Spiritual Christian Living

   I hope you had a great Thanksgiving with your family, friends, neighbors, or whoever you met with.  We had a good time with our family, and we had more than enough to eat.  It was very easy to be thankful during times like that.  I think it can be more of a challenge to be thankful during times of  adversity .  The Apostle Paul admonishes us to continue to be thankful in whatever situation we find ourselves in. B e thankful in all circumstances . This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus. (1 Th. 5:18 GNB)    I think a key to this verse is to not allow what is happening around us to influence what is going on within us, but the other way around!  I think it is a sign of maturity when your attitude and disposition are not as dependent on the external circumstances around you but is more driven by the Spirit of God who is living inside you.  When difficult challenges come our way – instead of being shaken by them, we can use them as a motivation

   Since I became a Christian and have been trying to live more like Christ – I have noticed that I like less and less about the world and how people act sometimes, and sometimes, I don’t even like some things about the way that I act.  There are things though, that I do like.  I like the acts of kindness and unselfishness, I like the ways that people try and love each other and the way that a lot of people want to try and please God, even though they may not know how.  I like it when people that may not know God personally yet, will participate in the things that Christians like to do.  It is great when we publicly celebrate our faith during certain times of the year like when we try to do during holidays.  There are some holidays that I like and some that I do not necessarily like.  I do not enjoy the way that some holidays seem like a big distraction from the truth and feel a little worldly instead. Sorry, but that is how I feel.    However, Thanksgiving is definitely one of

  “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:40 KJV)      Someone once told me about a dating technique.  They said that if you want to see how a person really is – don’t just see how they are around you and your friends, but also notice how they treat the waiter, the grocery clerk, or the customer service rep.  The people around you; who sometimes go unnoticed, and may not be treated as kindly as people in other positions of life.  The way that they treat them, might give you an insight into how they might eventually treat you.  I think that this is a good way to also see how we are doing in our Christian maturity.  How are we treating the people around us that are quietly doing their jobs but are often verbally mistreated by society?  That is the message of this post.  How are you treating the… least of these?      During the height of th

   I once heard a story of a very rich lady who was able to retire at a young age.  A reporter asked her how she had gotten so rich?  What was her secret?  She said that she had an investment strategy that worked well for her.  She said that when she was younger, she wanted to buy some stocks but didn’t know which ones to buy.  She decided to use the alphabet.  So, she first bought stocks that started with an “A” and bought Apple and AT&T, and Amazon, then she bought stocks that started with a “B” and bought Bank of America, Best Buy, and Boeing, and then she bought stocks that started with a “C” and so on. A very simple strategy that worked very well for her.   There are a lot of “secret” investment strategies out there.  Some may work… and some may not.  Even the stocks mentioned above may not be the best investment for the future.  We just don’t know what the future may hold.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:34 “Don’t worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its ow