How are You Spending Your Life?

​How are you spending your life? Are you WASTING it? Or are you INVESTING in it? Do you want to make a difference in the place you live? Do you want to make an impact on the state and area you live in? Do you want to make a difference in the United States? What about the world? I hope you have answered YES!

Your life is a series of choices. From the instant you wake up in the morning until the moment you nod off to sleep at night, you make countless decisions—decisions about the things you do, decisions about the words you speak, and decisions about the way that you choose to direct your thoughts.

As a believer who has been transformed by the love of Jesus, you have every reason to make wise choices. But sometimes, when the daily grind threatens to grind you up and spit you out, you may make choices that are displeasing to God.

If you really want to make a difference, you and I need to change the way we think. The Bible gives a powerful statement in James 1:23-25 NIV: “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”

Typically, we all have daily opportunities to make a positive difference in the life of another person. We know what we ought to do, but we pass up opportunities right and left. We are too busy or distracted by “more important things.”  Perhaps inconvenience prevents us from acting. Really, there are uncounted excuses that can keep us from doing anything. If you were to keep reading the book of James, you would find later on in chapter 4, verse 17, he wrote very clearly, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”  James was serious about conveying the importance of doing what is right! 

James is saying that inactivity can amount to sin. Ouch! If you are like me, so many times I have passed on the opportunity to do good and, in doing nothing, have sinned. That stings, doesn’t it? 

​Life is pretty much like a cafeteria line—it offers us many choices,
both good and bad. The Christian must have a spiritual radar that detects the difference not only between bad and good but
​also among good, better, and best.”
- Dennis Swanberg

Today can be different. Each of us can make a difference in the life of someone else. So, when you see the opportunity arise, seize it.

So, are you ready to do something about the way you think and live? This is where you say YES!  So, if you want to have an influence, I have an idea for you. Change the way you think.

Try this:

​Today I will make a difference. I will begin by controlling my thoughts. A person is the product of his thoughts. I want to be happy and hopeful. Therefore, I will have thoughts that are happy and hopeful. I refuse to be victimized by my circumstances. I will not let petty inconveniences such as stoplights, long lines, and traffic jams be my masters. I will avoid negativism and gossip. Optimism will be my companion, and victory will be my hallmark. Today I will make a difference.


I will be grateful for the twenty-four hours that are before me. Time is a precious commodity. I refuse to allow what little time I have to be contaminated by self-pity, anxiety, or boredom. I will face this day with the joy of a child and the courage of a giant. I will drink each minute as though it is my last. When tomorrow comes, today will be gone forever. While it is here, I will use it for loving and giving. Today I will make a difference.


I will not let past failures haunt me. Even though my life is scarred with mistakes, I refuse to rummage through my trash heap of failures. I will admit them. I will correct them. I will press on. Victoriously! No failure is fatal. It is OK to stumble…. I will get up. It is OK to fail…. I will rise again. Today I will make a difference.


I will spend time with those I love. My spouse, my children, my family. A man can own the world but be poor for the lack of love. A man can own nothing and yet be wealthy in relationships. Today I will spend at least five minutes with significant people in my world. Five quality minutes of talking, hugging, thanking, or listening. Five undiluted minutes with my mate, children, and friends. Today I will make a difference.”

- Max Lucado

I want to share one more verse with you. It is found in the book of Psalm 138:8 NLT, “The Lord will work out his plans for my life for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not abandon me, for you made me.”

Let us go make a difference today!

Make Every Day Count!