Unemployment at 9.7%, Homelessness increases among elderly adults, 35.9 million people live below poverty in the United States, 3 million children experience hunger in the United States, Tornado in Southeast kills 10, Rhode Island flooding: nobody is prepared, 12 year old boy is killed by lightning on baseball field.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”
Matthew 6:25
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
Matthew 6:28
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
Matthew 6:31
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34
Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.
Luke 12:22
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:27
There is a lot of bad news in the world today. The economy, taxes, crime, and the direction of our country. But are we suppose to worry about the things that happen in this world? Are we suppose to stress over the things happening in this life? Should we always be happy?
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How is everyone doing? I pray that everyone finds this blog in good health and spirits. Things are going good in the Jones household. Micah is showing lots of progress. We finally got our garden tilled on Saturday and we got the tomatoes planted. We still have a lot more seeds to plant but it looks like it will be a week long project. On Sunday we heard a real good sermon by Pastor Mike of Crosswalk Community Church in Oklahoma City. The title was “Are you worthy?” It was a very good sermon that explains that there is nothing you can do to earn your way to heaven or earn God's love. One day I will have to blog about it. My parents also came down to the house on afternoon and helped with stacking the firewood. I have a lot of firewood that needs to be stacked and they were nice enough to help me. I am very blessed to have such loving parents who care about my wife, children, and me.I have been asked many times how I can always have a positive, cheerful and stress-free attitude despite personal problems and all the bad news being reported by the news networks. First, I want to assure everyone that I am not always cheerful, positive, and stress-free. I do have my down times when I am unhappy and stressed. I am human. But, most of the time I am cheerful, positive and stress-free. It saddens me to see people who are stressed and unhappy most of the time because I know that it is God's Will that everyone be joyful and stress-free (Psalm 128:2, 144:15, 146:5, Prov 16:20, 28:14, Peter 4:14) and God gives everyone the ability to have a joyful and stress-free life. I have been feeling the Holy Spirit pushing me to write this blog and tell everyone how they can also have a more joyful and stress-free life.
1. Be Baptized with water and the Spirit. I have written a blog on the Holy Spirit and how important it is to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit, so I will not go into a lot of detail on this topic in this blog. You can find my blog on the Holy Spirit by going through my blogs at http://www.myspace.com/oktomcat. It is human nature to let others control our attitude. But is that what God wants? Many scriptures show us that God wants us to be thankful, cheerful and to be content in all things. We are also not to worry about anything because God has control over all things and God is good. How can we do this though when it is human nature to worry and be unhappy when things go bad? Jesus sent us a Comforter and Counselor. That Comforter and Counselor is the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the ability to do what is humanly impossible. 2. Understand that God has complete control over all things and God is good. Why worry about anything when you have this understanding and trust? When something is going wrong then ask God for help. If God has given you the ability to take care of it, then take care of it. If He has not given you the ability to take care of it, then give up control and give it to God.
3. READ THE BIBLE!!! It amazes me how many Christians do not read the Bible. Most of the problems Christians have are caused because they didn't follow God's Word. People have said to me, "I wish life came with instructions." Well, life does come with instructions. The instruction book is called the Bible. God gives us clear instructions about finances, dating, sex, marriage, family, health, and much more. God doesn't force us to follow His instructions, but if you choose not to follow His instructions then He will allow you to suffer the consequences of your actions. You can eliminate many trials in life simply by reading and following God's Word. Remember that God created all things and He knows what is best for you. Read the Bible cover to cover a couple of times and then start studying important topics such as finances, role of the man in the family, role of the woman in the family, raising children, etc.)
4. Understand human nature. I always tell people that human nature is hateful. Don't believe me? Check out a baby or toddler when they are not getting their way. If they had the power they would kill someone. You don't have to teach a child how to hate, you have to teach them how to love. It is important to understand that ALL humans have hate in them. Now, I know I have many people sucking air by saying that. The hate that I am talking about is the hate that is described in the Bible. By this definition, we all do have hate in us. It is part of our human nature. Do we ever get hate completely out of us? Only if you let your human nature completely die so that the Holy Spirit can take control of our actions. Remember this as you deal with others. Just as you act in hate from time to time, so do others. Also keep in mind that people can mean well in their actions and yet hurt us. Many people, including myself, have done a lot of damage with our good intentions. When someone hurts you or is being mean to you, don't let it get you down. Understand that they are human and lean on God, who will comfort you. Also, stay humble. You too are human. Before you accepted the Holy Spirit, you too did many hateful things to others. So be patient and forgiving to others as God was (and still is) patient and forgiving to you.
5. Always be in prayer. You will find yourself worrying about something or getting upset over something or someone. Your human nature will come out. But the good news is your Father in heaven is waiting to help you. Just stop and pray for your Father to help you. Ask Him to comfort you and guide you through whatever it is that you are dealing with. Remember that NOTHING is too big for God. He WILL answer your prayer. You must just stop and listen.
6. Set time aside for God. OK, honestly, do you have time set aside for God everyday? I mean real quality time where it is just you and God? Jesus set time aside where He was alone with His Father. Why don't we follow His example? I find this to be so important and I do feel a difference when I don't do it myself. I like to wake up real early and spend time talking to my Father in heaven. When I do this, I feel much better throughout the day. I am able to go into work cheerful and positive. I can deal with much more and I seem to also remember that God is with me through all things.
7. Here is the most important thing you need to remember in order to have a happier and stress-free life. No matter what happens in life, no matter who bothers you or hurts you. Always remember that God loves you so very much. It is impossible to explain just how much God loves you. His love is so big and so perfect that we just can't imagine it. But it is true. God loves you and He will never let anything happen to you that you can not overcome with His help. Your Father in heaven is a perfect father. He knows everything about you and He understands you. He knows your needs and will provide them to you. All He asks is to have a relationship with you and for you to trust Him. When you think about it, when you worry about something, you are not showing much trust in God.
I know that this is all much easier said then done. It has taken a long time for me to get as far as I have. As I said at the beginning of this blog, I still have my moments. But we all must understand that God wants us to be joyful in all situations and not to worry or be stressed. The only way to do that is to have faith that God is still in control of all things. Everything will work out for the glory of God. Now, to be stress-free doesn't mean to be care-free. We must care about everything that goes on in our lives and with others. We must also be God's hands and feet. We must also be going around and saying the words that God wants us to say. We are to be His disciples. But, we are not to worry or stress when things don't go the way we feel they should.
I thank you so much for reading my blog and pray that it helps you out. Always remember that God loves you so very much and I love you too. Take care and God Bless.
Love,
The Oklahoma Tomcat
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