We are walking in today: We Must Value Our Potential!!
Witness estimation throughout the Bible: H6187 'erek--order, row, estimate, valuation
Leviticus 27:8 But if he be poorer than thy estimation, H6187 then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest
value him.
The Torah testifies...............
Leviticus 27:13 But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part thereof unto thy estimation. H6187
The prophets proclaim..................
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The writings bear witness...........................
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Leviticus 27:16 And if a man shall sanctify unto the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then thy estimation H6187 shall be according to the seed thereof: an homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver.
Twisted Values
Our ignorance of The Most High’s will and His ways has twisted our world. We devalue what The Most High values and elevate what is insignificant to Him. He sees the tremendous ability we have and we look at the earth houses that contain that treasure (see 2 Corinthians 4:7). He created us to show forth His power, but we are more interested in success by the world’s standards. He affirms our ability to tap into His wisdom, but we make decisions based on the information we receive from our physical senses and our education.
Our poverty of knowledge is revealed by our inability to fulfill The Most High’s potential on our own. We live aimlessly without purpose, flitting from one thing to another and never accomplishing anything. Such life is a waste of time. Without a sense of purpose we are like stillborn babies.
Your potential will be wasted if you do not allow The Most High to cleanse your sight and redirect your values. Then you can escape this purposeless existence. This occurs as you become aware of the world’s standards and compare them carefully with The Most High’s. You may be surprised by what you find.
Potential Under Attack
The Bible says, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). It’s time you and I reevaluate the standards of the world. Our cars are faster but weaker. Our clothes are sharper, but they come apart at the seams. Our vinyl shoes shine nicely, but they lack the durability of leather. What appears to be better may indeed be a compromise on value and worth. These upside-down values are attacking your potential.
Our world has become very concerned about pollution issues. Environmental groups are angered by oil spills and they warn us about the need to protect endangered animals, rain forests, and waterways. As consumers we are constantly reminded to dispose of waste properly as part of the effort to protect our planet’s air and water supplies, and we are encouraged to recycle to promote the wise use of the earth’s resources.
Sadly, we are more concerned about the destruction of the earth’s atmosphere than we are about the poisoning of our children by the airwaves they breathe in our homes. We are interested in the purity of the water we drink, but we do not monitor the pollutants that fill our minds. Our world is sick because we value the wrong things. In the Gospel of Mark, Yeshua rebuked the Pharisees because their values were mixed up. As Yeshua and His disciples were walking through a grain field, they were picking and eating grain because they were hungry. Since it was the Sabbath, the Pharisees complained that they were breaking the law.
He answered [them], “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?...he entered the house of The Most High and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” Then He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Another time [Yeshua] went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of [the Pharisees] were looking for a reason to accuse Yeshua, so they watched Him closely to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath. Yeshua said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.” Then Yeshua asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored (Mark 2:25–3:5).
Matthew records Yeshua’s words on this occasion slightly differently:
[Yeshua] said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:11-12).
The values and standards of our world are not so different from those of the Pharisees. We save whales and try to protect endangered species, but we allow babies to be aborted. We cannot shoot flamingos, but we can take a scalpel and kill human fetuses. We are sick. We are no different than those Yeshua admonished.
Therefore, we need to rethink our values and redefine the definition of pollution. The most damaging pollutants that are poisoning our communities are not coming from cars, factories, and toxic waste dumps. They come from bookshelves, televisions, movie houses, and rental videos. They come from our schools and colleges where teachers who do not believe in The Most High teach our children that The Most High is a crutch or a figment of their imaginations. Don’t tell me not to shoot flamingos when teachers are shooting my children by teaching them corruption, error, evolution, and Godless philosophies!
The only way to combat this pollution is to examine what we are feeding our children and to cultivate with care the environments in which they grow. Then we can activate and stimulate their potential, and ours, with the proper nutrients and fertilizers. The Most High determined this need to care for our potential when He placed Adam in the garden and commanded him to work, till, and cultivate it.
A Twofold Process: Cultivating and Feeding Your Potential
Potential must be cultivated and fed to produce fruit. But how do we do this? How do we cultivate and feed the talents, skills, and abilities we possess? The definitions of cultivate include:
a) to prepare and work to promote growth;
b) to improve growth by labor and attention;
c) to develop and refine by education and training; and
d) to seek or promote, such as a friendship.
To feed something means that we
a) supply with nourishment;
b) provide as food;
c) furnish for consumption; and
d) satisfy, minister, and gratify.
All these definitions imply that the process is to be beneficial, not harmful. If the provisions do not supply nourishment that is essential for growth, they are not truly feeding us. Likewise, if the activity and attention do not help us to develop, refine, improve, and promote our abilities, skills, and talents, they cannot truly be called cultivation.
Even as seeds do not become plants overnight, so the wealth of our potential cannot be exposed and fulfilled in an instant. We must exert effort to cultivate what The Most High has given us, and we must exercise care to fertilize and water it properly. As specific plants require certain nutrients and conditions to grow, so we must provide the right nourishment and environment to encourage the maximizing of our potential. These specifications have been set by The Most High, who created us. To ignore them is to invite death.
Cultivating and Feeding the Three Dimensions of Potential
We are like a fallow field. We contain much fruit, but our fertility will not become evident until and unless we cultivate and feed our bodies, souls, and spirits. These are the three dimensions of potential. Cultivating and feeding work together to promote maximum growth and fulfillment. If we activate and stimulate our potential through challenging work and experiences, but we neglect to provide the appropriate fertilizers that will sustain and maintain it within those situations, before long growth will become stunted and eventually stop. Likewise, if we feed our bodies, souls, and spirits according to our Manufacturer’s specifications, but we fail to foster and develop occasions when we can try new things and reach for new goals, we will still diminish the effective release of our potential. Both cultivating and feeding are necessary for wholesome growth.
Each dimension of our potential—body, soul, and spirit—has definite specifications and materials for cultivation and explicit requirements in fertilizers. These specifications or requirements prescribed by our Manufacturer ensure that each part of our being operates at peak performance and achieves maximum fruitfulness.
They are essential ingredients for unveiling who we can be and what we can do. You are what you eat. This is true for all three dimensions of potential. If you eat excessive fatty foods, you will gain weight and your face will be covered with pimples. If you feed your mind with trash, your thoughts will be in the gutter. If you feed your spirit the information received through the senses of your body and the education of your soul, neglecting The Most High’s wisdom and knowledge, the Torah, you will operate from worldly standards and values. You are what you eat.
Cultivate and Feed Your Body
Your body is a precise machine that requires proper food, exercise, and rest. Healthy food, regular exercise, and scheduled periods of rest are essential for it to operate at its maximum potential. Physical health deteriorates when sweets, fats, or other harmful foods are stuffed into the body, and the body’s strength and endurance are lessened if exercise (work) is missing from your daily routine. Likewise, the absence of rest depletes the body’s resources until exhaustion and even collapse eventually occur. Cultivate and feed your body by living within a healthy routine that includes nutritious food, moderate but systematic exercise, and regular sleep and relaxation.
Secondly, the cultivation and feeding of your body requires that you use it with discretion, setting it apart for its intended uses. The Most High did not give you a physical body so you can fill it with empty calories or treat it as a beast of burden. If you have a choice of a salad or french
fries for lunch, choose the salad. The fries may taste good, but they do little or nothing to nourish you. In a similar manner, consider the proper use of your body when you are working or exercising. For example, safeguard your back by bending your knees to lift a heavy load. This requirement to use your body with discretion also means that you should treat it with respect and exercise caution not to abuse it. Take care not to allow cigarettes, alcohol, and other harmful substances to enter it. As the apostle Paul warns us:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Each person will have to give an account for what he did with his body. Third, you must cultivate your physical body by preserving it and protecting it from pollutants. If you are going to do something for the world, if you are really going to contribute to the effectiveness and the productivity of your nation, you cannot be sick because you cannot be effective if you are sick. As the apostle Paul says:
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from The Most High? ...Therefore honor The Most High with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul adds:
...offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to The Most High—this is your spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1).
For something to be a sacrifice, it must be valuable and worth giving. You cannot effectively honor The Most High if your body is too heavy or your heart is weak because you have filled your body with cholesterol producing foods. Preserve your body by understanding and obeying the Manufacturer’s directions--His 613 principles. You are responsible to protect your physical temple.
Cultivate your body. Cultivate Your Soul
Your soul consists of your mind, your will, and your emotions. What goes into your mind always influences what comes out. If your children watch disrespectful, smart-mouthed kids on TV, they will learn to talk and act the same way. In fact, they won’t even know that they are being disrespectful because their values and wisdom will have been skewed by the things they saw and read.
Be careful, then, to convert your mind by filling it with godly, uplifting materials. Feed it The Most High’s Word instead of junk novels. If you spend much time reading ivory-towered romantic fiction, you will come to have unrealistic expectations of your spouse and you will either degrade or destroy the marriage relationship through unfaithful thoughts, words, and actions. Turn on a teaching tape instead of the afternoon soaps. Take part in a small group Bible study. Use your moments of leisure to uplift rather than tear down.
Likewise, cultivate your mind. Spend some time each week in serious Bible study or research a useful topic you know little about at your local library. Attend concerts and lectures, or take evening classes at a community college. The whole purpose of encyclopedias, formal education, and other sources of knowledge is not to make you smart, but to give you the opportunity to make yourself smart.
Use the resources available to your mind to inspire you to activate your dreams and reach for new goals. Your mind is a powerful tool created by The Most High for the good of mankind. It’s a pity to die with water when people are dying of thirst. Yet it happens every day as people who have the answers to the world’s problems refuse to feed and cultivate their minds so they can reach into the deep wells of their possibilities and pull out what the world needs. Look to the careful cultivation and feeding of your mind. Remember, the person who doesn’t read is no better off than the person who can’t. This bears repeating: It’s a pity to die with water when people are dying of thirst.
The cultivation of your soul also includes the discipline of your will. Discipline is training or teaching someone or something to obey a particular command or to live by a certain standard. The discipline of your will is particularly important because the will is the decision maker. If you refuse to discipline your will, you won’t be successful in fulfilling your potential because your will determines your decisions, which govern your potential.
I imagine Yeshua in the garden before His arrest. His will was saying, “Let’s find another way to do this,” but The Most High said, “There is only one way.” Because Yeshua’s will was disciplined, He said, “Okay, Your will not Mine be done.” (See Mark 14:32-36.) If you do not train your will to be subjected to The Most High’s wisdom and purposes, you will forfeit the purpose for which you were born, and your potential will be wasted. Self-discipline is the highest expression of self-management, which is manifested in a disciplined will.
The cultivating of your soul also requires that you control your emotions. Too often we allow our emotions to control us instead of our controlling them. Tantrums and fits of rage are symptoms of this malady. Emotions are controlled by understanding. Ecclesiastes 7:12 says:
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
What we know to be true from seeking information and examining the facts must be the basis on which we make decisions and relate to other people. Emotions often color what we see. They also prompt us to say hasty words and to make unwise choices. Emotions governed by information provides an environment in which the potential of our souls can be maximized.
Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32).
Yeshua said that the soul is the most important dimension of our make-up because the soul is both our receiving center and our distribution center. It receives information through our physical senses and discernment through our spirits and it sends directions back to both our bodies and our spirits. Thus, our souls processes information from both the physical and the spiritual worlds. Yeshua said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
The word meek does not mean “weak,” but rather “controlled power” or “disciplined energy.” Self-discipline will cause The Most High to trust us to manage more of the earth’s resources.
Too often the soul is neglected and permitted to pick up information that is not good for the spirit. Maximize your potential by cultivating and feeding your soul so that your spirit may fellowship with The Most High, who is the source of all potential.
a) supply with nourishment;
b) provide as food;
c) furnish for consumption; and
d) satisfy, minister, and gratify.
All these definitions imply that the process is to be beneficial, not harmful. If the provisions do not supply nourishment that is essential for growth, they are not truly feeding us. Likewise, if the activity and attention do not help us to develop, refine, improve, and promote our abilities, skills, and talents, they cannot truly be called cultivation.
Even as seeds do not become plants overnight, so the wealth of our potential cannot be exposed and fulfilled in an instant. We must exert effort to cultivate what The Most High has given us, and we must exercise care to fertilize and water it properly. As specific plants require certain nutrients and conditions to grow, so we must provide the right nourishment and environment to encourage the maximizing of our potential. These specifications have been set by The Most High, who created us. To ignore them is to invite death.
Cultivating and Feeding the Three Dimensions of Potential
We are like a fallow field. We contain much fruit, but our fertility will not become evident until and unless we cultivate and feed our bodies, souls, and spirits. These are the three dimensions of potential. Cultivating and feeding work together to promote maximum growth and fulfillment. If we activate and stimulate our potential through challenging work and experiences, but we neglect to provide the appropriate fertilizers that will sustain and maintain it within those situations, before long growth will become stunted and eventually stop. Likewise, if we feed our bodies, souls, and spirits according to our Manufacturer’s specifications, but we fail to foster and develop occasions when we can try new things and reach for new goals, we will still diminish the effective release of our potential. Both cultivating and feeding are necessary for wholesome growth.
Each dimension of our potential—body, soul, and spirit—has definite specifications and materials for cultivation and explicit requirements in fertilizers. These specifications or requirements prescribed by our Manufacturer ensure that each part of our being operates at peak performance and achieves maximum fruitfulness.
They are essential ingredients for unveiling who we can be and what we can do. You are what you eat. This is true for all three dimensions of potential. If you eat excessive fatty foods, you will gain weight and your face will be covered with pimples. If you feed your mind with trash, your thoughts will be in the gutter. If you feed your spirit the information received through the senses of your body and the education of your soul, neglecting The Most High’s wisdom and knowledge, the Torah, you will operate from worldly standards and values. You are what you eat.
Cultivate and Feed Your Body
Your body is a precise machine that requires proper food, exercise, and rest. Healthy food, regular exercise, and scheduled periods of rest are essential for it to operate at its maximum potential. Physical health deteriorates when sweets, fats, or other harmful foods are stuffed into the body, and the body’s strength and endurance are lessened if exercise (work) is missing from your daily routine. Likewise, the absence of rest depletes the body’s resources until exhaustion and even collapse eventually occur. Cultivate and feed your body by living within a healthy routine that includes nutritious food, moderate but systematic exercise, and regular sleep and relaxation.
Secondly, the cultivation and feeding of your body requires that you use it with discretion, setting it apart for its intended uses. The Most High did not give you a physical body so you can fill it with empty calories or treat it as a beast of burden. If you have a choice of a salad or french
fries for lunch, choose the salad. The fries may taste good, but they do little or nothing to nourish you. In a similar manner, consider the proper use of your body when you are working or exercising. For example, safeguard your back by bending your knees to lift a heavy load. This requirement to use your body with discretion also means that you should treat it with respect and exercise caution not to abuse it. Take care not to allow cigarettes, alcohol, and other harmful substances to enter it. As the apostle Paul warns us:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Each person will have to give an account for what he did with his body. Third, you must cultivate your physical body by preserving it and protecting it from pollutants. If you are going to do something for the world, if you are really going to contribute to the effectiveness and the productivity of your nation, you cannot be sick because you cannot be effective if you are sick. As the apostle Paul says:
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from The Most High? ...Therefore honor The Most High with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul adds:
...offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to The Most High—this is your spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1).
For something to be a sacrifice, it must be valuable and worth giving. You cannot effectively honor The Most High if your body is too heavy or your heart is weak because you have filled your body with cholesterol producing foods. Preserve your body by understanding and obeying the Manufacturer’s directions--His 613 principles. You are responsible to protect your physical temple.
Cultivate your body. Cultivate Your Soul
Your soul consists of your mind, your will, and your emotions. What goes into your mind always influences what comes out. If your children watch disrespectful, smart-mouthed kids on TV, they will learn to talk and act the same way. In fact, they won’t even know that they are being disrespectful because their values and wisdom will have been skewed by the things they saw and read.
Be careful, then, to convert your mind by filling it with godly, uplifting materials. Feed it The Most High’s Word instead of junk novels. If you spend much time reading ivory-towered romantic fiction, you will come to have unrealistic expectations of your spouse and you will either degrade or destroy the marriage relationship through unfaithful thoughts, words, and actions. Turn on a teaching tape instead of the afternoon soaps. Take part in a small group Bible study. Use your moments of leisure to uplift rather than tear down.
Likewise, cultivate your mind. Spend some time each week in serious Bible study or research a useful topic you know little about at your local library. Attend concerts and lectures, or take evening classes at a community college. The whole purpose of encyclopedias, formal education, and other sources of knowledge is not to make you smart, but to give you the opportunity to make yourself smart.
Use the resources available to your mind to inspire you to activate your dreams and reach for new goals. Your mind is a powerful tool created by The Most High for the good of mankind. It’s a pity to die with water when people are dying of thirst. Yet it happens every day as people who have the answers to the world’s problems refuse to feed and cultivate their minds so they can reach into the deep wells of their possibilities and pull out what the world needs. Look to the careful cultivation and feeding of your mind. Remember, the person who doesn’t read is no better off than the person who can’t. This bears repeating: It’s a pity to die with water when people are dying of thirst.
The cultivation of your soul also includes the discipline of your will. Discipline is training or teaching someone or something to obey a particular command or to live by a certain standard. The discipline of your will is particularly important because the will is the decision maker. If you refuse to discipline your will, you won’t be successful in fulfilling your potential because your will determines your decisions, which govern your potential.
I imagine Yeshua in the garden before His arrest. His will was saying, “Let’s find another way to do this,” but The Most High said, “There is only one way.” Because Yeshua’s will was disciplined, He said, “Okay, Your will not Mine be done.” (See Mark 14:32-36.) If you do not train your will to be subjected to The Most High’s wisdom and purposes, you will forfeit the purpose for which you were born, and your potential will be wasted. Self-discipline is the highest expression of self-management, which is manifested in a disciplined will.
The cultivating of your soul also requires that you control your emotions. Too often we allow our emotions to control us instead of our controlling them. Tantrums and fits of rage are symptoms of this malady. Emotions are controlled by understanding. Ecclesiastes 7:12 says:
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
What we know to be true from seeking information and examining the facts must be the basis on which we make decisions and relate to other people. Emotions often color what we see. They also prompt us to say hasty words and to make unwise choices. Emotions governed by information provides an environment in which the potential of our souls can be maximized.
Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32).
Yeshua said that the soul is the most important dimension of our make-up because the soul is both our receiving center and our distribution center. It receives information through our physical senses and discernment through our spirits and it sends directions back to both our bodies and our spirits. Thus, our souls processes information from both the physical and the spiritual worlds. Yeshua said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
The word meek does not mean “weak,” but rather “controlled power” or “disciplined energy.” Self-discipline will cause The Most High to trust us to manage more of the earth’s resources.
Too often the soul is neglected and permitted to pick up information that is not good for the spirit. Maximize your potential by cultivating and feeding your soul so that your spirit may fellowship with The Most High, who is the source of all potential.
Shema Selah, we must return to what the Most High values over what is considered worthy by the world's standards!!
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