10 principles that will change your life

    Are you hurting? Do you seek peace? Are you looking for hope? Do you feel stuck? Do you long for success? Transformation?
   There is a self – help book that will guide you toward peace, transformation, hope, joy, success and other positive aspects for your life. I recommend this for everyone. It works wonders. 

    Various self – help books have taken their principles from this text. However, many self – help tomes don’t work because they are missing an important element:
 Jesus
    Countless pop psychology books focus on our ego, self, what we can get out of life, how to get it and the list goes on. Putting blame on everyone in our world except ourselves. Focusing on our past hurts, bad parenting relationships, trauma, anxieties and depressions; temporal drama. Making many people believe and live out the false labels they are given. Concentrating inward on themselves, blind to the big picture. Buying more self – help books for a temporary bandage to life. Giving the reader a false sense of self; we can do it on our own.
    The self – help book I suggest everyone read is technically not in the self – help/ psychobabble genre. It is the Bible. (Did you think that is the book I was talking about?)
    The Bible is filled with life changing moral wisdom. Historical narratives with principles that stand the test of time. Stories of people going through the same things we deal with in the present. Depicting what happens when we don’t put God first in our lives – and the results when we do put Him first. Truth pointing us to our need of Jesus and His cleansing sacrifice to free us to be with God.
    The Bible draws us to focus on God and the big picture of life. The Bible depicts how we can’t do life on our own. Living for Jesus. Loving Him with all our hearts, minds, soul and strength. And God wants us to love others as ourselves. He doesn’t want us to be the spotlight of our lives, having inward focus.
    Success, joy, peace, hope and transformation comes from trusting God, believing Jesus as the way to God, the truth and the life and obeying God. Here is the option God provides – it is our choice. Therefore, I call the Bible – Christianity - self – help (loosely), because it’s up to ourselves to make the right choice for our lives.
    God can’t make you love, obey and trust Him. He gives us the power and ability to think, choose and feel. It is up to us to listen to that still small voice pointing us to drop everything and follow Him.
    Following God doesn’t guarantee life is a perpetual party. We live in a broken world connected and affected by everyone’s decisions. However, following Jesus brings hope, peace, joy, riches (not always monetary) and a thriving life. Jesus gives us motivation to live!
                             The Bible teaches us these 10 principles that will change your life:

1. Don’t speak evil.
2. Keep your lips from telling lies.
3. Turn away from evil and do good.
4. Search for peace and work to maintain it.
5. Take shelter in the Lord.
6. Fear the Lord. (Not necessarily be afraid of Him, but have a reverence, respect and honor for Him)
7. Pray continually.
8. Be strong in your faith.
9. Encourage other believers.
10. Be humble (Give all glory and honor to God. Beware false humility).

    I follow these principles and the other guidance the Word gives me, and I experience peace, joy, hope, success; a good life. My life isn’t perfect but I’m happy 90% of the time.
    Invest in the Bible as the ultimate self – help/ non self – help book. Old and New Testament are important for our lives. If you need help understanding the Bible there are many reputable people who have good Bible studies and/or Biblical based sermons and books. Kay Arthur, Tony Evans, Priscilla Shirer, Chrystal Evans Hurst are awesome Godly speakers/authors who I recommend following.
   Thanks for watching. Do you have any experience with self – help books? Did they really help you? How has the Bible transformed you?
 
References: Most of the principle list is compiled from Psalm 34, 1 Corinthian 16:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, 1 Thessalonians 5:14