Guidance

Getting Started Finding a Job

Matthew 8:26 KJV
And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

One day at a time, one job application at a time, God will help you navigate through the rough seas of the job market.

One of the most important aspects of your search for employment is to have a realistic plan. If you maintain a positive outlook and set realistic goals you will get what you want. Looking for work can seem like a full time job just by itself.

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Expect Opposition

Nehemiah 4:14 NIV “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

When we strive to rebuild our lives because of the loss of a family member, marital conflict, divorce, economic instability, addiction, betrayal or some other challenge, we can expect opposition. The devil hates us and uses people to mock us, to threaten us or to block our rebuilding. Nehemiah faced the ridicule and the threats of Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod.

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Family Info & Help

Family relationships can be very challenging at times. It is important to approach difficulties prayerfully. The Christians in Recovery Web site is loaded with hundreds of pages of information and files designed to help you learn and to equip you.

You are not alone! God can and will help you overcome your situation.

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Hiding God’s Word in Your Heart

Psalm 119:11 says, I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. How can we hide God’s Word in our heart? I memorize Scripture to hide it in mine.

Some people insist they are too old to memorize God’s Word. They say they could when they were younger but not any more. Our memory may not function as quickly as it did when we were younger, but it still functions.

Several steps for Scripture memory have worked for me. Here are a few of them:

  • Write the verse on Post-um notes and put it on your refrigerator, the bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car, and on your desk.
  • Write the passage on a 3 x 5 inch lined card in a mini spiral notebook.
  • Set a timer on the hour and recite the verse to yourself.

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Patience Doesn’t Develop in 5 Minutes

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

God isn’t McDonald’s.

Most fast food joints are now promising your meal within so many minutes or it’s free. And you get it: all the sawdust, processed sugar, and dirt (yes, dirt!) you can eat and within five minutes, no less. And I think we’ve become so accustomed to having what we want when we want it that we’ve forgotten: God isn’t McDonald’s. (Thank goodness.) The really good things in life most often don’t come in five minutes.

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Do You Feel God is Failing You?

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

Some years ago I served on a pastoral care team at a large Southern California church, where one of my primary responsibilities was biblical counseling. I never ceased to be amazed at the number of Christians who came into my office to complain of God’s unfaithfulness and unfair treatment in their lives. Financial problems? God’s provision wasn’t sufficient. Wayward children? God hadn’t led them properly. Broken marriage? God had failed to intervene.

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Our Lives Should be More Like Jazz

I don’t know much about jazz except that I usually like it, especially live. I’m thinking that our lives might be a little richer if they were a little more like jazz.

Jazz music is sort of unscripted. Each song has a basic melody and sometimes words, but the performance is spontaneous. Real jazz isn’t rehearsed like a lot of other music—it’s more of a live interaction between the musicians. They practice and develop their individual skills, but the music happens when they play off one another.

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Renew

Have you ever just needed a fresh start, a clean slate? Ever wanted to start over?

One of the many amazing aspects of following Jesus is the reality of new beginnings. No matter where we’ve been, what mistakes we’ve made, God offers each moment as an opportunity to choose a different path.

Renew doesn’t have to mean a complete overhaul. Sometimes it’s just an update, taking stock of where you’ve been and making necessary course corrections. Six months is a good time to assess, evaluate, and renew. I want to use this week to look at my goals for the year and see where I might need to change some tactics, and I want to use it as a time to renew my commitments to those goals.

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