Fear is one of those emotions that causes us to be overly safe in our lives. It can be a result of hurt, disappointment, or tragedy. Whatever the cause, it’s not a place where we should camp out. Too many of us spend our lives in fear. We take no chances, and we try to control everything and everyone around us.

Focusing inward:

Fear manipulates us into giving up on others and living a life that only focuses inward. We should strive to live a life that not only improves our lives, but the lives of those around us as well. A life of service and helping others is a life well lived.

Living life to the fullest:

Protecting ourselves from life’s misfortunes and making sure we never get hurt again isn’t living life to the fullest as God intended. When you serve others and pour yourself into it, you’re bound to get hurt from time to time. But isn’t the risk worth it? One day we’ll stand before the only Judge that matters and have to give an account for our lives. What would the Judge say to the one who declares, “Lord, I played it safe and didn’t take any chances. I looked out for only myself and made sure I didn’t risk anything”? How can He judge that?

Trusting God:

It’s all about loving life and trusting God with it. Step out in faith and help others by serving in the kingdom!

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark — professionals built the Titanic.

— Author Unknown

Just a thought,

PSS

When we make mistakes, when we blow it, when we fail — because we all will — we cannot allow these mistakes to define who we are.

Failure is not the end:

Failure is not the end if we are willing to follow Jesus. Life is worth living. We will all blow it from time to time — no one is perfect. When we do, we have hope because of what Jesus did for us.

Don’t go back to failures: 

When we walk with Jesus and then walk away (backslide), we tend to go back to our failure. We tend to go right back and do the things we used to do. We don’t fall back to something new but something we have been delivered from. So, we must be aware of this so we don’t get deceived.

Curve balls come from nowhere:

Life will throw us a curve ball at times. Things come out of nowhere. They catch us off guard and, if it is painful enough, can sidetrack us. We begin to blame God somehow, and when we do, we will go back to our old life. It is sad that if things don’t go the way we want, we will walk away from God. We don’t have to — we choose to.

So, let us all realize as followers of Jesus we will be loyal to Him — our whole. Because of the price He paid for our sins, life is worth living.

Just a thought,

PSS

This past weekend we celebrated what we call Palm Sunday — Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem.

Hail Jesus:

The people were hailing Him as King as He rode a donkey into Jerusalem — celebrating Him, shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” The reason they were celebrating Him is they believed He was coming as a military conqueror — one who would cleanse the temple of Romans — one who would defeat the Roman Empire.

Crucify Him: 

When they realized He was going to set up His kingdom here on earth, when He cleansed the temple of the priests and money changers instead of ridding the Romans, they began to scream, “Crucify Him!” Isn’t this true for many today?

Suffering setbacks:

As long as Jesus does what we want, what we expect, we are hailing Him as King. But once something goes wrong in our life, as soon as we experience pain or a setback, then we start screaming, “It’s unfair,” “God doesn’t love me,” “God, you could have prevented [this thing or that thing].” How sad that we believe things God never said and expect Him to do for us what He never promised. We need to serve Him on our best day and on our worst.

Don’t be part of a fickle crowd. Stand out from the crowd and hail Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords regardless of the circumstances you are experiencing.

Just a thought,

PSS,

A traitor is defined as: a person who betrays a friend, country; one who is not loyal or true to a friend, duty, cause, or belief.

Betrayal for benefit: 

Hopefully, we have never been this person to others and especially not to our Lord. But in this day and age of “me first — it’s all about me,” so many will betray those they call Lord, friend to get what they want or what they believe they deserve.

Betrayal causes pain:

If you have ever experienced the pain of a traitor — someone who has betrayed you, been disloyal to you — you know it doesn’t feel good; it hurts; it’s painful. What to do? Not too long ago I was meditating on different people who I believed betrayed me, were very disloyal — people whom I had helped, gone to bat for, even helped them succeed, was kind to and very patient with; and they began to attack and say things that weren’t true.

Do the right thing: 

As I was thinking about it, I believe the Lord gave me a thought in the form of a question. This is what I heard. The thought was: “If you had known those people were going to act that way or treat you badly, would you still have helped them?” Well, I had to think about that for a couple of days. Finally, I came up with this — that I still would have helped them. Then the thought came to mind, “Let them go then. Don’t worry about them. Release them from your life.” So, I have.

We have a responsibility to do the right thing regardless of what anyone else does — to honor the Lord’s word — that is why God can bless us.

Just a thought,

PSS

Growth is a part of life. Either you are growing or you are not.

Growth is a choice:

It’s your choice, and only your choice, if you want to change your life or some part of it. Here is a thought: O. A. Battista said, “An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.”

Growth is hard work:

We all need to work on some areas of our lives. Sometimes it can be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. There are always areas we can improve. The reason so many do not is that it is hard work. People will say, “It’s no fun — it is hard.” Changing your thinking can be a tough process. In our culture today, it seems as if hard work is a disease, and we have built up an immunity to it. We want everything right now and we expect achieving, growing, and developing will be easy.

Growth is an investment:

Anything worth having will take work. When we work for something, we tend to appreciate it more. When it is given, and requires no effort on our part, we tend not to appreciate or value it as much. Our investment into our own lives helps us to respect the process. I believe there is an area, or areas, in our lives that we need to work on.

Let’s do the Lord’s work and watch the good things that will happen in our lives. Do better. Be better. Live better. You are worth the work!

Just a thought,

PSS