So the message was titled "Finishing Strong!" By: Pastor Doug
"PRACTICE NOW WHAT YOU WANT TO BE KNOWN FOR IN THE FUTURE."
These are things to think about...
1. ATTITUDE: Am I grumbling or growing?
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
-James 1:2-4
When we face certain tough situations we cannot become complacent and complain all the time, we need to continue to grow and become closer to God daily.
2. WORDS: Am I burning or building?
"Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way."
-James 3:2 (New Living Translation)
I made a blog post about this a ways back, but we need to build others up, rather than tear them down!!
3. DECISIONS: Do my decisions reflect earthly wisdom or God's wisdom?
"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."
-James 1:5
Do we make our choices based on what the world is telling us to do, or do we listen to the Lord's guidance!!! Whatever your answer may be..the RIGHT answer is listen to the Lord's guidance!! ;)
4. TEMPTATIONS: Am I flirting with or fleeing from temptations?
"The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer."
-James 1:14-15 (The Message)
To me this one seems to be one of the most important, because of the fact that so many people fall because of this. We understand what line not to cross, but time and time again we go as close to that line as possible! We need to understand that you are doing one or the other, so pick! Don't think that you are fleeing but at the same time trying to stick ur baby toe as close as you can to that line! FLEE from it, don't hurt yourself by flirting with it!
5. MY STUFF: Am I, or is God, getting my first and my best?
"...You thought you were piling up wealth. What you've piled up is judgment."
-James 5:3 (The Message)
Instead of putting forth so much time, effort, and emotions on other things, we need to focus on God and give him our best! I remember growing up my brother and I would sing worship songs, but we would like try and make our voices sound different...and we ended up just messing up songs and messing around. I remember my dad would always say "Give Jesus your best!" So I said all that to say, GIVE GOD YOUR BEST! He doesn't deserve out leftovers.
Last but not least...
6. INFLUENCE: Are people drawn to the Lord because of my life and actions?
"My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God's truth, don't write them off. Go after them. Get them back and you will have rescued precious lives from destruction and prevented an epidemic of wandering away from God."
-James 5:19-20 (The Message)
Can you say that this statement is true for your life? We need to remember that we represent something greater than ourselves! We need to be a representation of God's love and compassion towards others. We need to be a light in the midst of darkness!! This is a challenge to lead others to Christ nearly by the way you live your life, by the words you choose to let come out of your mouth, the things you like to listen to, the movies you like to watch!
***Sorry this post is sooo long! I really just felt like I needed to share that with you all :) Hope this challenges you all, because I know that it challenges me in some areas!!! ***
Please comment and let me know what this message means to you, and if you have any thoughts!! :D
&& remember ALWAYS BELIEVE!
Timely!!! It's exactly what I needed today <3
ReplyDelete