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Peaks and Valleys by Spencer Johnson, famous for Who Moved My Cheese, comes up with another allegorical treatment of life-preserving principles. The principles he lays out are simple to grasp, which makes the book valuable because many can easily relate to, and actually use them.
And what empowers the principles is Johnson's ability to intertwine them in a story. To truly make principles work, Johnson uses a progressive and constant return to the key principles as he builds the story... an excellent educational treatment. The result... they lock in your brain. Of course the ideal way to get the most benefit from this is to read the book. But for now, here's a short version of the truths in Peaks and Valleys.
Peaks and Valleys is a story of a bright young man who lived unhappily in a valley until he met a man on the peak. While growing up he was happy in the valley, but he lamented that he may have to spend his whole life there as he used to gaze at the peak and wonder about being there. All the jobs he had he never felt satisfied. He sometimes would gaze on the peak and for a while feel satisfied, just thinking about what it would be like on the peak. Maybe life would be different outside the valley. Of course, whenever he shared his dreams with those in the valley, they only criticized or discouraged him from climbing the peak.
So one day, he set out to climb the peak. He put his fear aside and took off on a journey. Unfortunately the trail he followed, ended part of the way up the peak. He got lost in the thicket of the trees. He fell trying to cross a narrow ridge. Got bruised and bled, then found a new path. The warnings of the people in the valley about the terrors of the peak crossed his mind. He continued. Got above the clouds and finally arrived. There he met the old man who changed his life forever.
He learned the Peaks and Valley approach to good and bad times. There the young man discovered three things: how to get out of the valley sooner; how to stay on a Peak longer; and how to have more Peaks and fewer Valleys. You make the good and bad times work for you, worry less and do better. Peaks and Valleys are a part of life. What matters is how we handle each when in them. First separate them from how you feel inside as a person. Each person must win this battle first.
It's most important to realize that Peaks and Valleys are connected. The error you make in Today's Good times create tomorrow's bad times. The wise things you do in Today's Bad times create tomorrow's Good times. We actually create our good and bad times by how we handle each.
Peaks are moments when you appreciate what you have. Valleys are moments when you long for what is missing. You can't always control your external circumstances, but you can control your personal peaks and valleys by what you believe and what you do. What you believe and do makes the difference. You change your valley into a peak, when you find and use the good that is hidden in the bad time. As you do, it is a reality that between peaks there are always valleys.
How you manage the valley determines how soon you reach your next peak. If you do not learn in a valley, you can become bitter. If you learn something valuable, you become better.
The young man went down to the valley to put to work what he learned from the old man, but it only lasted a short time. He wanted to talk to the old man again. But he felt if he returned to the peak, he would be disappointed once more when he returned to the valley. He went to a plateau and thought this over. Nonetheless, he returned to the peak.
This time he was invited to the old man's home. He was a very well off and had a beautiful home, breath-taking scenery with a view over a sparkling lake. There the old man showed him a graph of a heart beat. It had spikes up from the line. That was a healthy heartbeat. The old man pointed out that a healthy heartbeat is like life... it has peaks and valleys. No heartbeat is a straight line... when it does it's dead. But there are plateaus in the heartbeat. These are times of rest to reflect and renew.
Being on a peak too long affects your ego and you become arrogant. In the peak your ego makes things seem better than they are. In the valley the ego makes things seem worse that they are. When you put your ego aside you are more likely to leave a valley sooner.
The way to get to your next peak is to follow your sensible vision. A sensible vision is a vision of a future peak you want to be on that makes good sense to you. Something as big as you can imagine that is also realistic and attainable if you want it enough. Sensible means you can make what you imagine more real to you when you use all your five senses to create an image in such specific, believable detail that you begin to realize you can make it happen.
How you manage your Valley determines how soon you reach your next Peak. The pain in the valley can wake you up to a truth you have been ignoring. You are always creating two visions. A fearful vision or a sensible vision. Many people have as their valley fear. Avoid believing things are better than they really are when you are on the peak or worse than they are when in the valley. Make reality your friend. A personal peak is triumph over fear. Fear traps you from the truth and keeps you from succeeding. When on the peak learn humility and you will stay on the peak longer. At the peak you celebrate life, in the valley you learn about life. Let go of fear and get out of yourself in the valley. This is the first step that gets you moving out of the valley.
To stay on a Peak longer, be humble and grateful. Do more of what got you there. Keep making things better. Do more for others. Save resources for your coming valley. At work, be of greater service; in life, be more loving.
Life is always a series of peaks and valleys. Learn how to manage each.
In summary: Make reality your friend. Find and use the good hidden in a bad time. Appreciate and manage your good times wisely. Follow your sensible vision. Share it with others... how to make good and bad times work for them.
The Peaks and Valleys interactive community is at
http://www.
In the chapter, In Revelation, the Body of Christ by Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft, he leads us to the realization that as a body we are Christ, the same as Christ with all of Jesus' power on earth plus more. John the Baptist said this of Jesus, "He speaks God's words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit."( John 3:34, NLT)
So we have, as a Body, One, united, sharing in the Same Spirit, we have all of Spirit that was freely Given to Jesus on earth. We, still on earth, have all of this too... as a Body. Separated from each other we are powerless.
What is so astounding is that Jesus comes to us, even when we lock Him out. The doors where shut and Jesus was locked out. "That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them!" (note John 20:19-23)
In the middle of our turmoil, disheartening experiences, grief, Jesus is there. He comes through all the things that may block Him. He loves us so much, He comes even when we are blocking Him out. They had closed the doors for fear. Their leader was assassinated. Because of their association to him, they may be in jeopardy. Their fear could very likely be, "Am I next?" They just witnessed one of the most horrible deaths, or executions, one could go through. Fear overwhelmed them.
Fear always closes the doors. Fear kept them from seeing the resurrection. Our negative emotions trips our minds up. We need to be aware of what strong negative emotions can do to us. Jesus healed the blind more than likely to heal us out of our own blindness, both physical and spiritual. We can easily be led astray by depending on our limited resources when making decisions. When we lean on our own "flesh," the makeup of our mind and emotions, we limit the very power of God that wants to work in our lives then.
The principle to see is that Jesus came to them when they were gathered together. The secret to Spiritual Power is here: get with other believers when things get really bad, in every crisis and disturbing situation. It is the sure way to take advantage of the law of manifestation... He Will Be There.
When things get bad, we go back to what we have been doing before... Peter went fishing. Being fearful, the thoughts of God had gone out of their mind.They could not sense His Presence. Nothing could stop His coming to them, even walls and locked doors. He breaks through our fears, our flimsy plans to protect us. He will break through our locked up emotions and give the peace of His Presence.
The Manifest Presence of Jesus the Christ with us has these components active and intertwined:
1. Two or more
2. Gathered together
3. In Jesus' Name
That includes the Spiritual interaction of loving each other as Jesus loved us, sharing with each other in thoughts and goods, and serving each other with the attitude of considering others more important than ourselves. When you have all these components in the mix, you can expect the manifest presence of the Lord, that's all the creative powers of God's Spirit at work. (note Matthew 18:18-20, Acts 1-4)
With this, Jesus personal presence is there. Jesus came to His disciples with door's locked and afraid. He addressed their fears first and said, "Peace to you." When clouds of grief surround us we close our eyes to the reality of His closeness. At the Mount of Transfiguration, a cloud kept Jesus' out of sight. Clouds often obscure our vision, although, God is in the clouds. God was in the cloud at the Tabernacle in the wilderness. When clouds of grief or fear surround us, we can know God is in this phenomenon.
In this Manifest Presence we encourage one another and are in intimate fellowship with each other. We, from our hearts, easily enjoy the laws of His manifest presence. He is God and nothing is so comforting as His Presence. In our deepest of hearts, we just want to know He is there. Knowing this we are comforted, we have peace, and His Power comes over us.
The Manifest Presence provides peace. Jesus rebuked the winds when He was in the boat with His disciples and a storm raged around them. He simply said, "Peace, be still." Jesus, now through the Holy Spirit in our lives, says this to the storm that ranges around us, just like when He was there in the same boat. He says to our hearts and emotions, "Peace be Still."
The Manifest Presence provides pleasure and a deep gladness. When the disciples saw the Lord they were elated, ecstatic, spiritually wrapped in intense pleasure. Nothing that man can do can hinder God's purposes from being fulfilled. Healing is ours, eternal life is ours.
The Manifest Presence provides purpose. It seems selfish to be so concerned about our own happiness when the world is in grave misery. God wants us to be glad for a purpose. He sends us to share in His Purposes.... to bring peace, joy, and power to all around us... to bring hope, life and a future to every one we come in contact with. What a tremendous purpose... to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. To accomplish this, God used and uses ordinary people. It can be farmers, janitors, factory line workers, waiters, nurses, tax accountants, carpenters, mechanics, salespeople, a handyman, check out attendants, lawyers... all play a part in this purpose of being the Kingdom of God on earth. He has something special for all of us. When we think of what God sent Jesus to do, and its meaning and impartation to us, the magnitude of this assignment is staggering. As we follow in the life pattern of Jesus, we share in the great mission Jesus was on... to bring hope, salvation, love, power, and eternal wonder to mankind.
We have the assurance that as united believers we have His presence, and if we have His presence all things are, in a true reality, possible. God's callings are His enablements. He enables us to the assignments He gives us. We can expect supernatural signs to follow. As the Scriptures say, "These signs shall follow them who believe in Him." It's up to us.
We have a choice, to use His Presence or lose it for sake of inactivity in Him. If we think we can just take Him, to soak in His Presence in prayer and worship and not share, we fail in the task God has commanded each of us to perform. We are to share all the love, joy, power that is coming into our lives. Those who hoard the gifts God gives them will lose them. The faithful servants who invest His Gifts in others will have even more and those who don't use them will have them handed over to those using them.
Our lives are about finding needs and filling them. As we attempt Great things for God, He is there backing us up and filling us with His Power. We are being filled with a Divine supply. As we unite with another believer we see this being true. Then we become the manifestation of Jesus, as the Body of Christ.
The Manifest Presence provides power. We are not called to do the impossible, but to know that Jesus will provide the power to be and to do His will. Jesus breathed on them and said "Receive the Holy Spirit," which is Creative, Energizing, Exciting. This is the same Spirit responsible for the original creation of man that was breathed into us. We are to participate in redeeming action which takes personal sacrifice and transforms it with ability and power to share and serve our generation. His Spirit makes it all possible. His Spirit with us is His Presence with us. Thus we have the power to be and do. (Acts 1:8)
Hopefully, the awareness this brings is finding a newer and greater significance to our meeting together as believers. Greater awareness may result in our recognizing the presence of the Lord with us. The Body of Christ manifests in these times of fellowship. Whenever two or more believers meet in the name of Jesus in Prayer, the potential is immeasurable.
The importance that lies in how we relate to each other cannot be stressed enough. It must be a sacrificial love, a compassionate love. Love implies a giver and a receiver. The Body of Christ gathered together, one in Spirit, manifests the presence of the Lord. When His Presence manifests, the Body of Christ increases in love, power and size.
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