Devotional for Monday January 16th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit – the Father will send Him in My name – will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. “ John 14:26 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Sorry, but you’re going to have to think.”

 

A common complaint I hear from Christians, especially Christians who have yet to grow deeply in spiritual maturity, is that they are unable to hear God or to get clear direction from Him regarding important decisions. It’s almost as if they’re expecting to be able to sit down with a paper and pencil to take dictation as God verbally recites for them, item-by-item, step-by-step, what He wants them to do. That rarely happens.

 

Instead what does happen is that over time God develops us in spiritual maturity so that we’re able to think things through and make good decisions of our own, decisions that honor and please Him. It’s similar to how a parent raises a child over the course of many years. As a parent we don’t want to have to be constantly giving our children step-by-step detailed instructions about every decision that needs to be made in their lives. Instead we want to train them to be able to think things through, evaluate the situation for what it is, and then make a good decision of their own (one that we as the parent would be proud of and pleased with).

 

That’s exactly what God does with us! He doesn’t want to have to dictate every step we take. Instead He wants us to use our spiritually mature brains to think it through and to then make a decision that pleases Him.

 

Welcome to the world of spiritual maturity. I know, I know, this is hard. In one respect life in the Old Testament world was easier because you simply had a long list of rules and regulations to obey. You could just go down the list checking them off one-by-one and you were good to go. But in New Testament times we have to actually think. It almost makes my brain hurt.

 

But, God has not left us to figure this stuff out for ourselves. It’s the job of the Holy Spirit to teach us, guide us, and to help us make those good decisions. That’s what Jesus was explaining in John 14:26.

 

Would you like to feel better about your ability to make good decisions in life that truly do please and honor God? It that’s your attitude God will honor it and bless you with greater understanding and increased ability to make good decisions. But you have to do your part too. You have to do the things that will bring about spiritual growth.

 

In March at Oak Hill Baptist Church we will begin a new Sunday night Bible study series called “Fresh Encounters”. It’s all about “renewing a right spirit within us” and bringing us to the point, individually and as a church, of spiritual revival and increased spiritual growth.

 

When it comes to spiritual growth attitude is important – you have to be willing to do the things that place you in a position before God whereby He can bring about your growth. Participating in the Bible study “Fresh Encounters” will help to revive our attitudes. I encourage you to join us.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Saturday and Sunday January 14-15

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t set foot on the path of the wicked; don’t proceed in the way of evil ones. Avoid it; don’t travel on it. Turn away from it and pass it by.” Proverbs 4:14-15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Avoid even the appearance of impropriety.”

 

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “It is best to avoid the beginnings of evil.” That’s exactly what Solomon meant in Proverbs 4:14-15. Don’t even start down that path!

 

Recently I heard a security expert in a television interview make this statement, “Nowadays every person should assume they are always being watched.” What he meant was that there is surveillance everywhere – even in places we would never expect it. There are red light cameras at many intersections, surveillance cameras in businesses and in elevators as well as at random locations on the streets. There are also surveillance satellites hovering in outer space with super-powerful cameras that can zoom in so close they can identify your facial features as you’re standing in your front yard. There are mini-drones flying through neighborhoods broadcasting live video feed and now, the devices in our homes such as laptop computers, cell phones, and controllers such as “Alexa” can be hacked into and used to monitor our activities.

 

We are “alone” and “unobserved” much less frequently than we think we are, and therefore we need to give extra thought to the things we do and say when we believe we are alone and unobserved.

 

But that’s really nothing new anyway. Our actions have always been under constant observation by God. In Luke 12:2-3 Jesus said, “There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known. Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” The author of the letter to the Hebrews reminded us that we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.”

 

That being the case it should be our desire to always conduct ourselves in such a way that it would not cause us to be embarrassed before people or before God. Now granted, that’s a pretty high bar. None of us is perfect and none of us would be comfortable living under a microscope of constant observation. Being that squeaky clean is virtually impossible. But, it’s not a bad goal to strive for. The desire to be that good is a good attitude to have.

 

Billy Graham established a personal standard for himself and for his closest associates that in both their public and in their private lives they needed to strive to “avoid even the appearance of impropriety.” Now again, none of us is perfect (least of all me) (and least of all you), but we should have high standards that we strive to meet, and avoiding even the appearance of anything inappropriate is a pretty good goal to have.

 

I was once briefly associated with a small group of Christian leaders whose conduct and decision-making behind closed doors was sometimes borderline unethical. Also, the way they sometimes treated people was questionable at best and occasionally unjust. They were also rather secretive about their maneuverings and a little fanatical about keeping it “in-house”. One of their favorite justifications was “We deal with everything in-house. We don’t air our dirty laundry in public.” They were concerned that if the nature of their deliberations and actions became public it could make them look bad.

 

My response was, “Shame on you! If the way you conduct yourselves behind closed doors can’t stand to be exposed to the light of day without making you look bad, then you shouldn’t be doing it!”

 

That’s true for all of us too. We should strive to conduct ourselves in such a way – in public and in private, that we avoid even the appearance of impropriety. It’s a good attitude to have.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Friday January 13th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into Him who is the head– Christ Jesus. Ephesians 4:15 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Resolve to continue growing.”

 

Last night I was reading some of the writings of Vice-Admiral James Stockdale. You may remember that as a Navy Captain Admiral Stockdale was the highest ranking prisoner of war held by the Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. He spent eight years in captivity, four of them in solitary confinement, two of them in leg shackles. He was tortured fifteen times and was permanently disabled because of it.

 

Despite his years of captivity in horrifying conditions, and despite the repeated brutal torture, Admiral Stockdale never gave-in to his captors. He also assumed command over the other POWs and served as an inspiration to all them. After being released at the end of the war Admiral Stockdale was awarded the Congressional Medal Honor. He also continued his career in the Navy – ultimately being promoted to Three Star Admiral before retiring.

 

I met Admiral Stockdale in 1996. My old friend Sam Tangredi was assigned to be the Commanding Officer of a ship in San Diego. Sam asked me to attend the change-of-command ceremony as his guest. The guest speaker that day was Admiral Stockdale. Sam’s family had been friends with the Stockdale family as Sam was growing up and so Sam had known Admiral Stockdale for many years. At the reception after the change-of-command ceremony Sam introduced me to the Admiral. I got to shake the great man’s hand and spend a few minutes speaking with him.

 

In the Admiral’s book that I was reading last night I came upon a passage where he was reflecting on four attributes that he had observed in the life of virtually every successful person he had ever known – attributes which in his experience are essential elements in any life lived well. When I read his four attributes I immediately realized that the Apostle Paul teaches these same lessons in his writings.

 

  1. A successful person is committed to continual self-improvement in all areas of life. Such a person never stops learning and is always striving to improve. Admiral Stockdale considered this commitment to continual growth and personal improvement the most important element in a successful life.  (Ephesians 4:15).
  2. A successful person is known for his or her integrity. This is a man or woman who has learned to be honest, trustworthy, and dependable, and they diligently practice those virtues even when doing so isn’t easy. (2 Timothy 1:13)
  3. A successful person never gives up, especially in the face of adversity, set-backs, and failure. (Galatians 6:9)
  4. A successful person is willing to be seen as a leader and they set a good example for others. ( 2 Timothy 2:2)

 

I’ve said it before and I want to repeat it again this morning, “Attitude is everything”. How we think about life, and how we approach it, determines almost everything else about us.

 

But developing a good attitude, and the virtues that comprise it, is a continual process of learning and growing, of developing and transforming. I encourage you to never stop growing. Make it your goal in life to learn new things everyday and to keep improving in all the ways that really matter.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Thursday January 12th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “We must be strong and courageous but also merciful and kind.”

 

In recent days we’ve been thinking about cultivating character traits such as boldness, courage, determination, perseverance, and faithfulness. Yesterday I pointed out that since all of those attitudes have a strong element of assertiveness to them, it’s important that the whole package be clothed in grace. Today I want to continue that discussion.

 

Probably my favorite illustration of the kind of person who exemplifies this balance of assertiveness and gentleness comes from a book written by Dr. Audrey Andelin many years ago entitled, “Man of Steel and Velvet”. Such a person has an inner core of steel (we’re talking about strong convictions and moral stature that is rock solid and unshakeable), but it’s wrapped in an outer covering of velvet. This is a person who is unmovable in terms of integrity, honesty, and firm moral conviction, but at the same time is kind, gentle, compassionate, and merciful.

 

In the book Dr. Andelin used Abraham Lincoln as his model of such a man, and I believe that to have been a good choice, but I can think of lots of others who meet that standard as well. Joshua would be one of those. From everything we read about him in the Bible he was a man or rock solid integrity, firm convictions, strong faith, great courage, and admirable boldness, but he was also fair, kind, and easily approachable. He had an inner core of steel but it was wrapped in an outer covering of velvet.

 

When God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous I believe He was talking about more than just physical strength and courage. I think that command also applies to moral strength and courage. It involves the strength of character and the courage to be willing to stand-up for what you believe to be right, to oppose those who are wrong, and weather the storms of adversity for the sake of righteousness and justice. I believe Joshua was that man. This was the inner core of steel.

 

And then we see the other side of his personality, the outer covering of velvet, when at the end of his life he challenged the nation of Israel to consider the example he had set in the life of his own family. In Joshua 24:15 he challenged the people with the statement, “As for me and my family, we will worship Yahweh.” Other translations say, “As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”

 

That right there gives us a glimpse of the other side of Joshua. He was a man of great faith, a man who prayed and who led his family in the ways of the Lord. It shows us a man who obviously loved his wife, children, and grandchildren and was therefore the husband, father, and grandfather they needed him to be.

 

The concept of steel and velvet applies to all people, men and women alike, and it’s a general attitude of life that we can all aspire to and work to cultivate. I encourage you to be strong and courageous, but also kind and merciful – an inner core of steel, wrapped in an outer covering of velvet.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Wednesday January 11th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:1 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Be gracious”

 

Already this month we’ve given some thought to the advice the Apostle Paul gave to his young protégé Timothy in the letters first and second Timothy. You may remember that Timothy was a young man who had been trained by Paul to be an evangelist, church planter, church fixer, and a pastor. It was hard work and Timothy often found himself discouraged and sometimes doubtful. The letters Paul wrote were filled with advice and encouragement about how to survive and thrive in difficult circumstances – and so much of it had to do with maintaining a good attitude.

 

We’ve already learned from the advice Paul gave to Timothy that some of the character traits that comprise a good attitude include boldness, courage, perseverance, and faithfulness. We saw these same attributes modeled for us in yesterday’s devotional when we considered the example of Caleb who, at the ripe old age of 85, was still fired up and ready for whatever life brought next. Today we’ll consider the attribute of graciousness.

 

In 2 Timothy 2:1 Paul urged Timothy to be strong in grace. He was referring to the grace that is found in a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. Not only do we experience grace from Christ, but we are also to be dispensers of the grace of Christ. A gracious spirit should be a prominent aspect of our personality.

 

To be gracious means to be characterized by kindness, warmth, courtesy, tact, mercy, and compassion. This becomes especially important if you are also in the process of cultivating the other character traits we’ve considered such as boldness, courage, and even the feistiness of old Caleb. Those character traits are all important and needed, but if they’re not clothed in grace then such a person can easily become arrogant, obnoxious, rude, and even hurtful. It’s good to be bold and courageous and even feisty, as long as it’s all wrapped up in grace.

 

Billy Graham was bold, but he was also very gracious. Mother Teresa was bold, but she was also gracious. President Ronald Reagan was bold, but he was gracious. This needs to describe us too. We’re going to explore this idea a little further tomorrow as we discuss the concept of “Steel and Velvet”. In the meantime, be gracious.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Tuesday January 10th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Here I am today, 85 years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then.” Joshua 14:11 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Be like Caleb!”

 

Caleb is one of my Old Testament heroes and the guy I want to be like. He was the lifelong buddy of Joshua and as a young man he was one of the twelve spies Moses sent out in Numbers Chapter thirteen to scope out the Promised Land. But unlike the ten girly-men who came back whimpering and whining about giants and fortified cities and big hairy scary potential problems, Caleb, along with Joshua, came back fired-up and ready to charge forward in the name of the Lord.

 

It was Caleb who, after the “frightened ten” told their sad story of doom and gloom, stood up and attempted to quiet and calm the now disturbed Jews. In Numbers 13:30 we read, “Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, ‘We must go up and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!”

 

Well, you know the rest of the story. The people didn’t listen to Caleb and Joshua and they did not trust the Lord. So they ended up wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Every adult of that generation, except Caleb and Joshua, perished in the desert and never got to enter the Promised Land.

 

But Caleb did. Not only did he survive the forty years of wandering in the desert, he thrived. Now, here in Joshua 14:11, we find him a vigorous and spunky 85 years old. He was in the process of receiving his inheritance in the Promised Land and he was still ready to kick butt and take names!

 

I want to be Caleb! I want to be 85 and still riding my Harley. I want to stay healthy, and strong, and vigorous right up until the end. At 85 Caleb was probably still taking the rambunctious young guys out behind the woodshed for a talking-to and a little corrective therapy. I want to be like that.

 

But staying strong and healthy and vigorous doesn’t happen by accident. It requires the right attitude. It requires positive thinking, daily discipline, vision for the future, and living a life that God can and will bless. And it requires never giving up. Caleb didn’t give up. He hung in there. He walked through forty years of tough times. He obviously never lost his faith in God or in himself. And he must have been very determined to persevere. That needs to be true of us too.

 

Regardless of your age it’s important to have the right attitude about life. It’s true that as we age our physical abilities decline and therefore our activities must be adjusted. But it’s also true that far too many people use advancing age as an excuse and they end up doing far less than they are really capable of. Many of them end up just sitting around waiting to die. I urge you not to do that. Live life – really live it – to the fullest you are able to. Caleb didn’t just sit around waiting to die and neither should we. Be like Caleb.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Monday January 9th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Don’t rebuke a mocker, or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.” Proverbs 9:8 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Are you spiritually mature enough to admit when you are wrong and to accept correction?”

 

It’s a good question, really. Are you spiritually mature enough to admit when you are wrong and to accept correction? Many people aren’t. It takes a good measure of humility. Spiritually immature people often let their pride get in the way and they refuse to admit they are wrong and they resent words of correction.

 

The fact is that nobody is infallible. We are all wrong about things from time-to-time. The question isn’t whether or not you will be wrong about some things, sometimes; the question is whether or not you’re a big enough person to admit you were wrong and to be grateful that someone cared enough to talk to you about it.

 

In Proverbs 9:8 King Solomon observed that a small-minded, spiritually immature person will resent the implication that they are wrong and they will be angry at you for attempting to correct them. But a wise person will immediately recognize their error, admit it, and be grateful to you for caring enough, and for having the courage, to talk to them about it.

 

There is no shame in being wrong. But there is shame in staying wrong. And the longer you stay wrong the more damage your error is likely to cause. Arguments drag on when they could have and should have been resolved; relationships remain broken when they could have been healed; jobs are lost, ministries are harmed, resentment and bitterness take root; and all because stubborn people don’t have the spiritual maturity and strength of character to admit they are wrong.

 

Sadly, this is such a common problem that many books have been written offering guidance on what to do when you’re dealing with someone like this. Many years ago there was a book written by Gene Edwards with the catchy title, “Crucified by Christians”. It offered good guidance to Christians about what to do when another Christian did something wrong which caused you great harm but they refuse to admit it or to correct it.

 

One of the greatest things that can happen to any of us is to grow in spiritual maturity to the point that we are able to admit when we are wrong and to gracefully accept correction.

 

There is no shame in being wrong. But there is shame in staying wrong.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Saturday and Sunday January 7-8

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable – if there is any praise – dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Don’t stop talking to yourself.”

 

Do you talk to yourself? Come on, admit it, of course you do. We all do. In fact, some of the best conversations I have are the ones I have with myself. Truth be told, I’m the most interesting person I know. Lol. I’m certainly the person I know the best and the one I spend the most time with. And so, I’m also the one I talk to the most.

 

So the question isn’t whether or not you talk to yourself, but rather how much do you talk to yourself and what do you talk about? In our mind there’s a tape playing of noise and thoughts and ideas – noise and thoughts and ideas that, because they do play over and over again in our head, they end up penetrating deeply into our sub-conscious mind thereby becoming key factors in determining who we are and what kind of personality we have.

 

Self-talk is one of the most important determining factors regarding our sense of self-worth. It also goes a long, long way in determining what our attitude is about life in general and about specific people and events in particular. That being the case then, self-talk can help us or it can hurt us; it can build us up and help us to be happy and successful, or it can tear us down, keeping us depressed and discouraged.

 

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever received in this regard was “Jim, talk to yourself like a coach.” What does that mean? Well, consider the relationship between an athlete in training and his or her coach. The coach is constantly talking to the athlete – guiding, correcting, encouraging, exhorting, but always in a way that’s designed to help the athlete to keep getting better and better. We need to talk to ourselves like that. We need to make the voice in our head be the coach we need to help us stay positive and uplifted and moving in the right direction.

 

We do that by following Paul’s advice in Philippians 4:8. We fill our mind with good, positive, nurturing, uplifting and encouraging thoughts and then we play that tape over and over again.

 

But, easier said than done, right? Yes, that’s true. But how we talk to ourselves is simply a matter of habit. And like any other habit, a bad one can be broken and a good one can be learned. It just takes time, effort, and disciplined practice. That’s true whether you’re training yourself to run a marathon, bench press 300 pounds, chew with your mouth closed, or stop leaving the toilet seat up. Through effort and practice you can change. Old bad habits can be broken and they can be replaced by new good habits. And that includes how we talk to ourselves.

 

So don’t stop talking to yourself, just change what you’re saying. Talk to yourself like a coach.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

 

Devotional for Friday January 6th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

 

Our thought for today: “Be faithful”

 

When we think about the character trait of faithfulness probably the first thing most of us think of is our determination to be faithful to God. We resolve to believe in Him and to trust in Him no matter what. For those of us who are married the concept of “faithfulness” also reminds us of our commitment to remain faithful to our spouse.

 

But the practice of faithfulness actually extends to all of life. When we are a faithful person we will be faithful to God and to our spouse, but also to others and to ourselves. We will be a man or woman of our word. We will say what we mean, mean what we say, and then do what we promise we will do.

 

Therefore other people can count on us to be truthful and dependable. Beyond that, we can count on ourselves to be truthful and dependable. Not only can others count on you, but you can count on you.

 

Faithfulness is such an important character trait that Paul includes it as part of the “Fruit of the Spirit” which God develops and brings out in the life of a committed follower of Jesus Christ. The more spiritually mature a person is, the more faithful that person will be – in all areas of life.

 

I have intentionally addressed this issue of faithfulness today because it’s directly connected to the issue addressed in the devotional from yesterday regarding the bad practice of excuse-making and procrastination. Faithful people don’t make excuses and procrastinate. They just get things done. They make a commitment (to God or to others or to themselves), and then they just start walking it out until the commitment is fulfilled.

 

One of the most helpful strategies for being a faithful person is the same one we discussed yesterday – segmenting. The best way to faithfully fulfill a commitment is to break it down into easily achievable steps and then just start walking it forward, one small step at a time. There’s an old saying that goes, “Life is a game of inches.” That’s really true. We make progress, and ultimately accomplish things, one moment at a time; one step at a time; one instance of faithfulness at a time.

 

And so, spiritual growth occurs over the long-term out of the daily habits of things like prayer, Bible study, service to others, and participation in the life of a good church, among others. A college degree is earned one course at a time, one lesson at a time, one homework assignment at a time. Physical fitness is achieved one workout session at a time, one good dietary decision at a time. Children are raised one day at a time, finances are cleaned up one good decision at a time, and on it goes. Life is a game of inches. Success at anything is achieved through thousands of little acts of faithfulness, one after another, day after day, ultimately culminating in a life that is characterized by faithfulness.

 

I encourage you to work on developing the attitude of faithfulness. Be a faithful person. Make sure that others can count on you. More importantly, make sure that you can count on you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim

Devotional for Thursday January 5th

Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “Attitude”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13 (HCSB)

 

Our thought for today: “Just do it.”

 

I think it was it Yoda who said “There is no try, there is only do.” The emphasis in that statement is on the doing. Talking about doing something isn’t good enough. Even “trying” is only ok if that’s just the starting point. The object is to keeping trying until you do it. Years ago the shoe company Nike had a slogan that said “Just do it!”  That’s good advice.

 

Many of us talk a good game. We have the best of intentions and we fully intend to accomplish this thing someday – just not today. Unfortunately if we’re in the habit of making excuses and procrastinating, then there will always be an excuse and someday will never come. And so, we need to “Just do it!”

 

One of the best strategies for just doing it is called “segmenting”. Segmenting is when we break down a goal or objective into smaller, easily managed pieces. Then we simply focus on accomplishing the smaller and easier part that we have before us right now, rather than focusing on the end objective. I recently read a great illustration of segmenting in the book “Resilience” by Eric Greitens. He used the example of a deeply depressed person trying to get out of bed:

 

“A person with severe depression might find it overwhelming to get out of bed in the morning. So, don’t do it. You don’t have to. You don’t have to get out of bed if it’s overwhelming. But you do have to ask yourself, Can I move my toes? Yes. Then do it. Can I move my fingers? Yes. Then do it. Can I open my eyes? Yes. Can I take in a deep breath? Yes. Can I put one leg over the side of the bed? Yes. Can I put another leg over the side of the bed? Can I put some weight on my heels? You’re out of bed.”

 

Segmenting works! Whether you’re simply trying to get out of bed, lose 50 pounds, or earn a college degree, break it down into smaller easily managed parts and then go forward one easy step at a time. Do enough of that and before long you will find yourself out of bed, or 50 pounds lighter, or crossing the stage to receive your diploma. Simple tasks offer fewer excuses. The more complicated you make something the more excuses you can create for not doing it. So make it simple and then just do it – one easy step at a time.

 

So don’t procrastinate. Don’t make excuses. Do something! Like Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:13 – ready your mind for action. Decide that you are going to do something and then do it. Excuses and procrastination are killers. They hold us back from ever achieving our dreams or making meaningful progress in life. The truth is that there is always something you can do to make your situation a little bit better than it is. So just do it.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim