Loser. Ugly. Bossy. Dramatic. Pathetic. Stubborn. Liar. Hypocrite. Lazy. Mean. Snob. Stingy. Greedy. Weak. Are these names that you want to be identified with? What about these? Beautiful. Kind. Helpful. Generous. Ambitious. Hard-working. Joyful. Peace-maker. Respectful. Strong. Dedicated. Faithful. Capable. Talented. Names matter, don't they? What people call you matters. We all want to have a good name. We all want to be known as someone good. When people spread rumors about us and tarnish our good name, when they act like are a nobody, or when they use our name to disparage another, we get angry and hurt. That is how God feels when we dishonor His name too.

How would you feel if you had to listen to your spouse praise another? What if they bought gifts for this person? How would you feel if they spent time with them over you, talked to them more, seemed to have more affection for them, or acted if this person could give them something that you can not? You would certainly feel betrayed, cheated on, jilted. Now, do you think that you have ever made God feel like that?

How do you feel about rules? Do you tend to be a rule follower or a rule breaker? Do rules make you feel comfortable and give you structure or do they feel burdensome or restrictive? Are you more apt to obey when you trust the person making the rules or you understand the reason behind them? Or, maybe you like making the rules but you don’t really like to follow them. Maybe you like to virtue signal and hold the rules over everyone's head but it's really all just for appearance.

As we enter a new year and you are thinking about your new years resolutions, think about your inheritance from the Lord and the legacy you want to leave. Make changes that will matter in the long run, things that will impact those around you for years to come. Adopt values and practices that you want your loved ones to inherit and work to leave a legacy that matters.

There is no spiritual neutrality. We are either with God or we are against Him. He has no use for someone that is lukewarm. We are of no use to anyone when we are straddling the fence. We all have to make a choice. If we play both sides, then no one knows where we stand.

Anything that pulls us away from God, weakens us. But when we partner with other believers, we are stronger. They can help us carry the burdens of life and when we are closely tied to that person, they keep us on the straight path. Also, if you are both being guided by God, then you will be going in the right direction. So, unite yourselves to other believers and let God guide you. Move in unison to accomplish the work God has for His people.

Can you be doing the right thing and it still be wrong? In this episode we talk about a man who did exactly what God told him to do, but God stood against him because he was doing it for the wrong reasons. He was trying to compromise with God. It was all for his own gain. God cares about our intentions otherwise He would have made us robots. He gave us hearts for a reason.

God reveals and proves Himself so we can be at peace when things are hard, so we will have the courage to keep going, and so we will place our faith in Him as we do. The more He reveals His ability and willingness to intervene on our behalf the better we can trust Him in the next battle we face.

Have you ever wondered why Jesus had to die? Why did God set it up that way when He could have just kept us from sinning at all or forgiven our sins without confession and death? Then we all would have eventually been in heaven with Him one day and there would be no worry that some would be separated from Him for eternity.

Pride comes before the fall. Satan was prideful and wanted to be like God. That's what caused his fall from heaven to earth. Then he tempted Adam and Eve to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil by telling them they would be like God if they ate it. So, their pride caused the fall of all mankind into sin. We cannot be like God. No one is like God! Drawing attention away from God and placing it on ourselves is a dangerous game.