Your mind is unquestionably your most valuable possession. You may lose every material thing you own, but knowledge can never be taken from you. With it, you can earn a new fortune, build a new home, and buy anything you truly desire. No one else can control your thoughts; even the cruelest tyrant cannot force you to think about something you refuse to accept. When you make a deliberate decision to take control of your mind and feed it positive, constructive thoughts, you are on your way to taking control of your life. The thoughts you allow to dominate your mind will determine what you will get from life.

This positive message is brought to you by the Napoleon Hill Foundation. Visit us at http://www.naphill.org.

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.  Prov 23:7 Noah Webster

For a free copy of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill click here.

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Here is the challenge.

1. Read or listen to Common Sense
You’ll be encouraged after discover why this was so influential 200 years ago

2. Within 24 hours contact 2 people who will commit to do the same.

3. Help them to do what you did and you’ll help return sanity to our nation!

This audio is very well done!

clipped from www.americanaphonic.com Common Sense by Thomas Paine Listen: RSS iTunes Thomas Paine published Common Sense anonymously on January 10, 1776, during the American Revolution. It proved extremely popular and influential, helping to turn public opinion against reliance on British rule. Historian Gordon S. Wood described Common Sense as the most incendiary and popular pamphlet of the entire revolutionary era. Direct links to the chapters audio: Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution Of Monarchy and Hereditary Succession Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs Of the Present Ability of America: with some Miscellaneous Reflections

James 3:13-18

13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  NASU

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Cor 1:3-4

And what is that comfort that we receive from God? One ought to think about that if he believes this verse to be true. What is the comfort that we receive from God in our affliction?

I do not know what it is for you, but for me I find God’s comfort in the following thoughts:

2 Cor 1:8-11 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves…

What was Paul’s predicament? Paul describes a very serious and painful experience both physical and emotional – “beyond our strength” he says. Notice it isn’t just “beyond his strength” but “beyond our strength”! It would be one thing to be alone and outdone; it’s a whole new level of despair when your whole team is massacred and lying on the field dead! His whole support system had been wiped out.

Paul says, “we despaired even of life.” What does that mean? Think about it and come up with your own answer. Then after you have done that ask if that is characteristic of your own trial; have you despaired even of life. Is your trial worse than his or less than his?

Now, why had this great torment come upon Paul and his companions? Why would God allow this to happen to people who had dedicated their lives to serving Him?

In their case it was…

…so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope.

God put Paul and his friends through enormous trials to learn just two things. First, you can’t do it by yourselves. Secondly, God can do the impossible!

They had proof that this was true. They knew God had raised the dead. Upon that solitary fact alone they found strength and hope and life. So much so that in the midst of this severe trial Paul was able to crawl out from underneath it, climbed up on top of it, and encourage everyone else to move forward! He wasn’t dying under the sheer weight of the trial; he was living.

I get this picture of this skinny little running back getting gang tackled on the football field. As he begins to collapse under the enormous weight and blows of the opposing team he remembers “God who raises the dead.” He then miraculously finds a little opening from underneath that pile and squirts out and runs away from them. Not only did he overcome the enormous weight of a team but he lifted a large number of fans off their seats as well!

Such is the power of this one single fact – God raises the dead.

Later in this same letter Paul says again how this fact kept him going.

2 Cor 4:7-10 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

If we have the hope of eternal life within ourselves, if we know that God raised Jesus from the dead, then how can we not have this same attitude toward the trials we face? Is God with us or not? If He is with us then…

…He will yet deliver us…2 Cor 1:10

How will this come about? Look at the next verse.

11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers…

It would be through prayer. Our prayers help the afflicted.

11…so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for
the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.

Notice the source of the favor that had come upon Paul. It was through the prayers of many.

I may not be able to do much, but I can pray. Yet one of the most neglected things I do is pray. I am challenged by this to pray and to pray more fervently.

I imagine God delights to hear our prayers and is eager to answer them as they come in agreement with His desire and will. Is He not glorified in this way?

We have faced these problems before. We must prepare for the worst, but hope for the best, and work toward that end. I doubt very much Obama will be frank with us but will continue the illusion that he is serving the people. We must remain vigilant and work to recover our country. Our Constitution can be our guide. Our forefathers game plan worked. Read their words of wisdom. When a nation changes its way of thinking, it will change its actions and lead us away from where we are.

Be the change you want to see.

What to do? Take your pick from this list.

We the People of the United States, in Order to FORM a more perfect Union, ESTABLISH Justice, INSURE domestic Tranquility, PROVIDE for the common defense, PROMOTE the general Welfare, and SECURE the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ORDAIN and ESTABLISH this Constitution for the United States of

clipped from www.hpol.org Inaugural Speech of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Given in Washington, D.C. March 4th, 1933 In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels: taxes have risen, our ability to pay has fallen, government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income, the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade, the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side, farmers find no markets for their produce, the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid