Abiding In Christ

… but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth to those things which are before,


I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.


Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded:
and if in any thing you be otherwise minded,
God shall reveal even this to you.
Philippians 3:13-15




What's going on?


A number of friends have asked me; “why have I not seen many posts these past few months?”

Well I have been busy with a new business and that is a good thing. On another positive note, every hour, people from all over the world ... from remote corners of the world are reading my posts ... every hour of every day, somewhere several people open and read one of my posts. This brings me great encouragement. Paradox Principles is a blessing which God has provided to me during my wilderness experience. But now I am back, and today I will try to be transparent and explain the personal trials I have been going through and how the Lord has delivered me again and again and again ... as I determined to “Abide in Christ.”

So that no one might get confused here, resting in Christ is where the peace, rest, power, and confidence are found. Read this verse:

“If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3


When Thomas Edison was asked by a reporter; “sir, how does it feel to have failed 10,000 times in your attempt to invent the incandescent light bulb? Edison replied; “Sir, you are young and have much to learn. I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

It is my understanding that Edison was not a believer and so his solution was simple: grind it out, never give up, and keep experimenting until you find the solution. This is the tendency that all responsible men follow unconsciously ... in their human nature.

Obviously when coming from the great Thomas Edison this is excellent advice for success ... from a human or natural man's perspective.
But as Christians, we have a better way. We are to Abide Above and rest in Christ. He will guide us and work out that which is best for each of us. " Old things (the ways of the world) have passed away ... new things (the ways of the Spirit) have come" 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

As Christians we often fall into this same old human nature habit. But as we grow spiritually we come to understand that we can have instant rest when we choose to abide above, and to: “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” Miles J. Stanford wrote two of my favorite books entitled “Abide Above” and the “Principle of Position.” If you are interested, I highly recommend “the Complete Green Letters” which includes both of these books for less than ten dollars on Amazon.com

So now … on to my personal story of defeat and victory. It has now been almost six years since I had a quintuple heart bypass surgery that has allowed me to continue along this roller-coaster journey called life.

I felt reasonably secure in my 1.4 million dollar home and with enough cash in the bank to live comfortably without working for years. I was enjoying a career as a successful real estate mortgage broker and could easily earn as much money as I needed, whenever I desired. Naturally after my surgery, I decided to take some time off for recuperation. Well when I decided to go back to work ... everyone knows about the financial market crash that suddenly hit us, and that all of us are still experiencing.

I am sure my story is like millions of others across America whose lives have been disrupted, and things will never be the same. The difference as made evident by Thomas Edison above is in how we look at life’s setbacks. To some degree I responded to the crisis in a way similar to Edison … I figured out a solution and acted accordingly. But more importantly, I also chose to “Abide Above” which allowed me to live above the problems of the world. It was not clear to me that God needed for me to completely "Abide Above" before he would deliver me this time.

I immediately downsized my lifestyle and moved into a $210,000 home which is hard to find in Southern California, and we planned to ride out the storm and go back into the real estate business. I never imagined at the time that the real estate and real estate loan industry would not likely come back during my working career. But in the year that followed, that became apparent. Also it became apparent that after 40 years of being self-employed and in sales management where I never needed to be concerned about a job that things had changed and at my age new career options were extremely limited.

Five years later, our reserves were gone and from a human perspective things looked very bleak. we had lost everything. But we hung onto the one thing we can never lose: Jesus Christ. The Lord provided us with a place to rest. Two different Christian friends unexpectedly wrote us sizable checks as gifts that allowed for us to survive. We will never forget this generosity and love as Christ moved on their hearts.

During the past five years I have explored dozens of new career options which include: life insurance sales, retirement planning, B paper loan marketing, Isogenics, home improvement sales, Credit Card processing, Wow Mobile Phone sales, Kangen Water, ACN video phone marketing, video message email marketing, Lead Net Pro, Next day client list marketing, Numis coins, Online RE loans, reverse mortgages, and various other online store ideas. The list goes on and on. I did my best to try not to burden my friends with these ideas but in any event I apologize for any inconvenience I might have caused. And I thank you for your prayers.

The good news is that during this wilderness period, I have grown in my relationship with Christ. My true friends have been made known to me. And God has shown me how to rest in His love and to have His victory in the face of defeat. I have basically lost everything and gotten to the end of my reserves and Jesus Christ as he promised has always provided, protected and delivered me.

And when I least expected God provided the solution. Day by day we received clarity on which steps to take. And now he has given me a new career. I have nothing to sell to my friends and family. God has provided everything we need. I already have more customers than I can handle and they are sending money into my account seven days a week. Cheryl and I are now in a position where we can choose to live wherever we wish and do our new business from there. At present, we plan to move back to Orange County where we will be close to our family; and additionally our extended family at Coast Bible Church whom we miss and love much.

Freedom … that is what is on the other side of unexpected defeat. Peace and rest is what we are promised when we “Abide in Christ.” My new travel business is clearly a gift from God. That is the only way I can explain it. One door leads to the next. I am helping people again and that is invigorating and inspiring. Sales are growing dramatically from one month to the next.

In closing, these are uncertain times. I will never take God’s blessings for granted again ... and I will Never, never ... never give up … Abide in Christ my friends. I am now 65 and in poor health, and we have created a very profitable new business, with minimal investment, no experience, and very limited travel industry knowledge. Honest quality service from real people; only the best products; and savings to every customer are a business model that is unique in every industry. You just need to find the right application. Abiding in Christ allows for us to rest while we wait for His leading.

We must never forget … memorize this one:

“But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

God Bless you my friends, Bob