As the new year begins, I want to describe true discipleship. Most people think that just saying a prayer asking Jesus to be Lord of your life is enough. They tell people that if they get saved, they won’t have any issues — that Jesus will take care of them all. He does everything and we do nothing. This is simply not true.

Follow Him:

True discipleship is believing and confessing Jesus as Lord, with a desire to follow Him. Then and only then are you a true disciple. God called us to be disciples, not pray a prayer then live the exact same way. John 8:12: Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Follow: to do what He does, do what He says; to follow closely behind.

Do what He says:

This is what the born-again experience is. It’s believing in Jesus and doing what He says. We know what He says because we have the Bible, the word of God.

Don’t be deceived:

Don’t be deceived; God will not be mocked: whatever a man sows, that and that only he will reap. We must purpose to be doers of God’s word in order to be His disciple. A follower of Christ is not one who just talks a good game, but one who purposes to obey God’s word.

Just a thought,

PSS

There are moments which occur in our lives that are significant, that shape who we are. They can change the course of our lives.

Bad moments:

Some days in life are better than other days. There are moments in our lives which are more significant than others. I don’t know about you but as I reflect back on my life, there are moments I regret, moments I wish never would have happened. Moments that became struggles in my life. Moments that caused me to think wrong.

Good moments:

But then there are those moments that have affected my life in a good way. The day I married my wife. The day I got my job at UPS. Having my children. When I was in full-time ministry. All great moments.

The greatest moment:

But the greatest moment of my life was receiving Jesus as my Lord and Savior. The day He saved me, it changed my life forever. Even though I’ve made mistakes and experienced bad judgment, I have never stopped seeking Him. Repenting and seeking His forgiveness. Working on the results of the bad moments in my life and the issues they have caused. Learning to forgive myself. Learning that God is so merciful and long-suffering. Realizing that He can cause even the bad moments to turn around for my good.

As we end 2017 and enter 2018, let’s be more committed than we have ever been, more faithful than we have ever been. Then we will see what God can do.

Just a thought.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,

PSS

Jesus Is The Reason

Tis the season — the kids are out of school, time off at work, a time for family and friends, a time for giving and receiving gifts. Really, that is not the reason.

Honor the Lord:

This season is a time to honor the birth of our Lord and Savior, a time to be thankful to God that He loved us enough to send His only Son to die for us that we might be saved. Christmas has been turned into a materialistic time of year, instead of a time to honor God and Jesus for His sacrifice.

Prioritize: do not compromise:

It’s amazing to me how so many will say, “I’m believing my family and friends will be saved.” But when we have an opportunity to really witness to them, at times we don’t take it. For example, family comes into town for the Christmas season, and we make it all about them. We will skip church, because we don’t want to leave them alone, instead of saying, “We honor God and we are going to church, and if you would like to come with us, that would be great.”

God first:

If they don’t want to come, by your going and letting them know you will be back later, it lets them know that in your life God comes first — no matter what. They may not like it, but the witness you put before them is one that says, “We love you but we love God more.” That is a much better witness than saying to them in your actions, “God can wait — family and friends are more important to me than He is.” Be the witness God wants you to be by putting Him first and letting others know, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord — first!”

Tis the season to celebrate our Lord Jesus’ birth.

Merry Christmas,

PSS

“Words can inspire and words can destroy. Choose yours well.”                                                                                        

• Robin Sharma

Blessing or cursing:

You either bless with your words or you curse with them, abuse others with them or speak well of others. The tongue is a hard thing to master, but if we work on it, we can get better, have more control over it. Pick your words carefully — they reveal your thoughts and determine your actions.

Death or life:

The Bible says death and life are in the power of the tongue. We should strive to use our words for life: to lift others up, not put them down; to protect, not to gossip and destroy. Words that have been spoken over you that you began believing can inspire you or discourage you — the ones that hurt and make you feel less than who you truly are, controlling you if you allow them to. You have to come against them in the name of Jesus and ask God to help you break them off your life.

God’s word:

Stop believing words that were meant to curse you, and begin believing the word of God — that you are someone precious to Him; your life matters and He has a plan for your life that is good. We tend to believe the negative about ourselves and even use our own words to confirm our belief system, instead of using God’s word to change our lives, by saying what He says about us and believing Him.

“Life has no remote … get up and change it yourself.”

                                                                                   — Mark Cooper

It’s up to you — change your words, change your life and the life of others around you and of those whom you care about.

Just a thought,

PSS

If there is one thing we all need to realize, it is to Master our thoughts — Master our lives.

The progression:

Our thought life will determine our future. Thoughts become words — words become actions — actions become habits — our habits determine our future. It all begins with our thought life. Change that and we change our lives.

The pondering:

We have to think about what we think about. Are you negative all the time? Do you worry all the time? Are you consumed with material possessions? Or are you positive and peaceful? Do you think about making an eternal difference? When you give, desire to help others, especially to know Christ. Are your thought habits working against you? If they are, the good news is you can do something about it by thinking about what you think about.

The power:

Romans 12:2 — Don’t copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. We can change what we think about, which turns into words we say, then our actions.

Let’s put a guard on our thought life and begin to think about whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and good; then we will see noticeable changes in our lives.

Just a thought,

PSS