I Don’t Like What I See In The Mirror! Somedays I get up and I am not feeling so about myself.  I look in the mirror and think “You are one of the ugliest and goofy looking people I have ever seen!”  “Why would anybody like you?”  “Nobody cares what you have to say!”  “Your life has been one big colossal waste!”  Pretty rough stuff to hit yourself with in the morning and not the best way to start the day.  Thank the Lord, this is not an every morning ritual!  But there is a morning every now and then, when this is where I start out and what I hit myself with!

Wrong Sources! On these mornings, my self-worth is not so good!  I want to feel good about myself, but how can I feel good about what I am seeing in the mirror?  My real problem is where I try to get my worth from!  Sometimes I look in the mirror and see an unattractive aging male and my self-worth goes straight down the tubes.  Sometime I try to get my self-worth from accomplishment that others will notice, but either I fail or no one seems to really care!  Sometime I try to get self-worth from a job that will impress my friends, but no one is paying attention – they all have their own self-worth battles!  Sometimes I try to get my self-worth from things, but have discovered that things really just get in the way and clutter up life!

Where I Mess It Up! I mess up when I try to equate the worth of my life with something I have or something I have done!  This attitude causes me to always be seeking to get more and do more and in my efforts to get more and do more, I tend to miss what really matters and that is my relationship with the One who brought me to the dance in the first place!  In Psalms 139:17-18 it says: “17 How precious also are Your thoughts to (about) me, O God!  How vast is the sum of them!  18 If I should count them, they would outnumber the sands.  When I awake, I am still with You.”

I start to think about this life that I am living and remember that it is a gift from God.  He must value me, because He has given me gifts, abilities and the opportunity to use them for His glory and other’s blessing!  He knows me more intimately than I know myself and He still loves me and with the most amazing love.  He rescued me from eternal punishment for my sins through Jesus’ death and resurrection.

It does not matter what I have or what I do, it all pales in comparison to the value that is given to me by being able to have a relationship with HIM!  Look again at those two verses in Psalms 139:17-18:  God thinks about us and He shares His thoughts with us!  His amazing and wonderful thoughts about us are more vast than the sands!  (That’s a whole lot more than I can count!)  And then I especially like that last part:  “When I awake I am with you!”  God does not sneak off while we are sleeping.  He is with us through it all and He will not leave us or forsake us!

Thank you God for Your love, forgiveness, grace, mercy and Hope!  These gifts are continual reminders that I am worth more than I think, not because of me, but because of You!

If this is true in my life, then it also has the very real possibility of being true in your life, because we really aren’t all that different, even though we try to be!  Hope this helps you discover some of the worth that God has put in you and hope that worth challenges and changes everything!

I Want To Get Love Right! When I actually take the time to stop and think about it, one of the most important things in my life is God’s love for me!  I want to love Him and others with the same unconditional love that He loves me with.

In our world, we all to often think of love as just being a feeling that we feel.  And I admit that feeling is a big part of it, but according to God’s Word, there is so much more!  Psalm 103:17-18 says:  “17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—  18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.”

God shows me the more in His commitment.  I love others best when I move beyond what I feel and extend myself for the well-being and blessing of someone else.  I want this to be the consistent decision of my life, the decision that I am courageous to make in any and all situations and circumstances!

Jesus put on display His unconditional love for you and me, when He made the loving commitment to lay down His life to save us from our sins and provide the way for us to enter into everlasting relationship with Him.

This Is My Prayer! God help me to love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength!  Help me to love others with the love that You love me with.  I commit to You and to others to love more and to love better as one year closes and a new one opens!  Thank You for loving me first and showing me the way!

The hard truth that we all know, but hate to admit is that we are sinners!  We do things that we are not supposed to do and we fail to do things that we should!  Our sin separates us from our Holy and perfect Creator!

The issue is not:  Do I have sin?  The issue is:  What am I going to do about my sin? Here are three tips to help get us started as we close out one year and begin a new one!

Tip #1 – Don’t Leave Sin Unresolved! It is not sin that destroys people’s lives.  It is unresolved, un-confessed and un-repented of sin that really does the damage!  God loves you and desires to forgive, cleanse and restore you.  Get honest with yourself, others and God and experience the freedom that He has for you!

Tip #2 – Don’t Excuse Sin! You can justify and ease your mind, but there is still a price and a consequence!  Pretending that it does not exist and does not have consequences, will not cause the consequences to go away.  Don’t excuse it – deal with it, before it deals with you!

Tip #3 – Don’t Punish Yourself! You don’t have to beat yourself up!  You messed up and so does everybody else.  Just admit your sin, ask for forgiveness and activate your faith to accomplish the great things that you were created for!

I hope this helps!!!