It is important for each of us to have a standard of behavior by which we measure ourselves. For example if we say, I am going to read my Bible each day, we measure ourselves to that guideline and strive to achieve it. We may not always achieve it, but we know what the objective is, and we should regularly ask God to help us live to high standards.

David describes his standards in Psalm 101, which begins, “I will sing of your love and justice, Lord. I will praise you with songs. I will be careful to live a blameless life— when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.”

He goes on to list a number of standards of behavior that he establishes for himself, which we can learn from also.

I like the expression describing the reason for standards. “The standard is the straight line so we know what a crooked line looks like.”

Ultimately, all our standards can be traced back to the two most important commandments Jesus tells us in Matt 22:37-39, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Dear Lord, Like David, we ask that you come help us strive to live to the standard you set, Love you and love our neighbor. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Many personal development books and coaches emphasize the importance of controlling what we think about, because our thoughts influence what occurs in our lives. Some also say that if you dwell on your fears they are more likely to occur, and conversely if you focus on the positive, those things are likely to occur.

It is interesting that this idea has its origin in the bible. Proverbs 10:24 says, “The fears of the wicked will be fulfilled; the hopes of the godly will be granted.” This ties in also with Jesus’ words in several places including Matthew 8:13, saying “..because you believed, it has happened.”NLT

Dear Lord, help us keep our thoughts on the positive; our hopes, dreams and prayers, and help us avoid negative, self defeating thoughts that lead us to question your power. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I think we all have seen the perimeter of security that the Secret Service form around the US President when he is in public places. The security team clears a path and maintains a safe area to allow the President to go about his movements freely, but protected.

This is the image that comes to my mind when I read Psalm 34:7 which says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”

What a comfort this message should provide us, that we have our own security force protecting us from evil. We cannot see it, but we can know it, if we put our faith and trust in God.

Dear Lord, we thank you for the comfort and confidence we can have when we rely on your promise to protect us. Help us stay faithful to you, so no matter what we encounter, we know your angel is there protecting us. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

You have probably heard the expression, “if you play with fire you will get burned.” Telling someone this is telling them that they are risking serious consequences with their action, and indirectly telling them to stop their risky behavior.

Psalm 16:6 expresses a similar idea but more directly, “by fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.” the Living Bible translates it as, “evil is avoided by reverence for God.”

If we “fear” God, or “have reverence” for God, we will avoid those things that bring us close to evil.

The chances of us giving into temptations are much lower, if we avoid where the temptations exist. When we fear God, we will try to fill our time with those things he would like us to do, which should inherently keep us away from many temptations.

Dear Lord, we need to avoid evil. Thinking we can just resist temptations every time is like “playing with fire.” Avoiding the temptation in the first place, gives us a much better chance to avoid evil, and do your will. Help us to see that path around temptation. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

When we are not entertaining ourselves, most of our time in life is spent trying to improve conditions for ourselves, and our loved one’s; More education, better job, business, house, more money, getting fit, healthy, investing, etc. These are all good things in the right context, but, Why are we really here?

I believe the bible tells us that we are here not just to live our lives for ourselves and then die. We are here for a larger reason, to glorify God.

God says through Isaiah in Isaiah 43:7, “Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them.”

God made us, in his image, breathed life into us, and loves us. He wants us to use the free will he gave us to acknowledge and honor him, to do great things and give Him thanks and credit, and to show his love to others so that they may come to believe in and glorify Him also.

In addition to us giving God the glory, we are sent by Jesus to bring help, hope, care and the message of salvation to others.

In Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus says, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Ultimately, I believe that God puts the dreams and desires in our hearts, and he will help us achieve these things. What he asks is that we use them to shine the light of our success on Him. By doing so, we will be giving others the opportunity to come to Him as well.

Dear Lord, what a magnificent plan you have made here for us. Thank you for putting dreams and desires in our hearts and helping us fulfill them. Help us also to remember that our success is intended for your glory, and to share with others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.