| Live this way: Do no harm to anyone. Wish everyone well. Be willing to work and support yourself. Pay back everyone that you borrow from. Try not to owe anyone anything. Pray for your enemies' wellbeing, and forgive them, for God has commanded it. Jesus says if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven. He also lists this as a reason that our prayers may not be answered. Simplify your life, so that your needs and desires are within your budget. Don't accumulate material posessions. Instead accumulate wisdom and laughter. If you are dealing with a contentious mate or relative, even a boss, resolve the situation kindly and fairly. Don't let strife enter your house. If a problem cannot be solved in the home, take it to the pastor of your church and submit to God. Divorce only when to stay together would do harm. If you feel that love has left the home, that is not a tragedy! This is a normal aspect of life. It simply means that you must not rely on your emotions, but on your actions. Emotions fluctuate, our duties do not. Do more for your mate and be more loving, the feelings will follow. Resist sin in every form! Hate sin and run from it. "Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you." Learn to submit every morning, before the enemy has time to tempt you. Sing songs of praise in your heart and meditate on the Lord. Long to know more about Him, and your heart will be filled with goodness instead of evil. Do not be consumed by seeking titles or praise of other men. Seek to please God. The Bible says the only way we can please God is by faith. We must learn to exercise our faith and to obey the command to love one another. Put your house in order and remember what is most important, before the day comes when the Lord takes you to Heaven. Spend time with your children, look into their eyes and see the person that they are. Recognize their talents and tell them of all the good you see in them. If you see something faulty, unless discussing it would eliminate it, forget it! Eat only until you are half full, but eat what you like. Food is not a reward, and is not the measure of your wealth. Learn to take it or leave it. Learn to be satisfied with whatever state you find yourself in this day. To do this will eliminate much heart disease. Sex is good, but sacred, so do not abuse it by indulging outside of marriage. There is more shared in the spirit realm than we see and understand, so do not show your ignorance by misuse of God's gift of pleasure to us. Remember this verse - "She who lives for pleasure is dead while she yet liveth." It applies to men also. Do not let yourself speak of closed doors, lost opportunities or stains on a character. Instead, see all the doors that are open, the possibilities as endless and a person perfect, as God sees him in Christ. Do not speak an unkind word about anyone. To say something bad about someone is to dirty your own soul. You ARE everyone else. We all share the species, we share the collective identity and God loves all equally. Do not be proud of your race and hateful of another. God Himself chose the differences, and He said upon it's creation "it is good." Do you presume to know more than He? It takes many kinds of vessels to serve the Lord. |