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preacher31
HOW YOU CAN MAKE A FRESH START 3 - Subscribe
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(The next Reflections will be a series of 14 brief messages on how you can make a Fresh Start in your life. It is my prayer that these suggestions will help provide a real renewal in your total life.) How You Can Make a Fresh Start Whitney Hopler Do you feel stuck? Maybe you don't like the way your life has been going lately, but can't seem to change it. No matter how stuck you may have become, you can move forward with God's help. Here's how you can make a fresh start to change your life for the better: #3. Identify the pain that lies underneath your sinful attitudes and behaviors. Whatever problem you're trying to change - porn, gambling, overspending, speaking profanity, or something else - has some pain that's causing it. Ask God to reveal the core reason why you're struggling with the sin that is making you stuck in life right now. Tell God that you want to live in a way that pleases Him and is healthy for you. Trust Him to heal your pain as you move closer to Him. {Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields. Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.) Article publication date: August 20, 2009 |
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preacher31
HOW YOU CAN MAKE A FRESH START 4 9/02/2009 01:51 - Subscribe
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How You Can Make a Fresh Start Whitney Hopler Do you feel stuck? Maybe you don't like the way your life has been going lately, but can't seem to change it. No matter how stuck you may have become, you can move forward with God's help. Here's how you can make a fresh start to change your life for the better: #4. Deal with pride. What dreams have you been hoping would come true, yet have remained stuck in your mind and haven't become reality? As you think about them, consider your motivation for pursuing them. Can you recognize pride at work? Is it possible that some of your dreams are based on your desire to get people to notice and value you? If so, you've been aiming for the wrong dreams in those cases. God has better plans for you, and if you're willing to trade your dreams for God's dreams for your life, you won't be stuck anymore. You can move toward true greatness when you pursue God's dreams, because in the process, He will transform you into a person with strong character, like Jesus. Pray for the humility you need to surrender your own agenda and cooperate with God's plans for your life. {Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields. Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.) Article publication date: August 20, 2009 |
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preacher31
HOW YOU CAN MAKE A FRESH START 5 9/03/2009 01:29 - Subscribe
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How You Can Make a Fresh Start Whitney Hopler Do you feel stuck? Maybe you don't like the way your life has been going lately, but can't seem to change it. No matter how stuck you may have become, you can move forward with God's help. Here's how you can make a fresh start to change your life for the better: #5. Define success. If you've been chasing success in the form of wealth, significance, or security, you can get stuck never really achieving the success you want. Recognize that God defines success far differently than our culture does. From God's perspective, a successful person focuses on giving, not getting. The way to achieve true success is by serving other people for God's glory. Keep in mind that, no matter how busy you are, you can always find the time to do what you most want to do. So make service a top priority in your life. Pray for the ability to discern specific ways God wants you to serve. Start small; simply see a need and meet it. If you find that a certain way you've tried to serve turns out not to be a good match for you, keep looking for other opportunities to serve well. Be sure to take time out from serving to rest, though, to keep your life in a healthy balance. When you make service a vital part of your lifestyle, you'll experience life as Jesus experienced it, and you'll have more of His love flowing through you. That's the ultimate success. {Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields. Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com.) Article publication date: August 20, 2009 |
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preacher31
I THOUGHT I WOULD GIVE YOU A LITTLE BREAK 9/04/2009 12:18 - Subscribe
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In the middle of this series "How You Can Make a Fresh Start". I thought I would give you something to keep in mind: During all this discussion of sin and the role it plays in our lives. PLEASE REMEMBER THIS= The Book of Genesis tells us that we were created in God's own image. Please remember this always, "Why would God make us all so different, if He wanted us to be the same?" REMEMBER GOD LOVES YOU JUST THE WAY HE MADE YOU! GOD BLESS YOU! |
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preacher31
HOW YOU CAN MAKE FRESH START 6 9/05/2009 07:12 - Subscribe
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How You Can Make a Fresh Start Whitney Hopler (The next Reflections will be a series of 14 brief messages on how you can make a Fresh Start in your life. It is my prayer that these suggestions will help provide a real renewal in your total life.) Do you feel stuck? Maybe you don't like the way your life has been going lately, but can't seem to change it. No matter how stuck you may have become, you can move forward with God's help. Here's how you can make a fresh start to change your life for the better: #6. Move on from guilt. If guilt over wrong decisions you made in the past is keeping you stuck, you can move on with God's help. Confess your sins, mistakes, and failures to God, repent of your sins, and accept the forgiveness that He offers you. Read and reflect on Bible verses about forgiveness. Pray for God to give you peace about your past. Talk about your past and God's forgiveness with some caring Christian friends who will support you as you leave guilt behind. Remember that there's absolutely nothing you've done in the past that God can redeem. Move forward in the confidence that God has not only forgiven you, but that He also wants to use you to do significant work in His kingdom. Once you're free from guilt, you're free to say "yes" to God when He presents opportunities for you to serve Him. {Adapted from Fresh Start: God's Invitation to a Great Life copyright 2009 by Doug Fields. Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tn., www.thomasnelson.com. Article publication date: August 20, 2009) |