I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I’m looking forward to a fantastic 2012. As the New Year approaches, I want to encourage you to act on God’s Word, and to exercise your faith. I’ve learned from experience that it’s difficult to walk in faith without courage.  Courage defined is: doing what you are afraid of, or doing what you fear. We should overcome fear, especially when it concerns God. Those are the “what-if” fears. What if it doesn’t work? What if I fail? What if I make a fool of myself? No matter your “what-if” is, you need courage to overcome it. When that happens, courage becomes confidence, and that will cause you to keep acting on the Word, regardless of your circumstance. God is real and we can become overcomers. Stay encouraged everyday of your life. Remember: Be strong and of good courage!! (Joshua 1:6) Happy New Year!!

Just a Thought,

PSS

Legacychurch.com

It is that time of year again where we talk about Santa Claus, exchanging gifts, gathering with friends and family and eating lots of turkey. In reality, Christmas is about a risen Savior who came and gave His life for us so we could live life to the fullest. Let me encourage you to keep the focus on its original intent: Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Here’s a few ways we can keep “Christ” in Christmas:

• Be kind and considerate to people.   
• Let them know that there is a hope, and life is worth living if we do it God’s way.
• There is absolute truth, and as Christians, we believe the Bible to be absolutely true.

Isn’t it amazing that we live in a day of “tolerance” and yet, the same people who accuse us of being “intolerant” are, in fact, intolerant themselves when it comes to our beliefs? These same folks want to get Christmas day off from work and give / receive gifts but don’t want to acknowledge the Savior of the world.  Let me urge you to remember Jesus as the real reason for the season.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Legacychurch.com

In our society, we are witnessing more and more acts of violence without showing any remorse whatsoever, which begs the question, “How can someone do this?’ Today’s society has long since abandoned the written Word of God and as a result, the conscience has been affected negatively. It becomes hard and callused and left without the ability to feel regret. When this happens, people begin to act like animals living with no moral compass to do what’s right. We must never allow our hearts to be hardened. One way we can do this is to obey truth and not to give in to sin. Here are three steps to keeping our conscience pure and clean:

• We have to make a clear decision to place the Word of God as our standard for living.  
• We should be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
• Confession and repentance act as detergent to clean our conscience (Hebrews 9:14, I John 1:9) so that we can live according to the Word of God.  

Our conscience should be pliable, teachable and sensitive to the principles found in God’s Word. In doing so, we develop a pretty good guide to what is right and wrong, both morally and ethically.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Legacychurch.com

Have you ever given thought about submitting to authority or honoring those who have authority over you? Those who follow Christ must be people who submit to His authority. Authority means listening to what your superior says, and carrying out those orders. How we submit to the authority God has placed in our lives and how we execute the authority given to us will determine how God uses us. The best way to properly submit to earthly authority is to learn how to submit to Heavenly authority. Peace and safety are found in obeying God's Word and acknowledging Him as the supreme authority in our lives. Here are three benefits to submitting to authority:

• It pleases God and His Word commands it.
• Protection. There are many rewards for good behavior. For example, obeying driving laws protects people from taking lives.
• God-given authority is one of the best sources for direction. People who reject wisdom often begin behavior that is destructive.

Jesus was the ultimate example of submission and authority. Those who learn humility and service are prime candidates for leadership, so let's learn to excel in this area.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Legacychurch.com

Relationships are a very vital part of our existence. Having good relationships can be the difference between being optimistic and being discouraged about life. So, we should take an active approach to working on them.

Today, marriages are failing at an unprecedented rate for various reasons. One of those reasons is that we never learn how to love our spouse in the way they feel love. We tend to love someone the way we feel love. The problem with this is that the only one we are pleasing is ourselves. We must learn what blesses and pleases or makes them happy. Here are a few tips:

• Take the time to know what blesses your spouse. Notice the little things.
• Make an effort to ensure that what blesses them actually takes place. Don’t just make it “wishful thinking”.
• Persevere. Make it an ongoing thing by being consistent.  Keep at it, even if they don’t notice at first.