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Friday, 21 November 2008
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"Handling Stress in a Way that Works" - Part Two
Devotion by: Dr. Joe Savage, President, Winners Influence
November 21, 2008
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How you view life determines how you handle stress. As I said last week, your stress is not going to away; therefore, you must learn to deal with it in a positive manner. You have a choice. You can fret, get ulcers, lose hair, take medications, get angry, eat excessively, exercise extensively, etc. or you can choose to follow God's way when dealing with stress. I think it best to follow God's plan. After all, He did create us and knows best how we work!
So what does God say?
Philippians 4:6-7 says, "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 minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
First, you must pray with thanksgiving! Most people pray when stressed. Few people pray with an attitude of gratitude. I am convinced that the number one way to deal with stress is to pray and offer God thanks. I am telling you. When one prays with gratefulness, he begins to see things differently.
Our second point comes from Philippians 4:8-9. It says, "One final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. . . Then the God of peace will be with you."
Want peace? Then "fix" your thoughts on positive things. To "fix" means to focus, zero in, concentrate. It means that you put your attention on those things which are "true" not false; "honorable" not disgusting; "right" not wrong or untrue; "pure" not defiled; "lovely" not ugly; and admirable not disgraceful.
The evil one, the world, our enemies, and our own selves often point fingers of judgment at us with a huge voice of negativity. When we begin to see life through dark or gray colored lenses, we begin to feel the stresses of life even more.
So I ask you. Are you "fixing" your thoughts on positive things? Are you seeing the blessings and good things in life? Are you seeing what is truth or are you focusing on what is partial truth?
To deal with stress: 1) Pray to God and give Him thanks; and 2) choose to focus on the good instead of the junk stuff of life.
Today's Prayer
"Father I give you thanks for everything in my life. Lord you know I am stressed. You know my inner anxieties. But I choose to give you thanks. I choose to fix my eyes on what is good and true. Help me Lord to be able to do this. Thank you for helping me. I am so glad you are my God and my keeper. I trust you. In Jesus' name. Amen."
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Monday, 17 November 2008
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"Handling Stress in a Way that Works"
Devotion by: Dr. Joe Savage, President, Winners Influence
November 17, 2008
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You are stressed out. Anxiety is weighing heavy. The world is squeezing in. What do you do?
Before I answer, let's first investigate the most common ways people deal with stress.
When under stress, many people try to first control their situation - The problem is some (if not most) things can't be controlled.
When under stress, many people eat - The word stressed spelled backwards might spell desserts, but that is not a favorable way to deal with your stress. Actually, I do believe that God gives us "comfort" foods which help us feel better at times. (I mean, who doesn't like a milk shake when stressed!) However, eating is only temporary and is not a consistent way to handle stress.
When under stress, many people exercise - Again this is a great way to help you deal with stress as your body releases endorphins which are proven to help reduce stress. However, one can only run so far or lift so many weights.
You know what is nuts is when I become stressed, the one thing that makes me more stressed is knowing the physiological problems that my stress is causing which only causes more stress! (See how stressful just that one sentence just became!!!) Ulcers, loss of hair, uncontrolled anger, lowered self-esteem, heart issues, high blood pressure, fatigue, diarrhea . . . it's crazy! Without a doubt, knowing the results of stress makes me even more stressed!
So what is the answer to dealing with stress? Today I will give you the first part and next week I will give you the second part.
The initial answer lies in Philippians 4:6-9. It says, "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 minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Let's look closer at this text that tells us how to gain peace.
First, instead of worrying about anything, pray about everything - The text says to "tell God what you need." Sounds simple doesn't it? It is! Each and every time you begin to feel stressed, take a moment and pray.
Second, pray with thankfulness - The text says to "thank Him for all He has done." THIS is the KEY! Most people pray when stressed but few people give God thanks when they are stressed. Again this is the key! Don't make it complicated.
When you are anxious, tell God how grateful you are for His help, His guidance, His strength. Tell Him thank you for helping you and for giving you the wisdom you need. Tell Him thanks for the situation. Tell Him thanks for your family, job, freedoms, or whatever comes to your mind. In other words, when you develop an attitude of gratitude, your whole world begins to look different and your stress actually becomes beneficial.
Now make note of something. The text never promises nor states that your stress will go away. It does NOT say that the cause of your stress will vanish! Let me be honest. The cause of your stress most likely will not change!!! How you handle your stress is what can and will change as you pray with gratitude!
I hope you will head this word, as it sure will save you a lot of anxiety (and probably calories)!
This Week's Prayer
"Father, today I join with the one reading this to offer our prayers to you. Father, I know he/she is stressed, anxious, and burdened. So Lord, right now, we together give you this burden, ask you to deal with it, and we thank you for helping. Lord, you are so good to us. We are thankful for your care and concern. Thank you Lord that you are bigger than any problem that we may have. Thank you Lord for giving us the wisdom we need. Thank you Lord for even putting us in certain positions where we have something to be stressed about. God develop and attitude of thanksgiving in us. Thank you God for helping. In Jesus' name. Amen."
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Monday, 03 November 2008
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"God Bless a Troubled America: A Call for Prayer"
Devotion by: Dr. Joe Savage, President, Winners Influence
November 3, 2008
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I love my country. I want to bring honor to her because she has been so amazingly good to me. I am proud to be an American. I think being an American is a tremendous privilege and honor.
But, I am deeply concerned!
This year's election process has revealed some underlying cracks in our fundamentals as free people. Several tumultuous issues have been brought into the light. They are: America is divided, deceit is rampant, media is corrupt, and true democracy is being re-defined. Let me briefly mention each one.
1) America is divided - The country has always voted and had tenacious campaigns; however, the people of our great nation are no longer of the same mind. I'm not speaking of minor disagreements where everyone still feels proud of our nation at the end of the day. I'm talking about serious disagreements that are jeopardizing the very fundamentals of democracy, values, and freedoms that our forefathers died for and our land was founded upon. The Bible says, "A house divided will not stand." I am greatly concerned because the house of America . . . our America, is greatly divided. And where there is division there is selfish agendas that ultimately bring defeat.
2) Deceit is rampant! - Study the book of Genesis and one will see the basic tenants of how satan and evil operates. Satan and all that is evil consistently operate from the premise of telling partial truths as opposed to outright lies. Why? Because it is easy to defend and discern truth when it is blatantly obvious, but it is extremely difficult to defend truth when only parts of it is actually true. We as a nation are in trouble because nothing is what it seems, and truth is being exchanged for a lie! The Bible says, "The truth will set you free." For the sake of political correctness and the desire to be agreeable, we have participated in deceit by not standing up to the vile of evil in our land. The results are and will continue to be the grievous condition that we find ourselves in TODAY as a nation. "One reaps what one sows."
3) Media is corrupt and out of touch - Whatever happened to journalists and newscasters who simply present the news as simple facts without embellishing or persuading? Where are the true news reporters who actually report news without a bunch of self promoting commentary that is based on one's opinion instead of only facts? When did members of the media begin to think of themselves as entertainers instead of journalists? Doesn't this reveal that their egos are greater than their true abilities? The media has great power and they are to receive much of the blame for trouble in our land. The election has certainly shown that most mainstream media is jaded, corrupt, and out of touch.
4) True Democracy is being re-defined! - Democracy is one of the greatest gifts that we have as Americans! It is a privilege and honor to live in a democratic land. To be free is to be empowered. While democracy is not perfect, it is the absolute best way to live. Unfortunately, we are slowly seeing and have been seeing for a long time, the tenants of true democracy being exchanged for socialism. Instead of defending our rights, we have distanced ourselves from our rights, all for the sake of political correctness. Oh I ask, 'Why do we have leaders and citizens desiring to be like other countries and wanting what they have?' 'Why are we even considering electing anyone . . . ANYONE who would jeopardize our freedoms?' 'Are we crazy?'
The problems and issues facing our nation must be addressed! The real hope for our land and our liberties comes down to one thing: We as Christians must get on their knees with humble hearts and repentant souls. Christians must seek God immediately. We have to. The soul of our nation depends on it. God said, "If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
ON THIS EVE OF WHAT COULD BE THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION IN THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY, I AM ASKING ALL CHRISTIANS TO TAKE A MINIMUM OF 10 MINUTES TO PRAY.
PRAY AND ASK GOD FOR MERCY. PRAY AND ASK HIM FOR DELIVERANCE. LIFT UP YOUR VOICE TO GOD. SEEK HIM. BEG FOR HIS FORGIVENESS TOWARD OUR LAND. BEG FOR HIM TO SAVE US. ASK HIM TO BRING REVIVAL TO OUR LAND.
Today's Prayer
"All mighty God of heaven and earth, will you please rain down on us? We need you as a nation. We have taken for granted our freedoms and ideals; our liberties and our voices. Oh God, forgive our land. We know that we have allowed the blood of millions to die in vain on this very soil. We know that we have exchanged the truth for a lie. We know that we have chosen to get along for the sake of being politically correct. Oh God, help us. Help our nation. Help our leaders. Free us from those who want to oppress us. Free us from sin and evil. Oh God . . . Oh Father . . . oh Creator of heaven and earth, please bless America today. Please have your way in the election. Please put into office those who will honor you and serve you. Oh God we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen."
WRITE A PRAYER FOR AMERICA
Write a prayer for America on our new prayer message board. Please let everyone know if you will take the 10 minute prayer challenge for our nation today by clicking here.
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DR. JOE SAVAGE
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