I’ve got some exciting news about DareGreatlyNow.com! A ministry partner has volunteered his services to make audio recordings of past blog entries, and the intent will be to make them available on the site for listening on the go!
I say “ministry partner,” but the truth is…he’s an ordinary guy who followed through on the Holy Spirit’s prompting to make use of his talents, time, and resources. He doesn’t represent a professional organization. He’s an example of what God can do with a willing heart. Thanks to his efforts, blog entries will start becoming available through a different medium, hopefully reaching a wider (or different) audience, spurring them on with the goal of encouraging others to step into the roles God made for them.
In all honesty, it’s probably going to be a long time before even a tenth of the blog’s past posts are available to listen to. Neither of us does this full time. We’re just guys who love God and said yes to different versions of a task He laid before us, and we do this on the side. The beauty of it, though, is that we’ve begun working a project that once didn’t exist, and years after it first started, there are hundreds of God-honoring posts that have collectively been read thousands of times across the globe.
Here’s where I’d love your input. In light of a limited capacity to produce audio files of past entries, I’d love to hear from you to help shape the prioritization going forward. Which past posts stand out in your mind as something that spurred you on, or as something you think others need to hear? Leave a comment or let me know at tim@daregreatlynow.com.
Big things that honor God and build His kingdom don’t usually start out big. They start with a single person being open to God’s leading. Later, other people bring reinforcements and additional depth to the project. What are you being led to do? What’s holding you back? Who will you be a ministry partner to?
Despite humanity being more connected than ever before (at least superficially), there are currently a lot of lonely people out there. For those folks, Thanksgiving is the start of a very hard season.
I’ve been blessed to spend almost every Thanksgiving with family and/or friends, but the odd occasion where that didn’t work out gave me a little taste of the loneliness that can be a hidden difficulty of the holiday season. You add to that all the commercials about people spending time with loved ones, and it starts to feel like you don’t fit in. Even Black Friday commercials and advertisements sting a little bit. After all, what’s the point of all those sales if you already have the stuff you want and you don’t really have anyone to buy for?
Now imagine not just a week, or even a month, of this, but living like this all the time.
Thanksgiving is this week. Do you have a little extra room at your table for someone who’d otherwise be alone? Someone who’s single (young or otherwise), someone whose loved one(s) is/are far away because of business, or someone for whom it just wouldn’t be practical to get home and back for a long weekend (college students, etc.). There are also couples in the same boat who I’m sure would love to be invited to a “Friendsgiving.”
Someday, those who call Christ their Savior will enjoy sweet fellowship all the time. Until we get there though, we do the best we can, and I’m grateful to those that include others who’d ordinarily be alone.
Did you know your words can have an impact that lasts for years, or even decades?
I used to work with a dude I’ll call Marcus. This was a guy who used to be a Green Beret in the Army. When he was growing up in the Midwest, still a young teenager, Marcus had a cousin who was some kind of all-star football player at the state level. I guess this cousin was also a beast in the weight room, because he could bench press, like, 400+ pounds, while he was still in high school.
I guess he started making a name for himself, and the cousin got to be something of a local celebrity athlete. As you can imagine, it lit a fire under his younger cousin, Marcus, to start hitting the weights. He began visiting the weight room pretty regularly, and started making some significant gains. He was excited when he finally put up 225 pounds. Now, you’re not going to win any competitions by benching 225 a single time, but it is a substantial milestone. This is kind of when you graduate to being able to lift some serious weight. Up until now, putting weights on the bar consists of a large iron plate on either side, accompanied by a smattering of smaller weights. Once you hit 225, you get to put two of the largest plates on each side, and this much cleaner appearance makes it easy for everybody to know exactly how much you’re doing.
Proud of his accomplishment, Marcus informed his grandpa of his progress. “Grandpa! I bench pressed 225!” The response wasn’t what Marcus was looking for. Instead of an “atta boy!” or “great job, Son!,” he got a different answer. “Oh, looks like you’ve got a ways to go!”
Much later in his life, when I worked with him, Marcus was 41 years old and had just benched 345 pounds in his basement gym. Twenty-five or so years after they were uttered, Grandpa’s words were still echoing in Marcus’ mind, taunting him.
Be careful with your words. The positive ones are nice, and are often encouraging, but they get drowned out pretty easily by all the noise out there. The negative ones stick around longer and have a lot more staying power. While it’s true that negative criticism can drive people to do things they might not otherwise be able to do, is it your place to offer that kind of “help?” Not everybody is able to turn those hurtful or thoughtless words into motivation and drive. Of those who can, many of them carry around needless stress because of it. Consider offering encouragement, and if that’s coming up short, only then consider alternative ways of helping them move toward their goal.
Today we mark another somber anniversary. Believe it or not, it’s been almost a quarter century since one of the darkest days in the nation’s history.
For those on the younger side, I’m sure you’ve heard of 9/11 and you know what happened and all that, but it’s hard to really convey everything the nation went through that day and how it changed things for us. Imagine the nation as a whole feeling a blend of confusion, horror, fear, anger, grief, patriotism, and rage, all at the same time. As strange as it sounds, people of just about every political persuasion got along with each other in the weeks that followed, because being Americans united us more than it divided us.
There were three sites physically impacted that day: the field in Pennsylvania where the plane whose passengers rose up against their hijackers ended up crashing, the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon near DC. Watching the images from the site in Manhattan had the biggest effect on me; I had been up on the observation deck multiple times before, and within the previous year or two I’d had lunch with my Mom, Dad, and sister in a park made famous by a picture of an exhausted firefighter. Even though the Manhattan site was the most personal to me, there were lives lost in all three areas, either airline passengers or unassuming souls on the ground. Even though it’s 24 years later, that memory is still powerful to me, and I’m sure many people have similar powerful memories of that day.
This probably isn’t the last time we’ll get a bloody nose (or worse) as a nation. What I can tell you for sure, though, is that it’s not going to be the last time you see a wicked scheme succeed.
The Bible addresses incidents where wrongdoers seem like they’re getting ahead in life. David saw it and wrote about it. In Psalm 37:7-9 we read some of the most difficult instructions in the entire Bible: when you see wickedness seem to prevail, be patient.
“7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.”
This Patriot Day, take the time to pause and remember the innocents who lost their lives, but remember as a Christian that two wrongs don’t make a right. When you witness evil succeeding, be patient and wait on the Lord; He sees it and will deal with it in His time.
It’s funny how the concept of individual responsibility and discipline has faded into the background. When I was a kid, there were plenty of limits on how much junk food I ate, how much video game time I got, and what I did with my money. As you grow up, you’re less at the mercy of someone else’s limits on your choices, and you determine your own circumstances.
I don’t know if anyone’s told you this or not, but you are responsible for the choices you make. Those choices take many forms, but please don’t fall for the false narrative our culture as a whole seems to push on people: you’re not to blame for the consequences of your decisions.
While it’s true there are some things outside our control that restrict the choices we make (car accidents, inherited medical conditions, etc.), the things I’m about to cover usually aren’t the result of one or two choices, but the result of patterns of choices. Let’s start with something we can probably all relate to.
How can I say this lovingly? Gaining five pounds is not a huge deal. I’ve come out of weekends weighing about five pounds more than I did going in. Gaining 10 pounds more than where you want to be…well…that might be okay if we’re between Thanksgiving and New Years. Putting on 20 pounds more than your desired weight…please tell me you’re noticing this?
If you’re 30 or 40 pounds overweight, we’re not just talking about a couple days’ worth of bad decisions. This is a pattern. It’s a little tough to believe you didn’t see it coming. The consequences are now much more likely to negatively affect your health (and by extension, your bank account). The risk of problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart disease are all now needlessly increased. Yes, you can probably take medicine for some of them, or you can bypass the need for most of those medications by addressing the problem instead of the symptoms. I have to give credit where credit’s due; the country music singer Jelly Roll hit a max weight of 540 pounds a few years ago, but has since lost about 180 pounds to drop below 360. While 360 pounds is still morbidly obese, I have to tip my cap to him; losing 180 pounds is a tremendous accomplishment. At his max weight, I wouldn’t have given him another 10 years. I’m rooting for the guy, and I hope he’s able to achieve his goal of dropping enough weight to someday go skydiving with his wife, even if it means he needs to find a new stage name. (“Pop Tart?”) If you find yourself wanting to drop some extra pounds, start with simple changes like swapping sugary drinks for water (aim to eat your calories instead of drink them). A soda or something like a lemonade every day adds up fast. (Don’t switch to the diet version, just cut it out completely.) Also, while exercise is important, diet is more important. Cardio is good for your heart and mind, while strength training builds muscle, and increased muscle mass burns more calories even while at rest. None of it makes much difference if you’re consistently taking in more calories than you burn.
Let’s talk finances. If you’re living beyond your means, that’s something to try to change right away. I’m not talking about cases where you’re temporarily between jobs, or you’re paying back a big medical bill or something like that. I’m referring to situations where you’re spending more money than you’ve got without having a better reason than “because I want it.” Yes, we all need clothing, but why does it have to be designer? If you truly need a vehicle, brand new cars are a lot more expensive to own and insure than cars a few years older. Dining out or having food delivered is convenient, but expensive, especially if it’s multiple times a week. Consumer debt is a trap you don’t want to have to deal with. If you can’t pay your credit card bills in full every month, maybe you shouldn’t use them (unless the vendor doesn’t take cash). Pay in cash when you’re out and about. Physically handing your money over to someone has a way of helping you question whether the purchase is really worth it or not. Swiping a card and using “invisible money” is so easy, you don’t even realize how much you’re pledging to pay, and the bill piles up fast. If you can’t seem to help yourself, ask your credit card company to lower your credit limit. Keep in mind that if you drastically lower your amount of available credit, your credit score will take a hit. If you’re applying for a mortgage or other loan soon, you may want to hold off on lowering the limits until after you get the lender’s decision.
Finally, are you always short on time? Why is that? If you made a pie chart of the activities you do during your free time (not when you’re sleeping and not when you’re at work or engaged in other responsibilities), which slices would be the biggest? I’m guessing a screen is involved. I don’t know if this is true or not, but the other day I heard on the radio that on average, we scroll a whopping 95 miles per year on our phones. It can’t all be worthwhile. Video games are a black hole for guys, especially. I knew guys in college who would skip classes to play video games. Too much of that and your grades suffer, and college is a pricey thing to give a half-hearted effort to. Unless you’re able to make money off your video game prowess, consider whether the time investment is worth it. I understand wanting to decompress and relax, but good grief, set a limit on how much time that takes. Other time-suck activities: binge-watching shows, watching six hours of football in a given weekend (or single day), and aimless meandering on the internet.
To sum up, you’re in charge of you. If you can’t do it on your own, ask a trusted person for help with your weak spots. When my kids were little, my wife and I were pretty careful about how many sweets we let them have. Occasionally, I’d come home from work and have some ice cream. Once in awhile, one of them would say something like “I can’t wait until I’m a daddy so I can have ice cream whenever I want.” Yeah, life as an adult comes with some privileges, but Spiderman was right: with great power comes great responsibility. Take ownership of your choices. The buck stops with you.
I used to really enjoy kneeboarding. It’s an activity where you’re kneeling on a board while being pulled behind a boat. The boat’s wake makes a ramp you can use for jumping or sliding around on. I was able to master a couple of minor kneeboarding tricks, but for some reason I really had my heart set on doing a barrel roll.
I’ll let you in on a little secret. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that particular trick wasn’t possible to do with the setup we had. The boat we used only had the factory/stock pylon, which is where the ski rope connected to the boat. For this trick to work, we needed an extra tall pylon or a ski/wakeboard tower, so while you’re still mid-air, the rope is pulling you up, rather than straight ahead. It allows you to get a little extra hangtime, resulting in some additional rotation.
Of course, I was blissfully ignorant of this. I figured I just needed to work harder on my technique. I’d get halfway, maybe three quarters of the way around, then crash into the water. Sometimes my face would be the first thing to hit. Other times I didn’t know what hit first; I’d bob to the surface with my neck suddenly sore from an awkward entry into the water. Every now and then the kneeboard would go flying high into the air in a spectacular wreck. The life jacket was nice because I’d be so disoriented upon being thrashed into the water, I didn’t know which way was up. Thankfully, it pointed me in the right direction.
I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. We tried different speeds so the shape of the wake changed, but we determined the speed range to get the best shot. I figured “well, I probably just need to hit the wake faster and tuck tighter so I can rotate quicker.” Looking back I don’t know if this trick was even possible, but I sure tried hard to squeeze every bit of rotation out of each attempt.
At the time, I had a video camera, and I had someone in the boat film so I could try to figure out how to get better. I could probably show you snapshots from 20+ failures when attempting the roll, but I found something I thought was more interesting. Like the post’s title says, it’s funny what a big difference a single second can make. I grabbed a couple of snapshots of one particular attempt.
In the left picture you can see me setting up for the jump. I’m trying to pick up as much speed as possible before hitting the wake. I’m zeroed in on what I’m trying to do. Just one second later, in the other picture, it’s perfectly obvious everything has completely fallen apart. There’s a crash landing in progress, and the board looks like it decided to travel in another direction than the one I did. Chalk this one up to failure.
In fact, chalk them all up to failure. I never landed that trick.
Now, I’m not saying I would’ve been able to crack the code on this trick if I’d had more time, but I’m saying a situation can look very different even if two different snapshots are only a second apart. Have you ever been in a situation where you found that to be the case?
Ever hear of a sloppy, unrehearsed presentation trouncing a very polished one?
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve written about the urgency of our situation as Christ-followers. We’re not recommended…we’re commanded…to go out and make disciples of all nations. That can be tough. What’s that look like?
The most important thing is that we try. Making an honest attempt equates to obedience here, and obedience is one of the things God wants from us. Although a well-rehearsed, logical presentation of the Gospel is something to work toward, lack of a prepared version is not a good excuse for skipping the attempt. No matter how prepared you are for the pitch, you’re not the one who gets to decide if it penetrates the heart:
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. –John 6:63
God can use a fumbling and bumbling version of a Gospel presentation just as much as He can use a highly stylized, well-practiced delivery. Jesus is pretty particular in reminding us about this. Later in the same chapter, Peter started speaking a little pretentiously, and implied that he and the “true disciples” had somehow acquired superior insight, and as a result of this insight, had decided to believe. Jesus was quick to correct him about who did the choosing:
Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve. –John 6:69-70
God expects us to obey, but He doesn’t expect us to be rock stars at evangelism. Picture a dad playing with his young kids and a ball. “Throw Daddy the ball!” All the kiddo has to do is get it close, and Daddy will make the catch and complete the play. Same thing here. Just obey, and get it close. If it’s part of His plan, God will take it from there.
This leads to an important point. Not everyone who hears the Gospel will respond to it, especially the first time they hear it. That means there needs to be more presentations of the Gospel than there are acceptances. That’s where you come in. You don’t have to be successful, you just need to be obedient. Obedience is your responsibility; outcome is God’s responsibility. He won’t be disappointed in you for obeying what He told you to do.
I understand it’s a scary thing, and we’ve been conditioned not to talk about God in the workplace. Let’s start small and you can grow from there. If you’re not going to go out and tell people about God, use the times He brings people to you. The next time a solicitor knocks on your door, guess what? They’re not going to complain to HR about you discussing God with them. They came to you. They’re on your turf. Just because they have something to offer you doesn’t mean it’s a one-way street. I guarantee what you have to offer them is far more valuable than what they’re offering you. Don’t pretend you’re not home.
Not sure what structure to follow? There are a ton out there, and some methods lend themselves to different personalities or levels of memorization. As long as you’re covering these three areas, you’re sharing the Gospel. 1. Why we must be saved. 2. How Jesus can save us. 3. What we must do to be saved.
The Pray and Say – More people than you’d think are open to having you pray for them. Try articulating the Gospel during a prayer with them.
The Roman Road – Using five different verses in the book of Romans, you walk folks through the need for Jesus. Think you can memorize five verses?
The 1-minute Gospel – Some people reject the Bible because it’s the Bible. No Bible verses required for this one.
The Billy Graham Method – It worked for millions of people, and is pretty simple.
The Five-Finger Method – Five fingers help you remember five points to make.
Ultimately, you’re the best judge of the method you should use…these are just some ideas to get you started and work with complete strangers. You’re welcome to use these, or any other method, on strangers, people you know casually, or people who are very important to you.
I encourage you to check out the link. We (Christians) are here for a reason, and the enemy doesn’t want you to follow through on it. Remind yourself that you don’t have to present the Gospel perfectly, you just need to present it, and it gives the Holy Spirit an opportunity to do some big stuff in a person’s life.
Lord, help me remember what’s truly important in this life and to be willing to follow through with what You’ve called me to do. When the time comes, give me the words to say, and may You be glorified through me. Amen.
Last week I talked about living “in the final minutes of the game.” If Satan knows he’s losing, and that the clock’s getting closer to zero, he’s going to pull out all the stops in his efforts to derail God’s plan. There are no rules of conduct he’ll voluntarily abide by.
Well God’s going to do what God’s going to do, and none of us know exactly what’s going to take place or His timeline for doing it. We know God wins, but we don’t know what the battles look like between now and then, or which of us are going to step into crucial roles in the fight.
I feel I need to drop some truth on my fellow Christ-followers here, and for some it may be uncomfortable. Here it is: If you are not living your life actively looking for ways to build God’s kingdom (either by bringing new souls to Christ or building up the faith and capabilities of those who are already His), you are living a life of disobedience.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” –Matthew 28:19-20
This isn’t a verse that says “as long as you’re up for it,” or “once you get that job,” or “when life is going well for you.” This is not an optional aspect of Christianity, this is a command. Yes, if Jesus Christ is your Savior, you’ll spend eternity with Him in Heaven, but there’s a lot of joy you’re going to miss out on if you duck the Boss’s directive.
And we get to be part of countering those efforts. Thank you John MacArthur!
I recently spent most of the day accompanying someone to the hospital for a surgery. Time seems to pass slower when you’re sitting in a hospital waiting room. It gives you the opportunity to do a lot of people-watching, and if you’re paying attention, you get to see a lot. For some, this is a place of business; it’s where they earn their paycheck. For others, it’s a place to volunteer. For many others, it’s a place of uncertainty, of worry. I saw elderly couples gingerly walking around together, taking great care to navigate obstacles I think nothing about. If the Lord sees fit to allow me to live that long, that reality isn’t as far off into the future as I’d like it to be. If I want end my time on Earth having lived a life of impact for the Lord, I need to be pushing now, and the same is probably true for you.
I’ve written in the past about the parable of the talents (found in Matthew 25:14-30). A talent in this case is a measure of weight, so a talent of gold or a talent of silver is worth quite a bit. The master called three servants together and gave them different amounts of money, according to their abilities (5 talents, 2 talents, and 1 talent), and told them to grow the money while he went away on a journey. The first two servants worked hard and doubled the money they’d been entrusted with, while the third was lazy and only returned the original amount to the master.
We all have the opportunity to demonstrate growth in our Christian walks. Those who do well with 1 talent graduate to being entrusted with 2, and those who do well with 2 demonstrate their worthiness to be entrusted with more. I feel like this blog is my “2-talent act.” I’ve been reliably posting content here for over six and a half years. I feel like my “5-talent act” is the book series I’ve posted about before. That series is a little too much for me to handle right now, but I’m growing into it. Being faithful at smaller-talent acts will help prepare me for the bigger lift, and the same goes for you. It’s become glaringly apparent though, that if I want to complete that 5-talent act, it’s not something I can just wish and hope for; I’m going to have to make deliberate efforts to get it done. It’s going to cost me something…usually my time. I’m trying to build something that will still be making an impact long after I’m gone, but if I want it to really happen I have to get moving now. I’ve already been working on it for a few years, and even though I’ve started to accumulate a few sizable manuscripts, there’s still years’ worth of work to be done.
That’s why it’s important to remember, and keep in perspective, the brevity of life. It’s easy to brush aside the idea of committing to something big God’s called you to, because people of all ages can talk themselves out of it. If you’re a teenager, you figure you’ll have plenty of time for stuff like that later. In your early career you’re still focused on getting yourself established, or even just paying rent. Maybe you get in a serious relationship, maybe little footsteps follow behind not long after. Well then, since you’ve got a young family, you have other priorities. But then you get pulled into volunteering at school activities, and then you get caught up in the college search. Then all your kiddos leave the nest and it’s just you and your special someone, or maybe just you. But then you get a pink slip, or an unexpected diagnosis. You eventually make it through that, and at some point you become a grandparent. Retirement isn’t super far away, and maybe you take a big vacation once in awhile. You eventually retire, and then you have to figure out what that looks like for you. You do some fun things and spend some time with the grandkids, but before you know it you’re trying to decide if you want to retire in place, downsize, or move into a retirement community.
“Wow, that went fast.” Sometimes it seems like it’s over in a few blinks of an eye. “I guess there’s really no ‘good’ time to get to work on the stuff God assigned to me.” That’s part of the reason why He rewards the followers that make time for His work.
Not sure where to begin? Start small and grow from there. I bet your church needs help with child care (or some other ministry). Maybe you can think of a practical way to demonstrate love to someone who needs some help (both Believers and non-Believers). Is there someone you know who could use a little discipling?
It’s not too late. God has work for you to do. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” I’m sure we’ll celebrate together in Heaven, but don’t let a lifetime of disobedience pass you by.
I was NOT a good swimmer when I first began lifeguard training. I barely passed the swimming requirement to even get into the class.
Our instructor was very aware of this, and she knew we all needed to build swimming proficiency. Each time we gathered for class, we split our time between classroom instruction and water skills. Whenever we got in the water, our first task was to swim 25 lengths of the pool, about 500 yards.
If we met for class two or three times a week, this consistency helped build the right kind of muscle, develop comfort in the water, and improve technique. Before long, I got much better at swimming. Instead of just barely getting from wall to wall, my strokes began generating the power needed to propel myself through the water, rather than merely dragging myself through it. I wasn’t going to win any awards, but 500 yards stopped being an intimidating thing, and I grew in confidence that I could handle more than I thought I could.
The key to nurturing and developing a nascent talent is to continue nurturing and developing it. Consistency pays off. Sometimes building muscle is part of it, but more often it’s a repeated demonstration to yourself that things either 1. are, in fact, achievable, or 2. aren’t as impossible as you once thought. You have to train your mind to say “yes, I can wade into uncomfortable territory and come out of it stronger.”
You can apply this lens to both Christian and secular challenges:
Repeatedly venturing outside your comfort zone helps you become comfortable being uncomfortable.
Overcoming an intimidating obstacle means the next obstacle has to be bigger if it wants to generate the same level of fear in you.
Being faithful in the little things trains you to be faithful in the big things; if you can’t handle small responsibilities, why should you be trusted with big ones? Showing yourself worthy of the strengths and abilities God gives you for the sake of performing small tasks demonstrates you can handle greater responsibility.
Trusting in and relying on God during difficult times helps you trust in and rely on Him more deeply all the time.
Showing up and being consistent is important. Starting something difficult means you begin chipping away at it; if you keep at it, you’ll eventually do things you didn’t think were possible. On the other hand, looking at something difficult and deciding not to even try means your fight with it is over before it begins.
Will you rise to the challenge? Demonstrate consistency. It starts with showing up.
Here’s a little trick the devil likes to use on a lot of folks. The reason he uses it frequently on people is because, unfortunately, it’s so effective at hamstringing them.
Have you ever noticed how you keep remembering examples of your own character failures, even long after they occurred? Letting people down, perhaps, or letting yourself down, or even going left when you should’ve gone right…all sorts of things that you should have been able to shake from your memory by now, but haven’t. Why can’t you move on from these failures?
You can’t forget them because fallen angels are constantly reminding you about them.
You see, what Satan and his forces are constantly doing is reminding you of things God’s already forgotten. You are human. You make mistakes. You ask forgiveness for those mistakes, you learn the lesson, you deal with the consequences, and you move on. When you’re living your life for Christ and things are going well, these little reminders get whispered into your ear. When you turn inward and withdraw from others, they’re also whispered into your ear.
Why? Why would the Lord’s enemy want God’s followers downcast and morose? Quite simply, to make you less effective as a Christ-follower. Joy is one of the Fruits of the Spirit. Robbing you of it makes the Spirit appear less powerful, even though it’s not true. It also hurts your testimony. The nagging thoughts of failure or regret are intentionally placed in your mind to pull you off your spiritual “A Game” and keep you huddled in the corner.
Focus instead on the truth: if Christ is your Savior, you’re a child of the living God. You’re forgiven. Those infractions are blotted out in Christ’s book. It’s time to look toward the future, not the past. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can achieve unbelievable things, either to impact the Kingdom of God or for God’s sheer enjoyment of seeing somebody He created do exactly what they were created to do.
Learn from your mistakes, but don’t dwell on them. As the last few grains of sand slip through the hourglass of your life, your goal should be to have no potential remaining. The Lord created us with a lot of potential; don’t let yourself become self-limiting.
