The Russian Connection

LIVE TO GIVE

Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. ~Albert Einstein

When you learn the importance of giving, your life changes forever. You will soon begin to seek out more and more opportunities and ways to give.

• Giving teaches you to be more thankful.

• Giving opens up more possibilities for you.
  

If there is ever a great season to give, Christmas is it.

"Somehow, not only for Christmas,
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others,
Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing,
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing,
Returns to you glad."

John Greenleaf Whittier

TODAY:

The quality of giving, is one of our biggest similarities to God.

It's one of the greatest attributes we can posses!

LOVE YOUR SELF

For Someone...
This might be new, news!

The second half of the second greatest commandment is to love you!

Matthew 22:39
"Love your neighbor as yourself"

Satan will always feed guilt into your mind when you begin to consider doing something good for yourself.
 
He knows if you are not replenished, rested and happy, he has greatly damaged any chance you have of helping others or sustaining yourself long term.
 
His Goal, Is Your Self-Destruction.
 

• Resist...any suggestion from others you are not deserving of pleasure....of rest.

• Reavaluate...your present schedule of responsibilities.

• Rearrange...your time and emotional commitments to make sure your fed, rested, and continually restored.

“You must love yourself before you love another. By accepting yourself and fully being what you are, your simple presence can make others happy.”

TODAY:

If you really love others, you have to love yourself first!

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GENIUS

The CHARACTERISTICS

OF A GENIUS

1 Corinthians 2:16

"But we have been given the mind of Christ"

People who accomplished great things, often combine a passion for a single mission with an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission,
whatever the obstacles and however long it might take.

Most leaders get off course and start taking steps right and left as obstacles reveal themselves, and end up arriving at an entirely different destination.

So staying the course when you want to find any excuse in the world to derail is one of the things that will sustain you on the right track.

• The skill of ‘productivity’ is often birthed out of the skill of ‘self-control.’ A characteristics which come from having the mind of Christ.
  

Don't ever let the fact of not fully knowing something keep you from pursuing it if you know it's right and something you're supposed to do. If you steadily work at something, what you don't know gradually erodes and what you do know slowly grows and, at some point, you've gained a degree of mastery.

Avoid stress at all costs. We often make decisions more quickly and with less information than usual then- the perfect setup for disaster.

 TODAY: 

Whatever you are working towards, stay at it!

HATING SOMEONE COULD MAKE YOU A LIAR

             Hating Someone.....
                Could Make You
                A Liar

1 John 4:20

“Whoever claims to love God yet hates his brother or sister is a liar.”

Those are some pretty strong words.

The Bible says that if we do that.... we are liars.

The love you have for God is shown in the way you love and treat others.
A lot can be said about us by the way we treat those around us.

Love is not just an act that pull out every once and a while
 It’s a supposed to be a lifestyle that classifies us into the distinguishable character of who we are.

• Love is all about others.

• It’s not shady or two sided.

• There is no hate in Love.

You can’t use it for God but hold it against people..... It doesn’t work that way.

Love is not just some act of kindness; it’s the spirit of who God is and we have been given a commandment to love others.

 TODAY:

"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Romans 12:9,10

When something OLD takes on a NEW perspective

When Something Old........

               Takes On A New Perspective

Even though it sounds so elementary,
Looking up the definition of common words can be pretty cool.
Often times it gives a new perspective and broader understanding of the words original meaning.

For example, we hear the word “exalt” all the time in church, and esp in worship.

But what does it really mean to exalt…and what purpose does it serve?

Exalt: (verb)

1. To raise in rank, honor, power, character, quality.

2. To increase intensity.

So when you exalt God in worship, you ‘exalt’ or raise His rank, honor, power, character and quality in your life.

You allow Him to become bigger than all else, and for His power and character to become your main focus, taking your attention off all other problems and circumstances.

• You increase God’s intensity in your life.

• When you exalt Him, you increase His presence.

 TODAY: 

Increase God's

intensity,
power and
presence

in your life by exalting Him!

Conversation Problems

CONVERSATION........PROBLEMS.

 

Thinking...is not the same thing as talking.

Internal contemplation over a need is not viewed by God as a prayer.

Learn to talk...to God.

1 John 5:14-15

"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

To ask anything in His will...guarantees He will hear you!

When He hears you....He always answers!

TODAY:

What have you asked Him for today?

God is not just watching us...He is listening.

You can make someone HAPPY today

YOU can make
someone
happy today

  5 Facts About Encouragement

• Encouragement Is A Command.
  "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."  (Hebrews 13:3)

• Encouragement And God's Word Are The Seeds That Produce The Harvest Of Hope.
  "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance, the encouragement taught in the scriptures, and the encouragement they provide we might have hope."

• Encouragement Can Be Forgotten. 
  "And you have forgotten that word of encouragement..." (Hebrews 12:5)

• Love Produces Encouragement.
  "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement..." (Philemon 1:7)

• Encouragement Must Be Communicated...Now.
  "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak." (Acts 13:5)
  

Make it your mission to encourage someone,

and make their day!

THE DISEASE OF COMPARISON-IDUS

            The Disease
         OF
       Comparison-Idus

This disease is by no means friendly.

It’s not a 3-day, stay in bed, cold that you recover from by eating chicken noodle soup.
The disease of comparison-idus is fatal and its effects will drown the life out of you if you let it.

But God wants us to be exactly who He created us to be. 

• Jesus came to give us life so that we could have peace and not live in constant self-condemnation and judgment against ourselves.

Galatians 6:4 MSG

"Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that... Don't compare yourself with others." 

Comparison and self-condemnation is another huge cause of stress. 

It only causes care and concern, worry and self-doubt.

It deteriorates you down to a point where you feel like you are a nobody;
you have nothing and
mean nothing.

TODAY:

Let it be your last day of ever living under the case of "Comparison-Idus!"

WHAT'S BOTHERING YOU

 What's Bothering You?

ISAIAH 26:3

You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

When life catches up with you,
and all of a sudden your standing in the midst of ‘change’, it's easy to feel like everything going on is bigger than you, and beyond your control.

I think by this point, we’ve all figured out that not all things always go as planned. There are unexpected turns that come up on the road of life, as well as stop signs, ditches on either side and a nervous unsureness as we travel down new streets.

So how do you keep yourself from falling in to the wild mind circus of questions, fear and worry?

A: You keep your mind stayed on God.

Life, death, sickness, health, joy, sorrow, love, hate, peace and unrest,
they are all a part of this world and even when unexpected things arise and scare you, know that God is there to walk you through it.

TODAY;

Keep your mind set on God,
and He will keep you in perfect peace.

HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED

         HOW
        DO YOU
           WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?

Many people strive to live a life of success,
and if they accomplish that, they believe themselves to have achieved victory.

But just because you live full of success,

does not mean you’ve lived a life of significance.

They are 2 completely different things.

Success- might be money or conquering in a highly competitive business market and becoming very wealthy. You might even have become “successful” at something you always wanted to do.

Significance- means that you’ve made an impact on the world. You’ve changed the life of someone else for the better. You’ve contributed to society, and been a hero to those around.

But they are a like in 1 aspect.

• If you live a life of significance, success always follows.

However, just because you live a life of success, doesn't mean it was significant.

TODAY:

Strive to live a life of significance and you will always be remember by others!