Why it’s so easy to be jealous, but also so wrong

When we use the word “jealous,” we use it in a sense of being envious of someone who has something we do not have. This kind of jealousy is a sin and is not characteristic of a Christian; rather, it shows that we are still being controlled by our own desires (1 Corinthians 3:3). Galatians 5:26 says, “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

The Bible tells us that we are to have the perfect kind of love that God has for us. “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). The more we focus on ourselves and our own desires, the less we are able to focus on God. When we harden our hearts to the truth, we cannot turn to Jesus and allow Him to heal us (Matthew 13:15). But when we allow the Holy Spirit to control us, He will produce in us the fruit of our salvation, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Being jealous indicates that we are not satisfied with what God has given us. The Bible tells us to be content with what we have, for God will never fail or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). In order to combat jealousy, we need to become more like Jesus and less like ourselves. We can get to know Him through Bible study, prayer, and fellowship with mature believers. As we learn how to serve others instead of ourselves, our hearts will begin to change. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).

Shoveling your way out of a negative attitude.

In order to better understand people’s views of the world, a researcher once placed two children, one a pessimist and the other an optimist, alone in separate rooms.

The pessimist was placed in a colorful room full of all kinds of imaginative toys…the optimist was put in a room filled with horse manure.

The first child played in the room for a little while, but soon came to the door asking to leave because the toys were boring and because they broke too easily.

Likewise, the young optimist soon came to the door…but rather than asking to leave, she asked for a shovel.

Of course, the researcher asked the child why she wanted a shovel.

She replied, “With all this manure around, I know that there must be a pony in here somewhere.”

So which are you? Have you been smacked around by life so many times that it’s hard to find anything positive? Is it just against your nature to see the good through the bad? Most people are, but just don’t like to admit it. But the Word gives us hope that no matter what the circumstances are, we can find that “Shovel” through prayer and daily Bible Study. Hang in there, and know that you can always call on me to pray for you as well. I’ve posted some verses below to give you peace during your difficult times. ay the peace of the Lord be with you.

Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

 

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

 

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

 

Isaiah 40:31 But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

 

Romans 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

80% of Churchgoers Don’t Read Bible Daily, LifeWay Survey Suggests

In a fresh study of “Bible engagement” released yesterday, LifeWay Research surveyed more than 2,900 Protestant churchgoers and found that while 90 percent “desire to please and honor Jesus in all I do,” only 19 percent personally read the Bible every day.

LifeWay also found that higher levels of “Bible engagement” were related to six actions:

1. Confessing wrongdoings to God and asking forgiveness.2. Believing in Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven and the number of years one has believed this.

3. Making a decision to obey or follow God with an awareness that choosing to do so might be costly. (63% of churchgoers say they have at least once in the last six months.)

4. Praying for the spiritual status of people they know are not professing Christians.

5. Reading a book about increasing their spiritual growth. (61% of churchgoers say they have in the last year.)

6. Having been discipled or mentored one-on-one by a more spiritually mature Christian. (47% of churchgoers say they have been discipled or mentored.)

“Bible engagement points people toward maturity and maturing Christians have practices that correspond to Bible reading,” said LifeWay Research president Ed Stetzer. “Almost all churchgoers want to honor God, but more than a third indicate obedience is not something they have done when it is costly to them.”

Reading the Bible takes work and can be frustrating at times. For many Christians what is preferred is a passive approach to the faith rather than an active one. This means that many church goers lean towards having their pastors give them the answers rather than engaging in an active pursuit of knowing God through a reading of the Bible.

What doesn’t help is that many churches do not offer their members the tools to understand the Bible and read it well and make meaningful application. Often the Bible is treated as an afterthought as a verse projected up on a screen and then removed a couple of minutes later.

The bottom line is that it’s up to you to opne the Bible and to read and follow it on a daily basis. Now the question becomes, do you?

Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.