Define “Selfish”

How can you tell if someone is being Selfish?

You’d probably look for signs of Greed right?

Someone who’s Greedy is definitely being Selfish

Pride also might come to mind

Someone who’s Prideful needs to work on the Selfishness in their life

Now how can you tell if someone is being Selfless?

You’d probably look to see how much a person cares for others

Being Caring is a quality that can help fight Selfishness

Compassion is another useful quality

If you want to be selfless, you certainly need compassion

These are great things to have, but is that all God wants?

God desires us to be like Him

Ever striving to be like Him

Ephesians 5:3 says it best

Among you there must not be even a hint of greed because this is improper to God

Not even a hint

You know what that means?

It means that with everything we do we should be asking

“Am I doing this for me?”

Before every single action we should ask ourselves

“How is this affecting others?”

God says multiple times in His word

“Love your neighbor as yourself”

And the most amazing part of that command is that when we do that

He takes care of the rest

You know the emptiness that we can feel

He doesn’t just fill it

He brings us to a point where we can’t hold it in anymore

The joy spills over and out of us to others

Once life isn’t about us

God can use us to affect others

 Then bringing them joy can bring us joy

But this joy starts by Defining selfishness in our lives

We have to find it and get rid of it

And then prevent any selfish desire that wants to run our lives

We must make sure we are right with God

He’ll take care of the needs of those who are right with Him

We need to define the selfishness in our lives and then snuff it out

We rely on God for what we need and live for others

He’s bigger and more powerful than we could every imagine

Let’s live for Him today!

From Interesting to Amazing

We all want to be loved; everyone knows that

But this desire to be loved is too often put above the necessity to love others

As humans, it’s hard for us to see worth in ourselves if it is not given to us by someone else

This leaves us in an interesting situation

If those around us don’t take an interest in us, then our self-worth suddenly starts to disappear

Naturally, when people’s self-worth starts to disappear, their interests start to disappear with it

They close up, they shut down, and they become negative

Hmmm…..  That’s interesting

So inside of every person is an overpowering desire to be loved

This need to be loved can overtake common sense

It’s because this need to be loved drives our inner being

If we don’t feel loved, we instead feel empty

If we don’t feel loved, we begin to lose feeling

If we don’t feel loved where we are, we go and find love somewhere else

The Bible says in John 4:8 that “God is Love”

So, if we want love, then He is all that we really need

Although, loving others fully and relying on God to fill us is not easy

A love for oneself has a tendency to develop

And although it is good to love yourself to a point

God doesn’t want us to rely on the love we can give ourselves

That kind of love is empty

He wants us to rely on the love that He gives and let that love flow out to other people

Then everyone is receiving love from God and from other people

An endless supply of joy streaming down from heaven and flowing out of us to each other

It would be awesome

It’s interesting how when we put ourselves last God puts us first

Matthew 20:16 says “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

He makes the answer so plain and obvious

We just need to take hold of the truth, His truth

Except it, and know that it’s God’s way

I hope you found this thought interesting

It’s amazing how God fills us when we put ourselves last

He never fails us when we give all our love to Him

We just have to make sure we let the love that He gives us flow out to others

It would go from an interesting thought to an amazing reality

No Different?

When I was young, I was frustrated that I wasn’t like everyone else

I had a brain injury, and my disabilities always got in the way

My reading speed was slower

My writing speed was slower

I couldn’t run as fast, jump as high, or compete in athletics

I was frustrated by my inabilities

But my Mom would always say “You’re no different!”

No Different?

I sure feel different

If I’m no different, than why am I not on sports teams?

If I’m no different, then why am I not able to think as fast?

And what’s with this limp I have that makes everyone stare at me?

Anyone who looks at me can obviously see that I'm different

So, unfortunately, I grew up knowing deep down that I was indeed different

And, in my mind, being different was bad

Being different made me weak

Being different made me slow

Being different made me less than everyone else

My goal then became to be “no different”

I am now %100 sure that I am different

But I’m also %100 sure that I am the same

It comes from being %100 sure that God doesn’t make mistakes

God made me the way I am

Just like God made everyone else the way they are

But I was looking at my disability as something God was taking away from me

And although He did make me different in that I couldn’t do some things

It was so that He could show me the things that He made me to do

That is the way that we are all the same

God has made everyone with a purpose

I’ve learned to strive towards that purpose

God already has one of everybody else

We should all desire to fulfill the plan that God has for us

And the only way we find that out is by trying to be like Him

So draw close to Him

He has the plan

We are all different

But we all need His guidance

He’ll show you why He’s made you

Different!

Truly Transformed

Every morning I get up and pray that God would be with me through the day

But throughout each day I live my own way and totally forget about what I prayed that morning

God made everything and is in control of everything right?

So why am I not doing what I set out to do?

I truly believe that God is beyond word

More in control than we can fathom

And if we would only come to a point of total surrender to Him,

 We can be used in ways that are beyond anything we can possibly imagine

We can be Truly Transformed

I could go on and on with what I think could be possible

But the possibilities are irrelevant unless we can defeat our own sinful pride

It’s an interesting thing to think about isn’t it?

As far as I know, I am the thing that is keeping God from moving mountains with my life

 I am the thing that is stopping me in my quest to find what God wants for me

I am keeping myself from becoming Truly Transformed

Somehow we have to charge forward, but totally fall back

We need to put ourselves last, but at the same time stand out

We must hold tight to what we can’t see and trust that we will be kept safe

Becoming Truly Transformed sounds like a great idea

But it takes more than we have

We are only able to be part of the transformation process

We can’t do it on our own

Doing our part is very important, but we must focus more on how we rely on God

John 3:30 says “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

He is the one that transforms us

Continuous focus on Him is how it’s done

He is the beginning and the end

It’s something I’m still working on

And I have a feeling I’ll be working on it until Christ takes me Home

God is still molding me into what He wants me to be

So I’ll keep my eyes open and allow God to show me what He wants me to see

I will do my best to keep learning, growing and following until I reach that place where I will be

Truly Transformed

You

I know if I want to get, to where You want me to be

My life must be about You, and not about me

You’ve shown me great joy, that’s only found through You

I can’t even count the struggles, that You’ve pulled me through

And when I choose to live for me, I’m empty inside

I feel lonely and guilty; feelings that shatter my pride

Which brings me back to square one, where I turn back to You

Broken and humbled, seeking what You want me to do

God I’m at the end, there’s no other way

I need to live for You, every second of every day

Give me protection from the distractions that try to cloud my view

Help me to see how dangerous they are, because they’re pulling me away from You

You’re the only thing that matters, everything else is obsolete

Help me to weed out what’s holding me back, and lay it at your feet

Because when it all comes down to it, there’s nothing besides You

Guide me in Your will, for it’s all about You

Something Different

It seems that I’m always looking for something different

Yet something that stays the same

Something that doesn’t change

Because there are too many things in this world that change unexpectedly

I’m tired of finding the same holes in everything I try

I need something that supplies joy for longer than the moment

Something that doesn’t leave me hanging in life’s tragedies

Something real that doesn’t leave me feeling totally alone

Something different

I’m willing to change

But I need reassurance that I won’t fall back on my face

There’s too much pain that comes with all my attempts at happiness

None of which have worked out

Everything that I try leaves me stranded

I always end up feeling empty

I always end up feeling alone

I need something that I can depend on

I need something different

The answer could be money, but I know that money doesn’t bring happiness

The answer could be friends, but I’ve had friends that let me down

The answer could be possessions, but I’ve tried all that before

I need something different

But I heard about something, or should I say Someone, that I hadn’t heard about before

Someone that’s supposed to be the Savior of the world

If there is such a thing

But I’ve tried everything else

Nothing seems to last

Maybe this is the answer

I’ve heard that all I have to do is ask and He’ll “come into my heart”

And he’ll be a friend that will always be with me

It just seems hard to believe

But wouldn’t that be cool if that was the answer

To have a friend to turn to through all of life’s struggles

To have this emptiness filled with something real

To find love and hope when I feel alone and hopeless

Wouldn’t that be awesome?!

This needs to work because I’m at the end of my rope

It seems to work for some others

Could this be the difference maker?

Could Jesus be the answer?

I just don’t want to get hurt again

I’ve taken chances on other things

But this feels different

This feels safer

I’ve never really tried this before

I think I’m ready

I think I’m ready to try for something different

To see if I can find meaning in the struggles of life

To see if Jesus could be the one I’ve been looking for all along

To let Jesus become the center of my life

To let Jesus be

Something different

Every Day

I don’t ever want to go a day, without praising Your name

Every day when I wake up, Your promises stay the same

It doesn’t matter where I am, every single place I go

If I’m truly searcher for Your will, I have the opportunity to grow

I want to pray every day, that You’d help me understand

Though troubles may come my way, my life is in your hand

And whatever the circumstance may be, may I always live for You

May I settle for nothing less, than all I can give to You

Who’s in control?

Why do we do the things we do?

Do we ever really do what we truly want to do?

Because it just seems to be impossible to make my own choice

Whenever I’m faced with a decision, there’s always that subtle but persuading voice

I mean in the morning when I eat breakfast, am I really in control

I could eat whatever I want, but instead I get out my cereal bowl

Cereal companies know, I could have eggs instead

But I think I want cereal, because they’ve drilled that in my head

So that puts them in control, and that continues throughout the day

The power of persuasion, it affects what we do and what we say

We’re not really making choices we’re living out choices that have already been made

And if those choices were developed by cereal companies, then that makes our personality fade

That’s why I’m glad God made us, and made us exactly the way we are

Because if I was left to persuasion, I don’t think I’d make it very far

But that also means that since God made us He must have had a purpose for doing so

The fact is that we’re made for His glory, which may seem kind of shallow

I mean why should we serve Him, What’s in it for us

It’s because we are only truly satisfied, when we let Him have control of us

There’s just something about living for Him, that’s hard to describe

You get a feeling of peace and joy that makes you feel alive

And it makes sense that we’d be happiest, when we’re doing what we were made for

Plus this happiness won’t fade, so we don’t need any more

 As long as we stay dependent on Him we’ll remain satisfied

It’s not about always being in control, as long as God is being glorified 

What If?

What if God put me here to help save peoples lives?

What if God put me here to bring people to Christ?

What if God put me here to do great things for Him?

That sounds pretty prideful doesn’t it?

To think I could, just because He made me

To think I could, just because He’s given me the strength

To think I could, just because He lives within me

But is that prideful?

If God lives within me, am I the one doing these things?

If God lives within me, isn’t He the one doing these things?

If God lives within me, what am I really doing?

Am I really doing anything?

What if God put me here to make a difference in people’s lives?

What if God put me here to reach out to the lost?

What if God put me here to help change the world?

What am I doing about it?

The why Question

I don’t understand; What’s going on?!

Did I make a mistake? Did I do something wrong?

I wasn’t asking for fortune, I wasn’t asking for fame

I’m not a bad guy, yet the questions stay the same

Why is this happening? What’s the reason in the rhyme?

Why didn’t this work? What went wrong this time?

Why do I keep hitting dead ends, I’m following all the directions

I’m doing exactly what I’m told, yet I’m still left with all these questions

How does this work, where do I go from hear?

Is it possible to figure out, can it ever be made clear?

So many questions, that there just has to be answers to

Just give me a hint; what do I have to do?

The thing is it’s less what we have to do; it’s what God has already done

He loved us so much, that in our sin He sacrificed His son

But getting back to the question of why, hearing this may be a little tough

God doesn’t promise to give us all the answers, but He promises to give us enough

And although God loves to bless us, He may not grant your request

But we can be sure that He’s always on our side, and He always knows what’s best

So if you’re tired of trying to figure life out, tired of asking why

Just trust God to reveal his plan, it might be worth a try

Christian Potential

How many people truly know the power of God?

I have to say that I don’t

It’s too far beyond anything I could ever imagine

He made everything around us

From the stars and the planets

To the individual cells in every living thing

And somehow each person can have His undivided attention

He cares about every second and can help with every detail of our lives

If you’re a Christian that means that you have His power living inside of you

That takes your ability to do His work to a whole new level

I don’t know about you, but that makes me excited

To know that the power of God is living within us

I can’t help but get excited

And the fact that doing His will is going to bring us the most satisfaction

It’s an amazing thing to think about

It makes me want to live all out for Him

And can you imagine if all the Christians in the church used His power to its extent?

You think you don’t have enough strength or ability?

If you’re a Christian you have amazing strength inside of you

If we let God lead our lives

And let Him display His power through us

We not only could reach the people around us

We could change the world

The Magic

Remember back to the last time you felt the joy of being saved

It was pretty cool wasn’t it?

It was a feeling that was indescribable

It was like magic

But that feeling doesn’t last long does it

It gets lost in the disappointments and the craziness of this world

Life starts to wear on you

The magic starts to fade

At first you don’t seem to notice

You have a couple cool things that come and go

And so you kind of forget about what was once there

You start to forget about the magic

Once in a while you’re reminded that you miss it

But then you have to get back to the world

Because there’s stuff to do and people to see

But what about the magic?

It’s to easy to forget and be content with the worlds definition of joy

But if we’re not living all out for God, we’re missing out on true joy

So what happened? Did we let that joy just kind of disappear?

Where’d the magic go?

You have to Want It

I can tell you the truth, but do you want to listen?

I can give you the facts, but do you really want to know?

I can preach you the message, but do you want to hear it?

I can show you the way, but do you want to follow?

Because if you’ve made up your mind that you don’t want to listen,

Then the truth can’t help you.

If you’ve made up your mind that you don’t want to know,

Than the facts won’t help you.

If you’ve made up your mind that you don’t want to hear,

Then the message isn’t going to help you.

If you’ve made up your mind that you’re not going to follow,

Then the way just won’t make sense to you.

You can have eternal life, if you listen to the truth.

You can know you are secure, once you truly believe the facts.

You can find everlasting joy, if you choose to hear the message.

You can be sure of your final destination, if you decide to follow the way.

So if you want to know the truth, just listen to what’s being said.

If you want to know the facts, I’ll tell you what you need to know.

If you want to hear the message, I’ll gladly help you out.

But if you want to know the way, then you have to want to follow.

Feeling Disconnected

God You’re so awesome and I love You so much

I know You do awesome things when I let You rule my life

And I want You to use me to do Your will

But right now I’m feeling disconnected

I’m feeling my heart is in the right place

And everything else is lined up

So why aren’t You giving me the joy I had before?

Why am I feeling so disconnected?

I’m doing my best to pray every day

And I’m reading my Bible once in a while

That should be good enough, right?

You know, to stay connected

Because I’m talking to You through prayer

Although I’m slacking a little with reading Your word

Maybe that’s what I need to do more of

If I want to stay connected

So help me to talk to You through prayer

And listen to You through Your word

That I may obtain communication with You

So I may finally stay connected

Prayer

Some think that praying is something we do when we want assistance

If we have a problem, we pray for the answer

If we want something, we pray that we get it

If we want something to happen, we pray that it does

Because that’s how God knows what we want, right?

We pray to let Him know how He should help us

Although, that’s not exactly how Prayer works

God wants us to come to Him with our problems

Because we need to stay dependent on Him

The bible says that the fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much

But we don’t want to view prayer like a genie granting wishes

God made us, and He knows everything about us

I mean everything

From our wants and desires

To our problems and struggles

So we do pray to God when we’re in need

But we also pray to Him because we’re in need of Him

We need His guidance and strength, which comes through communication with Him

And once we have communication with Him through prayer and reading the Bible

He can guide us in the direction He wants us to go

I’m not saying you shouldn’t pray for the things you want

Just remember that God knows what you want before you ask

And He may have what you want in His plan

But his plan is going to be the best thing for you

And if you can stay confident in that fact

You can pray confidently for His will to be done

Help Me to Change Me

Dear God, I’d like to say that I always come to You with my problems

But it’s too often that I rely on my own strength to pull myself through

And when I do come to You in prayer, I act like I have all the answers

I start out by telling You where a problem is, then I immediately tell You how to fix it

Or I tell You about something I want, and then I get upset if my expectations aren’t met

To be truthful I should be glad that You don’t just grant wishes

I would be in a mess of trouble if you gave me that power

I need to change how I pray

I should be praying in a state of reverence and gratitude to You

I should start by praising You for who You are

I should be giving You thanks for Your never ending love for me

Because without Your love I would have nothing and be nothing

Then I should tell You a need, and ask that You would do what is right in Your eyes

Because You are God of all, and Your plan is perfect

God Help me to change me

Help me to have a change of heart

Help me to change how I see You so that I may see just how powerful You are

Help me to change my motives because the ultimate goal should be to praise You

Help me to change me, so that I may be more like You

I don’t have the Answers, but I don’t want to know

It seems that the most frequently asked question is why

Why did things have to happen the way they did?

Why didn’t I get what I wanted?

Why isn’t life fare?

Questions like these keep coming up when things go wrong

And they always reappear as we hit different roadblocks in life

I don’t have the answers to these questions so I won’t pretend that I do

But the interesting thing is, I don’t really want to know

I’d rather continuously trust that God knows what He’s doing

Instead of seeing problems as a part of life that we have to learn how to deal with

I’d rather look at a problem as a chance for God to show Himself to be bigger than our problems

From the tiniest problem, to the greatest tragedy

Everything is under His control

That’s why I don’t really want to know the answers

If I’m going to put my total trust in God

And have faith that He knows what He’s doing

Then things are going to work out whether I worry or not

There’s going to be some scary times where it will be hard to remember He’s in control

But He is

There's going to be some terrible times that seem that He can’t possibly be in control

But He is

And based on that fact, I don’t want to know why

The answers are in His hands, and that brings me peace

So I’ll continue to pray that He keeps me content in Him

I know He has me and will never let me go

I'm leaning on Him, and things are going to be alright

Truly leaning on Him is going to bring me peace

And If I can remember that He is in control

Then I don’t have to have the answers

Reaching Out

I know people are going to have their own opinions on certain things because we're all different

Some people could tell you stories on top of stories about different things they've been through

People can come up with countless reasons to believe what they believe, and most times it sounds like they've given it a good deal of thought

But, although people do realize that they have a need, it's sad to hear how many people refuse to believe that there is a God

These people are fine with believing that they just stay in the ground when they die

These people are totally okay with the belief that it's just lights out

It’s sad to hear about how little hope they have

I just want to help them see what a mistake they're making

I just want them to see how dangerous it is to believe what they believe

I just want them to see the truth

That just because they say there's not a God

doesn't mean there isn't one

So God, help me watch for the opportunities you give

Help me to see when I can reach out to them with Your love

Because if I never truly try to reach them, the Bible says that their blood is on my head

I just don't want to see a close friend fall because I failed to reach out

Giving Up

Dear Lord, this is (name), and I’m officially giving up

I am officially deciding to give up my life for You

And not just part of it, but all of it

I'm officially choosing to give all of me to You,

Because I know that You can give me much more than I could ever get for myself

Although, I don't want it to be about what I'm getting,

Even though You give peace that lasts a lifetime

 I want it to be about who You are and what you did when you gave your life to save mine

I want it to be about how deserving You are of all my praise

It’s not about me, what I want has to be what you want

If it's not, life is going to be pretty meaningless until the end

What I want has to be founded on what you tell me in your word

You have to be the center of what my heart wants

So I'm giving up, I’m giving myself totally to your plan

I don't want to live for myself anymore

I want to find exactly what you have for me

May you start something great in the life you've given me

The Me Effect

How many times do I think of myself in a day?

How many times when I get up in the morning, do I think about my problems?

How many times in a day do I think about how others affect me?

How many times do I seem to fall victim to the “me effect”?

We’re supposed to think of others before ourselves

We’re supposed to show others Gods love through our actions

We’re supposed to let God affect others through the way we live

We’re supposed to live for Christ because Christ died for us

So why can’t I keep from falling exactly where I’ve fallen before?

Why can’t I stay true to one of the countless decisions I’ve made?

Why can’t I learn from the times that I’ve felt empty after doing what I want?

Why can’t I give up what I want before it brings me down?

God, help me now to live for you more

Help me now because living for me just isn’t worth it

Help me now to think of others before myself

Help me now so I won’t fall victim to the “me effect”

How Big is our God?

We as Christians know that God is really big.

He created the entire universe and everything in it.

And after creating not just our galaxy, but galaxies LIGHT-YEARS away

He decided to make man.

Talk about a big finish.

Yet for some reason, mankind is His most precious creation.

We’re the tiniest of specks when compared to the galaxies.

And the vastness of the galaxies is minuscule when compared to His glory.

How big is our God?

Our God is HUGE!

But even though, in size, we’re not even comparable to God,

He watches each of us and has a plan for every little detail of our lives.

If we ask for His guidance and help in every situation,

And take advantage of every opportunity that He gives us to do His will,

He can make sure that the tiniest of details works out.

If we can just trust Him with the small things,

He can make gigantic things happen.

He can use us to change the world.

All we have to do is continue to trust Him,

And make sure we stay close to Him.

That’s all He asks of us.

He takes care of the rest.

So now I’m going to change the question a little.

How big is your God?

Total Confidence

I really want to say that I have total confidence in You

But, at times, the last thing I show is confidence

I always have some silly reason to do what I want to do instead of what You want me to do

If I really had total confidence in You, I would remember how perfect Your plan is

I would remember that Your plan is the best thing for me

I would remember that my abilities are nothing without Your omnipotence

So why do I always make up reasons to do what I want to do?

Why is it so hard to surrender my life to someone that I know has my best interest in mind?

Why can’t I let go of me and have total confidence in You?

God, I want to try again,

Because that’s all I can do

If I dwell upon my failures, I’ll only get discouraged

If I worry about the future, I’ll get scared and fall away

If I try to trust my plan, I’ll miss out on what You have for me

So help me God to stay confident in You

Give me the faith to trust Your plan for my life

Because I need You to be my ever present guide

I need Your help to restore a state of total confidence

What Do You Want?

What do you want from me God?

What am I suppose to do?

I don’t want to sound impatient

I just want to live for You

You’ve given me the desire

What way do you want me to go?

I’m trying to practice patience

But I just really want to know

I feel like I’m just wasting time

And my endurance is running out

All I have is Your grace and love

Maybe that’s what faith is all about

Being satisfied with what I have

Relying on You and not what I feel

Totally dying to myself

And letting You take the wheel

God I know You’re in control

I cannot sway from Your plan

Even though I may stumble

My life is in Your hand

I know You’re all I need

So help my prayer to stay the same

Give me endurance, patience, and peace

I pray all this in Jesus name

Amen

Need a Doctor?

You know how some people hate to go to the doctor

Even though the doctor is the one that helps them feel better

Why is that?

It might be because, when they were young, they linked the doctor with getting shots

They may still have fear that they themselves don’t really understand

But now that they’re older, they might think that the doctor is going to tell them to do something that they don’t want to do

Or they might think that the doctor will tell them things that they already know and don’t want to hear

Any way you look at it, the doctor is the one we turn to when we get sick

And people go to the doctor for help because everyone gets sick now and again

People may think that if they’re not getting sick, they don’t need a doctor

But thinking that way just leaves them more at risk of getting sick down the road

Although, when you think about it, would we need a doctor if there was no sickness?

I mean you wouldn’t stop by his office just to say hi

Now let’s take that statement and replace doctor with God and replace sickness with pain or troubles or hurting

Would we need God if we never felt pain?

Would we need God if we never faced troubles?

Would we turn to God as often if we never found ourselves hurting?

When pain comes He knows what we’re feeling

Would we draw close to Him if we didn’t need His healing?

I’m not necessarily saying that this thought makes pain any less painful

Although it may make troubles less troubling

But God wants us to rely on Him for what we need

And would we need Him if we lived in a perfect world?