FREE WILL

You say, “I am allowed to do anything”, but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”, but not everything is beneficial. Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.” – 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 New Living Translation

     Free will is one of the greatest gifts God gives to us. It means you get to choose what you would like to believe. While it’s true you can do whatever you want, whatever you do has consequences that follow. It is not merely a Biblical principle, but a universal law. For every action there is a reaction. Every word out of our mouth either builds up or breaks down. Every thought, when put into action, creates a result, sometimes desired, sometimes undesired. We have the choice to think, say and do ANYTHING we want. However, Paul cautions us before we get too carried away that everything isn’t always going to be helpful or constructive to us. 

     God’s desire is to lead us into a life of peace, at times in the midst of a storm. He wishes to lead and guide us down a narrow path that leads to an eternal reward that we cannot even imagine in our wildest dreams.

     God forgives ANY transgression when forgiveness is sought with a contrite heart. Material goods rot and decay; things of the spirit last forever. This world dangles all sorts of enticing baubles in front of us to get us to follow down another path, but the path that leads to life, while narrow, is safe and protected by God himself. He allows us to choose, yet wishes us to follow him. As believers it is our responsibility to get others to follow along. The Spirit enables us to say the right thing that compels others to come along. It can be difficult to convince someone which path to choose because seeing something that cannot be seen as if you could see it requires a certain condition of the heart. It must be open and receptive and that requires faith. Sadly, everyone isn’t going to choose life with Christ, but not knowing who they are we must strive to BE Christ to all those we encounter so they can see godly lives in action and embrace redemption.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

GOD & HIS WORD

“Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.” – Matthew 24:35 New Living Translation

     Not only will God’s words never disappear, but HE will never disappear either. What is true of God is true of his Son & the Holy Spirit. So when it says in Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today & forever” it is saying that our Triune God has always & will always exist. The Lord is not bound by the constraints of time &/or space. Because of this he sees the past, present & future the same. This is why he knows what is best for our lives & why we should surrender to his leading. Knowing this there is no reason not to trust him with our present & our future for the Lord always has our best interests at heart.

     We can rely on that which the Bible says because God spoke thru godly men who put pen to paper, so to speak, and chronicled all that the Lord wished to have written down for future generations. You can blow it off as mythology, a series of legends or simply a fairy tale, but that isn’t what it says of itself.  2 Timothy 3:16 tells us “All Scripture is God-breathed”. 2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “… knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

     There are more examples regarding the validity of scripture to be reliable & trustworthy. Do a word study & seek them out. The more we know about our Lord the more we will trust him & his word. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

IMITATING CHRIST

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” – Colossians 3:17 New Living Translation

     We go through our lives saying and doing things day in and day out and many times, perhaps most of the time, we don’t give a second thought to our words or deeds. We say what comes to mind and move on. As Christians we strive to be honest and imitate Christ, however, never take the time to think of what he would say or do in a given situation.
     I am not saying that we shouldn’t say a word or make a move without consulting God first. As believers we shouldn’t need to do that. Our Lord wants us to know Him so intimately through His written word that we know His mind in a given situation and thus know what to say and do to encourage and edify.
     With so many people “shooting from the hip” or “telling it like it is”, where are all the people we have a sincere desire to build others UP, rather than tear them down. Those that tear others down do it to elevate themselves. Those that build others up reveal a strength in their character and a humble spirit. God will elevate us when it is necessary for us to be elevated. We don’t need to seek our own elevation.  If our primary goal in life is to be like Jesus, then our focus will be on Him rather than on ourselves. Allow God to do His good and complete work in you and you will want for nothing in this life. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

LOVE TIED TO GRACE

“May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." – Ephesians 3:19 New Living Translation

     It is a sad thing that so many people go through life without feeling loved. Even Christians, at times, feel love has escaped them. Due to events from their past they may feel they don’t deserve to be loved or perhaps they were never shown love by those closest to them. This makes the love God has for us seem like a foreign concept; something that seems too good to be true. 
     Regardless of our feelings, the love of God is a real thing that can be experienced by all. Personal human barriers must either be dropped or broken down for this love to be fully experienced. Maybe you have done something in your life that you regret. You have brought pain to another individual … perhaps a loved one … and you don’t feel that you deserve ANYONE’S love, let alone God’s. We must understand that the love of God is tied to His grace and the definition of grace is ‘undeserved favor’. So the love we are offered by God is not something we deserve, but it is something that is freely offered by God as a part of His plan of salvation.  
     If you are a believer, don’t torture yourself any longer. God’s love is for you too and it is free of charge. It is the only thing in this life that is worth anything and it is free … surrender your will to the love of God and be blessed. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible

Thomas Jefferson

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; 

that among these are life, liberty, 

and the pursuit of happiness." 

IMITATING CHRIST

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” – Romans 12:3 New Living Translation

     Our true worth isn’t based our monetary value or our achievements, but rather in Christ. We were worthy enough to die for. When we allow our tendency to think more of ourselves then we ought to bloom it begins to flourish. This causes us to veer very suddenly off the narrow path set before us. As believers in Christ we must remain focused on him and that which is pleasing to God. Without Christ in our lives we are capable of nothing of eternal value.

      Measuring your value and worth by worldly standards will leave you empty. Since worldly attractions remain all around us it becomes difficult to avoid at times. Our self-esteem is important for us to be emotionally and psychologically sound, but becoming confident in our own abilities can become complicated. Having confidence in our God given abilities without having it develop into pride or arrogance is healthy; however, there appears to be a fine line with confidence and cockiness.

     Understand that no matter what the world may say or think of you, you are a child of the King of Kings and are of infinite value to him. Know that you are loved without condition and compare yourself only to Christ, who is the one we are to imitate in this life. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible