SPEAK WITH TRUTHFULNESS

Romans 9:1

In the presence of Christ, I speak with utter truthfulness — I do not lie — and my conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm that what I am saying is true.

You can share the Good News with people really easily if your relationship with those persons is good. People that you have a good relationship with would easily know if you were being honest and sincere. They'd be able to tell if your life had truly changed or if you were really just the same old person you'd always been. I'd heard a silly story about a woman that was discussing marriage counseling with her friends. This woman proudly shared, “My husband and I will never need counseling because we have an excellent relationship. My husband was a communications major in college and I majored in theater arts. He communicates really well and I just act like I am listening.” If you want people to believe your words about the Good News, you'll need to speak and behave with sincere utter truthfulness. Other than that, you'll be living a lie that the people closest to you would be able to easily detect. If you want your life to be a beacon for the Good News, make sure that your sincerity shines through.

BROKEN PROMISES

Psalm 55:20

As for this friend of mine, he betrayed me; he broke his promises.

Even the best of friendships can end up in betrayal. It’s one of the hardest things in life to accept, but it’s a reality. The worst thing about a friend’s betrayal is that it’s caused by someone we love. Here’s a silly story to lighten the sobering mood. A few customers were at a bank while it was being robbed, when one of the robber’s masks fell off. The thief looked at a customer who was also caught in the holdup and asked him, “Did you see my face?” As the man responded, “Yes,” the robber shot him. Then he asked a nearby woman. “Did you see my face?” She responded, “No… but my husband over there did.” When given a choice between our comforts against others, would you betray your loved ones or would you choose an uncomfortable position? How you answer that question to yourself will unveil quite a bit about what kind of friend you are.

BE JUST AND FAIR

Proverbs 11:6

The godliness of good people rescues them; the ambition of treacherous people traps them.

Godliness is about being just and fair. In the same vein, it's the godliness of good people that yields positive results. The Gospel Herald once ran a story about a man who was arrested for selling marijuana to students. The accused easily beat the charges because he was able to prove that he was actually selling plain drinking tea to the students. His victory was short-lived, however, because he was later convicted for defrauding the students he sold the tea leaves to because they thought they were buying marijuana. In the same way that godliness yields good results, there’s no escaping from the traps of sinful treachery. Sins will always find you out and corner you down, so be careful with your ambitions, desires and personal agendas.

LOVE IN WORDS AND ACTIONS

John 13:34

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

Love takes a commitment and we have to be willing to assure each other of our love. The Guinness Book of World Records says that Lauren Lubeck Blair and David E. Hough Blair of Tennessee married each other for the 83rd time on August 16, 2004. When asked why they married 83 times they responded, "We love telling each other that we love each other and looking into each other's eyes and saying our vows." Our love must always be expressed by words and implied by our actions. God did the same exact thing for you and I in the ultimate expression of eternal love. He expressed His love in words by the Holy Word of the Bible, and in physical action by Jesus’ actions on the cross at Calvary.

FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY

Romans 13:4

The authorities are sent by God to help you. But if you are doing something wrong, of course you should be afraid, for you will be punished. The authorities are established by God for that very purpose, to punish those who do wrong.

The authorities are institutional leaders that have been placed into positions of power by God. These institutions were generally established to provide rules for disciplinary purposes. Similarly, a person cannot be a disciple without understanding disciplines. There's a story I'd heard about a mother who went to court to pay a $55 traffic fine for her teen aged son. Before the judge, she then turned to face her son and delivered a loud resounding slap to his young face. The shocked judge quickly responded, “Madam, that calls for a $10 reduction in the fine.” The mother responded, “Oh that’s nothing, wait till I get him at home.” The cold hard truth is that when the authorities deliver discipline, the main purpose is to get people to behave properly and to live safely.

STRANGE AND MYSTERIOUS WAYS

Isaiah 45:15

Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior, you work in strange and mysterious ways.

It’s storied that William Cowper had intended to end his life at the age of 32 by throwing himself from a bridge after drinking opium-laced tea. His plan was to drive to a bridge where he would jump to his death; however, in his drugged state and in the fogginess of the night he drove around in circles ending up back at his own doorstep. The next day, he would fall upon a knife, only to have the blade break under his weight. He even tried hanging himself, but rescuers were able to cut him down while he was unconscious, yet still alive! Later on in life, he would find a Bible and take in verses that would inspire his heart and change his life forever. Cowper would eventually become one of the most famous hymnists ever by penning the aptly titled, "God Moves In A Mysterious Way." Cowper found out in many twists of irony that he was meant to live for something more than he could ever have envisioned. Are you letting God move in mysterious ways throughout your life?

A CLEAN SLATE

2 Timothy 2:20-21

In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.

Every person that receives Jesus in their life through faith in Him becomes servant of God. As a servant, our sins are forgiven. The Bible teaches us in Ephesians 2:10 that, “We neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.” We are cleaned by the blood of Jesus Our Lord so that God the Father can use us for His sovereign purpose. Keep yourself pure and God will definitely use you for His purpose. If you choose, however, to remain in your old sinful nature, you can be certain that His purpose for your life will go unfulfilled.

PRECIOUS VALUABLES

1 Peter 3:3-4

Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

It’s amazing to me how much money gets spent on clothes and other adornments to try to look good and impress others. The Bible clearly tells us that what is precious to God isn’t visible to man, but it's what's God can see in your heart – the real you. If we put more effort into our appearance, then we are focusing on a very temporary part of us instead of the eternal part of us. The real you is not the physical you, but rather it’s the spiritual you that has been revived in Christ. Ecclesiastes 12:7 teaches us, “For then the dust will return to the earth, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” Our spiritual life is what is most precious to God. Is your spiritual life what's most precious to you?

AT THE CORE OF DECEPTION

Revelations 12:9

This great dragon – the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world – was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

Have you ever been deceived? Have you ever been led to believe something that you later found out wasn't true? At the core of that deception sits Satan, or one of his fallen angels that manipulates people into lying and deception. They'll even use people's faith in religions to try and implement their devilish schemes. Revelation 13:4 teaches us that, “They worshiped the dragon for giving the beast such power, and they worshiped the beast. ‘Is there anyone as great as the beast?’ they exclaimed. ‘Who is able to fight against him?’” If you’ve come to believe that you have a way into heaven through doing good deeds, through being a member of a church, or through refraining from doing anything bad – then you’ve been deceived. Read the Word of God, you’ll easily find that Jesus is the only way.

COMPLETE AND PERFECT

Philippians 1:6

And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.

Dale Carnegie once said that, “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” As Christians, our hope is in God who promised that whatever He began in us, He would certainly finish. 2 Corinthians 3:18 teaches us, “And all of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” God’s goal for us as He completes and perfects us, is to have us become more and more like Christ.

CHANGE YOUR LIFE TODAY

Romans 6:13

Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.

I had the privilege of working with the owner of a motel chain who was saved by the blood of Christ. Prior to knowing Jesus as his Savior, this businessman's motel chain was primarily used for prostitution and other assorted immoral activities. When he received Jesus' gift of salvation, he converted the motel into a God honoring business and banned prostitution. All of his motel signs now read, “For The Glory of God.” Jesus changes lives. Jesus can change your life, if you'd be willing to accept Him. Are you letting Christ change your life today?

THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU HAVE

Romans 9:20

No, don't say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to criticize God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who made it, "Why have you made me like this?"

How much time do you spend being critical? Criticism has become a normal topic of conversation, and critics are an endless stream of sarcasm. I’d once read a story about a teenager who said, “I was thinking about my parents, and how they messed things up and did such a terrible job with the world in their generation. And then it hit me. If they are all that bad, how did I become such a wonderful guy?” I'm sure that we all have a lot of questions and comments about things that are happening around us. However, the best thing to do would be to thank God for all that you have and to get closer to Him so that He may unveil the answers to your questions. Hold your tongue from criticism and let your faith be strong.

A STRONG AND FIT BODY

Ephesians 4:12

Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.

Former weightlifting champ, Bob Zuver, became an ordained minister after building Zuver’s Gym and the Muscle Hall of Fame. What’s interesting about this gym is that all of the presentations are physically large. For instance, three of the presentations are a huge fiberglass gorilla, a ten-foot tall superman and a fiberglass elephant lifting a barbell. The main entrance doors weigh two tons and the drinking fountain is a fire hydrant. When Zuver was asked why everything was made large in scale, he said, “To build fitness and strength, not only in the physical realm, but also in the mental and the spiritual realms.” Every Christian is part of the body of Christ, and the responsibility of everyone is to strengthen each other and work together to build a huge, fit body of Christ.

IN CHRIST ALONE

1 John 2:1

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

To whom are we supposed to confess our sins? To priests? To the government? Maybe to each other? The Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ is the only one to whom we should confess our sins. He is the only righteous one able to bear the load of all of our sins because all other possibilities are filled by sinners. This is why the Word of God teaches us in 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” When we give ourselves over to Jesus, the Son speaks to the Father on our behalf, in our defense. Christ is our defender and when God looks at us, He no longer sees us, but rather the Father sees His Son. Ultimately, there are no priests, governments, institutions or persons that can do that for you. Just Christ alone.

ASSESS, REASSESS and REPEAT

Lamentations 3:40
Instead, let us test
and examine our ways.
Let us turn again in
repentance to the LORD.



Assessment and reassessment are vital parts of successful business management. Constant assessing and reassessing of performance indicates true vigilance. Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 16:13 to, “Be on guard. Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong.” Whenever you find yourself in sin, immediately ask God for forgiveness, leave that place of failure and run to the center of God’s will. Peter left us Godly advice in 1 Peter 5:8 when he said, “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.” Always check your ways to assess whether or not you’re doing the right thing. If you do that constantly, you'll find yourself on the right track to success more often than not.

FILLED WITH INTEGRITY

1 Timothy 3:2
For an elder must be a man whose
life cannot be spoken against.
He must be faithful to his wife.
He must exhibit self-control, live
wisely, and have a good reputation.
He must enjoy having guests in his
home and must be able to teach.



In the past, I’ve received furious complaints from unsaved parents about their newly saved teenagers. Generally, these parents felt that their children had become disobedient after they had become part of a church. The church family, of course, became the target of blame for their child’s new “disobedience.” At first, I would become angry about these types of complaints. But after thinking it through, I would begin to feel pity for these parents. You see, whatever these people had come to believe about their child’s behavior was just something that their kids had probably learned from their parents. I've found that the real problem is more likely that parents are just not walking their talk. Jesus asked us in Matthew 7:3, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” A parent's life must be filled with integrity for one to successfully teach children. If a reputation of integrity doesn't exist, you can expect failure and that failure is a reflection of the poor spirit of the teacher.

NO MORE CONFUSION

1 Corinthians 14:33
For God is not the
author of confusion,
but of peace, as in all
churches of the saints.



According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, confusion is a state of being disoriented; and to be disoriented means that one has lost one’s bearings. The world offers up thoughts and opinions on how to reach God through different religious offerings. At times, all those religions can make things very confusing for people. The Bible tells us very clearly that God is not the author of confusion, which is a key to understanding why He gave us only one way to bridge the gap between us and Him. That way can be found in John 14:6, as Jesus taught us, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” When it comes to your eternal salvation, you will never be confused in Jesus because He is the only way – no more, no less.

DON'T BE GREEDY

Proverbs 28:25
Greed causes fighting;
trusting the LORD
leads to prosperity.



There's a story I'd once about a powerful lion and a wild donkey that went hunting together. When they had caught their prey, the lion divided it into three shares and said, “I will take the first share because as king I hold the highest rank; and the second share is mine too, as your equal partner. If you want some serious trouble, you can try to take the third share or you can choose to make yourself scarce.” People really aren't all that different. People like to have control, particularly over material goods because of human greed. However, it’s just not worth it in the long run. After all, you can't take it with you. Make sure that you place your trust in the Lord alone because peace and prosperity can only truly come from Him.

COMMON SENSE

Proverbs 10:21
The godly give good advice,
but fools are destroyed
by their lack of common sense.



Have you noticed that common sense is not really all that common? There’s a story about a man who went to see a doctor because of some pain he was experiencing on his left foot. After a thorough examination, the doctor concluded that he has Buerger’s disease. He was advised to give up smoking. He returned to the doctor 2 years later and admitted he had not entirely given up smoking. To make matters worse, his foot pain was even more severe than when he had last visited. Another year later on his third visit, there were no changes to his condition and he was now in serious danger of having his foot amputated. For several years after, the man made no appearances at his doctor’s office. From the fear, the man had finally chosen to stop smoking. He was healthy again with this arteries pulsating and a normal blood flow. The man had been cured without surgery or medication, but his lack of common sense to heed to wise advice had almost been his doom. Do you find yourself receptive to good advice or do you succumb to your sinful habits? Your answer just might unveil your level of common sense.

BUILD UP AND ENCOURAGE

1 Thessalonians 5:11
So encourage each other
and build each other up,
just as you are already doing.



Horatio Alger, Jr. was a 19th-century American author who wrote "rags to riches" stories about how people that down-and-out might be able to achieve their dreams through hard work, courage, determination, and concern for others. Alger had no idea that his writings would be the inspiration for a 15-year old admitted to Columbia University, that would later go on to receive his Master’s at 19, and at 21 would pass the New York State Bar exam with high honors. Later, as an established figure, Justice Benjamin Cardozo would share his inspiration openly by saying, "My preparation for college was the work of Horatio Alger." In the same Christ-like way of inspiring that Alger became famous for, Christians need to encourage people to achieve great things. In doing so, you'll see the lives of many people blessed. Best of all, for those that are truly the down-and-out, you'll get to be a part of the changes that will catapult them on to a blessed and more fulfilling life.

WHAT'S YOUR MOTIVATION?

Ecclesiastes 4:4
Then I observed that most people are
motivated to success by their envy of
their neighbors. But this, too, is
meaningless, like chasing the wind.



People appear to be mesmerized by new sports cars and beautiful homes. There’s really nothing wrong with that kind of stuff - except for when it becomes your key motivating factor to achieve success. Once our material desires are fulfilled, we commonly find ourselves unsatisfied. Chasing these types of desires, however, will leaves you feeling like you’re chasing the wind. That feeling of never being fully satisfied or accomplished is a very common tale for those that pursue material gain. Solomon also wrote in Ecclesiastes 5:16 that, "This, too, is a very serious problem. As people come into this world, so they depart. All their hard work is for nothing. They have been working for the wind, and everything will be swept away." Choose to live your life with God at the center of everything, for others and your life will be meaningful beyond your living days.

SEDUCTIVE RICHES

Job 36:18
But watch out, or you may be
seduced with wealth. Don't let
yourself be bribed into sin.



It isn't wrong to be wealthy and wealth isn't a bad thing. After all, God promised His people wealth and blessings. However, there are only two ways by which we can derive wealth: 1. through God’s provision; and 2. through the ways of man. God’s way brings joy to the blessed, while man’s ways leads to pride in the hearts of men. David asked in Psalm 49:5-6, “Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?” James 4:6 tells us, “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” In the pursuit of wealth, pride should be relinquished because God will oppose our boastful actions. More properly, become wealthy by letting God be the source of your riches. Have the foresight to avoid seductive riches by the thought that you could ever really be a self-made man suffering no consequences for your actions.

STRUGGLING WITH THE ANNOYING

Romans 12:19
Dear friends, never avenge yourselves.
Leave that to God. For it is written,
"I will take vengeance; I will repay
those who deserve it," says the Lord.



A natural reaction to being wronged is to desire to "get even", to fight tooth for tooth, and evil for evil. I'm reminded of a story about a nagging wife and her husband. The nagging wife had become so annoying that her husband moved into the family tree house in their backyard. The nag wrote a letter to a local advice columnist saying, "My husband is living in the family tree house and he’s such an annoyance because he swings in a hammock on his porch, merrily chatting with passersby." The columnist responded with, “Quit being a nag.” Things never really work out when you try to accomplish something in your own strength, rather than God's strength. This isn't just for naggers, but also for complainers and pushy people. Sometimes the struggles will even continue to linger on "tit for tat". Just take a deep breath and give it to God. His strength and timing are perfect, and He can handle difficult people much better than you.

PROSPERITY FOR ALL

Psalm 33:12
What joy for the nation
whose God is the LORD,
whose people he has
chosen for his own.



If you've made the Lord Jesus your Savior, and then shared that Good News with others, and then everybody else went ahead and shared with even more people, it's undeniable that blessings would come to our entire nation. Daniel Webster said, "Only if we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, will our country go on prospering!" George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern without God and the Bible." The challenge to Christians of every generation historically has been daunting. First century Christians did their painful part, and today we enjoy the fruit of their difficult work. We ought to continue on in the tradition of sharing the Word and likewise bless our nation. Ask yourself this question: what am I personally doing to share the gospel with those around me? Your answer will tell you quite a bit about who you are as a Christian.

BLESSED WITH RICHES

Deuteronomy 8:18
Always remember that
it is the LORD your God
who gives you power to
become rich, and he does
it to fulfill the covenant
he made with your ancestors.



There are many ways to become rich, but the riches that come from God are the kind of thing that you can’t take credit for. If you try to take credit, you’d be claiming that things were done through your own power and will, thus taking credit from God. Job became very rich, but he understood that those blessings came from God. Solomon became the richest person ever, but he also recognized that those blessings came from God. Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 5:19, “And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—that is indeed a gift from God.” As you pursue great things for Him, thank Him for the power to gain riches and become wealthy.