As we ask Jesus to be Lord of our lives and repent of our sins, it needs to be a heart change.

Behavior modification:

So many of us want to make changes in our lives because it is the right thing to do. It lasts for a few weeks or even months, but then we end up going right back to where we started. God doesn’t want behavior modification. He wants a life transformed from the heart — true repentance! But what happens to way too many of us is that we change some of our behavior but never get to the root of the issue.

New birth:

We really need to understand the new birth. Being born again, saved, doesn’t mean changing only some of our behavior. It means we truly believe in God and His word, and we want to change our lives from the inside out, not outside in. It’s why we do what we do — I’m changing because I believe in God and His word, and He gives me the help I need by His Holy Spirit and His holy word — not just out of duty or because it’s the right thing to do.

We must really have a desire to follow Christ and do what He asks us to do. Truly respect and revere Him. This will make all the difference in and to our world.

Just a thought,

PSS

Discouragement — growing weary in well doing — is a huge issue for so many.

Fight:  

The Bible says in Galatians 6:9 — Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. As believers we can get overwhelmed with the Christian life. We look and think, There is so much work to be done. There is a constant struggle between our flesh and the Spirit. Our flesh wants to go one way, while our spirit, if we are born again, wants to do something else. So, it’s a fight to do good, especially when we don’t believe it’s making a difference or we think, No one really cares about me. 

Rest:

We all need to check ourselves from time to time. Sometimes we just get tired. We don’t rest properly. We need to get our rest, and at the same time do the will of God. If we do, God says we will reap a harvest at the appointed time — a harvest of good.

Serve:

We help others, and He helps us. So, He says, Don’t grow weary. Don’t be discouraged; never get tired of serving God and others. It can be difficult at times because this world is so wicked, and the culture is ungodly. If we allow ourselves, we can think what we do for God doesn’t matter, doesn’t make a difference.

The truth is: everything we do for God, for the kingdom, matters. That’s why Paul says, If you do not grow weary, you will reap a harvest at the right time.

Just a thought,

PSS

Every one of us has a pain threshold. That pain threshold is the thing that can limit our lives. When something costs you too much, it seems too hard, the sacrifice is too great, that’s your pain threshold. We will never rise above it. We can never go beyond our pain threshold.

Life is not fair:

The Bible teaches that, while we are on this earth, we will experience trials and tribulations. In other words, we will all experience stuff that is not good and not fair. Our ability to process these things will determine the level of success each one of us will have.

Rejection:

Life is not always fair, and it’s not always going to be easy. Steve Jobs was rejected by more than 20 venture capitalists before one said yes. Thank God his pain threshold wasn’t 19. After 19 rejections, I am done. No, he wasn’t going to quit. His pain threshold was high enough that he could handle 20 rejections, and probably more than that.

No pain, no gain:

See, none of us will ever rise above our pain threshold. Some of us have very minimal pain thresholds. The first sign of a setback, and we quit. That’s why we won’t experience the success we seek. It’s not because of someone else: it’s because of us. The good news is: we can work on our ability to handle pain, setbacks, problems, and issues, by recognizing our attitude during times of trials, then beginning to grow in that area.

Learn to persevere and keep going, no matter what. Learn to endure as a good soldier, realizing setbacks and delays don’t mean we can’t — they are merely obstacles to overcome. Food for thought.

Just a thought,

PSS

Shortcuts can cause us lots of pain, and successful people avoid the trap of taking shortcuts.

Selfish or selfless?

At times, taking shortcuts is a sign of being lazy or not thinking of anyone else but ourselves. In order to be successful people, we should purpose to do things right. For example, when going to a grocery store and wheeling the basket to unload into our cars, do we take the extra moment to put the shopping cart back into the bin, or do we just leave it out? Do we purpose to leave each person, each place, better than when we found it?

Faithful in little, faithful in much:

See, how we do the small things is a reflection of how we do the big things. Going into a public bathroom and seeing toilet paper all over the floor, and pee all over the seat, I often think, What kind of people do this, leave there, knowing someone else will be using it? It always annoys me.

Do right or do over?

Here is what I know: successful people think of others and understand that taking shortcuts will cost us in the long run. Doing things right, even if it takes us a little longer, will be better for us and save us time in the future. Doing things right just means giving a little more effort. Let’s not be the person always looking to cut corners, always looking for loopholes to justify our actions. There seems to be a good excuse for almost anything we do. But it is not worth it.

Let’s learn to be more successful by doing things right — taking a little extra time to think about others as well as ourselves.

Just a thought,

PSS

We must all contend for the faith, defend the faith (Jude 3-4). If we don’t, we will lose the freedom to worship our God the way He desires to be worshipped.

Love your neighbor:

We hear some people saying things like, Loving our neighbor is taking a shot, wearing a mask, listening to authorities — that somehow during a pandemic we show the love of God toward others by not contending for our rights which God gave us. But somehow, according to them, loving people means to violate the scriptures, and loving God and His word first is not good or loving.

Love God:

It is not more important to love our neighbors at the expense of loving God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. God is first, always first. And in loving Him, serving Him, we all must contend for the faith. Saying nothing, doing nothing, is the same as saying, I really don’t believe in the word of God. We need to get back to rightly dividing the word of truth. It is not ungodly or wrong to stand up for our freedoms and rights: it is wrong not to. These weak, passive, so-called preachers are soft and wrong. Don’t listen to them!

Flee false teaching:

Loving our neighbors as ourselves has nothing to do with giving up our rights and freedom so we can be a witness to them. Some of these guys have even preached that some won’t come to the Church because we didn’t submit to evil and listen to the authorities who have been proven wrong on how they handled the so-called pandemic. I contend that people don’t come because they don’t know what the Church stands for. Weakness in the pulpits of America is the reason people don’t come to church. These false teachers should never be listened to. They are wrong.

Contend for the faith. Stand up for righteousness.

Just a thought,

PSS