Our level of disappointment is directly proportionate to our level of expectation. We all need to live life with great expectations. But our expectations need to be reasonable ones.

Some of us have unspoken expectations — we expect things from others that were never agreed upon or spoken about. It’s those expectations that get us. We expect something of someone or something that was never discussed. We expect so much from God, even when His word doesn’t say what we expect. When this happens, we get disappointed. Disappointment is defined as: the feeling of sadness or displeasure caused by the nonfulfillment of one’s hopes or expectations.

We really need to govern our expectations with reality — reality of what has been said or agreed to. You will hear people say things such as, “I thought you meant this,” or, “I thought you said this.”

This is especially true when it comes to God. So often people accuse Him of not caring because He didn’t meet their expectation at the time. But what they expected wasn’t based on fact or in their core truth.

Let’s find out what the word of God actually says, then adjust our expectations to what has actually been said or agreed upon. What we will find is that we won’t experience as much disappointment in our lives.

Just a thought,

PSS

This is the season we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. As believers, we need to keep it about that. The actual gifts and the act of giving are fun and okay as long as we recognize the greatest gift ever given to mankind — Jesus the Savior.

I’ve noticed when I go to stores that people are saying, “Happy Holidays” more often, instead of, “Merry Christmas.” The national holiday that we celebrate is called Christmas. I believe the reason for some of this compromise is that we Christians often don’t stand up for our beliefs.

We have been taught for too long that being passive and uninvolved is somehow being godly or being a Christian. It is wrong teaching and very misguided. It’s easier to go along to get along, but that’s not what we are called to do.

This Christmas season I hope we find ourselves in a place where we are proclaiming our Christian beliefs. When you go to the stores, I hope you keep it about Christmas. Let’s make sure we greet people with, “Merry Christmas,” and be proud to celebrate the One who has made a difference in our lives — Jesus.

Just a thought,

PSS

Possessing an attitude of thankfulness and gratitude is something that needs to be developed. I believe we would be much happier and more fulfilled as people if we would learn to be thankful.

Some people are only thankful and grateful to the Lord when things are going well. But when things go badly, then we begin to blame Him — we even begin to accuse Him of not caring about or loving us. How sad. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 28:47-48, Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness of [mind and] heart [in gratitude] for the abundance of all [with which He had blessed you], therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord shall send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and in want of all things; and He will put a yoke of iron upon your neck until He has destroyed you.

Because people did not serve the Lord with joy and gratitude (one translation says, with enthusiasm — that means a spontaneous reaction), then we would live in want. We are to serve Him with joy and gratitude when things are going well and when things are not.

God has given us so much. He has given us life, air to breathe, food to eat, clothing to keep us warm. He has given us eternal life if we choose His way — receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

We have much to be thankful for, so let’s develop an attitude of gratefulness and serve Him with joy.

Just a thought,

PSS

It’s not enough to say, “I’ve heard the Bible taught,” or, “I know what it says.” The question is: Do you understand it? Do you understand it enough to do it — to apply it to your life?

So many say, “I know God!” Really? What they are really saying is, “I know of God.” Those who really know Him are purposing to do what He says. They are purposing to do the word of God — allowing it to affect every area of their lives.

It’s not enough to know about God. The question is: Do you know Him? The only way to know Him is by learning His word. In our society today, the church world is putting less and less importance on knowing the word of God (the Bible) and more and more emphasis on feeling good about oneself. So, in turn, people are putting more and more emphasis on who their friends are and less and less emphasis on learning the word of God.

We must believe the Bible literally. We must! Without the word of God, we wouldn’t have any idea who He is. So many today are moving away from the Bible to a message more culturally relevant to the world.

God’s word is the only thing that can save us from our sins. It is the only thing that can free us from the bondage of sin. It is the word you know that helps you. So, we all must be in a church that preaches the pure word of God, not some watered-down version of it. This is one reason I appreciate the people who attend Legacy Church. They love hearing and doing God’s word.

Just a thought,

PSS

Good communication skills are key to any success in life, work, and relationships. Without effective communication, a message can turn into error, misunderstanding, frustration, or even disaster by being misinterpreted. We assume too much, not asking enough for clarification nor what was meant by what we, or someone else, said.

On the other hand, when communicating a message, we need to be clear and even ask the one we are communicating with what they heard or understood about what we said. Communication is only successful when both the one communicating a message and the one hearing the message understand the same information. How many times have we heard, “Well, I thought you meant this,” or, “I really believed you wanted this done,” etc.? It’s because something wasn’t clear. What was being communicated and what was being heard were not the same.

Clear communication will cause our lives to be less stressful. We need to ask questions. When communicating, we need to be clear, and we must work hard at not assuming anything. Our lives, our world, will be much more peaceful and fruitful if we don’t assume.

Just a thought,

PSS