"Seek from the book of the Lord, and read..." Isaiah 34:16

There are books, radio programs, and numerous talk shows that urge us to take a look at who we are and then change ourselves by our determined will.

Have you tried all that information and yet you're still discouraged by repeating the same old habits?

God has a plan for us that goes beyond our abilities. It's something supernatural. It comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, who supernaturally changes us where we can't change ourselves. As a bonus to that faith, He promises us victory over death, and eternal life. If you really want to help yourself, look beyond yourself to the only One who can save you and give you the ultimate victory--Jesus Christ.

Love Yourself
Effect change within your heart and soul in order to be the best person
you can be

The Bible says: "Whatever state I am, therewith to be content. You are
blessed"
Recognize and acknowledge that fact and be happy with what you have.

Relish your solitude and quiet time
Don't feel guilty about it, revel in it. Your mind, body and spirit
crave it.

Be of a giving nature, but don't be self-sacrificing.
Helping others nurtures the soul; giving of yourself until you spent
does not.

Learn to forgive yourself and others.
Letting go of blame frees you to discover the true blessings of your
life.

Keep it simple
Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.

Don't strive for perfection.
It's not possible to achieve. Instead, strive for excellence. All you
can do is your best.

Bring down the curtain on drama.
Simplify your life by vowing to stop turning minor upsets into major
blowups.

Taking care of yourself does not make you self-centered, it makes you
centered.

Remember:
No God, No Peace
Know God, Know Peace

On the first day, God created the dog and said, "Sit all day by the door
of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this,
I will give you a life span of twenty years."

The dog said, "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten
years and I'll give you back the other ten?"

And God saw that it was good.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said, "Entertain people,
do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year
life span."

The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long
time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"

And God, again saw that it was good.

On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the
field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves
and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you
a life span of sixty years."

The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty
years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"

And God agreed that it was good.

On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play,
marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."

But, the human said, "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my
twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back and
the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"

"Okay," said God, "You asked for it."

So, that is why for our first twenty years, we eat, sleep, play, and
enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we slave in the sun to
support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to
entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years, we sit on the
front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing
it as a public service. If you are looking for me, I will be on the
front porch!

After seeing all the coverage for the birth of the "royal baby", I was reminded of a story I read years ago about Queen Victoria's visit to a local paper mill.

"Queen Victoria once paid a visit to a paper mill. Without knowing who this distinguished visitor was, the foreman showed her the workings of the mill. She went into the rag-sorting shop where employees picked out the rags from the refuse of the city. Upon inquiring what was done with this dirty mass of rags, she was told that it would eventually be made into the finest white writing paper. After her departure, the foreman found out who it was that had paid the visit.

Some time later, Her Majesty received a package of the most delicate, pure white stationery, bearing the Queen's likeness for a watermark. Enclosed was a note saying that the stationery had been made from the dirty rags she had recently inspected."

This story illustrates Christ's work in us as well. He takes us, filthy as we are, and makes us into new creatures. After receiving Jesus, we are spiritually different from what we were before, just as pure white paper is radically different from the filthy rags from which it is made.

"Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new  creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Good Day.
 
I am God. Today I will be handling all of your problems.
Please remember  that I do not need your help.
 
If the devil happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot  handle,

DO NOT attempt to resolve it.  Kindly put it in the SFJTD
(something for Jesus to do) box. 

It will be addressed in MY time, not yours.
 
Once the matter is placed into the box, DO NOT hold on to
it or attempt to remove it.  Holding on or removal will delay the
resolution of your  problem.

If it is a situation that you think you are capable of handling,
please consult me in prayer to be sure that it is the proper resolution.
Because I do not sleep nor do I slumber, there is no need for you to  lose any sleep.  Rest my child.  If you need to contact Me I am only a prayer away.

"The conclusion, when all is heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person." Ecclesiastes 12:13

Do you ever feel like you’ve done it all? Success, wealth, pleasure, thrills and yet you feel empty inside? Solomon, the ancient king of Israel, was such a man. He had extraordinary success and wealth, incredible intellect, lots of women, and yet it all became meaningless to him. He felt so empty inside because he turned his back on God to pursue all that he wanted for himself. He was a classic example of a good man who started strong, but turned wrong and wound up empty. 

But the good news of the story of Solomon is that late in his life he came to his senses and turned back to God. After trying everything else, he said the key to life is “to fear God and keep His commandments.” Fear means reverence. In other words, to revere God, worship Him and show you mean it by obeying His word. 

Do you feel empty and weary? Trust God and obey Him. It’s the key to real living.

And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15.6

A man looks up at the sky. The voice of God comes to him saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." But Abram is disappointed with God. "You have given me no children," Abram complains, "so a servant in my household will be my heir." Then the word of the LORD comes to Abram: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." God invites Abram outside and says, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars if indeed you can count them." Then God makes a promise, "So shall your offspring be."

Bound by a promise. A promise from God. And God was faithful to that promise. Character is forged and character is revealed by the promises we make and the promises we keep. God never makes a promise that God does not keep.
 

"He called ten of His servants." (Luke 19:13)
Have you ever been in a place where the phone kept ringing and nobody answered it? In moments like that it seems everybody is busy with something else, assuming that somebody else will answer the call. But nobody does. After awhile it can get to be quite annoying. There is something irritating about an incessant, unanswered call.

Over the years I have noticed a similar thing in the lives of many people — a call that is not being answered. A call from God. Busy with so many other things, and sure that the call is for someone else, many men loose themselves in trivial moments and miss the momentous opportunity to answer the call of God on their lives. Have you answered the call?

Missing out on God's call for your life would be the worst thing that could happen. Research shows that one of the greatest fears men face is having lived a meaningless life; a life that didn't matter; a life that made no difference. This dreadful thought haunts even the most accomplished of individuals. Maybe it haunts you even now.

Os Guinness wrote, "Our passion is to know that we are fulfilling the purpose for which we are on earth. All other standards of success—wealth, power, position, knowledge, and friendships—all grow tiny and hollow if we do not satisfy this deeper longing.”

Each of us long to know that our lives counted; that we accomplished what we were put on this earth to do. Yet, in an odd contradiction, nothing is more common than unrealized potential. Most of us settle for far less than we are capable of being, and of doing. On the one hand we want our lives to count; on the other hand, we seem far too willing to become marginalized into mediocrity.

Our only hope is to answer the call of God upon our lives.

In John 13:34-35, Jesus instructed us—His followers—to love others: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." As Christians, learning to walk in love should be a very high priority.

Unfortunately, we often love others only superficially—that is, we talk love, but don't live love. James 2:15-16 addresses this problem: "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?"

If you say that you love someone, but don't express it by what you do, then that "love" is worthless. Indeed, it isn't even real love.

Likewise, 1 John 3:17-18 asks, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." Here again, we are instructed to love with actions—not just with our mouth.

Follow the instructions of Jesus: love one another. However, remember that real love must be accompanied by actions, because love unexpressed is not love at all.