Talk to God About It

Prayer is a wonderful thing. God knows everything already, but talking to Him about what is on our minds can truly bring us peace. No matter what you are feeling, happy, sad, angry, he knows, and he will listen to you. Be honest with Him about how you feel, like David was in his psalms. No matter what David felt, he openly expressed it to the Lord. We can be open and honest with God, and we don’t have to worry about Him getting angry at us or not listening. He is the friend that stick closer than a brother, and He care about every little, or big, thing that you care about.

No matter what is happening each day, talk to God about it. It will make your relationship with Him even that much more close, and you will find more blessings in your days.

You are special

Ephesians 2:10 (Amplified Bible)

10For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), ^[a]recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].

Isn’t that wonderful? God hand crafted every single one of us. In Christ we are restored in our Spirits so that we can fulfill our destinies. He has a plan for our lives, and all we have to do is obey Him and receive it. Praise God!

Joy makes you strong

The Bible says that “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh 8) What is the joy of the Lord?

It is not necessarily feeling happy. Having the joy of the Lord is to have a positive attitude, a sense of humor, and the ability to remain content whatever the circumstances. If you can have peace and smile during the worst of times, you have the joy of the Lord. Did you ever notice that you have more energy when you are smiling or laughing? Joy will give you the energy to overcome adverse circumstances.

Rather than complain, get angry, or worried and distraught, praise God. His joy will sustain you through it all. You can have peace and joy knowing that God loves you and will take care of you. Any of the devil’s attacks will be dampened because of your joy and faith that those plans won’t prevail. Just worship the Lord through it all and watch victory come. Amen!

If you love God, you love me.

1 John 4:19-21

19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

If I say that I love God, that must mean that I love you. Many people are under the impression that they love God, yet there is anger, hate and prejudice in their hearts. Regardless of differences in skin color, religious beliefs, opinions, denominations and other things, we are to love our neighbors. What does that mean?

Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. That is a description of what love is supposed to be. In order to say that you truly love someone, your love has to be described by those guidelines. Love is not an emotion. It is a choice to be forgiving, kind, humble, patient and unselfish. You cannot pick and choose who you love and claim that you love God with all of your heart. If the love of God is in your heart, you love your enemies, neighbors, friends, and family.

It is impossible in our own human strength to truly come to love everyone. That is why we have God (God is love.) in our hearts. We can only learn to love others if we allow God to teach us how. I like to pray for those I have trouble loving, and I find that it really helps. The more I pray for them, the easier it is to love them and to genuinely be concerned with their well being. If you have struggles in the area of loving others, or yourself, I encourage you to begin to pray that God’s love would flow through you. You don’t need to find the human strength to do it, He will do it for you. Just yield to Him.

Happy Father’s Day

Heavenly Father, I thank you for how good you have been and will be to me. You have saved me, enriched my life with wisdom and comfort, and freed me from myself. You are amazing, and you are the one and only perfect father. Thank you so much for giving me an earthly father who does his best to imitate you, and taught me how to trust you. I will honor You and him today. Let this day be a blessed day that all of the deserving fathers out there feel loved and appreciated. AMEN.

Transform yourself

Romans 12:2 NIV

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is important that Christians protect their minds. There is a great deal of corruption and perversion of the truth in the media and among worldly thinkers that many of us encounter on a daily basis. In order to stay rooted and grounded in truth, we have to spend time renewing our minds. Reading the Bible, listening to sermons, reading Christian literature and listening to gospel/Christian music are all ways that we can cleanse our minds, keep our thinking clean, and discipline ourselves.

Most people do not realize how much they are influenced by the television shows, movies, and music that they watch and listen to. Everything that we take in with our senses affects us in some way. You are responsible for controlling what you take in and shaping your thoughts. The more time you spend with God and His word, the more you will become like Him. The more time you spend listening to secular thing, or watching them, the more secular minded you will be. If you want to transform yourself into a Spiritual person, you have to fill your senses with Spiritual things.

Thoughts are powerful. You don’t have control over what thoughts come into your head, as the enemy tends to suggest his thinking to you. You do, however, have control over the general patterns of thinking you have and which thoughts are allowed to stay in your head. It is much easier to keep your mind pure if you read Scripture often and fill your senses with Godly information in any way, shape or form you can think of.

Keep Godly thoughts fresh in your mind, and you will transform yourself to be more and more like Jesus.

You Don’t Have to Worry

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When bad things happen or there is a chance that something bad will happen, it is easy to worry. What if the plane crashes? What if I lose my job? What if they don’t like me? These “what if” questions can become nightmares, stress inducers, and major sources for our anxiety. Our fears can rule us, and we can be plagued with worry if we allow this to happen. The good news is, we don’t have to let anxiety or fears determine the fate of our lives. (read more on this)

It is through prayer that we can alleviate our worries. No matter how small or how big our concerns may be, we can always pray about them, and God will take care of us. As long as we pray in faith, with thanksgiving, we don’t have to worry. It is perfectly human to be concerned or be faced with the opportunity to fear or worry. We don’t have to take that opportunity.

As the above scripture notes, God will guard our hearts and minds from our anxiety. Faith-filled prayers can offer you unexplainable peace. In the worst of situations, honest prayers can truly free you from the stress and strain or worries and fear. You will know that God is going to take care of everything, and lead you in the right direction. In times of adversity, you can smile knowing that it will not last because God is faithful, and will come through for you. You don’t have to worry, you just have to pray.