People toss people they don’t think they need, people toss their marriage, companies toss employees, and children don’t always take care of what they’ve been given- why? Because we think these things are expendable and we can always get something or someone better.

Continuing and ending with the series, "How’s Your Soul?," I want to talk about money. The Bible mentions money over 800 times and makes over 2,000 financial references. Money is important to God and it can be a wonderful thing for those who know how to use it to glorify Him and uplift others. Because money is important to God, writers of the Scriptures wrote about the topic a lot. And Jesus, talked about money more than He did love, heaven and hell combined.

Continuing with the series, "How’s Your Soul?," I want to talk about family. While families have their problems a family is only as strong and good as the people in it. In order to be a good child, parent, cousin, nephew, grandchild, or uncle you have to get your soul right. When our souls aren’t right it can affect how we treat those in our families.

When Jesus is truly the center of a person's life then His fruits (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control- Galatians 5: 22-23) will be in their souls. What's in our souls will affect how we treat others. And, in how we treat our romantic partners.
 

Making time for God in the busyness of this 2017 plugged in, tech, selfish, gotta get it all world can be a challenge, where Jesus is left in the dust and He’s not even a priority. We often have to fight for time with God.

2016 may not have been that bad for you personally! But if you care even a little about other people, you will still want an explanation for why the world is such a mess. But more importantly, if you are honest, you will admit you are not the person you want to be. We can all put on a good face. But take off the mask and most of us are hiding character traits and behavior that we are ashamed of and can’t seem to change. So we shouldn’t just ask, “what’s gone wrong with the world? We should ask, “What’s gone wrong with me?” 

This year I’m starting Seele’s Friday post with a series on “How’s Your Soul?” It’s more personal where I will cover Ego, Brokenness, Spiritual Life, Dating & Marriage, Porn, Family, People and Money. When “I” or “self” is supreme in our lives there is no room for God. The only way we can TRULY know God is with humility, and it’s through Him that we will begin to love others as we love ourselves.

Everyone has a role to build up the body of Christ, and we’ve all been called to ministry work, to be equipped by Scripture and our spiritual leaders. No one is gift-less, potential-less, or purposeless. We all have a ministry. 

Isn’t it interesting how one part of your life can be going so well- i.e. jobs, success, health, finances, free time BUT another part can be struggling or almost nonexistent- i.e. your relationships, your marriage, or your relationship with your kids? We certainly weren’t meant to always stay on the mountain. With Nehemiah as our model, we'll see one practical life application from Scripture that we can use so that we don’t lose our joy, faith and hope in the midst of having one part of your life going well and another part that may not be going so well.

I’ve got one and you’ve got one- a conscience. That thing that jerks us back when we do wrong, and that that gives our hearts peace when we’ve made the right decision...

There are seasons in life when we’re in the unexplainable, where we’re being pressed, where situation after situation that comes makes us exhausted, and where we can’t understand why we’re being pressed on every side.

It’s exhausting to try and please other people and what they think we should do or not do. And even though their advice may come from a good place, we will only find freedom through seeking to please God above all else.

It can be so easy to compare ourselves to others, to be envious of another, and to try and emulate what someone else is doing. If we resolve to look at our own papers, to look at our own lives and not compare ourselves to others, then we won’t have any reason to look at someone else’s paper. 

It can be hard to sit under someone’s authority, especially when we don’t agree with them, but Scripture is clear that authority must be honored and that we must submit it. 

When it’s time to move on from a thing God will let you know and confirm it. And sure, God understands your attachment to the old thing. And sure, there might need to be a period of mourning and sulking. But after time has passed, you’ll sense God saying “You have mourned long enough for this thing, and it's time to let it go.”

We can’t always control what actions we are faced with and that includes success, but we can control our reaction to actions. God is far more interested in our reaction to a situation than we think. Tony Alany, the Pastor of Worship at McLean Bible Church in the U.S., unpacks that in life's successes we Christ is all we need, and how humility should be our response to success. 

Now, God doesn't cause thorns. They're here because of sin and He allows them because He has a greater plan, and one day there will be no more thorns. But, they keep us humble. 

Though we have no right to judge another, when we sit back and inspect their fruit, especially bad fruit, we may not know what's going in their hearts or minds. But, we will know that something is going on in their root system.