Fix your thoughts on what is true, honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Thinking about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (NLT) Some people’s minds are so set on the negative that they beat themselves up endlessly when they make a mistake. This actually serves no good purpose. Berating yourself for inadequacies does not make you more effective. It doesn’t even ensure that you will do better next time. It is actually very destructive. When you allow your mind to continually snap to the negative, your mind becomes increasingly trapped in that disposition. Like a fast song that just won’t leave your head, you can’t get your mind off your faults, failures and flaws. Instead of building confidence …

Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air… Philippians 2:14–16 (MSG) When I was about 12 years old, old Trapper in Northern Saskatchewan hired me to be responsible for checking some of his traps. Each trap was a bit different, but they all had a type of lever you could push to open them. One day I managed to spring a beaver trap on my hand. Opening this particular trap required you to push down on two springs at the same time. With one hand stuck fast in the trap, I was unable to do it myself. I managed to pull out the stake that held a trap in place and walked until I …

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and mine as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7 (NLT) God knew that we were incapable of earning our way back into His good books. No human is capable of perfection, so He sent His son Jesus to take the fall for us. Through Jesus, He offers you a trade: He defers any punishment due to you on to Jesus and in exchange, He gives you peace and joy. Jesus offers an unbeatable trade! You can exchange your feelings of condemnation and guilt for a …

But the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”  Luke 2:10 NLT Have you ever noticed how often you see the words joy and peace at Christmas time? We see them in our Christmas décor and we sing about: “Joy to the World” and “Peace on Earth!” Why do we talk about joy and peace so much at Christmas? When the news that Jesus would be born was announced, heaven couldn’t contain its joy. An angel brought the news to a group of shepherds and the sky suddenly filled with angels singing of peace on earth and goodwill towards men. All of Heaven was ecstatic because peace was about to be …

But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in my name [in my place to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. John 14:26 (AMPC) If someone gives you an expensive gift, it is no use to you left in its wrapping. You need to accept a gift and open it to enjoy. The same is true with Holy Spirit. Yesterday we covered the first three of seven gifts that accompany Holy Spirit. He gives us comfort, counsel and help whenever we ask. Today, we will cover four more powerful gifts He brings. 4. Intercession. There are times in life, whether you know it or not, when you need …