Do you often wonder how God feels about drinking, smoking, music, relationships, chewing tobacco, drugs, kissing, bars, thoughts, speech, and other areas of your life? Many times we are tempted to classify these areas in a category sometimes referred to as “gray areas”. Gray is a combination of two totally opposite and distinct colors: black and white. Since gray falls somewhere between black and white in color, and is neither clearly black nor white, we have a tendency to categorize areas of unclarity as gray. This causes us to be unsure of ourselves in these areas...
Building Convictions
Matthew 7:24-27
24. Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a rock. 25. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.
Making Plans
1. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, not wealth or providing for felt needs.
Matthew 6:19-34
Do my plans reflect that growing in righteousness and contributing to God’s kingdom are of first priority?
2. Labor in the harvest
Matthew 9:36-38
Will my plans help me to become more of a contributor to the needs of the harvest (the lost world)?
The Basis for Goal Setting
If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. New Year’s resolutions. The beginning of the semester vow to attend all classes. The diet that starts tomorrow. All of these are examples of goals we set for ourselves. Everyone sets goals in one form or the other. Most goals are merely pleasant, ambitious thoughts or dreams. The difference in a goal and a dream is accomplishment. Therefore, we must set goals with an intention and commitment to accomplish them....