A Positive Lifestyle

 

Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). With each sunrise, God's mercies are fresh, new and rejuvenating (Lamentations 3:22-24). This is true whether we are in the midst of a hail storm of trials, or free of all worry and stress.

God sends us hugs throughout every single day: the alignment of numbers on the digital clock, a new flower in our garden, the sunrise and set, a formation in the clouds, a stranger's smile, an unexpected check in the mail, our neighbor's manicured lawn and flowerbeds, etc.

We can even create positive experiences for our self, our mate and our children to enjoy throughout the day - refreshing treats that minister to the body and soul.

Rather than listening to the negative self-talk in our mind, programmed there by Satan's lies and people in our past, we can look in the mirror and tell our soul what we like about our self - our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual assets.

We can give joy away if we smile at a stranger, make a new friend, start a new ministry, and practice encouraging others. This brings joy to our soul as well as theirs. Here are other ideas.

Plan the menu for the week full of your favorite foods. Take a break from your perpetual diet and eat a pizza full of toppings you enjoy, and indulge in one soft drink that was your favorite as a child.

Adopting a pet gives us a focus outside of our self and saves the life of an abused or unwanted animal. Write cards or letters, emails and make phone calls to shut-ins, neglected family members and those in the hospital.

Starting a new hobby that we have always wanted to try or auditing an interesting class at the local college improves our soul. Listening to uplifting music in the comfort of our recliner or even dancing around the house as we dust will still our troubled soul.

We can take time to lay flat in silence on the couch or bed and take deep breaths - this releases much needed endorphins and oxygen into our bloodstream. 

Watching a comedy on TV or in a movie will help us to laugh and lighten our mood. Spending time in nature, walking through the grass in bare feet or gardening will help us to connect with the beneficial chemical output of the earth.

Think of your own ways to enhance the joy in your life. We can even start a support group with "Secret Santa's", prayer partners to share our burdens, and Bible study groups in our neighborhood. The list is endless.

Prayer:

Father God, too often we allow Satan to drown us in the worries, stress and burdens in life. We forget that You are our burden bearer and our Provider. You sustain us through good times and bad. You encourage us with Your Word and by Your Spirit. You teach us to encourage one another.

Remind us that Your Spirit abides within us with constant words of love and affirmation, and Your Word is full of verses written by people who experienced similar circumstances to our own. Your Word is a light to our path and a lamp for our feet (Psalm 119:105). We love you with all of our body, spirit and soul - our feelings, choices and emotions.

Thought for the Day:

Our positive, Christ-centered focus initiates the joy, strength, inspiration and creativity in our life, which all come from God's Holy Spirit within us.

Created for a Purpose

The trend in today's society is to get away with as much sin as we can. We prefer not to limit our expenditure of time, attention and resources to any one focus; so we fill our life with useless activities instead.

We slide toward the mediocre and have little devotion to God, family, country or healthy living. We wear masks to fit each social occasion and even attempt to fool God with our good works.

God offers us His free gift of salvation, but we prefer the road to destruction over a life of service, holiness and dedication to His Kingdom (Romans 3:23, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9).

We have our own plans and way of doing things and do not want to be told what to do, have restrictions placed on us or to be dictated to by any one - not even God.

We fail to realize that God created us for a purpose, and our happiest life is found only by living in the center of His will (Ephesians 2:10, 4:1). His Spirit is ever ready to conform us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

When we entirely surrender to the love of God in our life, we draw near to Him and give our life more fully to Him. We walk in His ways and consult Him during each moment of our day (Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 12:1).

There is no place for compromised living in the Kingdom of God. He despises any lukewarm efforts on our part and prefers for us to choose whether to be hot or cold instead (Revelation 3:14-22).

Holiness is not a burden, but a privilege that guarantees us a successful life both now and throughout eternity (John 10:10). We live with a commitment to Christ and a trust in God's faithfulness.

As we seek God's face, sit at His feet and walk in His will, we feel His love pouring over us like a waterfall, we experience His peace which is deeper than anything this world has to offer and we walk in joy even through the most horrendous circumstances (Romans 15:13).

Prayer:

Father God, free us from Satan's lies, which hold us in bondage to his will for our life. Teach us to love You with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30). Strengthen us from within to live a life worthy of Your calling and sanctify us into a new creation (Ephesians 4:24).

Remind us that we are dead to sin, because of our baptism into Christ's death. We contain His resurrection power within us now to live a new life, united with You (Romans 6:2-11). You give us a choice to live life on earth as slaves to our flesh, the devil and the world or to You and Your righteousness (Romans 6:22). Help us to choose You every time.

Thought for the Day:

As a shining light with Christ within, our life penetrates the darkness all around us; we may not see the impact we have on others now, but eternity will reveal how God used our helping hand, encouraging words, smile at random strangers, loving gestures and prayers to work miracles in the lives of people in our sphere of influence.

Healing from Negative Emotions

Every person alive is affected by our childhood experiences. The memory of these events are stored in our subconscious mind. They shaped our opinion of our self and how we react to the world around us.

They cause many of our current negative emotions, which affect us in body, soul and spirit. These negative emotions are driven by lies, which Satan planted in each of our life's experiences.

The deep hurt, abuse, rejection, condescension, ridicule, belittlement and deprivation we experienced are etched into our subconscious mind. We have feelings of being "not enough", failures, unworthy and unacceptable.

We continue to blame our self for our negative emotions rather than the woundedness caused by our significant others, which we carried into our adulthood.

This self-condemnation causes other deep seated negative emotions to dominate our soul, such as: depression, stress, anxiety, hopelessness, and feelings of being unlovable.

The negative self-talk accompanying these feelings actually comes directly from Satan's lies planted in our soul. God wants to set us free from these lies. As we surrender them to Him, He reveals to us His Truth about them.

This requires that we reject the negative attitudes, expressions and clichés, which we collected throughout our lifetime. God exposes unconscious memories by bringing them into our conscious mind.

He sets us free from their hidden power over us and provides us with His love, security, value, sense of belonging and life's necessities that we were deprived of in our past.

All that is required of us is that we courageously and willingly accept as our own, His free gifts of salvation, sanctification, deliverance and redemption (John 3:16-18; Psalm 34:19; 2 Corinthians 4:17).

Prayer:

Father God, continue to set us free from the negative energy of Satan's lies and help us to respond to Your love and provision in our life with gratitude and acceptance. When our emotions are triggered negatively by some current event, help us to trace it back to the lie, which Satan planted during our past; and then reveal to us Your truth about the situation in order to liberate us from the negative effects of these lies ( www.theophostic.com ).

Remind us to give attention to these nagging, unresolved conflicts, so that You can heal us and free us from their ability to rob us of the energy and focus we need to accomplish Your will with our life. Thank You that those, whom the Son sets free, are free indeed (John 8:36). We are no longer bound to negative emotions, but free to have a positive outlook on each moment of every day (Philippians 4:8).

Thought for the Day:

The significant others in our past did the best they could for us from their wounded soul; as we forgive them for their faults, we set our self free to love and be loved by God and other people.