Things We Should Pursue

Our culture tells us to pursue things such as pleasure, success, fame, money, and power. We are led to believe that these are the things that will bring us happiness and fulfillment. The Bible, however, has a quite different view than our culture.

Ultimately, the things that the world tells us to pursue will always let us down. Apart from Christ, there is no true peace or contentment.

Rather than striving for things the world values that may only give us temporary satisfaction, we should strive for things that have lasting value; things that really matter in light of eternity.

These are a few things the Bible tells us to strive for: 

*To become like Christ (2 Cor 3: 18, Phil 2:5)

*To please God (Romans 14:8, Eph 5:10)

*Holiness (Eph 4:2, Phil 2:3-4)

*To love others (Heb 13:1, 1 Cor 14:1)

*God’s glory (1 Cor 10:31, Romans 11:36)

*To obey God (Col 2:6)

*Reaching others for Christ

*To be an example to others (Titus 2:7)

*Peace (1 Peter 3:11, Romans 14:1)

 

1 Timothy 6:11

…follow what is right and good. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perservereance, and gentleness.

 

 

Pray More, Worry Less

"Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere." -Ephesians 6:18

God wants you to know true peace, and that peace is found only in drawing near to Him and having a close relationship with Him. The more time you spend reading God's Word, the more you know of Him, the more you will want to talk to Him.

You can't develop a relationship without communication, right? Well, that's one of the ways that we develop our relationship with God. You don't have to worry about praying the "right" way, or saying the right things, or spending 2 hours a day praying. No, prayer is just sharing your heart with God and talking with Him all throughout the day.

Try it!

"So when anxiety knocks at the door of your heart, let prayer answer. Not just a general prayer or only a venting prayer, but one with adoration, petition, with thanksgiving and specific requests. God wants to comfort you and give you His peace, and He wants to help you with the problems that you can’t solve on your own."

-Chip Ingram

LOVE!

As I've been reading through the New Testament the main thing that has stood out to me is one theme: LOVE.

It's not all about  us. It's about how we treat others, serving others, putting others above ourselves. For most of us(well, for me at least!) that does not come naturally. But we are to follow the example that Jesus set for us.

Think about this-Jesus, God himself, the creator of the universe, put aside His crown, came down to Earth and washed the disciples dirty feet! Just picture that. And that is the example we are to follow: to humble ourselves and to serve and help others.

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you."

-John 13:14-15

God is love. He sent Jesus here to die for us to show us how much He loves us. And because we are loved that much, we are to love others. I know that I need to do a much better job of this!

 

 

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

 -John 13:34