your life? If you’re not sure, go back and read this series again. Is He bigger than any of the thing that have been limiting you in your life?
One of the biggest limitations we have in our culture when it comes to our faith in God is that we don’t expect Him to show up, we don’t expect Him to answer our prayers, and while we know intellectually that He loves us we don’t act as through He really loves us as sons and daughters! As a foster and adoptive parent I would do anything for my kids but many times they don’t believe it because they have been so damaged and seen the opposite for so long. We are just like that with God, we have been hurt by this world and lied to by our culture. Think about it, when you pray do you sit back and expect God to do something or do you move on with life having fulfilled your obligation to pray but not really expecting anything to happen. If you are one of those people who were brought up expecting God to show up and answer prayers, where is that expectancy end? Can that be expanded? Do you need to expect God to show up in even bigger ways?
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6
If we pray without expecting anything then we get just that. So if you are ready begin the journey towards believing that God has called you and that he will show up and make that calling happen in your life we are here for you. If you are ready to THRIVE in life, we would consider it an honor and a privilege to come along side of you and help you get there!
So here is how we do things at Grace Wellness Center. God has called us to invest in people in a real, genuine and relational way. We consider it an honor and a privilege to be invited into people’s journey. The more you are ready to invest in yourself the more we can invest in you as well. So if you are ready to begin your journey towards THRIVING then we want to come along side of you and share in that burden. However, if you are not ready for that then this isn’t for you, but we will be here when you are ready!
By Stephen Luther | Blog , Keys to THRIVE , Wellness
God has given us everything we need to live a godly life (I Peter 1:3) and offers us abundant life (John 10:10). It is our desire to equip you with the keys to unlock this potential and THRIVE in life.
To THRIVE in life we need to have: Togetherness, Holiness, Relevance, Integration, Vision, Expectancy
“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5
“The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
We are called to have visions, plans and desires. Despite what you may have been taught, we are active players in this world and in our own lives. However, this never minimizes or negates the sovereignty of God. We are to plan and be visionaries but only in full dependence on God and in submission to his sovereignty!
Do you allow yourself to meditate on what it would like if you could THRIVE! This is difficult because when we sit down to envision this, all kinds of limitations pop up and get in the way. What if there were no limitations? What if God removed those limitations and redeemed you from all of it at the cross! Well, He did!
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” Hebrews 12:1
Ok, now is where someone says “yeah but we still have limitations, I couldn’t play in the NFL just because I believe I can!” And you would be correct, but God DID remove all the limitations to you THRIVING in YOUR life in what YOU are called to do and be. You are not limited in fulfilling your calling and having the abundant life God came to give you (John 10:10.) And when you get there you wouldn’t want to be playing in the NFL; in fact you wouldn’t want to be doing anything other than what you are doing.
By Stephen Luther | Blog , Keys to THRIVE , Wellness
God has given us everything we need to live a godly life (I Peter 1:3) and offers us abundant life (John 10:10). It is our desire to equip you with the keys to unlock this potential and THRIVE in life.
To THRIVE in life we need to have: Togetherness, Holiness, Relevance, Integration, Vision, Expectancy
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I Thessalonians 5:23
God has created us Body, Soul and Spirit! We are physical, emotional and spiritual. We are also made to be relational in all aspects of our being. These areas of life all work together and affect each other. Therefore, all approaches to healing and wellness must be integrated to be effective! We must be willing to look at all areas of our life and not just one area that we see as important.
Let’s look at the common example of someone trying to lose weight repeatedly unsuccessfully. They are trying to be healthy in their body but are often blocked because of emotional and spiritual problems. The harsh reality is that only 2% of people who try to lose weight actually keep it off. This is because of a lack of integration in the approach to health. Now broaden this view to all areas of change. If we take on any process of change but are not using an integrated approach you likely will suffer from frustration and eventually give up. You’ve experienced this before? It can be different this time.
By Stephen Luther | Blog , Keys to THRIVE , Wellness
God has given us everything we need to live a godly life (I Peter 1:3) and offers us abundant life (John 10:10). It is our desire to equip you with the keys to unlock this potential and THRIVE in life.
To THRIVE in life we need to have: Togetherness, Holiness, Relevance, Integration, Vision, Expectancy
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” I Corinthians 13:1-3
“Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.” I Corinthians 9:19
Ok so this is super important. We need to be relevant and to be relevant we need to love! Love, not just as I understand it but love so that others receive it. If I love in a way that it is not received, it is irrelevant. To truly love and receive love we need to have people in our lives who are willing to get to know us and understand how we are wired. Do you have people like that? It is our desire, through these “Keys to Thrive,” to meet you where you are and communicate God’s love in a manner that is relevant to your life and your circumstances. .
The limitation here for people is perspective. Through life’s experiences our perspective becomes limited so when we see something that we don’t understand we can’t adapt to it. When we can’t allow ourselves to see things from the other person’s perspective this becomes very toxic not only for us but to others in our lives.
My friend, we are all damaged. We all hurt and we all are limited by our perspective. We suffer loneliness, disconnection, and a lack of satisfying relationship when we don’t truly here others and know how to be truly heard ourselves. Do you feel like sometimes people don’t understand you and that you are often not on the same wavelength with people? This could be a problem of not knowing how to be relevant and how to give and receive love in a transformational way.
By Stephen Luther | Blog , Keys to THRIVE , Wellness
God has given us everything we need to live a godly life (I Peter 1:3) and offers us abundant life (John 10:10). It is our desire to equip you with the keys to unlock this potential and THRIVE in life.
To THRIVE in life we need to have: Togetherness, Holiness, Relevance, Integration, Vision, Expectancy
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” Hebrews 12:14
“but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” I Peter 1:15-16
God has called us to be holy and without holiness we cannot connect with God or live a godly life. In a world that is addicted to self and to comfort, we are taught to pursue happiness. This influence from the world gives us another limitation. It limits our view of our circumstances and makes us very ego centric. As we remove this limitation and stand in awe of God’s holiness, our perspective on ourselves, our circumstances and the world we live in completely change. We become open to a whole new understanding that helps us THRIVE no matter what our circumstances are. We begin to recognize that we can have something so much better than happiness. Holiness leads to joy which is not dependent on our circumstances and no manner of suffering can remove joy that comes from God.
Are you ready to shed the limitations that come from the pursuit of happiness and put on the rewards of pursuing holiness? Where ever you are, God wants to meet you there, embrace you and impart to you His joy. The more we become consumed by this joy the more we see how lacking the pursuit of happiness was. This is what Solomon was referring to when he said in Ecclesiastes 1:14, “I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.” Like trying to catch the wind, all attempts to capture what the world offers only leads to momentary happiness that is gone in an instant. Even if we could catch it and keep it, it isn’t worth having anyways, it is only vanity.
By Stephen Luther | Blog , Keys to THRIVE , Marriage , Wellness
God has given us everything we need to live a godly life (I Peter 1:3) and offers us abundant life (John 10:10). It is our desire to equip you with the keys to unlock this potential and THRIVE in life.
To THRIVE in life we need to have: Togetherness, Holiness, Relevance, Integration, Vision, Expectancy
“that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.” I John 1:3
God has called us to be in relationship with Him and with others. The quality of these relationships affects all areas of our lives. In order to live the life we were called to, if we are to thrive in life, we must connect in healthy ways with God and with others. What is the quality of your relationships? If there is some lack there, you can bet it is affecting all other areas of life. In Godly connectedness, we become available to the will and call of God as well as to others we are in relationship with. A commitment to Godly togetherness means we need to be willing to be vulnerable or emotionally naked with God and in healthy relationships with others.
Wow, that sounds scary! Well it certainly is, but remember that we serve a big and compassionate God who wants what is best for us. He wants to meet you where you are and help you each step of the way. Fear is probably the biggest limitation in life. Removing limitations is one of our core concepts in our THRIVE philosophy. As you remove the limitation of fear one step at a time, you will be moving closer and closer to your call to THRIVE in life. When looking at the whole process of overcoming fear and connecting in a vulnerable way it is overwhelming. But taken one step at a time with a patient God, skilled helper, and quality connections it is very doable. With God you CAN do it!
