Nathan Tabor - Handling Life

What do you do when tragedy strikes? In 1971, Tim Lee had a choice to make. You see, a land mine explosion in Vietnam took both his legs. Would he get bitter? or better? If you are facing your own life tragedy, then this is a message you need to hear. Tim shares his life story, his struggles and the strength he finds in his personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I highly encourage you to check out Tim’s new book "BORN ON THE FIFTH OF JULY" at https://timlee.org/newbook

Do you find yourself thinking or even saying these things? I don’t like my job, I don’t like the people I work with, or I don’t like the money I make. I’ve thought and said these exact things. Then I made a change and you can as well. Ready to learn what I did?

I've Failed Miserably, Have You? I've made mistakes. I've made bad choices. I've been 100% sure God wouldn't take me back. You know what? He knows how bad I am and He still sent His Son to die on the cross for me! Do you feel like you can't come back to God? If so, take five minutes and listen.

Think about it? How does the devil come to you? With a message of doom and gloom and a promise of chaos and misery? Or does he come to you as the thing your flesh desires?

Do you ever feel that way? Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't want to serve God, but it's not because of Him, it's because of me. Listen to learn how I overcome this feeling.

Do you have a pride problem? I did for a long time. Here are 3 ways to determine if you have a pride problem.

016: What Has God Done For You? by Nathan Tabor

fear: an unpleasant emotion. Fear controlled my life for a time period. If fear is controlling you, then you must take the time to watch/listen to this.

014: Worry Keeping You Up at Night? by Nathan Tabor

Have you ever wondered “where is God?” I have. Looking back over my life, I’ve ran to God many times when I was in a bind and begged, pleaded and prayed for His help. Yet it didn’t come. It left me wondering “where is God?” Was God missing or was I wrong? I was wrong. My relationship with God was that of an ATM. I expected when I put my card in, that money would come out, so I expected when I prayed for help, God would provide it. Hindsight 20/20 my logical thinking was WAY OFF. You see, to get money out of an ATM, you must first put money in the bank, and to put money in the bank, you must have a job to make money. If you don’t follow these steps, then the ATM isn’t going to give you any money. My relationship with God was essentially nonexistent, except when I needed out of a bind. When I asked for help I wasn’t asking for God’s will, I was asking for selfish, personal reasons. I hadn’t invested in getting to know God and developing a relationship with Him. So, if you want God’s protection, wisdom, and blessings you must develop and maintain a relationship with Him. Point of clarity - just because you develop a relationship with God does NOT mean He will give you money.

We all procrastinate from time to time. Procrastination occurs when we avoid tasks that we find unpleasant. Even if we perform other work-related tasks instead of the ones we dislike, we are guilty of procrastination. Unfortunately, procrastination will hinder our long-term success. With the proper skills, you can overcome procrastination. Procrastination is like putting a frog into a pot of cold water and turning the heat on low. The frog will slowly cook to death and never even realize it. Are you slowly cooking to death? I was a procrastinator until a few years back and it made tasks harder and created an immense amount of stress. Here are nine ways to get moving on those tasks. - Delegate it. If the task is important, ask yourself if it’s really something that you are responsible for doing in the first place. Know your job description and ask if the task is part of your responsibilities. Can the task be given to someone else? - Do it now. Postponing an important task that needs to be done only creates feelings of anxiety and stress. Do it as early in the day as you can. - Ask for advice. Asking for help from a trusted mentor, supervisor, coach, or expert can give you some great insight on where to start and the steps for completing a project. - Chop it up. Break large projects into milestones, and then into actionable steps. Huge things don’t look as big when you break it down as small as you can. - Obey the 15-minute rule. To reduce the temptation of procrastination, each actionable step on a project should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. - Have clear deadlines. Assign yourself a deadline for projects and milestones and write it down in your day planner or calendar. Make your deadlines known to other people who will hold you accountable. - Give yourself a reward. Celebrate the completion of project milestones and reward yourself for getting projects done on time. It will provide positive reinforcement and motivate you toward your goals. - Remove distractions. You need to establish a positive working environment that is conducive to getting your work done. Remove any distractions. - Delete it. What are the consequences of not doing the task at all? Consider the 80/20 rule; maybe it doesn’t need to be done in the first place.

Money is a concept almost as old as language. It’s ingrained in the core of society. Unfortunately, that gives it a sort of false significance. “If I just made more money everything would be great!” How many times have you heard someone say something like that? Or how many times have you told yourself, “Once I make more money I’ll spend more time with my family.” Well, I’ve got bad news for you. Money itself never made anyone happy. The choices a person makes with their money can contribute to their happiness, but little is gained simply in having it. If you think money will give you more time to spend with your family, it won’t. If you think money will solve your problems, it won’t. The pursuit of money for its own sake will result in less time with loved ones and it will create more problems. Life Lesson: If you don’t spend time with your family before you have money, you won’t spend time with your family after you have money.

God Has Called You. You have 2 Options: 1. Obey God. If you are currently in this category then stay in God’s word, keep praying and keep seeking Him. Don’t let your relationship become stale. 2. Ignore God. If you are in this category, then you aren’t alone. Many, many Christians are in this category. Problem is most won’t admit it and do nothing to address or change it. Why Don’t We Obey God? What was Jonah’s excuse? He didn’t like the people of Nineveh. I’ve read several different things Jonah might have been thinking. The one I like the most is that Jonah was upset because of what the people of Nineveh had done. They were wicked people in his sight. He thought they were horrible sinners and he was right. Jonah was frustrated with God's request. Jonah had spoken out against the people of Nineveh and now God wanted him to go witness to them. Jonah was really struggling with the task God had called him to do. What Jonah missed was that we are all sinners. Not one of us deserves what God has done for us. I also missed this principle. God had a calling on my life but my excuse for not doing things God’s way was because I had been done wrong by various people over the years. Many times, those who had done me wrong professed to be Christians. Instead of dealing with these issues in a Biblical way, I let bitterness and frustration take hold in my heart and in my mind. Know what happened? Over time I became the type of man who had done me wrong in the past. In my eyes, the “thing” I did was a reaction to something they had done. Rationalization allowed me to develop situational ethics. My wrong wasn’t as bad as their wrong, therefore, I was right. That my friend is called messed up logic! As my daddy always told me growing up, two wrongs never make a right. Why Do We Ignore God? Normally we simply don't like what God says or commands. Since we can’t see God’s overall plan we don’t buy in. We would rather sing Frank Sinatra’s song of “I did it my way.” Here’s the kicker that really makes this topic interesting. Sin is sin, right? A little white lie is a sin, stealing is a sin, having inappropriate thoughts is a sin, losing your temper is a sin and the list goes on and on. What’s the big difference then? Simple. The consequences. Look at it this way. There are two men. One man leaves his wife and children for another woman. The other man tells a little white lie. Will the consequences for these sins be the same? No. Sin is sin but the degree of consequences is different. So, whether you simply ignoring God’s call on your life because you have a bad attitude or you are flat out running as fast as you can away from God the result is the same. You are ignoring God’s call on your life and there will be consequences. The level of your consequences will be determined by your actions and how far you “run” from God.

Are you applying Earthly wisdom or Biblical wisdom to your life? Don't know or unsure? Then read below and the type of life you have will tell you what type of wisdom you are applying. Earthly Wisdom Earthly wisdom is man doing what he believes is best for him based on his human knowledge, experience and understanding. James 3:15-16 states "This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work." The result of using earthly wisdom to deal with a life situation is: bitterness, selfishness, strife, anxiety, stress, confusion, earthly desires and concerns. Ultimately misery. Approach Two: Biblical wisdom Biblical wisdom involves applying God’s knowledge and understanding to everyday life with each situation encountered. James 3:17-18 states “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.  And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." The result of using biblical wisdom to deal with a life situation is: peacefulness, gentleness, kindness, love for others, sincerity, Godly desires and concerns. Ultimately, finding joy in the circumstance. Wow! What a difference in result.

Live event from Hemingway, SC. Not many years ago I was a modern-day Jonah, rebelliously running from the calling that God had placed on my life.  And just like Jonah in days of old, the storms had come into my life. So much destruction had descended upon my family and me because of my own failure to simply obey God. But like Jonah, I found myself in a miserable place where I had no choice but to relent and surrender to God’s higher call on my life. The misery, anxiety, discomfort, worrying, arguing and everything else were just symptoms of my deeper problem, my heart wasn’t right with God and I wasn’t walking with Him.  I was not in God’s will for my life.  My message is simple and direct.  “If you aren’t doing what God has called you to do, you need to stop and immediately get right with God.” Sure, making changes will be hard at first. There might be various challenges, discomforts, and inconveniences.  But so what? Is your life producing what you want it to right now? Surely it will be better to do it God’s way and trust Him to produce the best outcome. That’s how it worked for Jonah. That’s how it worked for me and that’s how it will work for you. Compare your life to Jonah: - Have you chosen to listen? - Are you walking out the door and headed to the dock? - Are you walking down the dock and ready to board the boat? - Are you comfortable on the boat?  - Have you fallen asleep while the storm rages around you? - Are others hurting around you? - Are you comfortable in the middle of the storm? Anytime you are ready to turn back and start implementing God’s will in your life, God is ready for you.  Jonah could have turned back after he walked out the door, he could have jumped off the boat and swam back to the dock, but he didn’t.  He was committed to his plan, therefore the consequences of his actions were quite severe for himself and those around him.  Had he stopped at the door would things have been the same?  Only God knows for sure but I’m willing to say his consequences for disobeying God wouldn’t have been as severe. The same goes for you and me. No matter where you are on this journey it’s time to stop and turn towards God.