The Law of Attraction and the Bible

The Law of Attraction and the Bible
By Doug Addison

Maybe you have heard about the “The Law of Attraction”. It was made popular in 2007 by the book and DVD, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Byrne and many other New Age and positive thinking motivational gurus claim that we can actually create what we want simply by thinking it and asking for it. It is controversial in the science world because their hypothesis defies current understanding of scientific principles. They do however, have an amazing amount of testimonies that it does work.

If you are a Christian and you are practicing the Law of Attraction or you know someone who is, please consider what I have to say. If you are not a Christian and you practice this, then please do not take this as I am judging you. The way I look at it is that, if you are seeking the truth, eventually you will stumble upon God who can offer an incredible amount of fulfillment, peace and joy to your life. Hopefully I will help shed some light on the subject and bring it into perspective.

Though the actual steps to The Law of Attraction varies based on what book you read, most of the positive thinking gurus teach people to follow these steps:

• You must be certain as to what it is you want.

• Then ask the Universe to give it to you.

• On a regular basis begin to visualize yourself receiving it, holding it, experiencing what it is you want.

• Be open to the fact that your answer may come in any form.

You may recognize many biblical principles in these steps:

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
 
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Romans 4:17 …He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

There are elements of truth to the Law of Attraction. My concern is the motivation behind it. We do need to be clear on what it is we want in life, and we need to ask God to fulfill it. The major difference in the Law of Attraction and the message of the Bible is that when you ask for something, you should ask God directly in the context of a personal relationship, as opposed to a cosmic “Universe” force that is somewhere out there. When we ask, we need to believe that He hears us and will answer our prayer one way or another. We do need to be cautious not to visualize something to the point that we are meditating on the item itself that we are asking for. This could easily cross over into idolatry. Remember it is God who is the giver and the source of all good gifts.

James 1:16-17 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Even though there are elements of truth in the claim of The Secret, they are very clear that they are not talking about asking the God of the Bible. They view God as a positive energy or force and not as a personal relationship. If you practice the Law of Attraction, be sure not to remove the source of true life and renewed thinking. The very people who took these biblical principles out of context and developed this humanistic teaching are in danger of being blind to the greater truth. They might be tapping into God’s principles but they are not tapping into God’s love and power.

Doing it God’s way
God created the world by speaking it into being. We are created in His image so therefore, we too have a creative power to speak into situations and bring about radical change. The missing element of the Law of Attraction is the principle of seeking God first, and being sure that what you are asking for is in His will and timing for your life. This balance is the powerful spiritual principle that will allow all the things we need to flow to us, instead of us trying to visually divert them our way.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

If you have read the book or watched the DVD The Secret, or you are practicing the Law of Attraction, I hope you can see the points that I am making here and can heed this word of wisdom.  You can safely tap into God’s powerful biblical principles by doing the following steps:

• Develop a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and spend time regularly with Him in prayer and study. It will be out of a relationship with God that He answers your prayers.  Learn to recognize the voice of God when He is speaking to you.

• Ask God to show you that what you are asking for is something that He wants you to have or do. Ask for wisdom and that you will know His timing.

• Once you determine what it is you want, within the context of God’s will for your life, then have faith and believe that God will answer you. One way or another, He will answer your prayers.

• Pray and ask God for the things that you want and need. Be sure to track them and watch for answered prayer.

• Be prepared for the answer to come in a variety of ways. When you get an answer to prayer, let others know so that they can give God glory with you.

• Share your success stories with others so that their faith will be strengthened and they can receive encouragement.

God wants only the best for us all. He wants us to live our lives to our fullest potential. These radical principles of change have been in the Bible but unfortunately it was not a Christian who pointed them out to the world. Most people are running at half-throttle to what God has in mind for them.  God’s love and power is unlimited. The only thing that limits us is what we think we can actually accomplish.

Over the past twenty years I have developed what I call a “breakthrough lifestyle” that is actually similar to The Law of Attraction. It is based on Matthew 7:7 in which Jesus told us to ‘ask, seek, and knock” and we will receive. I have actively applied many of the life changing principles from the Bible and have obtained some radical results. Even more important, I have done it all in the context of a personal relationship with God through Jesus.

Here are three verses to consider:

Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.

Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Check out www.DougAddison.com

Feel stuck or need help with your destiny?
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June 30, 2009 | Posted in: Discovering Destiny & Purpose | 10 Comments »

Finding Your Destiny: Personal Development for Christians

Finding Your Destiny: Personal Development for Christians
By Doug Addison

So many people today are searching for the purpose for which they were created. A desire for purpose is rooted in our human nature. Too often many of us try to fill this with things like careers, status, cars, or the perfect relationship or family. None of these are bad, in and of themselves. However, they will not bring true fulfillment in life. Our purpose and destiny can ultimately only be filled through the good news of God’s love.

Jesus summed up the entire good news message in three verses. Matthew 4:19, He said, “Come, follow me…” Following Jesus in all that we do is the first place to start in finding your destiny.

In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. ” We must love God, love other people, and love ourselves.

Finally, in Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said, “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” In other words, help other people and in doing so we end up making the world a better place.

You cannot go wrong if you build your life on this foundation. I like to think of finding your life purpose or destiny as being similar to a “connect the dots” drawing. At any given time your goal is to go to the next dot. Too often we want to rush ahead and we miss all the necessary growing opportunities that God has for us. Destiny reveals itself over time and the more we pursue it, the clearer it becomes.

In order to find your destiny it helps to understand that we all have been uniquely created by God and we all have a purpose. The Apostle Paul refers to Christians as being “a body made up of separate parts” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). We need to find our unique function and fit in life. Our purpose is intended to be fulfilled in who we are in God. We must allow God to renew our mind and our life through His Spirit in order to fulfill our purpose among other Christians. Being in relationship and community with others is essential to our growth.

When I first became a Christian I felt strongly that my destiny involved being in full-time ministry. The problem with this is that only 2% of all Christians can actually fill paid ministry positions. I realized later, that in God’s eyes, we are all ministers and we are all in full-time ministry!

Maybe you are wondering what your destiny is? Jeremiah 29:11 might help. “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.” God has nothing but good intentions for us all. He wants us to succeed.

What we do and how we act on a daily basis is what builds the foundation that will take us to our ultimate purpose in life. It will help to realize that your destiny is shaped by what you do in your day-to-day life. Here are a few essential destiny builders that we can all practice on a daily basis:

- Recognize and eliminate unhealthy habits. This may be a lifelong process but we all need to be motivated by God’s Spirit and not our own desires.

- Develop good new habits. We can refocus our lives and renew ourselves by spending regular time reading the Bible and praying. We all know this but doing it takes effort. God wants to give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). That happens after our heart is in line with His.

- Be generous. Be a giver. This is not just about money, although giving money shows where your heart is. Give your time, energy, affection, focus and attention to all that you do.

- Be grateful. A grateful spirit will attract blessing. Whatever you sow you will reap. If we are not grateful then we will not recognize a blessing when it comes.

- Learn to love. How we treat other people reflects our character. Godly character is required for all of us. How we love other people is most likely how we love God. Remember that love covers over a multitude of sins, love conquers all, and love never fails!

- Discover the “breakthrough lifestyle”. Find things that you are putting off and do them. Small simple tasks done daily or weekly towards what you feel called to do may not look like much when we do them but they build over time. A small degree of change or accomplishment done consistently will result in massive results after six weeks. Imagine all that growth stacking up after six months or even a year and it can be done with a minimal amount of effort.

Finding and fulfilling your destiny is not as hard as one might think. Build your life on a firm foundation that will allow you to accomplish all that God has in mind for you. Believe that you can do it! Look for things that ignite passion within you. Take small steps consistently. Find someone who is doing what you want to do and study what they have learned. Do something today like read a book, do internet research, make a phone call, sign up for a class, or get some practical training. It is never too late.

Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

This article is a collection of excerpts from Doug Addison’s life changing program, Accelerating into Your Life’s Purpose. Visit www.Dougaddison.com for more information.

June 23, 2009 | Posted in: Discovering Destiny & Purpose | 4 Comments »

How to Write a Book

How to Write a Book
By Doug Addison

I had an experience in 2002 at 5:00 am in which I heard an audible voice (that I knew was that of an angel) tell me to “get up and write.” I got up and over the next two weeks in the early hours before work I wrote an outline for the book that became Prophecy, Dreams, and Visions: Revealing God’s Love through Divine Encounters. After writing the outline, I spent the next two years feeling guilty about avoiding writing the rest of the manuscript. I had a lot of good reasons: first, I am not a writer; I don’t have time; What if people don’t like it? What if I fail in front of the entire world?… etc., etc.

My problem was that I was trying to write it perfectly, so I would spend hours rewriting, then I would get discouraged. Then one day I experienced a major breakthrough and got my initial manuscript finished in three weeks. Here’s how I did it. For me, finding the time to write was the toughest part. I was busy traveling and speaking at conferences and when I was home I was too tired. I had to come to the point where I realized that avoiding writing was actually more painful than writing the book itself. Procrastination is a killer. I sat down and created a list of pros and cons for writing my book. The pros outweighed the cons by far. I would get my message out to tens of thousands of people – maybe millions, I would get additional revenue, it would help change people… So I had to find a way to get myself to follow through.

I tried going to writing retreats but the quiet atmosphere and the blinking cursor on my computer screen reinforced my perception that I was not able to write a book. Then I tried going to the library but I felt so uncomfortable. Just looking at all the books on the shelves discouraged me. I thought, why does the world need one more book? So I decided to break free of the pain and find something more fun and spontaneous. I found it! I really liked going to Starbucks – I feel creative and it is often full of other creative people, so I wrote every day at Starbucks for three weeks. I also got some new music for my iPod and got to know other people who were writing at Starbucks too. It turned out to be a great discovery: find a way to make a painful task enjoyable.

Some easy writing tips I learned the hard way:
• I gave up the idea that I would write it perfectly the first time. I began by simply writing as if I were talking to a close friend telling them my story. I did not worry about grammar and structure – you have an editor help fix all that later.

• I started by writing a summary of what I wanted my book to be about, who the target audience was, and a page or so that was just a bunch of thoughts about what I wanted to say. This helped me to clarify who I was speaking to and what I was trying to communicate.

• I created a simple outline to start. Then I began to write freely under each outline heading. At first I was discouraged because of the size of the document. I wondered how it would ever become a book. Trust the process; it will fill up as you go.

• The outline began to develop into chapter headings later. I went back through and made corrections and wrote more. After every completion I went back through and kept adding more and more, and let it evolve organically. It was amazing that each pass-through seemed to trigger new ideas.

• I rearranged things quite a bit in the process and kept track of what I wanted to add and what I wanted removed. As the chapters developed I created three or four bullet points at the top of each chapter that kept me on the point that I wanted to get across.

• Because my book was non-fiction I went through it again and added stories and research—and I kept adding to it.  The more I reviewed and revised it, the more it developed into what I was trying to say. The key was not dwelling on it too long. I kept moving.

There are lots of great writing tools, training and support available through the internet. I joined a writer’s forum online and got encouragement from others, and I took to time to help and encourage in return. I also found that, for me, using a program like The Journal helped me to track all my research, quotes, permissions, and ideas. The key to breaking through is to get started and find fun ways to get yourself to follow through. 

A lot of these life changing biblical principles are in my program, Accelerating into Your Life’s Purpose. Several people reported back that they were able to finish writing their books in a very short period of time after going through the exercises. Click Here  for more information.

June 16, 2009 | Posted in: Discovering Destiny & Purpose, Prophetic Insight | 10 Comments »

Life Changing Financial Principles from the Bible

Life Changing Financial Principles From the Bible
Doug Addison

On March 21, 2009, I arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, to speak at a conference on hearing the voice of God. While there, God began to speak to me about new strategies for finances to support the work of the Kingdom of God. As I prayed, God’s presence filled my hotel room and I wrote most of a new message on Kingdom Financial Strategies. I updated the message and recorded it in May. There is an anointing on the message to release new ideas and strategies. Every time I listen to it myself, I get new ideas!

Since the economic downturn, I am hearing reports from pastors and church leaders that tithing and giving is down dramatically. In some cases people have lost their jobs and their income has decreased. In other cases, Christians are becoming fearful and are beginning to save their money instead of giving to the work of God. Giving is a spiritual principle that opens the flow of blessing into your life. It is the only thing that God actually said that we are able to test Him and that He said He will respond.

Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

I know this first hand. In my early Christian life I had to make sacrifices to begin to tithe when I was heavily in debt. I was not able to give 10% and pay my bills so I began giving a smaller percentage and prayed regularly that God would change my financial situation so that I could give more.  Sure enough, within a few months I received a $500 per month raise!

I cannot guarantee that it will be that dramatic for you but God wants to prove to you that He is serious about this principle. Tithing is not a biblical get-rich-quick solution. It is more of a lifestyle that keeps you healthy and provides a life-flow from God in the long run. When we understand that everything belongs to God and that we are partners with Him, then giving money is not a difficult thing. 

Jesus was quite clear when He said that God will not trust you with the true riches of the Kingdom if you are not able to be trusted with money. True riches of the Kingdom are the very thing that nearly all Christians want to experience the most: a deeper relationship with God, more revelation, and spiritual experiences. 

Luke 16:11, “So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”

The tragic part of when Christians stop giving into the Kingdom is that it causes churches and ministries to be tempted to rely on the world economic and banking system to fund projects that God calls them to do. This is not God’s intentions. He wants Christians to be Kingdom partners for His work on earth. In 1998 my wife and I sold our business in California and used the entire $25,000 to start a new church in Ohio. Our families thought we were crazy to do such a thing, but God called us to do it. That church is still there today and people’s lives are being changed. Years later we had a great financial need in our ministry. A couple from Ohio, who knew nothing about our situation, gave us a check for $25,000 from the sale of their business! God is faithful to repay what was given. The great part about it is that, once you invest in the Kingdom, it keeps coming back over and over.  

This is not a time to stop giving. God wants His work to continue on the earth, and He wants you to experience the true riches of the Kingdom!

Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Visit www.Dougaddison.com for more information.

Kingdom Financial Strategies
Discover life-changing principles in the Bible about finances. There are many financial principles found throughout the Bible. Most teachings are based on giving to receive and you have to sow to reap. Doug Addison uncovers many financial principles that most people are not aware of. As you apply them.
Two audios and Study Guide – Click Here

June 11, 2009 | Posted in: Prophetic Insight | No Comments »

New Strategies from Heaven in 2009

New Strategies from Heaven in 2009
by Addison

From September 2008 through January 2009 God began to speak to me about some strategies that will help us to grow and mature into all that He is calling us to accomplish. I am outlining four of them but I am sure it goes much deeper than this. This is divine time to be alive.

Learn from the past and be strengthened in the present
Looking back at 2008, several major events happened that I believe God wants to use to help us grow and mature spiritually. We had an outpouring from God that got stopped abruptly because of the sin of the man who was leading it. The economy began to take a downturn and we had a shake up in the leadership of the government of the US, to name just a few.

I don’t want to argue about Todd Bentley’s divorce, or President Obama’s support of laws that allow abortion, or anything about the economic bail-out plan in the US. What I would like to do is encourage us all to use ‘spiritual eyes” to see what God is trying to point out in us as individuals and as a Church at large.

When God does something new it is radically different from the old
Isaiah 43:19 tells us to forget the former things and do not dwell on the past because God is doing a new thing. Quite often, when God does something new, those who were involved in previous movements of God will not always recognize it at first. You will see this principle throughout the Bible. When Jesus was born, though people in Israel were waiting for a Messiah but few actually recognized Him when it really happened. Among them were the Magi who came from a distant land following His star and two old prophets Ann and Simeon. After the resurrection of Jesus even those closest to Him did not recognize Jesus as the new covenant came. Mary, Peter, James and John all did not recognize Him at first (John 20-21).

A strong anointing for healing was released during the Florida Outpouring meetings. Not everyone was healed but God did many great miracles nonetheless. It would be foolish to discard it because of one man’s sin. My observation was that a new move of God began and we tried to operate in it in the old familiar ways similar to those of the Healing Revival of the 1950s.

A familiar way of doing ministry for the past 100 years or so is to have one anointed man or woman doing most of the work. Could it be that the new move from God will require a team or an army of ministers doing the work similar to the shift that happened in the Book of Acts? One way to find out is to ask God to continue releasing this healing anointing. Then pray for people and see what happens. I have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of healings that are happening in meetings and conferences I have been part of since the Florida Outpouring.

Do not be afraid and angry
Another lesson we can learn from the past is that when we face uncertain economic times, we must trust God all the more. Fear really should not be part of who we are as Christians. God is allowing things to be shaken right now and last I checked He is still in control.

Fear causes us to be on the defense. As Christians we need to be on the offense and offset darkness with the light and love of God. It is good to stand up for what we believe. In doing so, we need to be careful that we are not getting angry at people who have different beliefs that we do. I hear Christians complaining and lashing out at one another. I notice that many claim that they are not angry, they are just frustrated. What they are not seeing is that frustration that invokes arguments and speaking against others is very unhealthy. Redemptive frustration happens when we learn to love people even if they curse us (Luke 6:27-28). Always look at the results or the fruit of your frustration. We need to have solutions not just complaints. The biggest solution for all that is happening right now is to pray and encourage one another.

Get into God’s timing from Heaven
Jesus said over 15 times that we must have “eyes that see and ears that hear”. John 5:19 Jesus said, “I only do what I see the father doing”. Notice the words “see” and “do”. Not only do we need to see what God is doing but we also must be “doers of the word as well” (James 1:22).

Knowing God’s intention for a situation allows us to be in agreement with Him. Sometimes it may be opposite than what we think. Notice that Noah built an Ark in a dry season; Joseph advised Pharaoh to store up in a time of prosperity and be a blessing in a time of famine. Not to mention all the spiritual principles that seems to be backwards to our natural thinking. Things like, you must give to receive, the last will be first, if you humble yourself God will lift you up etc.

Over the past decade many of us have lived in a time of prosperity. The benefits with being in sync with God is that we would have known to save money and not spend too much so that we would have money to buy houses and cars that are really cheap in the down time. It is like shopping for your summer clothes in the fall when they are the 70% close out rack and your winter clothes in the summer. That is wisdom and takes discipline to do but it will save you a lot of money.

During the housing boom of the US, God directed my wife and I to move from Los Angeles and buy a small cabin in Moravian Falls, North Carolina (an hour away from a Startbucks Coffee). It did not make sense at the time and the house was too small for us and not our style but we did it. During that time were able reduce our living expenses dramatically but we did not increase our spending or buy new cars. Instead, we did our best to conserve and pay off debt. We did this during the prosperous time.

Then three years later in the middle of the housing bust, God spoke to us to sell our cabin and move back to California. We were able to make a profit from the sales and bought a bigger newer house in California for nearly half price and have money in the bank. We did this in the economic downturn.

Unfortunately, most people spent a lot of money and incurred a lot of debt during the prosperity time and are now holding on to their money and saving it up in the downturn. In reality, if everyone stops spending we can make our economic problem worse. People are losing jobs because of this. We need to develop a life style of earning, giving, saving and spending in moderation.

Getting into sync with God is listening to Him and doing things that may not always seem logical. We must learn to hear his voice!

Develop a positive Kingdom mindset
1 John 4:4 tells us that the Spirit within us is greater than the one in the world around us (paraphrased). Science has discovered that there is a major difference between light and darkness. Light can be measured and it has substance and mass. Darkness however is simply the absence of light. Jesus is Light and Paul encourages us to live as children of Light. (Ephesians 5:8).

Living our lives with a greater measure of God’s love and light is extremely powerful. We then dispel darkness where ever we go. As Christians, we need to understand and regularly practice positive spiritual principles of praying those who curses us, loving those who hate us, giving to those in need, helping the oppressed, being humble as opposed to proud and arrogant, forgiving those that have offended us… the list is actually too long to expound here but you get the picture. Notice that most of these are relationally oriented and direct us how we should relate with others as opposed to just relating to God.

Most Christians love God but when no one is looking, are guilty of mistreating other people. We can change the spiritual atmosphere around us by loving, blessings, and being an encouragement. Here’s the fun part, if you do these things regularly the principle of ‘sowing and reaping’ will eventually kick in. Your life will be overflowing with good things, to the point that you cannot help but to change the world around you. What you sow is what you will reap. If you sow grumbling, doubt, fear, depression, anxiety, and complaining then that is what you will get in return. Developing a positive Kingdom perspective and life style is what will truly change our lives and the lives of many around us.

We need new strategies to bring God’s love to a hurting world. We need something fresh and original ideas in churches, business, education, government, media and all aspects of life.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength. Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV.

DOUG ADDISON is the founder of InLight Connection in Santa Maria, California and is the author of the book Prophecy, Dreams, and Evangelism. He travels worldwide helping people transform their lives and discover their purpose. Doug is a stand-up comedian and his training seminars include hearing God, understanding dreams and visions, and experiencing the supernatural. Doug also trains and leads dream teams and prophetic/power evangelism outreaches.
www.dougaddison.com

June 1, 2009 | Posted in: Prophetic Insight | 6 Comments »