The worldly stereotype of Christian morality is that it is constricting and takes the fun out of life. The truth is that it is the “owner’s manual” for a good life.

Psalm 19:8 says, “The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.”

If we want a life that is peace and joy filled, the Bible tells us how. Following the commonly described “10 commandments” written in Exodus 20, and Deuteronomy 5, in my words, put all your trust in God and don’t make other things more important than Him, show respect for God’s name, go to church, respect and honor your parents and authorities; Don’t murder, commit sexual sins, steal, lie, or desire something so much that you would do wrong to get it.

And the two greatest commandments Jesus described in Matthew 22:36-44, when asked, “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘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.’The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Many times in life it may look deceptively better to do something that is in conflict with these commands, but it will turn out to be the wrong path.

I recently heard a friend capture this concept very clearly like this, “Sin is its own punishment, and virtue its own reward.”

Dear Lord, Thank you for giving us the instruction manual for a peace and joy filled life through your teachings in the Bible. Help us study them and strive to follow. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

A business coach I follow describes the process of Four C’s he believes are required to build confidence,. Commitment, Courage, Capability, Confidence. He says you must first make a commitment to pursue something, then have the courage to try and possibly fail early on. However, once you have practiced you will have built the capability, and with development of that capability you build confidence. The hardest part in this sequence for many people is Courage, because courage is always uncomfortable. In order to build confidence we have to go through this discomfort associated with exercising courage.

James describes a similar situation with our faith. He writes in James 1:2-3, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.”

Either resulting from the discomfort of courage, or the joy in facing troubles with faith, our endurance and confidence in God’s power and love will grow when we count on it.

Dear Lord, when we face difficulties, disappointments, and fears in our lives, help us embrace them with the knowledge that our faith in you is what will carry us through, remembering what Paul told us in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.

There never seems to be an end to the number of books and stories written on Leadership. There are books that advocate any leadership style imaginable, from the Autocratic brutal leadership of ancient warriors, to the softer consensus building leadership styles more common in some modern firms.

Jesus gives his disciples a lesson in leadership in Matthew 10:25-28 saying, “.. whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Leadership is difficult. It is taking on the responsibility for something you cannot do on your own, requiring others’ efforts to complete the objective. Some leaders become demanding and controlling, treating people as just tools to accomplish the leader’s objectives. The servant leader, that Jesus describes, serves people and helps carry their burdens, while they all contribute to success.

Few take on the responsibility to lead; It opens us up to criticism and risk, but it also offers the joy of accomplishing more than we can on our own, and the opportunity to share, with others, the love God shares with us.

Dear Lord, there is no better leadership example that Jesus Christ, and no more important mission than the one you gave us in Matthew 28:19, to “go and make disciples.” Help us be leaders for you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I am a pilot, and one of the things pilots learn in training, and practice routinely, is handling emergencies. For instance, what do you do if the engine fails, what if there is a fire, what if the landing gear do not extend or retract, and so on. In training, we all learn that the first thing to do in an emergency is, “Fly the Airplane.” You might think, that no pilot has to be taught this because it is so obvious. What happens, however, is pilots can get so wrapped up in solving the problem that they forget the most important thing, flying the airplane. When they put too much attention on problem solving, and not enough on flying the plane they can create an even bigger problem while trying to solve what might be a simple problem.

Our Christian life can be somewhat similar. How so? The first thing we must remember is to love God above all else. When we love God, we strive to do his will, which results in us making good decisions in our lives, and prevents us from making a small issue a much bigger problem.

When asked “What is the greatest commandment?” Jesus says in Matthew 22:37, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”

Dear Lord, you are the solution we need in our day to day activities, or in our emergencies. Help us remember the first and most important thing to love you. When we do you will help us through all our challenges. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

If you have read many self-improvement books, you have probably come across a concept that is instrumental in helping achieve earthly success, that being the belief in a world of abundance. The concept is that there is abundance for all who believe it is possible, and that believing in limits to abundance is a self-fulfilling limit on our success.

In a similar way Jesus says in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” The Living Bible translation writes it like this, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” Clearly Jesus is talking about more than just our life on earth. We know our entire faith is based on the eternal life we have in Jesus Christ. I think, however, He also intends to bring an abundant life of peace, joy and hope here on earth to those who believe and put their trust in Him.

We can put limits on this abundant life, if we choose to, or we can have the abundant life God promises if we believe.

Dear Lord, thank you for the promise of an abundant life. Help us to truly believe your promise and live our lives expecting and grateful for this abundance. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.