Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose. Proverbs 18:21 (MSG) We need to understand the power of language if we want to experience joy in our lives.  The words you speak influence your future. In Mark 11:23, Jesus said that you will have what you say if you believe it. Proverbs 18:21 says that your words either bring life or death. The way you talk can bring death to your relationships, it can cause you to either love or hate your job, and it can also influence whether or not you live each day with joy.  If you’re married, you could say, “I had no idea being married would be so much work. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it.” Just …

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 (ESV) We’ve been on a series covering skills that believers need to develop to have joy and fulfilment in their lives. Another important skill to build is the ability to lead with your strengths.  When you make daily choices to do things that have nothing to do with your strengths, it’s hard to sense the joy that’s within you. For example, I would be really dissatisfied with my career if I was dead-set on becoming a jockey. I’m about six feet tall, so there’s no way I could win against much smaller and lighter competitors. If I spend every moment trying to become something I’m just not built for, …

Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us. 2 Timothy 3:17 (MSG) To live a life full of joy, there are certain skills you need to develop as a believer. We’ve been discussing this over the past few days, and today we’ll cover two other important skills to develop: taking responsibility and taking action. It can be easy to adopt a victim mentality in life. But as a victim, you hand your power to someone else. When you’re a victim to poor treatment in life, very often you have absolutely no control over what you suffered. All the same, if you maintain a victim mentality, you carry that identity into your everyday life.  Now, I’m not …

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19–20 (NLT) We’ve been on a series discussing skills you can build to experience more joy. In addition to these skills, there are three things we all need to focus on if we want to live joy-filled lives. We’ve talked about the first two already: relationships and health. Today we will discuss the third: purpose. What is your purpose in life? Sometimes Christians assume that they just need to get closer …