Walking With Jesus

Are You Playing Enough?

“This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with their canes and will sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play.” (Zechariah 8:4-5 NLT)

As I age one thing to which I’m committed is to make time to play. Even though I walk and exercise, I’m still winded more quickly when I play basketball than when I was younger, but it’s a “good tired.” Oddly enough, I don’t bemoan the fact I’m not able to run and jump like I could 30-40 years ago, I’m grateful I can still play at all. But I also play a couple old Xbox 360 games – golf and boxing, which I believe are not only fun, but they also keep my mind more alert and active.

The downside is that these are not things that my wife enjoys, so we also work puzzles, and play marble and card games with family and just the two of us. There’s an adage that says: “The family that prays together stays together.” I’ve adapted that a little to say: “The family that sweats together sticks together.” So, we also enjoy working in the yard and around the house that sometimes involves some sweat. 😊

In the verses above Zechariah is sharing with the captive Jews that God has given him a word to share with them. These encouraging words were nearly impossible to believe given their current captivity, but they remind me that doing enjoyable things together as children of God is critical to our spiritual health. But, unfortunately, in our lives today, especially for young people, it’s important that we don’t get too much of a “good” thing.

John Stonestreet wrote in a BreakPoint article: “Screens have also contributed heavily to today’s mental health crisis among young people, as well as to what sociologist Jonathan Haidt has called ‘the loss of a “play-based childhood.”’ Haidt points to Boston College psychologist Peter Gray, who has argued for the significance of play: Free play is the means by which children learn to make friends, overcome their fears, solve their own problems and generally take control of their own lives. … Nothing we do, no amount of toys we buy or ‘quality time’ or special training we give our children, can compensate for the freedom we take away. The things that children learn through their own initiatives, in free play, cannot be taught in other ways.”

What’s the takeaway for us as Jesus followers? Our lives demand variety: otherwise, they get boring and bored people get into trouble. Another observation is that there can be a vast difference between joy and fun. I have fun playing my golf game, but I experience joy in worship. This isn’t to say that joy can’t be fun, but they’re not one and the same and we can’t mistake one for the other.

There are times, especially in a season of loss when joy is painful, yet healing. When I lost my precious sister to cancer, I was grieved and heartbroken, but my spirit had joy to know she was with Jesus. We can laugh so much we cry, but we can also cry so much it can bring laughter, realizing what our loved one has gained and what we have to look forward to.

Christianity is serious business, but it should also be enjoyable and sometimes, especially when we’re with brothers and sisters in Christ, downright fun!

So, we’re back to our original question – “Are you playing enough?” Please, for your soul’s sake, have some fun. I believe the most fun person to ever live is Jesus. I believe heaven is going to be an absolute blast!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

When Weakness Is Good

“Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” (2 Corinthians 12:8-10 NLT)

If the Lord wasn’t able or chose not to use us in our weakness, there wouldn’t be much left of me for Him to use. In this season of my life, I don’t have a lot of physical strength, because of arthritis in my hands it’s very difficult to even open a jar. But by God’s grace and in His mercy, He’s chosen to use us as we are, not as we once were, or wished we were now.

Recently, I read a quote, but was unable to verify who wrote it, that said: “If you don’t have something, you must not need it to do God’s will.” As we age, we’re prone to lose things, not only literal things like keys and wallets, but energy, coordination, strength, memory, and, in varying degrees, our ability to think clearly. Of one thing I’m certain, we will always have everything we need to do the complete will of God for our lives.

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Jorge Rosario wrote: “I was walking home from work one brisk Monday evening. But I didn’t want to go home; I was dreading sharing the news with my wife. The 15-minute walk ended abruptly at my front door, not allowing ample time to prepare. Then I opened the door to find my wife in the kitchen with tears in her eyes. I asked what was wrong, and she replied, ‘I got laid off.’ To which I replied, ‘Me too.’”

Having been out of work, without any source of income, yet, still able to marvel at how God made a way for me, strengthened my faith and built my trust in a God who is ALWAYS my Provider, my good, good Father. Elisabeth Elliot wrote: “God never withholds from His child that which His love and wisdom call good. God’s refusals are always merciful – ‘severe mercies’ at times but mercies all the same. God never denies us our hearts desire except to give us something better.”

The Psalmist reminds us: “What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord…” (Psalm 84:5a) Do you desire to learn to depend on God for your strength in times of weakness? To trust Him to be your strength? Rick Warren wrote in a recent devotional: “Hudson Taylor was an influential missionary to China in the 19^th century. He was a spiritual giant and a brilliant man. In his old age, he lost his health and became quite weak. He wrote a letter to a friend that said, ‘I am so weak I can no longer work. I am so weak I can no longer study. I am so weak I can no longer read my Bible. I cannot even pray. I can only lie still in the arms of God like a little child in trust.’”

We’re so prone to think something is wrong when we experience loss, setbacks, or heartache. Is it something we did? Are we failing God in some way? Why is God punishing me? Not stopping to realize that gain nearly always includes loss. To grow in Christ’s likeness will, by virtue of the transformation God is doing in us, necessitate change, which implies loss as well as gain.

Think of the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior. For a Jesus follower there is no life without death, no death without resurrection, and no resurrection without eternal life. Our call is to die to self, to be one with the Lord, that we may walk in submission to His authority in our life, leading us to eternal life in heaven. That process demands weakness in our life as it did in Jesus’, but as it led to good in and through Jesus’ life, God designed and desires that to be the same process in our life, because that’s when weakness is good.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Failure Doesn’t Have to Be Final

“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:7-10 NLT)

Psalm 51 is David’s plea with God to forgive and restore him after his epic failure to obey and honor God. King David not only violated the wife of one of his loyal soldiers, he also had him set up, so he’d be killed in battle, to try to cover David’s crime against him. Of course, God forgave him, but his sin set in motion a series of events that signaled the beginning of the end for David’s reign and life.

To some degree failure is common to every person. The Bible says: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” No human being makes it out of this world unscathed by Satan’s tentacles. So, the question is never “have I failed?” it’s only and always, “To what degree have I failed? And “What am I going to do with my failure?”

What have you done that’s brought the most shame, disgust, and torment? And I’m not speaking of the trigonometry test you failed in high school; I’m addressing your failure to obey a clear directive of God. He said to do one thing and you did another; He said don’t go there, but you went anyway; He warned not to pursue that relationship, but you persisted because it just “felt so right!”

My intention isn’t to have us dredge up painful memories, it’s to help us understand that whatever we have done or allowed ourselves to become, there is still hope for us. There is no such thing as a little sin or big sin, sin is sin and Jesus paid the price for us to be forgiven of sin – period! The Bible is clear that God “is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins.”

Because of the sacrifice of our Savior and the grace of our Father in heaven, failure can be and often is the platform upon which comes our greatest blessing. We can’t fix what we don’t know is broken and sometimes we don’t realize how invested in Satan’s kingdom we are until we fail in a big way. However, failure isn’t “fixed” until we seek forgiveness and, when demanded, restitution.

In Numbers 5:6-7 God warns that when we wrong someone, we must make restitution. And just in case someone might say: “Yeh, but that’s Old Testament!” And I’d say, “Yeh, but so is ‘love your neighbor as yourself,’” that Jesus commanded us to obey. If we’re looking for a way out, we’re not ready to be forgiven and allow the Lord to use our sin as a springboard to correction that can transform our lives for the better.

Paul was clear when he wrote to young Timothy: “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.” There’s no question that failure brings a setback; however, what that failure leads us to will be a defining moment, not only in our faith, but our life.

Satan’s goal for you and me is to “Steal, kill, and destroy,” but God’s plan for us is “to give (us) a rich and satisfying life.” If our brokenness from our failure launches us into depression, self-loathing, and uselessness for Kingdom purposes, then Satan has won. But if, by God’s grace and with His forgiveness and guidance our failure gives us more determination to be all God wants us to be, then our failure has done its work. The result will be greater growth and fruitfulness for us than we every dared imagine, plus more glory to God than we could have ever dreamed.

Whatever you’ve done that seems to have defeated you; whatever failure has you knocked down – by God’s grace and with His help – GET UP! YOUR FAILURE IS NOT FINAL!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Selfishness

“For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior.” (2 Corinthians 12:20 NLT)

What comes to mind when you think of selfishness? Do you see yourself as selfish? In Scripture selfishness is often seen as being self-promoting and speaks of one who is seeking office or a position who is drawing all eyes on themselves. We might also think of the idea of bragging, which can easily become an exaggeration of our qualities or characteristics.

The saddest dimension of selfishness, at least in my life, is that I too quickly take credit for that for which God or someone else should get the credit. Anything that distracts from Jesus or points people’s attention away from Him is being selfish in my mind.

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Because we have a means of income, we’re tempted to take credit for what “our” money has bought. It’s “our” beautiful house, car, beach house, vacation, wardrobe, and on and on it goes. But the plot thickens when we begin to receive praise or recognition for that which we should be directing gratitude and praise to the Lord.

We so quickly forget that “our” mind, heart, physical ability, mental, emotional, relational, and financial resources are gifts from God. We would literally have nothing if the Lord hadn’t gifted us and equipped us to do what we do. And the sad reality is, we could lose everything in a heartbeat. We waste our life building monuments of praise to ourselves, but for what? Who gets them when we’re gone? They have zero value to us after we take our last breath, yet we burn ourselves out for more.

But, again, I think of all we might do for God’s Kingdom if we weren’t so invested in our own kingdom. Folks, our days are short and only what has eternal value should be at the top of our priorities. And, yes, of course, many have jobs and families and responsibilities, and I applaud that, I genuinely do, but where is Jesus in all of that?

If He’s not the center and focus of what we’re doing, it has little or no eternal benefit. Unless Jesus is calling the proverbial “shots,” at home, at work, at recreation, in every avenue and dimension of our lives, who is?

There is a quote attributed to Nelson Henderson that says: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” Whether or not he knows the Lord, the theme of his quote is valuable and applicable to those of us who do profess faith in and love for our Savior. Not investing in people and ministries that will long outlive us is selfish.

My wife and I want to be responsible in contributing to the care of our granddaughter’s education and wellbeing, but we also want the Lord to be honored in our death by being as generous as possible with our church family. It’s a common assumption that churches have a lot of money to spare, and I’m confident a few do, but the majority of churches, at least the ones I’ve been a part of, have not been able to carry out effective ministry in our communities because of lack of funds.

If you’re a child of God, please spend time alone with the Lord, opening your heart and mind, listening to His voice in directing you to do a self-evaluation, especially in the area of your finances. “You can’t take it with you” is an accurate phrase on some levels, as it relates to money, but the truth is, we can send it ahead by investing in the souls of men and women, boys and girls who may never hear the name of Jesus if we don’t invest in those who are diligently seeking to take His Name to the ends of the earth.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Kind of God…?

“O Lord, why do You stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble? The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.” (Psalm 10:1-2 NLT)

In a series we were watching on TV, a sheriff, after discovering that a man who was a caretaker of an orphanage had, over the years, abused and killed several children and buried them in the basement, as he gazed at the now deserted building, he asked: “What kind of god would allow such a thing?”

That’s a question that has been asked for centuries, but the question with which I would ask you to wrestle is this: “What kind of God wouldn’t allow such things?” And before you shout “heresy,” please hear me out. God gives every human being the capacity to make our own choices as to what we will believe and how we will conduct the affairs of our life.

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What we do with that gift is dependent upon us. We choose to submit to the Lordship of Christ and follow Him, or not. Jeremiah wrote in 17:9: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” And I can imagine someone thinking: “See, there you go, God made us all like that!”

Actually, He didn’t. In the beginning He made us perfect with the capacity to recognize and do good and not to choose evil, but He wasn’t creating puppets, so He gave the first humans a choice, clearly explaining to them what would happen if they didn’t listen and chose to disobey. He gives each of us the same choice.

If we don’t have a choice, that’s not love, that’s slavery. For God to create us and not give us a choice to choose our own way, we’re simply puppets who must do the will of our master. That people choose evil and harm one another in unimaginable ways breaks God’s heart, but He loves us too much to force us to obey Him.

That’s why Jesus was born. God in human form came to live the life that He desires for all of us, and to offer forgiveness and the power of His Holy Presence to enable us to be forgiven and to live righteous lives. But sadly, most human beings choose their way over God’s way, thus, creating the environment in which we now live on planet earth.

However, we mustn’t forget that God is not only the God of love, but of justice. Just as He showed when He flooded the earth because of the wickedness of mankind, He will one day return, not to lovingly forgive everyone and let them come to heaven, but to once and for all punish sinners for their evil behavior. Everyone has the opportunity to see God through nature and the magnificence of His creation, including the intricacies of the human body.

I know this is a gross oversimplification, but God’s love wouldn’t be love if He forced us to obey Him, but neither would He be love if He arbitrarily stopped every person who chose to do evil. Where is justice in that? If God killed us all because we had a capacity and will to disobey Him, there would be no human life on the planet. But be assured, ultimately, no one gets away with anything evil.

The amazing part of all of this is the gift of salvation and the opportunity to change and be forgiven. We’ve all done things we regret and when we think about it, can’t believe we are capable of such a thing, but by God’s grace and because of His loving mercy, we have the privilege of seeking forgiveness and wholeness of life in ways that only God can provide.

Is there evil in the world? Absolutely! Did God cause the evil? Absolutely not! Will He one day right every wrong? Yes, He will.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Our Land of Promise

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)

When the children of Israel were delivered from their captivity to the Egyptians, the Lord, through Moses, prompted them to ask their Egyptian neighbors to give them “clothing and articles of silver and gold.” Think for a moment what this meant. The slaves, who had never owned anything of value their whole lives, now leave to begin their new life with nice clothes and money in their pockets. They may not have known where they were going, but they had more than they’d ever had in their lives as they traveled.

Yet, a short time after the Lord had delivered them from the Egyptians, not once, but twice, they began to belly ache and complain that they were better off in Egypt and wanted to go back. How like us at the first sign of anything we don’t like in our walk with the Lord. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that their complaining literally cost them their lives. They never got to enter the land the Lord had promised them.

Which causes me to ask the question: “What is your ‘Promised Land?’” What is it that you most want to become as a Jesus follower? What’s your dream? What would you love to do or be for Jesus? Perhaps you want to be a Pastor, Evangelist, Worship leader, Teacher, Church Planter. The list is long, and the possibilities are endless as to what we can be or do in the Kingdom of God.

What’s holding you back? What’s stopping you from becoming all you’ve dreamed of becoming for the Lord? The writer of the Hebrew letter says to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” I may not be able to identify the specific sin that’s got you entangled or is tripping you up, but I can tell you with authority and certainty, the Lord paid for its forgiveness and deliverance.

All you have to do is accept the freedom you’ve been given in Christ Jesus. Like the children of Israel, we’re so prone to want to continue to live like we did before we were set free. We’re liberated to become more than we ever dared dream possible, but our vision is so limited by our own shortcomings, we can’t imagine living any other way.

We learn to adapt to the acceptance of sin in our lives as though it’s okay, but it’s not. There are those who believe they’ve “come to terms with the Lord about their sin,” but that’s a lie from hell. If God the Father was okay with our sin He wouldn’t have allowed His only Son to lay down His life in our place to pay sin’s penalty.

Listen child of God, you’ve been set free, not to continue to wallow in your sin, but by God’s grace and with the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit, to overcome sin in your life. It takes time to break sinful habits, but that must be our goal. To say we’ve risen with Jesus to new life, to become a new creation in Christ Jesus, only to continue to live like the devil is a slap in God’s face.

That’s why church and a small group are so vital to our health as a believer. None of us can walk with Jesus without help and support. When you get to heaven do you think you’ll live alone, without any participation in worship and service to your King Jesus? Being a believer in Jesus is a “team” effort. You may not realize it, but you’re surrounded every day by “a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith” you’re seeking to live.

The balconies of heaven are crowded by those who have completed their journey, who are cheering for your success as you race toward your “Land of promise.” You can make it child of God, but you need help, not only from the Lord, but from your brothers and sisters who need you as much as you need them.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Pressing On

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.” (Philippians 3:12 NLT)

In your more honest moments, when it’s just you and the Lord and you know that He knows not only the words you’re thinking, but what those words mean to you as you use them, what are you professing to be pressing on to achieve? Are your words declaring your true desires, the sum of everything you are or ever hope to be, as you press toward your goal?

Paul’s goal was perfection, as revealed in the verse above. The word translated “perfection” means “to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end.” (Strongs)

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These verses beg the question: “What am I seeking to accomplish in and through my life?” As a believer in Jesus what is it toward which you press? What is it that demands everything you are to carry it through to completion? Obviously, the waters can be muddied by our personal goals and interests. Perhaps your goals include things like – to be married, to have a family, to get a job, to start a business, to see the world, to write a book, and on and on it goes.

Desires to accomplish something of importance and meaning can be as varied as there are people on the planet, but if Jesus is who He claimed to be, and in my heart and mind I believe He is, what is THE most important goal we should pursue? As I understand His desire for each of His followers, it’s to become like Him. Jesus is the only perfect human being who ever lived, and when life on this earth has ended and every person who has ever lived is now dead, He will still stand as the only One to ever be perfect.

Yet, according to Paul, isn’t that every believer’s goal, even though we know from the outset that our goal will never be accomplished this side of eternity? Is it an exercise in futility? Absolutely not! Then why is it so vitally important? The closer we get to Him the more He reveals Himself to us; the greater our desire and persistence in becoming more like Him, the more meaningful our life becomes.

Little is much when God is in it, but when our focus is on ourselves and our success as a human being, we’re often so distracted by the grandiose plans we have for ourselves we miss the details in the plans God has for us. We see thoughtfulness and kindness as incidentals, while the Lord sees them as keys to unlocking more Christlikeness.

Jesus performed many miracles, but the basis of every one of them was compassionate, caring love. Love isn’t simply the result of perfection, it’s the roadway to it. Perfection, in terms of being more like Jesus, will never occur, even in eternity, without attention to detail, and that can’t and won’t happen without love.

Love sees value in the small things, which is so vital because we’re not going to be made whole in one step. It’s millions of small steps taken carefully and with effort to love in small ways along the way. Growing in perfection isn’t simply being like Jesus in the things we do. Everything that Jesus thought, did, or said was motivated by love. If we could paint a picture of perfect love, it would be Jesus on the Cross.

If our goal is to be like Jesus it will happen as we nail our wants, wishes, dreams, and desires to the cross of self-love, and shift our efforts to always being anchored in our love for Jesus and our desire to see His life lived out in and through us to His honor and fame. We press on as we rid our lives of anything that isn’t motivated by Christ who is love.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Finish Strong!

“Then Jesus explained: ‘My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent Me, and from finishing His work.” (John 4:36 NLT)

The Door to Life “Used by permission, © Ray Majoran, GlimpseOfInfinity.com”

Regardless of our age none of us knows for sure how close to the finish line of our lives we are. One of my uncles died on a ship in Pearl Harbor at the ripe old age of 17. He’d lied about his age to get into the Navy and his life was sacrificed for his country a short time later. Age is irrelevant when it comes to dying. For someone to base their decision whether to follow Jesus on their age is to walk on very thin ice.

Many of my friends in high school told me they wanted to “live their life” before they turned to God, only to die in Viet Nam or in an accident before they finished college. Life is fragile and must be handled with care. The truth is a person can wait too long. Jesus said in Luke 13:25: “When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’”

If you haven’t yielded your life and allegiance to Jesus, PLEASE, I IMPLORE YOU to not wait another second. Please believe me when I say, you won’t be giving up anything but your sin, and you’ll be gaining everything worth having, including life eternal with the only One who loved you enough to die for you!

And if you know the Lord, I IMPLORE YOU to finish strong for Jesus! “But how?” you may ask. First, by Praying with more boldness! Pray with expectation and anticipation that what you’ve asked God to do He’ll do. I’m asking the Lord to save my loved ones and neighbors, so He’s laid on my heart to write each one whose name I know a note. If I’m praying for them, I have to believe He’s working in their heart and mind, readying them to receive the words He’s giving me to share with them.

We are coupled with the Holy Spirit to carry out God’s will. We don’t do it alone and the Spirit won’t do it without us. Dick Eastman said years ago, “Behind the saving knowledge of every believer is someone praying.” So, if you’re praying, listen carefully to what the Spirit is saying to you about what your part is in their salvation.

Second, we finish strong by Living with more abandon! This issue with life isn’t simply having a heart that beats and lungs that breathe. Life is what we accomplish for the Lord, so we need to care for our body and nurture our spirit. Living with abandon means putting your “yes” on the table before you know what you’re saying “yes” to. As a soldier in hostile territory, must be ready to respond to orders at any second.

In these moments before the Lord returns, we can’t afford the luxury of selfishness. This life is not our own, so when the Lord says, “Do this,” our only suitable response must be “I’m on it, Lord?”

Then, third, to finish strong we must Love with more intentionality! That essentially means we need to take as many as we possibly can across the finish line with us. Who’s in your pipeline of people you’re leading to Christ? Nurturing in their new faith? Struggling with a problem that’s holding them back?

Our faith race was never meant to be run alone. Jesus is our model, and He ran His race with 12 men and many others who surrounded Him, listening to His words, obeying His directives, and dying in His service. Will the Lord demand we give our life for Him? Maybe not in death, but certainly as long as we live.

Jesus said in Mark 8:35: “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” I don’t want to burn out, I want to wear out.

Let’s finish strong by wearing out in His faithful service – together!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

We Cannot Afford the Luxury of Selfishness

“For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” (James 3:15-16 NLT)

We may not realize it simply by reading the verses above, but these verses are a rich commentary as to what is going on in our world today. The word which is translated “selfish ambition,” paints the picture of someone who aspires to an office but will take whatever underhanded measures possible to sway the vote in their direction.

The opposite is a word translated in Matthew 25:21 as “faithful,” and describes “a person who shows themselves faithful in the transactions of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties.” (Strong’s) What are the implications?

Selfish ambition essentially means for the right price we’ll do whatever it takes to get what we want. The irony is, as a child of God we’re willing to do whatever it takes to please our Master. It’s not necessarily what we do, it’s for whom we do it.

In the age in which we now live it seems it’s not a question as to whether or not someone has selfish ambition, it’s only a question of how far they’re willing to go to get their way. Unfortunately, that’s not only true in the world, but in the church. When our so called “walk with Jesus” is compartmentalized, it’s not unusual to see someone live one way in and around the church and Christian friends, and another way entirely when they’re conducting business or mistreating their family.

We cut corners, shave the numbers, pad our profits to make ourselves look good to the powers that be, never stopping to realize that the bosses aren’t the only ones seeing the results of our demonic work ethic. Our co-workers usually recognize a fraud pretty quickly, and, if we’re professing our “success” is only because of our walk with the Lord, we’re dragging His holy name through the mud while we’re pushing our co-workers away from us and Him.

There’s likely never been a time when it was more important for us to be transparent, not only in our faith life, but in every detail of our lives. Jesus isn’t interested in having part of us, He paid the price to cover all our sin, not so we could live part-time for Him, but be all-in, serving Him without reservation.

Within a short time after I’d given my heart and life to the Lord, I was shooting hoops by myself at a nearby park. I noticed a classmate standing at the fence that surrounded the court, watching me. We didn’t run in the same circles, so I didn’t know his name, but as I was leaving, he came up to me and with a very serious look and tone said: “I’m watching you!”

Do you not recognize that people are watching your life? You’re the only Bible some will ever read. What are they reading on the pages of your life? Are you real or fake? All in or straddling the proverbial fence? Does Jesus own your whole heart or are you trying to share your heart with someone or something else?

It’s a hard thing to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow the Lord, but it’s never been more critical. The minute you witness to someone about your faith in Christ you’re giving them permission to investigate your life. What will they find? Please, I implore you, let them see Jesus.

This is not the time to be wishy-washy as we live our lives. Jesus could come for us at any moment, let’s not be ashamed of the way we’ve been living when He does. Selfishness isn’t an option for a Jesus follower. The price He was willing to pay for us is much too great not to honor Him with everything we are, have, and can do to render glory to His holy name.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Blessing For A New Year

*This message from Sylvia Gunter is a Godsend as we begin this new year. I pray it will encourage, bless and revitalize you as God prepares your heart to follow in His steps in the adventure of this new year. Blessings, Ed 😊

Receive this blessing over your time, timing, and seasons as a new year has begun.

Hear God’s Word for you in Psalm 31:15. “My times are in your hands.” And in Daniel 7:25. “He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws.” And in Revelation 1:8. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Let God bring your spirit, soul, and body into alignment with His divine time. Choose to stay in the present tense of God’s time. Be blessed as you understand the wiles of the enemy to change God’s times (Dan 7:25). Ask God to deal with all warping of your time. Be blessed in every part of your spirit to be in harmony with God’s time. Ask Him about time, timeliness, and bringing time into alignment, so that you stand in His victories and the breakthroughs already won.

Be blessed with lining up with your birthright and with God’s divine time, so that no portion of your being or spiritual identity or inheritance is out of kilter. God who is out of time can keep your spirit, soul, and body in right relationship to the flow of His days for you. Anticipate His timing on your coming and going. Be blessed to see His fingerprints upon everything that concerns you. If it concerns you, it concerns Him.

Look for and receive His nurture, and grow and increase and be strong in all that your Father has for you to receive. You have worked hard over time to overcome brokenness. Trust God to propel you forward, because He is nurturing your whole being. Fragmentation is a thing of the past as God brings all of you to full stature, as Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. Be blessed with being whole in every part: spirit, soul, and body.

Be blessed to know the fullest dimensions of what God has placed inside you. Be blessed with knowing your identity in Christ for such a time as this. Understand what your Father designed you to do and how He wants to implement your gifts to accomplish that work with authenticity. He is mentoring and coaching you in the completeness of Christ’s likeness.

Be blessed with receiving that spiritual deposit now. You have a powerful destiny and purpose. He is guiding and equipping you to demonstrate His magnificence.

Recognize that God’s hand is on every circumstance of your life, as He gives you opportunity to learn and to express all of Himself in you. Be blessed as you accept the giftedness He has placed in you, and know that you are a gift from Him to all the people in your circle of influence. Be blessed today in God’s redeemed time. He made everything beautiful in His time.

Be blessed in the name of the Alpha and Omega, with whom time has no beginning or end (Rev 1:8).