God chose the Apostle Paul to replace Judas, who betrayed Jesus. Paul was a zealous and dedicated servant of the Lord, providing us with good advice in several books of the Bible.

“Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.” (1 Corinthians 15:33, English Standard Version)

Our friends can build us up or tear us down. They can encourage us to make smart decisions, or lead us to make poor choices. Are your friends a positive influence on you and you on them? Avoid those who often seem to get into trouble or encourage you to do things that you know would not be pleasing to God or your parents.

“Don’t be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” (Galatians 6:7, NLT)

Paul gives us a great example – a metaphor – about gardening. If we “plant” positive things like following God’s righteous principles, we will “harvest” blessings! On the other hand, “planting” sinful thoughts and actions “harvests” more sin, leading to unhappiness. Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking that God doesn’t notice when we do or say things we know are wrong. Let’s cultivate godly characters!

“…God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7, NIV)

Do we give freely of our time and talents with a cheerful, helpful attitude? Or do we only do good deeds out of a guilty conscience or because our parents are forcing us? The next time there’s an opportunity to help someone, let’s remember this scripture, smile, and show God we are cheerful givers!

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9, NLT)

Another nice gardening metaphor! We should never feel like it’s a bothersome chore to be a blessing to others. We don’t do good in order to brag or take credit – after all, the credit should go to God for giving us the time and ability in the first place! We are blessed with a wonderful feeling when we serve others, knowing that God is pleased with this behavior.

“Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” (1 Corinthians 16:13, NIV) A strong faith in God, Jesus, and the Bible helps us to stand up for what’s right! Let’s not shrink back from doing the right thing out of fear that we might be unpopular with others.

“…Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8, NLT)

Thinking about positive, spiritual things can help us turn negative thoughts around!

Examples might be:

*Counting our blessings and recognizing all that God has provided for us and our family.

*Thinking about our favorite heroes of faith in the Bible, like the Apostle Paul, Daniel, or Esther.

*Admiring God’s creation, like our favorite animals or a beautiful day.

*Focusing on the kindness of Jesus that we read about in the Bible, imagining him teaching and healing the people.

As we have seen, the Apostle Paul’s writings are full of good advice for us today.

This video is from Christian Questions Podcast. For more information please go to https://christianquestions.com