Have you ever been on a team and it felt like you were doing all the work, while others slacked? It’s frustrating and not fair. On the other hand, if you’re on a team where everyone is working together towards the same goal, it’s heavenly.

A successful team requires one main attribute and that’s unity.

When people are working together, with one goal in mind, and each person is giving their best, it will be successful.

The same applies to marriage or relationships.

As a Christian married couple, if you’re both looking to God for guidance, then you’re on the right path. If you’re allowing God to use you for His purposes, individually, life will come a lot easier. To do this, you both have to agree that God is in control, while pursuing God’s Will at the same time.

Now, I’m no expert on marriage, but I have found that leaving God out of marriage will inevitably end in destruction.

No marriage is perfect. God made marriage and blesses those who allow Him to guide it. Even if you’re not there yet, strive for unity. Continue seeking God, even if your spouse is not. Let your light shine and let God work on your spouse.

Pursue God in unity!

1 Corinthians 12:14 - “For the body does not consist of one member but of many.”

You’ve heard the phrase “you are what you eat.” Well, it also stands to reason that we are products of the environment we grow up in.

This typically means that where you grow up and the culture you’re living in may influence decisions you make today.

Sadly, this means that if you grew up in a bad home where alcohol was used on a daily basis, chances are, you could grow up to be an alcoholic.

But, on the other hand, if you grew up in a good Christian home, where your parents modeled Jesus and taught you how to handle money, and how to treat people, then you will probably turn out like them.

This world is getting to be a scary place to live. The norm is to hear of random shootings at least once a month.

There have been many people who have come out of broken homes and who have become successful God-loving people.

With God, all things are possible. So, don’t give up on kids from broken homes. God only knows their past and what they had to go through.

As long as there’s breath, there’s hope.

2 Timothy 3:14-15 - “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

You can’t go back, but you can look forward.

Our rearview mirror in our cars are designed to help us see what’s behind us, what we have already passed by. And our front windshield helps us see what’s ahead, so we can drive and steer the car properly.

Many of us tend to use our rearview mirror of life and stay stuck in the past. Instead, we should be looking ahead to our future. What do we plan to do with what God has blessed us with today?

I love the book of James and the first chapter is loaded with information, especially for a new Christian. In James, there’s so much insight on what Christians will face, why they should persevere in trials, what to do when they don’t understand and how they are to go forward.

Looking back in my early Christian walk, I wish someone would have told me about the book of James. But instead of looking back, I’m looking forward to my future. I can’t wait to see what God’s got in store for me. Yes, there may be trials but God will be there in the passenger seat to go through it with me.

James 1:2-6 - “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.”

God gave us each a body and we are to take care of it as best we can. This means we should eat a balanced diet; get a good amount of sleep and move our joints daily.

By doing this, we are investing in our health. We are telling God, “thank you for my body and I will do my best to keep it healthy.”

On the other hand, if we don’t take care of our body by eating junk food, fast food, not getting enough sleep, staying immobile and not getting some type of physical movement daily, you’re playing ‘Russian roulette’ with your health.

People that gamble with their money, eventually lose it. People that take their money and invest it in something that grows and eventually gives back will reap the rewards eventually.

The same is true with time, love and relationships. The more you invest in these, the more fulfilling your life will be.

But the most important thing you can invest in today, right now, is God. Give Him your time; put Him first in all you do; talk to Him and let Him guide your days. And, lastly, tell others of His goodness and invest your time in God’s great commission.

Don’t gamble with your life. Invest in it. Your eternity depends on it.

Mark 8:36 - “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”

1 Peter 5:7 - “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

Have you ever done something that you immediately regretted? Maybe something as simple as eating that piece of chocolate cake that you weren’t even hungry for. Or, as profound as forgetting to study for the test the teacher is currently passing out in class?

Try this simple solution the next time this happens: accept the situation and move on. Don’t dwell on the circumstances. Don’t work yourself into a panic attack. When we do this, we’re telling God, “I can’t handle this, so I’m going to fret and worry over something’s that’s either already happened or is out of my control.”

Instead, try this: Give it to God; admit that you can’t control it and that you’re giving it to Him to carry.

Even when it doesn’t make sense, fix your eyes on God and not the situation, and then you’ll be able to see it through God’s perspective.

I heard the quote above from one of Rick Warren’s sermons online the other day.

Isaiah 66:2 - “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

You can’t be selfish and humble at the same time. Selfish people mostly put themselves first and put others, even God, second in their thoughts.

A humble person will look for opportunities to help others. They will put other’s needs before their own.

You can’t fake humility and you need to be careful when praying for humility. God can make you real humble, really quick.

As we’re striving to be more like Jesus, weave humility into your daily routine. The more you do this, the more natural humility will come.

A job well done is always worthy of recognition and praise.

In my early career in IT, I always strived to do the best job I could. I’ve won a few awards for projects I’ve worked on. But, I can honestly say that there’s no better reward or blessing than to help someone in need; to help someone as they’re going through their trial or are experiencing hard times.

As I hiked along with my team on this last mission trip, I knew early on that day that this was going to be a hard and difficult hike. The consistent mucks of mud that we walked through were overwhelming at times. I had to constantly remind myself of this: “If God takes you to it, He will take you through it.”

This specific trial I endured was only a fraction of time where God tested my strength and physical endurance.

But, oh, the reward when we reached the small Amazon village of Olivos! The peace I felt, it was almost as if God patted me on the back and said, “Well done.!”

And the faces of the people that were there to greet us as we entered their village was priceless.

The hike, although long and enduring, was blessed by God’s presence and love for the people of Olivos.

Don’t grow weary of trials. Look for the opportunities of blessings to come!

Romans 5:3-4 - “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,”

Don’t let your past define you, but allow it to teach you great lessons.

As a parent, I can remember watching my kids as they were learning new things. Sometimes they learned after one experience (like touching a hot object); other times it may take several occurrences of the same message mistake.

Philippians 3:13 - “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,”

We must not forget our past failures or trials, but consider remembering how God brought you through them; how He never left you alone in the suffering or the loneliness.

The most important lesson I’ve learned in recent trials, is that by focussing on God’s goodness and how He’s helped me through various seasons, I’ve learned to persevere and stay faithful; to never give up on God, and to look for Him in everything and every journey I find myself traveling on.

Relish the memories of days gone by and share your story with someone today.

Learn from your past and use it to help someone in the future.