Did you know that the US market for self-improvement books and products is around $10 billion per year? There is a huge demand for insight into how to become a better person! So today I offer some “self-improvement insight” based on my own spiritual journey and the Word of God.

Let’s start with a vacation I had into a paradise-like island. Many self-improvement books will tell you to find time to relax! Ok, that’s what we did; we booked a trip to a beautiful Caribbean island and stayed at a lovely beach resort. Then we thought let’s take a tour of the island. I’m sure you will agree in a few minutes, Jesus had organized a very special tour for us.

So we paid our money for the tour and off we went for a little island adventure and guess what we saw?

POVERTY!

And then guess what we saw?

More POVERTY!

People were living in places that were less than little huts and those little huts were falling apart. I saw people huddled together in their little homes, homes that most of us would not see fit for our cars and you know what they were doing?

THEY WERE SMILING AT US!

So I said to my husband, “give them some money!” and my husband walked up to them smiling and gave them some money saying “this is for your family” and they smiled some more at us and thanked us.

What do you think I remember most about the trip?

You guessed it…the tour Jesus organized!

I realized I needed to be more grateful about the many blessings I had and to be more generous in giving to those in need.

I realized what we really needed the most was not the relaxation at the beach but the tour into the humility and patience and poverty of the local people who were not enjoying the comfort and convenience of the tropical island resorts. It was really troubling to see the juxtaposition of the vacationing people living the high life in the resorts and the local people living in such humble abodes with so little.

The self-help book all of us need is The Holy Bible!

“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” Ezekiel 16:49

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done.” Proverbs 19:17

The greatest poverty we have on earth is “spiritual poverty”. It is spiritual poverty that allows the economic gap between the rich and the poor to grow. It is spiritual poverty that causes us to be unconcerned about the things that deeply concern God.

It’s time for us to be more globally aware of the many needs facing us as a global community.

Did you know that approximately 100 million Christians globally face persecution for the faith in Jesus? (Source: Open Doors)

Imagine landing in jail because you are in possession of a Bible? Imagine having to run from your homeland because of your faith? Imagine watching friends and family being killed because they believed in Jesus Christ?

If we want to improve ourselves…truly, truly become better people then we have to love more and love often begins with becoming more knowledgeable about what is going on around us, because as we grow in understanding we can then make choices that are inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Only the love of God can change the world. Sustainable solutions to the problems that face us as a global community are only possible through the grace of Our Lord Jesus. We will never have peace until people choose to turn away from evil and pursue peace and the only way people will ever turn away from evil is through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Please join me in praying for spiritual conversion, peace and justice. Let’s pray for people suffering in poverty and let’s give what we can to help them.

The last ten years for me have been very different than the ten years before that. In my 30’s I thought it was up to me to figure out how to transform myself. I was part of the market for “self help” books. But in my 40’s I discovered that I would turn over the required “self improvement” plan to Jesus and you know where He brought me?

He brought me to Calvary! He brought me to the place of His crucifixion! And every day I take a solemn walk at 3pm (the time Our Lord died for us) to the place where He died for us. In my contemplation I see Jesus suffering for me and that changes me! It renews my commitment to stay close to Him, to trust in Him, to hope in Him, to live for Him and to learn from Him.

“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” Deuteronomy 30:6

That’s what meditating daily on the Passion of Christ did to me. It circumcised my heart. The name of Jesus was written eternally on my heart. I became His and He became mine and loving Him has become the only thing that really matters. I no longer cared about my own plans, I decided to live for His plans.

“I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” Song of Solomon 6:3

Most of us do not have the global influence or authority to change the world, but remember God does and He will exercise His power. God has the power to change hearts and minds and by invoking the Holy name of Jesus in prayer we can help God to save souls and to help people to turn away from evil, to be more generous to the poor and to seek peaceful solutions that will lead to reconciliation.

Please join A Peaceful Revolution in the Name of Jesus Christ and join the global prayer movement that never lets a day go by, without remembering the Passion of Christ and praying for God’s mercy upon all. Jesus will revolutionize your life, if you let Him!