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Some of us will be wildly successful in life. Some will make a lot of money while others will struggle. Success means something different to each of us. Sometimes it’s about money. Sometimes it’s about finding something you’re passionate about. We look for new opportunities to succeed. Where does that drive to succeed come from? Like Bailee, even through challenges it’s possible to be humbled by success.

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Discovering what matters most
Making the most of a business opportunity
We all have cravings. Do you crave success?

Take a look at your life. How would you describe it?

Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day. You could be dreaming of a successful career. Maybe you wish you could be an actor like Bailee. We dream but there are also things in the past we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?

Are you ready to choose a different path?

Jesus came, and died, and rose again to wipe the slate clean. He was scourged, tormented, and finally nailed on the cross for humankind’s sins – this was all part of God’s plan to bring you and I back into relationship with him. God wants to be a part of your life … in fact, not just a part of your life, but wants you to live in full fellowship with Him. Is this the life for you?

God loves you and created you to know Him personally. He longs for you to have the kind of full life you were always meant to have. So why do people not experience this kind of life? People are lost and separated from God, so we cannot know Him personally or experience His love. Because of our sins, we justly deserve judgement. But God provided his Son, Jesus Christ, as the only provision for our sin. He died in our place, then he rose from the dead.

We must individually trust Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know God personally, receive forgiveness for our sins, and experience His love: “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12)

We trust God through faith. You can trust Christ right now by faith through prayer! (Prayer is just talking with God.) God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. The following is a suggested prayer:

Lord Jesus, I need you. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be.

Does this prayer express the desire of your heart?

Putting God first in our lives means putting ourselves out there. The possibility of rejection is always present. Sharing our faith takes work. It takes reliance on God to overcome those challenges. Through challenging moments, Bailee simply talks to her best friend – God. We should all do the same.

Bailee confidently assures others that if you have God in your life, if you just look to your Heavenly Father – despite struggles and hard times – He is always watching over you. The knowledge that God is watching over us should have an impact on our lives daily. God is watching when we take the step to share our faith with others. He will bring us through whatever challenges we need to overcome after taking that step. Look at the wonder of who God is. Reach for Him and go forward willing to share your faith.

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Make an impact on stranger’s life. Share your faith.
Finding the right words to share our faith can be hard. God will give you the words.
Use your story to share the message of Christ.

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“I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NLT).

For a long time I treated the Bible as a self-help book. I’d read the instructions given and work as hard as I could to obey them. And I would fail. Miserably. Then I’d get upset with myself. Why couldn’t I do it? And I’d get upset with God. Why wasn’t He blessing my efforts?

One day it dawned on me: it doesn’t depend on my frantic self-efforts to live the Christian life. The Bible is not a self-help book, but a revelation of the Living Word–Jesus Christ. (John 1:1-5) He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing” (John 15:5 Amplified).

A branch in a tree doesn’t worry about staying alive or how much fruit it will bring. It’s totally dependent on the life that comes to it from the tree. As long as it abides in the tree, it will have all it needs to flourish and bear fruit.

We are to be like that branch, totally dependent on Christ the vine. We have to die to self-effort and make room for Christ-effort. Let Him live His life in us and through us — moment by moment.

How comforting this is when I face a challenge that is beyond me. “Dear God,” I pray, “You know that in myself, I can’t do this. You said so yourself: “without Me you can do nothing.” But Christ in me can do this. I depend on Him now to work through me.”

The result is often amazing. Not only was the thing done, but there was joy in doing it.

Jesus, I am so prone to doing my own thing. Remind me, again and again, that without You I can do nothing, but with You I can do all things.

Questions: How can one be like that branch, totally dependent on Christ the vine? How do you understand that phrase “… apart from me you can do nothing…” ?

Need someone to listen? We are here. Talk to us.

Those are powerful words to digest, let alone put them into practice each and every day.  However, we don’t have to do this alone.  We have the Holy Spirit as our guide and He will change our thinking if we are willing to take on the challenge.

I am reminded of a Saturday this spring when our area had Free Dump Day!   Things that we had collected over the year that we no longer needed were taken to the dump and left for FREE!  It was a neighbourhood reunion.  Trucks were loaded down and little cars filled to the brim ready to be emptied. What a pile!

So it is with our lives.  We have junk and clutter in our lives that we need to get rid of. They have no benefit in our lives or to those around us.  They weigh us down and take up space for good things that we need instead.  The amazing fact is that the Holy Spirit is there to help us gather it up.  This task isn’t only once a year, but daily.

The outcome is positive.  It is our total make-over!  The caution flag should be how we collect our thought patterns, addicting habits, ungodly chatter, and work patterns.  It is time to take stock of what we need to gather up and take to the dump.

God took the time to uniquely create us as His own and we can please Him by working on becoming holy.  I am humbled and grateful that this is a work in progress.  I will make my yearly trips to Free Dump Day in our neighbourhood, but I can guarantee you, I will be taking frequent checks on my life to get rid of those items of trash in my life that are not God-honoring.

Paul wrote in Colossians 3: 7-10 (CEV), “but now you must stop doing such things.  You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil.  You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others.  And stop lying to each other.  You have given up your old way of life with its habits.” I am sure you will agree this is not new.  We all struggle with life’s issues.  God knew it and He gave us the solution….The Holy Spirit.

After our truck was emptied that Saturday, it was lighter and so was the house!!!  How much more will we feel when we can dump the junk of our spiritual lives for the process of being holy?

What is holding you down?  What junk do you need to get rid of? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you load it up and throw it out!  He is just a prayer away.  What an exciting journey this can become for us if we but take the first step. Are you ready for your adventure to happen?

Holy Spirit, thank you that You are willing to change my way of thinking and help me in the process toward being renewed.  Help me today to consciously decide to take this new challenge. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Spiritual breathing will change your life

Questions: What is holding you down?  What junk do you need to get rid of?

Need someone to listen? We are here. Talk to us.

Are you facing disappointments and shattered dreams? This study talks about that.

But even so, I find that there are times in my life when my daily Bible reading becomes merely a routine, if I happen to do it at all. In fact, sometimes I wonder about the Bible: Couldn’t God have given us a more efficient manual? What I mean is, it sometimes seems so complicated. Did you know that the Bible has 66 books, containing 1,189 chapters and 31,170 verses? Instead of 17 major and minor prophets, for example, maybe we could have been given a list of the top 10 marriage tips instead?

Then I think: God didn’t want to give us the kind of book that you read once and put on the shelf. He wasn’t interested in giving us a pamphlet. God wanted to give us something that would engage us and continue to challenge us for a lifetime. He, in His infinite wisdom, gave us a book that was so deep that we could read it every hour of every day of our entire lives and still not exhaust its wisdom.

If you’ve spent any serious amount of time reading the Bible you can probably attest to how you’ve read a passage a dozen or more times before, but somehow this time, it hits you in a totally new way as God illuminates your mind to deeper meaning and fuller understanding. “How did I not see it before?” you think. And it’s so amazing how deep this book is!

God Himself is like that: Our great God isn’t someone of whom you could say, “Oh, God? Yeah, I met him once, I think.” God is so amazingly great that it’s a lifelong adventure to know Him. He wants us not to just know ABOUT Him, but to know Him intimately. And for that, a simple pamphlet won’t do.

God, we thank you for your Word, the wisdom of which can never be exhausted!

Questions: How has your Bible reading been lately? Is it time to begin to re-read it with “new eyes”?

About this Author Darren Hewer

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (1 Colossians 3:12)

Cancer: it was the word of the day yesterday. My 74 year-old grandmother was admitted to the hospital with back pain.  Now she was being discharged with orders to see an oncologist. They found a tumor. “We believe it’s cancer. There’s a chance there isn’t, but it doesn’t look good!”

My active grandma went from happy and healthy to full despair in just a few short days. Plagued with the thoughts of what our new journey would entail, tears filled our eyes, hopelessness filled our hearts, and our minds couldn’t bear to take in the pain she may endure in her last days.

As my mom cried out to me with the despondent news, I replied with a sigh. Searching for hope and truth I said, “Well, mom the pain won’t last forever!”

Where was my compassion? Did I acknowledge the fear, the pain, the emptiness that filled our hearts and minds? How cliche! What I said was true, but it wasn’t compassionate. By saying what I said I showed complete disregard for how my family was feeling at that very moment. When my mom pointed it out to me, I was convicted.

In my struggle with infertility remarks such as: “It will happen when it’s time!” open the floodgates of negative emotions including loneliness, anger, and a feeling that says, “No one gets this! No one really cares to try to understand!” It certainly is not received as compassion- a word defined as “a tender feeling.”

I’m frustrated with the Christian cliches. “There’s a reason for everything!” “It will happen when it’s time!” ” He’s in a better place now!”

These sayings are cliche and people know it! And quite frankly, they’re lacking compassion. I believe as Christians we need to start showing the love and compassion of Christ. Start saying things like, “I know it must really hurt” ,”I know this is scary” ,”I know you miss your loved one!” “I can’t pretend to understand your pain, but can I pray for you!?” “What can I do to help?” OR we could just listen, and pray.

Dear Jesus,
Help us to be compassionate. Help us not to forget that you give us hope, but you also taught us to be compassionate. Help us not to be so focused on the future, that we forget to meet people where they’re at- where they’re hurting. We thank you that you are a compassionate God who loves us! Make us more like you!
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Question: How have people helped you through difficult times, and what can you learn from their approach that can help you to help others?

About the Author: Dawn Kurtz

Discovering Us
The Personal Style Indicator Assessment that you take will help you understand how you prefer to respond to Time, People, Tasks and Situations.

Comparing Us (Project)
This project will help you and your partner see areas of similarities and differences.

Understanding Us
Discover how you and your partner relate in your unique styles.

Responding to Us
Discover how to shift your styles to create oneness with your partner.

Applying it to Us (Project)
Identifying what your mix is as a couple and developing a plan to work with your unique styles.

Celebrating Us
Discover what God’s design is for marriage.

Schedule

Registration -  8:30-9:00
Introduction -  9:00-9:10
Recognizing Us – 9:10-9:55
Break – 9:55-10:15
Discovering Us – 10:15-11:15
Comparing Us (Project) – 11:15-12:00
Understanding Us – 12:00-12:45
Lunch – 12:45-2:15
Responding to Us – 2:15-3:00
Applying to Us (Project) – 3:00-3:45
Celebrating Us – 3:45-4:30

Need someone to listen? We do.

The children were sharing why they loved their fathers. One little munchkin caught me off guard. Why did she love her daddy? Because he sings silly songs with her! Can you imagine? What was important to her right then was not a roof over her head, food on the table, or some new toy. I’m sure she would miss the roof or the meals if they were not present, but that wasn’t even a question in her mind. Instead, we heard “My Daddy sings silly songs with me!”

What a challenge for those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, and call God our Heavenly Father. Are we more concerned about the provision of “things” or His presence? Do we enjoy the fact that He delights in spending time with His children? Can we even begin to imagine the joy and security of a relationship where our Abba Daddy takes time to “sing silly songs” with us, to paint a sunset or the inside of a seashell for our delight? His heart must leap for joy when we simply want to be with Him, and to share our free time with Him.

Sharing our needs or desires in prayer is an important part of our communication with God. Telling Him about our fears, burdens and other feelings should be a normal and natural part of our conversation with Him. Yet there is more. Can you hear the joy of our God in this verse? “The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). What an awesome God!

Help me, Lord, to slow down today enough to hear Your joy and laughter as You desire to spend time with me. I want to enjoy being with You, taking pleasure in the reality that You are a loving Father who can “sing silly songs” with Your children. Open my ears and my eyes today to the special moments You have planned for us to share. Amen.

Questions: Are you too busy to hear God’s voice?  What needs to take place in your daily life so that you slow down enough to spend more time listening to God?

About the Author Winsome Smith
daddy,

Are you feeling the regrets of having an abortion and need someone to pray for you?

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV).

There are always so many things that call to us and demand our time.  The Word says that we are “His” workmanship created for good works that He has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). So the challenge is to be able to discern the things that God prepared for us to do from the things that are unnecessarily taking up our time and energy.

The word “wait” in the Greek has two main meanings. One is as practical as it sounds; it really is literally to “wait.” It makes sense that when we learn to wait for the Lord’s instruction rather than just do whatever presents itself, we have the chance to rest and renew our strength.

The second meaning of the word “wait” is to “bind together”. We are to be bound together with the Lord. It is like two horses that are bound together to pull a wagon, It is important that the horses are able to work well together. If they worked poorly together (one wanting to pull faster or harder, or go in a different direction) it would create chaos and danger.

When we are bound to the Lord we need to let Him set the pace and the direction. As we wait upon Him in peace, and allow Him to be in charge of the where, the when, the who, and the how, we will experience His promise that “His yoke is easy and His burden is light,” and our strength will be renewed.

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2 -3, NKJV).

Questions: What does the word “wait” mean as far as the scripture is concerned?

About the Author Emmie Stanley