Seven Keys to Having a Good Year
1) Live one day at a time.
James 4:13-15: "Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.' Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'"
Stan Getz was a famous saxophone player who had cancer. When asked what he learned from his illness he replied, "I learned that life is not a dress rehearsal."
Look at the simple things in life. Enjoy the little things that happen everyday.
2) Live with a view to the end.
Philippians 3:13-14: "Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."
1 Corinthians 9:24: "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win."
2 Timothy 4:8: "In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing."
3) Give yourself to others.
John 13:15-17 (After Jesus washes the disciple's feet): "For I have you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
Luke 6:38: "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
Giving to others leads to happiness.
4) Learn to forgive and forget
Matthew 6:15: "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions."
Colossians 3:13 "...bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."
5) Face adversity with courage
Romans 5:3-5: "And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
6) Keep a good sense of humor.
Proverbs 15:13: "A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.
Proverbs 15:30: "Bright eyes gladden the heart; Good news puts fat on the bones."
Proverbs 17:22: "A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones."
7) Put your life in God's hands.
Proverbs 3:5: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding."
Psalm 56:3-4: "When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid."
Romans 15:13: "Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
"You can spend your life any way you like, but you can only spend it once."
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