Author: admin

Our youth can be filled with dreams and hopes. That is as it should be. Some of those dreams will become a reality. Others will not. Some passions in our heart were placed there by God and will ultimately bear much fruit. Others are merely our own wishful thinking and depend solely upon us for their fulfillment. Some people spend their entire lives chasing their dreams. They wax eloquent to anyone who will listen about what they intend to do some day, if only they had the right break, or funding, or support, or endorsement. They spend their lives chasing after shadows.

While it is not a bad thing to have dreams, we must realize that God is not obligated to make our dreams come true! He is committed to fulfilling His purposes. When we align ourselves with God’s will, we can expect to see results! God is fully prepared to back up with heaven’s resources, anything He initiates. When the day is done and the dust has settled, it will be God’s purposes that were accomplished, just as He intended.

So what is it that is driving your life? Are you constantly asking God to bless your plans? Are you hounding others to support your goals and to buy in to your vision? Or is your life driven by a vision from heaven?

Lack of information is rarely our problem. We generally know what we should do. It is consistently doing it that is our ongoing challenge! Knowing God’s commands is one thing (and a good thing at that!). But how do you “keep” them? That comes from first clearly understanding what He meant when He issued the command. For example, “Thou shalt not murder” is fundamental. But Jesus said those who harbor anger in their hearts have committed murder. Those who have looked lustfully on someone other than their spouse is guilty of adultery. Have you taken time to carefully consider the full ramifications of what God has instructed and how those commands specifically apply to your life?

Second, we must be diligent to keep or apply those commands to our specific circumstances. We can’t be careless in this regard. Too often we assume that because we know a command or even believe in keeping the statute, that we are actually doing so. That can be a faulty assumption! Keeping God’s laws in our life results from living our lives intentionally. Do we daily choose to conform our lives to God’s word? Do we quickly adjust our habits when they stray from God’s guidelines? Do we regularly fill our heart and mind with God’s word so it permeates our thinking and values? Does it grieve us to know we have trespassed against a clear word from our Lord?

Are you living casually or on purpose? How carefully are you administering your soul?

There are those who will do anything to get ahead. They will manipulate, politicize, gossip, lie, deceive, and trample over others on their way to the top. To these, people are merely a means to an end. They are not the end. Such thoughtless souls leave a trail of embittered and disillusioned people in their wake. They might achieve a higher position in the company or accumulate additional wealth, but their colleagues and associates despise them.

How much better to be the kind of person who knows they have done the right things, regardless of whether it advanced their career or gave them a competitive advantage. Such people know that moving up the corporate ladder is not the most important thing in their life. Having a clear conscience is of far greater value than having deceived someone in order to make another sale.

Integrity can seem like a cumbersome character trait when functioning in a competitive, challenging world. It can often seem that adjusting the truth, or embellishing the facts, is justified in the short term in order to make long-term gains. But it is a deception. Those who make such a bargain are forfeiting what really matters in their life for that which is as fleeting as the wind. Only a fool would make such a deal.

Scripture offers solid advice for those who want to have friends: be friendly! Most people desire to have others in their life that care about them and bring them joy. Friends certainly add color and laughter to our life’s journey. A true friend is a marvelous blessing and ought to be highly valued.

How do we find such people? Too often we are so concerned with how others are treating us, we do not take time to evaluate what kind of friend we have been to others. Do I bring joy to people by my presence? Are people happy to see me come, or relieved to see me go? Do people feel encouraged or discouraged by my words to them? Do people have more or less confidence after they have been with me? Do I leave a trail of laughter behind me or frustration and conflict?

If you are a miserable person, be grateful you have any friends at all. Friendship is a two-way relationship. We give as well as take. Take time to evaluate what your friends receive by being associated with you. Do they become better people? Are they drawn closer to God? Do they laugh more?

Take time to also reflect on the caliber of your friends. Great friends often attract great friends. King David attracted his “mighty men” while he was a fugitive in the wilderness. Jonathan loved David even if it meant losing his throne to him. There was something about David that drew people to him. What kind of people if any, are being drawn to you? Are they positive or negative people? Are they thoughtful or selfish? Critical or forgiving? If “like attracts like,” what do your friends indicate about the way you are conducting yourself?

Taking pleasure in the sins of others is an utterly distasteful habit. Why do we find gossip so enticing? Why do we delight in hearing about the shortcomings of others?

We know that spreading gossip about others is a sin. It demeans people. It also reflects a wicked heart that delights in hearing about the victories of sin in peoples’ lives. Too often Christians have disguised their gossip under the guise of feigned concern or sanctimonious “prayer requests.” Few things can be as active as a church “grapevine!” Why do so many Christians know that gossip is wrong, and yet do it anyway?

Further, why do we listen? Why do we not stop talebearers in their tracks and let them know we will not tolerate such evil talk? More than that, should it not grieve us every time sin gains another victory in someone’s life? Rather than hurriedly spreading the news of peoples’ shortcomings, ought we not to immediately retreat to our prayer closet and intercede for them? Rather than delighting in hearing the details of someone’s fall, should it not break our hearts that the Kingdom of God has suffered another casualty and Christ’s name has been dishonored once again?

Every time we hear of the downfall of one of our Christian brothers or sisters we have an invitation: the invitation is not to criticize or to spread the news, but to intercede.

It is extremely easy to prove your case-if you are the only person in the room! If there is no one to challenge your facts or to offer a different perspective, then your arguments will always appear to be compelling! When we rehearse our position in our own minds, we can feel as if we have an open and shut case. Our reasoning seems airtight.

But as soon as we tell someone what we are thinking, we risk hearing a dissenting voice. Others see things we failed to notice. Our companions may not be as impressed with our reasoning as we are. People may even ridicule our beliefs and decisions.

That is why it is tempting to keep our thoughts to ourselves. If we conduct our life privately, then we don’t run the risk of enduring peoples’ criticism or disagreement. It can seem like a less troublesome way to make decisions.

The problem of course, is that it is more important to do the right thing than it is to protect your decisions from being disagreed with or challenged. While loners don’t often suffer the distasteful experience of being refuted, they also fail to achieve the benefits that result from consulting wise counselors. Don’t let your thin skin or pride cause you to withdraw from others. Such a life leaves you far too vulnerable.

Do you talk too much? Do you feel compelled to speak every time there is a lull in the conversation? When discussing a situation, do you do the most talking or the least? Have you given much thought to how often you speak your mind?

Few things are more revealing than a person’s speech. The more we talk, the more people know about what is in our heart and mind. When people speak often, it suggests that they believe what they have to say is important, or that they love to put words to their every thought.

But it may also reveal far more. It could reflect the fact that such people prefer to speak than to listen. It may suggest that they have little self-control. If they think it, they speak it. Often the more we speak, the more diluted is our contribution. If we had spoken once or twice, people would have listened because we were making a significant contribution. But when we speak ten or twelve times, we tend to repeat ourselves or to say things that others already know. Better to speak less often but to pack our speech with our best thinking.

How do your colleagues and friends respond when you speak? Do they listen intently as they glean fresh wisdom from your lips? Or do they patiently endure your latest monologue until they can finally jump in with their own ideas? One of the most difficult things for people who speak a lot to realize is that people are not as enamored with what they have to say as they think they are.

There are a wide variety of friends. Some are your friend when you have something to offer them. Others are friends as long as you ask nothing of them. Still others offer their support as long as times are good and they can share in your success. But what about when you fall on hard times?

One of the many benefits of difficult times is that it reveals who your true friends are! They are the ones who draw nearer to you in difficult times rather than moving to a safe distance. They are the ones who suffer with you rather than letting you endure your pain alone. They are the ones who would not think of you facing your trials alone. They are also the ones who believe in you and know you will overcome your adversity.

Think about the last time you went through a difficult time. Who was the first person you wanted to call? Who was the first person to call you? Who meant the most to you when you suffered hardship? When times are good, friends are relatively easy to come by. But how grateful we are for those friends who stick by us when we enter into times of adversity!

Some people have an inordinate sense of justice. We cannot abide to have people mistreat us or to speak unkindly about us. We may tend to loudly defend ourselves and to protest any perceived injustice. We may fervently defend our reputation by vociferously explaining to others our point of view in an effort to set the record straight and to defend our reputation.

While the need to protect our image may appear important to us at the time, it may cost us a relationship. At times “being right” may prevent us from “being reconciled.”

God has called us to have a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). God cares more about people than about reputations. His heart is to bring about forgiveness and unity. At times we can be too quick to forfeit a relationship in order to win an argument. Too often we allow even petty disagreements to rob us of valuable friendships.

Think about a relationship you may have lost. What was the cause? What might you have done differently to prevent its loss? Was the point of disagreement worth the loss of the relationship? Did your actions reflect the heart of God? If you had forgiven the offense, would you still enjoy fellowship with that person? Be careful to not jettison people in the name of “being right.” There is nothing on earth more important in God’s eyes than people.

Life has a way of thoroughly testing people. There is a particular test that addresses every aspect of our lives. Certain circumstances will highlight the pride that has crept into our life. Another test will reveal if we have been growing as a leader or becoming stagnant. Still other tests reveal our integrity and honesty. There are tests in life that address our moral purity or our compassion for others. There are tests in life for everything.

While your greatest concern at the moment may be your next performance review, you ought never to treat lightly the divine tests you will inevitably undergo. God does not administer simple or easy exams. He does not focus on superficial issues. God always goes right to the heart. God knows that if our heart is not right, then everything else in our life will be out of line as well.

It could be that the challenging time you are presently undergoing is a divine test. Could God prevent your current trial from happening? Certainly. Could God deliver you at any moment He chose? Absolutely. Then why is He allowing it to continue? It might be that He wants you to learn something new about Him and His provision for your life. Or, it may be that He wants you to learn something new about yourself. God already knows what is in your heart. But you might be surprised at the results of your heavenly examination. What are your present challenges revealing about the condition of your heart?