unPHILtered: The Way I See It Read Online Free PDF Page A

say, “Hey, I don’t hold it against you, brother. No problem.” A weak man retaliates quickly; a strong man is slow to anger. If the other person lashes out at you, tell them, “Hey, I still love you.” It’s really that easy.
    We must also learn to have forgiveness in our hearts. God has forgiven all of our sins and we need to readily forgive others, too. You might ask: How many times do I have to forgive them,Phil? Seven times, maybe? Jesus said “seventy times seven.” You have sinned more than seven times, have you not? Do what He said—seventy times seven or forever!
    Basically, spiritual training is this: you take away the bad and replace it with good. After my romping and stomping days, I was converted and baptized. I put my former life in the rearview mirror and was born again. I ran with the wicked for twenty-eight years. The last thirty-nine years, I’ve run with the Jesus people. The contrast is astounding; it’s like night and day. I asked the man who converted me, “Hey, let me ask you something. How long does it take to get these wicked thoughts out of my mind?”
    “Phil, how long did it take you to put them there?” he asked me.
    “Twenty-eight years,” I told him.
    “Well, it will be a while,” he said. “Think of your biblical heart as a computer. You put material into your heart like you do when you load information into a computer. What you put into your heart is what is eventually going to come out of your mouth.”
    Much like dieting, achieving spiritual well-being takes time and discipline. Unfortunately, we live in a society that seems to want to offer a quick fix for every one of our problems. There are one-day seminars or audio courses for everything—as long as we’re willing to pay the price. We can learn Spanish, French, or some other foreign language in four weeks or less by listening to audio lessons. We can learn to play the guitar in only a few short weeks; you can even become a “pastor” with a few clicks on yourcomputer. Too many people aren’t willing to put in the time and practice to master skills anymore.
    But the bottom line is you will not lose weight if you’re not disciplined about your diet and exercise. Likewise, you will not succeed spiritually if you do not become a disciplined person and put in the necessary time and effort. Discipline requires motivation, and there’s no greater motivation than eternity. Pray to God and read the Bible. You have to want to lose weight, and you have to want to become a better Christian and person. 1 Peter 2:1–3 tells us, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.”
    Instead of growing in our faith, too many of us are content to remain infants. We should be eating solid foods, not milk, but we are unwilling to develop and mature. In order to grow, we need to deepen our faith and understanding of His word. Rather than obsessing about our diets, cholesterol, and calories, we should give much more energy to investing in eternal health care, the grace of God given through Jesus. Hope is a wonderful thing, and I don’t see any hope outside of Jesus. Peace with God is hope.
    So take care of your spiritual well-being, and eat all the fried chicken and pecan pie you want.

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MONEY
Fix No. 3: Focus on Your Eternal Inheritance, Not Your Portfolio
    P eople ask me all the time how the success of Duck Dynasty has changed my life. Well, I can’t go many places without being noticed anymore. But it was kind of that way before the TV show came along. Hey, I’m pretty hard to miss because of my beard and camouflage clothes! I’ve noticed that I usually have a much bigger audience when I go speak at churches and other groups, and, of course, Miss Kay and I have a little more money in the bank.
    Is it more fun being rich than