We often fall into the habit of only going to God when we need something from Him, but we fail to build intimacy in the relationship. Just as we need to tell our spouse that we love them, it is crucial that we tell God we love Him and thank Him for all He’s done for us. It’s in remembering to praise Him, even in small ways, that we can truly minister to and bless His heart.

Many people in this world are indecisive and full of doubt, and the mess that their lives are in is a result of that. God wants us to choose to follow Him, giving up all fear and doubts, trusting and believing in all of His promises, and He will take care of us.

It’s easy to feel sympathetic towards someone, but having compassion on them is a different story because that is what will actually cause us to get up and do something for them. Jesus was the perfect example in reaching out to meet others’ needs and He instructs us to follow through in our knowledge and words by our actions.

People in today’s world get so caught up with judging each other, anger arguments, and removing people from their lives that they don’t get along with. God calls us to a standard of perfection while also teaching us how to show mercy to ourselves and others when that mark is not met. Jesus was the only perfect dude that made a way for us to have Him living through us to be perfect, too.

There are many people who claim to be Christians and who live like their faith is completely wrapped up in a political viewpoint rather than in Jesus Christ Himself. When we preach the words of Christ, we may be hated by others, but we are still called to share the Gospel no matter what the consequences because to die for Christ, not some other controversial topic, is gain.

It is good for us to pray and ask God to change difficult circumstances, but sometimes His answer is no we and we have to be okay with that. God often chooses to use the situations where we feel weak to give us His strength and use us to reach others that we couldn’t have reached if He had taken the difficulties away.

Since our purpose in life is to glorify God, He will use situations to break us if necessary so that His glory is made known. Rather than having to face consequences from our own choices, we need to live our lives in obedience to Him and allow His glory to shine in and through us.

At the beginning of a year there is a sense of new beginnings to make things different and better in our lives. Our finances are one thing the Bible maps out to show us where we need to be responsible. When we give our first fruits to God by placing our treasure in our church home, it also indicates that we are committed to belonging to a body of believers like He has called us to. Above anything else, the only thing that will keep us on track in all categories of responsibilities is spending time every morning talking with God.

Too many Christians today think that they can follow Jesus without being involved in the Church Body with other believers. No matter how we have been hurt by our own Christian brothers and sisters, we must commune with one another in fellowship, living peaceably and living to build each other up.

It is absurd for us to think that we can approach God and seek forgiveness and that He will freely give it to us while at the same time we withhold forgiveness from someone who has wronged us. We must, by the power of His Spirit, forgive others no matter how evil the grievance and let it go.