If you are like me, sometimes you may find it difficult to figure out what direction God is pointing for you; What is he calling me or you to do.

Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 1:11,12. “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him.”

I think what Paul is telling the people of the church in Thessalonica, and what God is telling us through this text, is that God has a calling for each of us and he is prompting us to pursue it. We need to listen for this prompting in a state of faith. I think what the last part of this text is telling us is, when we do this, it brings glory to God and it feels right to us. We know we are doing what God wants for us.

Dear Lord, As Paul prays, we also pray that you will enable us to live lives worthy of your call, give us the faith to receive your prompting and the power to accomplish your will. Thank you that when we do this, we will know that we are following your calling for us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

In Romans 12:9 Paul tells us, “Hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good.” Most of the time, we can look at a situation, and differentiate the good from the evil (bad), though we may have trouble overcoming the temptation toward what we know is wrong.

Some of you may have heard this from a Pastor we know, he has a concise practical way to follow Paul’s direction saying, “Touch holy things, and don’t touch evil things.” The “touch” is meant to include what we see, or hear, as well.

James tells us in James 4:7, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

If we want to make an improvement in our lives and our walk in Faith, a big step is deciding to turn toward the good and turn away from the evil.

Dear Lord, Help us make the decision to turn from evil and resist the devil. Then give us the strength to hold fast to what is good. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We often talk about faith, Faith in God’s goodness, Faith that our prayers will be answered, Faith in salvation through Jesus Christ, but how do we know we have faith?

I think we know when we have faith, because we feel peace.

In Luke 7, Jesus was invited to have dinner at the home of a Pharisee. A woman described as having lived a sinful life learns about this and comes to the home, weeps tears on Jesus feet, and pours perfume on them. Jesus tell’s her in Luke 7:50, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Paul writes in Philipians 4:6,7 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Dear Lord, Help us grow our faith in your love for us. Then we can have peace, truly believing you will provide for our needs and answer our prayers in ways that are best for us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

There is a technique I have seen a couple times during concerts in large stadiums or shows, in the middle of one of the songs, the spotlights are randomly moving quickly around the stadium. What looks like hundreds of lights moving all around and then dramatically at one time, they all converge on the performer as he or she begins to sing.

This image comes to mind when I read Romans 11:36, “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever. Amen.”

Everything on earth including everyone, was created to put the attention on God and glorify him. We all need to remember this as we go about our activities and decision making. Are we putting the attention on God, and bringing glory, or “positive attention” to him?

Dear Lord, you created everything, including us, for your purposes and your glory. Help us remember in everything we do to bring glory to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

We all have seen people trying to find their joy in having more things, bigger parties, or more money, but I think most people would agree that what truly gives them joy, is doing something good, or doing something well. Something good, like making a positive difference in another’s life, or doing something well, like playing a great round of golf, mastering a piece of music, getting an A+, or the like.

An Indian Poet captured this idea in the following quote, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy, I woke and found that life was service, I acted, and behold, service is joy.” Rabidranath Tagore, (1861-1941)

A couple thousand years earlier, Solomon wrote, after using his unmatched resources to evaluate all life possibilities, in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Here is my final conclusion; Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.”

Doing our duty to God is what brings joy. Psalm 32:11 says, “So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!”

Simple thinking would tell us that “getting” is what makes us happy, but if we actually try both getting and giving, we find that giving, or as Jesus instructs us, “Loving our neighbor,” is what really provides us joy.

Dear Lord, you give us so much, help us appreciate those things you provide us, but as important, give us the wisdom to see that serving is where joy truly begins. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.