Christian-Secrets.com

As 2010 begins, it is a great time to reassess and adjust your life plan, particularly evaluating financial stability and life fulfillment, which were major difficulties for Americans in 2009.

1. Remember, you are the boss of your life! When making life-changing decisions, such as employment transitions, maintain control of your future! Like many, you may have entrusted your life and your financial plan (fixed salary, pension, benefits, etc.) to someone else and ended up at a financial loss you never expected. So, do not trust or rely solely on others (an employer, financial advisor and investment broker) to control your financial future. Follow God’s advice and direction. To avoid others from getting a grip on your finances, read “How to Hear God to Prosper.”

2. Remember the things you are thankful for. Many people experienced challenging times in 2009 because of material-losses—houses, cars, possessions, salaries, investments, etc. Do not overlook non-material assets in your life. Loyal family and friends are always a blessing. Good health is extremely valuable, particularly during hard times. If you have a sense of humor or an optimistic outlook, you have a good thing. Materialism does not contribute to a life of worth and fulfillment, but many of the things we cannot buy, like great personality attributes, do.

3. When incorporating a new plan, assess what you have done wrong or would like to do better in order to experience a change for the New Year. Don’t beat yourself up for wrongs you have suffered, just address them, so you do not repeat them. If you worked at a job you hated, start planning to change to something you enjoy. Being true to yourself eradicates discontentment.

4. Find your happiest self. What makes you happy? What is the one thing you would love to do everyday for the rest of your life? Do not dismiss something because you do not have the money or resources to do it. Once you determine what you really want to do, then find resources to make it happen.

5.  Make a difference in someone else’s life. Help someone by using your expertise; give someone free advice or a free service. Many problems we face, as a nation, can be solved by helping one another. A change in our outlook is necessary in 2010—instead of looking for the government and others to help us, 2010 needs to be the year we seek out those we can help, in our community and elsewhere.

6. Make sure to include God in your plans for the New Year. This does not necessarily mean you have to go to church every Sunday. More importantly, you must know God. Many Americans have incited third-world conditions for themselves because they practiced the customs of foreign religions, rather than Christianity. Too many Americans have never studied Christianity, even though we live in a country that was founded on Christian principles, and blessed. A simple way to understand Christianity is to read the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (the first 4 books of the New Testament of The Bible). To learn how to prosper, using simple godly principles, read “How to Hear God to Prosper.” Do not underestimate knowing the true God. Knowing the true God is the difference between having a prosperous year and having a year worst than America experienced in 2009.

© Found Treasure Publishing 2010

Christian-secrets.com

Related Posts:

- A Gift for You        

- The God Who Makes America Great           

- When God has a Job for You       

The Main Ingredient of Christmas

By VC Edwards

A favorite southern holiday recipe is candied yams. Candied yams are sweet potatoes prepared with a variation of sugar, brown sugar, molasses or maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, dabs of butter, and topped with marshmallows, if desired. Any way candied yams are prepared, the main ingredient is sweet potato, made sweeter with added sugary ingredients.

One can only assume that, generations ago, someone devised this method of preparation after experiencing a bad crop of sweet potatoes. To sweeten the sweet potatoes, a cook went to her cupboard and used everything sweet that could be found, until the sweet potatoes lived up to their name. Clever as that may be when faced with a bad crop of sweet potatoes, it is unnecessary when good sweet potatoes are available. When this nutritious food is turned into a sugary dessert, it is impossible to enjoy the natural sweetness of the sweet potato. The art of cooking sweet potatoes is knowing how to pick them and then cook them to maintain their natural sweetness.

The basics of picking a good sweet potato is to never choose huge sweet potatoes or narrow potatoes with roots (the larger ones are not the sweetest ones, and if there are roots on the outside, there will be strings inside). Chose medium-size potatoes with a deep orange color. Bake them in their skin, like a baked potato. When they are soft (when you are able to stick a fork in them), enjoy nice, hot sweet potatoes. Once you have eaten properly picked and cooked sweet potatoes, it is unlikely that you will ever want sugar-coated sweet potatoes again.

Similar to sweet potatoes, Christmas has become sugar-coated—overloaded with store-bought, glittery, meaningless stuff. Christ has been bumped from Christmas, as department stores compete for our time, energy and money. We are left unfulfilled after the holiday season because we get caught up in wrappings and bows, with no gratitude for Jesus. Every Christmas, we look to do things bigger and better, with gifts and activities that have nothing to do with Christ. When we let merchants take control of our Christmas, we end up empty inside because nothing bought us closer to God. Jesus Christ is the central ingredient in Christmas and the message of Christmas never needs to be sugar-coated with fairy tales for children or expensive or unnecessary presents to those who will do likewise.

Jesus Christ gave us the greatest gift ever given. (See “God was Born” below.) If you want to do something big at Christmas and year round in gratitude of the gift Christ has given you, seize opportunities to give to someone who cannot give you anything in return. Help someone who cannot help you. Be kind to those who have no expectancy of your kindness. However you chose to celebrate Christmas, remember to invite Jesus, by sharing the message of Christ with everyone you know.

God was Born

God designed the world to operate by love. In order for God to be true to His order, He has to punish everyone who fails to love. But God, in His infinite love and wisdom, has provided man an escape from eternal death, the punishment for not loving. God made an exchange to save us from our deserved fate. He, Himself, stepped forward to be born of a woman, in order to be subjected to human conditions and temptations. When God was born, He was given a new name. You shall call His name Jesus: for He saves those from sin who accept Him as Lord. (Matthew 1:21) Jesus lived in a world of hate without ever committing a sin, choosing to love, and therefore qualified Himself to be an exchange for us. He accepted total guilt and punishment for our offenses of not loving! Jesus did not give us a license to sin; He gives each and every person an opportunity to be free from sin. Even though Jesus died, He is alive—being the only One in history to rise from death, never to die again, but ascend into heaven—proving Himself to be God!

©VC Edwards

If you confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved! (Romans 10:9)

© VC Edwards 2009, All rights reserved.

Found Treasure Publishing

Christian-secrets.com

By VC Edwards

God Wants You

Countless individuals throughout history, who had no significant purpose in life, have been given an opportunity to be used for God, such as Rahab, a prostitute, who hid God’s people from her own (Joshua 2). Down through history, God has used people to pass on a message, block communication, protect women and children, provide sustenance to God’s people, stand up for a devout cause, and so on. Everyone who has ever come to God, started with one simple act for God.

Many people do not think God would ever want them to help Him carry out an assignment, while there are others who have sought a mission to do for God. Whatever one thinks, God is willing to use anyone, who is humble. Each person who has carried out God’s will, in the smallest way, has advanced God’s mission for all humanity.

While Rahab did not necessarily live upright, she had the business sense to know when a once-in-a-lifetime offer was presented to her. She properly discerned that this opportunity would advance God’s mission, not man’s greed. And she had the good sense to seize the opportunity, understanding it would be an honor to do anything for the God, who she had long heard was Supreme.

When God asks you to do something for Him, do not make the mistake of questioning God’s judgment. Do not worry about the life you have led. Simply, give God your sincere best. Whatever God has you do, it will not be anything you are incapable of doing. You already have whatever ability or skill needed. In Rahab’s case, she had to simply keep a secret for God’s people. Sometimes God can use worldly people, simply because they know how the world operates; they know the patterns of seedy activity and street life, in order to infiltrate an area and effectively protect those who are on a mission for Christ.

Once you have worked for God, He will bless you with opportunity to leave your previous lifestyle, as He did Rahab. Once you have worked for God, and proven your loyalty, God no longer considers you an outsider; He wants you on His team for eternity, to privilege you with all the blessings of one of His own.

When God takes you by surprise, one day, and asks you to stand up for His purpose, trust God’s judgment and be glad God considers you worthy to carry out an assignment for Him.

For more info, read “How to Hear God to Prosper” by VC Edwards.

© Found Treasure Publishing 2009

Christian-secrets.com

Related Posts:

- A Gift for You

One day can hold the depth of tragedy, devastation and misfortune, and the very next day can present the greatest opportunity in life.

$15.95

Order Here

By VC Edwards

Avoiding Contradictions for Effective Prayers

A common puzzlement in all walks of life is, “Why are some prayers answered and some not?” Prayer (acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord) is the most powerful form of communication, if executed correctly. Prayer is so powerful, if your request is not precise, you can receive the opposite of what you desire. Following are factors that affect the outcome of our prayers.

Thoughtful words

Answered prayers are free of contradicting thoughts and wording. People pray all the time, but many never receive the prayer request they desire because they misuse words and pray contradictory to what they desire. Most prayers never get answered, and some even produce opposite results of what is desired. People believe God knows what we mean when we pray because God knows everything. If we desire one thing, but ask for something different, then there is no reason to assume God knows what we want; the only conclusion that can be made is that we do not know what we want. God gave us the privilege to ask for what we want, in prayer. The fact is that prayer is powerful and we must use extreme care when exercising that privilege. God entrusts us to be single-minded in our faith and in our thinking. We must determine what we want before we pray. If we do not know what we truly want, we need to make a thorough assessment of our situation, before we pray. God is not impressed with fast, thoughtless prayers. So, be careful what you ask or pray. If necessary, take time to write your requests down before you pray. Also, pray frequently, so you do not find yourself in a pressing moment, rambling off words that do not convey your desires.

The Power of God’s Word

Answered prayers do not contradict God’s Word. If you do not operate in God’s wisdom, because you fail to read or study His Word, He is not impressed. Do not pray contradictory to God’s Word. Some Christians bless friends or relatives, who have rejected Christ to follow false gods. We lose our blessings when we go against God’s will. God does not want us to pray for those who are against Him (except to pray that they will come to accept Jesus). Anyone who is an enemy of Christ is an enemy of all Christians. If God were to answer your prayer to bless your enemy, you would forfeit your own blessings. It is like being in a boxing ring with an opponent. Only one boxer will be the victor and someone will lose. If your enemy is blessed (because of your prayers), then you will be the loser. Never bless the enemy. If Christians stop praying for the enemy, non-Christians will realize they cannot win without Christ. They see no need to come to Christ as long as Christians continue to pray for them. Ungodly people do not want to be Christians because Christians often do not show evidence of being blessed—perhaps, because many Christians give their blessings away.

Confirmation of a Christian Life

People, who get their prayers answered, live by Christian principles. Prayers are not answered from the God who answers prayer, for people who live for other “gods.” God does not bless hypocrites; therefore, they often twist the meaning of “blessings” to give the illusion that they are blessed. If they win the lottery, they credit God. Singers and actors, who live for false gods, instead of Jesus Christ, the living God, often thank God (or leave the impression they are referring to the living God) when they make a speech to accept an award. What is expressed as a blessing from God, is a trap from the Devil. As long as people receive earthly “rewards,” they neglect to discover God’s awesome power of love towards us, the love that allows us to communicate with God Almighty, Himself, through prayer.

For more information, order “How to Hear God to Prosper” by VC Edwards.

© VC Edwards 2009, All rights reserved.

Found Treasure Publishing

Christian-secrets.com

Related Posts:

- A Gift for You

- The God Who Makes America Great

- If

by VC Edwards

Finding favor in an “if” proposition.

Many of us have encountered a church that advocates, “IF you want to be blessed by God, you have to give money to the church.” Many people have given to a church, on this assertion, but giving money to a church does not guarantee blessings from God. If someone gives to a church, but does not honor the dictates of God, God is not obliged to bless him or her. If people give to a church, but the church does not use the monies to advance the message of Christ, no one is blessed by their giving. No one knows of all the “if” propositions that have misled people over the centuries. Countless individuals have lived with regrets because they were duped by an “if” proposition. When propositioned by mankind, “if” is typically a sales pitch that can cost you dearly, and leave you with unfulfilled promises.

However, God poses an “if” proposition that is the contrary.  God poses, ”If” you do what He says, you will be blessed—it will not cost you, but rather you will find increase.

…IF you will listen diligently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and do all His commandments, which I (Moses) command you this day, then the LORD your God will set you on high above all nations of the earth. Deuteronomy 28:1

God goes on to list all the blessings He will give you, ”if” you observe His commandments. (Deut. 28:1-14) Throughout history, people have left out the two-letter word from their interpretation of God’s commands, assuming God would bless them regardless of their actions. Ignoring ”if” from God’s command has left people to live miserable lives (Deut. 28:15-68). “If” is a word that poses a condition and needs to be given utmost attention when spoken by God, being He is the One who has all power to bless.

To rescue mankind, who twisted God’s offer and ended up in misery, Jesus Christ settled the greatest proposition beginning with “if,” in the history of mankind—which was, ”If” you are God, prove it. Jesus’ false accusers asked Him to prove He was God by saving Himself from the cross (Matthew 27:40). But Jesus waited until after He had been pronounced dead, to prove He was God by rising from the grave (a far greater feat). He proved, indeed, He is God and has all power to perform in any impossible situation! Jesus died for us, for going against God’s commands, and rose, giving us a new lease on life (see, “A Gift for You”). So, ”if” you have a problem, whatever it may be, look for Jesus and He will turn your problem into favor. No matter what you face in life, ”if” you put your trust in Jesus Christ, you will come out a winner!

“IF you look for Me in earnest, you will find Me when you seek Me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes.” Jeremiah 29:13-14 (NLT)

For more info, read “How to Hear God to Prosper” by VC Edwards.

© VC Edwards 2009

Christian-secrets.com

Related Posts:

- Prayer

- How to Hear God to Prosper