Tips for Living Out Your Faith By Lydia McLaughlin l Ways to Pursue God l Tips on Living l Finding Joy l Hollywood

Learn to be Content with Your Success

The world also promotes success. Being first. Getting what’s yours. But these desires of our flesh are opposed to our spirits. Our hearts are deceitful. They tell us to go after things that are of no worth. We must learn to trust the Holy Spirit inside of us over our flesh. We need to close our eyes to the visible and open them to the invisible God. As 2 Corinthians 4:18 says, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” When our quiet times become sparse and our eyes are fixed not on Jesus but on our closets, it is easy to get caught up in the world.

Renew Your Mind

Ephesians 4:22-23 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds” We need to renew our minds. Renewing is a process. It is always ongoing. It doesn’t just happen once, but is a deliberate act that takes place through being dedicated and set apart. Once you become your new self in God, your old ways are not your ways anymore. This doesn’t mean you aren’t going to struggle. It merely means it’s no longer in your nature to be okay with the things you use to be okay with because the Holy Spirit now lives inside of you. However, there is a selfish part, the flesh part of you that wants its old way and desires. This is the tension we feel everyday.

Remember that You are the Bride of Christ

We are the bride of Christ. He is making His appeal to the world through us, and the world is watching. Through our actions, our joy, and our patience, we bear witness to Christ. Of course we will fail and mess up, and that is where Jesus’ grace comes in. We are not bound to the way and perfection of rituals anymore. We are set free to have a radical and real relationship with the Creator of the world and to live that out loud. Boldly! Let’s not become so consumed with the world that we are holding onto it with tightly clenched fists. We are here to glorify God and be a light. He wants to use us, but we must let Him. We simply have to open our hands and let the blessings flow from heaven. He may call us into awkward situations, or to walk away from something that could be a lot of fun and prestige, but we can know for certain that He has something better for us. Jesus says, “It won’t be easy, but I promise it will be worth it.”