Focus on Your Ambition, Not on Your Addiction by Bro. Bo sanchez

 (Bo’s Note: I wrote this sometime back, and I remember people coming up to me—with tears in their eyes—telling me how these words gave them freedom from their bondages.  So I decided to share it with you again.  Enjoy and be very blessed… )

Focus On Your Ambition,

Not Your Addiction

          Have you noticed?

We’re an illogical bunch.

          At various times, we act like Esau…

Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. 

But Esau was considered the eldest because he went out of the womb of his mother first.

          One day, Jacob was cooking some stew. 

Esau arrived from hunting and was exhausted and hungry.  Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved.  Give me some of your red stew.”

          Now Jacob said something absolutely nutty.  He said, “All right, but you’ve got to do one thing first.  Trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”  You get an inkling on how jealous Jacob must have been towards his twin brother.

         But what was nuttier was Esau’s reaction.  He said, “Sure!  Now give me that red stew now.”

        Jacob said, “You’ve got to swear first that you’re giving me your birthright…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… whatever!  I swear!  Now give me that lentil soup…”.

       Now why would Esau exchange his birthright for a single bowl of red stew?

       Was his brain taking a vacation on that day?  Was it surfing in Camsur or gone shopping in Hongkong?  Didn’t Esau know what his birthright meant?  Being firstborn meant a position of privilege.  Being firstborn meant great honor.  And yes, being firstborn meant a huge inheritance—where he can buy a swimming pool filled with red stew if he wanted.

       Why was he throwing all that for a bowl of red stew today?

       Friends, this is a great picture of what addiction is… 

(By the way, I’m not saying Esau was addicted to red stew.  I’m merely using his story as an analogy.)

The Foolish Exchanges We Make

      

I met a man who threw away his entire family for drugs.  Years ago, he had a great job, a nice home, two kids, and a beautiful wife.  Today, because of a bunch of chemicals he was snorting through his nostrils, he destroyed his life.  He’s lost his job and his home.  His kids hate him and his wife is seeing another man…

Why exchange all that for another whiff of shabu?

       There’s no logic.  It’s a foolish exchange.

       One day, a woman asked for my help.  She said, “My husband is a compulsive gambler.  He stole money from his office and used it to gamble.  His boss found out about it and is pressing charges.  My husband’s going to jail!”

       Why exchange a great job for another crack at the blackjack table?

       Again, it’s a foolish exchange.

The list goes on.

·      A chain-smoker, exchanging his health for another nicotine fix.

·      A porn-addict, exchanging his dignity and mental-monogamy, for another testosterone fantasy.

·      A woman who gives her body to yet another man, just so that he would love her, exchanging her self-respect for a fleeting embrace.

·      A government employee taking a bribe, exchanging his honour for cash.  After years of doing it, he no longer feels any guilt, his conscience virtually dead.

One Power Skill Of Mature People

       On a superficial level, the problem is impatience and impulsiveness.

       And boy, do I know impulsiveness.

       Like Esau, I catch myself wanting it now—no matter what the cost is to my future.  Like Esau, I want my red stew now, whatever my “red stew” is. For me, it could be internet porn, sexual fantasies, and the approval of people.  (For my full story on how God healed my addictions, read my book, Your Past Does Not Define Your Future.)

Impulsiveness means I prioritize my short-term wants over my long-term needs.

Which takes us to that very important, essential, powerful skill that all mature people have: The ability to delay gratification.  You can’t be emotionally and spiritual mature without it.  It’s impossible.

Delaying gratification is the power skill of champions.  In any field!

       Because there’s a huge reward in front of them, champions sacrifice today so that they can get their reward tomorrow.

       Do you want to become a champion?

       What great reward are you aiming for?

       What is your holy ambition?

Anatomy of An Addiction

Deep inside, there’s a (1) real need. 

And that real need is an empty love tank.  Bottom line, the addict doesn’t love himself.  The addict doesn’t value himself.  The addict doesn’t respect himself.  Sometimes, he is conscious of this desperate need for love.  Many times, he isn’t aware of it.  It’s all unconscious.

My personal interpretation of the Esau-Jacob story above is that Esau didn’t value his birthright because he didn’t value himself.  He didn’t value his future.

Once again, let me state my central point:  I believe that every addiction is a hunger for love.  That’s the real need behind every addiction.  Your hunger of love produces the second part of the equation: (2) painful feelings—such as depression, anger, fear, anxiety, loneliness, etc. 

To escape these painful feelings, the addict will pick a preferred anaesthesia.  That anaesthesia is the third part of the equation: (3) addiction.  It could be gambling, drugs, and alcohol.  It could be workaholism until one’s family breaks down.  Or shopping until five credit cards are maxed out.  Or food until one becomes obese.  Or dieting until one becomes very sick.

In order for an addiction to get healed, the real needs must be met.  The love tank must be filled.

       Thankfully, you can do that in many ways as we discussed in my last article.

       In getting rid of their bad habits, I share to them one of the most powerful—and controversial—principles…

Don’t Focus On Your Addiction…

       Bear with me.  Do this exercise for me.

Say out loud “I won’t think of a Pink Elephant” for five times.

       Ready?  Go…

       “I won’t think of a Pink Elephant.”

       “I won’t think of a Pink Elephant.”

       “I won’t think of a Pink Elephant.”

       “I won’t think of a Pink Elephant.”

       “I won’t think of a Pink Elephant.”

       Let me ask you a question: What are you thinking of right now?

       A Pink Elephant, of course.

       People who want to overcome their addictions end up focusing on their addictions, and it simply won’t work.

       When a smoker says, “I won’t smoke anymore!” 300x a day, guess what fills his mind?  Smoking his favorite Marlboros, what else?

       When a compulsive eater says, “I won’t eat!” 300x a day, guess what fills his mind?  Eating his favorite cheeseburgers and chocolate sundaes.

       When you focus on your bad habits, you enter into a vicious cycle that buries you deeper into your addiction.  You end up depressed and helpless, draining your love tank even more, making you open more to your addictions.

       Look.  I’m not saying you deny that you have an addiction.  In fact, acknowledging that you have an addiction is the first step to healing it.  By admitting you’ve got a problem, you solve 50% of your problem.  But you see, there’s a big difference between acknowledging it andfocusing on it 24 hours a day.

A Simple Principle of The Universe

       Let me share to you a simple, powerful, universal principle that has guided me in my daily life:

What you focus on grows!

Let me sidetrack a bit and explain this principle to you.

I know some people who focus on the bad things in their day.

They wake up in the morning feeling lousy.  “It’s a terrible day,” they mutter.  They ride to work complaining about how hot it is.  They wade through the traffic complaining about the crazy drivers on the streets.  They arrive at their office complaining the workload on their desks.  They complain about their boss, the low pay, the slow internet, the over-time, the terrible food at the cafeteria, and how cold the air-conditioning is.

I pity them.  Because the more they complain, the more they feel miserable.

Sooner or later, they experience more problems.  (Remember, what you focus on grows.)

First, they may get sick.  The Bible says a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.[1]  Medical studies have shown that most of our physical diseases are psychosomatic.  A negative spirit may create ulcers, hypertension, and other diseases.  Simply because our bodies are blueprints of our emotional life.

Second, they may lose friends.  Because no one wants to talk to a whiner.  About her, they’ll say, “She’s depressing and it may be contagious!”

Third, they may lose their job—or at the very least, a promotion.  Someone who doesn’t have passion in his work will not be rewarded.  200 CEO’s were asked what’s the number one ability that they look for in their employee, and most of them said, “The ability to work with others.”  It’s not technical skills, but relational skills that are prized in companies.

       Okay, my digression is enough.  How does this apply to your hidden addiction?

Focus On Your Ambition

       Instead of focusing on your addiction, focus on your ambition.

       “Ambition” has a negative meaning today, so let me purify this word.

       By ambition, I mean your vision for your future.

By ambition, I mean the dreams that God has placed in your heart.

So instead of saying, “I’ll stop smoking” 300x a day, say instead, “I’ll be healthy and run the marathon” or “I’ll be healthy and be a Class A badminton player.”

Instead of saying, “I’ll stop eating”, say, “I’ll be healthy, weigh a healthy120 pounds, go to the gym three times a week, play badminton twice a week…”

Instead of saying, “I’ll stop shopping everyday,” say, “Starting next month, I’ll save P5,000 a month, erase all credit card debt by December 2013, and start investing in the Stock market by February 2013, and accumulate P300,000 by December 2015.”

When you focus on your addiction, it depresses you.

When you focus on your ambition, it fuels you with passion.

And what happens when you do that?  As you take baby steps towards fulfilling your ambition, you value yourself more.  You gain confidence.  You gain self-respect.  Little by little, love is being poured into your Love Tank.  The cravings are still there, but they lose its urgency and intensity.

Make Your Dreams MAGIC Dreams

Each Sunday, I preach to 9000+ people in PICC (For more information, call Tel (632) 7259999).  Each Sunday, I teach them how to dream.  So I wrote a Novena to God’s Love Prayer Booklet and gave it to each of them.  (All first timers receive it.) 

In that Novena, I ask people to write 7 dreams that they will pray for everyday.  Believe me, people were excited writing down their dreams! 

And as they pray for them, I ask them to also take baby steps towards fulfilling them.  In the Novena, I also give instructions that their dreams should be….MAGIC!

       By MAGIC, I mean…

M-   Measurable

Don’t just write, “Have a happy family”; Write instead, “Have a happy family by having separate weekly dates with my spouse and each child starting August 2015”;  Don’t just write, “Have more money”; Write instead, “Earn an additional P15T each month through a side-line by December 2013.”

A -   Ambitious

Again, I use “ambition” without its negative meaning.  By “ambition”, I simply mean dreaming big dreams!  Small dreams won’t excite you.  But even if they’re ambitious, let your dreams also be attainable at the same time.

G -   Godly

Never dream from greed or selfish ego.  They will make you empty and miserable.  Instead, discover the dreams that God has placed in your heart.  The fulfilment of these dreams should ultimately help you love God and others more.  (And don’t you notice?  G is at the middle.  God should be the center of our dreams.)

I -   Imaginative

Put details in your dream.  Make it graphic.  Don’t just write, “Own a house by 2016.”  Describe what kind of house you want.  “Own a 2-bedroom white house with a small garden in Laguna by 2016.”

C – Complete

    Have dreams that touch the most important aspects of your life: Spiritual, Family, Financial, Physical…  By succeeding in all areas, you attain Life Balance.

Wise Exchange, Anyone?

       Yesterday, I read a beautiful story.

       One day, a little girl named Jenny was with her mother in the grocery store.  She saw a toy pearl bracelet worth P20.  She became giddy with excitement and asked her mother to buy it for her.  “Are you sure you like it?” her mother asked.

       “Yes, Mommy!  Please, please, please buy it for me!”

       So the mother bought the toy pearls for little Jenny.

       Jenny’s father, who loved her very much, read a bedtime story to Jenny each night.  One night, after reading to her, he asked her, “Jenny, do you love me?”

       “Of course I love you, Daddy,” she said.

       “Can you give me your pearl bracelet?” he asked.

       Little Jenny pouted.  “You can have my princess doll, Daddy, but not my pearl bracelet.  That’s my favorite.”

       Daddy smiled, “That’s okay Jenny, I love you.”  He kissed her good night.

       Seven days later, after another reading session, the father asked again, “Jenny, do you love me?’

       “Daddy, you know that I love you,” the little girl said.

       “Can you give me your pearl bracelet?” he smiled.

       “No Daddy, please.  You can have my brush, my violet pen, and my red hair band.  But not my pearl bracelet!”

       He chuckled.  “That’s okay, hon. I love you,” and kissed her goodnight.

       But a few days later, a teary-eyed Jenny came to her father and said, “Daddy, I love you very much,” and placed in his hand her toy pearl bracelet.

       Her father gave her a big hug and said, “I have a very special gift for you, little girl.”  He pulled out from his pocket a beautiful velvet case with gold lining.  He opened it, showing to her a genuine pearl bracelet. “This is yours.  No more toy pearl bracelet for you, my princess.  You deserve the real one.”

       Friends, this is the kind of wise exchange that God wants to give to us.

       Not foolish exchanges that the “Jacobs” and the “Red Stews” in our lives are offering to us.

       Instead, God wants to take what is cheap and fake in our lives (our addictions), so that He could give us something much, much better (our holy ambitions).

       Give up your addiction.

       Give up what is counterfeit. 

Give up what destroys you. 

Give up what pulls you away from God and life and happiness. 

       Like Jenny, you deserve better.

       May your dreams come true,

       Bo Sanchez

Discover What You Really Need by Bro. Bo Sanchez

 Have you heard of the great Houdini?

As a young boy, I loved reading about him.  Houdini was probably the most famous escape artist in the world.  I’m not sure if the story I’m about to tell you is part legend and part history, but I find it utterly fascinating. 

Houdini boasted he could escape any jail cell in less than an hour.  One day, a small town in the British Isles built a new jail cell and they were proud of it.  “Come give us a try,” they said to Houdini, and he agreed. 

He walked into the prison cell bristling with confidence.  After all, he had done this hundreds of times before.

Once the jail cell was closed, Houdini took off his coat and went to work.  From his belt, he got a flexible but tough ten-inch piece of steel.  He knelt in front of the door and started working on the lock.

At the end of 30 minutes, his confident expression had disappeared. 

At the end of an hour, he was drenched with perspiration. 

After two hours and totally exhausted, Houdini literally collapsed against the door.  And the force of his weight was enough to push the door open!

       Because in reality, the door had never been locked.

       It was locked only in one place: In his own mind.

       Which meant only one thing.  It was firmly locked.

       Because whatever your mind says is locked—is locked. 

Even if it isn’t…

You Can Be Free!

       Friend, you can get rid of your bad habits.

       You can be free from your addictions.

       The Bible says, you have been called to live in freedom.(Galatians 5:13)

       I should know.  For years, I was addicted to pornography and sexual fantasies.  Yes, even as I was serving God and preaching.  Like Houdini, I tinkered with the “lock” of my jail cell and lost hope because I couldn’t unlock the door.  (For my full story, read my book, Your Past Does Not Define Your Future.)

       One day, I had a powerful realization.  I discovered that the door wasn’t locked—except in my mind.  I realized that at any time, I could push hard and the door would swing open—and I could simply walk out.  And stay out!

       And that’s what I did.

       My friend, you can get rid of your addictions.

       Here’s the truth: 70% of people get rid of their own addictions on their own.  You see, there is no ONE singular way to get out of an addiction. There are many ways to get rid of your destructive bad habits. (We will examine all these ways in the next few weeks.)

Why Do We Have Addictions Anyway?

From a superficial perspective, addictions provide an escape so you won’t feel your painful feelings.

       And what are these painful feelings?

·      Hurt: “I feel rejected.”

·      Depression: “I feel low”; “I feel old”; “I feel ugly”; “I feel fat”

·      Despair: “I feel my life is meaningless”

·      Guilt: “I feel I’m bad”; “I feel I can’t meet the needs of my husband/kids”

·      Anxiety: “I feel worried that bad things will happen”

·      Fear: “I feel afraid that I will get hurt”

·      Hate: “I feel angry at myself”; “I feel angry at others”

·      Shame: “I feel I’m not worthy to even exist”

Let me share to you my own personal experience.

For years, the predominant feeling that ruled my life was SHAME.  But I didn’t know it was shame.  I got so used to this feeling, I thought it was part of life.  I would wake up with this “bad” feeling already.  All I knew was that I felt extremely sad.  And my thoughts were always about my mistakes—real and imagined.  Like a guy who only played one DVD in his DVD player, and did nothing else except press the “rewind” button, I simply paraded my past mistakes before me.  And then I’d imagine how this person doesn’t like me, how that person is angry with me, how this person is rejecting me.  And I would feel “it” in my gut.  It was my constant companion, never leaving me.

Years later, I finally identified what I felt.

I was ashamed that I existed.  I was ashamed that I was alive.

Can you imagine waking up each morning with this feeling?

That was my life.

And so to escape my shame, I drowned myself in testosterone.  I got into Porn.  At least, these girls were smiling and disrobing to me.  They must like me.  My sexual fantasies were the same—these women were attracted to me.

For a moment, my shame disappeared.

But, after indulging in porn and masturbating, my shame deepened.

       How could I, a servant of God, do such a thing?

       But I kept doing it for years.

I threw myself into work—work that would make the world like me.  My approval addiction was even more powerful than my sex addiction.

       But twenty years ago, I took my first steps towards healing.  It was a long journey.

What Is Your Core Need?

At the bottom of all addictions is this statement: “I don’t love myself.”

       At the core of an addict’s heart is an empty Love Tank.

       Every addiction is a hunger for love.

       He doesn’t like himself.

       He doesn’t value himself.

       He doesn’t love himself.

       That is why I believe that only love can heal an addiction.

Walk Towards Your Freedom Now

       For the longest time, you’ve been in a prison cell.

       You’re tired.  You’re desperate.

       You’ve been tinkering with that impossible lock on the door.

       But in reality, there is no lock.

       You think there’s a lock, but there’s none.

       You’ve been deceived.  Cheated.

       The lock is in your mind, not in the door. 

What is that lock in your mind?

I call it your “homing instinct”.  That means an unconscious part of you would like to stay in that dirty prison because you’ve become used to it.  It’s been your home for years.  Something within you—the defeated you, the failed you, the unloved you—wants to go back to that dungeon.  A part of you feels that’s what you deserve.  This drive within you is called the “homing” instinct.  Hurting people recreate their home, no matter how painful those homes were.

       But as you fill up your Love Tank, as you value yourself more and as you receive love from God and others, you realize that you deserve a new home.  You realize that you don’t belong there anymore.  With a full Love Tank, your “homing” instinct no longer drives you to your past home.  Instead, it drives you to your future home.  You begin to develop a “vision” instinct.

       I’ll share more about this next week…

       I remain your friend,

       Bo Sanchez    

3 Things That Will Happen in Heaven.... by Bro. Bo Sanchez

Do you have future plans of going to Heaven? 

(No rush going there, by the way.) 

I’ve never been to Heaven, but from reading the Bible and the writings of Saints and spiritual authors, let me describe three important things about Heaven…

1. You’ll Be Fulfilled Perfectly

Good News: I heard there’ll be no dieting in Heaven.  You can eat what you want and you won’t gain a single pound.  You’ll have the perfect figure, the perfect skin, the perfect teeth, and the perfect hair.  (But I doubt that there’ll be sinful food in Heaven, haha.)

Bald people will have their hair back.

People who have dentures will witness each of their 32 teeth resurrect from the dead.

Do you have pimple scars?  Stretch marks?   Cellulite deposits that rival the Central Bank’s deposits?  They all can’t enter Heaven. You’ll have to leave them at the door.

Do you want to have six abs?  You can have 12 if you want.

And do you want a Ferrari?  You can have 37 of them in different colors.  (Though honestly, I doubt you’ll be interested in these things in Heaven.)

But here’s what I know: Every dream you have will come true.  Every desire will be fulfilled.  Every need will be met.  Every plan will be accomplished.  Every talent will be used.  Every potential will be realized.

Dreams Come True

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut.  In Heaven, I can make that dream come true.  I can go galaxy-hopping in a blink of an eye.  This morning, I can go to Jupiter.  For lunch, I can go to Neptune.  By afternoon, I can go to the constellation Andromeda.  Tomorrow, I can go to another universe altogether.

When my friend was a kid, he wanted to be a rock star.  Well, in Heaven, he can fulfill that dream too.  From what I hear, Heaven is a non-stop Worship Concert—so rock stars are needed to sing to the Rock of all Ages.

This is just my guess, but I believe that in Heaven, there’ll be no difference between thinking about our dreams and turning our dreams into reality.  When you think about it, you make it appear in front of you.

Wealth Is Permanent

On planet earth, the rich today may not be rich tomorrow.  The billionaires of today may be the beggars of tomorrow.  But in Heaven, you’ll be rich permanently.  Jesus said, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  (Matthew 6:19-20)  In other words, there is no recessions or inflation or economic collapse in Heaven.  And there is zero crime in Heaven.  Why?  Because our treasure isn’t gold or silver or diamonds.  Our treasure is God Himself.

I love saying this: The only wealth you keep is the wealth that you give away.  As long as you keep your wealth to yourself, it rots on earth.  But if you give it away, you “wire transfer” your wealth to your future home in Heaven.

Tears Are Wiped Away

In Heaven, the Bible says, And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  (Revelations 7:14) No more sickness.  No more disappointments.  No more debts.  No more trials.  No more problems.  No more conflicts.  No more misunderstanding.  No more hurts.  No more worry.  No more anxiety.  No more fear.

It will only be love…

2. You’ll Be Loved Perfectly

       Throughout history, tens of thousands of people have reported near-death experiences that say that death is a doorway.  But scientists will never accept these as proof of the afterlife.

Dr. Eben Alexander, a highly trained neurosurgeon, was such a man.  Dr. Eben is a professor who taught for 15 years at Harvard University and he did NOT believe in these near-death experiences.  He believed that all these stories were fantasies, produced by brains under extreme stress.

But in 2008, he contracted a rare type of meningitis and he fell into a deep coma.  That part of his brain that produced thoughts and emotions completely shut off.  He was virtually brain dead.  After seven days of being a “vegetable” on a hospital bed, and as the doctors were thinking of stopping treatment, his eyes opened. 

The fact that he recovered was already a medical miracle.  But the bigger miracle was what happened during those seven days.  When it was medically impossible for him to have any kind of thought or emotion, Dr. Alexander journeyed into a beautiful place of incredible peace.  In that place, he felt loved.  Completely, utterly, perfectly loved.  He also felt connected to everything.  But an angel told him that it wasn’t yet his time, so he was sent back.

Dr. Alexander, the neurosurgeon and Harvard professor, believes that he went to Heaven.  And his experience was very similar to the tens of thousands of near-death experiences all throughout history.  They contain common elements: overwhelming peace, beautiful light, the presence of an angel, or heavenly being, or God himself. 

But the most common description these near-death experiences give is that when they entered Heaven, they were flooded with a deep sense of being totally, completely, and perfectly loved.  Dr. Eben said he heard these words again and again: You can do nothing wrong; You’re worthy of love;

It reminded me of my favorite prayer: “I’m totally, completely, and perfectly loved.”  I say it many times a day.  It heals my body.  It heals my emotions.  It heals my spirit.  Why?  Because perfect love is the deepest need of my entire being.  And I will receive it in Heaven.

But love flows in two ways…

3. You’ll Love Perfectly

Some people ask, “But Bo, what will we do in Heaven?  Won’t we be bored there, wearing pajamas, sitting on white fluffy clouds, and playing our harps all day?”

I don’t think so.

Who says we’re going to do nothing all day?  I believe we’ll be fully engaged, fully occupied, fully loving humanity for all eternity.

That’s why I believe that earth is a training camp for Heaven. On earth, God trains you to love like Jesus.  Because loving God and others is the only thing that you’ll be doing in Heaven!

Start loving now, and you start Heaven now.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

Your Successes Come From Your Struggles by Bro. Bo Sanchez

Let’s imagine a crazy scene…

Imagine a tourist who goes on a trip to the Vatican. And while walking through St. Peter’s Baslica,the church of the Pope, he oohed and aahed at everything he saw. Especially when he saw the most popular sculpture in the world—The Pieta.

As he gazed at this particular statue, he didn’t realize that it was already evening. All of a sudden, he heard the giant doors of the church close. Immediately, the lights went out. And he discovered he was the only one inside. He got afraid and was about to run towards the doors when the unthinkable happened…

The Pieta spoke up! The statue said, “Don’t worry, in ten minutes, another guard will be walking around…”

Of course, the man wanted to run away. But his curiosity was stronger than his fear. So he asked, “Who…who…who are you? Are… are… are you Mother Mary?”

The sculpture spoke, “Nah, of course not. I’m just the statue. I’m The Pieta.”

Inexplicably, the man calmed down and said, “You’re an incredible work of art. You’re so beautiful…”

The statue said, “Would you believe? Once upon a time, I wasn’t beautiful at all. Once upon a time, no one wanted to look at me.”

“You’ve got to be kidding!” the tourist asked.

“Once upon a time, I was an ugly block of stone. I was in an old warehouse, together with other ugly-looking blocks of marble. We had no shape. We had no distinctions. We were nobodies.”

“And then what happened?” the man asked.

“Well, one fateful day, a young man walked in the warehouse. And this 25-year old kid looked at me in a queer way. Like he saw something in me. While everyone else saw marble, he saw a masterpiece. He walked around me, looking at me from different angles. He kept gazing, observing, studying me, it was unnerving. Finally, he asked a few men to carry me into his house. And that’s when the torture began…”

“What do you mean?” asked the tourist.

“Well, I learned that this guy’s name was Michaelangelo. And he started drawing pencil marks on me. Thousands of pencil marks. And it was slightly painful. More importantly, I felt violated!  But then he put his pencil down and he picked up a metal stick… with a sharp point at the end. I cringed. I asked myself, “What is he going to do with that thing?” Somehow, I knew this wasn’t going to be good. That was when he placed that metal thing on me—and then I saw him holding a hammer in his other hand!  I froze in terror.  And WHAM! The pain was horrendous. What shook me was seeing little pieces of me on the floor. This Michaelangelo was a violent lunatic! But I didn’t know he was just starting his work. I didn’t know it was the first of many, many blows…”

“How many?” the tourist asked.

The Pieta said, “Tens of thousands of blows. Probably more. I lost count. All I knew was that those blows lasted for 8 long years.”

       “My goodness!”

       “But finally, the chiseling stopped in 1499. And lo and behold, I was beautiful. And I’ve been beautiful these past 500 years….”

       The tourist said, “And the most wanted, most valuable, most famous sculpture in the entire history of the world.”

       Suddenly, the security guard opened the massive doors of the church and saw him. “Oh, you’re still inside? Sorry about that…”

       “Not at all. I was able to spend quality time withThe Pieta…”

       The guard nodded. “Yep, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

       “More than I ever imagined,” the tourist smiled.

You’re God’s Masterpiece

Michaelangelo said that when he makes a marble statue, his role is to simply “liberate” the masterpiece that is trapped inside the marble.

Friend, you are that marble, God is the Sculptor, and He is creating a masterpiece out of you.

When God sees you, He just doesn’t see you as you are now. Like a sculptor that gazes upon a block of marble, He already sees your beauty and glory and wonder trapped inside you. God’s role is to liberate the masterpiece in you!

God’s Chisel

And do you know what is the chosen chisel of God? 

Pain. 

I do not know what your pain is right now.

Perhaps your pain comes from your family. Or from a lingering sickness. Or from a strained relationship. Or from a mountain of debt. Or from difficult people in your life.

God says, “The beautiful YOU is already inside you. And I allow pain in your life to bring that beauty out of you.”

Think about it. Aren’t these two things very different?

                                     

  

Yet they’re essentially the same thing.

In my life, God has done MORE through my struggles than through my successes. If you study my successes, you’ll see that it’s made up of raw ingredients coming from my struggles. 

My struggles became the pathway to my successes.

Are you in pain? Are you struggling now?

Don’t EVER give up.

May your dreams come true,

Bo Sanchez

We Need Tension to be Happy by Bro. Bo Sanchez

ou need tension in your life.

Because there’s such a thing as good tension and bad tension.

Warning: Don’t dream of having zero tension in your life. 

The reason why you can stand up is because there’s tension in your feet, in your ankles, in your knees, in your hips, and in your spine. If there was no tension in your body, you’d be a mound of jello on the floor.

Some people dream of sitting on the beach, lying on a recliner, their feet propped up, sipping a tall glass of orange juice, and playing on their iPads. Do that for one day and you’ll be happy. Do that for one week and there’s an off chance that you’ll still be happy.   Do that for one month and I’m sure you’re bored to death. Do that for one year and I bet you’re going crazy.

If you want to be happy, you need tension in your life. 

And do you know where good tension comes from?

Tension comes from Vision…

This Tension Will Keep You Alive

During World War II, in a Nazi concentration camp, cruel doctors experimented on the most effective way of crushing the human spirit. They thought that what would do that was to remove every remaining shred of physical comfort. So they removed chairs, beds, and extra clothes in the prison cells. Prisoners suffered… But somehow, they survived. 

Next, the prison guards cut the food ration to half.  Again, the prisoners suffered, became exceedingly thin… But they survived. Next, they increased their work hours from 12 hours to 16 hours a day. Again, the prisoners suffered tremendously, became sickly and fainted at different times… But they survived.

It seemed as though nothing could break the human spirit.

Finally, the Nazis tried one last experiment. One morning, the prison guards asked the prisoners to dig a hole in the ground. So the entire day, with shovels and pickax and wheelbarrow, they made a gigantic hole. 

The next day, when they woke up, the prison guards asked the prisoners to cover the hole again. The prisoners were perplexed and didn’t understand, but they obeyed. 

The next morning, the prison guards asked them to dig the hole again. Everyday, they asked them to do the very opposite of what they did the previous day. On and on it went. 

Result? Two weeks later, the prisoners began to die one by one.

Why? More than our need for food, or comfort, or sleep—we need purpose. We need the tension of purpose. When what I do has no more purpose, something in me dies.

When there is no purpose, there is no pull. 

Where there is no target, there is no tension.

Is Your Heart Big?

God gave us a big heart. 

But many people’s hearts are small.

Why? Because they are not stretched. Because stretch comes from vision.

Your heart was designed by God to be so big, it can stretch from your present location to your future vision.  Jesus said, your heart will be where your treasure is. If your vision is very important to you, even if your vision is far away, your heart is already there with your vision.  Your heart is here in your present location and there in your future vision. And there lies the beautiful tension that will keep you alive!

Is Your Vision Big Enough To Pull You?

       Here’s what I realized about life: The bigger the purpose, the bigger the pull; The farther the target, the stronger the tension.

If you talk to kids and ask them, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” some of them will tell you of their wild, crazy dreams. “I want to be a Pilot!” or “I want to be a preacher!” or “I want to be a billionaire!” Kids say it with so much confidence and certainty.

       Sadly, after just a few years later, all that childlike confidence flies out the window. Why? One reason: Because well-meaning adults take it away from them. Adults say, “Be realistic. You’re poor. Your parents are poor. You’re not very bright. You look ugly. You’re not very special. You’re setting up yourself for big disappointments. If I were you, you should lower your dreams.” Soon, harsh reality sets in. Negativity sets in. Discouragement sets in. Frustration sets in. And all those big dreams fly out of the window as well.

       When that happens, the heart becomes small. Tension disappears. And people begin to live small lives.

Today, I’m here to help you recapture this fantastic childlike ability to dream. Start dreaming big dreams again. Cast a big vision in front of you. A big vision is better than a small vision, because a big purpose has bigger pull. But big visions are necessary to create enough tension to draw us out of our reality.

Big Vision Is Better Than Small Vision

      Four years ago, I declared on stage, “We dream of building 1000 Feasts” around the world. At that time, there were some well-meaning friends who told me, “Bo, be more realistic. Perhaps 100 Feasts is a more doable figure. You might just be setting yourself for failure.”

       Today, after four years, there are 110 Feasts around the world. Despite the fact that I’m telling all the leaders of the Light of Jesus, “We’re not in a hurry. Don’t go fast. Enjoy everyday of the journey.” But our leaders are saying, “We’re not going fast. Bo, this is slow!”

       We’re experiencing a pull because we have a big vision.

       Let me ask you, “What’s your vision?”

Focus On Your Vision-Giver

       Remember this story? As long as Peter fixed His eyes on the Vision—Jesus—He was able to walk on water. But the moment he looked at the winds and the waves, he started sinking.

       Do you feel like you’re sinking right now in your problems?

       Focus on your Vision. Forget everything else. More importantly, focus on the Vision-Giver. God is giving you a Vision. And He is telling you that this is what your future will be.

       Don’t pay attention to your problems.

       Don’t pay attention to those who criticize you.

       Don’t pay attention to those who tell you that you can’t do it.

       Pay attention to only two things: (1) Your Big Vision and (2) your Big Vision-Giver. The Bible says,Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

       Ultimately, your Vision is to “be like Him”. When does it happen?   It happens when “Christ appears”. When you see Jesus, you become like Him.

Do you know why worship is important? Worship isn’t singing a bunch of songs. Worship is seeing God.

       Don’t just see your Vision; see your Vision-Giver. 

At the end of the day, you’ll realize that your Vision and your Vision-Giver are one!

       May your dreams come true,

       Bo Sanchez