Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenaline, a blood transfusion. Like an anchor, our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life; but unlike an anchor, our hope moves us forward; it does not hold us back.

• Warren Wiersbe

Tough times:

Although we may experience tough times, disappointing moments, heartache, we still can have hope if we believe. These temporary detours of suffering will actually strengthen our commitment to Christ and our testimony for Him. You see, as believers, we all have an incredible future with Christ in heaven.

Hope deferred:

Don’t ever allow your hope to be deferred. Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12). No one likes waiting. It feels good to get what we want. But when our expectations are delayed, we can experience disappointment, disillisionment, and loss of hope. Waiting can become such an affliction to some that it’s like a lingering sickness. Even though things are delayed, we need to stay in faith, trust, believe in the word God.

A better tomorrow:

Our hope in a better tomorrow because we are born-again, saved by the power of God, and realizing our future home with God is very real, will help us to keep going. No matter what you face, remember we have a hope that never perishes. It is a shot of adrenaline to our minds.

Let’s never lose this hope God gives us, and when our faith is being tested, remember it is only temporary — it’s God’s kingdom only that lasts forever.

Just a thought,

PSS

One of the most harmful things we can do to ourselves is to procrastinate. Procrastination is defined as: the action of delaying or postponing something, putting off intentionally and habitually, putting off intentionally the doing of something that should be done. It’s a huge part of our culture.

Evasion:

Charles Dickens said, “Procrastination is the thief of time; collar him.” Abraham Lincoln said, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” People do it all the time. In truth, we all are probably guilty of it from time to time. But it should not be our norm.

Postponement:

Thinking of the future as a future destination can cause us to remain stuck in who we are today. We think, Well, I’ll make changes in my life tomorrow. I’ll start eating healthily tomorrow. I’ll study more tomorrow. I’ll work harder tomorrow when I get that promotion. Don’t wait for tomorrow to become who God wants you to be today. We need to stop making everything in the future — from I will start working out next week and get in shape to I will begin today getting in shape.

Regret:

Procrastination has caused dreams to be unfulfilled, businesses to fail, relationships to end; because the things we know we should do, get done, are put off until it is too late. Then regret has a way of setting in. The opposite of procrastination is anticipation, dealing with beforehand. Let’s be people who get things done when they are supposed to get done. At work make sure we are meeting our deadlines. At home let’s begin today to be more caring and helpful.

If procrastination is an issue for you, ask God to help you, and begin to intentionally get things done.

Just a thought,

PSS

Here is the reality: We all can be trained to do just about anything.

Fixed mindset:

Too many of us have a fixed mindset — I can’t do it. We hear this all the time from people. These words, I can’t do it, are part of a fixed mindset. A person with a fixed mindset spends their time documenting their intelligence instead of developing it. It’s the same way with talent. They believe that talent alone creates success without effort. So, a fixed-mindset believer is a person who believes that their intelligence and talents are fixed. They have a certain amount, and that is that.

Growth mindset:

A growth mindset or a success mindset is much different. A person with a success mindset believes their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching, learning, and persistence. A fixed mindset will say, I can’t do it. A person with a success mindset will say, I can’t do it yet. A success mindset believes anything is possible.

No limit:

All of us need help at times, but only a few of us want to be helped. That’s why the word of God teaches us that, All things are possible to him who believes (Mark 9:23b NKJV). A success mindset believes we can improve, get better, and do better if we are willing to learn and put forth effort. So, don’t limit yourselves; don’t buy into a fixed mindset.

Begin to believe and develop a success mindset. We really can learn anything and do anything, but it’s all based on what we believe.

Just a thought,

PSS

As believers, we need to realize that we can have only one master. Matthew 6:24 NLT — No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money. When it says “hate,” it means to have an enemy you can’t get along with.

Multiple masters:

You cannot serve two masters: it’s impossible. Sin is a master that leads to death; God is a Master who leads to life. Every choice we make today is predicting, shaping, molding our future. So, we get to choose whom we are going to serve. We can serve money and sin, or serve God and purpose to be a doer of His word. The choice is there for the making.

Idolatry:

Idolatry is anything we put before God. For some, it’s relationships. They mean more to us than God does. We ignore God’s word in order to preserve a relationship. If we will choose God as our Master, the end result will be freedom from addictions, freedom from self or selfishness.

One Master:

Either God is Lord of all, or not Lord at all. It’s an all-or-nothing proposition with Him. But it’s our choice whom we will serve. As you go about your week, begin to think and process: Who is my master? What do I think about the most, spend a lot of money on? Am I serving some sort of addiction, or am I serving self?

It’s your choice, but you can have only one master — only one. Choose wisely.

Just a thought,

PSS

Expectation plus reality oftentimes results in disappointment. If not addressed properly, it will result in negativity, pessimism, and bitterness. It may result in becoming critical of God because we will end up blaming Him for inaction or not being fair in our time of need.

Disappointment is unavoidable:

They cried to You and were delivered; they trusted in, leaned on, and confidently relied on You, and were not ashamed or confounded or disappointed (Psalm 22:5 AMPC). Here is what we know: all of us will experience disappointment. Everyone does. It’s unavoidable, but how we deal with it is the key. So often people look for comfort and material blessings, but God is more concerned with our character development.

Training is painful:

Disappointment is the feeling of being unhappy because something that we hoped for or expected did not happen, or because someone or something was not as good as we expected. We hate testing and spiritual exercise that strengthens our faith, makes us stronger. God has no use for untamed followers, so He chooses to train us at times through tough, even painful, experiences. We may never fully understand God and His ways, so we must learn to hang in there, no matter what. It’s the process we must learn to embrace in order to better handle disappointment and discouragement.

God is working:

God is always working to help us, make us better. Our responsibility is to believe that. So, when disappointment comes, and it will, let’s continue to seek God, have a better attitude through it — knowing God is for us, not against us. Let’s begin to ask ourselves, How can I grow through this? What can I learn?

It’s our choice. Choose wisely which attitude you will cling to.

Just a thought,

PSS