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Romans 8 28 page 001Romans 8:28: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Why do we worry?  It's because we wonder what the end result will be.  We then try to predict the future by going down the road of the what ifs.

Jesus gave us this promise, to take all of our worries away.  This verse tells us what the end result will be.  It WILL BE GOOD!  It also allows you to not think about the what ifs.  You can just live your life knowing that everything will work out.

In 1988, Bobby McFerrin wrote a song with these lyrics.

"In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double. Don't worry.  Be happy.  Don't worry.  Be happy now."

If, oops, when, we live the above scripture verse, we can approach life much differently, knowing the end will be good.  Then we can enjoy the journey and watch and see what God does to make it work out for good.  We can then be amazed at how much God loves us!

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!

I thess 5 17 page 002What is prayer?  Most will answer that it is talking to God.  Have you ever been talked “to”.  It is not fun.  Prayer is actually talking with God.  "With" is the key word, because both people get to talk.

How many people wish that they could talk to, oops, I mean, with, God?  Well, that is why we don’t hear God in our lives.  Most people like to talk to God and not give God a chance to speak back.  They want to tell God what they want or need.  Then they say amen and go on their way. 

If you want to hear God more in your life, you may want to consider if God wants or needs something? 

When you decide to pray, add this, "God, do you need or want anything from me?"  It will take your whole conversation to the next level, because now the door is open to a real conversation.

Trust me, God wants to have a real conversation with you that both of you will enjoy.  Then this verse will become meaningful in your life.  You do not have to pray 24 hours a day, but once you take time to listen to God too, you will look forward to speaking with Him and listening to Him so much that you'll wish that it wouldn’t stop.

When your relationship with God gets to that point, God will be so real to you.  God will also be more inclined to move spectacularly in your life, because communication is the key to any great relationship!

Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!

V of Week pic page 001I John 4:19:  "We love Him because He first loved us."

Easter is just around the corner, but without this verse, Easter would not be possible.

Imagine if we had to prove to Jesus that we were His worth love in the first place?  God cannot look at sin, and we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and fallen short of the Glory of God. If not for this verse, we would all be lost forever.

This verse tells us that before we chose anything, good or bad, Jesus said He loved us.  Loved is in the past tense.  This means Jesus made a decision about us that He will not take back.  That is why He died on the cross.  Not because we did anything to earn or deserve the right to go to heaven.  He died on the cross because He decided to love us no matter what, and he offered us the chance to be forgiven, no matter what we had done, because He loved us FIRST!

This is the ultimate message of Jesus to everyone.  He loves you!  If you want forgiveness, it is yours, and He wants you to take it.  Why?  It's because He simply loves you, just because!

Isn’t that what we all want, for people to just simply love us with no strings or conditions.

Remember Jesus really does love you, and by the way I do too, and you are awesome!

 
Mercy Triumphs over judgment page 001There is an epidemic in our country of anxiety and depression.
 
The root cause is that people are afraid of what others think of them and their choices. It causes them to pull away from others because they assume that they will receive negative feedback, and unfortunately, our secular society has proved this to be true.
 
The antidote is not drugs or going to counseling. The true antidote for anxiety and depression is for people to show a spirit of mercy. James 2:13 says that mercy triumphs over judgement.
 
Everyone will need mercy one day because we all do things wrong. No one is immune. Without mercy people quickly jump on others. Why did you do that, or I cannot believe you did that. They may not even have done anything wrong. Sometimes we just mess up or get confused. Because this is the prevailing mindset, no wonder why so many people are anxious and depressed. Or worse, they look to get revenge and cause that person pain.
 
If we choose to start with mercy, we show them, even when they are wrong or mess up, that we love them and consider them important in our life. Now with mercy, there can and should be correction, but when done in a spirit of mercy, the person will want to do better because they care that they hurt us or messed up. They will change because they want to do it for us, not because we forced them. This will bring the long-term results we are looking for.
 
Something everyone needs to remember is that no one decides on purpose that they want to destroy a relationship with someone else. We want relationships more than anything else. When that is threatened or taken away, the result is anxiety and depression. When we foster a spirit of mercy, we allow those anxious and depressing thoughts of what if or what could happen to go away.
 
Do you want the world, or at least “your world” to be a better place? Then practice mercy with those in your life. Yes, some may take advantage of you because of it, but Jesus says that He will defend you because Jesus always practices a spirit of mercy.
 
Also remember one day you will mess up and will need someone to show mercy on you. Give them a reason to do that for you!
 
Remember Jesus loves you; I love you, and you are awesome!