The Power of Questions: 20 Questions To Ask Yourself As You Begin the New Year

Questions are powerful tools for finding the answers, solutions, and information you need to live the life God created you to live.  The quality of your questions determines the quality of your answers. To not ask questions means to live without the answers you need to live a life or purpose.

Scripture teaches us "The purposes of a mans heart are as a deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out"  (Proverbs 20:5)

I remember as a young man a family in my dad's church that lived in the country and didn't have running water.  Their only source of water was a well behind their home.  It was so deep you couldn't see the bottom of it when you looked down.  The only way to get the water out was to lower a bucket by rope to the bottom and to draw the water out.

This is the picture we see in the above verse.  The purpose for your life is as a deep well, and it has to be drawn out through understanding.  By asking the right questions of yourself you gain understanding of what God has deposited in you for being the best you can be; your personality, your talents, your strengths, your desires and dreams, and your leadership quotient.  Understanding these things leads to you discovering the purpose God has created you to fulfill.

The following video, I found on YouTube, is a great starting point as you begin a new year.  Take out a piece of paper and write out the questions and your answers to them. 

Let It Go - 13 Things to Let Go of Going Into 2014

Life isn't always fair nor is it always easy. Many times in life we encounter situations that are not of our choosing. From the hurtful words of a hater, the loss of a job, a sickness in your body, a divorce you didn’t expect, to unfulfilled promises, and a litany of other experiences, life can be tough.

The key is to not allow the negative experiences you have encountered to make you bitter, but rather, motivate you to become better. The tendency of most people is to allow the circumstances of their lives dictate their feelings, thoughts, words, and actions. It is easy to have a pity party when things fall apart in your life. However, as I heard Joyce Meyer say, “You can’t be pitiful and powerful at the same time.”
When life deals you a bad hand you must determine to not let it get the best of you, steal your dreams, or break your focus.

Scripture teaches us that God is able to take what is meant for your harm and turn it into your advantage. What you view as a disadvantage in your life, God can turn into an asset. He can take what the enemy means to destroy you and turn it into what promotes you. As so many others have said, “God will turn your test into a testimony and your messes into a message, and your setbacks into a comeback,” if you refuse to quit!

As Dr Dave Martin so aptly says, God wants “The rest of your life to be the best of your life!” He desires for you to overcome the obstacles in your path, to accomplish what you have been created to accomplish, to be healed and healthy in your body, to have all your needs supplied and have an abundance so you can be a blessing to others, for your relationships to be strong, and for you to fulfill your purpose in life. In other words, God wants you to win in all areas of your life.

In order to walk in the best God has for you in 2014 you must let go of all the things that make you stop. You must let go of the baggage from your past that is weighing you down and keeping you from the best life God has for you. No wonder the writer of Hebrews penned these words, “Seeing we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” There are some things you don’t overcome; you simply have to let them go!

For 2014 to be the best year we have ever had, we must:

1. Let go of the need to always be right, because it is impossible to always be right!

2. Let go of your need to be in total control of everything and everyone around you.

3. Let go of playing the blame game, take responsibility for your actions.

4. Let go of negative self-talk, quit beating yourself up mentally.

5. Let go of up your limiting beliefs; the beliefs that are holding you back.

6. Let go of complaining, it doesn't change anything, and no one wants to hear it!

7. Let go of trying to impress everyone around you.

8. Let go of trying to live up to the expectations of others in order to feel acceptance.

9. Let go of your fear of and resistance of change; change is inevitable.

10. Let go of your fears: fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of success, fear of what others think about you, etc...

11. Let go of your past mistakes and failures, learn from them, don't repeat them, move on.

12. Let go of past hurts, what others have said or done to you that offended you.

13 Let go of your excuses, nobody believes them, not even you!

Happy New Year!

Love Is An Act

God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

(Romans 5:8)

Everywhere you go you hear people talking about love.  You hear about it in songs, see it on greeting cards, and from people you encounter.  Unfortunately, most people have the idea that love is a feeling or a sentiment.  Certainly, you've heard people use such terms as "falling in love, or falling out of love,” which gives an indication of their feelings.

While love may involve feelings or sentiments, in reality love is neither of these; love is an "act."  It's easy to say "I love you" but it's much harder to demonstrate it through our actions.  As the old adage goes, "Actions speak louder than words."  I like it when someone tells me they love me but I am really moved when they demonstrate their love for me through their actions.

The message of Christmas is the greatest demonstration of love the world has ever known.  God didn't just say to the world, “I love you", He demonstrated it through sending Jesus to pay the price for our sins and to give us a new life.  Notice the scripture I shared at the beginning of this post, "God demonstrate His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) 

Action step:  During this Christmas season, let love be more than mere words, instead demonstrate your love through your actions.  Find a way you can demonstrate your love, as well as God's love, to others.  It might be buying presents for those less fortunate than you, buying groceries for a needy family, paying someone's utilities, or anything else. The point is, be a person that demonstrates their love through what do not just what they say!

Merry Christmas

photo credit: elod beregszaszi via photopin cc