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Have you figured out yet that a lot of times you are your own worst enemy? It’s your own reactions, your own fears, your own inadequacies that cause you to act in foolish ways. I know that’s true for me.

I need to be saved from myself because there are things I don’t like about me – things I wish I had done differently, things I’d like to change. But I can’t change them, not on my own power. I need an outside power source.

You may be saying, “I can change.” I hate to say this, but you can’t. In January, you’re going to make a list of New Year’s resolutions. And, by the end of January, that list will be in the dumpster. Why? Because you can’t change on your own; you need God’s power. You need a Savior, someone who can make the changes you can’t make yourself.

Let me make an important point here: God never wastes energy. He doesn’t waste effort on things that are unnecessary. In other words, if you didn’t need a Savior, he wouldn’t have sent one. The very fact that God sent a Savior means you need one.

The truth is, if you are honest about it, sometimes you feel like your life is out of control. That’s a pretty common feeling. Welcome to the human race!

The apostle Paul felt that way 2,000 years ago. Paul says this in the Bible: “I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does” (Romans 7:24-25 MSG). That’s the answer!

Let me be honest with you. You may be looking for salvation in the wrong places, that’s why you’re frustrated. You’re looking for that one thing that’s going to give you fulfillment and meaning and peace in life.

Some of us think that if we could just get married, or if we could just get a certain job, or a promotion, or attain a certain level of wealth, or have a baby – or if our babies would grow up and graduate! – things would be great.

You’re looking in the wrong places.

A lot of people are looking for salvation in a self-help book. Or they’re looking for it in therapy or in a fad or diet. Or they’re looking for it in a vacation, “If I could just escape to Tahiti, everything would be great.” The problem is that if you go to Tahiti, you’re taking you with you!

The answer is not in a place. It’s not in a program or a pill. The answer is a person: Jesus Christ. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life is never going to make sense.

My uncle died on Wed.  My 89 year old Grammie, which means the world to me, is still around. She had 6 sisters and 1 brother, Uncle Bob.  Grammie lives near me in Florida and my mom is in Virginia trying to put her life together after my dad left her for another women with 45 years of marriage.  Grammie called me saying, “Bob is dying I need to get to Alabama” and I was there, we drove up on Wed. but Bob died before we got there.

I haven’t been to Ozark, AL near Dothan in 18 years.  I went to a reunion one time when Rani was 6 months old and we had 5 generations there. Now Rani will be 19 in Jan. and we have 4 generations left.

It was the biggest funeral I’ve ever been to.  Uncle Bob was a family man, and he loved his Lord.  There were over 500 people at the viewing and it was standing room only at the funeral.  He was a WWII and Korean War Veteran and he had 2 children. Talk about die hard Crimson Tide, Alabama football fans. Roll-Tide all the way in that area. The Lord, Family and football, what a combo to love.

My Aunt Edna has been with him for over 60 years.  They are good people and I know my aunt will only carry on with the Lord’s Grace.

It was a sad time, but being around my MANY aunts, uncles, cousins and kin was the best thing that has happened to me in a long time.  They are good ole Alabama people. They don’t talk bad about anyone, criticize or judge. My uncle lived life to the fullest living each day as it was his last. He never complained or said anything bad about anyone. On his last day, he told my aunt, he was ready, and he went to be with the Lord.

  I was reminded that there are still good folk out there in this world. Anyone would do anything for any family member. Of course the family couldn’t thank me enough for getting the oldest sibling up to AL, but I did it out of LOVE.  Not anything else. That’s what us kin do. 

This trip couldn’t have come at a better time for me due to the drama at work and some other things.  But it gave me a renewed prospective that I should live each day as it’s my last. I should be happy, and not complain.  I’m always there for others, but I shouldn’t criticize or gossip.  If someone does me wrong, I should be nice to them instead of dwelling on it.

The number one thing is to love the Lord our God with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind and HE will do the rest.

My uncle died on Wed.  My 89 year old Grammie, which means the world to me, is still around. She had 6 sisters and 1 brother, Uncle Bob.  Grammie lives near me in Florida and my mom is in Virginia trying to put her life together after my dad left her for another women with 45 years of marriage.  Grammie called me saying, “Bob is dying I need to get to Alabama” and I was there, we drove up on Wed. but Bob died before we got there.

I haven’t been to Ozark, AL near Dothan in 18 years.  I went to a reunion one time when Rani was 6 months old and we had 5 generations there. Now Rani will be 19 in Jan. and we have 4 generations left.

It was the biggest funeral I’ve ever been to.  Uncle Bob was a family man, and he loved his Lord.  There were over 500 people at the viewing and it was standing room only at the funeral.  He was a WWII and Korean War Veteran and he had 2 children. Talk about die hard Crimson Tide, Alabama football fans. Roll-Tide all the way in that area. The Lord, Family and football, what a combo to love.

My Aunt Edna has been with him for over 60 years.  They are good people and I know my aunt will only carry on with the Lord’s Grace.

It was a sad time, but being around my MANY aunts, uncles, cousins and kin was the best thing that has happened to me in a long time.  They are good ole Alabama people. They don’t talk bad about anyone, criticize or judge. My uncle lived life to the fullest living each day as it was his last. He never complained or said anything bad about anyone. On his last day, he told my aunt, he was ready, and he went to be with the Lord.

  I was reminded that there are still good folk out there in this world. Anyone would do anything for any family member. Of course the family couldn’t thank me enough for getting the oldest sibling up to AL, but I did it out of LOVE.  Not anything else. That’s what us kin do. 

This trip couldn’t have come at a better time for me due to the drama at work and some other things.  But it gave me a renewed prospective that I should live each day as it’s my last. I should be happy, and not complain.  I’m always there for others, but I shouldn’t criticize or gossip.  If someone does me wrong, I should be nice to them instead of dwelling on it.

The number one thing is to love the Lord our God with all my heart, all my soul and all my mind and HE will do the rest.

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If you’re discouraged because of God’s delay in answering your prayers, understand the delay is NOT a denial. Just because the answer or the miracle hasn’t come – yet – that doesn’t mean God isn’t going to answer or that he’s forgotten you or that he doesn’t care about you. It simply means “not yet!”

Spiritual maturity is knowing the difference between “no” and “not yet,” between a denial and a delay. The Bible tells us, “He who is coming will come and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37 NIV).

The delay may be a test of your patience. Anybody can be patient once. And, anybody can be patient twice. And, just about anybody can be patient three times. So God tests you patience over and over and over.

Why? To see how patient you are?

No, he does it to show you how patient you are. So you’ll know what’s inside of you, and you’ll be able to know your level of commitment. God tests you so that you can know he is faithful, even if the answers you seek are delayed.

If you’re discouraged, turn it around by remembering God teaches you patience during delay. Ask him to transform your discouragement into patience.

You may be going through difficult times right now and feel like dropping off the planet. You’re discouraged because the situation you face seems unmanageable, unreasonable, or unfair.

It may seem unbearable and inside you’re basically saying, “God, I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t take it anymore!”

But you can.

You can stay with it longer because God is with you. He’ll enable you to press on. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit.

Don’t quit. Resist discouragement and finish the race God has set before you.

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How often do you play the “If only” game?

· If only I could do it over again.

· If only I had listened sooner.

· If only I could erase the past.

· If only I could forgive myself.

The thing to remember is that no one is perfect. We all have regrets; we’ve all made bad choices, and said foolish things; we’ve all wasted time, and hurt ourselves and others.

How do you release your regrets? In my experience as a pastor, I’ve seen several strategies we tend to use that simply do not work:

· You try to bury your past. But burying the past will never help you get past your regrets. You can try to minimize (“It wasn’t a big deal”), rationalize (“Everyone does it”), and compromise (lowering standards), but your regrets are still there, and if unresolved, they’ll keep coming back to haunt you over and over again like a creature in a horror movie.

· We blame others. This tactic is as old as Adam and Eve. When Adam sinned, he took it like a man: he blamed his wife!We use blame to balance out our guilt.

· We beat up on ourselves. We try to pay for our guilt unconsciously through illness, depression, setting ourselves up for failure, and other forms of self-punishment. The problem with beating up on yourself is this: your conscience never knows when to stop!Some people spend their entire lives in self-condemnation.

What does God want you to do with your regrets?

· Admit your guilt. Own up to it.Don’t make excuses. “A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful.But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance”(Proverbs 28:13 LB).

· Accept Christ’s forgiveness. He’s waiting to clean your slate.Ask him to clear your conscience. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 NIV).

· Forgive yourself and focus on the future. “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands” (Isaiah 43:18-19 MSG).