On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - Our review for the final two episodes for season 2 of House of the Dragon! To avoid spoilers, jump to: 40:12 - A recap of what went down at the WWE PLE Summerslam, and what we thought of it! All that and much more! For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory! Sign up for the ODPH Patreon! THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PATRONS! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff Contact NERD INITIATIVE

On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - UFC 304 and what went down! - WWE Summerslam is taking place THIS SATURDAY! We breakdown the card and give our predictions! All that and much more! For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory! Sign up for the ODPH Patreon! THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PATRONS! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff Contact NERD INITIATIVE

On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - All the results from WWE's latest PLE/PPV SummerSlam! - The latest news from the NFL! - And our opinions surrounding the Baltimore Orioles controversy! All that and much more! For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory! Sign up for the ODPH Patreon! THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PATRONS! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff Contact NERD INITIATIVE Shop Comics Online: Shop Cheers To Comics & Use the promo code “ODPH” for 10% off your order!

On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - UFC 291 & what went down! - A preview of WWE's next premium live event, SummerSlam! We give our predictions for the "biggest party of the summer" For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory! Sign up for the ODPH Patreon! THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PATRONS! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff Contact NERD INITIATIVE Shop Comics Online: Shop Cheers To Comics & Use the promo code “ODPH” for 10% off your order!

On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - Episode 4 of Secret Invasion! To skip this episode, jump to: 34:12 - A preview of what to expect THIS WEEKEND at San Diego Comic Con! - An update of what's going on in WWE! Including some matches for Summer Slam! All that and much more! SUPPORT THE SAG-AFTRA / WGA STRIKE! For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory! Sign up for the ODPH Patreon! THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PATRONS! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff Contact NERD INITIATIVE Shop Comics Online: Shop Cheers To Comics & Use the promo code “ODPH” for 10% off your order!

On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - The NBA finals are SET! It'll be Denver vs Miami! We give our predictions for the series! - Our thoughts about what went down at Night of Champions & NXT's Battleground! All that and much more! For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH social media, here’s our directory! Sign up for the ODPH Patreon! THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PATRONS! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff For more on Nerd Initiative, click here

On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - The NBA playoffs have gotten WILD! Denver is in the Finals! Boston is holding on! - Episode 9 of Superman & Lois! To skip this segment, jump to: 1:00:19 - A preview of Night Of Champions, the next WWE premium live event, which takes place THIS Saturday! All that and much more! For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory! Sign up for the ODPH Patreon! THANK YOU TO OUR AMAZING PATRONS! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff

Day 4 Don't Quit In The Dip Uprooting Bitterness The Bible describes bitterness as a bitter root. Have you ever looked at your backyard and seen some weeds growing? You think to yourself, I should deal with that, but you don’t. The weeds are so small anyway, but after you procrastinate for a week, it seems like they’ve grown to be six feet tall. What started off as something that could have been easily dealt with has now become Jack and the beanstalk in your backyard. The longer you let a weed grow, the harder it is to get rid of. If you’ve ever tried to pull out a big root, you know it’s backbreaking work, and many times you end up breaking it off and you think you’re good. You think, Phew! Glad that’s over. I’m done with it! Outta sight, outta mind. But, if you don’t get the entire root, there’s a whole lot more going on beneath the surface that you can’t see—and when it grows back, you’ll have to dig up more than you were anticipating because now you have a jungle of overgrowth to tackle as its roots have spread. If you don’t completely uproot bitterness now, those roots will go down so deep they will latch on and interweave their way into every relationship you have. Bitterness will affect your view of everything you see. And it will keep you from the destiny God has for you to walk in. Offended people never make it to their destiny. It’s a trap! Why give somebody or a particular situation that much power over your life? It’s been three years. It’s messed with you for ten years. It’s kept you from enjoying life for twenty years. It’s stolen your joy for thirty-two years. It’s kept you from so much in life, and now you feel like you can’t move on. Why not determine today not to allow it to rob you of one more day of your life? Better yet, refuse to get offended ever again. It’s not saying what they did was okay. It wasn’t. That’s why it hurt. With God’s help, you can do this. Most of us have a hard time forgiving because we don’t want to give them anything. I want to share with you a picture God gave me to help me think differently about forgiveness. I’m on top of a tall skyscraper in San Francisco. I have a long, thick rope tied around my waist. At the other end of the rope is a piano that has just been pushed off the side of the building. It’s only a matter of seconds before all the slack is gone and the piano pulls me over the edge. I really want to hold on to the piano, but I’ll die if I do. See, most of us have a hard time forgiving others because, in our minds, we don’t want to give them anything, but forgiveness is not about giving them something. It’s releasing something. It’s me, untying the rope from around my waist, choosing life over death, because if I don’t, that piano will pull me over the edge. That might be where you are. That bitterness is pulling you over the edge. It’s killing you. It’s hindering you. It’s keeping you from living the life Jesus came to bring. You might say, “But they don’t deserve it!” Well, neither did we, but I’m really grateful God didn’t wait till we deserved it. You can’t focus on living when you’re just trying not to be pulled over the edge. So, untie the rope and release it. Release the offense. Release your pain. Release feelings of revenge and experience the freedom that comes through complete forgiveness. Hebrews 12:15 offers us this command: “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

Ask for Wisdom Throughout this Plan we’ve learned that wisdom ultimately comes from knowing Jesus Christ and following His ways. When He alone is our foundation, we can walk in freedom, victory, and hope. But, maybe you don’t feel like you have wisdom. You see other people who appear to be so wise; people seem to hang on their every word. They’re the people that everyone wants a little bit of their time, and whose words are quotable. Whoever came to your mind, go through the list of what godly wisdom looks like from Day 1. Are they honorable, humble, selfless, pure, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, impartial, and sincere? They don’t have to possess every trait, but chances are, they possess many. Consider asking them what they did to get where they are today. There’s a strong chance that they not only sought God, but also learned from others along the way. Maybe you're in a place where you truly don’t feel like you possess godly wisdom, and you have no idea what you’d do in any given situation that you face. So, what do you do when you don’t know what to do? Ask God. James 1:5 says, “But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. He is generous to everyone and will give you wisdom without criticizing you.” Isn’t that amazing? If we need wisdom, we can literally just ask God. And you know what? He’ll give it—no questions asked. In fact, He’ll give His wisdom so generously to us and won’t even judge us for our past actions. He’s just pleased that we’re seeking Him and aiming to live wise lives filled with His truth. Allow this Bible Plan to be a starting point for you on your journey to becoming a more wise person. Never stop learning and growing in this area. God always wants us to keep a posture of learning. And people with godly wisdom know this. So, seek God, walk in obedience, and ask Him for wisdom. Ask Him to bring you wisdom beyond your imagination.

One of the biggest signs of the ongoing presence of sin in our lives is prayerlessness. Prayerlessness says, “I don’t need to ask God to help me with my daily life.” Another way of talking about this sin of prayerlessness is in terms of pride. Pride doesn’t think it needs God’s help. Pride thinks that more will be accomplished today by skipping a time of prayer and starting to do the tasks for the day. Our prayer life, more than anything else, shows us how much pride is in control of our hearts. One of the keys to a flourishing, daily prayer life is battling the pride that stands in the way of it. You have to fight to embrace your childlike identity by fighting pride with the words of Jesus, who said, “for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Daily prayer happens when we see through the delusions of pride that say we don’t need to ask God for help. Others show that they struggle to embrace their childlike identity by believing that they need to use a sophisticated strategy to talk to God in prayer. But God doesn’t want us to look at prayer like that. No decent parent makes their kids speak to them perfectly for them to hear and help. When you think you must have a perfect presentation, or even a perfect “record” for the day, for your heavenly Father to hear your prayers, you show you don’t understand the greatness of his love and grace. Normal parents don’t stop taking care of their kids, wanting to do what’s best for their kids, when they aren’t asking or living perfectly. Why would we think God would do less than that? We, of course, can overreact and think that our lives don’t matter at all. If a child is consciously rejecting the parents’ clear instructions, parents understand that if they don’t address the problem, they are enabling and training the child to do the wrong thing. That’s what Jesus’ half-brother James was talking about when he told Christians that they weren’t receiving answers to prayer, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions” (James 4:3). Part of embracing a childlike identity is taking seriously the command to do your heavenly Father’s will. Will you be perfect? Nope. Jesus knows you’re not perfect, that’s why he came to save you. But his grace doesn’t just change your standing before him; when it is received by faith, it changes the direction of your life. While complete change won’t be likely today, genuine change will. That’s why Jesus wants his listeners to embrace their childlike identity. If you want to learn to pray, you need to remember who you are. You’re God’s child, so this daily act that leads to daily prayer marked by boldness is for problems and plans that are big and small. When you truly see who God is as your heavenly Father and who you are as his child, no request is too small for him to hear and help.

If normal dads want to do what’s best for their kids, how much more should we expect the perfect, heavenly Father to always do what’s best for his kids? Jesus made this point to another audience filled with good folks like you and me. He said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Jesus starts his teaching on prayer by clarifying how he wants his listeners to view the God to whom they are speaking. Because your view of God will determine your practice of prayer. And your practice of prayer will reveal your view of God. But Jesus doesn’t just tell us that we are talking to a God who is “Father,” so we know he is willing to help. He also tells us that we are talking to a God who is “in heaven,” so we know that he is able to help. “In heaven” isn’t meant to communicate distance; it’s meant to communicate competence. Because God is “in heaven,” he is unstoppable. Jesus is connecting the identity of the one we are speaking to in prayer with the God who “is in heaven and does whatever he pleases” (Psalm 115:3 CSB); the one for whom “all things are possible” (Mark 10:27); the one who easily brought about every miracle we find in Scripture. His power is unmatched and unending. And he never needs a break when he does more in a moment than we can do in a lifetime. Jesus wants us to know from the very beginning that we are speaking to a God who is endlessly capable and eagerly willing to do what’s best for his kids. He wants us to have so high a view of God’s power that we really believe he can make a difference in our inner thought life, health, relationships, finances, work life, and more, and a high enough view of God’s love that we really believe he is eagerly working to do what’s best in our lives. Do you view God like this? How do you know what your heart really thinks about God’s ability or willingness to help you with your problems and plans? Look at your prayer life. If you are daily asking God for help, you have a heart that believes in God’s ability and love. If you aren’t asking, you don’t. When we say that we’re too busy to pray, our lives are saying, “It is more productive for me to get to work than to ask God to help me with my work.” That shows that we aren’t seeing who God is and what he can do rightly. Jesus designed our prayer life to change our perspective. And at the heart of this change is a change about how we view God, from thinking he is unable or unwilling to help to knowing he is able and willing.

On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - What went down and what we thought of the AEW x NJPW PPV Forbidden Door! - WWE's next premium live event is THIS SATURDAY! We preview Money In The Bank! - UFC 276 is THIS SATURDAY! We breakdown & preview the card! All that and much more! Be sure to check out this week's featured aPODalypse podcast: Super Media Bros! Website: https://www.supermediabrospodcast.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SuperMediaBros Twitter: https://twitter.com/SuperMediaBros_ For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory Rate & Review on Podchaser! Find Us on Twitch! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff Shop Comics Online: Shop Cheers To Comics & Use the promo code “ODPH” for 10% off your order!

We Love Because He First Loved Us 1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. The most perplexing thing about God is not that He is omniscient, omnipresent or omnipotent. Since He is God, these virtues are somehow given or expected. Otherwise, He wouldn’t be known as God. The thing that is the hardest to comprehend is that though He is so powerful and almighty, He is also love! Through the tainted lenses of how we see our world, power and love don’t seem to jive. You cannot be powerful and loving at the same time. You must be either one. But our God is both. The extent of His love is fully expressed in the father’s unconditional love. Therefore, as children of God, we love because love comes from God. And we can love because He first loved us. Knowing this helps us understand that this love does not originate from us. It is not something birthed out of a desire within us, rather it is a new revelation of where this love comes from. Now that we know where this love comes from, we have a new responsibility. Because no one has seen God, loving people can become a way for people to see God, through us. So when we choose to love, others will see and experience God through us, knowing that God is living in us, and His love is made complete in us. Loving others is not an emotional decision. Rather, it is a spiritually convicted decision. It is now our duty of care as followers of Christ to show others this dimension of love. Remember, we love because He first loved us! Reflection: This love that we now have is one birthed out of the revelation of who God is. Armed with this truth, who do you want to love and how do you plan on doing that? Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 1 John 4:7‭-‬21 NIV

Playing the Long Game For our final day together exploring God’s blessings, I want to share where I believe being a bigger blessing starts: clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and caring for the sick. Every statistic about people living below the poverty line or experiencing homelessness reveals how much our cities are hurting below the surface. Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God. You can add other metrics to the mix, such as mental health. And you can fill in the blank based on where you live. But no matter how you slice it, we live in a fallen world surrounded by hurting people. The good news? God’s kingdom is coming, and we are the conduits of His blessing. Seeking the health of your city and caring for the poor and hungry may sound daunting, but it is really just another invitation from God to bless others and receive His blessing in return. Jesus said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40, NIV). That’s the heart of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. It’s the way we play the long game, the giving game! Show me the size of your dream, and I’ll show you the size of your God. So what are you believing God for? Of course, no matter how big your dream is, God is bigger still! James, the brother of Jesus, reminds us, “You do not have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2, NIV) Jesus’s words up the ante: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7, NIV). Blessing is yours for the asking, but the only way to keep it is to give it away. In the words of the martyred missionary Jim Elliot, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” So who will you bless today? How will you bless them?

When our relationship is one of delight in the Lord, we are not going to want to do things, possess or use things, or enter into any relationship that will damage, in any way, our relationship with the Lord. Think back to the way you felt when you were deeply in love. To the best of your ability, you didn’t let anything come between you and your loved one. Nothing mattered as much as keeping your relationship as wonderful as it was on the first day you fell in love. So it is with the person who delights himself in the Lord. Such a person will not want anything that might inhibit, hinder, stall, or interfere with his relationship with the Lord. The person will want only what is good for the relationship. When we seek the Lord and delight ourselves in Him, we want only what is pleasing to Him and only what He wants us to have. Furthermore, we will be satisfied completely with what the Lord gives us. As 1 John 1:3 tells us, “Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (NKJV). That’s the ultimate fellowship. Knowing God. Communicating with Him—pouring out our hearts to Him and hearing His desires, His plan for us, His purposes. Loving Him with all our hearts and receiving awareness of His vast love. Being at peace with God and knowing God’s peace in our hearts. Praising God and being filled with God’s joy. Being in a position to say, “My God.” That is truly what it means to have fellowship with God.

Fix Your Thoughts When we fill our thoughts with the right things, the wrong ones have no room to enter. — Joyce Meyer Testing our thoughts and learning to take them captive is a huge part of the mental battle we have with our thoughts. So, when we can learn to do that as a regular practice, we will gain control over our thoughts. But what if we chose to be more proactive with our thoughts in order to prevent reacting later on? There will still be thoughts that have to be tested and taken captive, of course. For we are not perfect. We can, however, choose to follow through with Paul’s exhortation in Colossians 3:2 NIV, which says, “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.” In setting our minds on “things above” we will have less thoughts that need testing and being taken captive. When we set our minds, we are striving for something and directing our mind toward a certain thing. This verse says we shouldn’t set our minds on earthly things. Those “earthly things” usually distract us and cause our thoughts to keep us from God’s best. There are plenty of things we see every day that are out of our control. But, much of what we see can be prevented. What we put in front of our eyes is a big deal. If you feel that you have too many toxic thoughts, what is it that could be causing them? Could it be things on TV, social media, or the news? It’s wise to analyze the things we are viewing daily and ask God to show us what would be a good thing to decrease or eliminate altogether. Much like we need to watch what we put in front of our eyes, we also need to consider what is going into our ears. What we hear affects our thoughts just as much as what we see. Have you noticed what types of music, books, or podcasts possibly cause toxic thoughts in your mind? Are there things you need to include, not just remove, that will build you up and help create healthy thoughts instead? Instead of focusing on and setting our sights on things that could cause toxic thoughts, let’s be proactively mindful of what we choose to put in front of us. When we choose things that honor God and keep us pure in heart, we will have less thoughts to test and take captive. Reflect What tends to be your struggle? What you watch or what you listen to? List the biggest thing you need to eliminate from what you normally watch or listen to. Chances are you already know what that is. Give it up for 21 days and see what a difference you see in your thought life.

On this edition of the ODPH, the panel sits down to discuss: - Super Bowl 56 is THIS Sunday! We breakdown the matchup! - UFC 271 takes place THIS Saturday! We preview the card! - Who might be the next person to walk through AEW's "forbidden door"! All that and much more! Be sure to check out this week's featured aPODalypse podcast: Ratchet Book Club! Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ratchetbooks For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory Rate & Review on Podchaser! Find Us on Twitch! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff Shop Comics Online: Shop Cheers To Comics & Use the promo code “ODPH” for 10% off your order!

You are made for a mission. Jesus calls us not only to come to him, but to go for him. But it's easy to get distracted, because Satan would rather have you do anything besides sharing your faith. "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

God loves to use weak people. If God only used perfect people, nothing would ever get done. He is never limited by our limitations. God works best when I admit my weakness. "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

You were shaped to serve God. When you are doing what you love to do, no one has to motivate you. "God works through different men in different ways, but it is the same God who achieves his purposes through them all." 1 Corinthians 12:6

Every temptation is an opportunity to do good. God develops the fruit of the Spirit by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you're tempted to express the exact opposite quality. "God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." James 1:12

Community requires commitment to fellowship with honesty, humility, courtesy and confidentiality. Cultivating community takes frequency, an investment of time. "We understand what love is when we realize that Christ gave his life for us. That means we must give our lives for other believers." 1 John 3:16

You are as close to God as you choose to be. God doesn't expect you to be perfect, but He does insist on complete honesty and bitterness is the greatest barrier to friendship with God. "Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you." James 4:8a

Day 5 of 5 of How To Love People You Disagree With At the end of the day, the point of loving people we disagree with is unity. Whether the issue is petty or prominent, we can choose people first. Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. ~ Hebrews 12:14 NLT

On this edition of the ODPH, it's mostly quiet in sports this week so we're going to discuss all things AEW & WWE! CM Punk returning to pro wrestling, Summerslam & NXT Takeover 36 recaps! And much more! Be sure to check this week's featured aPODalypse podcast: The Nerdy Photographer! Website: https://nerdyphotographer.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NerdyPhotographer Twitter: https://twitter.com/thenerdyphoto For more #ODPH Content, check out our website! For #ODPH Social Media, here’s our directory Rate & Review on Podchaser! Find Us on Twitch! Check out the ODPH Merch Store at TeePublic! ODPH Sports Edition Intro Music provided by Brian Wolff

Do not be discouraged if you don’t see any response when you share the Gospel. God will bring the harvest in His time. When we work for the Lord, we will not always see quick results. But just as a farmer remains diligent throughout the spring and summer in hopes of the harvest in the fall, we also "shall reap, if we faint not" (Galatians 6:9). So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. - 1 Corinthians 3:7

Do you want to have a testimony of fruitfulness? We were chosen and called to share the Good News of the Gospel. Invite someone today to join you on the road to Heaven. “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” - John 15:16

God’s plan is for every follower of Jesus Christ to be a witness of faith. Tell someone today that Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and share with them how they can know Him and be saved. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” - John 14:6

You have life-changing, culture-shaping, heaven-touching-earth type of influence. You have a commission to fulfill. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9

Are you ready to use the gifts God gave you? Our Creator, our heavenly Father, the ultimate parent, has lavished on us a generous wide range of incredible gifts, talents, skills, and abilities. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." - James 1:7

Words start wars and bring peace—globally, and right in our own homes. God has given us incredible power in our sphere of influence, and it begins with the words we speak. “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” - James 3:9-10

Life is hard and confusing and filled with doubts about the goodness of God and promises found in His Word. Remember, when trouble abounds, God is still on the throne. "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;" 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Cast your cares onto God and don’t pick them back up. Don’t let your cares grow into idols or lord over you. Don’t let them taint and contaminate the ground of your heart. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34

Life isn't fair, but grace isn't either. Was it fair for Jesus to take our punishment and forgive us? our human hearts want justice for everyone else and grace for us. "Make sure no one misses out on God's wonderful kindness. Don't let anyone become bitter and cause trouble for the rest of you." Hebrews 12:15 CEV

"Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do." 1 Corinthians 13:5