The 2 R's

Respect Yourself

 

            To respect yourself is to have a healthy view of yourself or healthy self-esteem. Who we are is not based on what we’ve accomplished, but who we are in Christ. We have a healthy self-worth if we have a right relationship with God. Even then our self-esteem can become beaten down by others; whether friend or foe. While that’s unfortunate, it doesn’t have to take place or if it does you can minimize the damage to your psyche by fighting to focus on the Lord in the face of such attacks. I’m not going to lie, it’s difficult to do that, but God is with you even in the trenches of relational warfare. 

            As believers in Christ it is necessary to humble ourselves before the Lord. We are to understand our role in God’s realm. We must learn to love ourselves even as God loves us. The Holy Spirit within us is who God uses to lift us up spiritually speaking. 

            Our humility should never be as a show, pretending to be spiritual when it in reality is just an act to appear pious. There needs to be a realness to our lives, which speaks to our integrity, and our true personality in Christ. As a believer there is truly no reason not to have healthy self-esteem. 

            When we respect ourselves we will value ourselves enough to avoid questionable situations which can lead to sin. Sin enslaves and alters our behavior in unhealthy ways. A true believer will see themselves with sober judgment as spoken of by the apostle Paul in Romans 12:3 - “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

            Don’t think of yourself too highly which can lead to pride and arrogance. Keep your self-image in check, striving to be selfless rather than self-absorbed. God blesses those who follow His guidance. He honors those who allow themselves to be led by Him. Respect yourself.

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: www.gotquestions.org

Recognizing the Leading of the Holy Spirit

            When Christ ascended into heaven He promised to send a spiritual guide or helper. That helper was and is the 3rd person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost the disciples were immediately touched by and filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, when a person believes in Christ, the Holy Spirit immediately becomes a permanent part of his life.

            The Holy Spirit has a myriad of different roles that He plays in a believer’s life. He distributes spiritual gifts according to His will, but He also comforts us, teaches us, and seals us until Christ’s returns. He is a guide and counselor, in that He leads us in the way we should go. He also reveals God’s truth. He guides us thru our own conscience, and other quiet, subtle ways.

            If you desire to recognize the Spirit’s guidance it is most important to become familiar with scripture. The Bible is the ultimate source of wisdom revealing to us how we should live our lives in Christ. We need to read them, meditate on them, and memorize key portions for the Spirit will use God’s Word to speak to us. He will also remind us of specific scriptures when we need them the most. 

            The Holy Spirit will never lead us to do ANYTHING that is contrary to God’s Word. If our inclination conflicts with scripture, then it’s not from the Spirit of God and should be ignored. However, you must know scripture to know what conflicts with those inclinations.

            Another way to know if you’re being led by the Spirit is if His fruit is exhibited in your life. It’s important to note that we don’t HAVE to follow His leading, though resisting the Spirit to follow our own way grieves Him (Eph. 4:30). The Holy Spirit will NEVER lead us into sin. Habitual sin will cause a believer to miss what the Spirit is trying to say to us.

            If you would like to be in tune with God’s will for you, confess all existing sin, stay in prayer, and stay in the Word of God, for this will allow you to recognize and follow the Spirit’s leading.

            Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: www.gotquestions.org

What, Me Worry?

Matthew 6:25, 27, 33-34 NIV

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all (your needs) will be given to you as well. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

            When we worry, which is a normal human reaction, we rob ourselves of many things, but possibly the most important thing we rob ourselves of is TIME. We surrender to the prison of worry due to fear, concern, anxiety, and so on. One of the biggest things we stress about is THE UNKNOWN. Instead of casting all our cares on our Heavenly Father, we wear them like a suit of clothes and fret continuously regarding what may or may not happen in a future that we cannot know. 

            The unknown can be scary, no doubt about it; however, our Heavenly Father is present in the midst of the unknown. Let that sink in my friends. Since God is OMNIPRESENT, He is EVERYWHERE AT THE SAME TIME. He’s not at all like us. He transcends time and space.

To transcend means “to rise above, go beyond, or exceed the limits of something, often implying a superiority in quality, scope, or intensity.” He is bound by NO time restraints.  There is nowhere that He cannot go. Being the creator of all things it stands to reason that nothing will ever surprise or startle Him. He purposely, and willingly came to earth in the human form of His Son, Jesus. He did that for you and me without question or hesitation. 

So you see, there truly is nothing to be concerned about or afraid of. If you believe in God and have established a personal relationship with Him, then try to understand that His love for you will not allow anything to harm you. He is your Father and you are His son/daughter. Do you really understand all that that means? You are a child of THE King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There is NO ONE greater than Him. We need not worry any longer. Give it over to God. Remember what scripture says: “Yea, though I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for God is with me.” ^{[Psalm 23:4]} Rest in God and fear no more.

Until next time, walk with God and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

With few exceptions the vast majority of people feel they are good. This thought raises a couple very important questions. First of all, who decides what the definition of ‘good’ is? It’s a relative term used far too loosely. Like the word ‘normal’. I would venture to say that everyone has their own personal definition of both ‘good’ and ‘normal’. I believe most would admit they weren’t choir boys, but they haven’t robbed a bank or committed murder, so they feel they are good people. They hope they have been good enough to go to heaven when they die.  

The opposite of ‘normal’ is ‘abnormal’. We all have our own personal definition of ‘normal’ and anyone who fall outside the parameters of their definition are ‘abnormal’ or just plain ‘weird’. Just because I’m different than most people just makes me different than those who declare themselves ‘normal’. 

The shocking truth of the matter is what Jesus said in the gospels about being ‘good’. In Mark 10:18 ... “Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is [essentially] good [by nature] except God alone.’” Here is one verse that describes what is or at least should be: “He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion), and to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?”

It isn’t easy to be Christ-like in this life of decadence and evil, but that is what we’ve been commissioned to do. Know what God expects of us as His children and then do our level best to be just that. We don’t know what good is, but the author of all creation and man’s first breath does. Read His Word and follow His lead. Until next time, walk with the King & be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

         Christianity isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being transformed. It’s a progressive thing; like sanctification. Some things are instantaneous, like salvation ... forgiveness is yours once you confess Jesus as your Lord & Savior. 

To make progress with our faith we need to do some things. We should read the scriptures frequently; daily if at all possible. It is your guidebook regarding how to live this life in Christ. This is the nature of sanctification. By definition sanctification means: "to set apart for special use or purpose". We are being prepared to be used by God with any and all gifts that He bestows upon us.

Once redeemed, the transformation begins. We must lean of the Triune God for all things eternal and worship Him for who He is; the Creator of His own Master Plan for mankind ... Almighty God. 

To not allow the sanctification process to take place is like going day after day without drinking a drop of water as a means of hydrating yourself. You will dehydrate, become weak, and eventually, over time, cease to exist. No rational mind would purposely do that to themselves, so why do that to yourself spiritually? Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

The Spotlight Effect

Are you the type of person who requires the attention of others? It seems to me that far too many people honestly believe that they are the center of attention. It’s more than likely not at all true, but some folks thrive in that world. They want to be seen a certain way and even put on airs to create the illusion that they are superior to those around them. This is a psychological phenomenon referred to as “The Spotlight Effect”.

Some folks have a strong tendency to overestimate how much they are noticed by other people. From years of observation I feel like people in general are far too self-absorbed to seriously care about someone other than themselves. The “other” people are too busy dealing with their own lives than to pay any significant attention to yours.

If you actually worry about what others think of you or your new haircut, or your new outfit, it’s probably time to shed that conceited view of things and realize that the only people who DO pay close attention to you in public are more than likely the gossip mongrels who would have nothing positive to say about you anyway.

It behooves each follower of Christ to understand just who they are in Christ and realize that others opinion of you are worthless. Accept that God loves you just the way you are. Understand that any area of your life that needs altering can be taken care of by the Lord with the help of the Holy Spirit. Realizing these things can liberate you from thinking you’re in the spotlight.

Until next time, treat all others the way you’d like to be treated.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Thoughts from a Random Mind

           I’ve read lately about a lot of celebrities who were raised in organized religion, yet as an adult don’t follow any organized religion, but rather choose to say they are spiritual or they believe in a higher power. While saying this some actually dismiss organized religion as divisive and patently false. Some, heavily influenced by the world that has come to adore them for their craft, be it singing or acting, etc., seem to find no need for any sort of God. They must then also abandon the idea that we are fraught with unrighteousness (sin). They conveniently dismiss anything that would interfere with their newfound lifestyle. The future reckoning will surely be quite a surprise to millions of people who have abandoned what they once believed.  

It’s sad to me that society as a whole has slowly turned their back on the one true God in favor of something or someone more palatable. Scripture gives us an OT example and a Proverb that says it all. 

1 Samuel chapter 8 tells the story of when Israel first demanded of God that they should have a mortal King just like the other nations. In the end God gave them what they sought after and the rest is history. A bumpy, uneven history of evil kings and righteous kings. High points and low points. Destruction and captivity. God had been their king, but Israel thought they knew better. The scripture is Proverbs 14:12 NIV which says: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” 

The crux of the matter is that we DO NOT KNOW the correct way to go or the right way to live our lives. We think we do; we believe we do, but in reality we are like a person in a pitch dark room who can’t even find the light switch or the door. We can’t save ourselves and we are incapable of pleasing God on our own. Believing in God means absolutely NOTHING if we haven’t allowed that belief to change our lives. The devil and his demons believe in both God and Jesus, yet in spite of that belief, have set themselves up as the main enemy of the Most High King. Their fate is already sealed. Yours is not. 

Don’t turn your back on God for something that seems more to your liking. The end result for you will not be pretty. Don’t believe that? I sincerely hope you’re right. That would be like playing Russian roulette *. As with Noah ark, it’s not too late for you until the door closes for good. 

            Until next time, start making sure your spiritual house is in order.

In His Name & for His Glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

* Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which a player places a single bullet in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against the head or body, and pulls the trigger.