Joshua 24:15

If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.  But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

When we choose to serve God, we draw a line in the sand for the guidance of our belief system. Christianity is a belief system modeled by God and His word.  A God who modeled love by the sending of Jesus to die for our sins.  Serving the Lord shouldn’t be considered a burden but a blessing for on this earth and eternity.  Jesus said His “yoke was easy and His burden light.”  Your life and the goodness it could contain depends on this choice.  

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God.  

We can’t live our lives in a vacuum and only fellowship with Christians every day.  The world is around us, but we don’t need to let it get into us and influence our lives.  What we put in front of our eyes influences what comes out of our hearts. Like eating a lousy diet eventually shows on us physically, so does focusing on worldly ideas over God’s word. When we struggle in our lives, we need to check our focus and refocus on Jesus.  

Psalm 34:1

I will bless the Lord at all time; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

The attitude of gratitude toward Jesus and all that He has done for us is a life changer.  Our attitude toward Jesus reflects our beliefs and trust.  When we bless the Lord and praise Him, we remind ourselves that God is the power behind our lives.  We release the power in our praise and faith in the power above.  A thankful heart will be more at peace than a resentful one. Praise!

Psalm 23:6

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

We need “goodness and mercy” to follow us in our lives because we would fail without it.  We were never meant to walk through this life alone.  We were meant to walk hand in hand with the Father and be in a close relationship. Don’t let thoughts of doubt enter your mind that God has left you, he is with you always.   This life on earth is not the final step, and we have eternity with God.  Turn to God and let Him build you up.   

1 John 4:7,8

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loved is born of God and knows God.  He who does not loves does not know God, for God is love.

We are all at different levels and perspectives in this life, which can lead to frustrations instead of understanding if we let it.  Love each other and look at each other’s quirky personalities as God’s work in progress.  Love suffers long and is kind, and sometimes we forget the kind part.  Someone has been kind to us and loved us when we were ugly and having a horrendous day.  We desperately needed that love at that moment, praise God for the love.    

Colossians 2:13  

You, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all your trespasses.  

Sometimes we live defeated lives not really knowing why.  It may be that for some of us, our old lives if we are newly saved, may still have some influence on our faith walk.  Or we are letting the devil pound us with thoughts that are against God’s word. Sometimes, it comes down to our knowledge of God’s promises and our time in the scripture to learn about God. Encourage yourself and remind yourself that we were made alive with Him and He forgave all our trespasses.

Psalm 138:7

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, 

You will revive me;

You will stretch out Your hand

Against the wrath of my enemies,

And Your right hand will save me.

We will have trouble in this life, but aren’t you glad God is there to revive you.  Where you keep your focus is the key to whether you see yourself rescued or defeated.  Imagine the hand of God stretching out against your enemies on your behalf.  God fights for us every day, His word says so, our job is to trust and get out of the way and let Him do it.       

John 8:7 and 9
7 He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

We need to thank Jesus that He didn’t act holier than thou and went to the cross for our sin. Jesus understood the challenges and pitfalls the devil puts before all of us and still didn’t judge us for it. He came to lead sinners to repentance and convict our hearts. We need to follow this example no matter how hard it may be sometimes. The only one in this scenario who hadn’t sinned was Jesus and He, above all, had the authority to judge.

John 6:44
No man can come to me, except the Father which has sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

We are somebody to God, we are special, loved, cared for and redeemed. We don’t just have an earthly family but a family in heaven. Our relationship with Jesus is not a coincidence but coordinated before we were even born, a divine plan and a divine hand reached out to call us to God. Today, believe in yourself and the plan of God for your life.

John 1:12-13
But as many received him, to them gave he power to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Inside of every born-again believer is a power given by God. God’s abilities to transform our circumstances through the word are just waiting to be released. Our spirits are in us to lead and guide and transform our lives and be a force of good for Jesus. Remind yourself who you are in God’s’ word by studying what the word says who you are in Jesus.