How to Live a Successful Life

On February 15, 2026January 25, 2026 By JCIn MiscellaneousLeave a comment

Have you ever read the Bible or heard a sermon and thought, ‘How do I apply that in my life?’ Sometimes, depending on the Bible translation you are reading, understanding how God’s word applies to our lives today can be confusing. But God does not want us to be confused about how to live our best lives, He tells us step by step how to live successful lives.

The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom, providing insight, knowledge and discernment. Chapter 1, verses 2 through 6 help us understand what the book of Proverbs is even for. The purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help us understand the insights of the wise, how to live disciplined and successful lives, and to help us do what is right, just, and fair.

The Proverbs are for the young, the old, smart people, those who think they are smart and the foolish. If you are thinking, ‘I am already very wise’, then may the wise listen and apply the Proverbs and become even wiser.

The first proverb that we can apply in our lives is Proverbs 1:7, “Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” We are to fear or honor or revere the Lord, which means we are to respect and obey Him, His word and His Son, Jesus. If we want true knowledge, we must first honor the Lord and do what His word says. If we reject God’s word by denying it is truth or we read it and do not obey it, then we despise discipline, which makes us fools and unable to obtain wisdom. Without wisdom, it is impossible to live a successful life.

Let’s pray. Father in heaven, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the book of wisdom that we have in Proverbs. Lord, help us to apply what we read in our everyday lives. Lord, help us to live disciplined and successful lives. Help us not to be fools but instead help us to embrace Your word. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

Secrets to Life – Part Four

On April 28, 2024April 22, 2024 By JCIn Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

It seems that everyone is looking for the secrets to life to increase happiness, joy, peace, love or to attain some other positive state of mind. Each week, a secret to life has been revealed that is intended to lead you to a more peaceful, love-filled and joyous state of being. This week, the fourth secret to life is revealed.

Forgiveness. When you forgive someone, it does not mean that you agree with what they did or that you deserve whatever they did to you. Instead, forgiving them means that you are taking back the control that you gave them.

When someone hurts us and we carry around a grudge, they have the control over our emotions. We hand them our freedom and they do not deserve it. They do not deserve to have any power over you. When you forgive them, you are removing the grip they have on you – your peace, your joy, your love. . .your emotions.

Sometimes it is hard to forgive. Pray for the strength to be able to forgive and ask God to heal you like only He can. Forgiveness is about you and your journey, not the person who hurt you. While forgiving someone may not be easy, you deserve it.

Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You that You love us more than we can ever understand. You see every scar and every hurt or grudge that we carry. Please give us the strength to forgive. Please heal us and make us stronger than we have ever been. In Your Word, You tell us to leave vengeance to You. Help us to believe You in cases where an injustice has occurred. Help us to focus on Your promise to right the wrongs. Thank You for Your love, grace, mercy and peace. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Secrets to Life – Part Three

On April 21, 2024April 16, 2024 By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

Serve others. Even when you do not want to or you do not feel like serving others. ‘Others’ can be those you live with or they can be complete strangers. ‘Serving’ can be a compliment to a loved one on how helpful or kind they are to you. ‘Serving’ a stranger can be paying for the order of the car behind you in the drive-thru. There are many different ways to serve others.

Why is this a secret to life? It moves the focus from you to another. It reminds us that we are all a part of the same human race on the same planet, all moving toward our individual day to die. Serving others is infectious, you share a compliment, then that person may share a compliment with another and so on. Or in the drive-thru, the person who received the free meal from you may pass that forward and buy the next car’s meal and so on. Serving others results in kindness and the more kindness that exists, the more peace, love and joy there will be for all of us.

Let’s pray.

Father in heaven, thank you for the opportunity to serve others. There are so many ways that I can be a blessing to someone – whether that is a kind word, a smile, sending a card, buying someone’s coffee or many other ways. Please show me today how to serve someone. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Secrets to Life – Part One

On April 7, 2024April 5, 2024 By JCIn Miscellaneous, Wounded Butterflies BlogLeave a comment

It seems that everyone is looking for the secrets to life to increase happiness, joy, peace, love or to attain some other positive state of mind. The reality is that we live in a world that is broken and breaking more each day. There are wars, hunger, poverty, injustice, disease and hurting people all around us. People are being born and dying everyday; humanity is in a constant state of change. Yet one thing remains the same, we are all going to die.

The first secret to life is for relationships and it is anchored in love. This secret works in any relationship: marriage, family, friends, professional and so on.

Each person in the relationship needs to love Jesus more than the other person. In John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments.”. The commandments of Jesus include loving others more than yourself, working to create and maintain peace, treating all people with kindness and showing mutual respect for each other, among many others.

You may be thinking that this sounds great, but what if you are the only person in a relationship that loves and obeys Jesus? Begin by praying faithfully for the other person to exhibit love, peace, joy, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, goodness, patience, and self-control. As you are praying for them, ensure that you are living out these qualities, try to be an example. This type of situation is not easy and may take time. If you begin to feel frustrated or disheartened, focus on the fact that you can only control and manage your behavior, it is up to God to work on them. Just keep praying and draw strength from Jesus.

Let’s pray. Father, please be with us as we work to obey Your commandments. Help all of us to love each other and above all to love Your Son, Jesus. It is in His name that we pray, amen.