"This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand."  Ephesians 6:13

We do not live in a complete dark and corrupt world.  There are a lot of good and right and beautiful things out there.  However, everything isn't rainbows and unicorns and cat videos either.  There is evil.  We must be aware of our enemy in order to protect ourselves from it.

Lord, help me to know my enemy.

"Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor."  Romans 12:10

Imagine if we competed in "kindness" as much as we competed with other aspects of our life.  "I will "out-kind" you today!  I will "out-honor others" more than you today.  I will dominate you in "niceness" and "encouraging" today.  

Lord, help me to prioritize the things that you value.

"However, the Lord said to my father David,
'Since it was your desire to build a temple for My name,
you have done well to have this desire.
Yet, you are not the one to build the temple,
but your son, your own offspring, will build the temple for My name.'"  2 Chronicles 6:8-9

401K's are a good investment.  Having money down the road is a worthy goal.  However, investing in others is of more importance and value.  Not only does your investment benefit them but it will benefit you.  And when we invest in the spiritual growth and well-being of others, we please God.

Lord, help me to invest in the areas that matter.  

"Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

There are a lot of people who dress up for Halloween.  Free candy will motivate a lot of people to do strange things.  Superman on Halloween is simply a kid dressed up like Superman.  It isn't actually Superman.  We can put on the clothes and pump up our chest but until we fly, we aren't Superman.  We are called to be "Christ-like".  Wearing a cross doesn't make us a Christian.  Our actions do.

Lord, help me to behave as you would want me to behave.

"I know, my God, that You test the heart and that You are pleased with uprightness. I have willingly given all these things with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You."  1 Chronicles 29:17

​We spend the vast majority of the first 20 years of our lives in school.  At some point, we graduate with our last degree and put homework, projects, papers and exams in the rear view mirror, to never endure again.   I personally pursued a doctorate degree so I could get to the point of saying "I don't need to take a class or sit for another exam ever again".  However, that was very short sighted.  Life is full of tests and it always will be.  We will never get to the point in our lives where tests are completely behind us.  In fact, we may have one or two or three today.  There are no "Finals Week" for us.  Instead it is a constant period of "Mid-Terms".  

Lord, help me to be aware that tests are a constant presence in my life and help me to be prepared and to test well.

"He sought God throughout the lifetime of Zechariah, the teacher of the fear of God. During the time that he sought the Lord, God gave him success."  2 Chronicles 26:5

Details.  The "little things".  We often mention the importance of taking care of those smaller, less obvious items in order to reach our goals.  Details matter.  The "little things" matter.  However, sometimes we focus so much on the "little things" and forget about the "big thing".  The "big thing" is the "big thing" for a reason.  The "big thing" needs to happen before the "little things" can be considered.  Follow God.  Seek God.  Pursue God.  That is the "big thing".  

Lord, the little things matter but help me to focus on You first.

"Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!"  Psalm 27:14

The word "wait" means "trust".  We trust in things unseen.  Sometimes those things will be revealed to us at a later time and thus, we need to wait.  We trust and so we wait.  If we truly trust in God, we will be patient and wait for as long as it takes, because we know he will follow through on what he promises.

Lord, help me to trust and to wait.

"And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?" Romans 8:30-31

One of the problems with verses from the Bible that we hear often, or even hear out of context or in sound bites, is that we become numb to them.  It is also human nature for us to take things lighter than they actually are and we tend to take things for granted. "If God is for us, who is against us?".  If we actually take time to think about this verse and think about the gravity of it, and if we believe that it is true, this is powerful to us.  If God is truly for us, no one against us really matters in comparison so why are we so bent out of shape when someone opposes us, complains about us, criticizes us or dislikes us.

Lord, thank you for being for me.

Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:6-7

Happiness is a result of our current circumstances.  We are happy when something is going on around us that makes us happy.  On the other hand, Peace is an attitude.  Our attitude is a choice we make.  We can choose to be happy when something bad is happening in our life but that happiness is typically contrived or fake.  We can choose to have the right attitude.  An attitude of gratefulness.  An attitude of contentment.  An attitude of peace.  Those attitudes are typically hard to adopt when our circumstances are difficult but God doesn't expect us to adopt those attitudes by our own strength.

Lord, help me to have an attitude of Christ and not simply have feelings based on my circumstances.

"When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, 'Are You for us or for our enemies?' 'Neither,' He replied. 'I have now come as commander of the Lord's army.'" Joshua 5:13-14

Most people view life in simple terms.  Team ME or Team YOU.  We see either a team of me and those who think, act and support me and my views or "the other" and "the other" is the competition.   We should look for a third choice, TEAM GOD.  TEAM GOD is for me and not against me but He is also not for others and thus against me.  God has enough love and power and strength to be for me and for others.  We should be too.

Lord, thank you for loving me and loving others and when loving others, it doesn't mean you love me less.