My Personal Strengths and Weaknesses
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Personal transparency is something we are often engaged in - and we mostly keep this to ourselves, right? When contemplating our strengths and weaknesses we are dealing with some of the most personal attributes of who we are. Burnadette and Dave dig into this and discuss the personally helpful reality of being transparent with our Father Creator. Most of us don't want to be arrogant, or conversely, succumb to self criticism which buries the part of us that is our soul. How do we celebrate our strengths with humility, or embrace our weaknesses honestly to help us live where we know our...
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Establishing, Nurturing, and Guiding My Home
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
This chapter of God's Man/God's Woman gives a very personal inside look into how both Brent and Dave's families feel about home life. Even a modest numbered family has many moving parts and a complexity of relationships. Husband to wife. Wife to husband. Dad to daughter. Mom to son. Dad to son. Mom to daughter. Brother to sister. You get the idea. Add to this other immediate family and our close social networks, let alone the influence of school, the internet, and certain invasive structures, and guiding a home can be a real challenge, right? Brent and Dave believe that our children and...
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Finding and Cultivating Solid Relationships
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
The book is now available on Amazon in both printed and Kindle formats. We are awaiting final approval on the audio version as well. Exciting! Brent and Dave's purpose for this book is to clearly and succinctly help encourage your success in the core links to building an effective bridge between your God-life and your people life. In this episode Dave and Burnadette review cultivating solid relationships and what it looks like to build strong. It would be great if all our people interactions went perfectly, but we all know this is not realistic. But by applying God's principles to...
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What Is It I Want?
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
In chapter three Brent and Dave discuss personal vision and target acquisition. To know where you are heading and to be able to take steps to hit the mark. This is a big deal when it comes to being satisfied not only with where your life goes, but how you get there. Brent's insights here are awesome and his analogy of river travel is extremely helpful as you chart an effective course of action to succeed: heart and soul. We outline three specific targets which can help you focus your efforts, and explore why the how matters. This is great outline for personal vision - one you can adapt...
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Leveraging the Mind, Heart, Soul, and Conscience
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
We now spend a little time talking about leveraging our mind, body, heart and conscience for our personal success. Because we are made in the image of our Creator, we have vast capacities as well as remarkable uniquenesses. While God gets credit for our design, we have the privilege of deciding what we are going to do with it. Seriously. Brent and Dave begin conversations about the strengths and vulnerabilities of these capacities. Each area allows us to go more deeply into what makes life count. We have chosen five areas of thoughts for this leveraging chapter, with the hope we all will...
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What Are the Good Questions?
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
The best questions take us deeper. Seriously. Life is supposed to be fun and satisfying, but it should also be filled with substance and meaning. Relationships. Work. Accomplishments. Personal growth. Being at peace. This podcast episode investigates the good questions that will get us where we want to go. Brent outlines three very central queries which will help us succeed. √ Can I say I am good with who I am and how I am living? √ Are you and I good - are things right between us? √ And most importantly, am I good with God? When we take an honest look at...
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New Book Coming: God’s Man/God’s Woman
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
Every Jesus follower wants to see God's Kingdom grow. Deeper conversation, personal meditation, Jesus discipleship, and sheltering others are all a part of making our lives count. Brent Harris and Dave Nadler combine their gifts and experiences to bring clarity to how your life can build organic spirituality, as we follow the true Leader of all human souls. Brent's careers in the military, law enforcement, and business bring leadership insights that will focus your road to spiritual success. Dave has worked to bring about Kingdom outreach to our city and beyond. Together with Brent's wife...
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Joining Other Kingdom Allies
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
What if you could be taught by Jesus Himself AND Grow deeper roots - at your own pace - with a clear plan? 1000 KINGDOM ALLIES at fourthstream.com In our lifetime it is possible to deeply impact hundreds of souls. If we understand and embrace Jesus' example and invite Him to be the guide and power of our lives, this can definitely happen through us. Different than mere attendance participation, this is personal, spiritual engagement with other hearts and souls. It is what Jesus did. For instance, Burnadette and I disciple about a dozen people at any one time. These are those who choose to...
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Kingdom Pursuit Conversations
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
In times past one common form of art was the weaving of tapestries. Usually these were artistic "rugs" hung on walls, and only the rich had access to such extravagance. The visual side was always of beautiful colors and often told a story. Recently we were visiting the Biltmore estate in Ashville, NC (huge - pretty amazing 19th century monstrous tech!). The reverse side of a woven tapestry (vs modern printing process) was a series of disconnected colors and threads, and was not useful for indicating what was on the flip side. The God Story is like this. Yet if you follow the threads of the...
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Finding And Building My Kingdom Tribe
Fourthstream - Finding Hope
One of the truly rewarding things in life is to invest in meaningful relationships. When people speak of our "tribes" we are talking about those with whom we find and keep connection. We were not meant to live and build alone. Even though relationships have risk and rewards, for most people they are preferable to existing isolated or alone. Jesus’ 12 disciples were surrounded by others who formed His community. Mary and Martha and Lazarus, Jesus’ Mom, and Peter, James, and John and a few others were at the center of this relational discipleship network. It included His Father as well....
info_outlineKingdom 101 insists we place the Kingdom of Jesus in proper light. If we get too wrapped up in church before we understand the Kingdom, we will (and have historically) gotten things in misplaced order. As I talk about this I don't want you to think that I don't love the church. I have taught and served as a pastor for over 45 years, and feel Burnadette and I have dedicated ourselves without reservation to Jesus' Bride. It's just that if we do not place our King first it seriously impairs what we have to offer His Bride. So for clarity, there is a difference to me when speaking of the church and the Bride of Christ. The church is being purified into a spotless Bride to be married to Christ, right? This is why she has so many historical imperfections - yet we are being prepared for something future. The church is and has always been filled with imperfect people, of which I am foremost. If Jesus is the Door to the Kingdom (and He says He is in John 10) then humility is the latch or handle to that door. Perhaps even the kingdom keys are a gift to every Christ-follower (the key of King David - what a great women thread! Isaiah 22:22; Luke 11:52; Matthew 16:19; Revelation 1:8; 3:7.
Have you ever wondered why the Pharisees were so prominent in Jesus' human conflict? It because pride is the number one enemy of humanity. The religious leaders were the epitome of the pride of Israel. Jesus' conflict with the Romans was comparatively minimal. It was the religious pride of the scribes and Pharisees that embodied the scorn of satan. According to Jesus this deep arrogance resulted in all sorts of bullying religious behavior, and He spoke harshly right to the faces of these leaders. So - like today - oppression is the rule whenever men can manipulate power over others. This is another reason why I think that humility is the "key to the Kingdom" that Jesus gave to Peter (Matthew 16:19).
Jesus came in the opposite manner than was expected. The Jews wanted a political deliverer who would set them free from Roman occupation. But His power was perfected through humility, not human force. This is another woven thread that is often not taught or embraced. When we encounter the King of the universe we are to bend. This is how we enter into His Kingdom. It is a wholly different way to live. We bend to the King and we enter through the Door of Jesus with our keys to the Kingdom. The Bride of Christ thrives when such humility is embraced. This is not weakness, but conviction of faith and humility of heart and action. It is why we are to go the extra mile. It is why we are to forgive our enemies and bless them. It is why we are not to trust in ourselves but to wait upon His good spirit.
When an individual seeker becomes a Kingdom follower we are given a directive: follow the example of the King. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and I am with you always, all the way to the end of the age.” He has the authority. He is side by side with us. He is doing the "work" of the Kingdom through us. It is so simple yet we often make is so complicated or even convoluted.
From such humility is birthed the power of all non-religious following of Messiah. While religion may provide certain comforts, it is no substitute for the connectivity we have been given with the Spirit living inside of us. Remember what He said: “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come." - John 16:13
This is not merely what the Church is to DO, it is who the Church is to BE. So when the King comes into our personal world, we bend our will and bow our knee. We begin to live as His loyal, learning Kingdom subjects. And then the Church in any decade becomes His representative on earth. Or not. There is nothing in the scriptures equating religion with His Kingdom. Devotion does not correlate to religion. This has been a colossal human error in history, and not just in historic christianity. It remains so today. Our power is not from our observances or activities but our connectivity with our King. "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
King first - then Kingdom - then Church. Jesus mentions the church only 2 times in the Gospels. He speaks of the Kingdom over 100 times. Why do you think this is? Again, I am not denigrating the church. I am pointing out God's Kingdom order. When a person understands that Jesus alone is the Door of the Kingdom, that the keys to the Kingdom are humility of heart and devotion to the King, and that the Church springs from the presence of the King and His Kingdom (and not the other way around) we set aside religious spirituality for Kingdom connectivity.
You and I must see ourselves in this picture. We are a part of a great treasure: the Bride of Christ. And we are also each valued sons and daughters, with full rights and ability to hear the Voice of our King each day. We are not destined to live lives of perfection, but lives of connected faith. We can count on this from our King: “Come to Me, all who are weary and weighed down, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and be taught by Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is bearable.” - Matthew 11:28-30
Welcome to the courageous, restful Kingdom Heart!
Dave and Burnadette