Love gives; selfishness takes (John 3:16, John 10:10). When we go to God for grace, He shares His attention and appreciation with us. Look at the amazing grace He bestowed on us when He loved us so much He gave His only begotten Son to the entire world for the salvation of every soul. When we know and accept that gift personally, it will be in our conversations continually, says the psalmist, ?Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!? (Psalm 150:6).

Love looks like grace, and grace looks like being thankful. Pass it on. When you smile and express appreciation, you and the person with whom you interact will both receive a blessing and go on about your day happier.

When you express appreciation and love to others, you become a more attractive person yourself. People are craving?are hungry for? God?s grace. One way to satisfy that craving and hunger is to take every opportunity to express appreciation for the contributions they make to your life or to society or the world in general.

It is a fact that people tend to rise to the image we have of them. When we communicate our positive image of people, they will likely live up to what we see in them. Isn?t that wonderful? That?s what God does for us, isn?t it? He demonstrated how valuable we were to Him by coming here and giving His life for us because He saw us as ?future perfect,? even while we were ?current sinners.?

When we allow God to work in us to will and to do His good pleasure, we begin to get a vision of His plan for us?and for everyone else too. He loves and encourages us to follow Him and to be the best we can be. In turn, we can love and encourage others to do the same. God?s way of working is downright beautiful. It?s exciting to watch, and it?s exciting to participate in it.

God views each of us as His royal children with whom He plans to reign throughout all eternity. Now, that?s a positive image, isn?t it? Don?t you want to live up to God?s image of you? Don?t you want to share God?s image of others with them? Ephesians 5:20 invites us to give thanks always for all things to God the Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus. This keeps us focused on our good God and His grace. How He loves our positive praise and thanksgiving!

In the New Earth, we will live forever in the presence of God. We will be together with loved ones who died having faith in Jesus Christ. It will be the greatest family reunion we will ever experience! Death will never separate anyone again. It will no longer be a part of our story. Sin will never enter the picture again (Revelation 21:4). Satan and his evil angels will finally be destroyed, and we will live in perfect peace.

But to partake in this amazing reality, we must die to self and live for Christ (Galatians 2:20). Meaning, we do not get to fulfill our carnal desires, which are at enmity with our Creator. We do not get to indulge in a lifestyle of sin. Instead, we get to live for Jesus! Every day. Living for Jesus is counterculture to the world?s way of doing life. It must be, for God?s way is the only path that leads to eternal life.

When you adopt a YOLO [you only live once] mindset, anything goes! But when you live with heaven in your heart and on your mind, you know that you cannot take earthly pleasures and treasures with you when you die. You can take only your character to heaven. That is why God works so hard to help His children develop characters that look like His. He has something far beyond YOLO to offer. He offers everyone eternal life.  

I went onto the back porch and glanced over at Lily?s doghouse. Something wiggled and dangled from off its roof, caught in a spider?s web. Looking closer, I saw that a little frog was hopelessly trapped. I grabbed a paper towel and used it to pull the frog out of the web and then took him to the water pump and gently let little drops of water loosen the entanglement. The mesh was on each of its little feet and even across its face. Very gently, I pulled the strands off, and when the web was removed from his head, I saw beautiful, minuscule eyes. The frog was pastel green in color and so cute. I placed him in my garden box among the chives and one tomato plant. He seemed weak. I checked on him periodically as he moved to different spots, regaining his strength. Later in the day, he made a little impression in the soil under some chickweed to hide. Carefully, I placed a brown leaf over him. The next day, he was gone from the garden box. Frogs are active at night, so hopefully, he is happily safe somewhere else this morning.

It brought me great satisfaction to help this tiny creature?something I needed to uplift my spirits. Over and over, we are told how Christ came to this earth not to be served but to serve. Jesus knew that service to others is what our hearts need to be happy and fulfilled. Too many times, my mind is focused on self and the unhappy things happening in this world, but through this little frog, Jesus reminded me again that ministry to others is the pathway to a fulfilling and purposeful life.

It is in the order of God that persons of varied temperament should associate together. When this is the case, each member of the household should sacredly regard the feelings and respect the rights of the others. By this means mutual consideration and forbearance will be cultivated, prejudices will be softened, and rough points of character smoothed. Harmony may be secured, and the blending of the varied temperaments may be a benefit to each.?Signs of the Times, September 9, 1886, par. 2.

Today let the question come home to the heart of every one who professes the name of Christ, ?Dost thou believe in the Son of God?? . . . Many accept Jesus as an article of belief, but they have no saving faith in him as their sacrifice and Saviour. They have no realization that Christ has died to save them from the penalty of the law which they have transgressed, in order that they may be brought back to loyalty to God. Do you believe that Christ, as your substitute, pays the debt of your transgression? Not, however, that you may continue in sin, but that you may be saved from your sins; that you, through the merits of his righteousness, may be re-instated to the favor of God. . . .

You may say that you believe in Jesus, when you have an appreciation of the cost of salvation. You may make this claim, when you feel that Jesus died for you on the cruel cross of Calvary; when you have an intelligent, understanding faith that his death makes it possible for you to cease from sin, and to perfect a righteous character through the grace of God, bestowed upon you as the purchase of Christ?s blood.?The Review and Herald, July 24, 1888, par. 4, 5.

Faith is not a human creation; ?it is the gift of God? (Ephesians 2:8). Faith does not rest on the wisdom of humankind but in ?the power of God? (1 Corinthians 2:4, 5). Christ Himself is ?the author and finisher of our faith? (Hebrews 12:2). The Spirit and Word work together. ?No man can create faith. The Spirit operating upon and enlightening the human mind, creates faith in God. In the Scriptures faith is stated to be the gift of God, powerful unto salvation, enlightening the hearts of those who search for truth as for hidden treasure.?

Faith is not built upon an external foundation but is itself the assurance, the conviction, ?the evidence of things not seen? (Hebrews 11:1). Faith in the Word of God is not based on humanly derived knowledge; rather, faith itself is the foundation of knowledge. ?By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God? (verse 3). ?Only in the light of revelation can it [nature] be read aright.? Faith is the basis for discerning between truth and error. ?Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God? (Romans 10:17). The assurance and evidence for faith is God?s Word. We walk by faith, not by sight (1 Corinthians 5:7). Attempting to use the data of reason as criteria for determining whether Scripture is the Word of God is to doubt that which has already been declared by God. It is similar to Christ?s temptation in the wilderness?namely, to doubt that He was the Son of God after He had already been affirmed by the Word of God. ?Genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures.?

On multiple fronts, it is increasingly evident America faces a critical moment in her once celebrated existence. If, as Jesus warned in Mark 3:25, ?a house divided against itself? will collapse, it is not difficult to foresee how such a fall could, in fact, precipitate what we have examined in this book. Though at first it may have seemed improbable, if not impossible, the Apocalypse?s prediction of an endgame coalition between the earth beast (America) and the sea beast (Rome) becomes much more likely in the context of a country bitterly divided and perhaps subsequently further weakened by some unnamed crisis (as we explored earlier).

Addressing the partisan divide among religious leaders, the syndicated columnist Michael Gerson wrote: ?The moral convictions of many evangelical leaders have become a function of their partisan identification. . . . Blinded by political tribalism and hatred for their political opponents, these leaders can?t see how they are undermining the causes to which they once dedicated their lives. Little remains of a distinctly Christian public witness.?

Given this void of spiritual or moral leadership, it is not hard to imagine Revelation?s earth beast?sea beast confederacy stepping into that vacuum to legislate and enforce an act of national and eventually universal religious adherence. How would a country so deeply split on multiple levels ever find the voice to stand up to a national law commanding a universal day of worship, purportedly as an act of national unification? 

My father taught me lessons from observing the oxen he had in Cuba. From him I learned the key to not feeling overly burdened when committed to helping others face their struggles and pain. A good pair of oxen is composed of a weaker or younger one and an older or stronger ox. The way in which the yoke is set up?with its adjustments of iron, wood, or leather?tells you which ox is pulling the main part of the burden.

Jesus used the figure of the yoke to refer to the load that He is willing to bear. He always carries the heaviest weight, because He is the strongest. That is why Jesus said, 'Take up my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light?' " (Matthew 11:29, 30, YLT).

Laziness.

One of the seven deadly sins in the Middle Ages was laziness. It?s hard to feel good about yourself when your biggest accomplishment for the week was guzzling a six-pack of Squirt and devouring a bag of Cheetos. But it?s hard not to feel good about yourself when you look at the acre of lawn you mowed or you finish the last sentence of a term paper. Being productive builds self-esteem.

?To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger? (Romans 2:7, 8).  

Integrity.

Four high school boys, afflicted with spring fever, skipped morning classes. After lunch, they reported to the teacher that their car had had a flat tire. Much to their relief, she smiled and said: ?Well, you missed a test this morning, so take seats apart from one another and get out your notebooks.?

Still smiling, she waited for them to settle down. Then she said, ?First question: Which tire was flat??

Dishonesty always comes back to sting us. Even if no one discovers the truth, you like yourself less when you compromise what is right. You can read every book on self-esteem, but if you are dishonest, you have no right to feel good about yourself. And I promise, you won?t. Integrity is the cornerstone of liking yourself.

It?s not what we do or whom we know that makes us like ourselves. Rather, it?s what we are. Feeling good about yourself goes deeper than just doing?it comes from being.

Kindness.

Too few people have discovered this ingredient for liking ourselves. Jay Leno tells of how he once chided a supermarket clerk for failing to say thank you, only for her to snap back, ?It?s printed on your receipt!? My guess is the clerk doesn?t like herself much.

Everyone can express kindness. Kindness means you smile. Kindness means you sit next to the new redhead from Arkansas when you?d rather eat lunch with ?the gang.? Kindness means listening to your Aunt Maggie tell the same story for the trillionth time. Kindness means chuckling at your dad?s stale joke for the trillionth time. It?s keeping a secret, passing on a compliment, honoring your word.

The better we treat others, the more we like ourselves. Look for ways to show kindness and notice how you feel about yourself.

Christ presented to the multitude of Jews and Gentiles of all nations the real original truths connected with his kingdom, which had been buried out of sight. He sought to clear away the mist and fog of their false, long-cherished ideas in regard to his mission and his kingdom. They supposed it was a temporal, earthly kingdom; but he showed them its spiritual and eternal nature. He unfolded before them the far-reaching principles of the law of God; commandment after commandment he opened before them in its true spiritual bearing, and showed the extent of the requirements of God?s precepts. They are not only to direct conduct, but to control the heart. The lessons given by Christ were so different from anything to which the people had listened from the scribes and Pharisees, that they were astonished at his doctrines. He did not present labored, intricate arguments that buried with exactions the commandments of God, so that no one could ever hope to keep them. Jesus, the great Teacher, laid open in the simplest language, the great moral truths, clothing them with freshness and power.?The Review and Herald, March 21, 1893, par. 3.