Are you pursuing things like power, influence, wealth, or possessions? The Bible says in I Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (NLT). As a matter of fact, the Amplified version says, “Many acute (mental) pangs.” By pursuing the things of this world, you will always be in a competition and eventually find yourself on the losing end, resulting in pain and sorrow.

As Christians, we are told in I Timothy 6:11, to pursue godliness among other things. Godliness is devotion to live by God’s laws and a desire to please Him by living our lives according to the Word of God. Essentially, godliness is how much you reflect the character of God. As Jerry Bridges said, “Godliness is more than Christian character. It covers the totality of the Christian life and provides the foundation upon which Christian character is built.” He also said, “Godliness is a personal attitude toward God that results in actions that are pleasing to God.”

Ultimately, your level of happiness will be determined by what you pursue in life. I Timothy 4:8 says, “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come” (NLT). As we pursue godliness, by learning about God and by being a doer of His Word, we will live happier and more fulfilled lives.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Have you ever heard someone say, “This is just the way I am,” or, “God made me this way?” What about, “God made me this way so there is nothing I can do. After all, if God made me this way, who am I to question Him?” But the truth is, in order to avoid facing the reality that they need to change, people say things like this because they think they have permission to ignore God’s Word.

Someone once said, “Resistance can prove fatal if the resistance is against desperately needed changes in your life.” If you are born with a physical disability, I get it. But if you are referring to things like being rude, arrogant, or mean, or even one’s sexuality, there is no excuse. Deliberately going against God’s Word and His design for His creation, cannot be justified. Even working to find someone to blame for the way you are, is an attempt to relieve yourself from personal responsibility.

We need to realize there is always room for improvement; we can always do better and be better. God never created us or designed us to go to hell. In truth, He created each of us to have a personal relationship with Him. By accepting Him and His ways, we are given the privilege to spend eternity with Him. Read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, and don’t buy into the lie that you don’t have to or can’t change.

We are all a work in progress and we can work to change our ways, our thoughts, and our behavior to do better, be better and live better.

Just a Thought,

PSS

According to Henry Cloud, “We change our behavior when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. Consequences give us the pain that motivates us to change.” This prompting to change, brings us into the boundaries God established for our lives. With that in mind, boundaries are defined as unofficial rules about what should not be done; limits that define acceptable behavior. Boundaries define for us, what is acceptable and what is not.

At times, people see boundaries as restrictive, but those of us who understand God’s Word and have the desire to grow and be successful, see them as liberating, even necessary. Without boundaries, anything goes. The Bible teaches, without a vision the people run wild (Proverbs 29:18). If we don’t know where we are going and for what purpose, how will we ever know when we arrive? How will we know what to accomplish?

In my experience, I have found that many people fail to establish boundaries for their lives, resulting in a lack of control and disorder. For instance, the person without direction or discipline to accomplish goals in life, merely exists, waiting to get lucky and hoping something good will happen in their life. In comparison, the person with boundaries, or a set of do’s and don’ts, are more successful and accomplish more. Furthermore, boundaries also keep us from being over extended or spending more money than we have, helping us cultivate healthier habits and improving our ability to make better decisions.

Boundaries aren’t restrictive, they are liberating and will help us to live a more productive and fruitful life. Once boundaries are set, they will free us to live the life God has in store for us, but the choice to change is yours. As Shannon Alder stated, “The only real conflict you will ever have in your life won’t be with others, but with yourself.” Words are cheap, having boundaries requires action.

Just a Thought,

PSS

You may have heard the phrase, hurting people, hurt people. There is so much brokenness in this world, and there are so many hurting people in the world today. It is well known that those who have been emotionally damaged, tend to inflict their hurt on others. People who have suffered abuse, at times become abusers themselves. Those who have suffered under an alcoholic parent often themselves cause their future family to suffer, because they become alcoholics.

Because of this pain, ordinary words are often misinterpreted to mean something negative towards them. Have you ever met someone who was overly sensitive? That no matter what you say, they seem to take it wrong. They are extremely sensitive and act out of pain and fear, instead of reality. This emotional pain causes them to suspect wrong motives behind others’ actions toward them. That hurt causes them to use the words "unfair" or "unjust" to describe the way they are being treated, even if there is no truth to it. Hurt can cause paranoia; it’s very deceptive. This is why hurting people, hurt people. We allow that hurt to destroy our lives. No wonder Jesus came to heal the broken hearted. Hurt causes so much pain to the person who has been hurt and to those around them. If you have experienced hurt, God often exposes it, so that He can heal it. Instead of hiding it, begin to deal with and ask God to heal it, so that you can live a more peaceful and fulfilled life.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Real life change is something that we can see in our lives. As we have just celebrated Easter, or resurrection day, we are reminded of the day Jesus rose from the dead to save our lives. It was for a purpose, so that you and I could experience life change. When we receive Jesus into our lives, He gives us eternal life. The human spirit, the part God breathed into man when He created him, is eternal because God is eternal. That means we will live forever either in heaven or hell. The greatest news is that it's your choice where you spend forever. You get to decide. No one else can decide for you, no one. It’s all in your hands to decide either to receive and then to follow Jesus, or to say no and don’t follow him. There is no in between, either you are all in or you are not. There is no half way in, either He is Lord of all or He is not Lord at all. He didn’t die so that you and I could play games. He died to give you and I life and that life to the fullest. So many are playing with fire by ignoring His commands, His Word, and His teaching. As the world gets worse and worse, as this age comes to a close, as Jesus’ return hastens, we need to decide whose team we are on, team Jesus or team world. You can’t be on both, either we are with Him or we are not. My prayer is that you choose team Jesus and get serious about following Him. Go to church, begin serving, and start tithing. You can’t follow Jesus by making up your own rules for living your life. You follow Him by honoring and obeying His Word. Read Romans 10:9-10 and then pray and ask Jesus to save you. Confess Him as Lord of your life and experience real life change.

Just a Thought,

PSS