Please follow and like us:

SIX ASSURANCES WHY GOD IS WITH YOU

Winter season can appear to last longer than the others. It seems the extended darkness and unrelenting coldness will never end. Then comes spring. Its arrival brings the hope of newness, warmth, and much more light.
So it has been in this season of the coronavirus pandemic. These past few weeks have been long and brutal. Hang in there. God hears your prayer and understands your fear.
I pray today’s arrival of spring will remind you that this difficult season will pass.
Read on.

Six Assurances why God is with you now and in your new beginnings. 

1. Temporary Events – His anger lasts a moment; his favor lasts for life! Weeping may go on all night, but in the morning, there is joy (Psalm 30:5).
2. Praising God –  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3 NIV),
3. Personal Change – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here (2 Corinthians 5:17. NIV)!
4. Waiting & Patience – But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31, NKJ).
5. Hopefulness –  Through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion,” says my soul. Therefore, I hope in Him (Lamentations 3:22-24)!
6. Your Future – Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now shall it spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:18-19).

This season of the cruel coronavirus pandemic is unnerving. But you are a person of faith. So, take a deep breath.

Now is the time to reflect on how much better you will serve God and others in the future. Regardless of what the future holds, God will supply all your needs. 

Your life on Earth may be different during and after the pandemic, but your life with your loving, Heavenly Father remains the same now and forever!

We love hearing from you. To leave a comment or questions, click here.

Please follow and like us:

I am convinced, from my faith perspective, the solution to healing the world is not in getting “sinners” to repent. Instead, recovery in our nations depends on you and me, God’s followers. 

Read on.

King Solomon had just dedicated God’s Temple. As part of the ceremonies, Solomon prayed to God for protection from crime, enemy attacks, drought, famine, foreign invasions, and the people’s sins (2 Chronicles 6-7:10). 

Here is God’s response to King Solomon’s request.

(12b) I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. (13) If I close the sky, so there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send a plague among My people, (14) and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land(2 Chronicles 7:12-14).

Understanding The Four Steps for Restoration 

1. Humility – Humble yourself by admitting your sins. Humility is the opposite of pride. Forget about everyone else for a moment. Look into your heart and acknowledge any thoughts and behaviors against God’s commandments.

2. Prayer – After humbling yourself, pray to God. Pray by having an honest, open, and genuine conversation with God. Ask for forgiveness for yourself. You must also ask God to help you forgive others.

3. Seek God – Start relying totally on God’s solutions and directions in everything you do. You will discover God’s will for your life through daily scriptural study, meditation, and prayer.

4. Turn from wicked behavior – Becoming humble, praying, and seeking God will lead to turning away from sinful behavior. This action is called repentance. In the Bible, God has clearly defined “sin.” You must accept and believe God, alone, is the final authority on sinfulness. 

We sin as individuals as well as a nation. The Bible explains God’s four steps for national or personal restoration: (1)Humility, (2) prayer, (3) seek God, and (4) stop sinning. 

God’s return for our steps of obedience is to hear our prayer, forgive us, and heal our land. Do you believe this? Are you following the four steps for restoration? If not, will you do it today?

We love hearing from you. For comments or questions, click here.

Please follow and like us:

In Romans, chapter 8, verses 38-39, the author, Paul, gives a list of possibilities that could (and will) try to interfere with God’s love for you. 

Read to see how this seemingly discouraging list actually highlights God’s great love for us. It models how we should love others unconditionally and without exceptions. 

LEARNING TO LOVE WITHOUT EXCEPTIONS

Paul’s list of possibilities that try to stop God from loving you includes death, life, angels, and demons. The list also consists of the present, the future, powers, height, and depths. Paul summarizes the list by saying, “and anything else!” His conclusion is, “Nothing can stop God from loving you.” 

Likewise, difficult as it may be, we can let nothing stop us from loving everyone. God commands us to love others unconditionally and without exception to their ethnicity, beliefs, behavior, or even their disdain for us. This way of loving illustrates God’s “Agape” love (Luke 6:27-36).  

You may already know about Agape love. How do you show it? Can you do more to extend this highest degree of love to all people? Read on.

Here are five points to assist you with sharing God’s unconditional love to others without exceptions.

1. Commitment. Unconditional love requires commitment. You must decide whether or not you will love others without reciprocity. You can never look to receive back the love you give to others (Matthew 5:44). 

2. Acceptance. True acceptance of someone includes not wasting your energy on how other adults choose to live their lives. “God, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” (Reinhold Niebuhr, 1951) 

3. Forgiveness. Forgiving others is crucial to unconditional love. Did you ever notice how much Jesus had to pray to forgive? Even at his execution on the cross, he prayed for God to forgive his offenders. Therefore, how much more do we have to pray about forgiveness to others? (Luke 23:34)? 

4. Safety. Unconditional love does not condone criminal behavior. Mistreatment and disrespect indicate severe dysfunction. Never mistake any form of abuse as an act of love. Get help or leave the abusive relationship (Romans 13:10, Matthew 22:39).

5. Expectations. When we expect others to respond to our loving actions in a certain way, we make them victims of our expectations. Besides, we set ourselves up for disappointment over and over again. The commitment and acceptance principles above will also help you conquer unfair expectations (1 Cor 13:31).

You are now empowered to share the unconditional love you have received from God without exceptions. This highest form of love will whittle away any obsessions with others as you grow stronger in your faith (2 Peter 1:5-7). You are free to live your unique, God-ordained purpose in life. 

We love hearing from you! To leave a question or comment, click here.

Please follow and like us:

From the minute we open our eyes in the morning, our learned patterns of behavior propel us through each day. From infancy, you learned to be successful in many areas of life by practicing habits of excellence. Good for you!

Yet, in spite of your success in overcoming obstacles in your life, you may still struggle with at least one “thorn in the flesh.” For many of us, it’s a plain and simple, bad habit. 

 Answer “yes” or “no” to each of the four questions below

1. Has someone asked you more than once to stop doing it?   
2. Is it a problem for someone else that you know well?
3. Does it adversely affect your health?
4. While doing it, do you continually thinking about it?

If you answered, “Yes,” to at least one of the above questions, you are stuck in a bad habit.

Breaking a bad habit is challenging. The longer you’ve done it, the harder it is to break the obsession.

There is good news! You can change your bad habits. Then, see how much better your life will be! 

Read on.

HOW TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE BY CHANGING YOUR HABITS

1. Awareness.

It’s obvious. Bad habits are usually apparent to you and the people around you. But sometimes, there is this thing called “denial.”

You’ve taken the quiz above. You answered, “Yes,” to a question. Still not convinced? Talk it over with your loved ones. They will tell you the truth. Believe them.

2. Acknowledge.

Own up. Admit to yourself and someone close to you, “I have a problem. I want to stop doing this.” But please, do not stop here.

After acknowledging the problem, you must commit to change. Nothing can happen if you never commit yourself fully to making a change. 

3. Arrangement

Develop a plan. Avoid following fads and “hearsay” advice. Educate yourself with information from professionals. Healthcare professionals, clergy, journals, books, and support groups will suggest safe interventions for you.  

 Begin changing your most damaging habit. By committing to change, you have already made a 360-degree turn away from the bad habit. After you experience success, then you can move on to the next issue.

4. Application

Practice your plan. Your success will happen by replacing unhealthy habits with healthy habits. Some examples: pausing before speaking, drinking water instead of snacking on chips, walking in place instead of sitting through the entire television show. 

With the above steps, you are not merely using all your energy to quit something. You applied your energy into starting something new and changing your life for the better.  

Online Resources

• James Clear. How to Break A Bad Habit (and Replace It With A Good One). http://jamesclear.com/how-to-break-a-bad-habit.
• WebMD. 3 Easy Steps to Breaking Bad Habits. http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/3-easy-steps-to-breaking-bad-habits

 We love hearing from you. Please share your or questions or comments by clicking here. 

Please follow and like us:

You have invested a lot of your energy into what seems to be a failing situation. Should you continue trying to make it work? 

Read on to see five great reasons why you can’t quit today.

1. You are not alone. 

Even though no one else can feel what you are going through, others can identify with your struggles. Be careful not to hide your frustrations or isolate yourself. You can find encouragement by reaching out to a friend, therapist, or pastor. Also, use the library, bookstore, or Google for professional resources to address your issues. 

2. You are on a journey. 

Compare your life to taking a road trip. As you travel, you will come across some lovely scenery. As you move along, you may also see some littered or damaged areas.

In your life’s journey, you’ve had some good as well as not-so-good experiences. Refrain from permanently parking yourself in the inevitable “bad” spaces of your life. Mourn. Refuel. Start moving again. 

3. You can make it through this day.

“One day at a time,” sounds simple. However, it can be quite challenging. On some days, it can take all your energy to make it through one minute. That’s okay. Give yourself more (or less) time to reach your goals. Take smaller steps and celebrate your small victories. 

4. You are loved.

 Unconditional love may never happen in your relationships. However, God has eternal and unconditional love toward you. Never forget, no matter how you feel, you are loved.

5. You are making our world better.

This challenging time is part of your purpose in life. How? Someone needs to hear your story. Eventually, you will be able to share your story of struggles and victories with someone else. By this, you make our world better.

We love hearing from you, for questions or comments click here.

Please follow and like us:

5 Faith-Building Steps to Move You Forward

You were walking in your God-ordained purpose, and then it happened. Your hopes and dreams were completely shattered. You are left devastated and discouraged. What now? 

You can recover from shattered hopes and dreams. If not you, someone you know will eventually need your spiritual guidance with this frequently-occurring issue.

As you digest this Christian counseling for yourself, or to encourage someone else, be sure to note the relevant scriptural references. 

3 True Stories 

1. A young man has dreams of escaping poverty. He uses his talent to break into the entertainment industry. However, his first performance fails. He is, once again, facing poverty.
2. A 52-year old former teacher has invested her life in service to others. Sadly, on this day, she is arrested for trying to do the right thing.
3. A young woman is engaged and planning her wedding. Everything changes when she discovers she is pregnant, and the child’s father is not her fiancé.

Who are these three people? Read below.

The young man is Tyler Perry, film producer, director, screenwriter, playwright, author, and songwriter. Also, a philanthropist, he has given millions to humanitarian causes.

The 52-year-old woman is Susan B. Anthony, best remembered for her role in the Women’s Suffragist Movement. The Susan B. Anthony amendment of 1920 gave all women the right to vote.

The young woman is Mary, Mother of Jesus.

We see how, in spite of shattered hopes and broken dreams, great things will follow. Here are five steps to help you heal from your setback toward greatness. Each step includes relevant scriptures to help you put your faith to work.

5 Steps To Recover from Shattered Hopes and Dreams

1. Accept it.  Your plans failed. You have shattered hopes. Accept the painful truth. But don’t stop here. This crucial step is the beginning of your healing process (John 8:32, Proverbs 3:5-6).
2. Mourn the loss. Your dream meant everything to you. Take time to mourn your loss. Cry. Talk it out with a sympathetic friend. Journal your feelings. Pray. In time, you will feel better. Inspiration will return. Avoid coping with alcohol, drugs, and food. These will only temporarily numb your pain (1Peter 5:10, Psalm 30:5, Psalm 34:17).
3. Renew your faith. Spend time nurturing your spiritual being. Susan B. Anthony grew up in a Quaker family. Tyler Perry is open about his Christian faith. Mary- you know the rest of that story (Hebrews 11:6, James 1:6).
4. Bounce back. As soon as you can get back in the game, go for it! Keep repeating the three steps above while expecting your healing to occur. Speak positive affirmations to yourself. Ignore the voices of negativity (Mark 10:52, James 1:2-4).
5. Start now. No more procrastination. Write down your goals and plans. Work on them each day. Because of your experience, you have become stronger and wiser (James 2:17-18, Jeremiah 29:11).

We love hearing from you. To leave a question or comment, click here.

Please follow and like us:

Parallel to Christmas, you will celebrate the “first” season of many others to come. For example, this Christmas season is your first as a married couple. You got the job. You entered retirement. Congratulations to you and many others for your joyous first season!

Yet, some of you are in a challenging, first season: You have a broken heart. You may be fearful of what is ahead. You feel alone.

No matter what season you are going through, make a conscious effort to keep the story of Christmas in the front of your mind. 

• Jesus Christ was born, lived, and died. But because he rose again, his ever-present, Holy Spirit is alive in you(1 Corinthians 15:1-8). 
• Jesus vowed never to leave you alone (John 14:16-18).
• He promised to lead you in every way (John 14:26). 

Have a blessed Christmas season. We pray you will feel God’s perfect peace as you remember the gospel story throughout this and every “season” of your life.

We love hearing from you. To leave a question or comment, click here.