There are many brothers and sisters who feel that because they have sinned and failed God at some time in their past lives, therefore they cannot fulfill God's perfect plan for their lives now. Let us look at what the Scriptures has to say on this matter, and not lean on our own understanding or our sense of logic. Whatever your blunders or failures, you can make a new beginning with God. And even if you have made a thousand new beginnings in the past and have come to failure, you can still make the 1001st new beginning today. God can still make something glorious out of your life. While there is life, there is hope. All people - young and old - can have hope, no matter how much they may have failed in the past, if only they will acknowledge their failures, be humble and trust God.

Let us seek for the approval of God and not that of men. . . . In the final analysis, when we stand before the Lord, the opinions of all the billions of people in the world will count for nothing. Only God's opinion will matter in that day. Even the praises of your fellow-believers are fit only to be thrown in the garbage bin. It's only what God thinks about you that matters. People may praise you to the skies, while God thinks nothing of you. On the other hand, people may tear you to pieces and God may consider you to be the greatest man in your generation. Few have the spiritual discernment to recognise a man's worth in his lifetime. So don't get discouraged if you find people don't understand the way you are going. If God sees that you are humble, He will give you grace and you will overcome sin and the world.

There are many lessons that we can learn from Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-12). Cain was jealous and angry with Abel, because it had gone so well with Abel (for God had accepted him). How do you feel when you find it going very well with someone whom you are closely associated with? When you find a fellow-brother who is preaching victory over sin and you find that his life is consistent with his preaching - that there is no evidence of anxiety or anger or impatience in him, but on the contrary, a perpetual spirit of triumph and joy and peace; and in contrast your own life is miserable and gloomy and defeated (because you do not believe that a life of victory is possible) - Do you then find a root of envy creeping in and a desire to see him fall somewhere so that you can gloat over his failure and drag him down in the eyes of others? That was the same spirit that drove Cain.

During the 47 years that I have been a born-again Christian, I have learnt some important truths that have encouraged me and given direction and purpose to my life. I share them here with you with the hope that they will be an encouragement to you as well. God Loves Us As He Loved Jesus, God Delights In Honest People,  God Delights In A Cheerful Giver, Holiness Comes By Looking Unto Jesus, We Must Be Continually Filled With The Holy Spirit, The Way Of The Cross Is The Way Of Life, Man's Opinions Are Fit Only For The Garbage Bin, Nobody Can Harm Us Except We Ourselves, God Has A Perfect Plan For Each Of Our Lives, Knowing God Intimately Is The Secret Of Being Strong, We Are Called To Be Rejected And Persecuted By Men, We Must Receive All Whom God Has Received, We Must Treat Every Human Being With Dignity, We Must Reveal Our Financial Needs Only To God. Read and be blessed by Zac Poonen's journey in faithfulness to God.