In order to serve God, we must all realize it is going to cost us something. It will at times cost us our desires, our will; at times it will require a sacrifice.

The sacrifice:

A sacrifice is not really a sacrifice unless something means a lot to us — unless we really want to do something. It’s something we give up for someone or something else. If it doesn’t mean anything to us, it’s not really a sacrifice at all.

He paid it all:

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay His head” (Matthew 8:20 NLT). Following Jesus will not always be easy or comfortable. It will often require great sacrifice of what we want, and doing what God’s word teaches. Following Christ, to do what He asks, may cost us popularity, friendship, leisure time, or convenience.

Pay the price:

The price of following Christ is saying and doing, Not my will, but let His will be done. It is our choice! Too many of us believe we can follow Christ, and do whatever we want. We follow Christ, and do what He requires us to do. It is our choice. Whatever we are unwilling to let go of may be the very thing that costs us our eternal salvation.

Being a disciple of Christ may not always be easy, but it will always be worth it. Again, it is our choice.

Just a thought,

PSS

Gratitude is one of many positive emotions. It’s about focusing on what’s good in our lives, and being thankful for the things we have. Its learning to notice, take inventory of, what we have and not take things for granted — things like a place to live, food, clean water, friends, family, maybe even having a phone, being alive!

Gratitude:

Gratitude is a virtue because we must choose to celebrate rather than to resent. When we are grateful (gratefulness and gratitude mean the same thing), it is almost impossible to be hateful, angry, and fearful. We should all strive to be more grateful. So many people today are full of hate and bitterness because they feel left out, uncared for; they may even feel as if God doesn’t really care for them.

Comparison: 

I believe a lot of dissatisfaction comes from people comparing themselves to others. When we do this, we will begin to believe that we are being left out, that others have more, are better off than we are. Comparing ourselves to others, I believe, is one of most destructive things we can do.

Thankfulness:

What we need to practice is being thankful for what we do have, being grateful for what we do possess. For some, this will take practice, something we need to do daily. We must retrain our thinking to not meditate on what we do not have, but learn to be thankful for what we do have.

Gratefulness leads to peace and joy, while being unthankful leads to anger and resentment. You always get to choose!

Just a thought,

PSS

Two things l believe, two characteristics.

Immediate:

We need to repent quickly and forgive quickly. If we can do that, we will always be in good relationship with God. Forgiveness is key to our walk with God. Unforgiveness, after being forgiven by God, is having an ungrateful attitude for the forgiveness shown by God.

Prerequisite:

Forgiveness of others is commanded by God as a prerequisite to receiving His forgiveness for ourselves (Matthew 6:14-15 NLT). 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. We cannot be forgiven if we choose to be unforgiving.

Chosen:

Forgiving helps us physically and spiritually, as well as mentally. Forgiveness is a choice we make each day. We must learn, practice forgiveness. If God can forgive us, we can forgive others. If we don’t, it is as if we are drinking poison and expecting someone else to die from it. Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. When we forgive, we just don’t want vengeance, or we won’t allow resentment or bitterness in our hearts and minds.

Forgiving others their debts, trespasses is so important because if we don’t, God cannot forgive our debts, trespasses. So, let’s practice forgiving when others hurt us or say bad things to us. It frees us from the past and allows us to move on to our future.

Just a thought,

PSS

The Bible talks about trials, troubles, and temptations. It also says when we experience trials and troubles, we should see it as an opportunity to grow — to mature in our relationship with God, and in how we deal with problems.

Temptations vs Trials:

Now temptations are different from trials or troubles. Temptations come from the inside, while trials come from the outside. The Bible teaches that temptations don’t come from God but from the evil desires that dwell in our hearts and minds. But trials come to us from circumstances, sometimes beyond our control.

Opportunities:

We will all have trials — no one is immune to trials or troubles in life. But how we see them is of vital importance. The Bible teaches we should see them as opportunities to grow and mature as a Christian and as a person.

Catalysts:

Trials will let us know what we are all about, what we really believe. They can tell us what our weak spots are and what our strengths are.

Some think when we face hardships of any kind it’s because God doesn’t care or doesn’t love us. Nothing could be further from the truth. I don’t believe God causes hardships, but if we honor Him and keep His word, they can cause us to become stronger, better in life.

Next time you find yourself in a trial, stay true to God, and look for the solutions and learn from them. See James 1:2-4, 13-14.

Just a thought,

PSS

Jealousy — one of the most hurtful, deceitful things we can allow in our lives.

Inadequacy:

Jealousy is deceitful, causes us to believe things that aren’t true and to want what someone else has. It promotes feelings that somehow we are less than somebody else, or someone else has it better, possesses more, or is better looking/prettier than we are. Jealousy makes us feel inadequate; it makes us want what someone else has. Envy is when we want someone to lose what they have so we can have it.

Wholeness:

The point is, we should not allow feelings of jealousy in our lives. We combat these feelings by learning who we are in Christ, learning and understanding what God’s word says about us. God created us to be whole, and He has a plan for all of us. Sure, some people have it better than we do, have more than we have, are better looking than we are. But that should never cause us to think less of ourselves.

Purpose:

If we ever began to understand that God created us, we would not allow ourselves to ever feel jealous. In fact, jealousy is the cause of so many crimes. It’s unhealthy feelings. The truth is, God created us to serve Him. That is His purpose for every one of us. If we seek Him and remain thankful and grateful to Him, we will walk in compassion and not be concerned with what others look like or have.

So, let’s continue to be grateful to God for who He is and all He has done.

Just a thought,

PSS