Since the Bible says (Romans 8:11) that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in His followers, then shouldn’t it be noticeable?  I mean, shouldn’t people be able to see a difference in the way Christians and non-Christians live?

That doesn’t mean that we expect every new follower to have instant maturity.  It’s a life-long process.  Although we have a new nature, we don’t automatically think all good thoughts and have all pure attitudes when we become new in Christ.  But if we keep listening to God, we will be changing all the time.

So, here’s a suggestion, as you look over the last year, what changes for the better have you seen in your thoughts and attitudes?  Has the depth of your character increased so that more of the fruit of the Spirit is evident?  Is your walk with Christ more full of a sense of holiness?

Change may be slow, but you should be able to see it, especially over time.

Every single person in your life, no exceptions, has the potential of hurting you.  Either by words, actions or otherwise their behavior may cause you pain and possibly frustration.  Often one of the key questions I ask myself during such times is, “did this person make a conscious decision to intentionally hurt me?” If the answer is no (which it usually is) I simply remind myself that, just as I am, this person is human and fallible.  So, I can then stop having my pity party about how the world owes me something as a victim.

In short, a person with a victim mentality rarely ever takes responsibility or accountability for their actions.  People that choose to live in the victim mentality world will always fault and blame others for what is or went wrong in their life.  Is that really going to lead to a joy-filled overcoming life?

Joyce Meyer said it well in her book Power Thoughts, “I was very angry and bitter toward my father for abusing me and I ended up mistreating my husband who had nothing at all to do with it.” (pg 138)  All unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness and anger does is rob you from being all that you were meant to be.  Why would you give anyone that much power?

Here’s what Jesus said:  “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15).

I especially like this quote from Will Smith:

“Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.” 

Don’t allow a victim mentality steal the joy God has for you each day!

I’m amazed at how people can be surprised by bad outcomes when they had bad input.  They date a person for a short time, get married, then wonder why they are blind-sided by the other person’s faults.  We see someone struggle with depression, but learn they spend their time alone, watching TV and never reading God’s Word.  Or, we hear about a person that has an affair with someone from their past that they reconnected on Facebook and got extra cozy with.

The common denominator in all these scenarios is what the person was putting into their life.  Just like eating poor food will lead to poor health, when we take in negative thoughts, ideas and terrible advice, what do you expect?

If you want to live a life full of joy, peace, satisfaction and contentment, then you’ve got to first all address your intake.  You can’t put water in your gas tank and sail down the road.  Why would you expect to be able to load up on un-godly media, un-wise friends, and un-healthy thoughts and be an over-comer?

First look at the in-take and you’ll probably discover the cause of the out-flow.  If you don’t like the results you’re getting, then the good news is you can do something about it.