Prayer....first response

Sometimes I marvel at how long we can struggle in a situation before we think to talk to God about it and listen for His voice. We complain about our problems; we grumble; we murmur; we tell our friends; and we talk about how we wish God would do something about it. We struggle with situations in our minds and in our emotions, while we often fail to take advantage of the simplest solution there is: prayer. But worse than that, we then make perhaps the most ridiculous statement known to man: "Well, I guess all I can do is pray." I am sure you have heard that before and maybe you have even said it. We all have. We are all guilty of treating prayer as a last-ditch effort and saying things like, "Well, nothing else is working, so maybe we should pray." Do you know what that tells me? It tells me that we really do not believe in the power of prayer as we should. We carry burdens we do not need to bear - and life is much harder than it has to be - because we do not realize how powerful prayer is. If we did, we would talk to God and listen to what He says about everything, not as a last resort, but as a first response. God's word for you today: Let prayer be your first response, not your last resort.

Enjoy the trip...life with the Spirit

Many people have received Jesus as Savior and Lord. They will go to heaven, but never draw on the full capacity of the Holy Spirit that is available to them or experience the true success God wants them to enjoy on Earth. Simply put, many will be on their way to heaven, but they won't enjoy the trip. We often look at those who have wealth, position, power and we consider them "successful." But many people who are considered successful still lack peace, joy, contentment, and other true blessings. Such people have never learned to depend completely on the power of the Holy Spirit.

God speaks

God speaks to us in many ways that include but are not limited to: His Word, nature, people, circumstances, peace, wisdom, supernatural intervention, dreams, visions, and what some call "the inner witness," which is best described as a "knowing" deep inside our hearts. He also speaks in what the Bible calls a "still, small voice," which I believe also refers to the inner witness. God also speaks through the conscience, through our desires, and in an audible voice, but always remember that when He speaks, what He says is always right and it never disagrees with His written Word. We rarely hear God's audible voice, though it does happen.

Toxic people

The people in your life can be one of the most important spiritual assets or be one of your worst curses. Those relationships that are a curse to you are toxic. This week you learn from God's Word about the dangers of toxic relationships and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people.

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV

The right people will build you up and lead you towards Christ, but if you are around the wrong people they can be very toxic. They can hurt your soul. They can hurt your relationships. They can lead you into temptation. They can drag you down. They can very easily take you away from God's best.

https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.15.33.NIV
There are three common types of toxic relationships: negative, controlling, and the tempters. 

Matthew 16 shows us that one way to manage toxic relationships is to set healthy boundaries in the way Jesus did with Peter. You might need to tell that person that you won't let them talk to you or treat you in a toxic way, or you may simply need to tell them that you are just not going to go to a toxic place in your relationship with them.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Matthew 16:23 NIV
https://matthew.bible/matthew-16-23

Another way to handle toxic relationships is to end them. The Bible is full of examples of people who cut off their toxic relationships such as Joseph and Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39.

Test cultural toxins

S 1.) Am I being entertained by sin?
2.) Is this pleasing to God? and
3.) Does this lure me away from Christ?

but test them all; hold on to what is good,
1 Thessalonians 5:21 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1th.5.21.NIV

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord ? Who may stand in his holy place?  The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.
Psalm 24:3‭-‬4 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.24.3-4.NIV
When we interpret everything according to God's Word and the purity of His truth, we will realize there are a lot of things people are doing that really don't draw us closer to God. 

People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
2 Timothy 3:2‭-‬5 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/2ti.3.2-5.NIV

Strive for the things that matter to God and not for the things that matter to others.

Just because we can ....

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.
1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/1co.6.12.NIV

Cultural toxins

Our lives are full of cultural toxins, which are those things that are culturally acceptable, but hurt our souls. Cultural toxins can be found in the books we read, the magazines we read, the music we listen to, the television shows we watch, and in the movies we watch. When we allow cultural toxins into our lives, it pollutes us. This week you will learn what God's Word says about the dangers of cultural toxins and the importance of focusing on things that draw us closer to God.
The toxic lie so many of us believe is because everyone else does it, it's okay for us and won't harm us. The truth is just because everyone else does it, doesn't mean that it's right for us spiritually.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2 NIV
https://romans.bible/romans-12-2