11 Tips Making Resolutions Realities

1. Make a list of your goals and select the top three to five that are the most important to you. Pray for God’s guidance in the process. He knows best.

2. Be realistic. Reaching for a goal should stretch you, but it should also be doable. Decide on a reasonable time frame for reaching each goal.

3. Don’t try to do everything at once. Focus on your top goal for a set period of time. Then move to goal number two, while maintaining the progress made toward reaching the first one, and so on.

4. Pray. Prayer brings into play the spiritual help you need to reach your goals.

5. Work with God. Change involves overcoming past thought and behavioral patterns. This is never easy, but change for the better is possible if you ask God to help and follow His lead. “With God nothing will be impossible.”

6. Chart your progress. Keep track of how far you’ve come, using a journal or chart. Keeping records and reviewing them periodically can also help you to identify weak spots.

7. Get help from others. Share your plan with a friend and ask for his or her help. Being accountable to someone will give you added incentive to stick to your resolutions even when it’s tough.

8. Don’t be discouraged by your mistakes. You will have some setbacks and “off” days. Take these lows as a reminder that you can’t do it on your own. Draw closer to God and depend more on His help. Tomorrow is a fresh chance to do better!

9. Be in it for the long haul. If you are truly serious about making a change, you will be willing to see it through, no matter how long it takes.

10. Visualize victory. Periodically visualize what your life will be like once your goal is reached. Picture the advantages you will gain and how much happier, healthier, or more productive you will be.

11. Reward yourself for each goal you reach. The real reward will be the feeling of accomplishment and the benefits you’ll experience from the change you’ve made, but having a physical treat attached to a specific goal can make it even more enjoyable.

—

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Proverbs 4:21 ESV – Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.

Job 38:4 ESV – Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

Changing for the Better

God wants only the best for us.

Psalm 84:11b: No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Matthew 7:9–11: Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Luke 12:32: Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

God can and will help us change for the better, if we let Him.

2 Timothy 1:12b: I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.

Philippians 1:6: Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 2:13: For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

But the natural man resists change.

Mark 7:9: And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!”

Luke 5:39: And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’

Yieldedness to the Lord’s will is the key to beneficial change.

1 Samuel 3:18b: So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, “He is the LORD; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

Psalm 40:8: I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.

Isaiah 64:8: Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Jeremiah 42:6: Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God.

Matthew 6:10b: Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

During the changing process, we must do two things: not worry about the past and keep our eyes on the goal ahead.

Philippians 3:13–14: Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:18: So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Colossians 3:2: Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Hebrews 12:1–2: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Seize the Day!

One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.
—Dale Carnegie

The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the “buts” you use today.
—Les Brown

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
—Albert Einstein

What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Today is a most unusual day, because we have never lived it before; we will never live it again; it is the only day we have.
—William A. Ward

Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (“The Builders”)

You had better live your best and act your best and think your best today; for today is the sure preparation for tomorrow and all the other tomorrows that follow.
—Harriet Martineau

I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.
—Groucho Marx

Never let yesterday use up too much of today.
—Will Rogers

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today!
—William Allen White

The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Light tomorrow with today!
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning

—

James 4:14 ESV – Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 – I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

Psalm 31:14-15 – But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand.

Life’s Editing

I had struggled with and overcome the demons of self-doubt and fear of failure, launched out into the deep, put pen to paper, and written my first short inspirational piece.

I sat back and read it through several times. Pleased with my modest effort, I submitted the piece to a monthly magazine for possible publication.

Some time later the magazine’s editor contacted me, saying he would like to print my article. He also enclosed an edited draft for my approval or further revision. Edited! As I sat and stared at “my” work, now before me in edited form, a strange mix of feelings swept over me. I had seen myself as an up-and-coming writer, but that image vanished like a mirage in a gathering sandstorm.

After the initial shock subsided, I tried to think about the situation more objectively. The edited version was indeed better. The central idea I wanted to convey was still there, the imagery was intact, and the tone was unchanged, but the superfluous parts had been cut to get to the heart of the piece.

As I contemplated this, my eye caught a picture of a diamond ring in a magazine lying open on my table. I thought about how someone had mined the chunk of rock that had contained that diamond, and about the skilled hands of the lapidary that had transformed that diamond in the rough into a thing of beauty, highly valued and greatly desired. Like a diamond trapped in a chunk of rock, my rough piece had not been the final product. The diamond had been there, but it had taken other skilled hands to retrieve, cut, and polish it.

Life is like this too. We are created as rough drafts that must go through the editing process. God sees in each of us that spark of promise, like the editor spots a promising thought as he scans the rough drafts that cross his desk. Then God works to transform us step by step into a finished article that will make worthwhile reading. Our substance is reshaped repeatedly by the choices and decisions we make, the superficial and superfluous bits are purged through life’s trials, and we are fine-tuned and polished through our daily interaction with others.

Like my roughly penned story, in the hands of the Great Editor my life has become more than it was to begin with—and He’s not done yet.

—

Psalm 119:59 ESV – When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV – Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Proverbs 21:1 ESV – The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

Announcement

1. Children Camp 2016
Date: 6-9 Dec (Tue-Fri)
Venue: SUFES CAMPSITE, Perak.
Please intercede for the childrens, teachers and volunteers for successful camp and a blessed fun time.

2. Corp Council Meeting
Date: 4 Dec 2016 (Sun) 12:30pm
Venue: Community Hall

3. Officer's Fellowship
Date: 28 Nov - 1 Dev 2016 (Mon-Thur)

Venue: Johor Bahru

11 Tips Making Resolutions Realities

1. Make a list of your goals and select the top three to five that are the most important to you. Pray for God’s guidance in the process. He knows best.

2. Be realistic. Reaching for a goal should stretch you, but it should also be doable. Decide on a reasonable time frame for reaching each goal.

3. Don’t try to do everything at once. Focus on your top goal for a set period of time. Then move to goal number two, while maintaining the progress made toward reaching the first one, and so on.

4. Pray. Prayer brings into play the spiritual help you need to reach your goals.

5. Work with God. Change involves overcoming past thought and behavioral patterns. This is never easy, but change for the better is possible if you ask God to help and follow His lead. “With God nothing will be impossible.”

6. Chart your progress. Keep track of how far you’ve come, using a journal or chart. Keeping records and reviewing them periodically can also help you to identify weak spots.

7. Get help from others. Share your plan with a friend and ask for his or her help. Being accountable to someone will give you added incentive to stick to your resolutions even when it’s tough.

8. Don’t be discouraged by your mistakes. You will have some setbacks and “off” days. Take these lows as a reminder that you can’t do it on your own. Draw closer to God and depend more on His help. Tomorrow is a fresh chance to do better!

9. Be in it for the long haul. If you are truly serious about making a change, you will be willing to see it through, no matter how long it takes.

10. Visualize victory. Periodically visualize what your life will be like once your goal is reached. Picture the advantages you will gain and how much happier, healthier, or more productive you will be.

11. Reward yourself for each goal you reach. The real reward will be the feeling of accomplishment and the benefits you’ll experience from the change you’ve made, but having a physical treat attached to a specific goal can make it even more enjoyable.

—

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Proverbs 4:21 ESV – Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.

Job 38:4 ESV – Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.

Puzzle Pieces

When everyone lit fireworksat the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, did you celebrate in vibrant cheer? Or did the clock’s chime bring a kind of melancholy as you silently pondered the future?

As the shouts of “Happy New Year” rang out, was it a joyful moment for you? Or was it tinged with anxiety about the future?

Last year, it was all a little hazy to me. We clinked our glasses and toasted one another with the usual buzz of a New Year’s celebration, but as I tossed in my bed later, I wondered what was in store for me.

I was excited about many future prospects; I knew that change was in the air. I was on a high and a low at the same time, and while on the verge of making decisions, couldn’t quite come to any.

The following days of uncertainty stretched into a week, then two. I pondered, procrastinated, and prayed. A lot. To no avail.

Then one day, a package arrived in the mail. Along with clothes and chocolates, my aunt had sent me a child’s puzzle. Amused, I laid it aside to give to my little brother.

When four-year-old RJ saw it, he excitedly took the box into another room to open. Soon, though, he was back—and he was in a frenzy.

“The puzzle has no picture!” he exclaimed. “You have to draw the picture!”

“What?”

“The puzzle has no picture!” RJ repeated.

Looking closer, I realized it was one of those do-it-yourself puzzles, and so, at RJ’s insistence, I drew a picture on the not-yet-disassembled puzzle. He was overjoyed.

Just when I thought he would leave me alone, RJ said, “Now you have to help me do it!”

He scattered the pieces on the floor, raked them into a pile, spread them out again, and sat there, arms crossed, cheerfully confident that I would do the work for him.

I hesitated, but eventually gave in. “Okay, we’ll do it together,” I said. “It’s easy!”

I had intended for RJ to color the picture before he took the puzzle apart, but he hadn’t. The pieces were a mess of black and white lines that didn’t seem to fit together. But RJ wouldn’t be deterred.

I showed him how to find the corner pieces first, then the edges, and then to hunt for pieces where elements of the picture were recognizable—eye pieces over here with nose pieces, leaf pieces with flower pieces, etc.

Bit by bit, it started to come together.

I watched as RJ slowly found and fitted each puzzle piece into its proper place. He sometimes shook his head in frustration. Other times he threw up his hands in exasperation and said aloud, “Aw, that doesn’t go here!”

And each time he was convinced there was something wrong with the puzzle itself. Time and again I had to reassure him that the pieces would indeed all fit together once he had each one in the right place.

“It’s all part of the same picture,” I would say. “We just need to find where it goes.”

It took a half hour before the picture of a cat playing in a garden was completed, but when it finally was, a look of smug satisfaction spread across RJ’s face.

I was smiling too, because right then I understood that I was like a little child, trying to sort out the puzzle pieces of my life, getting confused and frustrated, wanting to say I couldn’t do it.

All those pieces are part of the same puzzle, whispered a gentle inner voice that I have come to recognize as Jesus’. We just need to find where they go.

Just as I had sat with my little brother, hinting where pieces would fit, Jesus would sit with me as I sorted out this pile called my future.

There I was, trying to get rid of parts that didn’t seem to make sense, crying out in a fit of frustration that I didn’t know what went where. And there He was, all the time reassuring me that it was going to be okay, that all the pieces would come together. He could be certain of that because He was the artist who had drawn it. It would take time and I would have to be patient, but when all the pieces were finally in place, I too would smile with satisfaction.

And that’s just what happened. With a few more hints from Jesus, a few days before I sat down to write this story, the pieces all came together.

Today I look at the puzzle of the next year, and I am excited! Things are already beginning to fall into place. I’m sorting the corners and the edges. I’m seeing something unfold before my eyes. I have learned that all the pieces are needed.

And yes, it’s going to be a beautiful picture.

—

Proverbs 16:9 ESV – The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV – For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Jeremiah 1:5 ESV – “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Perfect Love

These are a few of the words that come to mind when I think about Jesus’ love for each of us: Perfect. Free. Unconditional. Everlasting.

His love is perfect. It is the only thing in the world that is absolutely perfect. There are a lot of things that are nice, beautiful, and wonderful, but nothing is perfect like His love. We live in an imperfect world, with imperfect humans, in imperfect conditions, but His love is what makes it possible for us to weather everything that life brings our way. He is perfect, and so is His love.

His love is free. It’s not something that we have to work for, or earn‚ or somehow prove that we’re worthy of. That’s a good thing, too, because we all sin and make mistakes. If we had to earn Jesus’ love, none of us would have it, because we’re all men and women of similar weaknesses and human frailties. Jesus, in His divine foresight and wisdom, knew this and chose to love us with no strings attached.

His love is unconditional. He doesn’t only love us through the good times.

He doesn’t just love us when we’re happy, progressing in the school of life‚ or making a positive difference in the lives of others. He loves us when we’re up and when we’re down. He loves us when we’re well and when we’re sick. He loves us when we do things worthy of His praise, and He loves us even when we do things that sadden Him. To think that there isn’t even one condition to His love is truly amazing!

His love is everlasting. It’s not something that will be here one day and gone the next. Jesus’ love will not expire or fade. It can’t be stolen or forfeited. It doesn’t get old with the times or go out of style. It’s traditional and historic, but also modern and current. It’s always. Even before we knew Him, He loved us. He has loved us from the very beginning of time, and He will love us throughout eternity.

Being confident in how much Jesus loves you won’t just make you happier; it will be a stabilizing force in your life. When you are assured of His love for you, when you trust and believe in it, then that knowledge will steady and give you peace, even when you face disappointments, heartbreaks, difficulties, or anything else that life sends your way. His love is strong enough to see you through anything. It’s durable, dependable, and forever!

—

Romans 5:8 ESV – But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:16 ESV – So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 3:16 ESV – By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

Got Potential?

What can you realistically expect to be or accomplish? That depends in part on how you define “realistic.” Nobody knows what we’re capable of better than God, and often His definition of “realistic” is “potential.”

He knows our limits—“He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust”—but He also sees our hearts and continually looks at us from the viewpoint of what we can become.

God expects us to do what we can, but He doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He knows we’ll never be perfect, and if we’re smart we’ll realize that it’s foolish for us to try or pretend to be. We have to do our part, but our part isn’t to be perfect—and that’s the beauty of God’s plan!

Once we receive Jesus as our Savior, He lives in us. And if we will remember that we’re weak and imperfect and nothing, really, without Him, He can come through and be our everything. “We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” His strength is made perfect in our weakness. God loves to do amazing, extraordinary things through some of the most unlikely, imperfect people who find themselves in the most seemingly impossible situations. He does that to show us what He can do. It’s never about how good or strong we are. It’s about God and His goodness and power.

With God nothing is impossible, and He knows that no matter what has happened in the past or what our current weaknesses or lacks may be, we can change; He can make us better. We must learn to see ourselves through the eyes of faith, through the perspective of what we can become, what God’s power can transform us into, what Jesus can be in us.

So what if you aren’t perfect! Who is? You can still be a great success in life if you let the Spirit of God work in you and through you. His Spirit will fill in the gaps of the little problems and imperfections. God doesn’t need perfection from us to work His wonders.

Make room for God to work by not looking at your shortcomings and imperfections, but rather by looking to Him to help you reach your full potential as you do your part and hold Him to the promises He has made to you in His Word.

—

Psalm 103:14 ESV – For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.

John 15:5 ESV – I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV – But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

God Can Do the Impossible

To one degree or another, just about all of us are unsatisfied with ourselves—but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A certain amount of dissatisfaction is necessary if we’re going to keep making progress. To become all that we can be, we must dream of being more than we are. The problem is that too many of us stop there, in the dream stage. Why do you suppose that is?

I suspect that more often than not it’s because we don’t think we have what it takes to turn our dreams into reality. And we’re usually right about that. We can make some changes by sheer willpower or working harder, like reaching a new sales quota or dropping a dress or pants size. But what about the bigger changes, the changes inside that we know would make us happier and better people? It’s that kind of change that is often most elusive.

We’re not good enough, we tell ourselves. We have too many flaws and make too many mistakes. We’ve tried and failed too many times. What’s the use? It’s just not in us!

Jesus summed it up simply when He said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” The secret lies in putting ourselves in God’s hands and letting Him do the impossible for us and through us and sometimes in spite of us. We may be small and weak and incapable, but there is a very big, strong, capable God just waiting to give us a hand. With His help, it’s easier than you ever imagined to make those “impossible” changes in yourself.

—

Matthew 19:26 KJV – But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Mark 10:27 KJV – And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Mark 11:24 KJV – Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Appreciate the Good

After I commented on my blog about a Christian song that I had found particularly inspiring, someone wrote and asked if I was aware of certain personal details about the singer/songwriter. I wasn’t, and learning these things about him came as a bit of a surprise.

I still appreciate the song, though, and I don’t feel that this man’s lifestyle choices change the fact that the song contains a beautiful truth. I’m thankful for the way that song moved me, and for how it is reaching people with God’s love.

We don’t have to embrace everything about a person in order to appreciate the good that he or she does. If we can take on this attitude, it will help us to be less exclusive and to find common ground with people who are different from us.

If we judged everyone according to things they have done that we don’t agree with, or by the sins they may have committed, we would miss out on a lot of very good things. We would have to reject the book of Psalms, because the author of most of those psalms, King David, plotted an innocent man’s death. And we couldn’t appreciate Moses’ leadership or the five books of the Bible that were authored by him because he killed a man in a moment of anger. We wouldn’t appreciate and benefit from a good deal of the New Testament, either, because the apostle Peter denied Jesus, and the apostle Paul persecuted some of the first Christians before he found Jesus. We would have little inspired music if we started to dissect the lives of those who wrote or produced each song. For that matter, we’d have very little in life that we could appreciate or benefit from, because no one is perfect. Where would we draw the line?

The point is, when we see a beautiful piece of art or hear some beautiful music, we can appreciate it and the inspiration behind it. Even if the artist or composer didn’t know where that inspiration was coming from, we do. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights.”

Think about Jesus’ interactions with mankind when He lived as one of us. He welcomed people who had made choices that He certainly didn’t agree with. Those things weren’t what mattered to Him. What mattered was that they wanted His love, and He gave it freely. If Jesus, perfect and without sin, was that accepting and welcoming of everyone, how can we do less?

—

Psalm 31:19 ESV – Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind!

Psalm 27:13 ESV – I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!

James 1:17 ESV – Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Success with People

Look for the good in others.

Philippians 4:8: Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Titus 3:2: To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Matthew 7:2–5: For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:12: Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Luke 6:31–33: And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

Show understanding to those who are weaker.

Romans 15:1–2: We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.

Galatians 6:1: Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.

Be winsome; dwell on points of agreement.

Romans 14:19: Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.

1 Corinthians 9:19–22: For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.

Be patient and forgiving, as God is with us.

Psalm 103:8–10: The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.

Matthew 18:21–22: Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

Ephesians 4:32: And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Blank Spaces

It has been said that when it comes to helping those we care about, prayer is not the least we can do, but the most. The Bible promises, “This is the confidence that we have in [God], that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” That’s a lot of power!

There are many times during the day when our thoughts wander aimlessly, and those thoughts usually involve others—friends, family, colleagues, or those we’ve crossed paths with or heard about in the news. Perhaps you are stuck in traffic, or you have your hands in dishwater, or are taking a walk, or are waiting to fall asleep at night. When you find yourself in one of these blank spots and someone springs to mind, instead of only thinking about that person, turn your thoughts into a prayer.

Instead of wondering how your nephew is doing in school, pray for him to excel and be happy. Instead of wondering if your mother is recovering from the flu, pray for her healing. Instead of worrying about your friend who just lost his job, pray for him to not be discouraged and to find a new one.

By making a conscious effort to direct your thoughts to God and ask for His help, you will not only be giving a great gift to those you care about, but you’re likely to find greater peace of mind yourself. The more situations you ask God to take care of, the less you will have to worry about. “Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you.”

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Philippians 4:6-7 ESV – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV – Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Hebrews 13:6 ESV – So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Enemies of Success

oday’s armies of life coaches and business gurus often seem to build their strategies on a fundamental bit of advice from the 6th-century bc Chinese general Sun Tzu in his treatise, The Art of War—“Know your enemy.” Not until we identify and understand the attitudes and conditions that threaten our success can we take the steps necessary to overcome them.

Lack of a clear goal. 

“What often leads to failure,” says entrepreneur and consultant Joseph Ansanelli, “is [the absence of] a well understood, small set of very important goals.”

“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.”—Yogi Berra

Lack of a plan. 

It’s okay to dream of building castles in the air, but they won’t become realities without a realistic step-by-step plan for putting them there. Today we have space stations, but they didn’t just happen.

“He who fails to plan, plans to fail.”—Author unknown

Lack of focus. 

Various things can contribute to lack of focus, including low motivation, a poor work environment, or being distracted by matters of lesser priority. Identify interferences and determine how to best deal with each.

“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life.”—Anthony Robbins

Laziness. 

You can have a great idea and even a great plan for achieving it, but if you lack the necessary dedication or aren’t willing to put in the work, the idea and plan are doomed.

“Some people dream of success, while others wake up and work hard at it.”—Author unknown

Rigidity. 

Few things undermine initiative and progress worse than holding on to the way things have been done in the past.

“A closed mind is not only closed to outside thoughts, it is often closed to itself as well. It is closed to new thoughts and anything that threatens the status quo. But if you can open the doors, maybe just a crack at first, the ideas that have been patiently waiting at your gates will flood in.”—David Straker and Graham Rawlinson, How to Invent (Almost) Anything

Lack of enthusiasm. If an idea is like a spark, enthusiasm is the wind that whips it into a bonfire strong enough to withstand the rain of adversity.

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”—Winston Churchill

Accepting defeat.

Very often, the battle is lost in the mind before the real action even begins. Expect defeat, and you are already defeated; hope to win, and you give yourself a chance; expect to win, and you increase your chances exponentially. Even the most seemingly impossible situation can be overcome if approached positively, as a challenge.

“Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.”—William Feather

Complacency. 

The greatest danger often comes when things are running smoothly and the pressure is off, because the natural tendency then is to not try as hard. It may be possible to coast for a while, but valuable momentum will be lost; if left unchecked, things will grind to a halt.

“There is a very fine line between confidence and complacency. If you win the first game against a team, the worst thing you can do is fool yourself into thinking that the second game will be easier.”—Dave McGinnis

Overconfidence.

The hare and the tortoise, the giant Goliath and the boy David, the Titanic—you get the picture.

“Before you attempt to beat the odds, be sure you could survive the odds you’re beating.”—Larry Kersten

Procrastination.

The most capable people in the world, with the best ideas in the world and all the financial backing in the world, will get nowhere until they take action.

“There are a million ways to lose a work day, but not even a single way to get one back.”—Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister

Disunity. 

Joint efforts rarely come to full fruition without reasonable levels of consensus and compatibility, so work at building those. Then when opposing ideas and interests emerge, rather than becoming stumbling blocks, they can be used as stepping stones.

“Honest differences of views and honest debate are not disunity. They are the vital process of policy making.”—Herbert Hoover

Moral compromise. 

The credo of some seems to be “All is fair in love, war, business, and life,” but what works is not always what’s right. Victories won immorally are shallow, usually short-lived, and often have consequences that cancel any success. “Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

“Success is more permanent when you achieve it without destroying your principles.”—Walter Cronkite

Failure to learn from mistakes. Victory is very often decided according to who has learned the most from past mistakes.

“The real test is not whether you avoid failure, because you won’t. It’s whether you let it harden or shame you into inaction, or whether you learn from it; whether you choose to persevere.”—Barack Obama