Take Hold of Your Future
What are your plans for the future? Is there anything you want to accomplish or become? Is there anywhere you want to go or anything you want to do?
Have you given much thought to what God may have planned for you? He prophesied through Jeremiah that He knew the plans He had for the people of Israel. (Jeremiah 29:11) And, He knows His plans for you too. For, “You are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do.”(Ephesians 2:10) He has things planned for your future.
The apostle Paul wrote near the end of his ministry that he was pressing on to take hold of that for which Christ had taken hold of him (Philippians 3:12) God wants us (like Paul) to lean and press into the purposes for which Christ has taken hold of our lives.
We may imagine that Christ takes hold of us to accomplish His work, but God has more than work in store for us. He is primarily after relationship and wholeness. He...
How to Build a Good Name
“Where’d all the good people go?” That’s a question singer song writer, Jack Johnson, asked in his 2005 hit song, “Good People.” It seems that media has so highlighted dysfunctional, rebellious and selfish lifestyles that we may be forgetting what solid living looks like. Men and women are finding it difficult to find good people to date; some are getting frustrated and others are getting scared. Where’d all he good people go?
We all have our faults and areas of brokenness. However, we must choose to live with some bedrock values. Solomon mentions two such values in Proverbs 3:3-4, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”
They may not get many hits or views on YouTube, but love and faithfulness go a long way in real life. To love others is to treat them as God would treat them –...
Watch Out for Sinkholes
A few times a year we hear about a house, car or building being swallowed up. All at once, the ground gives way and everything above the surface drops and disappears. These sinkholes can be very destructive and terrifying experiences, as they seem to happen with no warning. Engineers, however, say that (particularly in Florida) there are areas where limestone lies beneath the surface. Acid rain and other underground water can dissolve the limestone. When enough stone is melted away the underground cave collapses under the surface weight. It looks like it happens all at once, but the subterranean deterioration takes place over time.
We must tend to the condition and wholeness of our souls, or we may experience a kind of sinkhole collapse in our lives. It might appear that our present circumstances have caused our bondage or our downfall, but often the cause is subterranean deterioration. When we run too fast, push too hard or allow others to have too much sway in our lives, we...
Are You Anxious?
We have been created by God. He fashioned our personhood and our personalities. He knows what makes us tick. He not only knows how we think, He knows what we think before we do. His presence is always around us and, if we know Him, we experience the Holy Spirit’s presence within us. (Psalm 139)
God knows our future, and He has prepared paths, encounters, provisions and purposes for us. (Ephesians 2:10) There is no need to worry – it adds nothing but distress to your life. (Matthew 6:25-34) There is no value is anxiety; it wars against our faith and our sense of trust in God. Unfortunately, the enemy somehow convinces many people that worry and anxiety are forms of taking responsibility – that they demonstrate trustworthiness by being worried and obsessively concerned about what might go wrong in the future.
Let’s take a moment and let God’s salvation from faithless living sink deeply into our souls, affecting our feelings...
Is There Spiritual Leakage in Your Life?
Do you want to walk in God’s power and strength, or do you prefer to go it alone? This is a question we must each honestly ask ourselves. If you want to walk in God, you must learn to positively respond to His commands and directives. You must also be willing to say “No” to lesser things.
A.W. Tozer gave students, at Wheaton College, 5 important “Don’ts” that can help strengthen us and prevent “spiritual leakage” in our lives. Let’s take a moment and consider them together.
- Don’t trifle (i.e. play or deal lightly) with sin
There is no need to waste your time/life with things that don’t truly satisfy and actually will make your spirit weak and sick. Don’t slow down to even toy with sin. Keep moving ahead, living full wholesome lives and obeying His positive commands.
- Don’t steal God’s glory
Don’t be so concerned about other people’s opinion of you. If you...
