6/30/2022 0 Comments Gratitude Through Life's ChangesAll of us will encounter difficulties in life. If we haven’t yet, we will. The important thing is to build up our faith and our relationship with Christ because He is our solid rock. He will help us be grateful and give thanks IN all circumstances. That doesn’t mean we have to be thankful FOR the difficulty. We can have an attitude of gratitude and find things we’re thankful for in the midst of the challenge. If I’m sick, I can still be thankful for the medicine available, the doctors who support me, the peace I feel from Jesus, my supportive family, etc.
Questions for further thought: 1. What is a difficulty you’re going through? 2. What is something you can be thankful for despite the difficulty? Challenge: Spend time in God’s word each day, whether it be reading or listening to it online or through an app. Even reading a short passage each day will strengthen you and prepare you for when hard times come.
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6/29/2022 0 Comments Having a Gratitude MindsetWhen we decide to have a gratitude mindset, it can have a ripple effect. We talked about the benefits of gratitude. Today, we’ll think about how to incorporate it into our daily thoughts and actions. The first and most important step is prayer and meditating on the blessings of God. When we think about how He’s given us the abilities we have, it can be humbling. His love for us is so great and He is so faithful.
Questions for further thought: 1. What are some ways you can stop conforming to the things of this world so that God can renew your mind with gratitude? 2. What are some blessings God has given you in the past? What are some ways He’s been faithful? Challenge: Start a gratitude journal. There are several Christian gratitude journals available to purchase online. You can also begin with a simple notebook and start writing one thing per day that you’re grateful for. 6/28/2022 0 Comments The Benefits of GratitudeA person’s life takes a different path when they decide to make gratitude a daily practice. According to Harvard Health Publishing, gratitude has been shown to help people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity and build strong relationships. Many studies published on the topic support an association between gratitude and well-being. Gratitude is something God can develop in us if we allow Him to.
Questions for further thought: 1. What is one thing you’re grateful for today? 2. Who is someone you could share this with? Challenge: Ask a friend or family member if they will be your gratitude partner. Make a plan to text or email them something you’re thankful for. This could be daily or weekly. 6/27/2022 0 Comments What is Gratitude?According to Harvard Health Publishing, the word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratis, which means grace, graciousness or gratefulness (depending on the context). Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. Being grateful leads to a state of joy. The dictionary says joy means a feeling of great pleasure and happiness or delight.
Questions for further thought: 1. How often have you thought about gratitude? 2. If gratitude isn’t something you’ve regularly practiced, why not? Challenge: Decide to become a person who practices gratitude and think about how you would practice this in your life. 6/24/2022 0 Comments Don't Give UpWe often hear the statement – good things come to those who wait. There has been a dream I have had for much of my adult life, but for sure the last 10 years. During that time, it seemed pretty clear that dream would never come true. There was a point where I had to turn it over to God’s perfect timing, knowing there was nothing I could do to make that dream happen. Recently that dream became a reality. Our walk with God is often like that. We may not see anything happening and then, at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we don’t give up.
Questions for further thought: 1. Do you have a dream you have been waiting on? 2. What are you doing while you wait? Challenge: What we do while we wait says a lot about us and our relationship with God. Is there something you need to do as you wait for an answer from God? 6/23/2022 0 Comments Keep on Keeping onI have recently been involved in a big project that took several weeks to complete. This project was being worked on after my full-time job. It was hard and required physical labor that made my muscles ache. The project had a deadline that could not be altered. In the end after the job was completed, there was a huge benefit. There are similar benefits to growing in our faith and not giving up when it is hard or we are tired. We will receive what God has promised.
Questions for further thought: 1. Do you stick with projects or assignments till they are done? Given an example. 2. How have you benefitted from a completed project? Challenge: When you feel like giving up or quitting, talk to someone about it before you quit. 6/22/2022 0 Comments God's Thoughts, God's WaysLife can be really challenging. Sometimes there is no clear direction or certainty about the outcome. As humans, we are limited in our solutions to problems – but God is the creator of the universe and is not limited in his creativity. If we persist in prayer and trusting God’s thoughts and God’s ways, we will certainly be in a position to be surprised with how he works things out. Thankfully God is not limited by our human understanding and comes up with unexpected solutions beyond our wildest imagination.
Questions for further thought: 1. How do you try to take things into your own hands? 2. How have you been surprised by God? Challenge: By leaving things in God’s hands and trusting his judgment we can be greatly surprised and blessed. 6/21/2022 0 Comments Waiting on GodJoshua was given his instructions about bringing down the wall of Jericho. He had to decide to follow the instructions as well as lead his people. In those six days they marched around Jericho, they were instructed not to say a word. These are warriors used to fighting with swords and using their whole being to intimidate their opponents. These instructions had to go completely against their warrior natures. As we read further in this chapter, we learn at the sound of the trumpet, the people gave a loud shout and the wall did collapse.
Questions for further thought: 1. Are you a better leader or follower? Explain 2. How would you describe yourself in following through with tasks? Challenge: It is hard to be the leader giving difficult or painful directions. Examine your past behavior. Do you make it easier or harder for your leader when you are given tough instructions? 6/20/2022 0 Comments Do What?Sometimes in the middle of an impossible situation we can be given seemingly ridiculous advice. That advice can seem meaningless at the time. Joshua, as a new leader taking over from the seasoned leadership of Moses, was given advice on how to capture the city of Jericho. He was told to march around the walled city once a day for six days. On the seventh day the priests were to blow their trumpets and the people were to shout, and the city wall would collapse. Imagine being a new leader, given this advice, and instructed to give his people their “marching orders.”
Questions for further thought: 1. When you need advice, who do you go to? 2. What do you do when advice makes no sense to you? Challenge: When you get bad advice, how do you proceed? Do you take things into your own hands or follow the advice and trust it will work out? 6/17/2022 0 Comments Integrity with JoyDo you know why you’re here? On earth? Have you thought much about that lately? Because that’s what matters. And that’s what God’s Word is here to show you. We are here for purposes that require us to go through a lifetime of challenges and tight spots—“trials of various kinds”—so that we can display the superiority of life lived in God. Because as you know, trials and troubles come to all people. They’re a part of everyone’s life. But in how many people do those same trials and troubles produce . . . “joy”? Joy—a supernatural delight in the person of God, the purposes of God, and the people of God. God allows us to face and feel the same things that people who don’t know Him experience, so that we can put on display the joyful distinction of what it means to be His child—what it means to live with hope and eternal perspective.
Questions for further thought: 1. Who has demonstrated more joy through trials than anyone else you know? How has their example impacted you? 2. What are your best opportunities today for displaying joy to others? Challenge: Press your mind down on that hope and eternal perspective. Think about it hard today. In light of what’s happening to you right now, and in light of why you’re here, what can you do in this moment to best display the superiority of life with God? |
AuthorThis devotional is written every week by Hillcrest members. Archives
January 2025
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