“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT)

Serve one another humbly in love

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Gal. 5:13 NIV)

Even Jesus came to serve others

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45 NIV)

God will not forget your work

“God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” (Heb. 6:10 NIV)

 “So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.” (Eccles. 11:10 NIV)

God says many times in the Bible not to be anxious

It’s often stated as an outright command not to allow yourself to be anxious, period! That may seem shocking to those who may believe people have no self control over anxiety. But, just think about it, God would never command you to do, or not to do, anything you couldn’t do! The above passage, for instance, is a command to “banish anxiety from your heart.” Here is more from God’s Word on the subject.

Do not be anxious about anything

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7 ESV)

Cast all your anxieties on Him!

“Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 ESV)

Jesus mentions “anxious” three times in the following passage and commands you not to be anxious

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matt. 6:25-34 ESV)

God gave us a spirit of self control

“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim. 1:7 ESV)

 “He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.” (Psalm 23:3 NIV)

Life is filled with many choices to go this way or that way. How do you make the right choices? Begin by including God in them.

He will make your path straight when you acknowledge Him in all your ways

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:6 NIV)

Keep to the paths of righteousness

“So you will walk in the way of good men And keep to the paths of the righteous.” (Proverbs 2:20 NIV)

Use God’s Word to light your path

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

The way of wisdom and upright paths

“I have directed you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in upright paths.” (Proverbs 4:11 NIV)

“Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyesight was clear, and he was as strong as ever.” (Deut. 34:7 NLT)

God limited the normal human lifespan to 120 years

“Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.” (Gen. 6:3 NLT)

We have a better convent than Moses had, based on “better promises”

“But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.” (Heb. 8:6 NLT)

Pray that you may enjoy good health

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” (2 John 1:2 NIV)

What to do if you get sick

“Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” (James 5:14-15 NIV)

Jesus is the way

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6 NIV)

There is salvation in no one else

“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 ESV)

Jesus is the mediator between man and God

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1 Tim. 2:5 ESV)

Jesus is the door

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:9 ESV)

Jesus is the narrow gate”

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” (Matt. 7:13 NIV)

You’re not condemned if you believe in the Son of God

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18 ESV)

Whoever has the Son has life

“And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12 ESV)

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12 NIV)

The passage above tells important things we should know about the Word of God.

• It is alive - not dead, alert and full of life, active, energetic, vigorous, vital, vivacious, exuberant. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John. 1:1 ESV).

• It is active - busy, energetic, lively, mobile, vigorous, dynamic.” So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isa. 55:11 ESV).

• It is sharper than a two edged sword - the notion that if two sides of the same blade are sharp, it cuts both ways.

• It penetrates the heart – the center of hidden emotional-intellectual-moral activity. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7).

• It divides the soul and spirit – Soul is your inmost being, “Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” (Psalm 193:1). Spirit is the immaterial part of you that “connects” with God, who Himself is spirit. “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24 NKJV)

• It divides the joints and marrow - The marrow of a bone is in the very core of the bone and the joint is the point of connection on the outside of the bone itself that joins it to another bone. Therefore, the Word of God is sharp enough to separate between the inside and the outside of the bone.

• It judges thoughts of the heart – idea, notion, opinion, view, impression, feeling, theory; judgment, assessment, conclusion.

• It judges the attitudes of the heart – viewpoint, outlook, perspective, stance, standpoint, position, inclination, temper, orientation, approach, reaction; opinion.

The Word of God is at work in believers

“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1Thess. 2:13 ESV)

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:31-32 ESV)

Be very careful about passing judgment

“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” (Rom. 2:1 ESV)

Deal with your own transgressions first so you can see clearly to help others

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” (Matt. 7:3-5 ESV)

“Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matt. 7:1 ESV)

Restore others gently and cautiously

“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.” (Gal. 6:1-6 ESV)

 “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (NLT).” (2 Chron. 16:9 NLT)

The above passage tells us God is searching throughout the whole earth looking for those whose hearts are pure.

God cannot find a single one who is not corrupt

“God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God. But no, all have turned away; all have become corrupt. No one does good, not a single one!” (NLT). (Psalms 53:2-3 ESV)

We all fall short

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” (Rom. 3:23 ESV)

All creation is in sinful bondage

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (Rom. 8:20-22 ESV)

We have redemption by His blood

“… and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith..” (Rom. 3:23-24 ESV)

We have access by faith

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Rom. 5:1-2 ESV)

Anxiety in the heart causes depression

“Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, but a good word makes it glad" (NKJV).” (Prov. 12:25 NKJV)

Don’t be anxious about anything!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7 ESV)

God will give you strength

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28 ESV)

God saves the crushed in spirit

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalms 34:17-18 ESV)

He is your shield and the lifter of your head

“But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” (Psalm 3:3 ESV)