We were all born with a human nature. But, at that moment we entered this world, there are two forces of nature competing within you. We are all born with a sinful nature. If we h ave given our life to Christ, or born again, we are re-born, given a new nature. The things we used to do, we no longer have a desire to do. Our new nature puts a desire in us to learn more about God, and to please Him.

Depending on which path we choose, if we favor our old sinful nature, we are feeding evil thoughts, and damaging habits. The more we feed this evil nature, the more it dominates our life.

On the other hand, if we intentionally feed our new nature, our spiritual side, this new nature will thrive and dominate your new life.

The point is, we have to be consistent and intentional every day, as to which nature we’re feeding.

None of us can get away from sin; we all sin every day. But, if you’re a Christian and have given your life to Christ, He can bear the burdens for us, and only He can forgive you of your sins.

Feed your mind with God’s word. Start reading it, asking God for interpretation, and you’ll be on your way to a healthy new nature that has no room for sinful acts or thoughts.

Galatians 5:17 - “For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”

W.M. Lewis said, “The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”

I heard on the news that depression is the second most harmful disease the world faces today.

Depression has been around since the beginning of time. There are medicines that help, but even then, depression can take your life.

I’ve had depression and anxiety. The two evils that deprived me of a fulfilled life in my early 20s and 30s. I know the loneliness, the paranoia, the anxious thoughts that deprived me of sleep.

My heart goes out to all of those battling this disease.

Even as a Christian, I convinced myself that I could beat depression, on my own.

Had I realized God was right there, waiting for me to reach out to Him, I could have saved myself from years of grief and misery.

What about you? Do you know someone living with depression? Reach out to them. Give them your time, love on them.

Life here on earth is so short. No one is promised tomorrow.

Start living today. Ask God for help. Don’t wait until you’re broken. Reach out and start living now.

Psalms 36:9 - “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.”

When you say you’ll do something, do you keep your word? Can people rely on you; are you a person of integrity?

If you make it a habit of promising things to people and you seldom keep that promise, people will stop relying on you. They won’t find genuineness in your promises, and will eventually not trust you.

There’s security, reliability in trustworthy people. You see their sincerity and can trust they will follow through on their promises. My verse of the year is Proverbs 4:23 - “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

God knows your heart, whether you believe that or not, it’s true. He knows if you’re just filling the air with words, or whether you speak truth.

You can fool some people. You can make promises that you don’t intend to keep, but you’ll never fool God.

God makes a promise to every person on earth. Believe that He sent His son to earth to live as a man, die on a cross, and that He was raised from the dead 3 days later. If you believe this, you’re promised a home in heaven.

Jesus awaits in Heaven until the appointed time when He promises to come again, to take His followers home to Heaven.

Speak truth. Get to know the only true and living God.

God’s promises are forever. He never breaks a promise.

Proverbs 25:14 - “Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given.”

Challenges can be exciting, or daunting. Most of us love a good challenge, a chance to prove ourselves.

Life in itself is a challenge sometimes. I’ve lived through and conquered many challenges in my life. As a child, I can remember the first challenge I was faced with. I lost my dad at the age of ten. This detour in my life journey shaped my life. It would take me decades to realize how much.

I always wondered what course my life would have gone, had my dad lived. Not then, but now I’m thankful for the challenges in my life. They caused me to find courage I never knew existed.

It took many years and I can remember early on, feeling sorry for myself. I became selfish, and didn’t let God into my world. I spent many years trying to get through life on my own, devising my own escapes in substances and devastating habits.

If you don’t have challenges in life, and you’ve always been handed things on a silver platter, you’ll probably tell yourself you don’t need God.

I’m not a fan of challenges or problems that come into my life, but they have given me the courage to accept things, ask God for help, and persevere.

God sees your motives; He knows your heart.

Challenge yourself. Strive to get into a relationship with God. He’ll give you the courage you never knew existed.

1 Chronicles 28:20 - “David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.”

I’ve done it all my working life. I schedule a vacation, and I start counting the days until departure.

I do this with other things too. But, one thing has changed. I try to make each day count. I make an attempt to purposely look for something good in each day.

Yes, some days it’s nearly impossible; seems out of reach.

Everyone has been given the same number of hours each day. What you do with yours is what’s important.

Make up your mind today to live for God. Ask Him what you can contribute to this day to make it great.

Quit harboring regrets on how you’ve wasted the last ten years on mindless or damaging habits.

Are you just killing time, or are you investing your time in eternity?

Do you find yourself wishing the day would just end?

Making the best of your day starts with how you start each day. Get the required sleep, exercise, but first and most important, start each day with God first on the agenda. I promise you, if you make this a habit, you will have better days.

Stop dreading tomorrow because it’s a work day. Start today thanking God that you have a job, and that He allows you to live another day.

Make each day count.

Psalm 90:12 - “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

I recently went through a rough week. It started with getting sick; it continued with an emotional inner war, that I brought on myself.

What did I do? I fought back. I increased my prayer time. I cried out to God for help. I knew He was there, but at times it felt like He wasn’t. It was so quiet. I couldn’t sleep. This caused anxiety and by the time the middle of the week came, I was a mess.

Again, I persevered. I prayed. I read scripture. I asked God what I needed to do. That night, I surrendered. I let go of what I had been holding onto for far too long. I slept like a baby that night. It shocked me how much peace I had when I woke up the next day.

I heard a song on the radio while I was writing and it reminded me of how God is always at work in my life.

It says, “even when I don’t see it, you’re working; even when I can’t feel it, you’re working, you never stop, never stop working.”

God has never been absent in my life. I may have put Him on a shelf, but He was always there.

That very same morning, I had received an email that I had been waiting for, since signing up for my next mission trip.

I was approved and accepted to go to Rwanda in 2020! Wow! God is so good, and I’m glad He’s patient with me, when I am not.

God never stops. Even when you don’t see anything happening, He’s working!

Isaiah 64:8 - “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

There are many stories of drought and famine in the Old Testament. Israel experienced it. You see heartache and desperation in these stories, but you’ll also see hope and mercy. In the wilderness as the Israelites were walking, desperate for something to eat, crying out to God, God heard their cry and answered. He gave them manna (food) from heaven. Can you imagine walking along and seeing food coming down from the sky?

But, even in the abundance of mercy from above, they complained. They got tired of the same food every day. They complained about not having meat, etc. God got angry at one point and created a fire around their camp.

Have you ever noticed that most of us complain a lot? We complain if we’re caught in traffic; we get impatient when the clerk at the grocery store is new and slower than normal. We get angry at God when He doesn’t answer our prayer in our timing.

I’m guilty of it, but since my first mission trip in 2018, I try to be more aware of my blessings, even in the seasons of drought. God changed me through these mission trips. The people of Peru live as the peasants did in early America. The live off the land, and God provides.

I’m thankful for everything God gives me, every day. Even in the rainy seasons, or when there’s dry spells, God is always there, providing.

Look for favor in your famine today.

Exodus 16:35 - “The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.”

I’ve always enjoyed watching re-runs, the classics from the 50s and 60s; Andy Griffin, I love Lucy.

I even find myself re-reading books that I’ve enjoyed in the past.

I know the ending of the show, the conclusion of the story, but that doesn’t stop me from re-living it again. It’s comforting in knowing the ending.

There is an ending to our own story; our life here on earth. We can’t ignore it. We see people die every day.

God makes us all a promise. If we truly believe in Him, certain that He sent His son to die for us, and confess our sins, He promises an abundant life forever with Him. There’s no end to eternity.

Your body will go back to the earth some day. But, thank God, for those who are His children; we will live with Him forever.

I know the end of my story. Getting there may be difficult (in my eyes) and it may not be carried out as I would like. God holds our future, and our now.

Don’t you want the comfort and peace of knowing if today is your last day on earth, that God will carry you home?

We can all reminisce our past successes; have hopeful thoughts for the future.

What’s your destiny? Are you trusting God with the conclusion of your story?

Believing in God is the easy part; believing His plans are for our good is sometimes much harder.

Psalms 56:4 - “In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”