Tips For Facing Each New Day

 ¹³ Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. ¹⁴ Do everything in love.
-1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Paul is giving the church at Corinth some practical advice of how to face each day. For many of us, we go through each day without thinking about spiritual things. We go through each day without thinking how what we say or how we act accounts for our Christian life. Paul gives us 5 things to keep us on track in our Spiritual lives.

1. Be on your guard
We need to be on guard. We need to guard our lives from the presence of evil. We are constantly bombarded with opportunities for evil on a daily basis. Some are more subtle than others. Did you repeat that dirty joke you heard in the breakroom? Something even more disturbing is that people, people who claim Christ as their Savior and Lord, post things on Facebook that should never be posted. Friends, just because you don't spell out the entire swear word, but put the first letter followed by *** doesn't mean it's not wrong and evil. If you claim to have Christ, then we need to live like it-in church and out of church, and on Facebook. We must be on guard against all evil that is found in our lives.

2. Stand firm in the faith
We must be on guard against evil. When it comes, we must stand firm in our faith. We must overcome evil with good. We must not give evil a foothold. Standing firm in the faith is something we must strive for. It's not easy at times. But, as you begin to become the person that Jesus wants you to be, it'll be easier and easier to trust Him. That is how your faith grows, and as it grows, it'll become easier to stand firm in that faith. If we are going to be on guard against the power of evil in our lives, then we must make sure that we stand in the faith we have. We must be unmovable.

3. Be courageous
If we are going to overcome evil and stand if faith-it takes courage to do it. When you are doing something that seems to "go against the flow," it takes courage to do it. Courage is defined as "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery." If you are going to truly live the life that Jesus wants, it takes courage to follow him. It takes courage to stand against evil.

4. Be Strong
We must be strong to keep evil at bay. We must be strong in faith to say "no" when everyone around us tells us to pass on that dirty joke, or that gossip about someone. As your faith grows, it becomes stronger, making it easier to stay on track in your growth as a Christian. How strong are you today?

5. Do everything in love
Let love be your guide in all you do. We need to imitate the love of God to others. Are you truly doing that?

Friends, as you start this new day, how about using these principles to help you get through it? Each of us will have opportunity to do evil-we will also have the opportunity to live out our faith. When the time comes to choose, which will win out? Think About It.