that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. – Philemon 1:6 (NKJV)

Sharing your faith can really seem overwhelming. You might question whether you really know enough to tell someone else about Jesus. And that question sometimes causes you to be quiet rather than share your faith with others.

Today’s verse helps make sharing your faith a bit easier. The end of the verse talks about the acknowledgment of every good thing that is in you. So rather than being concerned about whether you know enough to answer all of people’s questions, realize that simply sharing the good things God has done in your life is an effective way to share the gospel with others.

So what has God done for you? Has He healed you? Have you been freed from fear? What has God done in your life? Think about that and then ask God how you can let others know. God will give you creative ideas on how you can share what God is doing in your life.

Maybe He’ll lead you to post something on social media. Or perhaps He’ll show you someone you can write a card or letter to. However He leads you, don’t be afraid to step out and do it. Sharing your faith doesn’t have to be scary or hard, sometimes it’s just telling others the good things God has done for you, and then inviting them to get to know the Jesus that has set you free for themselves.

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation – Isaiah 12:2

Have you noticed how crazy your emotions are sometimes? You can be having the best day, then something bad happens and your emotions change from happy to upset almost instantly. Emotions are very unpredictable and often unstable.

The interesting thing is that your emotions follow your thoughts. If you find yourself overcome with fear, you need to stop and think about what you’ve been thinking about. Have you been focused more on the problems going on or on God?

Today’s Truth: Your Emotions Follow Your Thoughts

God wants us to trust in Him. He shares in this verse that He is your strength and song. If you think on this truth and think about the fact that He is your salvation, your emotions will eventually line up with this truth. So today, if fear has been an issue in your life, be encouraged. Focus on the goodness of God and choose to let Him be your strength. As you do this, your emotions will follow too.

A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls. – Proverbs 25:28 (NLT)

When emotions are unchecked in our lives, we’re like a city with broken-down walls. If a city didn’t have strong walls, they were able to be attacked by their enemies. The city couldn’t experience good things because it was vulnerable to attack.

In the same way, if we don’t determine to develop emotionally healthy habits, like self-control in our lives, we are not going to be as successful in life.

If we want to walk in the freedom and the good things God has prepared for us, we’ve got to choose to walk in self-control when it comes to our emotions. It’s easy to let our emotions run wild and react rather than sit back and think. However, if we just react emotionally, we might react too much or we might react too little. When we take some time to think about our response and learn more of the facts, is when we’re able to give the right response.

So today, take some time to think about how you’re responding to situations around you. Are you overreacting? Under reacting? Spend some time getting all the facts before you respond. When you do, you’ll make better decisions and be walking in more self-control.

Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper— it only leads to harm. – Psalm 37:8 (NLT)

Have you ever been around someone who was really angry? I remember a bully that rode my bus to school, and she was always picking on others and yelling at the other kids on the bus. Most of the time, if people haven’t learned to handle their emotions in healthy ways, those emotions can lead them into destructive habits.

Maybe unchecked emotions won’t lead you to bully kids on the bus, but it could affect other things in your life. It could keep you from getting a promotion at your future job. Or maybe it causes you to hurt friends and family that are close to you.

Today’s Truth: Unchecked Emotions Hurt You.

God always wants the best for you and your life. That’s why His word encourages us to stop being angry. Anger can lead you to do and say things that aren’t healthy for you or for others. God wants you to walk in the good things He’s planned for you, and anger can keep you from relationships and good things.

So today, if you’ve been guilty of letting anger boss you around, choose to do things differently. Determine that you won’t let anger be your first response. Go to God and get His creative ideas on how you can beat anger in your life.

For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. – James 3:16 (NLT)

Jealousy and comparison are such easy habits to fall into. Maybe you see someone else promoted at their job and it makes you feel unnoticed at your job. Perhaps you see everyone around you in a relationship and you feel like you’ll never meet someone special to date.

You can’t compare yourself to others and be happy at the same time. Comparision is one of the quickest ways to bring unhappiness into your life. If you spend all your time thinking of all the ways your life doesn’t measure up to the lives of others, you’ll never be truly happy.

If you want to be happier, you’ve got to determine to not allow jealousy to rule you. Instead, find ways to be happy with who you are in Christ Jesus. Ask God to show you your strengths and choose to focus on using those strengths to help others. Contentment comes from focusing on who you are in Jesus

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may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen. – Hebrews 13:21 (NLT)

It can be easy to think that what God is calling you to do is too big or overwhelming. You might think of all the reasons why you can’t do what God is telling you to do.

However, today’s verse says that God will equip you with all you need for doing His will. Isn’t that good news? God will give you everything you need to do what He is calling you to do. Even when it seems scary or even overwhelming, God will help you do what He’s called you to.

So today, don’t give up on doing what God has called you to do because you feel afraid or overwhelmed. Know that God is going to equip for what He’s called you to. Walk in faith, knowing that God will help you do what He’s called you to do!

“Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. – Acts 13:36 (NIV)

Do you ever wonder what God has called you to do? Are there times when you question what your purpose is? If so, you’re not alone. The good news to remember is that you do have a purpose. You’ve been created to do something unique. Your talents and interests are God-given. God can use those interests to help those around you.

As you begin your journey in deciding what you’re going to do in the future, know this, you like David have a purpose. God called you to something. And it’s up to you to believe that you have a purpose, and then begin asking God how you can fulfill that purpose.

Today’s Challenge: Begin asking God how you can fulfill your purpose.

God wants to show you the purpose He has for you. So determine to spend some time with Him. Ask Him to give you the next practical step you can take to walk into what He has called you to do. As you walk out those steps He shows you, you’ll realize that He’s helping you fulfill your purpose in your generation, just like David.

If you want to study purpose more, you’ll want to check out the Purpose Planner. It will help you begin to think through your giftings and find out the purpose God has for you and give you practical steps to fulfill your God-given purpose.

I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints – Ephesians 1:18 (HCSB)

Have you ever struggled with wondering what the next step was for your life? Maybe you’re finishing up the school year and you’re trying to decide what’s next. Perhaps you’re just thinking about your future and trying to decide what type of career would be a good fit.

Today’s Bible verse can help you. It gives us hope that we can know God’s calling. This verse gives us certainty because it tells us we don’t have to wonder about our calling, instead, we can know it. Knowing that gives us hope.

How do we begin finding God’s calling? A simple way is to pray this verse over yourself daily. Pray that you know the hope of God’s calling. Ask God that your eyes be enlightened and that you know what it is that He would have you do. If you’ll begin to pray these things over your life, you’ll be surprised to find that God will start to show you the next step to take in discovering your calling.