Tag: faith

Don’t Beat Yourself Up!

When I do something wrong—and that’s often—I tend to beat myself up. Call it Catholic guilt or whatever but I just beat the daylights out of me. I’m now determined to stop the beating. That’s because once I review what I did wrong, confess it and am really sorry, and pledge to don’t do it again, I move on. Jesus died for my wrongs and left them hanging on the cross. So, by asking for forgiveness I receive forgiveness.

Yes, it’s that simple.

Let’s face it. We are all humans, which means by nature we are all sinners. We make mistakes. We are far from perfect. But the trick is knowing when you did something wrong, really understanding it, and asking for forgiveness, it’s time to move on.

There is a simple message in all of this. Don’t beat yourself up. Jesus doesn’t want you to beat yourself up. He just wants you to know what you did wrong and ask for forgiveness. Your sins are already forgiven when you do that. No beating necessary. That doesn’t solve the problem.

And I have a news flash. The devil wants you to beat yourself up. Over and over again. He doesn’t want you to ask for forgiveness and to move on. He wants your stuck in the mud beating yourself up. He wins, you lose.

Have a great week ahead and DON’T BEAT YOURSELF UP!!!

Hope Springs Eternal!

If you lose hope you lose life. But you never should lose hope because God hardwired hope into each one of us. It truly springs eternal in us, for now and forever.

If you lose hope you simply need to turn to God and you will have hope. It’s the hope that you can overcome anything in this life, do anything. That’s the message of hope. It springs eternal!

I know this all sounds too simple but it is. God made us to have simple lives but we complicate them. He is always there for us but we are most often now there for Him.

“Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” Revelation‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭

Keep your hope alive. Let God into your life. He keeps the flame of hope lit. Hope that you will realize your purpose in life and the hope that eternity awaits when you depart this earth.

Hope! It springs eternal to eternity.

New Day, New You

It’s not just New Year’s Day, but every day is a new day and a chance to make a new you. If anything is wrong in your life or needs changed, a new day gives you the opportunity to make a new you. You just need to put in the work and effort to change.

There’s no better way to make a new you than to renew your relationship with God. He is always there, less than a heartbeat away, to help you make a new you. You simply have to open up your mind and heart to God. You have to LISTEN for and to Him. You have to spend time with God.

It’s a new week and a new day. What better time to make a new you. It doesn’t matter where you have been in your life or what you have done. There is always the time to course correct in making a new you. It may take some work but it will be worth it in the end.

Open up to God today. He’s there. You just have to be there.

Have a FANTASTIC week ahead being a new you!

Bury Your Mistakes

I mean literally dig a hole and bury what you have done wrong. And if you literally don’t want to dig a hole and bury your notes on what you have done wrong then bury the hole in your mind. One way or another, get rid of your wrongs. Ask God for forgiveness and learn from what you have done wrong so you don’t do it again. Then, bury them.

I know that Jesus died for our sins/wrongs/mistakes in life. But you have to ask Him for forgiveness before those sins are forgiven. When you ask and truly are repentant then those sins are forgiven and died with Jesus’ “death” on the cross.

But mistakes in life have a funny way of sticking around and bogging us down. That’s why after asking for forgiveness and learning from our mistakes, we need to bury them.

Whether you bury the notes of your wrongs in an actual hole, or dig the hole in your mind and “bury” them, one way or another get rid of them. Move on! Get rid of any guilt because it has a way of eating away at you. Move on! Really! MOVE ON!!!

Have a FANTASTIC week ahead and bury those mistakes!

Conform or Transform?

Are you a conformist or a transformer? Do you follow everyone else, including down dead ends in life, or are you looking to be different? To transform. Paul’s letter to the Romans says it all:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” Romans 12:2

The Israelites conformed to each other and wandered the desert for 40 years. They were basically one mindset. They got lost conforming. Unfortunately, that’s what so many of us do today. We conform, even if we conform to be different. That’s why we are basically lost.

Paul nailed it that if you want to get closer to God, to walk the right path in life, you need to transform your mind by renewing it. That way you can start understanding what is not only good and acceptable but what is perfect to God. The world becomes brighter and clearer.

How do you transform by renewing? By listening for and to God. It’s that easy. You just have to make time, and LISTEN with an open mind and heart. That way you will start transforming your mind, and your life along with it.

LISTEN! Renew! Transform!

No Room for Guilt in Your Life!

I was the king of guilt and still sit on the throne of guilt on occasion. Gut I’m here to tell you what I found out—there is no room for guilt in your life. Why? Because Jesus lived and died for all our sins, not matter what we do wrong. So, confess with your heart that you screwed up and you are free. There is no reason to let guilt ruin your day, or even your life.

I use to beat myself up with guilt. It was a true whipping session that could go on for days. I felt comfortable in my guilt even if it froze me from moving forward. Then, I realized that a true confession wipes the remorse away.

Confessing what you did wrong is not like rubbing a magic lamp. It’s a serious, heartfelt examination of what you did and a commitment to not do it again. It’s a soulful talk with Jesus to thank Him for giving His life for what you did wrong. By wallowing in your guilt you’re actually denying that Jesus lived and died for your sins. So, give in to confessing, asking for forgiveness, and know that you have already been forgiven.

Get rid of the guilt!

Have a fantastic, guilt-free week ahead!

Recharge Your Light

I recently wrote that we all have a light hardwired into us by God. The problem is so many (most?) of us let that light be hidden. That’s why the world is such a dark place right now. The lights are not out but just hidden.

“You are light for the world. A city cannot be hidden when it is located on a hill. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it on a lamp stand. Then its light shines on everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16

This says it all. Let your light shine. That’s the only way the world will get out of the darkness we’re in now. Like all change, it starts with one person at a time. A smile. A good deed. Reaching out to someone in trouble. Just do good. The beat goes on of how to let your light shine.

Every once in a while I know my light needs recharging. I get that done by asking God for a charge. By talking to Him. Praying. Meditating. Simply being still. It’s amazing how your light can charge up. But you still need to let it shine. Don’t hide it from view!

Have a FANTASTIC week! Let your light shine!!!

Where is God?

That’s a good question in these troubled times. It’s easy to question where God is and why does He let all this bad stuff happen in the world. It’s even easy to question the existence of God. And that’s exactly what the forces of evil want you to do. Question, doubt, and simply walk away.

Look. God is always there and a heartbeat away. We just need to turn to Him. But like the Israelites in the desert thousands of years ago it’s easier to turn away from God. To doubt. To complain. To worship false idols. And look where that got them. Not even Moses crossed into the Promised Land. Only two of the original tribe did.

It this earth was all there is then I would certainly question God and His existence. But this earth, with all our imperfections and the forces of evil constantly in our ear, is not all there is. It’s a training ground, a warm-up to eternity. I know that may sound just too pat, but what can I say. It’s true. Think about this, we die and at the moment of death there is nothing. Or, at the moment of death, we either see a shining light or a very dark place. And everything we have done to make this imperfect world Heaven on earth will dictate if we see light or dark. If we see nothing then it’s game over. I’m banking on seeing something and I want to see light.

Every day we have choices to make. We can LOVE as God our Creator and Jesus our Savior both commanded or we can live for just ourselves. It’s a pretty simple choice. We live for today for ourselves or we live for today and tomorrow for others. We make this world a worse place or improve it for the better.

Game on!

Dealing With Temptation

Let’s face it, we are all tempted in one way or another. We may not realize it, or may just be in denial, or simply don’t care but we are all faced with temptation. The evil presence in this world—call it, Satan, Lucifer, devil, demon, or whatever—is real. It whispers in our ears and twists and turns our lives. The goal is to drag us into a dark and sometimes endless pit.

There are three basic ways to deal with temptation. You can simply give into it. Not good! Or you can dwell on temptation, which typically ultimately leads to giving into it. Not good! Or you can be still and simply let it pass. Hard but very good!

It takes discipline to simply let temptation pass. To go in one ear and out the other. But it can be done. Trust me. No, trust God. He is always less than a heartbeat away to help you deal with temptation. Turn to Him and let temptation go.

I know I am making this sound easy but it’s not. It takes practice, focus, and discipline but it can be done. Like anything in life, practice is needed. Pray, meditate, or simply be still. You can deal with temptation if you put your mind to it. It takes work but Jesus showed it how it can be done.

Have a great rest of the week and don’t let temptation ruin the peace that is hardwired into you!

Do You LOVE?

It’s clear that God is LOVE. Pure, unconditional LOVE. He sent His only Son to sacrifice Himself for our sins. Before His humanity died on the cross, Jesus gave us the one commandment to LOVE. The question is, do we LOVE?

LOVE is just like electricity. It has to flow. Without flowing, LOVE is nothing. God flows His LOVE into us, but the question is do we flow it to others?

Here’s a news flash. If you think you are a Christian—meaning, a follower of Jesus Christ—and you don’t walk in LOVE, you are simply not a Christian. I don’t know what you are but you are certainly not a Christian.

There is a profound lack of LOVE in this world today. There is a lot more animosity and downright hate in the world. LOVE is hard to come by. That’s why we have daily shootings and wars breaking out all over the globe. To LOVE is a Real Secret to Life but it’s more of an unknown than ever before.

You’re on a path to hell if you don’t walk in LOVE. It’s that simple. LOVE and you’re walking the path to eternity. Sorry. There is no sugar coating this.

I hope you walk in LOVE this week, the next, and so on.