proverbs

Spirituality: Stop Destructive Gossip and Live at a Higher Spiritual Level!

Spirituality: Stop Destructive Gossip and Live at a Higher Spiritual Level!

Use Words to Encourage and Stop the Gossip

Stop Destructive GossipGossip can zap the power out of

one’s spirit quickly.

Gossip is negative, mean spirited,

and destructive.

It is an addictive, bad habit for the gossiper.

Gossip will pull the gossiper, and those

around him or her, down to the lowest spiritual level.

If all that isn’t bad enough, God considers gossip a serious sin in the same league as murder, God hating, and other wickedness. (Romans 1:28-32) Gossipers are not in right fellowship with God.

“A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much.”
— Proverbs 20:19 NIV

Harmless Good Fun Or Destructive Gossip?

I’m sure you will agree that gossip is something we should not take lightly. What is truly unfortunate, is the fact that most Christians do not consider gossip a sin or wrong! At most, they consider it an insignificant bad habit.

Gossip is a key factor hindering growing prosperity in many people’s lives. And unfortunately, it is rarely recognized. Almost instantly, without thinking twice, gossipers will let rumors, bad-mouthing, confidential information, and idle, malicious talk fly out of their mouths.

If only they knew the damage they are causing! The Bible tells us that a Christian who’s mouth is out of control, deceives his own heart and his religion is worthless. (James 1:26)

Let’s face it: Gossip is not harmless, good fun. It carries a negative tone of abuse that is often demeaning, critical, judgmental, harmful, and hurtful. This is why God has much to say about it and warns us of it’s destructiveness.

Dealing With Gossip

Everywhere from family, work, school to church settings, gossip has become a common destructive factor. It is clearly evident that busybodies are everywhere these days. But the question to ask ourselves is: “Am I guilty of gossip?”

Gossip is often disguised as concern for others or as asking for prayer. However, whenever there is talk about others in an unfavorable way, there is gossip.

Keep in mind: Gossip is a sin that separates us from God and hinders our prosperity. God does not bless sin. Gossipers often deal with unexplainable troubles and rarely get their prayers answered. (Psalm 66:18, John 9:31)

“He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.”
— Proverbs 13:3 NIV

Tips to Deal With Gossip:

  • AWARENESS. We all have tendency to gossip from time to time. To overcome this tendency and have a more spirit-filled, gossip-free life requires awareness when it happens.
  • PRAYER. It doesn’t matter if you are struggling with a gossip addiction or if you are a victim of gossip, turning to God in prayer is a must. As a gossiper, repent and ask for forgiveness and pray that God help you take control of your words and make them words of encouragement. As a victim, pray that God bless the other person and help them become free as He helps you maintain a forgiving, loving heart.
  • AVOID. Stay out of other people’s business and avoid association with those who gossip. Refuse to engage in gossip.
  • CHOOSE. Decide to speak words of encouragement, hope, and love. Steer conversations in a positive direction. Choose to be silent if only destructive words of gossip are on your lips.
  • LOVE. Walk in love and address gossipers directly and privately in attempting to resolve your issues with them. If confronted for gossiping, be humble and in love be willing to work out your issues.

Believe me: Gossip can spread quickly like a deadly infection. Do not be ignorant of the destruction it carries. You can put a stop to the negative spirit of gossip and choose to walk in love and a higher spiritual level in life.

May your mouth always speak words of encouragement and may your life be full of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing!

Soar higher in Him,
Brenda

 

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Growing Prosperity – 5 Keys to Stay Positive and Hopeful in the Midst of Financial Problems!

Growing Prosperity – 5 Keys to Stay Positive and Hopeful in the Midst of Financial Problems!

Help When Discouraged by Financial Problems

Growing Prosperity Help in the Midst of Financial ProblemsGrowing prosperity is still possible even

in the midst of financial problems and setbacks.

Are you discouraged by financial troubles?

Well an important part of turning things

back around is learning to stay positive

and hopeful.

5 Keys to Help You Stay Positive and Hopeful in the Midst of Financial Problems:

1. TRUST GOD

Stay positive and hopeful, knowing blessings follow those who trust in the Lord.

Many people, myself included, have discovered this “secret” during months of unemployment or other hardships. Our burdens must be put on the Lord. He is able when we are not.

“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.” 
— Proverbs 16:20 NIV

When we learn to trust God, we discover how few things we really need, such as new clothes, restaurant dinners, vacations and new cars. We also quickly learn to recycle and reuse, not to mention many different ways to cook rice and beans.

2. KEEP GOD AS YOUR FINANCIAL PARTNER

Stay positive and hopeful knowing blessings are promised to those who partner with God through tithing.

If we trust God, we will continue to partner with Him and tithe 10% of our income, even during the difficult times. In order to get, we must give. And we cannot out give God.

“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse…and prove me now, saith the Lord, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
— Malachi 3:10

Cultivate a giving, loving, prosperous attitude and you’ll notice your circumstances begin to change for the better. If you don’t have extra money for offerings, then give of your time, your love, and the things you don’t need.

3. SAVE – Pay Yourself Second

It is definitely much easier to stay positive and hopeful knowing you have emergency savings because you’ve learned to pay yourself second. (God of course gets His tithe first.)

Successful people have learned, when managing their finances, to pay themselves second. God is first, savings second, then living on the balance. By learning to save consistently, regardless the amount, the discipline helps develop encouragement and goal setting.

Trusting God, keeping Him first, and paying yourself second will help you move to a place where your relationship with the Lord grows and your financial struggles lessen.

4. SEEK OUT POSITIVE PEOPLE

Stay positive and hopeful by surrounding yourself with positive people.

“As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” 
— Proverbs 27:17

Associate with positive people and read motivational and inspirational books. We’ve heard it said, “If you hang around broke people, you become broke; if you hang around successful people, you become successful.” How right that is!

5. NEVER GIVE UP

Stay positive and hopeful knowing help is available to those who choose not to quit.

“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” 
— Psalm 31:24

When things get tough, keep yourself going by committing to do the best you can, expect God to do the best He can, and never give up!

Conclusion: Don’t lose hope. Financial problems can be overcome. Stay positive and be encouraged by others who have pulled themselves out of financial slumps. Turn to God as a partner and put His financial principles to work in your life.

May you stay positive and hopeful and enjoy a life of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

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Prosper and Experience the Good Life – 2 Keys to Discovering God’s Best!

Prosper and Experience the Good Life – 2 Keys to Discovering God’s Best!

2 Keys to Discovering GOD’s Best!

Live the Good Life of God's Best!Prosper and live the good life.

Are you one of the many seeking

to experience the good life?

Have you been searching for a

secret formula to have God’s best

poured out on your life?

The thing is, as we make decisions every day, our choices determine the quality of our lives. This is why it is very important to seek God’s guidance in order to experience His best.

How do we discover God’s best? The answer is two-fold.

2 KEYS TO DISCOVERING GOD’S BEST:

1. Realize that God’s Way is the Best Way

We must first realize that God’s way is the best way.

“My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” 
— Isaiah 55:9

Realizing that God’s way is better than our way is a difficult process for many of us. We like to think that we can figure things out on our own. We pride ourselves that we don’t need help from anyone else as we wrestle with our troubles and decisions.

However, our pride only keeps us from enjoying God’s best. And as many of us have already discovered, pride comes before the fall. (Proverbs 16:18)

We must understand that God longs to help us and bless us. There is truly no one who knows our needs better than He does.

“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” 
— Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Acknowledging this opens our hearts to the second key that will help us discover God’s best.

2. Learn to Listen to God’s Voice

When we understand the first key, and that God not only knows our needs better than anyone else, but that He also longs to bless us, our hearts will be fertile ground to receive His guidance and instruction.

We can then begin to welcome the promptings of the Holy Spirit and to find practical insight for our daily lives as we read God’s Word.

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it, when you turn to the right hand, and when you turn to the left.” 
— Isaiah 30:21

A true indicator of hearing God’s voice will be a new and complete sense of peace. Jesus said that He gives peace “not as the world gives” (John 14:27), but “a peace that passes understanding.” (Phil. 4:7) His peace, then, must be the guiding force of each decision we make.

Get started today: Choose to let the peace of God guide you in your next important decision, while keeping in mind that God’s best will far exceed any good thing you could create on your own. Put these two keys to work in your daily life choices and get on track to discovering God’s best.

May you allow God’s voice to guide you into His best and a life of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

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Abundant Living – Prosperity Destroys Fools! So Why Don’t You Wise Up and Prosper?

Abundant Living – Prosperity Destroys Fools! So Why Don’t You Wise Up and Prosper?

How to Use Your Confession to Prosper and Manifest the Abundance of God

Wise Abundant LivingAbundant living requires handling the affairs of life wisely.

Yes, I know, prosperity occasionally falls in the laps of

some individuals; for example, they may get an unexpected

inheritance or win the lottery.

However, we all know that IF these individuals are fools,

the prosperity will destroy them.

Prosperity Destroys Fools

“The prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoever hearkens unto Me shall dwell safely.” 
— Proverbs 1:32-33

Some argue against being prosperous, and their reason is that ‘prosperity will destroy you.’ But the Bible says it will destroy a fool. So don’t be a fool.

How do we keep from being fools? Joshua 1:8 tells us that if we follow God’s method and confess the Word of God, then we will make our way prosperous, and deal wisely in all the affairs of life and have good success.

Wise Up and Prosper

Prosperity is a blessing, if it is acquired God’s way. A powerful way of keeping in line with God’s methods and activating His Word is through confessing it.

Now, sometimes people hear this and get crazy ideas about what this means. But all confessing really means is, speaking the Word of God out loud so you can hear yourself saying it. In order for us to succeed we must confess it out loud. This allows us to hear our own voices and that brings faith, because faith comes by hearing.

As we confess and affirm the Word of God, what we are doing is setting goals, and planting seeds in our heart. How can we expect to get something or somewhere if we don’t know what we want or where we are going? We establish God’s goals with His principles when we confess the Word of God. This in turn puts us on track to manifesting the abundance of God in our lives as the planted seeds soon become growing prosperity.

Positive Confessions for Abundant Living

Confessing what the Word of God says about you will change your life. Even the most negative people have gotten results after only putting this into practice for a few short months.

Keep in mind, when you first start speaking some of the things God says about you, you may feel like it’s the biggest lie that ever came out of your mouth. But the Word of God reflects the way He sees us, and confessing it helps us see and think about ourselves the same way God does.

Find a truth in God’s Word that pertains to your situation and make it into a confession. For example:

‘My God supplies all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus and whatever I do prospers, for I am like a tree planted by the rivers of living water.’
(Philippians 4:19, Isaiah 54:17, Psalm 1:3)

It’s hard to imagine the impact this has on a person until they’ve confessed it every day for at least a month. Confessing the truth of the Word is calling things that are not as though they were and calling them into manifestation. Allow the will of God concerning you to manifest in your life.

So go ahead; put this to the test right away. God’s Word is living and powerful and when confessed will change you. The wisdom of God will empower you to handle all the affairs of life wisely so you can manifest and enjoy abundant living.

May you wise up to God’s ways and live a life of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

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Expect Abundance – How to Use Expectation to Trigger the Law of Attraction!

Expect Abundance – How to Use Expectation to Trigger the Law of Attraction!

Increase the Flow of Wealth Into Your Material World

Expecting abundance is a powerful force.

What are you doing to generate increase?

Wealth will not come into your material world…

until you first expectantly visualize the wealth in your mind.

But what does that really mean?

Prospering Internally

Before we can begin to overcome the poverty surrounding us in our external world, we need to claim victory over the impoverishment buried deep within ourselves. Prosperity begins with an inward awareness that an unlimited supply abounds within the spiritual realm all around us.

“It’s almost as if there is an invisible reservoir of abundance in the universe that can be tapped if you will just obey certain spiritual laws.”
— Norman Vincent Peale

It is impossible to feel poor with an understanding and consciousness of being surrounded by the infinite God of the universe; a God that never lacks. The lack that we experience in life is simply caused from our own limited awareness.

The Light Bulb Story

There is a story told of a poor couple that moves into a small village and is astonished to discover their new home is lighted by electricity. They had no prior experience with the power and force of electricity and they never saw an electric light before.

After several months, the couple adjusts to this new found discovery when a salesman stops by and recommends they upgrade their 8 watt bulbs with 60 watt bulbs; to better meet their needs.  Once the new bulb is plugged in, the entire room is illuminated.

The couple never imagined, in their wildest dreams that the source of this new flood of magnificent light had been there all the time. They didn’t know this abundant increase of light could come from the same current that was feeding their 8 watt bulb.

Plugging Into Abundance with Expectation

The truth is; most of us are even less aware of the power available to us than this couple was of the electric power current. We never dream that the infinite, abundant, current which surrounds us could flood our lives with light more magnificent than the most powerful light bulb.

In order to experience increase we need to plug a larger, more prosperous, expectant idea into the current of the infinite abundance of God. Unfortunately though, most of us strangle our supply with negative energized thoughts of doubt, fear, and poverty; which only cutoff the inflow of prosperity.

Now is the time to change that negative, habitual, pattern of thinking. Remember, the stream of plenty flows toward the expectant mind. We must live by faith expecting to receive.

Firmly establish the desired goal in your mind and live expectant. Expect good things to happen. Expect to be blessed. Imagine already being in possession of wealth and develop the prosperity you seek in your mind first. Know where you are and where you are going; and expect to get there!

Allow your expectation to trigger the attractive force that will help move your desired goals in your direction.

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” 
— Proverbs 23:7

Let the law of attraction help manifest your prosperous thoughts.

Remember: As you think means the innermost thoughts of your heart; which you control. That is what you expect, what you attract, and what you will ultimately receive.

May you live by faith, expecting to attract a life of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

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Growing Prosperity – Generosity is Like the Secret Sauce of the Abundant Life!

Growing Prosperity – Generosity is Like the Secret Sauce of the Abundant Life!

How to Virtually Guarantee You Will Experience Growing Prosperity?

Growing prosperity will flourish when generosity is a daily part of life.

Generosity is like the secret sauce of an abundant life because it causes a person to receive more than they give…

Sound impossible?

It is said that the two greatest motivating forces in a person’s life are their desire for gain and their fear of loss. Generosity directly affects both.

Generosity Equals Growing Prosperity

If there was something you could do to virtually guarantee you would never lack for your physical needs, and that you would experience growing prosperity, would you want to know what it is? Well good news, because that something is available to you today. All you have to do is to become truly generous.

The wise Solomon tells us that if we are generous we will never lack for anything, but every true need will be provided and we will have growing prosperity. (Proverbs 11:24-25)

A generous person readily and freely gives a considerable portion of what they have to meet the needs of others and they do so without any expectation of getting something in return. And being generous isn’t just limited to financial and material generosity. It is actually about meeting the real needs of others, regardless of whether it is with your finances, actions, or emotional help.

Too many people think they have to be rich before they can be generous. But this is simply not true. We all have something to give, such as; time, kind words, thoughtfulness, and considerate acts.

Additional Benefits of Generosity

Generosity is one of the most admired characteristics anyone can express. Think about the business man who donates large amounts to charity, or the child who gives his hard-earned allowance to a disaster relief, or the elderly woman who freely gives a portion of what little food she has to a food drive. We appreciate and admire their generous giving.

However, appreciation and admiration are not the only benefits of generosity. A generous person will experience heartfelt joy when they help meet the needs of others. They will be happier and find that just as they refresh others, they too are refreshed. Their own needs will be abundantly supplied for.

“There is one who scatters, yet increases more;
And there is one who withholds more than is right,
But it leads to poverty.
The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.”
— Proverbs 11:24-25

What about those who are not generous? Well the same proverb previously mentioned says they will fall into poverty. This could be financial or material poverty, or emotional poverty. They tend to never be satisfied with what they have and continually need more.

Why not choose to develop your generous side? Generosity begins in the heart and is expressed through action. Extending generosity to others is a win-win situation. As you willingly bless others, watch as your own needs are abundantly supplied for in life.

May you be generous always and enjoy growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

Cheers,
Brenda

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Self-Esteem – 7 Ways to Live With Bold Confidence

Self-Esteem – 7 Ways to Live With Bold Confidence

Transform Yourself Into a Shining Success!

Healthy self-esteem and bold confidence,

when put to work in your life…

have transforming power to make you a shining success.

Have you been living with intimidation, self-doubt, anxiety, fear, and rejection? If so, then you know it is time to change the insecurity into security.

Do yourself a favor and take a little time to focus on some ways you can overcome those negative, unwanted traits you’ve been carrying around for way too long.

7 Ways to Help You Live With Bold Confidence:

1.) CHOOSE TO RISE ABOVE

Make a commitment to yourself today, to begin overcoming the weaknesses and inadequacies you’ve been dealing with. Even though it will take hard work and you are bound to mess up along the way, make a conscious decision to keep pressing on and rising above. You are worth it!

2.) SPEND TIME WITH ENCOURAGERS

Be cautious who you spend time with. Your relationships are a key factor in overcoming a low self-esteem.  Choose to spend time with encouragers. Regardless of your past, you can have healthy relationships.

“He that walks with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” 
— Proverbs 13:20

3.) SHIFT YOUR FOCUS ON OTHERS

There is a great empowerment that comes from shifting your focus off yourself and on to others. It is easy to keep our minds focused on our own problems, fears, and insecurities. But this only intensifies them. Look around at someone struggling and reach out to lend a hand. True peace comes from giving.

4.) MAKE YOUR POSITIVE THOUGHTS RULE

Keep your mind filled with positive, empowering, confidence building, and happy thoughts. Overcoming a negative, and weak self-image is going to require that you eliminate those self-defeating thoughts. Squeeze them out of your mind by replacing them with healthy, confident thoughts.

Remember, God is not the one who gave you a spirit of fear. He gave you a spirit of power, love, and a sound mind! (2 Timothy 1:7)

5.) LEAVE THE PAIN IN THE PAST

Do not waste any more time replaying painful, embarrassing, or intimidating experiences from your past. This keeps you stuck and prevents you from walking into the future with the bold confidence needed to succeed. You do not have to let others (or past memories) cause you to lack confidence and live with insecurity.

Forgive anyone that has hurt you, and forgive yourself while you are at it. Then put the painful past behind you and face your future with strong confidence.

6.) TRUST GOD

God has a good plan for our lives. If we spend our lives trusting in ourselves and other people, the result is disappointment after disappointment. We need to put our trust in God and let him guide us. He is the one that will give us the desires of our heart. (Psalm 37:3-6)

7.) TALK CONFIDENCE

Just like it is vital to your self-esteem to get control of your thoughts, the same is true of your words. What are you saying about yourself? Do you make self-defeating confessions such as: ‘I am so ugly,’ ‘I am such a loser,’ ‘I am worthless,’ ‘I am stupid,’ ‘I never do anything right,’ etcetera?

The words we speak have power to affect us for the good or bad. Use this knowledge to empower yourself with confidence building confessions. It does not matter if you or others have spoken negative, curses over your life; you now have the choice to speak positive, encouraging, faith-filled words.

“In all things I am more than a conqueror through Him that loved me.” 
— Romans 8:37

Your next step? Make the decision to begin applying these seven steps to help you conquer low self-esteem, intimidation, fear, and insecurity. Encourage yourself and refuse to give up. God says you are a victor and you really can be all that God has called you to be. You can live with bold confidence and transform yourself into a shining success.

May you live empowered with bold confidence and enjoy a life of growing prosperity!

Soar higher in Him –

God bless you,
Brenda

P.S. Do you have any additions for this list? Feel free to share…

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Abundant Living – Do You Want Prosperity or the Empowerment to Prosper?

Abundant Living – Do You Want Prosperity or the Empowerment to Prosper?

The Blessing of the Lord it Maketh Rich!

Abundant living is the result of choosing to become empowered to prosper.

Many people are convinced that the prosperity of God translates to money and stuff raining down out of heaven.

However that is not the prosperity of God, but actually prosperity from God.

What’s the difference between prosperity and the empowerment to prosper?

Making the Choice that Results in Abundant Living!

In Proverbs 10:22, it says, “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich.” Notice it does not say the blessings make you rich; it is the blessing of God that is the key here.

What this means is that you want the empowerment to prosper and not just the prosperity itself. You don’t just want the fish; you want to learn how to fish.

When Abraham prospered, it wasn’t because God dropped down a camel or a son out of the sky. No, he was blessed because God empowered him to prosper. For example, he and his wife were given the ability to parent a child at an old age.

And the good news is that God has given you the ability to gain wealth and prosper.

Getting Empowered to Prosper

Power comes when believers put the principles of God’s Word to work in their life. It is your faith that will manifest results. Wisdom is also needed for you to understand and apply the Word of God in order to receive prosperity. Wisdom will help you realize the power available to you through your faith.

In order to experience prosperity, we must apply God’s principles by faith.

God is the one that does the multiplying and gives us the desires and ideas. He is the divine instructor that tells us what to do. And when we over, and over, apply the principles of the Word concerning prosperity, and make them part of our daily life, that’s when we start getting results.

Remember, prosperity doesn’t just drop in our lap. Re-enforcing the Word through daily meditation on prosperity principles should become a lifestyle. If we want to be a prosperous person tomorrow, we have to apply God’s principles of sowing and reaping in the difficult times of lack today.

Start with the faith you now have and then gain knowledge and wisdom concerning what the Word really says about finances. Act on that knowledge and mix your faith with it and you’ll soon start getting desirable results.

Make the following your regular confession:

“Today, I live in the blessing of God and I am empowered to prosper in every way!”

Keep in touch with God so you can be empowered to live an abundant life. Put yourself in position for God to empower you to prosper in everything you set your hands to do.

Then, when the economy takes a downturn or the storms of life blow through, you can say, “So What!” because you’ll know you are empowered to prosper.  You can know God will take care of you, and will honor His Word by prospering the work of your hands.

Believe it or not: God wants you blessed and empowered to prosper. He’s looking for ways to bless you. He wants to help you out in life and give you good success. Go ahead and believe it, because that is a key factor in what it takes to get it.

May you live empowered to prosper and experience an abundant life of growing prosperity!

Be blessed to be a blessing –

God bless you,
Brenda

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