Every day thousands of thoughts come to our minds—some good, and some bad. In order for us to stay positive and healthy, we must focus on the good thoughts and let go of the bad ones. It's always such a temptation to hold on to the bad thoughts. Our minds have had so much practice operating freely that it seems we don't have to use any effort at all to think wrong or negative thoughts. The effort comes in learning to think positive thoughts.
Positive minds produce positive lives. The opposite is also true: Negative minds produce negative lives. Positive thoughts are always full of faith and hope. Negative thoughts are always full of fear and doubt, which can ultimately destroy your life. It can be very difficult to switch your way of thinking. Some people are afraid to hope because they have been hurt so much in life. They have had so many disappointments that they don't think they can face the pain of another let down. Therefore, they refuse to hope so they won't be disappointed. Battles are fought in our minds every day. When we begin to feel that the battle of the mind is just too difficult and we are about to give up, that's when we must choose to resist negative thoughts and determine that we are going to rise above our problems and succeed. We must decide that we are not going to quit. When we are bombarded with doubts and fears, we must take a stand and say: "I will never give up! God is on my side, He loves me, and He is helping me! I am going to make it!" No matter how bad the battle rages in your mind, don't give up! You must step out and regain the territory that has been stolen from you through negative thinking. Regain it one inch at a time, if necessary, always leaning on God's grace and not upon your own ability to get the desired results. In Galatians 6:9 the Apostle Paul simply encourages us to keep on keeping on! Don't be a quitter! Don't have that old "give up" spirit. God is looking for people who will find the courage to rise above all the negative and pursue the positive. Whatever you may be facing or experiencing right now in your life, I want to encourage you to stay positive and refuse to give up! God will be with you, and He will help you make spiritual progress—strengthening and encouraging you to "keep on keeping on" in the rough times. It's easy to quit—but it takes faith to press on through to victory. When the battle seems endless and you think you'll never make it, remember that you are reprogramming a "worldly" mind to think as God thinks. In the same way that computers are programmed, our minds are programmed. From the time we are born, our minds are like computers that have had a lifetime of garbage programmed into them. But God, who is the best "computer programmer" around, is working on us everyday to reprogram our minds. As we cooperate with Him and allow Him to help us control our thoughts, He will "renew" our minds. This process of reprogramming or renewing our minds will take place little by little, so don't be discouraged if progress seems slow. Don't get down when you have setbacks or bad days. Just get back up, dust yourself off and start again. When a baby is learning to walk, he falls many, many times before he develops the ability to walk without falling. However, the baby is persistent. He may cry for a while after he falls down, but he always gets right back up and tries again. Learning to change our thinking works the same way. There will be days when we don't do everything right—days when our thinking is negative. But never stop trying. God is gradually bringing us around to His way of thinking. Just don't give up! Sometimes we wonder, "What did I do to deserve this?" or "Why did God have to do this to me?" Here is a wonderful explanation! A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, "Absolutely Mom, I love your cake." "Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers. "Yuck" says her daughter. "How about a couple raw eggs?" "Gross, Mom!" "Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?" "Mom, those are all yucky!" To which the mother replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful! God is crazy about you. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance. Matthew 7:12
'So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you!' - We live in a world of selfishness and self-focus. - But our Saviour calls us to be different and to have an outward focus. - It is as we forget ourselves that we do things that are remembered. - So be determined that you will be a blessing to others. PRAYER: Lord, may my life be a tool in Your hand so that others can be touched, helped and strengthened because of the fact that You live within me. Amen. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”(Romans 12:21, NIV)
The scripture says, “We overcome evil with good.” In other words, when somebody’s rude or inconsiderate, don’t sink down to their level. Don’t be rude and inconsiderate back to them. No, if you going to rise higher, if you are going to overcome, you have to do just the opposite. You have to show kindness, grace and mercy. It isn’t always easy; in fact, it’s almost never easy. It takes a lot of humility to treat someone with respect who is disrespecting you. But do you know what happens when you walk in humility? God gives you His grace. He empowers you to walk in His goodness. Scripture plainly says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Today, walk humbly with God and overcome evil with good. Show mercy and sow mercy. Receive His grace, receive His power, and receive His strength to be everything He’s called you to be. Father, thank You for the grace to overcome in this life. I choose Your goodness. I choose Your ways. Help me to show Your love and walk in peace in every circumstance in Jesus’ name. Amen. “For not from the east nor from the west nor from the south come promotion and lifting up. But God is the Judge! He puts down one and lifts up another.”(Psalm 75:6–7, AMP)
Have you ever noticed that people tend to act differently around those they think can do something for them — people who appear to have status, wealth or influence in life? I believe that the way we treat people is a test. At times, God will bring people across your path that may seem insignificant. They may not appear to be able to do anything for you, but in reality, they are divinely linked to your destiny. They hold the key to your promotion and increase. Will you treat them with respect and honor even if you think they can’t do anything for you? The truth is, the people that we’re playing up to or trying to win their favor may be the ones that will open a door for us. But, they don’t hold the key to your destiny. Promotion doesn’t come from them. Promotion comes from God. And God will use the most unlikely people to open doors of opportunity for you — a hotel bellman, a maid, an intern, or an unpopular kid at school. Let’s pass the test and treat everyone like Jesus put them in our path because He probably did. Remember, God is watching and promotion comes from Him. Father, thank You for promotion. Thank You for ordering my steps and leading me on the right path. Today I choose to honor and respect everyone, and in turn, I choose to honor You in Jesus’ name. Amen. You perhaps recall the story of the blacksmith who gave his heart to Jesus.
Though living a more Godly life, still he was not prospering materially. In fact, it seems that from the time of his conversion more trouble, affliction and loss were sustained than ever before. Everything seemed to be going wrong. One day a friend who was not a Christian stopped by to talk to him awhile. Sympathizing with him in some of his trials, the friend said "It seems strange to me that so much affliction should pass over you just at the time when you have become an earnest Christian. Of course, I don't want to weaken your faith in God or anything like that. But here you are, with God's help and guidance, and yet things seem to be getting steadily worse. I can't help wondering why that is." The blacksmith did not answer immediately, and it was evident that he had thought the same question before. But finally, he said, "You see here the raw iron which I have to make into horse's shoes. You know what I do with it? I take a piece and heat it in the fire until it is red, almost white with the heat. Then I hammer it unmercifully to shape it as I know it should be shaped. Then I plunge it into a pail of cold water to temper it. Then I heat it again and hammer it some more. And this I do until it is finished." "But sometimes I find a piece of iron that won't stand up under this treatment. The heat and the hammering and the cold water are too much for it. I don't know why it fails in the process, but I know it will never make a good horse's shoe." He pointed to a heap of scrap iron that was near the door of his shop. "When I get a piece that cannot take the shape and temper, I throw it out on the scrap heap. It will never be good for anything." He went on,"I know that God has been holding me in the fires of affliction and I have felt His hammer upon me. But I don't mind, if only He can bring me to what I should be. And so, in all these hard things my prayer is simply this: Try me in any way you wish, Lord, only don't throw me on the scrap heap." Success is not to be pursued, it is to be attracted by the person you become-Jim Rohn
Remember always that what we have is Gods gift to us and what we become is our gift to God. Allow God to grow in your heart seek his presence. God wants to be the most important thing in your life. Sadly, many Christians let the opinions of other people control their own decisions, altering what they consider to be important.
Proverbs 29:25 says, Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. Your relationships with the people you're around could be a snare to you if let them control you. However, if Christ is more important to you than any relationship, then he will control your relationships, guiding you into right, godly ones. Make Christ first place in your heart, and he will control and direct your relationships. A little girl was observed by her pastor standing outside the preschool Sunday School classroom between Sunday School and worship, waiting for her parents to come and pick her up for “big church.” The pastor noticed that she clutched a big storybook under her arms with the title “Jonah and the Whale.”
Feeling a little pernicious, he knelt down beside the little girl and began a conversation. “What’s that you have in your hand?” he asked. “This is my storybook about Jonah and the Whale,” she answered. “Tell me something, little girl,” he continued, “do you believe that story about Jonah and that whale to be the truth?” The little girl implored, “Why of course I believe this story to > be the truth!” He inquired further, “You *really* believe that a man can be swallowed up by a big whale, stay inside him all that time, and come out of there still alive and okay? You really believe all that can be true?” She declared, “Absolutely, this story is in the Bible and we studied about it in Sunday School today!” Then the pastor asked, “Well, little girl, can you prove to me that this story is the trut?” She thought for a moment and then said, “Well, when I get to Heaven, I’ll ask Jonah.” The pastor then asked, “Well, what if Jonah’s not in Heaven?” She then put her hands on her little hips and sternly declared, “Then YOU can ask him!” |
Ana & Andre Schoonbee God uses us to motivate and encourage the body. Authors
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