"No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends."  John 15:13

Sin is selfishness.  Every sin that we could ever commit comes back to our self serving nature.  Love is selfless.  We can talk about love in a lot of different ways but it basically comes down to one thing, putting others before ourselves.  

Lord, help me to love more and sin less by being selfless and not selfish.

"The diligent hand will rule, but laziness will lead to forced labor."  Proverbs 12:24

Being intentional and proactive is better than being lazy and reactive.

Lord, help me to see the benefit of being on the offensive, rather than on the defensive in all aspects of my life, including my relationship with You.

"Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God." Philippians 4:6

If I am lazy or don't really care about much, including success, there would be little reason to worry.  We worry because we don't have control over a result.  We worry when we feel that we can't determine an outcome with complete confidence.  We worry because we feel that we are the only one who can do anything and when we don't feel that we are able to do what we should or need to, we worry.  People who feel as if they are not very talented or not good at anything typically don't value accomplishment and thus there is no real need for them to worry.  Those who have success unfortunately feel as if their success is completely up to them and fail to see where God fits in the equation.  Worry is a result of our belief that we are more in control of things than God is.  

Lord, help me to realize that You have given me all that I have and I need to realize that You have much more to do with the outcome than I do so I need to trust more and worry less.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

One of the benefits of getting older is coming to the realization that every day matters but every day is not crucial to the outcome of our lives.  There are "throw away days" and "throw away moments".  We will still come to the same result, even if things don't always go as we have planned.  God's plan is a "long term plan" not a "today plan".  We get confused by thinking that what we feel may be right as being the only way to achieve our purpose in life.  God sees the end and His plan is much better than ours.  We need to realize that although something may not go our way today, it doesn't mean that our life is ruined or that we won't reach our goal, and most importantly, God's goal for our lives.  

Lord, thank you for having a plan that is about "hope" and my "future" and not just short term gratification.

"The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless only becomes poor."  Proverbs 21:5

Planning requires knowledge.  And knowledge has a lot of sources.  The quality of the knowledge will dictate the level of success of the plan.  God is a quality source of knowledge when producing a plan.

Lord, help me to turn to You first when I am making a plan and not only when my plan fails and I need bailing out.

"Then he said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.'"  Luke 9:23

In the 1967 version of Doctor Dolittle, there was the two headed llama known as "Pushmi-pullyu".  That animal has always stuck in my head.  To me it has always been analogous of wanting to go two directions at once.  A tug of war.  One side always wins a tug of war or there is a tie.  Both sides can't win.  The two headed llama can stand still or go one direction but not go both directions at the same time.  The same is true for us.  We can stay put or go one direction, but we can't follow two leaders in opposite directions.

Lord, help me to choose the right direction and that direction is to follow You.

"If you do right, won't you be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."  Genesis 4:7

We may not always see it in real time and we may not want to acknowledge it because it doesn't seem "loving" and "inclusive", but there is a right and there is a wrong and although the right won't provide exactly what we want, the wrong will always be punished.

Lord, help me to realize that there is a cost of my wrongs so that I may be more motivated to avoid them.  

"Without wood, fire goes out; without a gossip, conflict dies down."  Proverbs 26:20

Most people prefer to avoid conflict.  The majority of conflict should be avoided by not creating conflict in the first place.  Speaking well of others or not speaking at all is always a good policy.  However, conflict is inevitable.  Conflict happens when two humans are involved.  Conflict should not be ignored or allowed to be kept alive.  Conflict generally doesn't resolve itself on its own.  When conflict exists, honest conversations must also exist.  If we go into the conversation with the mindset of "finding a resolution" and not "trying to be right", conflicts can be resolved.

Lord, help me to avoid making conflict and then when conflict exists, help me to have the courage to resolve it like a mature human being.

"But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins too.'" Mark 11:25

"Hi, I just burnt down your house and wrecked your car.  I never liked you.  I never will.  Can you do me a favor ... ?"  Sometimes that is what I feel it sounds like to God when we come to Him and ask for help and for things we want before we apologize for all of the bad stuff we have done to Him and to those He loves.  

Lord, I am sorry for not behaving and for not obeying, and I am also sorry for thinking that Your unconditional love for me makes it okay for me to not apologize and ask for forgiveness.