Overcoming anxiety is a lifelong journey of faith and perseverance. Embrace God's Word, meditate on His promises, pray, engage in a supportive community, and practice gratitude.

It's impossible to outline a formula for peace-making because every circumstance is so different. Peace-making begins in us determining to pay the price. This is swallowing pride, letting go anger, refusing to speak strife, embracing the calm of the presence of God.

We frustrate the Gospel when we make Christ’s teaching all about us. ‘He wants to bless you’. ‘He has a plan for your life’. ‘He wants to heal you’. ‘He will set you free’. Honestly, I feel sick hearing a message only deepening our ‘selfie’ obsession and self-absorption. Self-centred living, even when it’s dressed up in Christian clothing can only deliver misery. The essence of His Kingdom is laying down our lives and taking up our cross. We do His will whether it benefits us or not. ‘What’s in it for me?’ is not our language.

Serving is helping people at personal cost to ourselves. It involves sacrifice. Those who have understood the power of serving other people can tell this story repeatedly. When we serve others by meeting their needs and healing their hurts, we are effective in connecting them with God. Visible love opens invisible hearts. Instead of selling Jesus, we should try serving Him to people. Instead of just witnessing to people, we need to be a witness. Francis of Assisi said, ‘Witness all the time, and if necessary, use words’.

There is a depth of consciousness we cannot plumb apart from being still. Deep thoughts surface slowly, crystallising into conscious thought, like the proverbial light bulb. We see it! We see ourselves.

Lazy people look for the big win, the breakthrough, the deal of a lifetime, the hit song, their big break. Sure, these things happen. Sometimes, but rarely. Don't count on them.

The pathway of the lazy is the fastest route to poverty. You might not be lazy all over, but most of us are lazy in one, or two areas.

Maybe we’ve got it wrong. This New Year’s resolution idea. We all know the numbers. No-one sticks with their ‘resolutions’. Time for something new. OK.

Living the fully persuaded life, the convinced life, the life of faith, means that we put our faith in the Word of God - more specifically, the Promises of God. Peter was one of those who understood what this meant more keenly than anyone else.

As Christians, our calling, no matter what we are gifted with, is to love and care for the people of God. The heart of Christianity is to love people. If you love the idea of preaching, writing, singing or counselling others more than you love people, your priorities need adjusting.

‘Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ…’ - 2 Peter 1:1-4. Peter uses both his names to introduce himself. The troubled, fearful, mercurial Simon, and the born again, leader of the church, new man in Christ, Peter. He also synthesises the fact that he is a Servant but also an Apostle. The important thing is to keep these in balance. Being an Apostle, a leader, doesn’t mean we no longer need to serve, and being a servant does not mean we therefore sacrifice leadership strength.

God doesn’t want you to go around in circles. Deuteronomy 2:3 says, ‘You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north.’ The Christian life is a walk. We are given paths to walk on. As we keep walking towards the end result that we envision for ourselves, we will keep changing into that person Jesus wants us to be. Sometimes we think that transformation is an instantaneous thing. In reality, it’s a journey that never stops. 

I firmly believe human beings are built to pray. Through prayer we connect with God and we access His power. Prayer is your spirit breathing; it activates your spiritual nature. There are all kinds of prayer: When we’re desperate, we pray. When we’re thankful, we give thanks and praise. When we have a dream, we pray.

Getting organized is amongst the most empowering things you can do in life.Even though a problem may be very large and overwhelming, when you approach 'one bite at a time' you will be surprised how quickly you will overcome it. What you thought was impossible suddenly appears possible.

Pilgrimage is more about a sober and determined decision than an emotional response.When we combine a resolute heart with the spirit of faith… we have a true pilgrim.

Attitude is everything. In this verse from Proverbs, Solomon admonished us to guard our hearts our inner attitudes, diligently because all the issues of life spring from that source.