Feed your faith and starve your fears.
You get what you focus on in life. Focus on your faith and the strength you get from it and your fears and negativity will fade away. Remember that with God all things are possible.
“Ah, LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly I conducted myself in your presence, doing what was good in your sight!” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
Isaiah 38:3
We are all pencils in the hand of God."
Write a life script for yourself that is pleasing to God. Do unto others, love your neighbor and continue growing in your faith. Do this and you’ll show God how sharp your pencil is.
III - I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk, give you counsel with my eye upon you.
Psalm 32:8
“Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand. “
The time is ripe now to begin showing love to all those around you. Reach out to those in need with loving, caring words of kindness. The fruit of your labors will not go unnoticed.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
Galatians 5:22
Words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.
Watch what you say and always make sure it would be pleasing to Christ. Angry, hateful, condescending, and other negative words hurt not only those who they are aimed at, but put us in a dark place too. See the light and speak respectfully and kindly to everyone you encounter.
And I saw that wisdom has as much profit over folly as light has over darkness.
Ecclesiastes 2:13
In today's climate, maximizing and preserving your investments is your biggest challenge.
Jesus tells you the way to preserve your investments beyond the grave is to store them in heaven. Begin your permanent savings account today by using some of your talents, resources, and experiences to help someone who is in need.
Treasure in Heaven. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. The Light of the Body.
Matthew 6:19-21
God may use the pain of your past for His purposes in the present.
Who is better to comfort someone with cancer than one who has had cancer? Who is better to council someone going through divorce than one who has been divorced? Who is better to help someone kick their addiction than one who has been addicted. If God has brought you through a painful experience, look for a way to use that experience to comfort someone today.
As a result, those who suffer in accord with God’s will hand their souls over to a faithful creator as they do good.
1 Peter 4:19
The Holy Spirit does not just give believers a gift, the Holy Spirit IS the gift.
Don't be paralyzed with inaction trying to identify your "best" spiritual gift. Instead, focus on the ultimate gift, your relationship with God through the Holy Spirit. He gave us this gift so that we could always find it easy to be close to Him and serve Him.
The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you.
John 14:26
It takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow.
Whether you feel as if you are under the black cloud, or enjoying the sunshine, remember to take a positive attitude with you today and maintain it with all those around you. Your positive influence and example to others is one of the best way to experience and reflect the many colors of God's love.
Declare them guilty, God; make them fall by their own devices. Drive them out for their many sins; for they have rebelled against you.
Psalm 5:11
We should concern ourselves less with viruses that enter our body and make us sick, and concern ourselves more with the vices that come from within us and prove that we are.
Consider the amount of time you spend each day trying to keep your body healthy; taking medications, eating healthy, and exercising. Today, take that same amount of time and use it to keep your soul healthy; take time to read the Bible, exercising the opportunity to pray, and helping someone in need.
“But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles. From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”
Mark 7:20-23
If you think you will be happy tomorrow, remember that tomorrow never arrives.
Don't put your happiness off until a point in the future. Today is a gift from God. Treat it that way. It is okay to plan for tomorrow, but not at the expense of enjoying today.
If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
Matthew 6:30
Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.
You get what you focus on in life. You can choose to focus on suffering, or the joy that comes from overcoming it. What are you focusing on today?
This is my comfort in affliction, your promise that gives me life.
Psalm 119:50
You don't get punished for your sins, but by them.
Learn to forgive yourself for your sins - God does. Learn from your sins, but don't punish yourself for them.
Psalm 32 Remission of Sin - Of David. A maskil. I - Blessed is the one whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven.
Psalm 32:1
Refusing to ask for help when you need it is refusing someone the chance to be helpful.
Ask God for the courage and humility to ask others for help. Your openness to receive help will provide an opportunity for those close to you to benefit from the joy of being a Christian.
No foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29
If God had made eleven commandments, the eleventh might have been Thou Shalt Not Whine.
We live in a world that can, at times, be more pessimistic than optimistic. Don't surrender to the negativity and whining from those around you. Be a positive example to everyone you encounter today.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world,
Philippians 2:14-15
If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody is not thinking.
As Christians we are called to think for ourselves and stand for Christ. Make a concerted effort today to stand apart from those around you so everyone can see Christ in you.
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2
The most direct route between point A and point B on your life-journey is the path of unwavering trust in God.
In our hurry-up world, we try so hard to find the fastest way to love, success, happiness and self-fulfillment. As Christians, the answer has been in front of us the whole time: Trust in God.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; In all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
We all have the potential to brighten a room or darken it.
Focus on brightening all rooms you enter today by encouraging others, congratulating others, and refusing to speak poorly of others. Your actions will be contagious and will help light the way for others.
Chapter 2 - Plea for Unity and Humility. If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing.
Philippians 2:1-2
God is far more interested in a relationship with you than what you are or are not doing.
Today, worry less about what you are (or are not) doing for God, and spend time seeking a closer relationship with Him. When you are walking close to Him, He will guide your way. Then, and only then, will you know exactly what to do.
He has lifted high the horn of his people; to the praise of all his faithful, the Israelites, the people near to him. Hallelujah!
Psalm 148:14
The greatest communication skill you can master has nothing to do with talking. The greatest communication skill you can master is to listen.
Learn to be a committed listener and you can develop deeper and more meaningful relationships. This applies to your relationship with God as well. Spend quiet time in prayer today, and listen for what God is saying to you.
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.
Mark 6:19-20
"If you think you can or think you can't, you're right." - Henry Ford
Belief gives us the confidence we need to persist in the face of adversity. Believe in yourself and trust in God and you can conquer today's challenges, large or small.
Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Mark 9:23
We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King, Jr.
God does not simply want us to be “good” by virtue of not doing anything “bad”, but rather he calls us to make a difference for HIM in this world. Ask for God’s forgiveness for the times you have been silent, and start making some noise – reach out to someone in need, invite someone to church this weekend, stand up for someone who is being persecuted – the opportunities are endless.
Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.
Revelation 3:19
Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror.
Don’t dwell on the past, only use it to improve your future and those around you by repeating the good, avoiding the bad and sharing your blessings.
Though your beginning was small, your future will flourish indeed.
Job 8:7