Undo Button

The undo button is my favorite button. If I accidentally delete a whole page, I press undo. If I accidentally type over some words, I press undo. The undo button saves me an abundance of time because after pressing undo, it’s like the mistake never happened. What a perfect idea! God Bless the genius that created this button!
Can you imagine life with an undo button? Once, I started a new job as the office receptionist. My boss and trainer, a very social person, began telling me about her weekend. Two minutes into her story, I let out the biggest yawn known to man and I did not even bother to cover my mouth! I’m pretty sure she saw my tonsils. I have no idea how I forgot to cover my mouth and to this day, that is the only time in that I have yawned in someone’s face.

After my yawn I watched all enthusiasm drain from my boss’ face and she stared at me for a few moments in disbelief. All I could do was giggle through an apology because I was so embarrassed, and sleepy. I am quite goofy when I am not well rested. After regaining my composure, I earnestly apologized and explained that I had only slept a few hours the previous night and that my yawn was no reflection on her weekend adventures. Fortunately she was more understanding than most and continued with her story.

Now that was a time when I wish that I had that fabulous undo button. There have been many more instances when I wished could press undo and erase my mistake. Those wishes never came true but I have learned that even though I cannot erase my mistakes, I can learn from them, and I can do my best to rectify them. I have also learned to help other avoid the mistakes that I made. Most importantly I have learned that God does not abandon me or shun me because I make a mistake. His promise to me is that when I repent, He is faithful and just to forgive my sins (1 John 1:9). So I don’t have to live under the clouds of condemnation and shame when I mess up. Not only does He forgive, He restores, He redeems, and He loves me unconditionally. That’s better than the undo button!

Author: Remaliah Evans

Thankful

This morning I was in prayer and after I was done, I decided to stop and listen for God.  I began to hear Him comfort me with His word when all of a sudden I heard “Thank you”.  I stopped for a moment after wondering, was that God telling me thank you?  I have never heard of such a thing.  As I pondered on that being the voice of the Lord I felt the tug of His heart wanting to let His children know He values and appreciates them.  I thought of how His word states in 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.  And Matthew 29:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. See we are cared for and loved by a good God.  All over the word of God we are taught to be thankful and show our adoration and love towards God.  And this brings me to the following scripture in John 5:19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.  Here we see that everything we do is because we see our Heavenly Father doing it.  So why do we show thankfulness and appreciation towards others and God?  Because of all He has done for us.  It is an honor to serve Him because He shed His blood for us.  It is commanded in His Word to give thanksgiving unto God.  I have often heard that as we pour out our love and thanksgiving to God during worship He pours back out on us.  If God has enabled us to be thankful, appreciative of what He has done for us, do you think that He is thankful and appreciative of what you do for Him?  Not that we deserve a thank you from God for surely we are nothing without Him or His righteousness, but I thought how we teach our children to be thankful and appreciative.  Where does this enabling come from?  Perhaps the fruit of the Spirit gives us the ability to be thankful? Galatians 5:22 says, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  The fruit of the Spirit are traits of the Spirit of God.

Is thankfulness characterized by any of the traits listed? Thankful is defined as feeling or expressing gratitude; appreciative. While looking up the definition of Joy, I found one to say:  something or someone greatly valued or appreciate.  Thankfulness comes from the fruit of Joy in our life, that is a fruit of the Spirit of God, that appreciation comes from Gods spirit inside of us, therefore we learn to appreciate and value Him and others through His spirit.  Though I have not found a scripture that God says thank you, I have found a fruit of HIS spirit that teaches us to be thankful.  Saying thank you comes from God so to hear Him express appreciation for all you do for Him shouldn’t feel foreign either.  He is a good God, a God that loves us and teaches us how to reflect His image and glory.  Today God wants you to know that He appreciates what you do for Him.  Many people are wounded feeling unappreciated and are burnt out in ministry, at work or in the home for lack of appreciation, but God appreciates you!  He values you and is thankful that you choose the path of Life with Him, I believe God wants you to know that He thanks you for serving Him, for walking in His steps, as He laid down His life for you, you have also laid down your life for Him, what a beautiful picture we have today.  Now hopefully this blesses your heart and makes you want to serve more knowing that you are appreciated and thanked by your Heavenly Father.  Oh How Good He IS!

Rachel Mireles

Hit Your Target

When I heard about the November Life Builder topic Hit Your Target, I immediately thought to myself “what does it take to hit a target?”  A target could be a goal you want to reach, a decision you have to make, or a change that you want to achieve in your life. For me, it took commitment on my part, endurance, and most of all patience to stand through the circumstance. The greatest weapon we can have is joy. Sounds good at the time when you’re not going through anything, right?

Recently, I had to make some pretty hard decisions that were life changing, not only for me but also my family. As hard as it was, I had to trust that God would make a way and trust that HE would be the only one to get me through. There were many obstacles that hit me and tried to steal my joy and peace. Then I reached a point where I was tired of being a victim and allowing tough situations in my life to dictate how I would live and feel. I thank Life Builder Seminars for having topics every month that instill Godly principles that can be applied to everyday life. Every time I leave a seminar, I feel like I can conquer anything that life would bring my way. The seminars remind me that I can rely on God.

As I navigated the series of changes, I decided to let God guide me through each situation. I handled one thing at a time even though there were several challenges that demanded immediate attention. I was struggling with my marriage, children, work, and health issues. It felt like I was being suffocated. The enemy would have liked to see me give up but I made a choice to press through. I had come too far and knew too much to just keep getting robbed of all my blessings. I knew God did not intend for me to live a life full of stress, fear, and unhappiness.

Joshua 1:9 declares, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be discouraged, for the Lord God will be with you wherever you go.” No more victim mentality for me; I surrendered to God even though things looked bad. I believe the greatest victory I had was learning to surrender and trust that God was bigger than any situation I was going through. I learned that I had to encourage myself in the Lord. When I felt like giving up I continued to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide me. In the end, I grew up a little more. I can honestly say that I have set a goal to achieve happiness and live a life where the peace of God is truly my strength. So I encourage you my friends: don’t ever settle for less in life. Be strong, remember God has never forsaken you, and most importantly, through Christ we can do all things!

Post Written by Arlene Cruz.

You can reach Arlene by emailing her – arlene@lifebuilderseminars.com