Jesus taught to love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:25-37). Let’s not pass over that phrase “as ourselves.” In order to properly love our neighbors, we must properly love ourselves. Low self-esteem is an improper view of self. Following are some ways to prevent and overcome low self-esteem. Keep the truth that you are made in God’s image close to your heart. God’s image is stamped on every human being. We are unique, and yes, we are useful. We are worth something to God. Jesus approached the reputably poor of society. He realized their value. He realized a tax collector and a harlot could glorify and serve Him. We need to realize that we can serve God, too. Realize that God has work for you to do, and He believes in you. Upon finding out about Jezebel’s death threat, Elijah became depressed and wanted to die. Read 1 Kings 18 and 19 to soak in this situation. He had a warped view of reality. In that mindset, he did not believe he could be useful, but the reality was that God had work for him to accomplish. We need to believe this regarding ourselves and develop a passion for carrying out God’s will for us. Elijah lost his passion for that period of time because he had a warped view of the situation. He didn’t see it as God saw it. God sent an angel of the Lord to let Elijah know He had confidence in him. We need to see it

The Bible is fully inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Galatians 1:11-12; etc.), but what was the method of inspiration? More specifically, were only thoughts and ideas inspired or were the very words? David said, “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2). The Book of Jeremiah tells us, “Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth’” (Jeremiah 1:9). The very words of the Bible have meaning. Paul made an argument based upon the plural form of a word. Notice what he wrote: “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16). Paul’s argument depends upon the “s” on the end of the word “seed.” Curtis Cates wrote, “The plural would not have communicated his argument” (67). Does it matter whether or not Paul used the plural form of the word? Absolutely! Plural and singular forms of words matter; they communicate specific concepts. You can add or take away a word, or add or take away an “s” and completely change the meaning. Words mean something. Think about pronouns. Do they have meaning? As recorded in John 14-16, Jesus used distinct pronouns to refer to the Father, to Himself and to the Holy Spirit, showing that there are distinct

It is amazing that the little muscle living inside of our mouths is the topic of so much discussion within the Bible. There is good reason for that. If you are reading this, your tongue surely has gotten you into trouble in the past, or you may even be in trouble at this very moment! One book of the Bible that has a lot to say about it is Proverbs, and why not, as it is so practical. It is no secret that much damage can be done through the tongue, through lying and deceiving (Proverbs 6:17, 19; 12:19; 17:4; 21:6; 26:28), backbiting and gossiping (11:13; 17:9), prideful boasting (8:13; 28:25), etc., but the child of God should not desire such. We need to be motivated to exercise our tongues according to wisdom, and this book of Wisdom Literature is an excellent divine guide to properly using our tongues. Let’s focus on the positive, and may we be challenged to strive to have a Proverbs tongue. Notice chapter 15. The Beholder of the Tongue “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good” (15:3). God as Creator is He who observes how we use our tongues. Solomon elsewhere wrote, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths” (5:21). When realizing that God beholds how we use our tongues at all times, we should be motivated to have a Proverbs tongue. The Tongue

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6 NASU). That last part of verse 5, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” is well known, but what is entailed in trusting in this promise? Well, entailed in it is how we view money. According to Dave Ramsey, the number one cause of divorce is “money fights and money problems.” He also says that the Bible has over 800 Scriptures about money. It sounds like we are not doing well at heeding the teaching. Money issues is one of those things that most easily causes people to lose trust in God, as if the sign that God is with us is having financial security. The reality is, Scripture shows that there are those who suffered financial hardship because they trusted in God. In the text under consideration, the one who “is free from the love of money” is the one who will trust in God’s promise to not leave us. This person “will not be afraid.” Yet, money issues seem to too easily make us afraid (I said us, including myself). Those Hebrews were experiencing persecution, which commonly resulted in being burdened financially. When this happened, it was

In allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us, we can stay the course in service to Jesus Christ. We are able to work out our salvation, not so much because God works but because He works in us (Philippians 2:12-13). However, we get sidetracked. We need to stay focused. Following are areas of focus pulled from 2 Corinthians 4 and 5 that will help us maintain motivation in serving Jesus Christ. 1. Focus on eternity (4:16-5:8).2. Focus on pleasing God (5:9).3. Focus on Judgment (5:10).4. Focus on fearing God (5:11).5. Focus on Christ’s love (5:12-14).6. Focus on His grace (5:16-17).7. Focus on the Gospel message (5:18-20).8. Focus on our Lord’s sacrifice (5:15, 21). I encourage you to study these passages and meditate upon each one. Remember, we have reason to be motivated to serve Jesus Christ!

Christianity hinges upon whether or not Jesus was raised from the dead. Paul made clear that “…if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!” (1 Corinthians 15:17). His resurrection is the very source of salvation (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). How can we know He was raised from the dead? We can know because God has provided a reliable source, inspired by Him, that sets forth the undeniable evidence. We can be sure of what God’s Word teaches; therefore, if it teaches Jesus was raised from the dead, then He was! On the day of Pentecost following the resurrection of Jesus, Peter preached the Gospel, and the theme of the sermon was the resurrection of Jesus, as without it, no one can be saved. As recorded in Acts 2, Peter appealed to specific evidences that day to make the case for the resurrection. Peter appealed to signs and wonders (2:22). Jesus performed undeniable miracles, and on one occasion, those “chief priests” even plotted to kill Lazarus since he was undeniable proof that Jesus was the Christ, as He called him from the dead (John 12:9-11; 11). Before Jesus raised Lazarus, He declared, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). The purpose of miracles was to confirm the Word (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:3-4). These miracles proved Jesus was the Christ, and the resurrection was the crowning proof. Peter appealed to Old Testament prophecy (2:25-35). The Jews present that day were familiar with the Old