When you dig deeper in God's Word it'll change your life

God's Word reminds us that we shouldn't return evil for evil or anger for anger. This is how to overcome

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. You chase God and things will chase you.

Change keeps life fresh and adventurous. Embrace change with faith and trust that God will see you through.

Reasons We Don’t Take Care of Ourselves

We have let ourselves slip into unworkable lives. 

With the incredible pressures of juggling career and parenthood, paying steep mortgages and increased fuel prices and burning the proverbial candle at both ends and everywhere in between, it is oh-so-easy to put the workout off, grab a cheeseburger on the run, cheat our sleep time in order to catch up on paperwork and let the tail wag the dog until we’ve cut everything out of our lives that once gave us pleasure or kept us sane. This is bad enough, because life is a gift and is meant to be joyful. It should be pleasurable and sane.

We have become pathologically selfless. 

Selflessness can be addictive. It feels so good to do for others and it makes us feel important. Yes, it is a good thing to help others and should be a major part of our life, but in my line of work, I often see people who routinely ignore their basic needs. The only thing that gives them meaning is doing things for others. This is admirable, but it can easily cross the line into mistaking suffering for virtue. Martyrs usually end up bitter. And once the body breaks down and life is no longer joyful, it becomes increasingly hard to serve anyone. Volunteers in a soup kitchen don’t let their pots fall apart while they ladle out one more bowl of soup. They take the time to care for the equipment they need to do their calling. And you should do the same with your most important piece of equipment—your body.

I am not suggesting that we be selfish because that renders us very unhappy and is not how God teaches us to live. We are to live sacrificially and be involved in doing good works, but we must not ignore our own basic needs in the process. Everything in life must be balanced or something breaks down and quite often it is us.

We have lost our support. 

When we don’t have a good social network or a godly foundation to keep our spirits high, it becomes easy to slip into boredom, loneliness, and depression. If we aren’t able to somehow fill that void, the devil will. You may have heard the saying “Nature abhors a vacuum.” Well, let me tell you, the devil loves one! He’ll put lots of bad food within easy reach and let you mistake spiritual or emotional hunger for physical hunger. Maintaining a good support network is a terrific way to prevent the formation of bad habits.

We need to have right people around us who will speak if they see us getting out of balance. We need to spend regular time in fellowship with God and learning His principals. His Holy Spirit who works through His Word convicts us of wrongdoing and gives us the chance to make positive changes before we break down or become ill.

 We don’t know how to take care of our physical bodies. 

Decades of bad diets, misinformation, and easy access to fast food and prepackaged food have left people amazingly confused about what a wholesome diet is and how they should eat.

We have a skewed body image planted in our minds by media and advertising. 

On one side we are inundated with unattainable ideals of beauty, while on the other, obesity is so prevalent that it’s almost considered the norm. We need to reset our internal picture of what a healthy person should look like.

 We have forgotten our own value.

 This is the biggest reason we don’t take care of ourselves. If you don’t understand your own importance in the Big Plan, taking care of yourself seems pointless. Reminding you of your place in God’s plan is my first and most important task.

If you’re not sure of your value in God’s eyes, then I invite you to read this article. There’s a crucial link between our spirits and our bodies that we all need to understand.

God has a great future planned for you and you need to be ready for it! You need to look great and feel great, ready to do whatever God asks of you.

How to Know God

The Bible teaches us that all people were meant to have friendship with God. It began that way, but ever since Adam and Eve, man has fought against that relationship. Instead of living in peace with God and each other, we find conflict and disagreement... or worse!

Man has a habit of living for himself. We often ignore God and pursue our own plans. Our selfish choices do not bring us life. In fact, they earn us a death sentence.

God understands that mankind battles with sin. He understands that we are frustrated with how things turn out. He also knows that left to ourselves, we would not always do the right thing. So, God stepped in and made a way for us to find forgiveness and begin again.

How did God do this? He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to live among us. He taught us a better way.

Jesus was perfect in every way, but mankind was not happy with God's way forward. While Jesus taught us to love God and each other, evil men plotted his death upon a cross. They took him away and tried his case unfairly. The same people that Jesus taught, healed and fed, forced a Roman Governor to sentence Him to death on a cross.

Jesus died to take our sins on His shoulders. He paid the price for the wrongs we have done. Because He died in our place, we can find God's forgiveness. But the story did not end there!

Jesus paid the price for our sins 

by dying on that cross. Three days later, He rose from the dead. Hundreds of witnesses saw Jesus alive again before he rose to heaven. They heard Jesus promise that when we accept Him here on earth, we would be able to be in heaven with Him when we die.

Now, Jesus is willing to forgive our sins. He knows our weaknesses. He offers to make a way for us, but only if we will ask Him.

If you want to be free from your sins, if you want to begin again, ask Him for forgiveness. It is not complicated.

Simply talk to God and say,

"Thank you, God, for loving me and sending your Son to die on the cross for the wrongs I have done. I am sorry for the things I have done that hurt You. I choose to make Jesus the Lord of my life.Help me to be the kind of person that You want me to be. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

God Loves You!

God wants a relationship with you. He made a way for us to find forgiveness and begin again. Start that relationship with him today!

Things young people can do for God.

Here are ten things that you can do to serve God and gain life's greatest blessing:

(1) OBEY THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST

Christ commands us to believe in Him (John 8:24), to repent of our sins (Acts 2:38), to confess His name (Matthew 10:32-33), and to be baptized into Him for the remission of our sins (Romans 6:3-6). Study Tape # 46, "How Can a Man Be justified With God?", for further information about this most important step. Every young person who can understand these commands should obey them. There is nothing you will ever do that will mean so much to you in coming years.

(2) KEEP THYSELF PURE (I Timothy 5:22)

If you like a real challenge, the challenge of conquering our own will is life's greatest, for sin is easy. Besides the personal satisfaction that moral purity brings, it brings also the blessings of God (Matthew 5:8).

(3) BUILD A CHRISTIAN PERSONALITY

True greatness 14,es in spiritual things. Emphasize prayer, study, and righteousness, and they will bless you. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul"' (Matthew 16:26). Those who follow Christ learn how to do good unto all men, even their enemies. Their lives radiate the beauty of his way (Matthew 5:14-16). Christianity brings peace with God, peace with others, and peace within.

(4) LEAD OTHERS TO CHRIST

Christ has commanded His disciples to take the gospel to everyone. You can be a soul-winner. And nothing enlarges one's faith and spiritual capacity like teaching the lost.

(5) GET A CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

You CAN get a Christian education if you really want to. Your doing so will help you in a thousand ways. A Christian college education will help you to be the best and most productive citizen possible in God's kingdom.

(6) PREPARE YOURSELF FOR A DECENT PROFESSION

The New Testament strongly commands honest and honorable work (I Thessalonians 4:11,12). The Christian life is not that of a parasites but one of industry and service.

(7) BUILD A CHRISTIAN HOME

Next to obeying the gospel of Christ, the greatest favor you will ever do yourself is to build a Christian home. When you marry, MARRY A CHRISTIAN.

(8) PREPARE FOR CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP

The church needs every competent leader and teacher that it can get. Develop your talents for Christian leadership by the sincere and zealous practice of spiritual responsibilities. Be USEFUL in the Lord's service.

(9) ENCOURAGE AND HELP OTHERS

Everyone bears a burden. When we help bear other's burdens and encourage them in Christ's walk, we fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

(10) BE FAITHFUL THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFE

(Read Revelations 2:10) Many perils will beset your pathway. Temptations and disappointments came to the Lord and they will also come to you. And all who live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer some persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), but God calls us to a life that man cannot destroy and to treasures that are eternal. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Keep your faith and it will keep you. There is great potential in your life. May God bless you as you develop it in His service.