Praising God is one of the greatest acts of faith based worship.

What in the world was Paul thinking? He’d been beaten. Was in chains inside a Roman jail. And he’s praising God in the midst of it all. What?

Here’s what Paul knew – the future. He knew there was a certain Philippian correctional officer who was ripe for the harvest. And the only way to reach him was to be inside the jail.

Paul could have avoided all of this by using his get out of jail free card – his Roman citizenship. You can’t beat or jail a Roman without a trail, which Paul didn’t get.

Why didn’t Paul exercise his legal rights? To fulfill His God given purpose of sharing the gospel where others had never gone before.

Paul is not only in this officer’s jail, but he’s also sharing about Jesus through praising God. After a little cage rattling, this correctional officer and his entire family came to faith in Jesus.

Now think about this. God has told us the future as well. He will change our lives to be like Jesus. It can occur today and tomorrow, but definitely when we step into eternity (1 John 3:2).

Therefore, we should praise Him by faith in the midst of the change process, no matter how difficult it may be or where we find ourselves. We praise Him by faith because we know He will finish the job.

We often think of praising God after He’s done something. This is true. But it’s also true that we should praise Him in the midst of the process knowing that our current struggle will not last forever.

Yes, life-change is difficult, especially the longer the “flesh” or old thinking/brain wiring has been around. Yet, our lives will be changed! So instead of a dour look, we should praise Him by faith in the moment with a smile.

Let your face know that God is at work within you. Praise by Him faith.

“We must allow the Word of God to correct us as much as we need it to encourage us.” AW Tozer

Recently, I had to go through a very painful correction. At first, it made me angry. I felt this person was attacking my integrity. But in reality, the Lord was showing me a blind spot, which I obviously didn’t see. Why? It was in my blind spot!

This correction was absolutely needed for me to draw closer to Jesus. Would I have rather the conversation been less painful? Yes. But would I have listened to the much-needed correction without it? Probably not.

We live in a fallen world where the information that makes its way into our brains either lines up with the truth or it doesn’t. All lies, though, if allowed to remain, will eventually cause pain. It doesn’t matter whether they are big or small, or how or who put them there either. If left intact, they will lead to behaviors (aka sin) that will bring great discomfort, if not today, definitely tomorrow.

Once we feel the pain (“How dare you talk to me that way!”) of our wrong heading, however, we have a choice to make. We can either follow the Spirit’s conviction, weed out the lie through putting in and acting upon the truth He gives us, which brings joy, peace and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit.

Or, we can ignore the pain and experience the negative effects of our broken choices (guilt, shame, ruined relationships, etc.). The issue then becomes: Will we allow the pain to drive us toward Jesus?

Quite frankly, if I hadn’t been confronted in the manner I was, I would have continued in the way I was going. Why? I wouldn’t have known I was in great need of a course correction!

Life without the pain of correction would just be plain miserable. Though we don’t like the correction, our loving Father uses it to draw us closer to the One who can save us from a lot of heartache.

Jesus is the author of life where the good stuff is held for those who go His direction.

David defeated Goliath because He already knew God’s strength.

The following made me think, “Each step in the divine process has value on its own. But none of them are the end goal. Each step points toward a greater destination.”

The twelve spies were to scout the Land God said would be theirs. This was the goal – a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – a land where their descendants would call home.

Getting out of Egypt was not the goal, but a step in the journey. Crossing the Red Sea on dry ground was not the goal, but a step closer to home. Winning their first war with the Amalekites wasn’t the end game either, making a homeland in Canaan was.

Each challenge overcome strengthened them for the next step in their journey, so they would be ready for the ultimate challenge – taking Canaan.

The Israelites, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, had short memories. They forgot how far they had come, with Whom they came and what they had already seen God do.

In comparison, the giants in the Land should have been child’s play! Each victory should have given them strength to go forward in fulfilling the ultimate goal – making Canaan Israel. Yet they quit and were stuck in the desert.

The goal for Jesus’ believers will always be to become like Jesus. To keep going forward, we must remember the victories we’ve already seen the Spirit accomplish in and through us up to this point in time.

The Psalmist described this as moving from strength to strength (84:7). Strength gained from past victories can be used to face the current challenges the Spirit will use to further transform our lives into Christlike character, which only increases our strength.

Strength to strength. Remember and praise God for what He’s already done. This forms the basis of taking your current anxiety, frustration or challenge to Him. Then you can stay focused on the truths He wants you to follow in the present, which gives you the strength to become more like Jesus – the ultimate goal.

The voice you follow is the difference between victory or defeat.

There are so many voices clamoring for our attention these days. Voices outside our head from what we read, watch or listen; and the voices inside our head: the self-talk.

The voice of self, “I can’t do this.” The voice of failure, “I failed badly, why get up and try again only to fail again?” The voice of insecurity, “I am piece of junk, why would God want me?” The voice of ignorance, “I’m just so stupid!” The voice of bleakness, “Life will never get better.” The voice of others, “I can never trust them for that they did…again.”

The enemy loves to exploit these voices in order to get us to stop letting the Spirit change us. Instead, listen to the voice of truth, Jesus, who shuts down all those voices.

I like the lyrics to the song, The Voice of Truth. “And the Voice of Truth says, ‘This is for My glory’/Out of all the voices calling out to me/I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.”

God wants to see Jesus in us. So, He gave us the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), the Spirit of Christ (Phil. 1:19) and the Word of Christ (Col. 3:16) to overcome all negative and sinful voices, so we can shut them down!

First, be careful what you allow into your head. Are there outside sources you can eliminate? If so, unsubscribe from those sources. Reduce electronics time. And for a season, if possible, reduce exposure to certain people.  

And second, before the battle, get to know Jesus’ voice through spend time listening to Him in Scripture. Repeatedly think on the truths He gives you. He knows your battles; and thus, will prepare you for what is coming. If you don’t, failure is certain.

And when the battle starts, call out to Him. “Jesus, help!” Tell those thoughts to shut up in Jesus’ name. And then focus on the truth Jesus gave you, which will lead to victory.

Becoming like Jesus means filtering all thoughts – external and internal – through the voice of truth – the only voice that leads to freedom and a fulfilled life now and forever.

Only His thoughts open doors to experiencing the life He came to give you.

I drive on the right side of, avoid potholes in, especially when filled with water, and go around bulging rocks on the road. This is my normal driving experience, my comfort zone.

This was about to change when I drove one of these! Jan and I got to explore Kauai on an ATV. I’ve ridden one on sand, but never on red packed dirt roads rutted with ATV size potholes and basketball size boulders.

Yet, our guide told us to follow him, which meant going through those potholes, over those boulders and down the middle of the path while matching his speed. Why? These ATVs were made for these obstacles; and, he was an expert on these roads. He didn’t want us to crash and burn any more than we did. Phew! Good to know, right?

Honestly, I was a little hesitant, especially on the downhill portions of the trail in the midst of torrential downpours! But, if I wanted to see what we paid to see, and believe me it was worth it, I had to follow the guide.

Finishing with huge smiles on our faces, the Lord showed us both a valuable life lesson. Following Jesus means getting outside our boxes – our norms, our comfort zones – of thoughts we or others have put into our brains to follow Him. He is the only one who can lead us to real life on a daily basis.

The truth sets us free from the dos and don’ts of avoiding the potholes and boulders while staying on the “right side” of the road.

Let the Word of God give you outside the box thoughts to ponder and then act on by faith to explore the life Jesus has for you. As you become more like Him, you will experience new and fresh things about being with and loving Him.

Are you staying in the “safety” of your old ways of thinking? It’s time to leave your known comfort zone boxes behind to explore and experience your God work in and through your life in ways you could never dream possible.