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May your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
-Psalm 119:173
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God.
-Isaiah 35:1-2
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
-Romans 12:21
2Cor 12:9: "but he has told me, "My grace is all you need, because my power is perfected in weakness." Therefore, I will most happily boast about my weaknesses, so that the Messiah's {Or Christ's} power may rest on me."
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Love yourself
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mt 22:39 NIV
God loves you so much that He gave His only Son to save you. “Save me from what?” you ask: (1) Going through this life lost, directionless, joyless, and unfulfilled. (2) Spending the next life lost and without the joys of heaven He wants you to share. That’s how highly God values you. So when you keep putting yourself down, you’re rejecting His opinion of you. And to disagree with God is to make yourself equal with Him, or worse, put your opinion above His. Maybe you never thought about it like that before. Actress/singer Ethel Waters ministered to great crowds in the Billy Graham crusades. She was born black and poor in a segregated society, but when she found Christ she gained true self-esteem. With a smile that would melt your heart, she told her audiences, “God made me—and my God don’t make no junk!” When you refuse to love yourself, it’s impossible to love others or accept that they love you. You become skilled at tuning out compliments and picking up on criticism, because it confirms the negative opinion you have of yourself. As a result, you distance yourself from people and end up lonely without ever knowing why. Maybe your parents failed you, or your spouse betrayed you. You may feel like “damaged goods,” and seek escape in addictions, or affairs, or a lifestyle of ritual accomplishment. But it doesn’t work. Only when you accept that God loves you unconditionally, and decide to love yourself, will you have love to give to others.
willpower
“Without Me you can do nothing.”
Jn 15:5 NKJV
We think that if we have enough willpower, we can fight off every temptation that comes our way. And sometimes it works. Here’s the problem, however. Willpower is your best friend when things go well, but often the first friend to check out when you get weary. When you don’t want to do something, your carnal mind will give you plenty of reasons why you don’t have to. Your emotions will even join in and say, “I agree, because I don’t feel like doing it anyway.” Your mind, will, and emotions would love to run your life, but the Bible says you’re to be led by God’s Spirit. “Walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh” (Gal 5:16 AMP). Willpower and discipline are necessary to a successful life, but willpower alone won’t be enough. Determination may get you started and keep you going for a while, but it’s never enough to bring you across the finish line. “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts” (Zec 4:6 NKJV). What happens when instead of turning first to willpower, you turn to God? He releases His power into your willpower and energizes it to bring you across the finish line. That way willpower doesn’t get the credit for your success, God does. That’s why Jesus said, “Without Me you can do nothing.” This is one of the most important and difficult lessons you must learn if you want to enjoy the life Jesus died to give you.
Knowing what not to say
“A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back.”
Pr 29:11 NKJV
Honesty and good communication are the foundation stones for a healthy relationship. This is particularly so in marriage. But any good idea can be misused. For example, it’s honest for a man to tell his wife that he doesn’t care for the way she cooks. It’s honest for a woman to express anger over her husband’s shortcomings. But honesty that does not have the best interest of the other person at heart is cruel, and a form of selfishness. This is especially so when the other person can’t do anything about it. Some couples, in their determination to share every thought and opinion, destroy the sweet spark of romance that drew them together. No longer is there any sense of magic. They’ve unraveled the romantic allure that first attracted them to one another. Your spouse is the person you chose to marry. So if you didn’t do your homework up front, don’t complain when you don’t like the test results. Peter writes, “Continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins” (1Pe 4:8 NLT). Paul writes: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1Co 13:4-7 NLT). When you practice these virtues, you’re guaranteed a happy marriage.
Overcoming the “I can’t” mentality
“We saw the giants…and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight.”
Nu 13:33 NKJV
Wherever you go, you take your mentality with you. After four hundred years as captives in Egypt, the Israelites developed a slave mentality. Because they were dominated for so long, they never learned to be decision makers. They functioned best when other people told them what to do. Consequently when they approached the Promised Land and their leader sent twelve spies in to check it out, ten came back saying, “The inhabitants of the land are giants. We are like grasshoppers compared to them.” But two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, knew God was with them so they reported, “The inhabitants of the land are like grasshoppers to us. We are well able to overcome them” (See v. 30). Joshua and Caleb developed the capacity to see things from God’s vantage point. It spelled the difference between success and failure—and this one secret will change your world. You learn to “mount up with wings” like an eagle (Is 40:31) and see every situation from a higher viewpoint: through God’s eyes! You stop looking at the Devil’s picture of defeat and focus on God’s portrait of success. This is your ticket to the Promised Land! Start speaking what you desire—not what you dread (See Ps 107:2). Speak your expectations—not your fears. This isn’t mind-over-matter or pop psychology. It’s standing on God’s Word declaring, “I am what God says I am…I have what God says I have…and I can do what God says I can do!” (See Php 4:13).
No matter what has happened in your past, it doesn’t have to define your future! What God says about you defines your future when you believe in Him!
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1Cor 3:9: "For we are God's co-workers. You are God's farmland and God's building."
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Pr 17:24 GNT
Successful people have one thing in common: They’ve developed the habit of doing what unsuccessful people aren’t willing to do. We all want more money, but we don’t all want more work. We’d all like to be slim and trim, but we’re not all willing to eat right and exercise daily. The bookends of success are commitment and consistency. Without commitment you’ll never start, and without consistency you’ll never finish. Getting started is the hardest part, because we come up with so many reasons not to. So: (1) Start small. Take the first step. You can’t take step two until you’ve taken step one. Taking the first step to prioritize your life will focus you in the right direction. But don’t expect to immediately understand all that’s required. “By faith Abraham…went out, not knowing” (Heb 11:8). God guides you when you’re in motion, so “you’ll know as you go.” (2) Start with yourself. If you want others to respond to you differently, give them a different set of attitudes and actions to respond to. (3) Start early. Someone said, “Noah didn’t wait for his ship to come in—he built one.” Hard work is an accumulation of the easy things you didn’t do when you should have. The truth is, the work doesn’t seem nearly so hard once you stop putting it off. (4) Start now. What are you waiting for? Until you finish school, get married, have kids, the kids leave home, you retire, or you die? If you wait long enough you’ll only have one regret—that you didn’t start now.
Everlasting Peace
Meaningless mouthings about peace will not bring it to the world. In Glasgow, Scotland, we watched the Communists march around St. George’s Square carrying their banners with the words, “Our motto is PEACE!” My thoughts raced back to Korea, where I had seen the havoc and suffering caused by these people who now use “peace” as their motto. Peace is more than five little white letters painted on a piece of red cloth, carried by a goose-stepping zealot in a Red parade. It is not a mere cessation of hostilities, a momentary halt in a hot or cold war. Rather, it is something positive. It is a specific relationship with God into which a person is brought. It is a spiritual reality in a human heart which has come into vital contact with the infinite God.
Ps 39:3: ISV "My heart within me became incensed; {Lit. hot} as I thought about it, the fire burned. Then I {Lit. Then my mouth} spoke out:"
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“Be beautiful in your heart.”
1Pe 3:4 CEV
Princess Diana was considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the world. Yet she disliked what she saw in the mirror. This led to an eating disorder known as bulimia, which is caused by self-loathing. And the “beauty cult” has infected many of us with a similar sense of inadequacy and inferiority. The problem is—we’re looking in the wrong mirror. It’s a goodthing to stay physically fit and dress in a way that compliments you. But it’s a bad thing to base your worth on your physical appearance. Why? Because you are fighting a losing battle against Mother Nature and Father Time. Here are three Scriptures you need to think about: (1) “A beautiful woman who lacks discretion is like a gold ring in a pig’s snout” (Pr 11:22 NLT). That Scripture could be reduced to one sentence: “Beauty is, as beauty does.” (2) “Charm can be deceiving, and beauty fades away, but a woman who honors the Lord deserves to be praised” (Pr 31:30 CEV). That Scripture could be reduced to one sentence: “Beauty may attract attention, but only character will earn you respect.” (3) “Be beautiful in your heart…This kind of beauty will last, and God considers it very special.” That Scripture could be reduced to one sentence: “God measures by a different yardstick; with Him, beauty is an inside job.” And here is one more thought: People will treat you according to how you treat yourself. So as you begin to appreciate the “beauty” God has placed within you, others will begin to appreciate it too.
Ezekiel 39:8 (AMP)
⁸Behold, it is coming and it will be done,” says the Lord God. “That is the day of which I have spoken.
A praying mother
“Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart.”
Lk 2:19 TLB
Max Lucado writes: “Some things only a mom can do…like powdering a baby’s bottom with one hand while holding the phone with the other…Spending the day wiping noses, laundering socks, balancing a check book, and still mean it when she thanks God for her kids. Some things only a mom can fix…like the cabinet doors her husband couldn’t, and his bruised ego when he found out she could! Broken shoelaces…broken hearts…breaking up with your sweetheart. Some things only a mom can know…like how long it takes to drive from piano lessons to ball practice…how many pizzas you need for a sleepover…the number of days left in a semester. The rest of us can only wonder… ‘Mom, what was it like when that infant’s cry first filled the room? Or the day the school bus pulled to a stop, you placed a kiss on a five-year-old’s cheek, waved goodbye and then saw the tricycle—silent and still? How did you feel? Did you cry? Did you smile?’ Were you like Mary who ‘quietly treasured all these things in her heart?’” A mother who loves and prays for her children is a force to be reckoned with. When a preacher stopped by a house in England and asked to speak to the mother, her little boy said, “You can’t see her right now, she’s praying.” That’s because Susanna Wesley spent one hour every day praying for each of her seventeen children. Eventually two of them, John and Charles, were used by God to bring a spiritual awakening to Britain and America and establish the Methodist Church. Such is the influence of a praying mother.
The power of praise
“All the prison doors flew open.”
Ac 16:26 NIV
The Bible says: “About midnight Paul and Silas were…singing hymns to God…Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prisons were shaken…all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose” (vv. 25-26 NIV). Praise opens doors. Praise breaks chains. Any time you praise God in spite of the circumstances, the forces of heaven come to your aid. You say, “But sometimes I don’tfeel like praising God.” The Psalmist wrote, “I will bless the Lord at all times” (Ps 34:1 NKJV). Sometimes praise is an emotional response to God’s goodness; other times it’s an act of your will. Anybody can praise God in the good times. But when you have to rise above your feelings and your circumstances, that’s when it really counts. The battle of Jericho teaches us that sometimes you have to shout God’s praise when: (1) You are up against a brick wall. (2) It feels like you’re going in circles. (3) Your circumstances seem to mock you. (4) Your rational mind thinks, “This plan doesn’t make any sense.” (5) It’s the last thing you feel like doing. But when you praise God anyway, you discover the truth of Nehemiah’s words: “The joy of the Lord [the joy that comes from knowing He is present with you and has gone before you to work things out in your favor] is your strength” (Ne 8:10 AMP). When you’re ruled by circumstances and emotions you live on a rollercoaster. But if you look to the Lord of your circumstances and praise Him, you move from weakness to strength.
Love your neighbor
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Mt 22:39 NIV
In The Fine Art of Friendship Ted Engstrom outlines ten ways to love others: (1) Love is unconditional. If it’s not…it’s manipulation. (2) Our natural tendency is toward self-centeredness (which isn’t related to a healthy self-esteem); that’s why it takes a conscious effort to love. (3) Each of us is a one-of-a-kind creation. Therefore it takes time—often a long time—to understand one another. (4) Do you really listen and try to understand what people are saying? Or do you listen in order to give an answer; in other words, by letting the other person talk while you mentally formulate your response? One who loves, listens with understanding. (5) Simply being there to care, whether or not you know exactly what to do. Loving your neighbor involves fulfilling, in a visible way, Christ’s promise, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5 NKJV). (6) Just because God put you in a leadership position doesn’t mean He made you “better” than others. Paul warns the leader “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to” (Ro 12:3). (7) Be generous with your praise and encouragement. Inspiring words build up the self-esteem of others, whereas critical comments kill enthusiasm and love. (8) Make your friends number one: “In honour preferring one another” (Ro 12:10). This is another point where we see a clear difference between the leader who loves, and a power-holder who “looks out for number one.” (9) Learn to love God with all your heart. Then love your neighbor as yourself. (10) Emphasize other people’s strengths and virtues, not their sins and weaknesses. Why? Because you’ll be needing grace and love yourself before the day’s done!
God's Purpose For You
Have you ever wondered why God placed us on this planet? What our purpose is in being here? It is because God is love. There may be life on other planets, but I believe man is unique in the sense that he was created in the image of God. God created on this planet as it were “little gods” whom He could love and who would return love to Him. Reverently speaking, God was lonely. He wanted someone to love and who would return love to Him. That sounds incredible, but the Bible tells us that God loved, and so He created and put us on this planet.
*[[Isa 25:1]] ISV* LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for you have done marvelous things, plans made long ago in faithfulness and truth.
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Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.
-Psalm 138:7
I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show me the wonders of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes.
-Psalm 17:6-7
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
-Luke 4:18-19
“We can come before God…without fear.”
Eph 3:12 NCV
Dr. James Kennedy said: “I read an interesting book by an unbeliever who attempted to ‘do in’ the Christian faith. Despite his lack of belief, I found…something he said [insightful] regarding prayer. He called it ‘the most incredible conceit in the history of mankind,’ arguing that if you worked for General Motors as a lowly employee and wanted to see the boss, you wouldn’t have the remotest chance…Think about it. What would happen if a citizen tried to speak to the President of the United States? I’ve thought about putting in a call just to see…I’d probably speak to a secretary or an assistant to somebody, but not likely the President…‘And so,’ says my skeptical friend in his book, ‘what an incredible conceit to suppose that at any moment we can talk to the boss of the whole shebang.’ And indeed the concept of prayer would be an incredible conceit…if it weren’t true. But it is…and it’s the most incredible condescension on the part of a gracious God. You could probably never speak to the highly placed people in this world, yet the most highly placed person in the universe—‘the boss of the whole shebang’—waits patiently to hear what you have to say. ‘We can come before God with freedom and without fear… through faith in Christ.’ Don’t you find that amazing? This day…You can talk to the boss, tell Him your worries and cares, share with Him your triumphs and joys—and He always has time to listen.” Prayer gives you access to God!
Job 42:2: ""I know {Or You know that I know} that you can do anything and nothing that you plan is impossible."
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“He now showed them the full extent of his love.”
Jn 13:1 NIV
People spend hours every day on social networks like Facebook—in many cases because they’re lonely. Now, there’s nothing wrong with interacting with others this way. In fact, social media offers one of the greatest tools the church has ever had for reaching the world with the gospel. But in a day when it’s getting easy to neglect real relationships, let’s remember why we’re connecting with others in the first place. One author says: “Life is so much richer when we have friends with whom we can share our joys and troubles…Unfortunately loneliness remains a major problem and source of pain for many. But none of us need become resigned to loneliness; [it’s]…‘treatable,’ if not actually avoidable.” Real relationships aren’t built by posting updates, or tweeting and re-tweeting the most thought-provoking quotes. It takes more time than that. The greatest social networking involves meeting someone’s needs in a way that never would’ve happened without a one-on-one connection. That’s what Jesus did. Most of His public ministry was spent pouring Himself into twelve men who, in turn, went out in His name and poured themselves into others. The Bible says, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.” The Psalmist spelled out the way many people feel today: “No one is concerned for me…no one cares” (Ps 142:4 NIV). If you want to meet people’s needs you have to get “up close and personal.” That’s what Jesus did, and He’s your example.
Seeing Our Need
We live like a little ant on this little speck of dust out in space. We get a Ph.D. degree and we strut across the stage and say, “Well, I don’t know whether or not there is a God.” And we can’t even control ourselves. We can’t even keep from blowing ourselves apart. We can’t even keep from manufacturing nuclear weapons that could destroy the world. We can’t even keep from hating each other, and fighting with each other, and killing each other. We can’t even keep from stealing from each other. We can’t even keep from dying, because all of us are going to die. No wonder the Bible says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,” because a man that would deny the existence of God is a fool.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,
-Philippians 2:3
New beginnings are a part of life, and can be an opportune time for Christians to start afresh. Here are 5 Bible verses, all taken from the New International Version, that relate to the topic of new beginnings.
1) Jeremiah 29:11
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"
2) Isaiah 43: 18-19
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland."
3) 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
4) Isaiah 60:20
"Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end."
5) Ecclesiastes 3:1
"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens."