In the Christian life this is especially true.   Once you have made a commitment to serve God and leave behind a life of sin, that commitment is for a lifetime.  You can’t go back to your former life.  To do so means death – especially spiritual death.

Lot’s Wife Looked Back

The best example of this is Lot’s wife.  You will find the story in Genesis 19.

The Lord was about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their atrocious sins.  The Lord decided to save Lot and his family because of his righteousness.  The angel of the Lord told Lot to take his wife and daughters and flee the city immediately.  He also told them to not look back otherwise they will die (verse 17).  However, Lot’s wife could not help herself; she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt (verse 26).

You see, by looking back essentially she was saying, “I will miss this place despite all the wrong acts it committed.”

Change for the Better

The Christian life means change for the better.  A life filled with blessings and accomplishments.  In Proverbs it states:  “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.”  (Proverbs 26:11)

Don’t be a fool and keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again, but keep working to improve your life and you will reap the rewards.

Road not Easy, but Rewarding

A Christian life may not be easy as you will not always get the things you want when you want it, as well as face persecution from those who are against your beliefs.  But despite the trials, it is a much better life than one lived apart from Jesus.  The bible teaches that:

“There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.  These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure… So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world”. I Peter 1:6-7

Your trials help you to build faith and not to mention the great reward you will receive when Jesus Christ returns.  If you give up, you will lose.

Keep looking at the road and ahead and at no time look back, because God is at the end of the road.

Heaven and Hell are real places.  They actually exist, although not in the way we are accustoemed to seeing it portrayed.  I will expand on this in subsequent posts.

Heaven and Hell, although actual places, can also been seen as states of mind.  The way you live your life, the way you think and feel can determine whether you are living in heaven or hell right now.

If you have peace of mind, think positively and live your life according to God’s principles then you can experience heaven now.  If you are constantly thinking negatively or feel hatred and resentment for others, or live your life recklessly then you will experience hell.

Some people use drugs to get a feeling of constant ‘high’, a state that makes them feel good or ‘heavenly’.  Unfortunately, this feeling does not last long and they continue to take these drugs in order to regain that ‘high’.  But what it actually does  is destroy their minds and bodies and by extension their entire lives, because they will never experience that feeling like the first time.  What happens is they live a life of hell.

But life does not have to be like that.  We all have choices and we can choose to live a heavenly life by making the effort to think happy, positive and successful thoughts.  By helping, loving and showing compassion to others  and living as Jesus Christ taught.  Any other avenue will result in failure.  It will only be an artificial and temporary feeling.

The good news is anyone can turn their life around, regardless of how they lived.  Hell does not have to be a permanent place.  You can come out if you so choose.

Choose to live a life for Christ and you can be assured of experiencing heaven, not only now, but for all eternity.

You must remember that there is only so much you can do to live a peaceable and stress free life.  You cannot put yourself under undue stress and anxiety over things you have no control over.

For instance, as a wife, mother and career person, life can be very overwhelming with the amount of duties you have to do in a given day.  But apart from proper planning and time management, there is only so much you can do.  Trying to overstretch yourself will only make you stressed out and tired unnecessarily.

There is a saying “why put off for tomorrow what you can do today,” but if you don’t have the time today then by all means put it off for tomorrow.  God does not expect you to be super human, and this goes not only for women, but men as well.

Another stressful situation can be the lack of money.  If the money you have now can only go so far, then you have to be content with that for the moment.  Stressing yourself out over money you don’t have does not make any sense whatsoever.  Do what you can now and more will come when the time is right.

Don’t let anyone pressure you into doing something you don’t have the time, resources or inclination to do.  Happiness is your right, and you can only do so much.

“Don’t worry about anything, instead prayabout everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand”.  Philippians 4:6-7

Fruits of the Spirit – Are you Bearing Them?

A child in Ghana

Stop complaining falls more or less in the same category as stop worrying.  Just as there are chronic worriers, there are chronic complainers, people who just complain about everything and could never be satisfied about anything.

I read in a magazine recently about some college students from the US who took a trip to West Africa – Nigeria and Ghana specifically.

Their experience there taught them to be appreciative and grateful for the things they have in their own country.  What they take for granted, these people don’t know much about.  Basic things like indoor plumbing and electricity.  One student said she has learned to be appreciative of her education, and not just the academics, but basic stuff like hygiene and health.

Another student said whenever she found herself wanting to complain about no airconditioning, hot water, or not having anything to wear, she remembers her trip to Africa.

But what was most interesting to me is that one of them expressed his amazement that even though the Ghanian people had barely enough to survive, they were happy and content. 

And this is the point really, we here in the western world, despite the fact we have everything – good education, access to technology, abundant food and the basic necesities – we just don’t seem to be satisfied or happy with life.  While the people in some partfs of Africa are struggling to survive, they have learned to be happy with what they do have – which is not much by our standards.

We have to start recognizing how blessed we are and stop taking our abundance for granted.  There is no need to complain or worry because God is always there to take care of us.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank Him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.”  Philippians 4:6

When you hold hatred and malice in your heart you rob yourself of happiness and peace.  It literally destroys you.  You know, when somebody does you wrong, intentionally or otherwise, they may at some point, feel sorry for what they have done to you.  If they seek forgiveness from you, give it to them.  Let go of the hurt and pain and move on with your life.

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.  If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent’, forgive him.”  Luke 17:3-4 NIV

Another thing to keep in mind is, when you hold a grudge against someone, you are actually doing nothing to them.  They would probably go about their lives normally and happily, while you make yourself sick with feelings of hate and revenge.  It really makes no sense doing that to yourself.  The best way to avenge anyone is to show them love and leave their actions up to the Lord.

“Dear friends, never avenge yourselves.  Leave that to God.  For it is written,

‘I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it, says the Lord’. 

Instead do what the Scriptures say: ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them.  If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.’ 

Don’t let evil get the best of of you, but conquer evil by doing good.”  Romans 12:19-21

Most importantly, when we forgive others, we allow ourselves to be forgiven also.  You must remember our lives are infallible and there may come a time when we may do something to offend someone and look for forgiveness.  If you don’t know how to forgive, chances are you will not be forgiven, especially by the one who matters most – God.

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.  But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins”.  Matthew 6:14-15

“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too”.  Mark 11:25

If you find your prayers are not being answered, it could be you have animosity towards someone.  Check it out, forgive and experience the peace of mind you deserve.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do! People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”  I Samuel 16:7

What does it mean to judge?  In this instance to judge means to form an opinion, to criticize or to assume or suppose something.

But how does this relate to having peace of mind?  Well for one thing, it can save you a lot of embarrasement.

I’m sure you’ve heard of Susan Boyle.  She was the woman who made an appearance on the British talent show, Britains Got Talent.  When she appeared on stage, she caused quite a stir with her ‘frumpy’ look.

People in the audience laughed at her when she said she wanted to be a professional singer like Elaine Paige.  They were all very skeptical.  But when she opened her mouth and began to sing, she shocked everyone, including the judges and she instantly became an overnight sensation.

See the video.

This is a classic case of judging by appearance.

We should never judge a person by their looks, attitudes or by what other people say about them.  It is always better to get to know the person personally, or find out more from someone close to them if necessary.  We should follow the Lord’s example:

“…people judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.”  I Samuel 16:7b

You see when you judge you also put yourself in a position to be judged by others.  Don’t do to others what you do not want for yourself.

We all make mistakes, it is a part of life.  Never see yourself as better than anyone else for that is what you do when you judge others. 

“Stop judging others, and you will not be judged.  For others will treat you as you treat them.  Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.”  Matthew 7:1-2

Be sure that your heart is pure when that time comes for you to be judged.

Weight loss asked that I expand on them in future posts and since my readers are special to me I shall oblige.  I’ll start with the first point, ’slow down.’

Life is a hustle.  We hustle to work, school or whatever it is that fills up our day.  But have you ever stopped and wondered what all the rush is really about?

Basically we rush because we need money.  It’s all about working towards getting the things we need and want to satisfy us.  Granted we need money to live, and in order for us to get what we desire we must work hard.  Or do we?

Stream

“The Lord is my shepherd;

I have everything I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows;

He leads me beside peaceful streams”.  (Psalm 23:1-2)

When was the last time you stopped and smelled the roses?  Watched the sun set?  Admire your beautiful surroundings?

Yellow Sunset

I’m sure you’ve heard people say, “God will provide”, and he does.  Once we live our life for him we shall never want for anything.

Of course, I don’t mean to just sit around and wait for things to happen, but life is much more than hustling and bustling to make a dollar.

Yes, there is nothing wrong in wanting the finer things in life, but it makes no sense stressing yourself out to get them.  You might just kill yourself in the process and you will not be around to enjoy everthing you worked so hard for.

Notice anything about the two verses I quoted?  They use nature to describe how God will take care of you.

Japanese Tea Garden

“The Lord will guide you continually watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy too.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-lasting flowing spring.”  Isaiah 58:11

Slow down, enjoy the beauty of God’s creation and imagine what your life will be like when you make a commitment to him -  as beautiful as a well-watered garden.

You may not necessarily get everything you want in this life, but look forward to the ultimate goal, and all this will help you to have peace of mind.

“And this is the way to have eternal life – to know you the only true God and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”  John 17:3 

Girls jumping for joy

If you are a true believer in God and use him to take control of your life, then your life should be filled with joy.  Even if you are going through a difficult time right now there is no need to fill your life with sorrow or negative thoughts.  Times like these do not last forever.

“Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”  James 1:2-4

God is good, he will not allow circumstances in your life if he felt you will not benefit from it.  God does want you to be happy, and everything that happens in your life, happens for a reason.

“But remember that temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful.  He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t standup against it.  When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13

So keep smiling.  Be happy.  Don’t let anyone steal your joy.  A positive spirit will always attract positive conditions in your life.  You owe it to yourself and God to be always happy.  Remember the fruit of the Spirit is joy.

“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control…”  Galatians 5:22

Fill your life with joy and you will be able to overcome any situation you face in life.

If you are sick and you constantly dwell on your sickness then you will always be sick and not heal as you should.  If you think lack and constantly worry about money and material things, then you will always be in need.

You are in charge of your own destiny.  Nobody but you can lead you where you want to go.  If you want a different situation for your life, stop thinking only negative and start thinking positives.  Now, you have to constantly think positive if you really want your situation to change.  It cannot be up today and down tomorrow.

Build a relationship with God and see how your thoughts and your life change for the better.

Take this advice from the Apostle Paul:

“Fix your thoughts on what is true and honourable and right.  Think about things that are pure and good and lovely and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”.  Philippians 4:8

Slow Down: There’s no need to rush, life is too short to be on the hustle and bustle for things that won’t last forever.  However, you are destined to live in eternity with Jesus Christ and other believers, so make that your main priority.

And this is the way to have eternal life – to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”  John 17:3

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal.  Store up your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves.  Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be .”  Matthew 6:19-21

Stop Worrying: Whatever you are worried about now, won’t matter in a few years time.  Put your faith and trust in God  because he loves you and would help you get through all challenges.

“So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing.  Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things?  Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.”  Matthew 6:31

Don’t Judge: Don’t be quick to judge other people.  You don’t know what trials or problems they are facing.  None of us are perfect, for we all have made mistakes.  Never judge!

“Stop judging others, and you will not be judged.  For others will treat you as you treat them.  Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.”  Matthew 7:1

Forgive: If someone has done you wrong, don’t seek revenge against them, or hold malice in your heart for them.  Leave them up to God who will do justice on your behalf.  Forgive them and you will be forgiven also, as well as have peace of mind.

“But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins too.”   Mark 11:25

Stop Complaining: Be thankful for what you have and stop complaining for what you don’t.  Learn to be at peace with yourself always.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand…”  Philippians 4:6