What’s Dead in Your Life?

In this season of renewed faith, my heart is stirring—swelling with the possibilities of the concept found in Ezekiel 37. It by no means is a new idea, but as we know, the distractions of weak faith can cause a forgetfulness to settle on us—keeping us from remembering the tools God has provided for us to live successfully. And seriously, if we will apply these concepts—our life will change.

First let me give you a little insight as to what’s happening in Ezekiel 37. God takes Ezekiel to a valley of dry dead bones—this was not just a few dead bodies but a whole valley full, and asks him a question, He says, “Can these bones live?” What God is really asking Ezekiel is “Do you believe—do you have the faith to believe what’s dead can come to life?”

Such a simple question, but so deep and personal.

God is looking into our eyes—into our heart—asking you and I “Do you believe the dry bones in your life can live?”

Ezekiel’s answer to God’s question is an awesome response of faith—he turns the responsibility of such a miracle back to the Miracle Maker Himself and says “Only you know, sovereign Lord” Essentially “I trust in You and your sovereignty—you are good—you can do anything—just say the word—just look in that direction and it’ll be done.”

When our faith in God takes the hand of expectancy and partners with the truth of His Word—we’d better brace our self, because that’s all it takes for mountains to move—for miracles to happen. Faith stemming from a relationship of complete dependency on God—will bring breakthrough.

Whenever God asks us a question like this it’s rhetorical—He’s not searching for an answer, but stirring our hope—nudging our belief and expectancy—arousing our faith!

Next, God lets Ezekiel know what is required of him. Yes, we must do our part—faith is an action word. The Lord God instructed him to prophesy and say “Oh dry bones hear the Word of the Lord” I love this! All we have to do is first believe, then speak/pray God’s Word to the things in our life that are dehydrated, empty or dead. Tell the dry bones to give heed to the truth—tell them how big our God is.

Ezekiel writes, “So I prophesied as I was commanded” and when he did there was a noise, a rattling as the bones came together, as sinew and flesh covered them.

But that was not all, the bones came together but they were still void of life. This is the picture of believers today—lots of movement, but no life—a lot of information—tons of knowledge, but no knowing of God the Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This is the cause of the dehydration—this is why faith is weak—we need to put away our rules and come into relationship.

In verse 9, the Lord tells Ezekiel

“Prophesy to the breath. Prophesy, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘God, the Master, says, Come from the four winds. Come, breath. Breathe on these slain bodies. Breathe life!’”

The meaning of the word breath is spirit. We must speak to the Spirit of God—inviting Him to come breathe life into lifelessness.

Lastly Ezekiel responds to the Lord (a response on our part is always necessary) he says So I prophesied, just as he commanded me.” And when he did what was commanded the breath entered the dead and they came alive! They stood up on their feet, a huge army!

Everyday, all day we are faced with something or someone needing life. We can speak, pray and prophesy into our own personal life, our spouse and marriage, our kids, family and churches, into those who need God, into our businesses and work place, into hopes and dreams that are dormant. We can breathe words of life into relationships, finances, health, bad character, weaknesses and addictions—the possibilities are endless!

When we speak life and when the Holy Spirit breathes His breath into a person or situation it’s the act of inflating what was deflated. What’s deflated and dead in your life?

Will you prophesy and speak to your circumstances—will you tell the Breath of God to breathe His life to those situations around you—as commanded? It would be crazy not to!

What would stop you?

Fear of disappointment?

Weak faith?

If so—be encouraged to stir yourself—start by prophesying to your thirsty faith! Speak the Word to your unbelief and watch it form—speak to the Breath of God to invade your faith and heart—then listen for the signs of life!

As you listen for the signs of life keep three things in mind…

1. Seek Him first—eyes on the Miracle Maker not the miracle

2. Patience—don’t waste the wait with worry

3. Remember—the devil’s main objective is to rob you of your faith—resist him!

Ezekiel 37:1-10,  The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’”  So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

What Mountain?

Have you ever found yourself facing a mountain in life? A mountain of trail so vast—discouragement immediately sets in?

But what if your mountains could simply melt like wax?

Metaphorically speaking Psalm 97:5 says just that!

“The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.”

In order for the mountains we face to melt, we have to realize what exactly the mountains are. Take a look at the following scripture in Mark 11:20-23.

“In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!’ ‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered. ‘I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”

Essentially Jesus is saying, if we do not doubt—but believe His Word with our whole heart—mountains, the minute they present themselves can be tossed into the sea—just like that! And we can confidently live our life saying “What Mountain?”

Question, why would Jesus answer Peter’s remark about the fig tree “Have faith in God?” Jesus is always teaching us something bigger than what our eyes see. He must have known Peter’s (and our) biggest struggle was faith in God—alone.

Our faith has to be about Him alone, therefore; “Have faith in God.” Faith is not about our works or the methods we use to get God to move on our behalf. It’s about simple truth in the only One who never lies.

The mountains are not the things that we face at all.

A troubled marriage, finances, rebellious children, depression, addictions, impossible circumstances, grief, illness—depending on our faith—these feel as enormous as Mt. Everest.

But in all reality the mountain we face is unbelief.

Everything in life that would present itself as a mountain originates from unbelief. Therefore, if we have true faith in God, there would not be mountains to face, because true faith in God believes He is bigger than any problem or trial that tries to rise against us. True faith in God does not worry or fret wondering if God will perform—true faith in God knows God can and will come through. True faith in God rests in thy will be done and does not try to manipulate Him to do what we want Him to do. Accordingly, if we have true faith in God everything that appears as a mountain melts like wax before the Lord our God.

You’ve got to love this!

The mountains we face are not objects of opposition at all. The mountain is what’s in us—it is what we believe or do not believe about God.

Our Christian mindset is not exactly faith in God. It is faith in God and me. When our faith is divided between God and self, or God and methods, faith becomes diluted, therefore making faith weak, becoming unbelief and is rendered ineffective.

The mountain of unbelief that resides in people is the most difficult to move. Why? Because the battle is no longer God and me against adversity—but our soul against our spirit, (Gal. 5:16-18) “Me” against God. It’s easy to look at the attack of the devil against us, but when the battle lays within, it is a different story because to win, self must decrease.

In regard to overcoming unbelief—follow the methods mentioned in my last blog: Fully Convinced (click to read).

Most importantly what we must recognize about mountain moving faith is that it’s about relationship with God the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit. We must live a Christ centered life where Jesus is enough. Remembering God is not a genie. In this setting—as we spend time with Him, our faith increases and the mountains melt like wax before the Lord our God.

Please be encouraged to make your new saying “What mountain?”

Apology: The advertisements on my page are put up by the blog site WordPress, I personally have nothing to do with them…sorry for any inconvenience.

Divine Rearrangement

I was recently reminded of a time in my life where the landscape of my heart and soul were rearranged. Prior to this divine rearrangement I was unsatisfied with my life and my simple Christianity, I knew there had to be more.

In my thirst I cried out to the Lord asking for His rain, fire, wind and flood. I did this with an unpretentious understanding that He would come and bring something fresh. What I didn’t realize was that it would rearrange my entire life.

When we think of the rain of God—we picture Him showering us with His love, the fire of God is pictured as His intense presence, the wind—His Spirit flowing through us, the flood—an abundance of refreshing.

That’s very poetic, but in all reality when those four elements arrived they overwhelmed everything I knew, and when they left I was rearranged. Rearranged for the better of course—and in the end that’s all that really mattered.

I was reflecting on hurricanes and tsunamis, or storms of any kind—after their initial devastation the landscape, to say the least, is rearranged.

Most times we don’t understand why hardships are allowed to interrupt our life—but what I do know is—God is constantly good, and always has a beautiful purpose for divine rearrangement.

Even the simplest most sought after situations bring rearrangement. Take marriage for example—the young couple so excited to finally live together, embark on their new life and suddenly reality hits—they have to learn to live their life in a whole new manner. It’s no longer about one person, but about selflessly giving your whole self to the person who just invaded your space! Now life is rearranged.

Or how about having a new baby? The couple has hoped and prayed and imagined how wonderful this new precious life will be. And yes, this baby is the most perfect gift. But truth be told—this tiny, adorable child has many needs! And life as you know it is divinely rearranged!

In all situations it’s our heart that matters. We must keep a soft, pliable heart towards God. Embracing the good and the bad—seeking His divine, sovereign purpose—even in rearrangement.

Please be encouraged knowing that if God be for you who can be against you!

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. James 1:2-3

Eternally Minded

To live eternally minded is to set our complete desire on the things of God—exclusively giving all we are and have to what matters eternally.

Do you live with an eternal focus?

Although we may aim to live with an eternal mindset—it is easy to divert our attention to the here and now. After all, life and all its details—do scream for our devotion.

Living mindful of eternity does not mean we live careless of this life—just the opposite—we live as good stewards of all God entrusts to us, because we know everything has an eternal value.

Just the thought that our life and its actions carry an eternal value—should make us stop and evaluate what we spend our time, money, deeds, thoughts and words on.  Likewise this truth causes us to inspect our heart, because we know where our heart is—our treasure will be as well.

Everyone will face eternity and what we do now will matter then. It is important to examine our life and heart in regard to eternity.

• First—are we in right standing with God and Jesus?
• Second—do we live our life wholly devoted to furthering the Kingdom of God?
• Third—are we good stewards to the life God’s given us, and to all He entrusts to us?

Isaiah 55:1-3 says

Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk—it’s all free! Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.  “Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.”

Essentially this scripture asks; why spend your life in service to self? Jesus is the bread of life. When we submit all—not just some—or part—but all to Him—we will be without want.

Please be encouraged to focus your heart on what matters—Jesus. In doing so we can’t help but to be eternally minded.

Ecc. 12:13-14

Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

Skillful Living 101—22 Parenting

Parenting . . . the hardest most complex job on earth. Yet parenting holds the highest value and reward of anything we might possibly do with our life.

Psalm 127:3

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

As a parent I am so grateful to have an instruction manual on child rearing—as I’m sure all parents are.

Unfortunately—most instruction manuals or directions don’t get read until completely necessary. If you’re young—please be encouraged to read the manual now! If you are in the middle of raising children—read the manual now! If your children are young adults—especially read the manual now! If you are a grandparent—read the manual now! It’s never too early or too late!

Being on this end of life where all but one of my kids are grown adults, I sometimes bemoan the fact that there are no “do-overs” when it comes to raising children.

If your kids are grown and your heart is heavy—caught up in regretfully recounting your mistakes—remember there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. Ask for forgiveness—forgive yourself and do God’s best from here on out. God is a faithful redeemer—He redeems our errors and covers our sin.

The first ingredient to parenting is humble, unconditional love. We must by grace and the Holy Spirit’s assistance, love our kids the way God loves us—He never gives up on us. We must always hope and believe in our children. Sometimes love takes on different forms of behavior—this means—tough love is sometimes necessary.

At times I marvel at how complex parenting really is. Parenting is a letting go adventure. These children are born to us, of our own flesh and blood—and we lovingly train them to grow up—leave us—and live their own lives.

Parenting, from the very first hour, demands complete reliance on God. I am so thankful to have an all knowing, all loving, all understanding One to lean on. Prayerfully depending on God is imperative. Since raising children is a lifelong commitment with so many ups, downs and curves—all scripture applies.

One of the things I know—from experience—is we the parents, cannot instruct or impart to our children what we do not ourselves possess. If we want our children to be healthy people of integrity and good character, then we must be as well. There is no room for double-mindedness. Most things are caught rather than taught.

Proverbs—the Book of Skillful Living has crucial advice on parenting—no matter your stage of life.

Let’s look at Proverbs 22 and, with a sincere heart, intentionally live these principles and purpose to teach them to our children and grandchildren.

Verse 1—“A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.”

• Taking on the name of Christ—invaluable
• God’s favor—vital

Verse 2—“The rich and the poor have this in common; the Lord is the maker of them all.”

• Identity is found in Christ alone

Verse 4—“By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.”

• Humility and the fear of the Lord are high priorities to God
• The fear of the Lord inherit within a person helps them to love and obey God and parents
• Honoring God aids us in honoring our self and others, as well as authority

Verse 5, 3, 8, 10, 24, 25—“Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards his soul will be far from them.”

• Guarding your soul from evil is crucial to a successful life

Verse 6—“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

• We can never stop pouring God’s love and Word into our kids. I’ve seen this dynamic take place in the life of my 2^nd son. When he gave up living for himself and surrendered to God—all that had been poured into his heart as a child never departed—God’s Word is timeless, alive and active, it never sleeps but always accomplishes what God sets out to do.
• Love the church and teach kids the same

Verses 11 & 14—“He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend.” “The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he who is abhorred by the Lord will fall there.”

• A love for purity and grace are never overrated
• Friendship with the King—highly valuable!

Verse15—“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him.” Proverbs 29:15, Proverbs 23:13-14, Proverbs 29:17, Proverbs 13:24

• The Word repeatedly warns—If we love our children we will discipline them
• Loving discipline and correction will create healthy adults
• Warning to fathers: Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. (Colossians 3:21) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

Verses 18 & 19—“Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge; for it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; let them all be fixed upon your lips, so that your trust may be in the Lord”

• Preserve wisdom, knowledge and trust in your heart
• Teach kids to bind themselves to Godly wisdom

Verse 29 & 13—“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.”

• God seriously does not approve of slothful behavior
• Diligently teach Children diligence
• A good work ethic is priceless

Skillful Living Tools:

• Children are a heritage and reward—enjoy them!
• Children are a huge responsibility—train them in the ways of the Lord
• Read and apply the instruction manual—the Bible
• Pray without ceasing
• Teach kids to prayerfully depend on God
• Teach integrity and Godly moral character
• Do not be double minded
• Teach kids to be single focused—God first
• Love never fails—unconditionally love the kids God gifted to you
• Fathers, do not provoke your children
• Love the church and teach kids the same

Please be encouraged to surrender your parenting to God and His Word—trusting Him for all the answers.

Side Note: God is redeeming the struggling, wayward child—no matter their age. My heart knows the anguish of watching your child self-destruct. My advice to you—keep your heart focused on God. Find peace and rest for your heart, in relationship with Him for He cares for you and can carry your burden, if you will just give it to Him. I am praying for you and your children.

Read and apply all of Proverbs 22 and please share with those who need to live skillfully!

Check out the Skillful Living Tool Box (updated) at the top of this page!

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Passion

If someone invited you to a party using these words; “The party will be dull, pretty much boring and very stale—you should come”—would you go? I think not.

How about relationship? What if a young man has interest in a young lady and when asking her to date him uses this line, “I really like you and want to date you, but first you must know—it will be a very dreary and lifeless relationship.” What girl, in her right mind, would date a guy with that personality and perspective?

What would be missing from such a relationship? Passion.

There are a couple of meanings to the word passion—the passion I’m referring to is the zest in life.

The opposite of passion is—mundane, routine, common, boring.

Passion causes people to go beyond normal—in life, relationships, work and play.

All my kids love and play extreme sports. Why play chess for a hobby when you have rock climbing or MMA? Hockey, dirt bike riding, white water rafting, kayaking, snowboarding, skateboarding and skydiving? They are passionate people and could never be satisfied with anything dull or commonplace.

Likewise we should press the limits on our Christianity. Always moving forward—insistent on loving and knowing God more—adamant in service—courageously sharing our faith—undaunted by culture and boldly exhibiting godly character.  We are to be people who go beyond normal in everyday life—faith filled people who represent God—people consumed with passion!

When God created us He set passion inside of us. Just look at the young—who live with child-like wonder, excitement, and enthusiasm about everything they encounter.

Our relationship with God should be one of passion, where we crave His Holy Spirit, and His presence. A relationship packed with zeal and fervor—not mundane—birthed out of obligation.

Matthew 22:37 boldly states what is most important in life,

To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (NKJ)

Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence. (MSG)

It takes passion to love God in this manner.

Many things steal passion—heartache, sickness, offense, doubt, disobedience, selfishness and busyness. Mainly the devil—he loves to usurp our passion, along with it he steals our faith. He is master at causing situations to arise where we question and doubt God’s goodness. It’s what he lives for.

Along with passion for God we must have passion for His Word. God’s Word amongst many things, is where we read about the greatest love story ever! Not only that—but in His Word is the secret to living life skillfully.

John 1:1 says,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

If you love God and are in a relationship with Him—filled with His Spirit, then you also love His Word and are in relationship with it as well. We must diligently guard our passion for the Bible—the sneaky devil is expert at making the Word seem uninteresting and irrelevant.

Last but not least—another area where passion gets evaporated by the enemy is where church is concerned.

Psalm 69:9 says,

Passion for your house has consumed me

We should be passionate for our church—if we belong to God, then church is our house and we should passionately—with all our heart—not just out of duty—love to be there, serve there and be a part of what God is doing in our local church.

The reason the devil loves to steal passion for God’s house is the isolation factor—he isolates the weak and picks them off. He initiates grumbling, offense and disunity—which make church seem routine and pointless. Fact is—passionless church goers weaken the church.

We have to be intentional in protecting our passion. Making sure not to waste our affections on trivial things of this world.

What’s your passion level? Has the enemy seized your passion for God, His Word and His house?

An incredible attribute of God is his loving-kindness. He will never be content with allowing the devil to steal from His people! He has made a way for each of us, by His grace, to take back what the puny devil steals. It will take an act of our strong self-will, but after that it’s a cake-walk.

We must simply use our will, to turn to God—access grace, confess our passionlessness and lean into His great and awesome love. With an open embrace He welcomes us—here we exchange our dryness for a greater thirst.

Please be encouraged to ask God for more passion—and it will be yours!

Is Holiness Out-of-Style?

What do you think? Looking at the church today, would you say that holiness is out-of-style or out dated? What do you think of when you hear the words—Be holy? Do these words sound as if they are something from the Old Testament?—something not for today?

Holiness is not a overly worn, out-of-style outfit—that has lost its value. Neither is it something we outgrow. Just the opposite—the longer we are Christians—we move deeper and further into holiness.

For the sake of clarity, let’s define holy, its definition is: set apart, sacred, endowed with purity, devout, godly, virtuous and consecrated.

Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross sanctifies us and makes us holy—set apart for God. We all love this fact and rightly so—we gladly embrace this form of holiness. Who wouldn’t want to be forgiven of their sin? Where holiness is seen as outdated is when we realize we are to live a holy lifestyle—on a daily basis. The reason being—it opposes our flesh.

The word holy scares some people. Holy is not a bad four letter word! Holiness has a bad connotation because it’s immediately thought of as no fun and/or religious. Instead of by its truth—set apart.

You may ask—set apart for what?

Set apart for relationship with a most holy God, His Son and the Holy Spirit. Both in the Old and New Testament, scripture says, “Be holy, for I am holy.” The Strong’s Concordance describes this kind of holy as “Likeness of nature with the Lord, different from the world.”

Likeness of nature with the Lord…different from the world—what it does not mean is a list of dos and don’ts. Yes, there are things we should not do because they are not of the nature of God. But as  Christians these behaviors should not be our desire, our desire should be to follow Godly principles, thus be of the same nature with God.

We can’t live a holy life if we regretfully hold ourselves to a list of conducts not to follow. If we are to be of the same nature of God, then we will follow Him and be in relationship with Him, because He loves us and we love Him. This love and this relationship cause us to be holy and to live in right standing with God and vice-versa. The reason we don’t participate in sin, is because it is not pleasing to God and separates us from Him. Our heart is to love and please Him—be with Him and be like Him.

God’s Word is clear we cannot partake in a sinful manner of living, understandably some behavior can be disputed—seeming grey and not really sin…but maybe. This is where holiness gets sticky—when questionable behavior has to be scrutinized, categorized or defended—it’s a no brainer—if it’s questionable—don’t defend it—live without it—starve your flesh and be holy!

We should be glad, not disappointed that we are called to be holy and that we don’t indulge in sinful conduct. We should see it as a safety net—protecting us from a empty lifestyle that never stops craving after its self—a lifestyle that finds pleasure in self-indulgence, not God indulgence.

Religion says “I can’t do this or that because I’m a Christian”—relationship says “I don’t do this or that because I love God.”

God is jealous for us to live holy lives not because He loves rules, but because holiness sets us apart for Him and causes us to draw near to Him—which then causes Him to draw nearer to us.

Holiness is about relationship—not rules. Holiness is only out-of-style if we want to please our sinful nature.

A lot of Christians are stubborn towards holiness. I challenge you to be stubborn in your holiness, not allowing the devil, the world and the flesh to manipulate your life. 

Selfishness is easier and more pleasing to human nature, but this is what sets us apart—we do not live according to human nature but God’s nature. The Church—The Bride of Christ, should be set apart—we should be different. Different, but not weird and religious!

How will we make a difference in this world if we represent rules and not Christ? What will we have to offer that’s different?

 If we love our life so much that we outdate holiness—how will we make a difference—a difference that saves lives?

It is not difficult to be holy nor is it a lofty unattainable lifestyle. God never asks us to do anything or be anyone that He will not equip us to be. He gives grace to the humble—grace is a resource—grace fills in the gaps—it is available to us—for holiness. We just have to want to be holy.

Some Christians use grace as an excuse not to be holy—grace is not an excuse, but an endless supply of assistance and support to live a godly lifestyle.

In a holy lifestyle we do not live overly cautious of our sin, instead we live mindful and in honor of God’s presence and of our relationship with Him. 

I’m not perfect, but I am submitted and really passionate to be in closer relationship with God—I’m passionate for the Church to be in closer relationship with God—therefore I’m passionate about pursuing holiness.

I’m bringing holy back! What about you?

Please be encouraged to BE holy as He is Holy!

Ephesians 5:1-6 “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. Don’t allow love to turn into lust, setting off a downhill slide into sexual promiscuity, filthy practices, or bullying greed. Though some tongues just love the taste of gossip, those who follow Jesus have better uses for language than that. Don’t talk dirty or silly. That kind of talk doesn’t fit our style. Thanksgiving is our dialect. You can be sure that using people or religion or things just for what you can get out of them—the usual variations on idolatry—will get you nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of God.”

1 Peter 1:13-16  “So brace up your minds; be sober (circumspect, morally alert); set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favor) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed. [Live] as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel].But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living.For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

Skillful Living 101—16 Choosing the Right Path

Making decisions and choosing the right paths in life, are daily concerns. If we are not sure how to get God’s direction then we can easily get overwhelmed. The skillful living advice found in Proverbs 16 is a valuable fortune to attain; it holds truth that can help guide us in the right direction, assisting us in avoiding pitfalls that occur when taking the wrong path.

Basically choosing the right paths and or direction in life is a surrender issue.

Verse 9 sums it all up for us,

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

Listen to Proverbs 19:21

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

There are two ways to go about finding God’s direction—both lead to the same ending.

1. We can make our plans and take our own steps in pursuing those plans.
2. A. We can ask God for His plans and direction. Patiently waiting, relying on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide us.
   B. We can make plans and submit them to God, asking for His will to be done. Relinquishing our desires knowing His will is best. Also patiently waiting, relying on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide us.

No matter which way we go about choosing, or what choice we make—the end result will be the same—God’s purpose for our life will prevail.

I’m half a century old, and believe me I have tried and retried over and over again to make the first way of choosing work—but it never has.

God loves us too much, to allow our plans for our life to supersede His.

This might be frustrating to some people, because they just want to do what they want, but truly God knows the beginning to the end of each situation. He knows how it will start and how it will end and every detail in the middle. He wants the best for us, that’s why He wants us to choose His paths.

Taking our own paths and following our own direction is not only disobedience, but painful. Sometimes after we wake up from a bad choice—be it years, months or days later, we have regret, desiring that we would have listened to God or the good counsel He put in front of us.

I’ll never forget these words; “Careful, that pitfall will cost you two years, oh watch out for that one, it’ll take five years to get out.” They were spoken by an older prophetic gentleman; he was talking about wanting to warn people before they charged through life, not inquiring of God’s direction.

Being a Mom of teens and young adults, I’m constantly reiterating the concept of these scriptures. My kids are visionaries with huge dreams and plans—I love this about them and believe these are God given qualities inherit within them, but that doesn’t mean every idea is God breathed. My advice to them is to submit their plans to God and find out which path He wants them to take. I desire my kids to be discerning of God’s voice and will—this will assist them in not wasting their life getting in and out of pitfalls.

Understandably the desert of some pitfalls are places God allows us to go through, where we can find Him in a new way as we learn life’s lessons, but I don’t necessarily believe they are all God ordained stops in life. We can learn just as much, if not more, by first submitting to the obedience of God’s will. There are huge blessings in seeking, finding and following God’s will.

I had an interesting conversation with a young friend, who told me a story about his relationship with a random girl—now in his life forever. The gist of the story was this; he was reflecting on what he called the ripple effect. He met a girl, knew her only a week or two and had sex with her. He said he didn’t love her, she was not really his type but it had been awhile—so he indulged himself. The relationship, loaded with issues, became one of convenience for both of them—until she got pregnant.

The ripple effect started first by living a casual lifestyle of ignoring God, second by fulfilling the lust of the flesh and having sex outside of marriage. Then pregnancy, it continued with an unwanted dysfunctional relationship, sharing a child, who will no doubt reap the consequences. He sadly said “One bad choice has caused a lifelong ripple in my life.”

Opening one door of self-will, can lead to many other doors that inevitably open more doors— leading to hardship, heartache and wasted time.

Proverbs 16 gives generous advice on this concept, it would significantly benefit us and those we influence, to listen and follow its guidance.

Verse 1—“Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.” (MSG)
Verse 2—“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart).” (AMP)
Verse 3—“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” (NLT)
Verse 5—“The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished.” (NLT)
Verse 7—“When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (NKJ)
Verse 9—“We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (NLT)
Verse 16—“How much better it is to get skillful and godly Wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.” (AMP)
Verse 17—“The road of right living bypasses evil; watch your step and save your life.” (MSG)
Verse 18—“First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall.” (MSG)
Verse 20—“It pays to take life seriously; things work out when you trust in God.” (MSG)
Verse 25—“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (NKJ)
Verse 33—“Make your motions and cast your votes, but God has the final say.” (MSG)

The heart breaking ripple effect can be avoided by tucking our self into relationship with God, where we hear His voice, know His will and delight in obedience.

Skillful Living Tools

• A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps
  
• You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail
• Choosing the right paths and or direction in life is a surrender issue
• Submit plans, ideas and dreams to God, asking for His will to be done
• Patiently wait on the Holy Spirit and God’s Word to guide you
• Remember the ripple effect: choices have consequences
• The road of right living bypasses evil
• Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed
• Pride comes before a fall
• God always has the final say

Please be encouraged—skillful living comes by patiently submitting our plans to God before we proceed.

Please share with those who need to live skillfully!

Check out the Skillful Living Tool Box (updated weekly) at the top of this page!

Free but Costly

If someone were to go to a free community event, would that person be free to act however they want at that event? Say they wanted to hit and offend everyone they came in contact with, could they? It’s a free event—are they free to do as they please? What if they wanted to drink alcohol and get totally drunk and act foolishly, could they? Would it be permissible for them to freely have sex at this event? Or would there be a conduct code?

What about freedom in Christ? It’s free. Can the saved person act however they want?

What does free in Christ mean? Are we free to do as we please, is that what it means?

If it’s free then why is it so costly?

Freedom is free—meaning you can’t buy or earn your way in. But freedom does have a cost. America’s freedom has cost many lives.

A Christian’s freedom is free, but it cost Jesus His life.

The freedom we have in Christ means we are free from death, sin, hell and the world—free from the devil and all his evil. We love this part and rightly so, but where things get tangled up is the world component.

We are to be in but not of the world, okay so where do we free Christians draw our line? We obviously have to live in the world and no doubt it is one of our biggest adversaries.

Now think of this as the free community event, can a person do whatever they want? The answer is no. Just because it’s free it does not mean you can freely do whatever you desire or feel like. It’s the same with Christianity; just because it’s free we are not free to do as we please.

The freedom we have in Christ translates to this—free to love and obey—we are free from the devils hold on us and we are free to love and obey God and His word.

Our freedom costs us our life as we knew it before we accepted Christ as savior. Christ bought us a relationship of intimacy with God the Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit—intimacy that comes by way of freely submitting (James 4:7-8).

Sadly a lot of people have a hard time with this. Until I realized that my freedom was about relationship I did too. When we are not aware of the relationship factor, then it’s easy to get caught up in wanting to do whatever we want, not caring if we grieve God, using the grace clause as our excuse. The reason being—it’s all about us and our happiness—not realizing genuine happiness is the joy that’s found in relationship with God.

Christianity is not about going to church, ministry, being good, evangelism or any other reason. These are all necessary biblical elements but they are not why we become Christians—no, we become followers of Christ because of love. He first loved us—showing us how to love Him and others.

This amazing love cannot be attained outside of a relationship with God and relationship with God will cost you your life.

It makes sense. Think about it—how can we accept the free gift and draw near to God outside of holiness? What relationship does light have with dark? None. Sin separates light from dark.

Galatians 2:20 says,

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Essentially freedom bought our ability to crucify the old worldly person/life, so Christ, the light of the world, could live in us.

Listen to Romans 6:12-14 from The Message,

That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life. Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live. After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.

The freedom of God gives grace—grace leads to obedience—obedience leads to righteousness—we are instructed in Romans 6:13 to be instruments of righteousness.

Take note of what Paul says in Romans 6:15-16 about grace.

What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

We are free to love God—free to obey—free to lay our life down as a living sacrifice—free to be in the world and not of it—His grace makes way for it.

Please be encouraged in knowing that your freedom was bought with precious blood, shed to draw you near to God Himself.

Following is Romans 6:15-23 from The Message. It’s very lengthy but so good!

So, since we’re out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you’ve let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom! I’m using this freedom language because it’s easy to picture. You can readily recall, can’t you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God’s freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn’t have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you’re proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. But now that you’ve found you don’t have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.

True Repentance

A lifestyle of repentance is a vital spiritual discipline for the thriving Christian. Without it, our flesh remains prideful. It is what we do with our sin that makes all the difference. If we hide our sin and defend ourselves, making excuses for our behavior, God cannot help us. Hidden sin has to be exposed—preferably by the one sinning.

Exposed sin needs to lead us to godly sorrow, which opens the door to true repentance. Godly sorrow is the grief we experience when we realize we have sinned against God Himself, this truth is illustrated in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

The sorrow the world has to offer leads to death because it has nothing to do with true repentance; therefore, no changes are made. Worldly sorrow cheaply spits the words “I’m sorry” out of its mouth, desperately trying to relieve its own conscience. It is all about self, with no real regard for God or those it has hurt and wounded, which is why it leads to death.

Oswald Chambers says it in this manner,

Repentance always brings a person to the point of saying, “I have sinned.” The surest sign that God is at work in his life is when he says that and means it. Anything less is simply sorrow for having made foolish mistakes—a reflex action caused by self-disgust.

True repentance is a lethal weapon to be exercised daily. It births us into a healthy lifelong change. Repentance is not just acknowledging and confessing our sin, but the starting point of turning away from sin, as indicated in Acts 3:19.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Casual Christians treat repentance as if it were the cold ocean where they just tiptoe at the shore. If we seriously want to be healed and live in a deeper relationship with God, than we cannot afford to be casual or to dabble. True repentance has to become our lifestyle.

It has to become our lifestyle because sin happens daily. When we ask Christ to be our savior He wipes away all our past sins. It would be great if at that point we stopped sinning all together, but that’s not the way it is.

There are sins of omission and sins of commission. There are heart attitudes that have to be dealt with daily, as well as issues that we are in the process of overcoming. We never arrive to perfection but are a work in progress.

A lifestyle of repentance is not meant to make us feel like losers, but to assist us in moving forward—in the way of sanctification.

One aspect of true repentance is that it can change our pallet for sin. Sin becomes distasteful when true repentance is taken in and savored—mainly because we recognize how our sin has separated us from God.

Another truth about repentance is that it kills pride in us. Isaiah 57:15 says,

I live in the high and holy place with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts.

God dwells with those who are contrite and humble. Pride is a major enemy to a lifestyle of true repentance.

It’s also important to realize that the grace of God is what leads us to repentance and it comes by way of the Holy Spirit’s conviction, as stated in Romans 2:4

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness [grace] of God leads you to repentance?

When we repent and ask for forgiveness, God takes our sin and remembers it no more, as clearly specified  in Psalm 103:12

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

Please do not keep reminding Him of it, simply shut the mouth of the devil and be led by the Holy Spirit.

In Romans 8:1, Paul writes,

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

If we live in the Spirit and not the flesh there is no condemnation or guilt. One way to know if we are operating in true repentance is to check our condemnation and guilt level. True repentance sets us free with no regret. True repentance also wipes out our sin and lifts our burden, allowing God’s refreshing to come to us. The enemy of our soul will try to convince us we’re not forgiven, set free, healed or delivered. He will attempt to heap shame on us, but we have to remember; if we sincerely repent, turn and operate in Godly sorrow, God forgives us. End of story. Our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west.

Essentially true repentance is priceless—it brings times of refreshing (Acts 3:19) that allow us to draw closer to God—who wouldn’t want that?

Please be encouraged to welcome godly conviction in your life and to live a lifestyle of true repentance. You won’t regret it.

The contents of this blog was taken from my book Thirsty Heart.