The morning routine can “make or break” your day in no time.

For many of us, the a.m. routine includes dragging ourselves out of bed, dreading to start even the day. A pot of coffee is added to the morning “to get us going” only to find challenges lead the way.

Making the most of the morning routine changes “the mood” for the rest of the day. The first 60 minutes of the day is the most important in determining how the rest of the day will go.

Here are three simple steps to help provide a more positive (and healthy) attitude for the remaining hours:

1. Change breathing patterns. Breathing patterns are important and related to stress levels. Individuals who are “stressed” all the time are usually not breathing properly. Their bodies are in the “fight or flight” response mode, and their breathing is more shallow. During this time, the heart rate also increases. A vicious cycle then occurs, and the body is in “shallow” breathing much of the time.

The goal is to pay attention to the breathing patterns being used. Take time to breath more deeply on a regular basis. If you feel the tension coming in during the day, take a few minutes to do deep breathing while focusing on relaxing.

• Five-minute meditation. During the morning, take five minutes to meditate mindfully. Focus on breathing in a comfortable position. Breath deep with a steady inhale into your stomach region (ten times) and focus on bringing stress levels down. Practice bringing your mind “back to the breathing” if thoughts consistently come into your head. If needed, this can also be done during the day at break time, or even lunch time.
• Try box-breathing exercises. Box-breathing exercises are great for decreasing anxiety, lowering heart rate, and depressing arousal levels. These exercises are also useful for clearing the mind. Box breathing involves inhaling (count to four), hold breath in (count to four), exhaling (count to four), hold breath out (count to four), inhaling (count to four), hold breath in (count to four), exhaling (count to four), so forth. The four-count can also be changed to another number if needed.

2. Increase movement. Increasing body movement leads to a more fulfilled and healthier lifestyle. Our bodies are created to run, play, climb, crawl, lift, balance, as well as other complex moves. Moving the body improves mood and develops a happier state of mind. Blood flow expands with increased movements; lymph removes toxins more quickly with amplified efforts.

• Body shaking. As strange as it may sound, body shaking is a wonderful stress reliever. It is one of the best things to do to take away tension and decrease the effects of stress on the body. Body shaking increases the blood flow, helps to remove toxins, and awakens the body for additional movement.
• Locomotion exercises. Locomotion exercises improve the overall mobility of the body and also encourages the release of endorphins (feel-good chemicals). Mood is improved during these self-powered actions. Locomotion exercises do not require any equipment. Some of the movements include walking, hopping, leaping, rolling, sliding, skipping, climbing, and swimming.

3. Healthy eating during breakfast. Making healthy choices for the first meal of the day gives the body “sound nutrition” to get started. Consuming the right food determines how well the body functions for the remaining hours of the day. Eating improper foods will result in feeling “down and out” before you even begin your routine.

• Drinking water. Drinking a glass of water in the morning (every day) will help the body to fight inflammation, provide hydration, and alkalize the system. Drinking a sufficient amount of water through the day boosts the immune system and improves health. Try adding a squeeze of lemon to drinking water in the mornings.
• Healthy smoothies. Sipping a vitamin packed healthy smoothie is another way to start the day off right. Healthy smoothies are easy for the body to digest. Many recipes are quick to create and can be enjoyed by all in the family.

Here is a delightful recipe to get you started:

Green Smoothie with Coconut Water

One ripe banana

Eight oz. coconut water

One tsp. coconut oil

One dozen raw cashews

One handful of spinach

Blend ingredients and sip slowly. Protein powders, potato starches, and superfood formulas can also be added to the smoothie if desired.

Three Simple Steps

Taking these three simple steps can make the day go so much better. So, why not give it a try? Stop to breathe more deeply, purpose to increase body movement, and make healthier breakfast choices. A healthy morning routine will make the day go much better!

Don Colbert, M.D., has been board-certified in Family Practice for over 25 years and practices Anti-Aging and Integrative medicine. He is a New York Times best-selling author of books such as The Bible Cure Series, What Would Jesus Eat, Deadly Emotions, What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You, and many more with over 10 million books sold. He is the Medical Director of the Divine Health Wellness Center in Orlando, Florida, where he has treated over 50,000 patients.

For the original article, visit drcolbert.com.

Dick Eastman never intended to travel the globe 100 times with the gospel of Jesus Christ—he actually wanted to practice law. But when he was 20, Dick says, God gave him an almost unbelievable prophetic promise in his prayer closet about millions of souls coming into the kingdom through his ministry—and he’s been legislating in the courts of heaven for the lost ever since.

“When God spoke, I thought it was my imagination at first,” Dick told me, recalling the 1964 experience. “The first person I thought of was Billy Graham. I asked the Lord if I was going to have a ministry like Billy Graham’s and—this was one of the first times I really heard the Lord speak—He told me a million souls would be prayed into the kingdom.”

Nevertheless, Dick set what would become a nation-shaking prophetic promise on the shelf because “it seemed preposterous.” After college, he worked with Christian youth in Wisconsin before heading to California to minister in the Jesus Movement. During the outpouring that brought in an overwhelming harvest from the hippie counterculture, Dick, 72, says God told him in 1971 to start planting what he calls “prayer corps.” These prayer corps were predecessors to the 24/7 International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri.

“I’d go to youth conferences and encourage young people to give a year of their lives after high school—and raise their own support—to come to our prayer center in Sacramento and pray day and night for the nations. That’s how our ministry began,” says Dick, international president for Every Home for Christ. “Over four years, God gave us 100 young people that never stopped praying a special prayer we called ‘the gap’ based on Ezekiel 22:30. They prayed in shifts. I still remember the night the Lord told me to call the world to prayer. I had no clue there would be a literal aspect of this, but I claimed the year 1971 would be the start of winning 100 million souls for Christ.”

Calling the World to Prayer

Nor did Dick have any clue that Jack McAlister, founder of Every Home for Christ, an international missions organization dedicated to the Great Commission, was watching his work. When McAlister charged Dick with taking his prayer corps model to the nations, he joined Every Home for Christ and launched a Change the World School of Prayer that within a few years gathered people from more than 100 denominations to teach prayer.

That was 40 years ago. Since then, over 3 million people in 120 nations—including the likes of Mike Bickle and Lou Engle—have participated in Dick’s prayer schools. His book, The Hour That Changes the World, has sold 1.5 million copies globally.

In 2010, Dick, who also serves as the president of America’s National Prayer Committee that organizes the National Day of Prayer, saw his prophetic declaration come to pass. Every Home for Christ reported over 100 million responses to its gospel campaigns. The ministry has planted more than 3.6 million gospel messages from home to home worldwide since 1946, resulting in more than 139 million follow-up decision cards.

“For the Great Commission to be fulfilled literally, the church must go where people live. Every Home for Christ has precisely this vision, already conducting systematic, house-to-house literature campaigns,” said the late Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, now Cru. “Per dollar investment, there are few opportunities that can match the distribution of evangelical literature.”

Reaching Every Home for Christ

The strategy is simple: Everybody lives somewhere, so missionaries go door to door and systematically share the gospel home to home, using Christian literature. In the past four years, the ministry has reached over 400 million homes and followed up to disciple over 70 million people who have responded to the gospel through these tactics. Currently, more than 1 million people are responding every month—and it’s all undergirded in intercessory prayer.

Patrick Johnstone, co-author of the prayer and reference guide Operation World, warns not to underestimate the power of Christian literature in the quest to win souls for Jesus. “Some reckon that over half of evangelical Christians attribute their own conversion, at least in part, to Christian literature,” Johnstone says. “Here I will only describe what I regard as the most globe-covering literature vision the world has ever seen—that of Every Home for Christ. The vision is very simple, but its outworkings have had extraordinary coverage and impact.”

Of course, living up to its name—reaching every home for Christ—is a daunting task. But it’s a labor of love for Dick, who has seen God move in ways he could hardly believe 50 years ago. Although many people are not home when missionaries come calling, they can leave gospel tracts behind and rely on their prayers and the power of the Word on the printed page to plant the seeds of salvation.

“Dr. Bill Bright once told me that if God gave him superhuman strength so he could go to every home on Earth physically and speak for an hour about Jesus or go to every home on Earth and leave a very clear presentation of the gospel in print, he would choose the latter,” Dick says. “When you leave the printed page, the Holy Spirit can speak to people anytime a person picks it up.”

Dick has found this to be true, especially in less developed nations—even if it takes decades for the seed to take root. People respond in one of two ways to the Every Home for Christ’s gospel literature: Lost souls either (1) read the message, pray the prayer to accept Christ and check a box on the card asking for material that helps them understand what to do next or (2) check a box on the card asking to know more about Christ. That means a response is not necessarily a conversion but Dick has heard enough testimonies to see the ripple effect.

Here’s just one example: An Every Home for Christ director in Zambia went to visit the bishop of a denomination there to garner his support for the ministry’s gospel campaign in the nation. It turned out that this bishop, who oversees 100 churches, was saved through the ministry’s tracts in 1972. Dick is sure there are countless such stories he’s never heard.

“As I have traveled around the world, I have become convinced that one of the greatest needs in the missionary enterprise is to scatter the gospel by the printed page in every part of the world, something that is central to the work of Every Home for Christ,” says evangelist Billy Graham. “May God continue to bless Every Home for Christ.”

Planting Home Churches for Christ

Reaching every home for Christ is not enough. Discipleship is a key focus of the ministry, which started forming Christ Groups—baby New Testament church fellowships—in 1965. From 1965 until 2014 (the latest statistics available) Every Home for Christ has planted over 217,000 Christ Groups, making it one of the most rapidly spreading church movements in the world—and it all started with prayer and gospel literature.

“We need to dedicate our lives to those things that are eternal,” says David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby Stores. “I don’t know of any ministry I have been involved with that is doing this better than Every Home for Christ.”

Perhaps that’s because Every Home for Christ is founded on three unalterable convictions. The first is that believers must take the Great Commission literally. Jesus clearly commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).Every Home for Christ goes home to home so the ministry can measure how effective it is at fulfilling its part of the Great Commission. The second conviction is unity.

“Without unity, the task is impossible,” Dick says. “One denomination, one ministry, one organization—no matter how strategic they may think they are—can’t fulfill the Great Commission alone. We’ve got to unite together. We’re looking for cooperation that emerges out of unity, not necessarily agreeing on every fine point of theology. We just need to believe that Jesus is Lord and that Jesus is the only way to salvation and can transform lives.”

The third conviction is where the power comes from: believing prayer will remove all obstacles. Dick describes these convictions as the main thing (the Great Commission), the necessary thing (unity) and the key thing (prayer). Without any one of the three convictions, the strategy will not bear abundant fruit that remains. Still, there are challenges, and Paul the apostle outlined the root of resistance in 1 Corinthians 16:9: “For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

“All over the world you see movements like ISIS,” Dick says. “There’s tremendous opposition to the gospel in some regions of the world, and some believe persecution is greater today than ever. There is a vast array of obstacles in the way, especially when our workers are in remote areas going into villages where, in some cases, there has literally never been a Christian presence.”

Depending on the power of literature, Every Home for Christ has established mobile printing shops to help get Bibles into the hands of new converts. The ministry also deploys mobile training centers—Bible schools manned by two teachers with materials to equip the saints to live for Christ and do the work of the ministry in their area. Every Home for Christ has 413 mobile training centers that each train 85 leaders a month. Statistics like that amaze onlookers.

“Dick is one of the most outstanding and perhaps least-heralded Christian leaders in the world today as measured by his walk with God, as measured by the results of the ministry he’s headed up—and not just in terms of causing people come to know Christ but actually seeing lasting and multiplying fruit,” says Paul Cedar, chairman of Mission America Coalition, a coalition of Christian leaders who have united to mobilize the church for praying, caring and sharing the gospel. “I am amazed at the work of Every Home for Christ.”

Praying the Walls Down

Again, prayer is the key thing. Dick says Every Home for Christ has seen its efforts multiplied by the millions since he launched the Jericho Center for Global Evangelism—the international headquarters for Every Home for Christ and other Christian ministries—in 2003. The Jericho Center fosters continual prayer for the nations and unity in the body of Christ as it works toward fulfilling the Great Commission.

“The idea is to bring together coalitions of different ministries that are involved in the Great Commission and cover them in prayer,” Dick says. “We started praying day and night.”

From the Gap Prayer Room, intercession is lifted up to heaven six days a week. Inside the Watchman Training Center is the Watchman Wall, which serves as a symbol that aims to inspire intercession. There are 12 small rooms within the wall called prayer grottos where up to five people can make intercession using prayer and worship tools. Meanwhile, the Harp and Bowl Prayer Rooms are dedicated solely to prayer, and the Watchman Training Center hosts large prayer and worship gatherings, the monthly school of prayer and a weekly commission service.

The impact of adding more prayer hours and equipping has been staggering. From 1946 to 2003—a 57-year period—Every Home for Christ saw 59 million salvation responses. From 2003 to 2015—a 12-year period—the ministry received 131 million responses. The church-planting effort also multiplied. From 1965 to 2003, 29,000 Christ Groups were formed. From 2003 to 2015, 181,000 Christ Groups launched. In the last six years in particular, the ministry has seen over 20,000 new groups established in the nations.

Bringing the Gospel Home

Now, after focusing on the nations of the Earth for decades, Dick is laying out a plan to target America.

“Two years ago, the Lord began to speak to me about our culture and has put it in our hearts to launch an Every Home Campaign in the United States,” Dick says. “We’re laying strategic groundwork with the goal of mobilizing 60,000 churches.”

Indeed, because as Every Home for Christ missionaries go door to door, the local church will engage in follow-up. Dick’s team is breaking the United States into 17 zones and mapping every zip code. This all-important campaign will launch in 2016, at a time when many intercessory prayer leaders believe we’ll see a move of God hit America. Dick has also launched the American Center for Prayer and Revival, a hub designed for day-and-night prayer in Washington, D.C., with the sole focus of asking God for a spiritual revival.

As for Dick, he won’t stop praying. After walking prayer circles around the Supreme Court during oral arguments in the Hobby Lobby case—a religious liberty battle to protect Hobby Lobby and the Green family from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate requiring the company to provide and facilitate abortion-inducing drugs in its health insurance plan—he asked the Lord what it would take to heal our nation. He says he heard Psalm 107:20: “He sent His word and healed them and delivered them from their destruction.”

“At that moment, I felt like the next great awakening is going to be engaging America with the Word of God,” Dick says. “Of course, the living Word is Jesus, so they have to get engaged with Jesus and what the Word says. That can only happen through a spiritual awakening. Programs don’t make that happen. It’s got to be supernatural.”  

Jennifer LeClaire is senior editor of Charisma, director of the Awakening House of Prayer, a senior leader of the New Breed Revival Network and author of many books, including The Next Great Move of God. Visit her online at jenniferleclaire.org.

Watch as Dick Eastman teaches how to engage in practical prayer that really works at eastman.charismamag.com.

To be a man is to be angry, whether it’s over political debates or marital spats, over the traffic that blocks us or the boss that infuriates us.

But, it’s what we do with that anger as men is what moves us toward destruction or redemption. Here’s a recent example from my own life:

I have trouble projecting my voice when speaking publicly. To make matters worse, I often drop my voice to make a point. I’ve been told this any number of times, but still forget and find others miss what I say.

Recently I asked my wife, Heidi, about my voice as we were driving home from teaching a class at my church. She informed me kindly but plainly that my voice was hard to hear at points. It triggered something inside.

I wanted to object, defend, deny, or dismiss. I felt exposed publicly once again as someone with lousy oratory. The shame quickly turned into anger. I could feel myself getting angry with Heidi, angry at the room acoustics (how absurd), and angry with myself for making the same mistake. The anger that my shame prompted may be understandable, but it is still self-consuming.

Then there is the anger we all feel in those places where others have wounded us—the abuse, the abandonment, the betrayal. The anger is just and necessary to our healing as men, but to stay there and refuse to forgive leads to hardening and bitterness. Once again our anger is understandable, but it is still all about us.

Then I open the pages of the New Testament and read about the anger of Jesus (Mark 11:15-19) as He cleared the temple. The court of the Gentiles was the one place that God-fearing Gentiles could come and pray in the temple precincts. It was a place even Jews had to walk through to get into the inner parts of the temple.

But this court had become the equivalent of an Oriental bazaar, selling animals used for the sacrificial system as well as salt, oil, and wine used in the rituals. There were already four markets set up on the adjacent the Mount of Olives where animals could be bought for that purpose. The recent use of this court for such a purpose showed flagrant disrespect for the temple, for the Gentiles, and for God’s glory. The physical force and passion required by Jesus to clear such a large area can only be imagined. What kind of anger is this?

It’s not anger over one’s shame or wounds. It’s anger over how sin defames God and wounds His creatures; it’s anger over the evil that corrupts and with the evil one who destroys. This is the anger of Jesus, the obverse side of His love, a heroic passion that hates what He sees and is determined to make it right. To begin to place our anger here is a part of our awakening into redeemed manhood.

How do we move toward this anger? Ironically, by growing in His love for us. As we do so, we will more and more love what He loves and be angry over what He is angry. This love and anger will in turn motivate us to prayer or action—probably both. But the prayer and action will be for the kingdom, for the glory latent in every human, and for the glory residing in God Himself.

The Lord’s Prayer gives us the final motive for our anger: so that God’s name and reputation would be kept pure, so that His kingdom would finally arrive, and so that His will would at last be accomplished.

This is a long way from my anger over my oratorical lapses. It’s a long way from all our anger. But Jesus intends to make us like Himself, fully human, fully man.

Even with our anger. {eoa}

Bill Delvaux is a graduate of Duke University and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and has served as a pastor and a high school Bible teacher. Presently, he leads Landmark Journey Ministries as a speaker, small group coach, and author of Divided: When the Head and Heart Don’t Agree and Landmarks: Turning Points on Your Journey Toward God. Bill and his wife have two grown daughters and reside in Franklin, Tennessee. Follow Bill on Twitter @BillDelvaux.

When it comes to our health, processed food is public enemy number one. In order to win any battle, you must know your enemy.

Journalist Michael Moss went behind enemy lines. He learned the secrets the processed food industry uses to keep us hooked.

Most of us know that we should stay away from processed foods, and those sugary processed drinks, but they’re just so hard to resist.

“The food that we hate to love and that we’re so tempted by, and will overeat, is a problem. And the solution is gaining control of it,” Moss said.

Processed Money Makers

Moss is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist for The New York Times. He infiltrated America’s largest processed food companies, like Kraft, Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Nestle and General Mills.

In his book, Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us, he exposes how they addicted us.

“They got big by making products that are utterly irresistible to people, both in taste, but also ultra-convenient that will sit on the shelf and be waiting for you until you’re ready to eat them. And also incredibly low cost,” he said.

They may be low cost at the checkout line, but we pay dearly later on, with our health and lost productivity. Doctors trace our obesity epidemic back to processed foods, and so do the people making those products.

“The startling thing is that the food industry has known for years and years that it’s at least partly responsible for that,” he said.

Processed foods kill with staggering amounts of salt, sugar, usually high fructose corn syrup, and fat, mostly trans fat, also known as hydrogenated oil.

“I don’t view the food industry as some evil empire that intentionally sought to make us obese or otherwise ill,” he explained. “The issue is, kind-of their collective zeal to do what companies do, which is to make as much money as possible by selling as much product as possible.”

Marketing the Bliss Point

Inside the food labs of the processed food companies, scientists use cutting-edge technology formulating what’s known as a food’s “bliss point,” or it’s maximum flavor and allure. That usually means one thing: sugar.

“Prepared pasta sauces on the shelf in the grocery store are really sweet,” Moss said. “They will have the sugar, the equivalent of two Oreo cookies per tiny little half cup serving. I’ve started making my own pasta sauce and it’s not that hard.”

They also lure us with texture. By manipulating a food’s chemical structure, scientists achieve ultimate, what they call “mouthfeel.” They also invented ways to disguise the sensation of being full.

“Those chips will compel you to eat more and more beyond what you should, and you’ll go back for more bags and more bags.”

Processed food companies know we consumers are concerned about nutrition. So they devise marketing tricks to make their products appear healthy. They’ll dial-back on one bad ingredient, while secretly pumping-up others.

“So for example you can find a yogurt that sells itself as being low-fat but it can, and often does, have as much sugar in it, and calories, as a serving of ice cream,” he explained.

Labels tout healthy ingredients like calcium, olive oil or fruit. But the amount of the good stuff is minuscule. A close look still shows shocking levels of salt, sugar and unhealthy fat.

Shoppers Be Wise

But we shoppers have a few tricks of our own. We can resist the temptation to buy processed foods by shopping when we’re full and hydrated.

Arm yourself with a good list, and don’t buy anything unless it’s on the list.

Also, spend more time on the perimeter of the store, where you’ll find the fresh foods.

When you are in the center part of the store, be wary of the products at eye level. Grocers put those tasty, unhealthy items right in front of our face because they are the ones that sell the most.

So while processed food is delicious, cheap, and convenient, it could ruin your health. The extra effort to eat fresh food will likely pay off in the long run.

For the original article, visit cbnnews.com.

Many times during his three-year ministry on Earth, people must have given Jesus a puzzled look. Although they probably never said it to His face, many of His disciples must have thought He was just plain crazy at times.

Did they really know who He was and what He could do? Jesus’ “ambition” for the supernatural simply didn’t make sense to even His friends or those who followed Him closely. To the natural mind, many of the things Jesus said or did were utterly absurd.

Here are some things Jesus’ followers might have said to Him, or at least thought to themselves (one of them actually was spoken):

• “That man has been crippled for life. Don’t waste your time on him.”
• “You want me to do what? Walk on water?”
• “Who touched you? You’re crowded by people, and you asked who touched you?”
• “You’re going to feed how many people with five loaves and two fish?”
• “You’re going to do what with Lazarus?”
• “You’re going to die and then do what?”

Thomas, one of Jesus’ disciples, had a tough time believing the last one, even though he had witnessed the many miracles that Jesus performed. It wasn’t enough that the blind were made to see, that the lame were made to walk and that fish and bread were supernaturally multiplied. Thomas still didn’t believe what Jesus said He would do.

“Unless I see the nail prints in His Hands, and put my finger in the nail prints, and put my hand in His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25, MEV). It was almost as if Thomas was intentionally defiant.

Are we like Thomas? Why is it that when we hear of miracles, many of which we report on charismanews.com—instant healings, people being raised from the dead, supernatural protection—we don’t immediately think, Amen and hallelujah! Praise God! Instead, one of our first thoughts is, Nah, did that really happen?

The thing is, once Thomas got the picture, he never doubted again. In fact, he became Jesus’ most well-traveled apostle and became known in Asia as St. Thomas, not Doubting Thomas. Thanks to my pastor, Ed Garvin, for that little gem.

In his book Peace With God: The Secret to Happiness, Billy Graham wrote: “As human beings deprived of the unlimited vision that God originally intended his creatures to have, we cannot comprehend the glory and the magnitude of the Spirit that lies so far outside ourselves. … It is like trying to explain the sweep and majesty and awe-inspiring grandeur of the ocean to a person who has never seen a body of water larger than a mud puddle! How can such a person envision the boundless sea?”

Graham says that God’s mind is not limited as ours are limited. And because of that, we “attempt to limit God as we are limited.” We try to deny God the power to do things we can’t do.

Graham goes on to say, “When a man knows in His heart that God is an infinite, eternal and unchangeable Spirit, it helps to overcome the temptation to limit Him. It helps to overcome all doubt about His ability to accomplish things that we can’t do ourselves!”

If you read last week’s Step Out of the Boat, you know that, for much of my life, I too had problems with skepticism when it came to trusting God to do certain things. I learned the hard way that I must trust in Him for everything and that His power is infinite, if only I believe that. Aren’t all things possible with God, as His Word says?

Jesus said in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them” (MEV). In John 14:13-14 He says, “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

Take those Scriptures to heart and an instant healing of a crippling disease or a report of someone being raised from the dead isn’t so far-fetched, is it?

As a Christ follower, is there any reason to doubt God’s Word?

What it all comes down to is this: Much like Jesus’ disciples, do we really believe that Jesus is who He says He is and that He can and will do what He says He will do? Or do we simply believe that Jesus is simply out of His mind?

And as I always like to say, “there is that.” {eoa}

Step Out of the Boat is a ministry created by Charisma Media Online Manging Editor Shawn A. Akers and dedicated to helping Christ followers strengthen their faith to get beyond their comfort zone and come to more intimate relationship with Jesus. With its articles, podcasts and other forms of media, Step Out of the Boat encourages Christ followers to daily reach to a higher level in their calling. 

Cyber criminals hacked into the computers at a major Washington, D.C., hospital chain this week, forcing the outfit’s medical records systems offline for thousands of patients and doctors, federal law enforcement officials said.

MedStar Health Inc. officials confirmed that a computer virus crippled operations at the chain’s Washington-area hospitals and doctors’ offices, leaving patients unable to book appointments and staff locked out of their email accounts. 

Computer security experts said the case was the just latest in a series to highlight the vulnerability of digital medical systems, including electronic medical records pushed and underwritten by Obamacare in recent years. It also spotlights the importance of taking active steps to protect the security of your health information, in the same way consumers advise keeping bank and credit card records safe.

Twila Brase, president of the Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom—a Minnesota-based organization dedicated to protecting patient privacy rights—tells Newsmax Health that medical ID theft is a growing national problem.

“I do see it growing,” she says. “It’s one of the problems with a push toward a National Medical Records System because now we have created, or will create, a bigger and bigger target as our medical records get connected without our consent, mind you.”

A law enforcement official said the FBI was assessing whether the MedStar virus was so-called “ransomware,” in which hackers extort money in exchange for returning a victim’s systems to normal, CBS News reports. 

MedStar operates 10 hospitals in Maryland and Washington, including the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, along with other facilities. It employs 30,000 staff and has 6,000 affiliated physicians.

The Medstar incident was the latest against a U.S. medical provider. Last month, a Los Angeles hospital paid hackers $17,000 to regain control of its computer system, which cyber attackers had seized with ransomware. 

In other recent data breaches, America’s second-largest health insurer, Anthem, was targeted by hackers who accessed the records of 80 million people, and Premera Blue Cross, based in Washington State, reported a cyber attack that affected 11 million policyholders.

In both cases, thieves gained access to claims data, including clinical records, banking account numbers, Social Security numbers, birth dates and other personal information.

Experts say computer security of the hospital industry is generally poor, and the federal Health and Human Services Department regularly updates a list of health care providers that have been hacked and patient information stolen.

Between 2010 and 2013, nearly 950 data breaches of protected health information were reported by entities covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)—involving approximately 29 million records, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 

The increase in recent cyber attacks has paralleled a major shift to digital medicine and electronic health records (EHRs) in the United States, largely pushed and underwritten by Obamacare.

Advocates of EHRs note that going digital has numerous benefits for patients and doctors. EHRs are easier to track than paper records, giving doctors access to patient info in an instant. They have also been shown to reduce prescription error risks and have led to the creation of create large health databases that offer clues to the best care practices for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other health conditions.

But as the MedStar case shows, there are also significant downsides to EHRs, which give hackers the ability to cripple health care systems with viruses and hand ID thieves easier access to sensitive patient health information.

“When you have these kinds of systems that connect all of this information together, it just becomes a very valuable target to those who see how much money that they can make off of our medical IDs,” Brase says.

The Medical Identity Fraud Alliance estimates that 2.3 million Americans are victimized annually by such breaches, with total damages adding up to $20 billion a year. About a fifth of medical ID theft victims have suffered a decrease in their credit scores, a third lost their health insurance, and two-thirds have paid an average of $13,500 to resolve the crime, according to MIFA.

Records acquired through medical ID theft are 20 times more valuable than financial information on the black market, MIFA says. Thieves who steal a patient’s name, medical records and insurance numbers can use them to get drugs or file fraudulent insurance claims or get health care.

But there are some steps you can take to reduce your chances of falling prey to ID thieves:

• Check your credit reports regularly for unpaid bills. Don’t give out your personal information to friends or family members.
• You’re entitled to one free copy of your credit report each year from each of the three main reporting bureaus (access them at AnnualCreditReport.com).
• Protect your health records like would bank and credit card information.
• Ask your doctor to see your medical records to check for errors.
• Read your explanation-of-benefits statements from providers to check for fraudulent charges.
• Ask your health insurer and medical providers for what’s called an “accounting of disclosures,” a listing of who has received your records and what info received.
• Be on the lookout for scams, such as if someone claims to work for a health care company and offers you some services for free or for a too-good-to-be-true price.
• If you find that you’ve been victimized, report it to your insurance provider, doctor, as well as to local police, and federal or state authorities.

For the original article, visit newsmaxhealth.com.

In a Leap Year, there are two months of Adar. This gives us an opportunity to realign the past year, refocus on all the loose ends, and get ready to “pass over” into the remainder of the season that lies ahead.

As you are aware, we entered 5776 at Rosh Hashanah in September of last year. In our culture, we became resolute to advance on Jan. 1, 2016. Now we have come to the final preparations to keep pressing to Passover and VAV (or stake claim) to the best of our destined future.

Only the Lord could have orchestrated such an incredible Firstfruits Weekend to propel us into our next season of ascension! As we came to bring our first and best to the LORD, He ordered the best revelation that we could have for this time. All three of our gatherings brought forth key revelation for this season. If we will be focused from this moment forth for the next six weeks, then everything that we are asking the Lord about we will find manifesting in a new way.

Understanding the Process of Firstfruits, the Biblical Key to Prosperity

God planned for His people to meet corporately and worship each month. This celebration is called Rosh Chodesh. This celebration occurred in both Old and New Testament history. This was a major key to the early church’s power and success.

Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your presses will burst out with new wine” (MEV).

In Romans 11:16, “For if the firstfruits is holy, the lump is also holy!” We sanctify our finances by giving God our firstfruits. We sanctify our time by giving God a firstfruits also!

By participating in firstfruits we are:

• Reminded that God is the Source of all Blessings!
• Disciplined to seek His kingdom first!
• Stirred to remember that He is to be our first Love!
• Released into revelation that directs us from the wave offering until the time of gathering the harvest!
• Assured of confidence that our Father will always provide!
• Initiated into a new expectation of a visitation and harvest that will come in days ahead.

By disciplining yourself to participate in firstfruits celebrations, the process of watching over our inheritance matures. This leads to your promises being fulfilled! Firstfruits celebrations demonstrate and move us closer to the final “ingathering” that is being developed in our hearts (Heb. 11:13-14; Eph. 1:11, 14, 18; Col. 1:12; 1 Pet. 1:4).

A Key Firstfruit Adar 2 Prophecy!

“The next six weeks will be a time of un-downing your nest. For many of you have grown accustomed to the place where your nest is, but I will be removing the down in the nest that you’re in. This removal will be the preparation of propelling you into the future I have for you.

“Do not be discouraged from the pricking that you go through over these next six weeks. For the pricking, and the pricks that you hear coming, are part of the un-nesting that will propel you higher as you begin to be pushed into the next dimension of your destiny. This is My time of pushing you forth.

“As you have heard today, mercy will come, mercy will come, mercy will come, mercy will come, mercy will come, and mercy will come again! I will have a people rising above the fray in this land!”

Shout, “Let there be light!” Declare this is your time of recalibration! Decree triumph over the five-dimensions of enemies that would try to come against you. This is your time to enter into the preparation for your next level of ascending! {eoa}

Charles D. “Chuck” Pierce serves as president of Global Spheres Inc. (GSI) in Corinth, Texas. This is an apostolic, prophetic ministry that is being used to gather and mobilize the worshipping Triumphant Reserve throughout the world. Chuck also serves as President of Glory of Zion International Ministries, a ministry that aligns Jew and Gentile. He is known for his accurate prophetic gifting which helps direct nations, cities, churches, and individuals in understanding the times and seasons in which we live. He has authored over 20 books, including the best-sellers Interpreting the Times, Redeeming the Time and Time to Defeat the Devil. Visit his website, glory-of-zion.org.

When I became a Christian, I told myself that I was going to live a life that looked different from the world around me. I wasn’t going to succumb to the lies that society fed me on a daily basis, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to base my worth off what I had or how much money I made.

I was told to ignore the American dream and instead, pursue the likes of Christ. Much of my thought process derived from the leaders and mentors I had pour into me, and some of it derived from reading passages in the Bible such as Romans 12:2, John 17:16 and John 15:19.

Society and culture seem to get a bad reputation in many of today’s Christian circles. And while not all of cultural influence is innately bad, the teaching that many stand behind makes it seem this way. The reality is, not all cultural influences are wrong or unbiblical.

In fact, some of them are actually good.

While I believe church should be so creative that it influences culture, I’m also not opposed to seeing today’s church adopt attributes of culture in order to better relate to individuals who are far from God. You can embrace culture without selling your soul.

Jesus did this through His teaching of parables, and He taught in ways that bridged the gap between a relationship with Jesus and the hearts of an unbeliever. He used culture to resonate with people and meet them halfway. If it worked for Jesus, why would we not follow suit? 

When it comes to embracing culture as it pertains to a believer in Christ, one must learn set up boundaries and limitations that will keep them from unhitching from a biblically grounded life. We can’t let our faith hang in the balance while trying to dabble with culture. It’s not worth it.

But, with proper accountability and understanding, Christians can actually benefit from the likes of culture without compromising any of their core beliefs.

Whether it be technology, music, film, business, fashion or any other type of artistry, God can use the likes of culture to benefit and expand his kingdom. So, how do you embrace culture without selling your soul? You reclaim it for the sake of the gospel. You use it to bring glory to God.

Jarrid Wilson is a husband, dad, pastor, author and inspirational blogger. His articles have been viewed by millions, showcased on some of today’s hottest talk shows, and featured on national news stations worldwide. He is a dynamic speaker whose outside-the-box perspectives have gained him national recognition from some of today’s most influential Christian leaders and pastors. Unafraid to tackle tough and controversial topics, his blog is one of the most talked about faith-based blogs on the web, and his dedication to use social media for the sake of that faith has been paramount to his success as a writer. His newest book entitled, Jesus Swagger is now available worldwide.

For the original article, visit jarridwilson.com.

No one accidentally grows in Christ.

There won’t ever be a day when you or I or anyone wakes up one morning and, much to our surprise, we exclaim, “Well how about that! Looks like I’m really mature as a follower of Jesus!”

Instead, discipleship is a series of intentional steps we take, day in and day out, toward following Jesus more and more. But those steps we take must be held in tension with the fact that we have no power to transform ourselves into the image of God’s Son; that this transformation is the work of God. 

This, of course, leaves us with both a little bit of knowledge and a little bit of questioning. 

The Tension of Discipleship Described in Scripture

We know we have some responsibility in our own discipleship, much less that of others, and yet we also know that we are dependent on the Lord to do what only He can do.

This is the tension that the apostle Paul articulated in Philippians 2:12-13:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but so much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the One working in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure.” 

Paul felt it too. He made no apologies that we must work out our salvation; indeed, the verb tenses of the passage indicate the rigorous nature of this work, that it’s ongoing and steady. And yet he also recognized that it’s God alone who works in us. For Paul, and for us, we work out what God works in.

Maybe an illustration will help us resolve the tension. 

How to Resolve the Tension of Discipleship

Think about it in terms of different kinds of boats.

Think first about a rowboat. A rowboat is active in nature. The distance you travel in a rowboat is linked exclusively to your effort. If you can pull those oars enough times, you could travel all the way across a lake. If you get tired, the movement forward stops.

That’s way different than a bass boat. A bass boat is built for speed. You turn the key, the motor tumbles to life, and away you go. There’s no effort on your part; all you do is hold onto the steering wheel for dear life.

Christians tend to approach discipleship in one of these two ways. The rowboat Christian is the one who believes that his or her spiritual growth is exclusively about his or her effort. They try and try and try, and then they’re exhausted. You can’t fault them for their effort, but the downside of that is when they achieve victory, they really have to fight the sense of pride that comes along with it. It’s their victory, because they’re the ones holding the oars.

Then there are those Christians who want to just “let go and let God.” They don’t think there is any effort involved in the Christian experience at all, so they don’t try hard at anything. Sure, we commend them for their level of faith, and yet their lives might be devoid of personal discipline and seem relatively low on the commitment scale.

The Truth Is Found in the Middle

We’re not supposed to live like the rowboat where the result depends exclusively on our muscles. We’re not to live like the bass boat, where we just turn the key and hang on for dear life. We are to be like the sailboat.

The forward motion of the sailboat is exclusively reliant on catching the wind. No wind, no motion. And you can’t control the wind. You can, however, control the sail. Your job as the sailor is to tie the sail correctly. It’s to point the boat in the right direction and raise it up the mast. It’s to judge the conditions around you and make the effort necessary so that when the wind does blow, you’re ready.

This is where the Christian lives—with the sweat of the brow and the wind blowing freely. We don’t transform ourselves, but do make ourselves available for the work of the Spirit of God. We can choose obedience in the little areas of our lives. 

We can spend time meditating on the Word of God. We can practice the spiritual disciplines. We can pray. We can fast. We can do all of these things and more, and when we do, we are raising the sail. God takes care of it from there.

And then we trust that the Holy Spirit (which incidentally, is literally in Greek “divine wind”) to blow through and fill them up.

God only knows where we go from there.

Michael Kelley, M.Div., and his wife, Jana, have three children. He’s the executive editor of HomeLife and the Director of Discipleship at LifeWay Christian Resources. His works include his latest release, Boring, Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal and Transformational Discipleship. Keep up with Michael on his blog or on Twitter.

For the original article, visit lifeway.com.

We all have those days. The ones that seem to begin in the middle of the night, the second we’d finally entered the sweet dreams of REM sleep.

The ones which not even a double shot of espresso can assist. Our legs feel like lead, our brain like mush, and we perform each item on the agenda like listless robots, counting the minutes until we can turn out the lights, hit the hay and recharge for what will hopefully be a more energetic tomorrow.

Today, I want to offer a remedy for those days when you sense lethargy rolling in like a rain cloud. It may sound counterintuitive, but exercise actually helps increase energy levels, while promoting better sleep at night. Now, I am fully aware that low-energy days make it nearly impossible for most of us to psych up for exercise, but what if I told you all you need to commit to is eight itty bitty minutes?

In this two-part routine, you will be doing movements that will pump oxygen-carrying blood throughout your body, help your flexibility, boost your metabolism, build strength and stamina, and, of course, send your exhaustion packing!

As I say in all of my workout articles, a five-minute warmup is a MUST. Warming up adequately does the following:

• Elevates body temperature
• Increases blood flow in the muscles
• Improves efficient cooling
• Improves range of motion
• Reduces incidence and likelihood of musculoskeletal injuries
• Supplies adequate blood flow to heart
• Provides rehearsal of movements performed in the workout
• Prepares you mentally

Warming up prepares us for an effective and rewarding workout. When the workout (the fun part!) begins, our blood is flowing hot, our hearts are pumping strong, and our minds are thinking fast, each part of us giving 100 percent to the exercises at hand.

Below, you will find a thorough warmup, followed by two mini routines, which are separated by a minute-long rest period. Carve out a grand total of 13 minutes to complete the five-minute warmup and the eight-minute workout. All you will need is a pair of tennis shoes and a timer.

WARMUP

• 20 Jumping Jacks
• 20 Arm Circles each direction
• 10 Lateral Lunges (5 each side)
• 10 Air Squats (lower for 3 seconds)
• 15 Jumping Jacks
• 10 Sit-Ups
• 5 Burpees

Repeat

WORKOUT PART I

Set a timer for four minutes and repeat the following circuit as many times as possible, maintaining proper form throughout (form should always be prioritized before speed!):

• 5 Push-Ups (traditional or modified, depending on your fitness level)
• 10 Stationary Lunges (5 each leg)
• 15 Butt Kicks

Exercise Instructions, in the Order Listed:

Jumping Jacks

• Begin by standing feet together with arms at your sides.
• Bend your knees and jump, moving your feet apart until they are wider than shoulder width. (You should be on the balls of your feet.) At the same time, raise your arms all the way overhead.
• Maintain a slight bend in your knees as you jump your feet back together and return your arms to your sides. Repeat for the given number of reps.

• Arm Circles

• Stand in a neutral position with feet hip-width apart. Your arms should be straight out to the sides so your body forms a “T.”

• Begin making slow circles in a forward motion with your arms, then gradually make larger ones and complete the given number of repetitions.

• Repeat in the opposite direction.

  Lateral Lunges

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and make sure you have about two to three feet of space on either side of you.

• Step sideways a comfortable distance, two or three feet, with one leg. Plant the heel of the lunging foot and keep the foot of the non-lunging leg pointed forward.

• Sit back into the lunging leg to create a definite crease in your hip. Keep your weight in the heel.

• Push off the heel of the lunging foot to bring feet together to the standing position. Repeat on opposite side and alternate for given number of repetitions.

  Air Squats

• Stand with your feet spread apart at a distance slightly wider than the shoulders. Position your feet so that your toes angle out. This angle varies from person to person, but should be about 30 degrees. Keep your weight on the heels to prevent yourself from rolling up onto the balls of your feet.

• Keep your chest up, shoulders back, head up. This helps promote a nice, safe, intact lumbar curve.

• Place arms straight out in front of your chest. The arms should be in a comfortable position as they act as counter balance to the motion of the exercise.

• Bend your knees as you lower yourself down. Pretend there is a chair behind you that you’re reaching back to sit on. Your knees should track over your feet and never jut out over them. In other words, your knees should be pointing in the same direction as your toes.  If you find your knees starting to cave in, focus on pushing them out.  A good way to achieve this is by imagining you are tearing the floor apart with your feet.

• The push back up should be generated from your hamstrings and glutes. Your chest and head should remain pointing straight forward. As you rise, your arms will probably lower back to your sides naturally. Make sure your knees keep tracking with your toes and do not begin to buckle inwards. Also be sure to keep your lumbar curve intact (curved). Generally speaking, if you have your chest and head up, your lumbar curve will be in the correct position.

  Sit-Ups (grab a rolled-up towel or an AbMat and place it above your waistband, against your tailbone)

• Lie on your back with arms overhead and feet in a butterfly position (soles of feet touching).

• Take a breath in and forcefully “throw” your arms over your body as you sit up.

• Touch your shoes as you exhale and return to a lying position, keeping the arms straight. Make sure your shoulder blades touch the floor at the bottom to achieve the full range of motion.

  Burpees

• Lower your body down using proper squat form. Place hands on the ground in front of you.

• Jump your feet back to a plank position, then quickly lower your chest to the ground.

• Push yourself back up to a plank position and jump your feet back in toward your hands..

• Jump back up and simultaneously clap your hands behind your head. Stand up all the way, extending the hips fully before beginning your next rep.

  NOTE: To modify this exercise, you may eliminate the push-up component. To further modify for beginners, you may also walk your feet out and back in instead of jumping them out and in.

  Push-Ups (traditional)

• Get into a plank position on the ground: hands and feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.

• Keeping your core (abdominals and back) tight, slowly lower yourself in a straight line. Make sure your neck stays neutral, naturally aligned with your spine. Don’t let your hips pike up in the air or your lower back sag.

• Continue to lower yourself until your chest touches the mat or floor or, for beginners, your arms form a 90-degree angle.

• Keeping your spine rigid and abdominals pulled in, press your hands into the floor to return to start position.

  NOTE: Think about exploding powerfully from the bottom position to increase the intensity of this movement.

  Push-Ups (modified)

• Get into a hands-and-knees position on a mat or floor. Hands should be slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, fingers facing forward. 

• Keeping your core (abdominals and back) tight, slowly lower yourself in a straight line. Make sure your neck stays neutral, naturally aligned with your spine. Don’t let your hips pike up in the air or your lower back sag.

• Continue to lower yourself until your chest touches the mat or floor or, for beginners, your arms form a 90-degree angle.

• Keeping your spine rigid and tummy pulled in, press your hands into the floor to return to start position.

  Stationary Lunges

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, torso upright with arms hanging straight at your sides.

• Take a slow, controlled lunge forward with one foot. As you lunge, lower your body and allow the lunging knee to bend until your thigh is parallel to the ground.

• Push explosively off the lunging foot to return to the starting position.

  Butt Kicks

• Begin by jogging normally, either in place or traveling for a short distance.

• Then begin raising your heels up toward your bottom as you jog, using rapid, forceful movements. Again, you may either do these in place or traveling.

  “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Is. 40:31, MEV).{eoa}

  Diana Anderson-Tyler is the author of Creation House’s Fit for Faith: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Total Fitness, Perfect Fit: Weekly Wisdom and Workouts for Women of Faith and Fitness, and her latest book, Immeasurable: Diving into the Depths of God’s Love. Her popular website can be found at dianaandersontyler.com and she is the owner and a coach at CrossFit 925.