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The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride Ecc.7:8 How often have we seen people begin a venture in a blaze of glory only to sputter out before the task is complete? A good example of this is... Lance Armstrong; who would have thought even 5 years ago that he would be where he’s at now? There is a principle that we should all remember: It’s not how you start, its how you finish. That should be a source of hope, and caution. On the one hand, for us who have stumbled and may have regrets, God gives second chancesand third, fourth, and so on. How encouraging is Proverbs 24:16: For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity. On the other hand, we must always be careful not let off the accelerator before we cross the finish line. The end of a matter is better than its beginning, so FINISH STRONG See more

He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, [our] faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Isaiah 53:3 So tomorrow is Good Friday. But I have always believed that Good Friday... is somewhat of a misnomer. For starts, it is likely that Christ was actually crucified on a Thursday, but that is a secondary issue. More important, the adjective Good is a complete falsehood; there was absolutely NOTHING good about that day. In fact, it was far and away the most deplorable in man’s history. For it was on this day that mankind rejected and crucified the God who created them. So passionate was man’s disdain of Christ that He was beaten beyond recognitionpeople hid their faces in horror of His tortured, mangled body. Don’t think it was the Romans or the Jews who murdered the Lord; friend, it was you and it was I. Our sins placed Christ on the cross, and the unthinkable brutality of the crucifixion testifies of these two truths: The depth of our wrenched sinfulness and the immeasurable height of God’s love for us. Praise be to God: The story does not end on Good Fridaythe most deplorable of days--it ends on Easter, Resurrection Sundaythe most glorious of days. Reflect on the rest of this passage in Isaiah, as the Easter story is told in its entirety: Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5).

Virtue of the Day Humility Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring These are the ones I (God) look on with favor: those who are humble and... contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word (Isaiah 66:2b). Do you want to get God’s attention? I do. There are three things we must do to have God to look upon us favorably: 1. We must lay down all of our pride and humbly confess that we are helpless without Him. 2. We must acknowledge that we have failed God and then experience true remorse and regret that we have hurt Him by our disobedience. 3. We must acknowledge that God’s Word is true and obey it regardless of the cost. The more we commit ourselves to these truths, the better we will please God and will garner His blessings, or, as one commentator says it, We will become irresistible to God.

Virtue of the Day Self-Control Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing... of your mind (Roman 12:2a). The Phillips translation renders this verse like this: Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within When the Bible refers to the world, it is referring to that mindset of modern culture that resists, rejects and opposes God and the Truth of His Word. It is the godless mentality that dominates our public schools, universities, most of the media, Hollywood, pop culture, and the majority of our elected officials. It is that continual thrust seen throughout history that seeks to eliminate God’s wisdom and replace it with a counterfeit. Now, more than ever before, kids and their parents need to defy the group think reasoning that is enticing (and intoxicating) the masses, and allow God’s wisdom from heaven to re-shape their thinking. It’s not easy; the pressure to conform to the herd mentality is powerful. But God gives the strength and courage to take your stand. Consider these words from the Lord: Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don't touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:17-18, NLT).

Virtue of the Day Heavenly Mindedness Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced... labor (Proverbs 12:24). The old saying goes, Make money at what you love doing, and you will never work a day in your life. Although this may be an exaggeration, it’s undeniable that the way to obtain a good career is through hard work, sacrifice, and a vision for the future. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who utterly despise their jobs but are powerless to quit in fear of not being able to find another job. Often they find themselves at the mercy of horrible working conditions or perhaps a boss who’s a tyrant. How can you safeguard yourself from a miserable job? Resist laziness and be diligent.

Virtue of the Day Heavenly Mindedness Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring "Come to me (Jesus), all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give... you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30). When you think about it, there are not too many places where we can look to find rest for our souls. Can we look our economy? No, the country is on the verge of bankruptcy. Can we look to our political leaders? No, they think they have the answers but they are stumbling around in the dark, and things keep getting worse. Can we look to the environment? No, lately meteors are falling out of the sky, nothing we can do to stop that. Can we look to our military? No, there are currently a bunch of rogue nations either building nuclear bombs to wage war on us or hack into our computer networks to commit cyber terrorism against us. Can we look to friends and loved ones? No, if we place too much trust in others they will eventually let us downits just human nature. Only those who look to Jesus Christ, and His promises will ever have rest for their souls, and they will have it not because of their circumstances, but despite them. Corrie Ten Boom said this: Look inward, and be depressed; look outward and be distressed; look upward and be at rest.

Virtue of the Day Diligence Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who... sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6). It’s an inevitable fact of life: You reap what you sow; and as we read in this verse, our return on investment will be proportionate to the amount we invest. This concept is true of more than just money, but extends to tasks and activities that we engage in as well. If we are diligent, determined, and willing to sacrifice, we can expect success in our endeavors. Here’s another way of saying this: We get out of things what we put into them. Many people are fooled into thinking that they can achieve maximum reward for minimal investment. That’s why the lottery is so popular with some. But that’s not God’s way. When it all comes down to it, the level of our success depends on how bad we want to succeed and how much we are willing to sacrifice to achieve itthere’s no shortcuts to true achievement.

Virtue of the Day Others Orientated Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in... Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:32). As Christians, forgiving others is not an option; it’s a command! Even when we have no feelings of forgiveness toward another who has wronged us, we must forgive. The fact of the matter is, the Bible says nothing about feelings of forgiveness. Biblical forgiveness is a choice, never a feeling, and we either chose to obey God on this matter or we don’t. What does forgiveness look like to those who have grieved us? Identical to what Jesus’ forgiveness looks to you and IHe is the model. And if we are to truly forgive others as Christ forgave us, we are to regard the offense as though it never occurred: and I will remember their sin no more(Jer. 31:34). So forgiving those who trespass against us should look something like this: I resolve to never bring this matter up again to my offender; I resolve to never repeat this offense to another person; I refuse to dwell on this offense when it enters my mind in private. I regard it as though it never happened. We should not wait until we can muster up these feelings before we obey. Feelings should not guide our obedience; the opposite is true. Obey firstfeelings will follow.

Virtue of the Day Humility Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; Rebuke a wise man, and he will... love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning (Proverbs 9:8-9). Let’s face itoften it is our pride that resists the instruction, advice or correction of others. We may say in our hearts, I really can’t accept anything that person says; who does he think he is? Or, I already know all that; I really resent her trying to tell me what to dowhat, does she think she’s better than me? But is this not a lack of humility? How do we know that God is not speaking wisdom through that person, and that He is testing to see if we will humble ourselves and receive His instruction through an unlikely vessel? Rather than immediately throwing up our defenses, how much better to simply say, Let me pray over that (instruction, suggestion, criticism). Or as scripture puts it, Test all things, hold fast to that which is good( 1 Thessalonians 5:21). This not only demonstrates humility, but also will potentially make us wiser and more honoring to God.

Virtue of the Day Heavenly Minded Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will... have a place of refuge (Proverbs 14:26). Have you heard how important self-esteem is to academic achievement? Don’t believe it! Despite being at the center of the American education system for a number of years, recent studies have proven that the entire self-esteem movement is a farce and is actually detrimental to children’s success and character development. One very important piece of research cites that American students rank far below their counterparts from other industrialized nations in every category but one: Students from the U.S. rank # 1 in feeling good about themselves. The point of the study was that today’s students possess confidence that is disproportionate to their actual abilities. The Bible says nothing about self-esteem. In never extols self-esteem as being a virtue that parents should attempt to develop in their children. As an alternative, Scripture emphasizes the importance of the fear of the Lord. In fact, it is the fear of the Lord (not self-esteem) that is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Fearing God does not mean that we cower from Him in terror or dread. To the contrary, the fear of the Lord means that we acknowledge our accountability to Him for our choices and that we seek to honor Him in our thoughts and actions. The term The fear of the Lord appears 110 times in the Bible. Some other blessings associated with the fear of the Lord include riches and honor (Pro. 22:4), length of days (Pro. 10:27), and satisfaction with life (Pro. 19:23), to name a few. But more immediate to our subjectthe replacement of self-esteemthe fear of the Lord produces strong confidence and security (Pro. 14:26). With all the benefits of fearing God, why would anyone settle for the cheap imitation of self-esteem?

In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge (Proverbs 14:26). Have you heard how important self-esteem is to academic achievement? Don’t believe it! Despite being at the center of the American education... system for a number of years, recent studies have proven that the entire self-esteem movement is a farce and is actually detrimental to children’s success and character development. One very important piece of research cites that American students rank far below their counterparts from other industrialized nations in every category but one: Students from the U.S. rank # 1 in feeling good about themselves. The point of the study was that today’s students possess confidence that is disproportionate to their actual abilities. The Bible says nothing about self-esteem. In never extols self-esteem as being a virtue that parents should attempt to develop in their children. As an alternative, Scripture emphasizes the importance of the fear of the Lord. In fact, it is the fear of the Lord (not self-esteem) that is the beginning of knowledge (Proverbs 1:7). Fearing God does not mean that we cower from Him in terror or dread. To the contrary, the fear of the Lord means that we acknowledge our accountability to Him for our choices and that we seek to honor Him in our thoughts and actions. The term The fear of the Lord appears 110 times in the Bible. Some other blessings associated with the fear of the Lord include riches and honor (Pro. 22:4), length of days (Pro. 10:27), and satisfaction with life (Pro. 19:23), to name a few. But more immediate to our subjectthe replacement of self-esteemthe fear of the Lord produces strong confidence and security (Pro. 14:26). With all the benefits of fearing God, why would anyone settle for the cheap imitation of self-esteem?

Behold, You desire truth in the *innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom (Psalm 51:6). Most peopleeven Christiansthink that lying on certain occasions is ok. For some, telling fibs is no big deal, so long as they avoid the... whoppers. But it has been said, The person who is prone to telling ‘little white lies’ soon develops colorblindness. It is totally possible to become desensitized to lying. It can develop into a way of life, even a survival skill to avoid the uncomfortable pressure and consequences that inevitably come with truth-telling. Why does it matter? Because the Devil is a liar, and Jesus is the Truth! If we are engaging in deception, we are aligning ourselves with the tactics of the Devil; if we speak the truth, even when it hurts, we align ourselves with GodIt’s as simple as that. Telling the truth does not come naturally; its something we must commit to. But if we do, we remain in God’s will and can count on His blessings. Commit yourself to truth, even in what some might call the little things. That’s God’s will. Remember, He says, He desires Truth in our innermost beingThat means Truth to the core! See more

Virtue of the Day Diligence Arthur J. Watson, Solid Foundation Tutoring "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them (Jesus).... John 13:17 It’s never enough to just know the right thing. Knowledge requires actionthe right action. Many people know what they should be doing, but fail to follow through with doing it. In another part of the Bible, James 4:17, the same thing is said in a different way: Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. Why do we so often blow off doing the right thing for God? Because we are usually deceived into thinking that there is some benefit in doing the wrong thing. But this is a lie! Jesus said we are blessed if we obey and do right. Is there something that you know you should be doing, but you are putting it off or resisting it all together? Perhaps there is a sin you are committing that you know you must repent of? Or, perhaps you have been ignoring that still, small voice telling you to get back into church? Most importantly, maybe you have been neglecting your need to give your heart and life to Jesus Christ who died for your sins. Whatever the situation, trust in the promise of Jesus: "If you KNOW these things, blessed are you if you DO them