If you want results that are excellent, diligence is required.

The coach of any athletic team will tell you that you’ve got to practice if you want to win. In the spiritual realm, “winning” is getting to know God and having our lives transformed in the process. But just as in sports, “winning” with God requires the discipline of repeated practice.

As you are diligent in pursuing God, you will notice gradual changes in your life. Everything won’t change all at once. But don’t let that discourage you. (God isn’t discouraged by it. He won’t cut you from the team.) Keep at it. You are working for a goal that is worthy of your best efforts.

I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.

Philippians 3:12

Don’t worry about proving God’s existence, because no one can disprove it.

Sometimes we think we can prove God exists, but it just can’t be done, at least not in the scientific sense. You can’t stick God under a microscope or view Him through a telescope, because God is Spirit. No one has actually seen God (John 1:18).

On the other hand, no one can disprove God’s existence. If someone says that God doesn’t exist because you can’t prove it in a scientific experiment, then you must also conclude that love doesn’t exist, because you can’t scientifically prove that, either.

But love does exist, because there’s evidence. We see the effect of love on the world and in our lives. The same goes for God. We know He exists because we can see the perfect order of the universe. We can feel His presence in our hearts. We can see the evidence of God’s involvement in the world and in every detail of our lives.

They can clearly see his invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature.

Romans 1:20

Sometimes you have to choose between following God and impressing your friends.

Living a godly life may make you different. You may end up doing just the opposite of everyone else. Sometimes you may find that your conduct pleases God but offends your friends, or vice versa. Should you compromise and try to find an acceptable middle ground?

Jesus gave the two analogies of “salt” and “light” to show the importance of conduct. Salt is a seasoning, but it’s also used as a preservative. God wants you to be like a moral preservative, bringing a virtuous and ethical flavor to your culture. God also wants you to shine into the darkness, not for your own publicity, but to bring credit to God.

Salt doesn’t do any good if it stays in the shaker. A candle doesn’t do any good under a bowl. So go forward today being salt and light in your world.

“You are the light of the world…Don’t hide your light under a basket!…let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”

Matthew 5:14-16

Either God created the heavens and the earth or He didn’t.

Unless we know where our world came from, we don’t really know where it’s going. And we don’t know where we’re going, either. That’s why there’s such a huge debate about how the universe began. The answer goes to the heart of our very existence.

There are only two options when it comes to the beginning of the universe. The first option is that a personal, intelligent, all-powerful, all-knowing, self-existent Creator made the heavens and the earth in perfect balance and harmony. The second option is that everything in the universe came from nothing. It “made” itself. (To get a sense of this, next time you get into your car, imagine that it came into existence on its own without the help of a designer and manufacturer.)

There are no third or fourth options that some impersonal “force” brought the universe into existence, or that a speck of energy exploded into stars and planets and life. Either God made everything or He didn’t.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

The person with an unread Bible has no advantage over the person who doesn’t own one.

You would laugh if someone expressed belief in a “lucky” rabbit’s foot dangling from their key chain. (Okay, maybe you wouldn’t laugh, but we are pretty sure you would snicker.) Why? Because “good luck charms” are foolishness and offer nothing but a false sense of security.

Sadly, some of us relegate our Bible to the status of “good luck charm.” Somehow we get a warm, fuzzy feeling just knowing that it is propped up in the bookshelf or lying on the nightstand. But we never read it. It is just there for looks (and for luck).

The Bible will do you absolutely no good sitting unread. Only if it is opened, read, and studied can you access all of God’s wisdom and direction that the Bible contains. You need to know all that God has written for you to learn about Him (and yourself). You need to read the Bible. Move it off shelf and into your heart.

For these commands and this teaching are a lamp to light the way ahead of you.

Proverbs 6:23

Little is much if God is in it.

A national best selling book suggests that you shouldn’t sweat the small stuff. Many people treat the small stuff in life as if no one–not even God–has any control over what happens. They call it “fate” or talk about how they are “lucky” or “fortunate” when certain things happen or don’t happen.

We’re not suggesting that you should involve God in every decision you make no matter how small (for example, you don’t have to ask God what color socks you should wear each day). But if you’re like most people, you tend to ask for God’s involvement only in times of major need or crisis, and consequently you miss out on the joy and wonder of watching God work in the small stuff of your life. There’s no question that God is in the big events, but He delights in working in the details.

The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Psalm 37:23

When you see God in the small stuff, your life becomes more meaningful.

We like to compare seeing God in the small stuff to looking at the stars. If you’ve never studied astronomy, you could look at the stars all night long and never know anything about them. The sight would be beautiful, but your appreciation would be limited. However, if you were to do a little study, get a star chart, and plunk yourself down with a telescope, those little points of light would take on a much more meaning and significance.

It’s the same thing with the small points of light in your life–the places where God is working. If you don’t make an effort to know God, if you don’t read the Bible regularly, if you don’t try to look at your circumstances more closely, you will miss out on the amazing things God is doing now and wants to do in the future.

May grace and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:3

Jesus came to Earth in the past, and He is coming again in the future. Thank God for the first coming and get ready for the second.

The New Testament begins with the historical record of the first coming of Jesus to Earth, when God became a human and lived on Earth for a while. (One of the names of Jesus, Immanuel, means “God with us.”) The Bible ends with the fact that Jesus, God in the flesh, will return someday. Jesus came as a Savior the first time (the name Jesus means “Savior). When He comes again, he will be coming to reward and repay according to what people have done. And He will come unexpectedly.

All those who have accepted God’s plan of salvation through Jesus will receive the wonderful reward of eternal life in heaven. Those who have refused will receive the judgment they deserve. Are you ready for the “soon” return of Jesus?

“Yes, I am coming soon!”

Revelation 22:20

It’s never a good idea to play the percentages with God, because God is right 100 percent of the time.

We think we know why God is the only One who knows when the world is going to end. He hasn’t set the date yet. The Bible says, “The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake” (2 Peter 3:9).

When you have patience, you wait for the right moment. We believe that God is waiting for the right moment to send Jesus back to Earth (ending the world as we know it). And that moment has a lot to do with people giving God their hearts. Of course, even God’s patience is going to run out at some point, which begs the question, “Why would anyone want to take a chance of being on the wrong side of God’s patience?”

That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time! Give me your hearts.”

Joel 2:12

Living a life that pleases God doesn’t come automatically.

Living life so God sees Jesus in us requires something of us: obedience. Accepting Jesus and what he did for us on the cross puts us in God’s good graces (after all, we are saved by His grace), but it doesn’t automatically mean we’re going to live our lives the way God wants us to. God didn’t force you to accept Jesus, and He’s not going to force you to live like Jesus. But He is asking.

More than anything else, God wants us to imitate Jesus in our lives. he wants us to look at each situation we encounter and ask the question, “What would Jesus do? Professor Dallas Willard put it this way: “Live your life the way Jesus would live your life is He had your life to live.” The best way we know to do that is to know what Jesus said and did, and then go out and do it.

Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins.

Ephesians 5:1-2