It's Not What Others Think About You - It's What You Think About Yourself!

Think: To reason and work out in the mind; to visualize

As it is told in Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." It doesn't matter what Jim says, or what Jane says - what's more important is what you think about yourself!

Friends, we must never put ourselves down or criticize ourselves by using words like "I’m so stupid!" or "I'm such an idiot!" These are not just phrases or words - they hold power. As the scripture above says, if we think it, it becomes our reality. So if we think we are stupid, we will eventually become stupid. We must feel good about who we are and what we think about ourselves. Of course, we have to be realistic - we are not perfect and we should not allow pride or arrogance to take over. What I’m saying is that you must love yourself and have a good opinion of yourself - because if you don’t, neither will anyone else!

If it's one thing that I’ve learned in this life, it's that people are going to talk about you! Whether you do something or if you do nothing - folks are going to talk about you! So keep that in mind and don’t let someone else's opinion dictate who you are!

Think about yourself as Jesus thinks of you. After all, He died for us, so He obviously thought we were special and well worth it!

Let's speak positive words about ourselves (and about others to help them on their journey!); words like "I’m blessed and highly favored by the Lord," "I’m an overcomer," "I am fearfully and wonderfully made," and "I carry the DNA of the all might God within me."  

Others can only put you down and cause you to have low self esteem if you allow it! Remember, it’s not what others think about you, it’s what you think about yourself that counts!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen…and AMEN!

Grow in Grace - and in Knowledge!

Grace: Sweetness, Loveliness, Loving kindness.
Knowledge: a knowing, understanding.

Not only does God command us to grow in grace, He provides us with grace. Each day we can come and get a fresh new application of grace and knowledge of Him.

2 Peter 3:18 tells us to "... grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
To him be the glory both now and for ever." Each day we can get sweetness, loveliness, good will and loving-kindness from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. If there is anything we need as Christians, it is to grow in sweetness. You know, at times we can be rude - maybe even hostile! If we aren't mindful of it, we can easily get to the point where it makes us feel good to be sharp-spoken and quick tongued! As you already know, we can't draw people to the Lord when we behave like that! Instead, non-believers look at us and think, "well if that's what being a Christian is, I'm better off not being one!" So remember, while our flesh may love it, God's word tells us to grow in grace, sweetness, and loveliness. Now, I don't mean physical loveliness here, I'm talking about the spiritual beauty of a personality that is lovely and sweet.

I still remember one of the prayers my Grandmother often prayed, "Lord let me grow old and be sweet!" God truly answered her prayer, she lived to be in her nineties and people all around our small town talked about the sweetness of Mother Wade. Just as the Lord did it for her, He will surely do the same for me and you... providing we seek it!

God also provides knowledge. True knowledge includes wisdom and understanding, so as we grow in the knowledge of the Lord, we grow in understanding and wisdom. A lot of misunderstandings and quarrels arise because people lack the spiritual knowledge to understand one another. Many times as a situation or a decision is presented to us, we think/say, "I’ll do this or that; I can’t see anything wrong with it." Well my friends, that’s precisely the problem! We don't have the insight to see what's wrong with a certain action and we don’t know how to handle situations because we haven’t gone to the One who provides true knowledge, wisdom and understanding.

Just as Paul, David, and Joseph came out victoriously in the battles they faced, we can do the same - IF we grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

Wait, I Say On The Lord!

Wait: to stay in place, in expectation of

We are in this microwave generation where we want things to happen right now, some of us live our life in a hurry, because we want what we want right now. The word says in Psalms 27:14. "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord." The Lord is all knowing, all seeing, and everywhere all at the same time, so if we would just learn to wait, He has us right in the palm of His hand and He has every situation in control.    

For instance, if we’ve asked the Lord for a mate, then we don't need to run out there and try to find one. We just need to wait patiently on the Lord. We have to take on the nature of Isaac. He was so confident in the Lord that he went out and meditated on exactly what kind of wife he wanted. The servant of Abraham went into the country where Abraham’s kindred were to find Isaac a wife. Isaac had learned how to wait and had total confidence in the Lord. Abraham’s servant laid out a fleece before the Lord. He said, when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, I will say to her "give me I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink" and she say to me, both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman who the Lord hath appointed out for my master’s son. And before I had done speaking in my heart: behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder: and she went down into the well and drew water: And I said unto her, let me draw, I pray thee. And she made haste and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, drink and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also" (Genesis 24:43-46).

Can you see how good it is to simply wait on the Lord? The Lord loves us, He wants us to be of good faith, good courage and to wait in expectation on Him. I can assure you that if you will do that, then He won't let you down. He knows how to answer our prayers - we don't even have to lift a hand - we just have to meditate on what we want and He will bring it to us, just as he did for Issac!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen... and AMEN!

Have An Attitude of Gratitude!

When I read this it blessed my heart, so I wanted to share it with my friends and I pray that it blesses you as much as it blessed me.

A preacher was driving home one night with his wife and two daughters in the car. It was raining and dark and because of the intensity of the rain he could hardly see past his headlights. On the way he had to drive over a huge bridge. There were signs posted all along the bridge that said, "Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers." There was an institution for the criminally insane near the base of the bridge and sometimes people would escape from it and try to hitch a ride. On this particular night, as he turned his car on to the bridge, he had to drive exceptionally slow because he could hardly see the road. Somewhere near the top of the bridge, a man suddenly appeared in the headlights. He was soaked, standing in the middle of the road with his shirt off frantically waving it over his head and screaming.

This preacher's wife began to say, "Oh please don't stop, try to drive around him!" But the man was unavoidable and there was nowhere for the car to go to miss him. So he had to stop the car and as soon as he did, the man slapped his hand down on the hood of the car and was screaming at the top of his lungs. The preacher looked over at his wife and told her to lock the door after him and not to unlock it until he returned. He opened the door and stepped outside... He was immediately soaked from the rain. As he approached the front of the car to grab the man, all of a sudden he could make out what the man was screaming, "THE BRIDGE IS OUT!" THE BRIDGE IS OUT! A BUS LOAD OF KIDS JUST WENT OVER!" As these words registered in the pastor's mind, he looked back at the car with his wife and two daughters inside. He wrapped his arms around the man and wept in gratitude. To help spread the word - and save lives - the preacher stood there with the man for the next half-hour in the middle of the road, waving his jacket above his head screaming, "THE BRIDGE IS OUT!" THE BRIDGE IS OUT!

For a lost and a dying world, "THE BRIDGE IS OUT!" For a people heading toward a Christless Eternity, "THE BRIDGE IS OUT!" Where are the men and the women who will stand in the middle of the road and forbid people to perish. Hell has opened its mouth wide and many people are speeding into it. Where are those who will stand in the gap, on the street, on the highways and on the byways to forbid multitudes with the gospel of Jesus Christ from going to such a horrible place place? SPREAD THE GOSPEL!

With all that said, let the church say Amen... and AMEN!

Our Life Preaches a Sermon!

 Sermon: A message

Our life preaches a sermon, regardless of what we are or what we pretend to be. Someone is always watching - especially if we are proclaiming Christianity. There is always someone in the background waiting and watching to see how we are going to handle the different challenges that we face every day. What they want to see is if we are going to talk the talk and walk the walk. One way or the other our life is going to preach a sermon!

Have you ever considered that you and I are the only Bible some people will ever read? Therefore we have a responsibility to be living epistle, which everyone can clearly read (II Corinthians 3:2). There should be something distinctive in the life of God’s people that makes them stand out to the world. After all, the word tell us in 1 Peter 2:9 (Amplified): "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, (God’s) own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." You see, our lives should be preaching a message of light and should be a witness to people that God is real.

It doesn’t matter if we are the Preacher, the Sunday school teacher, the choir director or a member of the congregation - our life is going to send a message - whether that message is favorable or unfavorable is up to us and the decisions we make. Keep in mind, we must lead by example. If we are living according to the word, our message will be favorable. However, if we are "holy" in Church, but live a completely different life outside of Church, well, that’s unfavorable, if we are not sending or setting a good message out for the people around us, they may never say anything to you, but they will surely share it with others, and of course - God sees it all.

Remember, the Lord loves us and He wants to give us everything that we need. He gets great pleasure when our lives are preaching a message about Him and His love. As I said, we may be the only Bible some will ever read, so we want our lives to always line up with the word of God!

With all that said, let the Church say Amen and… AMEN!