Five to Help You Thrive

A woman of faith placed the following sign over her kitchen sink: divine worship conducted here three times daily. To her, the mundane had become miraculous, and all her daily work, worship.

Sound far-fetched? Perhaps, but by applying five simple principles it's possible.

1. Rise thankfully. "Are you having a good day?" I asked a bank teller. "This morning I was able to place my feet on the floor," she replied, breaking into a smile. I couldn't help but smile back! Each morning when we rise, we choose to either be grateful or grumpy, pouting over yesterday's problems or praising God that we're alive and able to live another day.

2. Pray expectantly. Since many who pray don't truly expect answers to their prayers, they keep fretting over their problems even after they've talked to God. According to the Bible, we can pray and believe and receive — or pray and doubt and go without (James 1:6–7).

3. Speak kindly. Kind words flow from kind hearts. Knowing this, the psalmist prayed for the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart to both be acceptable to God (Ps. 19:14).

4. Forgive quickly. It is by God's grace that we've been saved, and nothing is more characteristic of God than forgiveness. If He can forgive us instantaneously, then we can forgive others quickly.

5. Work worshipfully. Some work only to make a living; others find real meaning in their work by making it an experience in worship. One of the greatest discoveries in life is learning that our walk with God is not limited to one day a week or one place that seems "worshipful."

The next time a friend extends a hand, saying "Give me five," recall these "Five to Help You Thrive" and keep applying them to your life.

Put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:24)

Leaving That Old Baggage Behind

Satchel Paige, the baseball diamond philosopher of another era, gained national recognition with his rules for successful living. The most frequently quoted of these was "Don't look back. Something may be gaining on you."

Paul the apostle agreed, saying he had decided to forget things of the past that might hold him back, choosing instead to reach forward to the challenges before him. He wanted to make the most of his future and knew this would be impossible if he allowed past mistakes to monopolize his mind and emotions.

We can forget what God has forgiven.

Forgiveness erases all guilt, assuring a clean slate for all our tomorrows, placing the past forever behind us and turning away all accusing fingers, hopefully including our own. Why should we live with guilt over past sins when we have asked the Lord to forgive them? He has promised to forgive those who confess their sins to Him (1 John 1:9) and this should settle the question.

Leaving our failings behind requires faith. We don't know what the future holds, but we can know the One who holds the future. This kind of confidence in God will enable us to break free from regrets about the past and focus on the opportunities the future is sure to bring.

Many waste their lives looking back and ever longing for an instant replay of the past so they can make adjustments. They'd like to rewind and restart life to get a better education, enter a different field of business or employment, marry a different wife or husband, even refuse to move to the area where they now find themselves.

Looking back weighs us down with guilt and despair.

Looking up to the forgiving One enables us to leave that old bad baggage behind.

Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward ... (Phil. 3:13)

The Greatest Time of Your Life

Why not resolve to make these your greatest days? They can be!

But for this to be true, you may have to change your definition of greatness.

Unless you resist the culture's call, you'll find yourself being influenced by those who associate greatness with getting. If this happens, your waking hours will revolve around what you can accumulate. Your main purpose in life will be to gather as much money and property as possible; you'll spend yet another year as a junk collector.

A man I was counseling had just discovered he had a terminal illness and shared his feelings about life with me. "It's been deceiving," he said.

This successful businessman had spent his entire life in getting and now had little time to enjoy his wealth. He had carefully kept his life for himself, but lost it. There had been no time set aside to worship God and precious little to enjoy his family. Now he had only a short time left to live and there was no way to call back those wasted years. The real purpose of life had eluded him.

The one who spends his or her life gathering temporary trophies to impress others will ultimately be disappointed. Focusing on gaining wealth and popularity to the exclusion of the real and lasting values of life produces inward poverty. It is the giver who gains, the investor who draws interest, the person of faith who moves mountains.

Not all the blessings of giving are received in this life. A message on a weathered old gravestone in an English cemetery says, "What I spent, I had. What I saved, I lost. What I gave, I have." Wise ones give their hearts to God and their hands to serving others. Embracing these great goals could make these your greatest days.

"He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matt. 10:39)

Forgive the One You Love

"I can never forgive her."

Those harsh words came from a man who was so angry at his wife that he thought their marriage was over.

Once he had spoken to her in a romance language. Now his speech was vitriolic, bitter, loveless — a collective climate that pervades too many homes. No wonder marriage breakups have become one of our most prevalent problems.

What is the cure for this epidemic?

Forgiveness.

But how can we forgive when we have been hurt so deeply by wounding words, attitudes, or acts of those we love? Power to forgive comes from realizing that we have been forgiven. And both our own forgiveness and the ability to forgive others are results of responding to God's love.

"I just can't forgive her," the wounded husband repeated, as I searched for words that would rescue this marriage.

"No, you can't," I finally answered, "unless you are willing to forgive as you have been forgiven." Since God has forgiven us, we can forgive others.

Forgiveness erases all guilt, assuring a clean slate for the future. It places the past behind us forever and turns away all accusing fingers.

Yet you may not feel forgiven. The magnitude of your sin looms large night and day. You confess the same sin again and again, yet it meets you when you awake in the morning and is often your final thought at night. You would give all you own to go back and relive one regrettable hour, but that is impossible.

What can you do? Believe the promises of the Bible concerning forgiveness. Someone has said, "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven."

And the one you love isn't perfect — just in need of...