Jesus likes His Christians Strong!

²¹ Also do not take to heart everything people say, Lest you hear your servant cursing you. ²² For many times, also, your own heart has known That even you have cursed others.
—Ecclesiastes 7:21-22

If we are not careful we will let one word, one sentence, one conversation ruin our day, our week, or even our entire lives. As the king of God’s people, Solomon did not have this luxury. He had to rule wisely, from a position of power and strength and not of weakness.

Many poor decisions and many toxic attitudes come when we assume a position of weakness. Jesus did not come so that we could be weak, rather that we might find abundant strength in Him (Jn. 10:10, Php. 4:13).

• Weakness gives up, while strength presses on (Php. 3:12).
• Weakness gossips, while strength conceals (Pr. 11:13).
• Weakness seeks vengeance, while strength forgives (Mt. 18:22)
• Weakness worries, while strength prays (1 Peter 5:7)
• Weakness hates, while strength finds good (Matt.5:44)
• Weakness dwells on the past, while strength (La. 3:23)
  sees new beginnings

It is not what people say, but how you respond, that defines you.
-Aren Haggard

 

Count the cost of saying yes and no, especially to pigs!

Whoa! This week needs to calm down! Finding yourself with more stuff to do than you have time for? Here are some tips:

Let your yes be yes and your no be no (Matthew 5:37).

We complain a lot about how little time we have, but many times we are the ones to blame. As the old adage goes “Every time you say yes to something, you say no to something else.”

I am horrible at saying no! On the way to lunch today, I heard a popular radio host say he hates saying no so much, that he hired someone to do it for him! Until we can afford to pay someone, we’re going to have to start saying no for ourselves.

Saying no at the right times also keeps you from being resentful about saying yes. If you have a choice, choose the happy one. You aren’t doing anyone any good by doing things from a regretful heart (2 Cor. 9:7)

Count the Cost (Luke 14:28-30)

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it– lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ —Luke 14:28-30

Look around you, think about your life, how many unfinished things, projects, hobbies, businesses, dreams and ideas are sitting around in your life. At work and at home, many times we are surrounded by bricks. Bricks that pave the road of good intentions, and bridges to nowhere. Bricks that weigh us down mentally and spiritually. Why do we do it?

This usually happens because we do not take the time to really examine what finishing (notice I didn’t say starting) a task will take. What we will have to give up by way of money and time in order to see a project through. Other times we simply are not honest with ourselves. We tell ourselves convincing lies about how easy something will be, or how all I really need is a day to finish this project.

So what to do? Either finish what you started, or stop trying. Thinking about it all the time does no one any good. Your time can be used for better things.

Stop feeding the pigs

“Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine..”
Matthew 7:6

If you want more time, you must start treating your time as something valuable! When you go to work, you are selling people your time! At least they give you something in return. What about when you are giving your time away?

What’s a better investment of your precious time, an hour of mind numbing TV, or an hour with your family? An hour on the internet reading blogs (other blogs of course) or an hour working on that business you’ve been meaning to start? An hour playing video games, or an hour studying the Bible?

There are only 128 hours in every week. You can only sell so many of them, and you can only give so many away. Finding yourself without enough time? Stop feeding the pigs, and start spending your time on better things.

So to put it all in summary:
Count the cost of saying yes and no, especially to pigs! Well you get what I mean don’t you?