“If only I had gone to College”, “if only I had listened to my parents”, “if only I had taken that other job”, “if only I had married someone else”, etc.

Sometimes the blame is placed on other people rather than ourselves, but at the end of the day it is still up to us to find a solution to the problem.

Laying blame, making excuses or running away from the problem will not accomplish anything.  Even if we get advice from friends or family or seek professional counselling, we must still take the initiative to make the change, to actually do something about resolving the issue.

Being proactive makes you a better person.  It helps to build self confidence and self esteem, it even draws you closer to God.

When problems get out of hand, God is your final lifeline.  When you feel hopeless, when it seems as there is no solution whatsoever, God is there to help.  But you must call on Him.  You must take that stand and reach out to Him and everything will be alright in the end.

Always remember that, and problem solving, no matter how difficult the issue is, will become a breeze.

“Give all your worries and cares to God for He cares about what happens to you.”  I Peter 5:7

Sometimes we are not even aware that we are holding back something from God because the attitude is so ingrained in us that it becomes second nature. It may be something simple as laziness, selfishness or pride.  Or, it may be a grudge against someone that is very hard to forgive.

Our spiritual life will not be made perfect if we keep certain aspects of it closed to God.  There is no other person in the entire world who understands us more than God.  If we don’t strive to get rid of bad habits and attitudes then it can totally destroy our lives.

This is what happened to King Solomon.  Solomon built a successful and thriving Kingdom.  In the beginning he was totally committed to God and built a beautiful temple to honour Him.  But Solomon’s greatest weakness was women.  He had a very large harem which included a large number of foreign women.  These women continued to practice their pagan religions and encouraged Solomon to do the same.  As a result the Kingdom he built was divided after his death.  (See Kings chapter 11).

It is a fact that we all have weaknesses and sometimes we don’t want to it out in the open.  We may successfully hide from others, but God knows what’s in our heart.  We need to confess and open up to Him if we are to effectively deal with those weaknesses.  It is imperative that we do so if we are to continue on the road to righteous living as smoothly as possible.

Grapevine

Many of us live a life of boredom, mediocrity, and unproductivity.  Something is missing but you just don’t know what it is.

We are built with so much potential that we can only dream of fulfilling only half of it.  But the only way of achieving full potential is by staying connected to your source and that is Jesus Christ.  As our designer and creator, He alone can help us be all that we can be.

“Yes I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.  Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers… But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!  John 15:5-7

What do you want out life?  Success does not necessarily mean making a lot of money.  Money might be one of the benefits of being successful, but it must not be the goal.  If you focus too much on money, then you are sure to fail.

Whatever your dream in life, make Jesus the focal point of that dream and you are sure to succeed.  Of course, it still requires hard work, but you will find things go quickly and smoothly much more than if you were to do it on your own.  As a matter of fact, make Jesus the focal point of every aspect of your life, marriage, career, finances, children – whatever – and success would be yours for the taking. 

Even when you succeeded in accomplishing your goals, remember that it is still not the end.  You still can accomplish more as long as you are alive and have strength.  The Apostle Paul understood this.

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection!  But I keep working to that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.   No dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is callinig us up to heaven.  Philippians 3:12-14

Fruits of the Spirit – Are you Bearing Them?

Paul and Barnabas

One of the roles of a Christian is to spread the word of God.  There are many ways to do this and it will vary from individual to individual.

Some people wait for a dramatic experience to happen to them before they can start witnessing to others.  Maybe they think something of what happened to Paul would happen to them.

The Apostle Paul was an avid persecutor of the early church, but when Jesus appeared to him in a vision, his life turned completely around and he became the apostle who took the gospel to the Gentiles.

Now, if we wait around to see visions or hear voices before we can do God’s work, then we will just wait forever.  You can only do God’s work if you really make up your mind to do it.

If you want to change your life – just do it!

If you want to do God’s work – just do it!

Don’t sit around waiting for miracles, just do what is necessary to be a witness.

Once you’ve made a start then the right help will come along.  Pray and ask God for guidance and then He would put everything in place for you to succeed.

“Draw close to God and He will draw close to you.”  James 4:8

When negative things happen in our lives, some people say, “well, maybe it is God’s will that this happened.  But this is not true, God’s will for us is to be happy and healthy, nothing in the negative.

Suffering of any kind does not come from God.  It was never His Will that we suffer from anything.  There are however, some things we have no control over, things that are not directly our fault but when we suffer because of it or face any kind of negative, it just means there is a lesson to be learned from it, so we would not have to go through such an experience again.   Also, we can use the experience to minister to others who may be going through something similar.

Even for a spiritual person,  suffering happens to strengthen them. Remember Job how he suffered and lost members of his family, health and wealth?  But he never wavered and he remained faithful to God.  In return God returned him to his former self and he received even more wealth and beautiful children.

“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.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. ” James 1:2-4

Another important point to keep in mind is consulting with God through prayer about any important decision you have to make in your life.  This can be a new career path, a marriage decision, a  business deal, or anything major that will have a big impact on your future.  You need to know if your decision is part of God’s Will for you.  Once it is you will have great success.   However, if it is not, you may find yourself with major problems constantly and then you will realize that the decision was not the correct one.

Proverbs 15:22 states:

“Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.”

Seeking the advice of friends and family, as well as other experts depending upon what your particular plans are, is also another way of knowing if you are taking the right course of action.  After praying, seek the counsel of others and this will help you to ensure that you are doing God’s Will, which will certainly not bring you any suffering whatsoever.