Take the next step:

Join the conversation with the following discussion questions:

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.

Take the next step:

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.

Take the next step:

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.

What does worship mean to you? Here is an online Bible study to guide you.

The second aspect of Paul’s definition of who we are in Christ is: we are the ones who worship by the Spirit of God.  To worship means to show reverence, honor and intense love, as well as to perform acts of service, toward an object or being.  Although others may worship celebrities, sports heroes or less tangible idols like money, success or power, as believers we worship the living God.

Not only is who we worship critical, but also how we worship. We worship by the Spirit of God.  Therefore our worship flows not from our humanity, but from God who dwells within us.

Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “[A] time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23, 24, NIV).

No longer are we trapped in the mold of the Old Testament days where the High Priest approached God on our behalf with the blood of animals. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, His Spirit lives within us, allowing us to enter into the very presence of God.  Our acts of worship are not external rituals that draw attention to us, but rather they are acts of surrender and service with our whole heart, body, mind and spirit, made possibly through the Holy Spirit.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).

Thank you, Holy God, for making a way for me to worship you in spirit and in truth. Amen.

Questions: What does worshipping in spirit and in truth look like in your life? How have you been challenged to make sure your worship is not merely an external ritual?

“Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete” James 1:2-4

A friend of mine had been very successful in business, but after he became a Christian everything seemed to go wrong. Problem after problem seemed to plague him. Yet he never seemed to be discouraged or defeated.

As we counseled together, he assured me that there was no unconfessed sin in his life. So I rejoiced with him that God was preparing him for a very important responsibility in His kingdom. That is exactly what happened. He is now the director of a very fruitful ministry for our Lord. The problems and testing served to help equip him to be a better ambassador for Christ.

If you are experiencing difficulties in your life – physical illness, loss of loved ones, financial adversity – remember the above admonition from God’s Word. Be happy, knowing that God will work in your life to accomplish His holy purpose.

You can decide how you will respond to problems and temptations – you can either become critical and cynical, or as an act of the will, by faith, you can choose to believe that our sovereign, loving God is allowing this to happen in your life for your own good and for His glory.

Even the hairs of your head are numbered. “His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him” (2 Chronicles 16:9, KJV). He is tender, loving and compassionate, concerned about your every need.

Bible Reading: James 1:5-12

Today’s Action Point: When difficulties and temptations enter into my life I will – as an act of the will, by faith in God’s faithfulness to His promises – rejoice and be glad, knowing that He is always with me and will never forsake me. As I trust Him and obey Him, he will supernaturally turn tragedy to triumph, and He will change heartache and sorrow to joy and rejoicing. I will trust Him in the darkest night of circumstances.

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