Luke 13:24 KJV
[24] Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

It is easy to take things we received for free for granted. We don’t just pray the Sinner’s Prayer and afterwards everything sorts itself out. We cultivate our relationship with God and strive to grow in Him. “No one in heaven got there by accident. Prayers were prayed. Bibles were read. Jesus was believed in, obeyed, and adored” (John Piper).

Expect Good Things

Psalm 112:7 KJV
[7] He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord .

Sometimes we are afraid to hope that good things may happen, so we imagine the worst case scenario so that whatever happens we will not feel bad because we were already expecting the worst. This is a waste of time because as long as you are alive to this point you have a track record of successfully getting through the worst that have already happened, and thus there is no need to dread the future. “Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday” (Sarah Ban Breathnach).

Sow the seed (Not the money Kind:))

Luke 21:19 KJV
[19] In your patience possess ye your souls.

There are days we feel unproductive. We should remember that just as results of education are taken at the end of a term, or a year, so do things we want to see accomplished take some time. The most important thing is to sow the seeds of the things you want to see in your tomorrow, today. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant” (Robert L Stevenson).

Sin not

Job 1:21-22 KJV
[21] And he said…the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord . [22] In all this Job sinned not,

It is easy to praise God when things are going as expected in our lives. Even an atheist can mistakenly praise God if things go unexpectedly positively. It is when things are not going ‘well’ that the attitude of praise and gratitude becomes challenging. But if we trust God in the good times we should also learn to trust him in times of difficulties. “A Christian must be an Alleluia from head to foot” (Augustine of Hippo).

His Lordship

Matthew 7:21 KJV

[21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Christianity is not a fashion statement. It is surrendering one’s free will to God’s will entirely. “It is possible to recognize Christ’s Lordship but not submit to Him as Lord of your life. It is possible to be called a Christian but not be worthy of the call. It is possible to walk with Christ and not be like Christ. When you know and genuinely believe in His will, yet do your will out of logic, pleasure or convenience then you recognize His Lordship but His Lordship over your life” (JNA).

Application of Knowledge

Matthew 7:26 KJV
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

“Knowledge is power” but not really. It is in the application of what we know that gives it its power. There is no difference between someone who knows something and does not do it or apply it to his life, and one who does not know it at all. “To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know” (Stephen R. Covey).

Worry not

Matthew 6:34 KJV
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Worry is an illusion we create to pretend to have control over things outside our control. The things we worried about last year and the last etc, are gone and past, but instead of learning our lesson that nothing is worth worrying over, we allow our minds to generate new situations that we would likely overcome and forget within at most a few years, wasting our present time in doing so. “I am an old man and have known many troubles, but most of them never happened” (Unknown).

Open Secret

Galatians 2:1 KJV
Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

It is an open secret that everyone has their own journey, but we seem to forget that and instead play the comparison game. We compare ourselves to our classmates, our colleagues, our co-workers as though just because they are around us our destinies must take the same course. Christ had 30 years to prepare for a three-year ministry while his peers were marrying and procreating. Paul spent fourteen years after his conversion in the background before becoming the famous Paul we now know him to be. Have your own success metric, and judge yourself by them, not by someone else’s. “Don’t compare your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 20” (Unknown).

Open Secret

Galatians 2:1 KJV
Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.

It is an open secret that everyone has their own journey, but we seem to forget that and instead play the comparison game. We compare ourselves to our classmates, our colleagues, our co-workers as though just because they are around us our destinies must take the same course. Christ had 30 years to prepare for a three-year ministry while his peers were marrying and procreating. Paul spent fourteen years after his conversion in the background before becoming the famous Paul we now know him to be. Have your own success metric, and judge yourself by them, not by someone else’s. “Don’t compare your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 20” (Unknown).

Contentment

1 Timothy 6:6-7 KJV
But godliness with contentment is great gain. [7] For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

When you “ask yourself, ‘What do I need to be happy?’, chances are not only do you need very little, but you actually already have most of it. While you might have a long list of wants, recognise these for what they are. Don’t let them get in the way of your happiness” [Domonique Bertolucci]. “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less” (Socrates).