One Chance to Write the Story of Your Life

One Chance to Write the Story of Your Life
by Karen Kingsbury

God has given you a finite number of pages (days) to live.

1. Love well. We love because He first loved us. I John 4:19. A. Build up those who are difficult. B. A lifetime of kindling can set a spark. C. Thank you for never giving up on _____.
2. Laugh often. Proverbs 17:22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine. Slow down and laugh at yourself. Sea World story shared about falling down the sea otter stadium. Remember that laughter builds a bridge in our story with loved ones, moments of shared laughter.
3. Look for miracles. The angel who was the police officer who prayed for Karen's father--no such person on the police force. Rod Steward walked up to her randomly and offered to take her picture with a family member. The family member realized who he was, and they caught up to Rod. He is the singer of the famous song, "Have I Told You Lately that I Love You" that Karen's dad had sung to her often as a child. It meant so much and was such a miracle gift from God.
4. Live for Jesus Christ. Karen's brother passed away three days after accepting Christ. Sun breaks through even in Washington. Life is brighter even on the darkest pages of our lives because we have a hero in Jesus Christ and a happy ending.

Our Enemy the Devil Saturday afternoon with Joyce

Stop saying the wrong things. Start saying the right things. Get your mouth in agreement with God’s word.

Matthew 28:18-20New King James Version (NKJV)

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.[b]

When we use the name of Jesus, there is power. Every knee must bow. Power is released when using the name of Jesus. Praise and worship, prayer, these are weapons. Thoughts are only ours when we choose to dwell on them. Be careful what you think about early in the morning. Happy thoughts make a happy life.

We can talk ourselves into and out of a lot of moods both good and bad. If God isn't doing anything about our problems, it is easy but wrong to do something without depending upon Him. God says, "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." You cannot change yourself. We must ask God to change us little by little. The more we study the Word, the more we see what’s wrong with us and learn to appreciate God’s chastisement. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. He takes His time because He has eternity to work it all out. We need to go to Him first and believe in Him to give us the grace to change. Grace yields the power of holy aspirin to do whatever we need to change with ease. Trust Him with timing and process.

Galatians 3:1-3New King James Version (NKJV

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth,[a] before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you[b] as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

The devil will never wake you up to tell you how far you have come., only how far you have to go.

Ephesians 2:8-9New King James Version (NKJV)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Faith believes what it cannot see yet.God loves us and loves us perfectly right now. We might as well be ourself. Everybody else is already taken.

Colossians 2:6New King James Version (NKJV)

6 As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

We can take a lot of pressure of when we learn to trust God. Works of the flesh don’t work. Prayer works. If He doesn’t make it happen, it isn't going to happen. Be content anyway. Look at what bad thing happened to Abram and Sarai's family because of their own works without God.

Genesis 16:3New King James Version (NKJV)

3 Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.

Be confident in Him. Do what He specifically shows us to do. Pray about it and go speak with the right attitude. One minute of sincere prayer can accomplish more than a lifetime of effort and works without Him. How can the world spend all their time trying to get rid of God. Pray that God will open eyes and ears to Him. When in the presence of trials, sing, people. Satan wants us to be silent. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." Talk about God like you know Him. I can pray for you. Get involved in personal evangelism. A lot of Christians don’t want to go fishing, just catching. Don’t compromise your faith. Be a faithful witness to the world.

Watch your heart’s attitude toward God. That is the most important part.

Matthew 15:8New King James Version (NKJV)

8 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And[a] honor Me with their lips,But their heart is far from Me.

. Be real. Go to God to get right first; get the fruit.

Matthew 21:18-22New King James Version (NKJV)

18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again.” Immediately the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?”

21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

A lot of times believers have leaves but no fruit. . . Like Adam and Eve.

Satan also tempts us to waste time doing things that don’t matter like watching TV, staying up late, etc.

Get down to the bottom of the stink in our lives. Take care of our health and do not contribute to our own illness. If we don’t keep taking care of ourselves, God won’t likely rescue us. You can talk back to the flesh.

Proverbs 18:9New King James Version (NKJV)

9 He who is slothful in his work
Is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.

God wants us to be well to do His work and so we can enjoy our lives. C. S. Lewis said that the more a Christian feels without doing it, the less he will feel like doing it. Passivity is one of the most dangerous tools of the enemy. God, I believe I can do whatever You want from me.

Humility is misunderstood.Think thoughts like these: I love myself, God loves me, I have the mind of Christ, I have gifts and abilities and am going to get busy doing them. Instead of dwelling on what we can’t do, focus on what we can. Don’t fall into the enemy’s trap. Do not let others be a threat but an encouragement. True humility is knowing you are nothing without God, but everything with Him. The only thing holding us back is not believing it and acting upon it. Remember that if I don’t love myself, I can't love others.

The devil wants us to focus on tomorrow rather than today or the past where we can give God praise. Thinking about the future can lead to worry. Plus he doesn't want us to focus on the here and now, God is in the present. I want to learn how to always be where I am at. My power will double and triple. Faith is the substance of things hoped for.

I AM who I AM. If he is here, everything is cool. Jesus didn't call Himself the great I will be or I was. Eat slowly and enjoy it.

The devil wants to keep the Christian church hopping and critical and judging. Be grateful for your church and pastor.

The devil likes to confuse us about what love is. Love is not just a feeling. Love is much more than feelings. Love is action, serving, sacrificing one for another. Commitment.