Happiness Habit: Relax in God’s Grace By Rick Warren

“I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.” (Philippians 3:9 NLT)

You can’t earn God’s approval. You can’t earn his love. You can’t earn his recognition. God is love, and he loves you unconditionally. If you want to be a happy person, you need to relax in God’s grace every day.

Philippians 3:3 says, “We Christians glory in what Christ Jesus has done for us and realize that we are helpless to save ourselves” (LB).

One of the things that will rob you of your happiness is legalism. Legalism is the attitude that you have to prove your love to God. Legalism is trusting in what you do for God instead of what Jesus did for you. It’s thinking that you have to follow rules and regulations and restrictions in order to prove yourself worthy.

How do you know when you’re a legalist? It’s when you’re judgmental of other people. How do you know when you’re living by grace? It’s when you’re gracious to others. People who live by grace often find it easier to forgive, because they recognize God continues to forgive them.

Legalism will suck your life dry of happiness. It sucks churches dry of happiness. Ever go to a legalistic church? That church is not happy. There’s no joy in a legalistic church. Everybody’s just there out of duty or guilt.

When you finally realize there’s nothing you can do to make God love you more, it is one of the most liberating feelings in the world. And, it is a key to happiness. Every day, remind yourself of the grace of God, and relax in it.

“I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith” (Philippians 3:9 NLT).

Happiness Habit: Relax in God’s Grace By Rick Warren

LIFTING YOUR EYES TO THE MOUNTAINS.... BY Jennifer Hephzibah

I have always loved Psalm 121.

I have read somewhere that this was a Psalm written for pilgrims who journeyed to Jerusalem. It was meant to encourage them to keep their eyes fixed on their destination and on the mountains of the Lord as the roads got weary, hard and treacherous.

“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth
He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.” (NASB)

Yes, there are those days when the roads seem particularly hard. When it feels like somewhere, again you have taken a wrong turn and all the progress that you thought you had made seems to have been in your imagination alone. On those days when tears blind your eyes, it is hard to lift those very same eyes above the ground and lift them to the mountain of the Lord. It is hard to believe that God can hear the silent screams of your heart, or even if you do believe, accept that you are worthy of His mercy and grace.

The second line of this Psalm is a question not a statement and one I too have found myself asking –

From where shall my help come? or in other words ‘Who will help me?’

The answer comes and with it, like oil over troubled waters comes the peaceful reassurance from the living God – Your help, my help comes from Him and through Him we can do all things. He is always there to steady us when we fall, to hold us firm when we slip. He will not let us go.

T

 

he answers to our challenges may not always come when we need them and I am reminded this morning of the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 40:2.
“I waited patiently for the Lord
And He inclined to me and heard my cry
He brought me out of the pit of destruction and out of the miry clay.
And he set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God”.

He is the rock on which we stand and He will deliver on His promises!

In John17:1 Jesus lifts His eyes to the heavens as He begins to speak to His Father knowing He is about the face an unimaginably terrible ordeal. Scripture tells us Jesus often did this when He prayed…He physically, lifted His eyes to the heavens above.

There is something here about lifting our eyes above the things we can see around us and ahead of us and fixing them on Him – the author and finisher of our fate. Maybe it is just seeing how vast the sky is, how big the mountains are and knowing that the hands that made those things are holding you even as you pray. Maybe it is knowing that God is enthroned on high, but somehow we need to keep our eyes fixed above.

Today, dear brethren, I encourage you, whatever is going on in your life today, whatever trials, tribulations, lack, need, want, illness, difficulties you are facing, lift your eyes in faith above all and focus on the mountain of the Lord. You may not be able to see your deliverance yet or the answer you seek but Faith is not about what we can see, it is the hope and belief of the things not seen bound with the belief of what we know – That Jesus is Lord above all things !!!!

Wait patiently for Him in praise, trust and obedience.

Our God never fails. Be encouraged.

Be blessed in all things and may the love of Jesus Christ that is in all of us who believe sustain you and strengthen you in the days ahead that His name may be glorified now and always in Jesus name. Amen.

LIFTING YOUR EYES TO THE MOUNTAINS.... BY Jennifer Hephzibah

10 Ways to Stop Being a Victim

1. Stop the blame-game

Stopping the victim mentality comes with certain rules. The first rule is always avoiding the blame game. You have to understand that no one but you yourself hold the key to your happiness. Blaming others may often provide temporary relief from the pain but it has negative long term issues. Take responsibility, maturity is about responsibility. identify the problem, solve it and move on.

 

2. Start loving yourself

It has been observed that individuals who play the victim are the same ones who struggle in the point of ‘self love’. This could be because of an impressionable past experience or a general shortcoming but then one has to know that they are not alone. Remember that God loves you so much that He sent His only Son to come and die for you (John3:16). Even while you were yet in sin, God loved you. So, you are never alone and unloved, you are greatly loved.

 

3. Practicing gratitude

One of the best rules that can be followed easily and gives positive returns is incorporating gratitude in our daily lives. If you are feeling grateful and counting your blessings more than the negatives then it is impossible to feel like a victim. Thanksgiving must be done all the time. Afterall, how hard is it to say thank you. Show appreciation and the blessings will keep piling up.

 

4. Perform small acts of kindness to others

Simple acts of kindness can help us positively impact the lives of others. Paying a compliment or performing a small act of kindness not only makes other happy but also has a major positive role to play in ours. Giving of our selves blesses others and us as well

 

5. Forgive and Forget

The act of letting go is important while making any significant change in your life. We do not forgive people thinking it makes us weak. But honestly keeping such negative thoughts in our minds for undetermined periods of time makes us the ultimate weak loser. It does not need to come with an apology or justice associated with it. It is all about discovering the inner strength and making peace with it. We must forgive even as God forgives us, its as simple as that.

 

6. Build up on God confidence

Any individual who feels like a victim is sure to suffer from immense low self confidence in real life. This is not a one day duty. Start by knowing who you are in Christ; The Bible calls you Royalty (you are a royal priesthood). So dress better, smile more, be filled with joy, speak with clarity, knowing that as Christ is, so are you in this world. It is going to work really very well.

 

7. Find the source of the negativity

When you are struggling to be happy and finding faults within yourself every now and then you must have been holding onto past fears or experiences that you have not moved over from completely. Take heed to the main stem of such thoughts and work on them one at a time. Making peace with your own self is of utmost importance. Let go of bitterness, pray for those who hurt you and you will realize one day how much peace you have within yourself. After all, the bible says ‘love your enemies’.

 

8. Bring a change in general mentality from a victim to a victor

Life is not always fair and you must accept it the way it is and find ways to appreciate it. That is a worldly mentality. Remember, as a christian, you are more than a conqueror, not just a conqueror but ‘more than a conqueror’. Renew your mind with the word and change how you think. “What does God say about me? is how you must think”

 

9. List all your fears and resentments and present them in prayer

Start a journal and write in it often. Make it a practice and list down all the things you fear or resent. Then starts the main work. Allow yourself to consciously distance from them, table them before God and allow Him to work in you. This also includes cutting off the negative people from your life who do not let you be you. Remember, friendship is by choice. You choose your friends, they do not choose you.

 

10. Meditate on the Word daily

This is the sole way where you can have answer to all the questions that is creating impending amounts of worries and pains in your life. Keep aside a short 10 minutes slot for yourself. The Word of God brings peace and meditating on the Word will start your day with peace and love, and not only that, you will be build Spiritual strength.

 

God’s Word has everything you need. The Bible says ” God has not given us the Spirit of fear but of love and of a sound mind.”

10 Ways to Stop Being a Victim