People really don’t just rise to the occasion. You will always fail or fall to the level of your preparation. This means you cannot — will not — rise above your preparation.

Prepare for success: 

Prepare is defined as: make something ready for use or consideration. We must constantly be preparing ourselves for whatever it is we are dealing with in life. Lack of preparation is the thing that causes people to fail. If you prepare properly, it will give you the best opportunity to succeed.

Give yourself a chance:

If you are going to run a marathon, you must prepare beforehand to succeed. You will have to begin to run a certain amount of miles a day to prepare to run the marathon. Lack of preparation will guarantee you failure. But if you put in the work, you will finish the marathon.

If you don’t properly study for the test, you will probably flunk it. If you study properly for the test, you will give yourself a chance to do well on it.

Overcome by the word of God:

When life hits you, and negative circumstances attack your life and cause you pain, if you have studied the word of God and placed it in your heart, you will overcome. You will not fall but grow and develop and become stronger. You will not quit or give up. You will come out on top. Why? — because you prepared for it.

Just a thought,

PSS

As our society deteriorates, we must know what we believe and why we believe it.

The truth frees us:

The truth is what sets us free — only the truth. When we speak of the truth, we are talking about the word of God. Truth exposes the lies and deception of this world. The world doesn’t want absolute truth. They want truth that constantly changes with the whims of man’s fancy.

Sin destroys us:

The culture is constantly changing. What is acceptable today wasn’t acceptable yesterday. This is the very reason our cities, states, and people are so messed up.

Sin always destroys — it never produces a good result. The reason society is so messed up is that society, as a whole, has moved further and further away from God. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12).

God’s word exposes deception:

We must cling to the word of God and seek God each and every day so we don’t get caught up with the deception of the world. Only God can help mankind — only when we repent and come back to Him, His ways, and His teachings, and be doers of them.

Let’s all pray that God opens the eyes of our understanding so that we will know and recognize the truth and never walk in deception. 

Just a thought, 

PSS

Cultivating Godly Desires

God gives us the desires of our hearts. Really, I mean He actually places the desires in us, to do or become what it is we desire to do.

Good desires are God-given:

Desire is defined as: a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. I think people, at times, believe that a desire just shows up. But I believe God places those desires in us. Then we have to work on cultivating those desires — by going to school, or reading materials so we can understand our subject.

Godly desires must be fed:

Jim Rohn said, “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.” If you have a desire to do something, you must pursue it. If you don’t, that desire will begin to fade. We have to feed our desires — the good ones anyway. We must starve the bad ones. So, we keep our desires alive by passionately pursuing them, feeding them.

Passionately pursue godly desires:

When I first started pastoring, I realized early on that I didn’t know how to lead. So, I began going to conferences, reading books, and listening to tapes — all on leadership. I knew I had to grow. There was a desire in me to learn. So, I began to learn, and today I am still on that journey.

Let’s passionately pursue the desires that God has placed in our hearts and minds. What you will discover is that you will accomplish so much more in life.

Just a thought,

PSS

Are you a friend of God or are you a frenemy of God? Frenemy is defined as: an enemy disguised as a friend. So, if we are friends of the world, then we are enemies of God.

A transformed lifestyle:

So many profess to be Christians (which means Christlike) but they don’t live as if they are. They say they believe in God and the Bible, but their lifestyle says differently. We disguise ourselves as God’s friends, but in reality we are not. Our life, lifestyle, has not been altered or transformed by God’s word to live according to His ways — His standard of conduct. The only one we are really fooling is ourself.

The world will hate you:

You cannot be God’s friend and disagree with His word. You cannot be God’s friend and expect the world — the lost, the ungodly — to like you. If you live for God and practice His word, the world will hate you. They won’t like you or what you stand for. Jesus said if you truly follow Him, the world will hate you (John 15:18, 19).

Live according to the word of God:

Listen, if you have never been criticized for your faith, it’s probably because you are not living according to the word of God — probably not taking any stands the Bible says we should take. So, we must act out our faith and believe what God’s word says and act on it. The world — its systems, its ways — is not God’s ways. Let’s purpose to live according to the word of God and not ever have to live in a disguise. I don’t want to be a frenemy — I want to be God’s friend.

Just a thought,

PSS

Words are very powerful. What you say does matter. What you say and don’t say are both important. We need to learn to control our speech.

Right words and right time:

We must not only say the right words at the right time, but also not say what we shouldn’t. If we control our tongues — our words — we can control our lives. Words can heal or hurt. They can give hope or discourage. Words can build up or tear down. So we need to learn to speak them wisely.

Our words give us away:

They let others know who we are and what type of person we are. So, it behooves us to learn to control what comes out of our mouths. Proverbs 18:21— Death and life are in the power of the tongue. We speak life or death. It’s always our choice. We bless with our words and we curse with our words. What is coming out of your mouth? See, what comes out of our mouths reveals what is in our hearts.

Heart change is a must: 

So, in order to get control of our tongues (words), we must experience a heart change. That can only happen when we pray and ask God by His Holy Spirit to change our hearts. This happens when we are born again. The Bible teaches us we must believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus (Romans 10:9-10). So what is it going to be? If you are tired of where you are in life, change what you are saying. Speak life — words God can perform.

Just a thought,

PSS