Whether we are willing to admit it or not, all of us have said something about someone else that was inappropriate. We've all participated in gossip at one time or another in one form or another.
It is so easy to fall into this trap at times. You tell yourself you are going to try harder to not talk about others any longer and yet you find yourself doing it once again. It is an never ending cycle of making promises to yourself and God and then beating yourself up because you've once again slipped up.
What is the solution? First of all we must admit we can not make this change on our own or of our own willpower. We are mere humans and do not have this strength. God must give it to us. Sincerely admit your weakness to Him and ask for His strength.
The second thing is to recognize that the words we speak are just the fruit of our lives, we must tackle this problem at the root. The root is our thoughts. Many fail to change their gossiping ways because they are trying to control their tongue without controlling their thoughts. Our thoughts control our lives, this includes our words.
Instead of praying for God's strength to control our words, pray for God to control our thoughts. We are known by our fruit, so we need to plant seeds of kind thoughts in our minds and hearts. The fruit of our words will then follow suit!
For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34 NIV)
Monday, March 20, 2006
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
You are God's Favorite
Last night while attending church house, we sang a worship song with a line that states that I'm God's favorite one. A few days before, the devotional I was reading was talking about how one of Satan's biggest lies to us is "You are a nobody. You are not worth anything." and how we must realize we are important to God.
This idea of being God's favorite is a new concept for me. I've always known I was important to God and that He loved me. However, I've never thought of being God's favorite. We are not only loved by God, we are as important and valuable to Him and His Kingdom as anyone else, even someone like Paul or Moses. We must always remember that God loves us just as much as any other Christian. We are ALL His favorite! Don't ever let that voice of Satan in your mind convince you of anything else.
This idea of being God's favorite is a new concept for me. I've always known I was important to God and that He loved me. However, I've never thought of being God's favorite. We are not only loved by God, we are as important and valuable to Him and His Kingdom as anyone else, even someone like Paul or Moses. We must always remember that God loves us just as much as any other Christian. We are ALL His favorite! Don't ever let that voice of Satan in your mind convince you of anything else.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Our Thoughts = Our Happiness
For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7)
I'm currently daily reading Joyce Meyer's book Battlefield of the Mind - Devotional. Today's reading was about how our thoughts and what we focus on determine where we end up.
Over the past 9 months I've been having some major issues at work that just seem to be getting worse. Every time I believe it is getting better, something new happens to make me realize it may not be better at all. However, my negative attitude and thoughts from this situation have affected my life greatly. I dread going into work each day and am starting to be stressed to the point that my family life is affected and I'm even having disturbing dreams of having a heart attack!
Today's devotional really brought it home to me that even though I may not be able to control all the situations in my life, I can control my thoughts and attitudes. This is very important because as Joyce points out . . . "the mind is a battlefield. We must always remember that our adversary will use it in any way he possibly can to trap us!"
I need to focus on God's grace and give thanks for the good things He has provided me with. I don't need to deny what is going on around me, however my focus needs to be on the positive things in my life and to give thanks to God for those things.
This is not about the prosperity thinking we hear in the churches or the positive thinking we hear in seminars. This is about acknowleding the bad things in your life (and as a Christian there will be many of them as Jesus never promised us a rose garden, in fact He promised just the opposite!). However, acknowledging these things is not the same as focusing on them. We must keep our focus on Jesus and the blessings in our lives.
God does not want me to be of this world. When bad things happen in my life, if I gripe and complain instead of focusing on the positive and plunging forward trusting God to take care of me, how am I any different from those around me who do not know the Lord? My relationship with the Lord does not make me any better than anyone else, but it does give me a hope that others do not have. What good am I to the Lord if I don't let this hope shine from within me?
I'm currently daily reading Joyce Meyer's book Battlefield of the Mind - Devotional. Today's reading was about how our thoughts and what we focus on determine where we end up.
Over the past 9 months I've been having some major issues at work that just seem to be getting worse. Every time I believe it is getting better, something new happens to make me realize it may not be better at all. However, my negative attitude and thoughts from this situation have affected my life greatly. I dread going into work each day and am starting to be stressed to the point that my family life is affected and I'm even having disturbing dreams of having a heart attack!
Today's devotional really brought it home to me that even though I may not be able to control all the situations in my life, I can control my thoughts and attitudes. This is very important because as Joyce points out . . . "the mind is a battlefield. We must always remember that our adversary will use it in any way he possibly can to trap us!"
I need to focus on God's grace and give thanks for the good things He has provided me with. I don't need to deny what is going on around me, however my focus needs to be on the positive things in my life and to give thanks to God for those things.
This is not about the prosperity thinking we hear in the churches or the positive thinking we hear in seminars. This is about acknowleding the bad things in your life (and as a Christian there will be many of them as Jesus never promised us a rose garden, in fact He promised just the opposite!). However, acknowledging these things is not the same as focusing on them. We must keep our focus on Jesus and the blessings in our lives.
God does not want me to be of this world. When bad things happen in my life, if I gripe and complain instead of focusing on the positive and plunging forward trusting God to take care of me, how am I any different from those around me who do not know the Lord? My relationship with the Lord does not make me any better than anyone else, but it does give me a hope that others do not have. What good am I to the Lord if I don't let this hope shine from within me?
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Forgiving Others
Matthew 18:21-22 (NLV)
Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?"
"No!" Jesus replied, "seventy times seven!
Always before I've read this and just thought Jesus was trying to make the point that when we forgive someone else we must truly forgive them. He was exaggerating to get his point across. However, today when I read this verse, another thought came to mind.
I wonder if not only was Jesus trying to show how serious He was about us truly forgiving others, but was also acknowledging the fact of our fraility as humans. I've come to realize that forgiving someone for something they've done against me is much like trusting God. It is not necessarily a decision that I make once and for all. I don't just wake up one day and make the decision and then everything falls into place from that point forward.
I've learned that trusting God AND forgiving others is often a conscious decision that I sometimes must make daily. Each day I must wake up and make the decision to trust God for that day. I believe at times I must also wake up each day and make the decision to forgive a certain person for a past wrong. Eventually it will be something that I can truly forgive, but in the beginning many times it is something I must do day by day. If I'm are not careful I'll catch myself once again holding whatever it is over that person's head.
God does not do this to me so I must be careful not to do it to others. God is able to forgive once and for all, but most times we as humans are not able to do the same. I think this is another example of how we need to be more like our children. When they forgive us for something, they do so with their whole heart. It take us "adults" a bit more time to do something wholeheartedly.
Then Peter came to him and asked, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?"
"No!" Jesus replied, "seventy times seven!
Always before I've read this and just thought Jesus was trying to make the point that when we forgive someone else we must truly forgive them. He was exaggerating to get his point across. However, today when I read this verse, another thought came to mind.
I wonder if not only was Jesus trying to show how serious He was about us truly forgiving others, but was also acknowledging the fact of our fraility as humans. I've come to realize that forgiving someone for something they've done against me is much like trusting God. It is not necessarily a decision that I make once and for all. I don't just wake up one day and make the decision and then everything falls into place from that point forward.
I've learned that trusting God AND forgiving others is often a conscious decision that I sometimes must make daily. Each day I must wake up and make the decision to trust God for that day. I believe at times I must also wake up each day and make the decision to forgive a certain person for a past wrong. Eventually it will be something that I can truly forgive, but in the beginning many times it is something I must do day by day. If I'm are not careful I'll catch myself once again holding whatever it is over that person's head.
God does not do this to me so I must be careful not to do it to others. God is able to forgive once and for all, but most times we as humans are not able to do the same. I think this is another example of how we need to be more like our children. When they forgive us for something, they do so with their whole heart. It take us "adults" a bit more time to do something wholeheartedly.
My Babies
Here are a couple pictures of my babies.
Most of my family probably have not yet seen these.
Most of my family probably have not yet seen these.
Test Post
Well, I decided to give this a try and see if I can keep up on it or not. If nothing else it will be a way for me to keep my family in other states informed as to what my family and I are up to, since I'm not as good at writing to everyone as I used to be.
It will also be a good way for me to share my thoughts with others and maybe get some feedback. I love to write and would love to be able to do this at least as a part time job someday if possible. This will be a good way for me to get some practice in everyday. Or most everyday at least.
Well, here goes.
It will also be a good way for me to share my thoughts with others and maybe get some feedback. I love to write and would love to be able to do this at least as a part time job someday if possible. This will be a good way for me to get some practice in everyday. Or most everyday at least.
Well, here goes.
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