Maturity is not defined by age, education or wealth but rather it is an attitude that defines who you are and what you do.  You can be 50 years old with an abundance of weath and college degrees but lack the maturity to handle life’s challenges properly.  An immature person buckles down under pressure and lacks the wisdom to find the appropriate solution for the trials they face.  An immature person is always asking ‘what is in this for me?’  They lack sensitivity to other people and do not consider that someone else just might be in need of their help.  An immature person does not have  control over what comes out of their mouth.  They gossip and are judgmental and are kown as troublemakers and lack the desire to be a peacemaker.  An immature person refuses to entertain the thought that God just might be able to help them.

A mature person holds up under pressure and is loving and kind hearted and does not speak unkindly of others.  A mature person will always take the high road and look for ways to be a peacemaker and not destroy relationships to justify themselves.  A mature person will also be patient and prayerful because they know that God is in control and He is always there to help in a time of need.  This kind of person knows that he or she is still a work in progress and knows that God has a lot for them yet to learn and they are willing to walk with God and enjoy their relationship with Him.

Do a self examination and ask yourself if you are still immature or are you making progress in the maturity side of life.  Spiritual maturity is learned and it is not given to you just because you might have been on this earth for 50 years or more.  Your attitude while you are undergoing the rough times will define how well you are growing spiritually.  Seek to be all that God wants you to be. Stay in God’s Word and love others as you do yourself.

Every Christian should meditate on Romans 8:28.  If you get this verse into your spirit and into your heart, you will be able to live the victoriously life that your heavenly Father expects you to.  In summary, Romans 8:28 says that ‘all things will work together for the good for those who love God and are called according to his purposes.’  This is not a maybe or something that you should hope for, but it is something that you should expect because it is certain to happen.

The word ‘all’ includes everything, both the good and the bad; there is nothing left out.  Many people accept the good in their lives with no problem but when they encounter the bad, they think that something is terribly wrong.  If you believe the truth of God’s word, you must realize that God has made you a promise that ‘all’ things will work together for your good.  You must trust God with your whole heart and believe that He has everything under His control and, therefore, there is no reason to panic.  Life is like baking a cake.  You probably would not like to eat just butter or baking powder separately; but when they are mixed in with everything else, you will wind up with a good tasting cake.  The experiences you encounter on your life’s journey may not look promising when taken out of context but when it is all said and done, you realize that everything you have gone through in your life this far has made you the person you are today. Life lessons are learned precept upon precept, line upon line and just like the knowledge of God, you acquire wisdom after going through good times and bad times.

Despite all the evil that Joseph experienced at the hands of his brothers who hated him, at the end he was able to forgive them and tell them that what they meant for evil, God meant for good because many people were spared in the time of famine because God’s will had been done in Joseph’s life.  Proverbs 3:5 tells us to ‘trust in the Lord at all times and not to lean unto our own understanding.’  You might not be able to figure out why you experience certain challenges in your life, but hold onto the truth that God has a plan and a purpose for you if you only believe.  Encourage yourself in the Lord today.  Satan would like for you to throw in the towel but God is saying “it will all be worth it.”

Everybody wants to win; nobody wants to lose but on our spiritual journey there are going to be times when the only way to win is to lose.  Jesus told us that ‘whoever finds his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’  Letting go so that God sits on the throne of your heart is the best thing anyone can do.  We all have people in our lives and things in our lives that we love most dearly but if they should ever become more important to us that our heavenly Father, we have lost.  Losing everything and being hopelessly hopeless is the only true way to love God.  Being hopelessly hopeless forces you to be totally dependent upon God and that is the position that God wants all of His children to be in.  This position is what causes God to bless and protect those who are called by His name.

The Bible says that for everything there is a season; there is a time to seek and a time to lose and if that principle governs your life, you will always be a winner because that still small voice inside of you will let you know when you have gotten things out of order.  Obeying the word of God will require you to lose a little so that you will gain much because your eyes have not yet seen all that God has in store for you.  Holding on to people or stuff too closely will only hinder God’s will being done in your life, and if you truly love the Lord, you will always be willing to give back to God what He has placed you a steward over.  Abraham loved God to the degree that he was willing to give up his child, Isaac, because he believed that God was able to restore him back and that is exactly what God did.  Abraham showed what was in his heart and God saw that there was nothing more important in Abraham’s life than Him.

We all can learn from Abraham how important it is to trust and obey God and more importantly to realize that we are stewards and not owners of our earthly possessions.  God not only gives us the power to get wealth, but God provides us with His mercy and grace in allowing us to watch over what He has provided.  Never allow anyone or anything to have first place in your life except your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and if you have a tugging in your soul or a little voice speaking to you, please remember that sometimes you must lose in order to win.

Obviously, Christians know things that the world does not know, but there are four things that are most important and are the key to living a successful life.  These four things are:

1. Christians know that they are weak
2. Christians realize that they cannot make it without God’s help
3. Christians survive only because of the grace of God
4. Christians know that it is only God’s grace that gives them strength

No one is perfect and when a Believer is faced with problems that they are unable to solve on their own, they know that their heavenly Father is able to help them by making His power and strength available to them.  The Lord has given His instructions as to what we are to do when we are burden and heavy laden.  He told us to come to Him and exchange our burden for His because His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

God’s grace not only will cover our weaknesses, but His grace is more than enough to supply us with whatever we need when we need it.  Christians have a super-natural source of strength and power with us at all times.  Jesus has promised never to leave us alone, and to ensure that God’s grace will always be available, it is important that we live in obedience to the commandments of God.  Satan would like nothing better than to have Believers live in sin and not take full advantage of God’s power.  So living a godly life is a choice that should not be taken lightly.

Isaiah 40:31 says ‘that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary and they shall walk an not faint.’  Grab a hold of that promise and never look back.  Run your race; fight the  good fight of faith and remember that God’s grace is sufficient for you!

Have you ever noticed that when you are obedient and do what God asks you to do, you end up with more than enough?  When the widow woman in the Bible obeyed the prophet Elisha and borrowed vessels from her neighbors and poured her one pot of oil into them, she found out that she had not only what she needed but much more and was able to sell it and live profitably thereafter.  After Jesus fed the 5,000, the disciples discovered that they had 12 basketfuls of leftovers. God is a God of multiplication.  God is a God of more than enough.  God doesn’t just meet your need, but He will bless you with leftovers so that you can be a blessing to others.

God’s children are spiritual beings on a earthly journey and must always see things with their spiritual eyes.  Your natural eyes can only see what is in front of you, but your spiritual eyes will enable you to see that nothing is impossible with God and that God can do everything.  Life will sometimes place you in situations that might look impossible but you must believe in your heart that you are not limited because God is on your side.  Never under-estimate the power of God.  Every challenge is just another opportunity for God to show you what happens when His kingdom comes down to this earth, but only those living in faith will experience the supernatural.

Take comfort in knowing that God will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory.  Take God at His word and stand on His promises.  He is a faithful God.  The question is how faithful are you to Him?

Real friendships are few and far between especially in our society today where children grow up and leave town and job relocations are becoming the norm.  Everyone needs a friend to encourage and support them during their tough times, and if you are fortunate enough to have a good friend then you truly are blessed.  Many people depend on Facebook to keep in touch, but when you really think about it, how many of your Facebook friends can you count on to be there if you were to call them at 2:00 in the morning with an emergency and you need help?  I dare to say, not many would answer your call.  True friends are rare and it is not good for anyone to be alone.  Have you ever been lonely in a crowd?  It’s possible, and one major cause of depression is being alone or feeling lonely.  A friend understands you and will believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself.  A friend will be there during the good times and the bad and wants nothing but the best for you and will do anything to help you reach your goals in life.

Can you imagine having a friend that will love you at all times and will be with you now and forever more? Jesus Christ wants to be your best friend today and He will stick closer to you than a brother.  People will come and go but your heavenly Father has promised to never leave nor forsake you.  The Bible says that no greater love has any man than the one who will lay down his life for you.  God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son and all you have to do is ask Jesus to become your friend.  A friendship with Jesus will heal you; it will sustain you and it will provide the emotional and spiritual strength you will need on your journey through life.

What a friend we have in Jesus and you need to experience His love for yourself.  Don’t go another day by yourself.  Jesus is waiting and He will change your life forever.

The Biblical story of God commanding Abraham to offer up his beloved son, Isaac, as a sacrifice in the land of Moriah leaves no doubt that God will provide the right thing at the right place and at the right time.  The fact that Abraham was obedient to God that he would give up his son, the son that he had to wait over 25 years for, the son that God has promised to bless him with got God’s attention, and because of his obedience, God provided a ram on the mountain  for Abraham to sacrifice in place of his young son.  God was testing Abraham.  He wanted to find out if Abraham would obey. He was testing what was in his heart and Abraham passed the test.  Abraham was at the right place because God told him to go to Moriah and he went.  God then provided a ram just at the moment that Abraham would have slain his son.  God stepped in and stopped Abraham just at the right time.Abraham called God Jehovah Jireh – God our provider, so everyone would know that God provides.

Ask yourself this question.  Are you willing to give up the most precious thing in your life and give it back to God at this very moment?  Obedience is better than sacrifice and that is what God is looking for in each one of us.  He wants us to know what is really in our hearts.  God knew us while we were in the womb, so He knows everything about us, but we only learn through life experiences what we will and will not do.  Philippians 4:19 says that God will supply all of our needs according to his riches in glory.

Purpose in your heart that you are going to pursue the kind of faith that Abraham had in that you become willing to give back to God everything that He has given you to be a steward over in this life.  It could be your spouse, child, job or ministry.  It doesn’t matter what it is.  Your relationship with God should be the most important thing in your life.  Everything else you have, God gave to you.  It really belongs to Him and is under His control and is just in your hands for a short time.  Seek first the kingdom of God and you will see that Jehovah Jireh is faithful.

Have you ever been in a situation and you found yourself asking “where is God?”  In Job 23: 8-10, Job said that he could not find God no matter where he looked.  It didn’t matter if he went forwards or backwards, if he looked to his right or to his left he could neither feel God’s presence or perceive if God was there with him.  Job was at the lowest point in his life when he spoke these words, yet despite everything Job held on to the belief that God is always there.  Job realized that he was being tested and he wanted God to see that his faith in Him was as good as gold.

All the heroes of the Bible – Abraham, David, Joseph, and Paul, just to name a few, came to this same conclusion – that God is all the time working in our lives in secret.  He is working everything out for our good and all we have to do is trust Him.  You will not always know why you must go through certain challenging times in your life, but remember that God has a perfect plan and a process for your life.  God will work everything out for your good.  He will personalize your journey to the point that you will look back on your troubled times and say “thank God, you were there all of the time.”

The Lord has promised never to leave nor forsake you and He is reshaping you so that you become more and more like Him every day.  You are more than a conqueror because of the power that is within you.  Don’t lean to your own understanding trying to figure out what God is up to.  Trust Him and know that He loves you with an everlasting love and the work that He is doing in you will be completed.  Your momentary afflictions are preparing you for what is to come.  Do not be moved by your circumstances.  While you are on this earth, things will continue to change because they are all temporary.  The things that concern God, the things that He is working hard to change in you, cannot be seen but know that they are the most important because they are eternal.

After you have been tried, will God find your faith to be as good as gold?

The Bible tells us the story about a woman who perceived that Elisha was a prophet of God so she prepared a room in her home so that when Elisha travelled through town, he could have a place in her home for him.  No one told her to do it, nor did Elisha ask her to do it.  She did it because she wanted Elisha to have a comfortable place to rest and it was important to her that it be in her home.  It’s interesting that no one else offered to make room for Elisha.  This woman did this and it got God’s attention.  Because this woman had done something for him, Elisha asked her what could he do for her?  Elisha was told that she had no son and that her husband was an old man.  Elisha prophetically told her that in one year’s time a son would be born to her.  She could not believe it at first, but it did happen and this woman received a miracle from God that she probably had stopped hoping for.

Having a servant’s attitude is a sure way to position yourself to receive God’s blessing on your life.  Elisha represents the word of God and this story is an example that we all should make room for God and His word in our lives.  This woman received a prophet and was blessed with a prophet’s reward as promised by God.  God’s word is true and you should purpose in your heart to read God’s word every day.  In the beginning was the word and the word was God.  Reading the word of God will cause you to think at a higher level than you would normally.  God’s word will bring revelations into your life that will be a blessing to you and your family.  God’s word will bring discernment into your life and will enable you to make wise decisions.  Reading God’s word will bring the presence of God into your life and into your home and you will always know what God’s will is for you. God’s word will heal, restore and guide you into your destiny.

Position yourself to be blessed today and get God’s attention in  the same manner that the woman in this story did.  Remember, the Bible says that we will reap whatever we sow.  Sow kindness and you will reap kindness.  Help someone in need and when you need help, someone will be there to help you.  Become a God-chaser and watch the blessings of God over take you.

There are two kinds of people in the world.  One person wakes up and says “Good morning Lord.”  The other type of person says “Oh Lord, it’s morning!”  Every day that you wake up is a good day, and it is a day that the Lord has made and you should be glad and rejoice in it!  No one should take for granted that they are alive today.  No one has been promised tomorrow, and that is why you should make the most of today.  It doesn’t matter what your circumstances might be, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you have much to be thankful for.  Many things that you will experience in your life will not be of your choosing; they will just happen.  Having joy is one thing in your life that is under your control and it must come from the inside out.

Life is often challenging at best, but Believers have the spirit of God within them.  Therefore, you must learn how to be content in whatever state you find yourself in.  Contentment depends on your relationship with your heavenly Father and nothing else.  Life is full of changes; people change, you could change your career, move to another state or change jobs but for a certainty, the one thing that will never change is that Jesus will never leave nor forsake you.  The goal is to not let your circumstances control you, but you should always be in control of your circumstances.  Knowing that you are in the hands of God gives you the advantage you need to succeed in life because God is the strength of your life.

Psalm 16:11 says that “in your presence there is fullness of joy.”  Commit every day to the Lord and invite Him to be involved in whatever you do and you will experience the joy that the Bible talks about.  When your heart becomes over-whelmed, go to the rock that is higher than you are; go to the rock that is above your problems.  “The name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run to it and are safe.”  (Proverbs 18:10).  The joy that God gives to His children are to be enjoyed by His children and no one can take it away.  Walk in the spirit and let the joy that is within you change you and change those around you.