How Do I Get Better?

HOW DO I GET BETTER?

DAVID’S SEVEN STEP PROGRAM… BITTER VS BETTER.

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

TEXT: 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 (MSG) Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple.

**STAY WHERE YOU ARE? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO BE A BETTER PERSON?

Today we have many people selling programs to success and a happier lifestyle. Many of these ideas are very good and will lead you to a better you. WE DESIRE TO BE BETTER AND APPLY OUR HEARTS TO WISDOM. Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how we respond to what happens to us. I have seen ideas to better prayer life? Better Bible study? How to be a better spouse? How to be a better parent? ANY BOOK WRITTEN TO MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON WILL SALE.

Let me add one other point, WHAT IS THE ENEMY OF BETTER? My thoughts are the ENEMY OF BETTER would be this: GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF BETTER. Often times when we get adequate at something we STOP OUR PROGRESS. I am a good spouse so I will stop there. I am a good church member, so I stop growing and improving.

To illustrate this point let me use the point of a guitar player. A person starts playing the guitar, their fingers hurt. They have trouble making the chords, SO MANY WILL QUIT. Others go beyond the pain and learn a few chords. 5 years from today they will know the same few chords to play a few songs and sound adequate. They get GOOD (?) and that is the end to their progress. They get good enough to play and use a capo, they refuse to learn any more chords. THEY ARE GOOD, GOOD ENOUGH TO GET BY…

Then we met a few people that piece together the chords, the pain and the cost. They are not satisfied with GOOD, their desire is to build a BETTER GUITAR PLAYER. So the practice. THE DIFFERENCE IS NOT PLAYING, PLAYING GOOD, AND PLAYING BETTER IS ON SECRET: PRACTICE. The more time you give to practice the better your playing will be.

THERE WILL GROW A DESIRE IN SOME PEOPLE TO NOT JUST PLAY GOOD, NOT JUST BETTER, BUT BECOME THE BEST THEY CAN BE. It is the not selling out for good or better it is THEIR GOAL TO BECOME THE BEST THEY CAN BE. We call these devoted people gifted, but let’s get real, they PUT MORE EFFORT, TIME, PAIN AND DISCIPLINE …

THIS SELF-DISCIPLINE WILL GROW UNTIL THEY BECOME ARTIST. Roy Clark, Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel, Jerry Reed

Would never settle for good or better, THEY GAVE WHAT IT TOOK TO BECOME A CUT ABOVE THE REST. WE WILL PAY BIG MONEY TO GO WATCH THE DISCIPLINED in baseball, basketball, doctors, musicians, performers --- ALL BECAUSE THEY STAYED WITH A PLAN AND WENT FROM GOOD --- TO BETTER --- TO THE BEST.

ARE WE SATIISFIED, CONTENT TO STAY WHERE WE ARE? ARE YOU WORKING TO BECOME A BETTER PERSON? DO YOU READ SELF-IMPROVEMENT BOOKS? ARE YOU A BETTER SPOUSE? ARE YOU WORKING ON BECOMING A BETTER PARENT? DO YOU STUDY HOW TO BE BETTER? ASK YOURSELF: WHAT KIND OF CHURCH WOULD YOUR CHURCH BE, IF EVERY MEMBER WERE JUST LIKE ME?

IT IS YOUR CHOICE TO KEEP DOING THINGS THE SAME OLD WAY… BUT GOD HAS A PLAN FOR YOU TO GO BEYOND GOOD, REACH BEYOND BETTER, UNTIL YOU GROW THE FRUIT OF BEST.

**THERE IS A JOURNEY FROM GOOD TO BETTER TO BEST. DAVID KNEW WHAT FAILURE WAS. DAVID LEARNED A LESSON ABOUT THE JOURNEY AND HE OFFERS US A SEVEN STEP PLAN TO BE THE BEST. SMART PEOPLE LISTEN TO SMART PEOPLE… LISTEN TO DAVID’S HEART… 7 STEPS TO A BETTER YOU…

**STEP #1: FRET NOT…

FRET: to gnaw or eat at, to cause to suffer, emotional-mental strain, AGITATE, vexed, worried, to wear away, to press…

WORRY: focus on problems and fears, think something bad is going to happen, upset, anxious, concern, mental distress.

Psalm 37:1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

Dark clouds will gather and try to hide the sun from our visual field. Then our trials seem so heavy --- know this season of trials can bring us to the heart of God. Great troubles can make great hearts focus on God.

TELL ME 50 BENEFITS OF FRETTING AND WORRYING?

How can we quiet fretting, worrying, and fear?

Stress, worry, fretting can cause high blood pressure? Headaches? Ulcers? Obesity? Depression?

MAYBE ULCERS DO NOT COME FROM WHAT YOU ARE EATING? MAYBE THEY COME FROM WHAT IS EATING YOU?