“I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me.”
John 15:5 (CEV) It’s better to rest in God’s goodness than to be overwhelmed with work and worry. But it’s also easier said than done. It can be hard to take the steps that lead to rest and the abundant life God has for you. Here are four daily habits that will help move you from overwhelmed to overflowing. 1. Stay connected to Jesus every day. “I am the vine, and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me, and I stay joined to you, then you will produce lots of fruit. But you cannot do anything without me” (John 15:5 CEV). If you try to go through life on your own power, you’re going to be overwhelmed. You cannot fulfill your purpose and enjoy God’s goodness unless you’re plugged in to his power. 2. Replace your complaining with gratefulness. “Do everything without complaining and arguing” (Philippians 2:14 NLT). Complaining is a deeply unhealthy emotion. On the other hand, studies have shown that gratitude is the healthiest emotion. It produces serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin in your brain; those are the chemicals that boost happiness and lower stress. 3. Stop being stingy, and start being generous. “Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things” (Malachi 3:10 GNT). God wired a universal law into the world: The more you give away, the more you’re going to get. God did that because he wants you to become more like him—and he is a giver. 4. Stop comparing, and start being content. “It is better to be content with what little you have. Otherwise, you will always be struggling for more, and that is like chasing the wind” (Ecclesiastes 4:6 NCV). Contentment doesn’t mean you don’t have any goals, dreams, or plans for your life. It simply means you don’t need more in order to be happy. By nature, people are discontent. But by God’s grace, you can rest contently in his goodness to you. When you grasp that most things in your life are simply gracious gifts from God, your life will go from overwhelming to overflowing with God’s abundance.
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“I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”
1 John 5:13 (NLT) You probably have a picture that comes to mind when you think about what hell must be like. Your image likely has some red and black tones in it, a lot of fire, and maybe the devil looming over everything. Hell is described in the Bible as a place of torment. Matthew 13:42 says it is a “blazing furnace, where the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain” (NCV). That description sounds terrible, but do you know what the worst part of hell is? Hell is total separation from God, which means hell is the exact opposite of everything God is. The Bible says in 1 John 4:18, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (NIV). The opposite of love is fear. Living without love means you’re scared to death all the time. That’s hell. God is love, so there is no love in hell. God is light, so hell is complete darkness. God is good, so there is absolutely nothing good in hell. God is life, so that means hell is eternal death. God is gracious, so that means there’s no grace in hell. Just think what eternity would be like without the joy of knowing God and being loved by him—an eternity without any joy at all. It would be terrible—unthinkable, really. But that is the reality for anyone who does not choose to love and follow Jesus in this life. The Bible says, “If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be separated from God—lost forever!” (1 Corinthians 16:22 NCV). If you go through your entire life saying, “I don’t want God in my life,” then that means you will also spend eternity without God. Whatever you choose on Earth is your forever choice. But there is good news! There is a way for you to be absolutely certain you’re going to heaven and not hell. The Bible tells you how to settle your destiny: “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13 NLT). You don’t have to guess or wonder about something that is inevitable and could happen at any moment. You can know for certain today that when you die, you will spend eternity in God’s presence. Don’t put it off any longer. Settle your future today. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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