#1

"In all we do, He's first..." - Trip Lee

Sometimes when we go through life, we forget the things, and people, that are most important to us. As Christians, we tend to even forget God and the love that He graciously shows us daily - the love that is like no other love that exists. Today's quote reminds us that we must keep God first in everything that we do, no matter how little or how small the task may be. If we forget Him, rest assured that He will do everything in His power to remind us of Him again. He never lets His people go astray, though we may suffer the consequences for our actions. Hardship is just one way that God brings us back to Him. It is through those dark times that we are reminded of how good He is and just how much we need Him. Therefore, we must make keeping Him first a priority.

Christians have once said in their lives that God is now first. When we accept Jesus Christ into our lives, He immediately takes up residence and replaces worldly desires with godly desires. Sure, we will still have to fight fleshly desires. That's why we must decide to die to ourselves daily. It's a CHOICE. We can choose to operate in accordance with fleshly lusts, but we can also choose to operate in accordance with the Holy Spirit. Once we accept Christ, we are no longer dominated by sin. We just have new, holy desires that conflict with those of the flesh. And when something needs to change, sometimes it takes a while for it to do so. That's why the Christian life is a PROCESS. We will never be perfect until the day we die or until the day He comes again. However, our spirits will live on, and we leave our bodies behind. They will live on with God. Since all of this is so, we always have something to improve upon. Keeping God first in our lives here on Earth will definitely allow us to completely experience the abundance life that Jesus promised us upon salvation (John 10:10).

Therefore, until your life is done, Christian, keep God #1.

A Secret to Success

"Don't be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid." - John Keats

There are times and instances in life that will attempt to keep us down. We cannot control what happens or comes our way, but we can choose how we will respond to them. Life throws us many apples, but we can decide which ones we will eat and which ones we will just let rot. Ultimately, the ball is in our own court. We have been given free will by God to decide how we will respond to certain things that happen to us. If we are His followers, however, God will do whatever possible to keep us in line. We must stay in accordance with His will. Remember, we have plans in our hearts, but God decides the ending results.

Failure...Not everyone likes to hear or even say this word. Some people think of failure as a bad thing, but that is not always so. We all make mistakes, and sometimes our best lessons come from them. We just have to learn to look for such lessons, even in the midst of the difficulty. The majority of the time, it is people who test our patience and try to push our buttons, just to see how far they can push us. But God sees and knows this will happen, so we do not need to be afraid of them. Fear God alone if you are His follower because the thoughts and opinions of other people don't matter more than God the Father.

Simply put, let your failures propel you to success. Always remember that mistakes help us discern the things we do not want to do again, so never grow faint. Don't let anyone discourage you from continuing on. Your life is not centered around them; it is hidden in Christ. When life knocks you down, choose to get back up. Choose to be fighter. Stand firm, because God knows how to make all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28)!

Jesus Is Our Rehabilitation

"The Christian life is an entrance into rehab." - Lecrae

When we go through daily life experiences, sometimes we can't seem to find the answers to particular problems that arise. For example, there still isn't a known cure for cancer. Doctors have been searching for years and years, but they cannot seem to find a cure. I'm sure this is quite frustrating for them and for their cancer patients. But even in the midst of this, peace can be experienced. How, you might ask? It's simple - and the answer is rehab.

Some people think of rehab as a way to abstain from some type of addiction. While this is true, the general meaning of rehab describes no such thing. To rehabilitate something means "to restore to health or good condition" (Dictionary.com). Therefore, when a person enters rehab, they are actually entering a state of restoration.

Upon acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, He immediately becomes our rehabilitation. He is the one who brings us back to good health and restores us to right-standing with God. We do not have to worry about cleaning our own selves up before coming to Christ, whether it's to accept Him or just confess our daily sins. When we come to Jesus, He takes us as we are, takes us through necessary spiritual rehab, and makes us useful vessels for His kingdom. This spiritual restoration varies with time because each person is different. Some may take longer than others to be rejuvenated, and with the process sometimes reaps frustration on our part. However, we must be patient and allow God to work in our lives through Jesus so that we may become all that He has called us to be.

Jesus is not only the rehabilitation for our personal lives, but He is also the Great Restorer of the world. When He comes again, He will make everything right. In this, we can place our hope as Believers. Come... Won't you let Him restore you personally today?

Acts 3:21 - For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.

Fear of Rejection

John 6:37 - However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.

Rejection is not an easy thing to handle. Many people fear it. Many times in our lives, there will be people who desert us and do not want anything to do with us. These people may be close friends and family, or even distant people who do not know us very well. Most of the time, those who reject us base their reasons for doing so on a matter of performance. They want us to meet certain expectations, and when we don't, they reject us. And sometimes, if we are not careful, we will allow certain circumstances to prevent us from properly discerning these kinds of people. In addition, if we allow every rejection to hurt us, we may make the mistake of rejecting others in return. This, however, is not the attitude that God wants His people to have.

If we know Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior, He promises in John 6:37 that He will never reject us. He loves us no matter what, and we can come to Him as we are. He will accept us the way we are, no matter what we have done. Some people think they have to clean up their lives before they come to know Jesus Christ. However, that is not true. Come as you are, and Jesus saves and changes you. Salvation is not based on what we have done, but it is based on what Christ did for us. His love for us is not based on performance. He just loves us - no excuses. That's one thing that makes Him incomparable. Never place human characteristics on Jesus because He is like no other. He is the One who can remove the feeling of rejection and give us the proper comfort that we need.

If you are interested in coming to know Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior, follow the link below to see specific passages from the Bible regarding Salvation:
More Info About Salvation

The world may reject us, but if you are in Christ, God will never let you go.

Wives and Husbands

1 Peter 3:1-4 - In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives. Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

Women sometimes cringe or get angry when the topic of submission to their husbands is brought up. I believe that is only because they do not understand the proper meaning. Submission does NOT mean that men can treat their wives as doormats. Submission means that women respect their husbands and speak the truth in love. Women do not need to be afraid of what will happen if they speak they truth in love. If your husband respects you, then there is no reason to worry about the outcome. It is better to say what you feel than to expect for your husband to guess how you are feeling. God did not create a man's brain that way; He created women that way. Therefore, since God has created man and woman this way, we must accept that in any case, not just in marriages. Simply put, wives, respect your husbands authority, but do not be afraid to give your loving opinion. Husbands, love your wives, just as you love yourselves. In response, they will love and respect you. To be honest, it is difficult for a woman to love her husband if he continuously bosses her around or abuses her (women, accept no form of the latter). If you notice, God does not command women to love their husbands, although love must be in a marriage. He commands them to "accept the authority of [their] husbands." In another passage, men are instructed to love their wives. When they do so, women will automatically show proper respect. Let me make it clear that I am not at all stating that women should love their husbands only when they show love to them. How many of us know that's just plain foolish? :) But I am saying that it is much easier for the woman to love and respect her husband when he shows her that he is taking his position of authority seriously by loving her and their children (if any).

Women, if your husband is an unbeliever, it will NOT do any good to lecture him or give him a sermon. More than likely, he has heard the Gospel and has chosen to be unresponsive. Therefore, only your "pure and reverent lives" will set the example that your husband needs so that he may one day make the decision to follow Christ when the Holy Spirit prompts him to do so. Men, if your wife is an unbeliever, the same applies to you. Many of the verses regarding relationships in the Bible can be easily reversed to fit the other person as well.

So women, their is no need to feel upset or discouraged in the area of submission. Get in God's Word, and understand what He means. Then, you will surely see the light in this area.