Most Understanding Lord, I should never think that I am independent because I am a servant to something or someone. Your church can only function properly because its members work together for the common good. When I do my best to fulfill Your will, I can feel good about myself and not start comparing myself to others. I should look to You for my assurance that I am doing well … not the praise of others. It is Your example that inspires me to do my very best and calls me to a new way of thinking. If I come up short, I must seek You for the encouragement that I need. There is a “natural” law that says I reap what I sow. Every action has results … good or bad. If I plant to please myself, I’ll reap disappointment and failure. If I plant to please You, I’ll reap joy and success. My focus must become doing good and trusting that You will show me the better way to live.
You advise me to be watchful so that I am not tempted and drawn away. My clearest path to accomplishing such a request is to fill my mind with Godly things. If I become prideful and begin to think I’m somebody, I only deceive myself. What I need to do is examine myself with the help of the Holy Spirit … identifying weaknesses and seeking Your guidance on how to overcome them. I must keep in mind that You cannot be deceived and my sins cannot be hidden from You. It is with pure motives and a clear mind that I serve You best. Even when the going gets tough, You encourage me to not weary from doing the right things. Change is hard and getting away from my “natural” tendencies to follow You is a struggle of faith and a test of my ability. Faith is the bridge to get me from where I am to where I want to go.
Whenever You present me with an opportunity to uplift another, I should take it. My judgements of what to do should conform to the ways outlined in Your Word. My actions should be focused on what and not who. Your Word must become my measuring stick for everything in life that I do. I cannot pick and choose what I believe … I must accept it all. When I am confused or unsure, I must seek clarity from the Holy Spirit or those experienced in the use of Your Word. I must remain vigilant at all time for the enticements of the world or my enemy. Daily I am confronted with pressures from my peers and deceitful messages from those who lust after power. My only way to escape these destructive influences is to seek the safety of Your presence. As long as I avoid worldly thinking and the leading of the un-Godly, I know I will be transformed into Your image. And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Romans 12:2 Be not conformed any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of Your mind.