Daily Stop & Thinks

If everybody agreed with ME, they’d be all right. (Lucy in the “Peanuts” cartoon strip)

It’s not just children, like Lucy, who think “me-first.” Have you noticed that many people in a crowded place are almost completely unaware of those around them? Or have you tried to carry on a conversation with someone who disregards your ideas and continually interrupts you? Listening to others carefully and putting them first will make life much more pleasant.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Respecting another person is much more about who we are than about who the other person is. (Albert Lee, educator)

Lee, also, expressed a common sentiment today when he noted that “[Some] may say that people need to show themselves worthy of respect before we can respect them.” That attitude may limit the opportunity to establish healthy relationships with other people. Keep in mind that all of us were created in the image of God. Therefore everyone has value and should be respected.

Then God said, “Let us make human beings . . .”  So God created human beings in his own image. (Genesis 1:26-27)

The only way of catching a train I have discovered is to miss the train before. (G. K. Chesterton, 20^th century English writer and philosopher)

Perhaps Chesterton missed a lot of trains, and if so, he apparently took a very positive view of his penchant. We complain and grumble when we are late for a meeting or miss the bus or plane because of some circumstance beyond our control. How helpful it would be for our mental health if we would just realize that there’s another “train” coming.

Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3)

Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger. (Franklin P. Jones, author)

Probably no one really likes to be criticized. We might say we need constructive criticism to help us improve the way we live or act. But, even then, it often hurts, at least a little. The person who wants to grow in his or her relationships and pursuits must learn to accept helpful advice without shame or anger. Learn from the counsel and respond with gratitude.

The godly give good advice to their friends. . . . The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. (Proverbs 12:26; 27:9)

Your choices create your reality. (Jason Harvey, author)

Harvey continues, “You shape your future every day through the choices you make.” Much in life we can’t control—the weather or the pace of time, for example; but we are in charge of our choices. Every day provides multiple opportunities to make decisions that are either good or bad, even better or best. Today’s choices may affect your life today as well as your future.

Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. (Romans 6:16)

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart. (John Bunyan)

Prayer is a common worldwide practice, whether as a religious rite in a public gathering or in one’s private meditation. For some, their habit is to recite prayers learned as a child or in religious training. Others pray extemporaneously, expressing concerns and desires in everyday language. As Bunyan points out, it’s the heart condition that is most important in prayer.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. (Philippians 4:6)

Don’t be afraid of death so much as an inadequate life. (Bertolt Brecht, 20^th century German dramatist and poet)

Death is fearful to many people who have no hope for a future life. It’s the unknown that so often distresses us, but Brecht helps us consider where our priorities should be focused. Pursuing lives of integrity that honor God and serve our fellowmen gives us purpose and value in living. Live honorably in the present and put your faith in God for the future.

Perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced [God’s] perfect love. (1 John 4:18)

Ideas have consequences and bad ideas have victims. (John Stonestreet, worldview writer)

Have you seen those light bulbs above the cartoon characters’ heads when they get a new idea? It’s kinda like that when a new thought occurs to us, isn’t it. No doubt, most inventions began as mere ideas in someone’s mind. But, not all ideas are good ones. So, when you have a new thought, be sure to think it through and consider its consequences.

I will reject perverse ideas and stay away from every evil. (Psalm 101:4)

Hope, it seems, is not related to our circumstances but rather to our relationships. (Kip Cone, pastor)

The Bible often speaks about hope and faith together. “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is only as good as its object. (Don’t put your faith, for example, in a broken chair.) Hope, on the other hand, is the expectation of something promised by someone with whom you have a trusting relationship.

 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope. (Romans 15:13)

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day. (Edith Lovejoy Pierce, poet)

Well, here we are! A new year—a new month—a new day. We can’t write the 2018 book in advance; we have to do it one day at a time. As eager as we might be for this New Year to unfold, today is the only page we can write on immediately. So, plan, pray, and practice all the good intentions you have for this year—and start today!

Lord, remind me . . . that my days are numbered— how fleeting my life is. (Psalm 39:4) This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

A New Year is on the way and the possibilities are endless. (Source unknown)

We wrap up 2017 tonight, and many people will celebrate the coming of the New Year with raucous entertainment and thoughtless behavior. But, tomorrow we will all begin a new calendar with lots of hopes and dreams along with many uncertainties. It’s a good time to open our hearts to the One who knows the future and wants to guide us in it.

Let [God’s] Holy Spirit guide your lives. (Galatians 5:16)

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. (Hal Borland, late author and naturalist)

This is the time to review the events and activities of 2017. There were highlights and disappointments—things we want to remember and others we wish we could forget. As we reflect on them, we should be grateful for the accomplishments and evaluate all that wasn’t so successful. The question to consider now is “How does this influence our plans for next year?”

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity. (Proverbs 21:5)