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 …

Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 (NLT) Have you ever tried to be happy when you’re experiencing a lot of physical pain or discomfort? It’s not easy! Poor physical health creates a real drain on happiness. It’s still possible to have a deep sense of joy when you’re fighting sickness, but no one enjoys feeling badly. Yesterday we covered the first of three things we all need to remember to focus on if we want to live joy-filled lives. Today we will discuss …