In the Bible, God commands us to love one another.  If love were just an emotion, God couldn’t command it.  Love is an action.  Love is also a behavior.

If you consistently speak one way and act another, you won’t fool people for very long.  You will be found out.  The world loves it when they see a news report about a well-respected church leader caught in a scandal.

As a Christian, Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world.  Our love to others shows our respect to God and conveys His love for us.

We’re all sinners.  We’re born into this world as sinners.  As sinners, our love will always be imperfect.  Satan has a way of condemning us when we don’t love as we should.  But we have a choice to love and serve our creator.  We have a choice to love others, even those who are unlovable.

Let Jesus’ love and forgiveness motivate you to obey His commands and do what pleases Him. 

Show kindness and compassion to others.  This is what Jesus wants from each of us.  Act out in love today!

1 John 3:18 – “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Did you know that Jesus wants to be your friend?  God created us so that we could have a personal relationship with Him.

We can acquire friendships with people we go to school with, people we work with.  And for those of us who are fortunate enough, we can have a friendship with our children or our parents.  This same type of friendship is what God desires from each of His children.

In order to keep a friendship going and thriving, you must communicate.  It’s hard to keep a relationship going without some type of communication.  Our relationship with God is the most personal relationship we can ever have.  But God is a jealous God.  We cannot let anything or anyone come between our relationship with God and us.

As a Christian, we must lay down our life, our old ways and live for Jesus.  Be a faithful friend to Jesus today.  As a lifetime friend of Jesus, we will share in His glory throughout eternity.  How’s that for a friend?

John 15:15 – “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

I’ve worked in the computer industry over 30 years and there’s one word that has been used more often than anything else.  And most times, it usually helped the situation.  That word is REBOOT.  Rebooting a computer is restarting everything on the pc.  It’s restarting the hardware and the software.  It’s a do-over in the computer world. 

As is life.  Every morning when you awake, you can reboot your body and your mind.  You have a decision to make.  You can wake up thanking God for protecting you in the night.  Thank Him for giving you a chance of another day.  Or, the alternative is to lie in bed and worry and be depressed. 

I choose to reboot my mind with God.  To start each day with a clean slate, thanking God for His mercy and love.  Thanking God for my health and my opportunities that lay ahead.

If you’re in Christ, you’re not who you used to be.  Quit living with your old standards and restart life with renewing your mind.  The best way to do this is with God’s Word.  There’s nothing more renewing and refreshing for me each day than to wake up and read His Word and fill my mind with the good things that God has promised me.

Reboot yourself with God tomorrow!  You’ll be amazed at how well your day will go.

Psalm 86:15 – “But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”

There’s a Christian song called, “Speak Life” by TobyMac that I love.  My interpretation of the song is that even when life doesn’t make sense, speak life, love and hope to those around you.

You’ll have good days when everything seems to be perfect, and you’ll have other days that it feels like nothing is going right.  I didn’t understand this concept until I re-dedicated my life back to Christ and realized that my life won’t be perfect.  I will have ups and downs.  Life does get hard.  But that doesn’t mean that I give up and feel sorry for myself.  That doesn’t mean that I can’t be happy regardless of my current circumstances.

It means that hope can live or die inside of us.  It’s a choice.  Every day.  I’ve found that when life gets tough and it feels like all hope is gone that this is the best time to give back to someone else that may be hurting.  It’s a time to show love to someone that needs love.

Fill your heart by soaking in your Bible.  The world will fill your mind with words of death.  So, instead of speaking death or harsh words to others, speak life!  Build someone up today. 

Be a person whose mouth is full of life!

Colossians 4:6 – “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Nobody talks about how they'd like to change and better their character.  They talk about how they can be more comfortable.

A person of good character is often noted for their honesty, ethics and charity.  You’ve heard of ‘a woman of integrity?’  So, a lack of good character would mean someone that behaves dishonestly, unethically and uncharitably. 

Character is influenced by our choices.  If we make good choices, then can weather the storms of life.  It’s God’s purpose to develop character within us.  We must be willing to let the Holy Spirit work within us during this process. 

Just know this:  God sometimes uses trials to strengthen our character.  I’ve seen my most prosperous seasons of life grow my character during the biggest trials.  God is pleased with us when we grow in character.

If your character sets a good example for others to follow, your Godly reputation will be evident to all.

Your endurance is one of the greatest marks of your faith and confidence in God when troubles come.  The consistent theme in my life when trials come is my questions to God: “what are you trying to teach me; what are you wanting me to confess, etc.?”

When we’re on the other side of the trial, we have learned that God is faithful.  God saw us through.  This is the hope we have in Him.

Faith believes, but hope expects.  Be of good character and expect God to change you today.

Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Don't you hate those annoying speed bumps?  Those bumps in the road that force you to slow down?

This scenario applies to our lives also.  There will be bumps in the road.  That is for certain.  Some bumps we will see ahead of time.  Some will appear out of nowhere.  If you're fearing something ahead, bring it to God's attention.  Seek His assurance that whatever is up ahead, God is in control.

No one enjoys a bumpy ride and there will be many twists and turns on the road of life.  I've learned that there will be trials in life, and some will move us to the mountaintop.  Eventually, we will encounter valleys again.  Trust God's plan!

So, sit back.  Enjoy the ride.  Be aware of the speed bumps and trust God to guide you on your journey.  Your final destination will be worth it.

Romans 8:28 – "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose."

Have you ever experienced something that was not expected, a miraculous healing, or a happy surprise?

I have been through a couple of these events and have even thought to myself, 'was this God's doing?' 

God's grace is full of miracles and unexpected surprises.  God's miracles demonstrate His love for us. This is God's way of showing His power and His desire to work in our lives.

The basis of all miracles is God's sovereignty.  When we're unsure of what's happening or how it's going to turn out, trust Him.  Trust His wisdom and His goodness.  After all, what's the alternative?  Worry, frustration, anger?

Expect miracles.  Look for opportunities for God to do something great in your life. 

Miracles are one of the ways God gives evidence of His power and authority.  Be careful, friends.  Don't treat God as a Jeannie in a bottle.  Get to know Him.  Establish a relationship with Him.  Nourish and kinder that relationship and watch God move in your life.

Wait for a miracle!

Acts 3:16 – "And His name-by faith in His name-has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all."

Did you know that the above phrase can be related to discipleship?  As a Christian, one of our roles is to disciple other believers.  What does this look like?  Basically, we evangelize to the new believer.  Next, we disciple and stabilize, or help them maintain their faith.  Then, we repeat all of this.

In simple terms, it's to lead others to Christ, help establish them spiritually and do it all over again and again.

I've said this before.  We could be the only Bible someone sees today. 

Being a disciple of Jesus gets to the very core of who we are and what we should be doing with our lives.

We can represent Jesus anywhere.  At home, at work, in the grocery store, at our kid's ballgame, etc.  Be intentional about being a disciple. Others are watching Christians to see if this is something they want to be.

Evangelize.  Disciple.  Stabilize.  Repeat.

Matthew 5:14 – “You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden."