But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. James 1:22 (NLT) Your potential will do nothing for you without discipline and work ethic. Everyone has potential. In just one high school, you could find enough potential to change the world. You might find a potential political leader, a potential researcher who could find the cure for cancer, and a potential screenplay writer who could make movies about God that cause millions to come to Christ. But that’s just potential. We need to turn potential into reality. What does it take to bring potential to life? Sure, intelligence is important, but what it really takes is belief, discipline and a good work ethic. There are …

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. Proverbs 4:23 (NLT) Yesterday we began a series talking about your potential. And the first, most important thing to get right on this journey toward fulfilling your potential is your heart beliefs. You see, your heart is like autopilot; it determines where your life goes. When you dial in a set of coordinates on a jet’s autopilot, it is designed to fly to that destination. Let’s say you programmed it to go to Tokyo but then you change your mind and decide to go to San Francisco instead. I’m not sure this is possible, but let’s pretend you grab the controls and with all your strength you manage to get it …

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) What do you really believe in your heart about yourself? Those beliefs are crucial because they determine the way you live and function. What you really believe in your heart determines what you will do with your life. Without the right beliefs, all you have is potential, but potential alone is meaningless. Often sports coaches will say things such as, “That kid has great potential.” But potential means nothing if it doesn’t become reality. Did God make anybody who lacks potential? Absolutely not! Everybody has great potential, but that doesn’t mean everyone lives it out. God gave …

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 (NLT) In the book of Acts, the disciples walked in confidence. They didn’t worry about the future or wonder if God was angry with them. They were completely confident in their standing with Him, and were tapped in to the power they held as God’s kids. You can walk in this same confidence. It’s not arrogance; it’s a confidence in God. What does this confidence look like? It’s being able to enjoy the people around you without comparing yourself to them. It’s having the freedom to celebrate others’ success without feeling jealous. It’s staying calm even in the worst battles because you know God is …

You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet. Psalm 8:6 (NKJV) God has given the entire planet to mankind. Psalm 8:7–8 says even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea are under our control. This doesn’t mean we have the right to abuse or neglect what God has given us—quite the opposite! We have the responsibility to manage this earth and keep it healthy. But we need a new perspective on who we are as humans. We are not one of the animals, evolved from single celled organisms by chance. God created mankind intentionally. He breathed His life into us. We need to …