Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”   Matthew 22:37-39
“Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude.” Colossians 4:2
“Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”   1 Thessalonians 5:18
Oh me, oh my!  God knew I needed to be reminded of these verses today!  (I’m so grateful I love, live for, and serve the omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, God!)
Does your mind ever seem to wonder off and start permeating with grouchiness, doubt, and/or negativity?  Well, mine sure can.  That’s just Satan attempting to seep his way into your thoughts.
The last part of Genesis 4:7 says, “…it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.”  Sounds like a creepy movie, right?  Well, the devil and his schemes are like a horror film.  Now this is not just a horror film that you can sit back and enjoy your popcorn at the same time (even though that’s what many folks do.) No way!  This film wants to get into your psyche and begin to take hold of your being. Yikes!  That gives me the hibbie-gibbies.
Notice that it says “you’ve got to master it”.  You may say to yourself, “Hmmm, how is little ole me going to take control of the evil giant?”  Now, just stop right there!  Don’t you remember how David defeated Goliath?  Hmmmm, it wasn’t just David doing it, it was God with Him.  Let that be a lesson to you.  YOU can’t defeat Satan on your own.  You must pray, focus, and allow The God Almighty to rule within you, take control of your life, so that He can control those evil and sinful thoughts.
So how are you going to allow The God Almighty to do that?:

• Love Him. Oh, friend, don’t just love Him, but love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. I pray that you have the strongest desire for Jesus Christ to reign over you.
• Love others! This will take the focus off of you and bring much happiness to your life.
• Pray ALL THE TIME! God loves it when you chat it up with Him. He loves to chat with you as well; you just have to make sure that you hush long enough to listen.
• Stay alert of Satan schemes. I pray that you will recognize when this happens, and give it to God to control right away.
• Be thankful! You know the song, “Count your blessings name them one by one.” I challenge you to start now to think about and be grateful for all those blessings in your life. Fill your day with thankful thoughts.
• Be cheerful. Have a cheerful heart. Put a smile on your face and you just may end up putting a smile on someone else’s face as well. I hope that you will spread joy wherever you go.
• And finally, LIVE IN CHRIST. Galatians 2:20 says, “So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me.”

 
I pray many blessings and much joy for you! Have a wonderful day. – Stephanie