People Pleasing (Part 3)

"The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 'We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,' he said. 'Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.' Peter and the other apostles replied: 'We must obey God rather than human beings!'" ~ Acts 5:27-29

Sometimes, people will want you to do something that God has not called you to do.

This scripture shows us that it's okay to say no. Our ultimate mission should be to please God, not man.

People will undoubtedly have expectations of you - expectations of you as a friend, significant other, son or daughter, etc.

But you are NOT beholden to that expectations. You are to be held to God's standards and expectations, and to His alone. Not theirs.

The question is, are you familiar enough with His standards and expectations to know the difference between His expectations and other people's.

The key is knowing the difference and applying it in your life.

God bless,
J.W.

Follow The Leader (Part 7)

"But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you." ~ Proverbs 1:24-26

Proverbs 1:24-26 details the consequences of not heeding God's call on your life. 

Oftentimes, we let fear of stepping out on faith stand in our way. 

But... truth be told, the fear of not doing what God says should scare us even more.

God bless,
J.W.

The Answer to Our Questions

"He replied, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.'" ~ Luke 11:28

A few weeks ago, my pastor preached a sermon on money management.

The key scripture was Proverbs 22:7, which reads "the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."

One of my biggest goals for 2010 is to be debt-free. So, immediately following the sermon, I decided to cut up my credit cards. Yes, cut up ALL of my credit cards. ALL of them.

It was a sacrifice, yes. But, just one month later, with the exception of our mortgage and a student loan, Michele and I will be completely debt-free - meaning Capitol One, VISA, MasterCard, AmEx, and Bank of America will no longer have any control over us.

My point is that while most folks think the Bible is only there to provide spiritual guidance, that couldn't be further from the truth. The Word of God has the power to solve ALL of our problems and answer ALL of our questions, if we would just be obedient to what it says.

After all, in Proverbs 28:20, God said that He would bless those who were faithful to His word. So, find your answers today and be obedient to what He tells you. I promise you, it'll change your life forever.

God bless,
J.W.