Are you striving for fame, position, wealth and riches, or other great things in life? The counsel of the Lord is: seek them not, but seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto. If your goal in life is to acquire great things at the expense of your soul, you are of all men most miserable - a man to be pitied.  

Despite the great storm that arose against the Lord and His disciples, they eventually crossed over to the other side of the sea. Although troubled by fear, the disciples realised that they were not alone, and cried unto the Lord for His intervention. Until the disciples prayed the Lord did not rebuke the wind. God calls us to pray and we must respond.

When God liberates a man from the bondage of sin and Satan, He does so for the man to serve Him in that liberty. We must be careful not to misuse the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, that we may not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. We are liberated to serve one another in love and not to serve our flesh by doing whatever we please, not minding the effect it will have on other people.

You can tell whether someone is a Christian or not by their life: a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Genuine Christians live and walk in the Spirit. They walk circumspectly, not allowing sin and the flesh to have dominion over them. True Christians demonstrate an active life of charity toward others. Are you a true Christian? 

Believers who live and walk before men are men-pleasers and do not have the fear of God. They may pretend to obey the word of God whenever they are among the people of God. However, in the absence of fellow believers, especially their leaders, they can even quarrel and fight for their rights in disobedience to God's word. The true measure of obedience to the word of God is seen outside the Church, among the unbelievers.