"True integrity comes from what's inside your house. If you can't be a good spouse and parent and invest your time properly there, how can you advice others?"

 

Isn't it interesting how people will turn to God in times of extreme crisis, when they haven't been practicing their faith at all before that? I asked Pastor Bill why he felt people do this. He explained that people often take their relationship with God for granted and our faith is put on the back burner without realizing what really matters in life. Problems will cause people to turn back to their faith and re-examine their relationship with God. Pastor Bill explains the need to keep God in the forefront of our mind all the time, explaining that there are many benefits to building a permanent relationship with the Lord in good and bad times alike. You can use this relationship to go into the world and do good things for others, making them glad you are around. You can change their day for the better. Pastor

Bill uses his competitive background in sports and explains that instead of just paying things forward you can look to pay it forward a little bit more than what was done for you. Emphasize the importance of those little things in your life. Be there today, don't promise to be there tomorrow.

 

God never leaves you. Sometimes friends will come in and out of your life and this can leave you feeling a sense of abandonment but God is always there for you. It is not always easy to live a good life and sometimes your loved ones will not support your choice to walk with God. But if you can keep the Lord in your heart, this love can help you accelerate issues by learning lessons quicker. With God you can reach a point of acceptance quicker because you will be looking for the approval of God not the approval of man.  Make an effort to get the best of every situation, your attitude will make the light happen all around you. If you have a good attitude you will have a high altitude but a bad attitude will result in a low altitude. Without God in our hearts we learn to deal with situations and feeling not heal from these situations. God can help to heal you so you can accept life and not be controlled by the opinions of others.

 

There are risks to having faith in the Lord. Salvation may be free but it's not cheap and it may cost you your life. Religious persecution happens everyday and many die for their love of God. When you make the decision to keep God in your heart not everyone will be happy with you and sometimes you have to let go of the past. Don't allow this past to dictate your future! Reach out, aim high and go for your future, strong in your faith in the Lord. You can't just hope for change, you have to make change happen.

 

There are also many benefits of being part of the God community. You will have a fellowship of people and support. These people can be strong for you when you are weak and you in turn can be strong for them in their times of weakness. As human beings, we are designed to connect and when you don't connect you will have less satisfaction in your life. However we must remember, Jesus had twelve disciples, three friends and one best friend. Sometimes you will not find lots of quality friends. A couple of people that you can really depend on is all you need.