"I promise it’ll make you better."

A thought by Michael Todd, from his book, Relationship Goals (p. 39). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Yes, it will.

Michael says, "Maybe you’re exploring this whole faith thing and this idea of cultivating a relationship with God seems a little intimidating. Well, my boy James gives us some advice and a promise: 'Come close to God, and God will come close to you' (James 4:8). It’s just that simple. You take a step, and you become more aware of how close God is. While you’re cultivating your relationship with God from your side, He’s doing even more to cultivate it from His side."

He continues, "For you, what does this require?

"You need to have a daily devotional life. I’m not going to tell you how to do that or when or for how long, but somehow you’ve got to crack that Bible open or scroll on that app every day. I promise it’ll make you better. It’s the only book where you read it and it reads you.

"And you need to pray. That’s simply talking to God. 'God, I’m frustrated about this traffic that I’m stuck in right now. I just need You to help me not cuss these people out.' God’s not mad at that... He just wants you to talk to Him, and He’ll speak back to you.

"And then you need times of worship. Worship is expressing our love to God through our lives. One of the best ways to express worship is to play music that magnifies God and minimizes our doubts, anxiety, fear, and frustration."

He goes on, "At different seasons of life, your time with God might look different. If you’re single, you may have a lot of time to really invest in learning about and experiencing God. So, go for it. Do intensive studying on your own, attend Bible college, go to conferences, or live out your faith on a mission trip. Being engaged is a time to establish habits of praying together as a couple and talking about faith, encouraging each other. This is also a great time to establish community with other couples who are going the same way. When you’re married, you’re going to want to make attending church together a habit and figure out how your quiet time fits in to your schedule together. The thing is, wherever you’re at, you keep your priority but you adjust."

He then says, "Your season of life may have to dictate how you go about pursuing God, but as long as you do it, it’s going to be so beneficial, the basis for winning in other areas of your life. I’m convinced God has to be the center of your life."

Will you do that, will you put Him at the center? Yes, yes! #continuethought

Comments

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference. You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog