Sunday, August 10, 2014

One Life

One Life
Anonymous 

He was born in a stable
In an obscure village;
From there He traveled
Less than 200 miles

He never won an election;
He never went to college;
He never owned a home;
He never had a lot of money.

He became a nomadic preacher;
Popular opinion turned against Him;
A close friend betrayed him,
And His other friends ran away.

He was unjustly condemned to death;
Crucified on a Cross among thieves;
On a hill overlooking the town dump,
And when dead, laid in a borrowed grave.

Twenty centuries have come and gone;
Empires have risen and fallen;
Mighty armies have marched,
And powerful rulers have reigned.

Yet, not one affected men as much as He,
He is the central figure of the human race;
He is the Messiah, the Son of God,
JESUS CHRIST!

Sunday, August 03, 2014

Discipline to do God’s will.

In our Life Verses series I shared my life verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”  

It’s not easy to be joyful, pray and be thankful in our world. Sadness, worry and complaining are our natural responses to life.  It’s difficult to do what God asks here in 1 Thessalonians.  In fact, it seems like a daily struggle.  I believe being successful in doing God’s will requires discipline.

In order to battle our natural negativity here are three daily disciplines to help you accomplish God’s will for your life.

  • Start and end each day with prayer. What you bookend your days with will set you up for failure or success.  Why not begin and end each day communing with God?  I can’t imagine another discipline more helpful to your success.
  • Practice thankfulness.  Before you get caught up in complaining, express gratitude for what you have right now.  When you take time to say thank you to God you’ll see how blessed you already are.  Don’t wait, begin your Thankfulness Journal today!
  • Smile.  There was a study done that proved people who smile are more joyful. Imagine that.  :-)  As crazy as life gets take time to look around and find something to smile about.