Choices

293....

Not a magic number, or a secret code ... 293 choices.

If I wanted a chocolate candy bar, the real deal, not just your run of the mill - non-chocolate candy bar - I would have 293 choices... 293!

Every day is about choice....

Stay in bed or get up.

What to eat, what to wear, where to go, who to go with, when do I .... lot's of choices.

 Some of those choices don’t have much to do with things of eternal importance and some of them have everything to do with it! (“Should I break this commandment?”). 

Sometimes we  ask, “Do my choices really matter?” Or we may think, “If no one knows what I’m doing, do my decisions really affect anyone?” The answer is yes! 

Our decisions always matter!

Choosing to keep the commandments shows God that we love Him and are willing to follow Him. The choices we make—including our attitude in making those choices—are a big part of how we grow and mature in our faith.

While you are free to choose your course of action..."It's my decision and I'm sticking to it!"  You are not free to choose the consequences. Whether for good or bad, consequences will follow as a result of the choices you make.” 

Our lives are made up of a series of choices. Some with meaning only for that day or that moment but others that can have ramifications far reaching into our futures and determine the course our lives.  The point is that we need to be more respectful of the choices we have to make in this life and recognize that they often wield a power greater than we can see. We have a habit of bringing God our problems – after we have made the choices that resulted in them.  I believe God would much rather we bring Him our choices, so that we do not have to experience the problems of poor decisions. 

So how do we get there...Paul said,

Romans 12:2  (MSG) 

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

I'm just sayin' ...

Turn off the distractions and turn up God...

Psalm 119:130  (NIV)

The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

• Is the world shouting so loudly —  that it’s drowning out God’s answer to your prayer? 

Seek Christian counsel from those you respect and study the Word...

Proverbs 19:20 (AMP)

20 Hear counsel, receive instruction, and accept correction, that you may be wise in the time to come.

• Look around  ... has God already placed someone in your life you can talk to and trust.  Who among your Christian friends has walked this road?

Naturally limit your choices...

Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

After laying out your options, cross out the ones least likely to honor God, and circle the ones that could bring him the most glory.

Humbly confront your motives: do certain choices appeal more to YOU than to him (James 4:3)? Eliminate options that are more about saving face and keeping control than about pleasing the Father.

Choices that honor God will ultimately be in your best interest!

Do something...

James 1:22 (NLT)

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

If you’re only waiting because you’re afraid to act, set fear aside and step out in faith (Joshua 1:9).

If you’ve sought God through prayer, Bible study, counsel, (and appropriate pacing) place your confidence in Him and decide. 

Just make the choice! 

Trust that God is true to his word—you ask in faith for wisdom; He will generously supply it (James 1:5-6).

Give thanks and trust God...

Instead of second-guessing the decision you’ve  made, give thanks for it. Believe that God will work good out of your choice (Romans 8:28). 

Psalm 28:7 (NLT)

The Lord is my strength and shield.  I trust him with all my heart.

He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy.  I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.

I wonder what Solomon was just sayin' when he said...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.   Proverbs 3:5-6

...now about that candy bar...decisions....decisions....so many decisions....

See Ya!

~ Kelly

Devotion

 “Who and, or,  what has my allegiance and devotion?”   God's word is designed -- by God -- to make a difference in the way we think and live.

“God is faithful (reliable, trustworthy, and ever true to his promise, and he can be depended on)” 1 Corinthians 1:9 (Amplified)

Our ability to serve the Lord is directly related to our trust and commitment of God’s values and priorities.  But single-minded devotion is also an evidence of maturity and insight to what is truly meaningful and has eternal consequences in our lives.  So, then,  Commitment,  or, total devotion to Jesus is the evidence of our maturing faith.  (2 Cor. 4:16-18; Matt. 6:19-21, 30-34; 1 Pet. 1:17-18).

Being intensely devoted to Jesus -- creates intense desire for His word.  Acts 2:42 (NIV) says..."They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

Being intensely devoted to Jesus grounds our faith.  Romans 10:17 (NIV), "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ."

We can be comforted when we face sorrow and pain (Psalm 22:24, 56.8, Psalms 119:48-52 ) It is in the truth of who Jesus is and what he promises that we have comfort.  We can be courageous when we face giants in our lives! (1 Samuel 17:45)

Devotion to the Lord gives us stability and strength to face life.  As Christians, living our lives begins with a solid foundation of faith that comes from  hearing, taking in and obeying God’s word. The more you read God’s Word the more you see the unfailing love of God.  The more you read, the more you see the justice and judgment of God.  The more....You see His providing and protecting. 

 Romans 8:29 tells us that the purpose of God’s goodness revealed in Jesus and through the Word -- is that we would be transformed into the image of Jesus. 

More than just cute quotes, Facebook faith and Bible stories - HIS word is meant for  transformation!! 

Through devotion we are called by Jesus Christ to let our light shine so that others may see our good works and glorify God.  We are called to be lamps shinning for God’s glory.  Lamps do not talk they shine.  The way we act, and react, to each other reveals the reality of who Jesus is -- in us.  We should ask ourselves does my life reveal the character of Jesus, and my devotion to Him? 

Am I forgiving, patient, kind, good, gentle, self-disciplined and loving.  Devotion to Jesus brings clean and clear conduct. Ephesians 2:10 says....(NCV)

10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing. 

It takes time to develop personal spiritual disciplines—Bible study, praying, fasting, reflecting, worshiping.  It takes time to advance the kingdom of God.  But  our commitments of time are a good measure of our devotion to Christ.

I know, you know...I'm just sayin'.

See Ya'

- Kelly

Faith

Faith...  Is it yours?  Is it borrowed, rented, used?  Did you inherit it from a family member?

Yep...just plain 'ole faith.  Faith can be kind of hard and messy all at the same time. 

I think we take faith for granted. We think it’s easy to believe and easy to keep believing, but it’s not... not for most of us.

It’s the faith.  It’s what we believe about the things that matter most. Take that faith away and we have nothing left!  If we believe it, if we really, truly, absolutely believe it, then yes, it’s the faith, and friends we’d best put on our marching shoes and go wherever we are needed to put our faith to work.

The writer of Hebrews 11 would surely say Amen to that. If what we believe makes any difference, then it has to change the way we live. That’s what the phrase “by faith” (repeated over and over again in this chapter) is all about. 

Sometimes we don’t take faith as seriously as we should.  We assume something that the Bible never takes for granted.  True faith is a precious and precarious commodity.

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.There are those who have faith and those who don’t. And if you don’t have faith, you cannot please God.  Think about that for a minute!  

We are justified by faith (Romans 5:1,9).  We are reconciled to God (Romans 5:10).  We have peace with God (Ephesians 2:17-18).   We have a standing of righteousness before God, because of Christ's life and death. (1 Corinthians 1:30).  We have become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9).  

But we are not yet perfect (Philippians 3:12)! 

We still sin.  We fall short of God's perfect standard every day.  We glory in the truth that... in spite of this sin, God counts us as righteous for Christ's sake, but we long to be free not only from the guilt of sin - which we are in Christ right now -but also from the presence and the power of sin. 

This is where we live!

Saved, secure in Christ, but sinful and "groaning" as we wait for the completion of our salvation, as Romans 8:23 says: "We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body."

In Galatians 5:4-6 (MSG) we read ... "I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love."

Faith expressed in love! A love that is based -- according to Scripture -- on what's inside us! And, what's inside??? Faith!

The difficulties of faith don't come from the lack of feeling, or action, -- but from the lack of divine knowledge.  The knowledge of who God is and the depth of His love.  Your faith isn't so much about you, about what you have or haven't done ... but rather about God, about what God has done and how much he has loved us.

The worst part about faltering faith ...  is that you are missing out on how much God loves and trusts you!  The formula of faith should be, "if you will...God will..." --reaching -- seeking -- is proof of passion... God won't give you anything that you haven't pursued.  

Maybe it's time to  pursue God ... faithfully...I'm just sayin!

Kelly

Thoughts

Have you ever been thinking and ...something shiny.... what  was I saying?

Have you ever been thinking and ... squirrel ... really?

Have you ever been thinking and ... I never thought about that!  Like....have you ever been thinking these kind of thoughts....

Why do pajamas have pockets?

Why do people sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" when they're already there?

Does anybody actually enjoy the music you hear when you're on "hold"?

Why is it called a hamburger when it is beef?

Why are they called apartments when they're all together?

How come permanents are temporary?

Before they invented golf balls, how did they measure hail?

Why aren't they called bakies instead of cookies?

Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?

Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

Get my point ... thoughts...can be really random and our thoughts can make or break us...

When we believe something, it will affect our feelings. When you believe you are a failure, you will feel like one. When you believe you are forgiven, you will act like you live in GRACE!

The difference between a guilt-ridden Christian and a happy and joyful Christian is often one simple thing... what we think about.  Guess who's thinking about the sin, the guilt and the past? And, guess who's thinking about how they have been washed clean and they are a new person in Christ?

Philippians 4:8 says,  "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Our enemy loves to put thoughts of failure into our minds. Those thoughts (if meditated on), produce strongholds, which produces feelings, which lands us in bondage... all because we listened to the enemy... more than our heavenly Father!

In Psalms 94:1 David declares, "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul."  

.... So it is like this, two voices are speaking: Satan likes to come along and tell you, "Look at that sin you did so long ago! That was so bad! You are such a failure!"  However, Jesus, through God's Word, tries to tell us that if we turn to Him, we will be forgiven (1 John 1:9), and our past will be forgotten!  

Isaiah 43:25... (NIV)  “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,    and remembers your sins no more...

The Christian thought life is not the playground for the enemy, but the stage upon which the Truth of Jesus Christ can shine.  Jesus has given the saints of God everything they need in order to take command over their thought lives. 

We as Christian's are privileged to think on nothing but that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and of good report...

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Whatever you keep your mind on (think about often) will affect your entire being...so if I were to sum it up with a  perfect verse...I think Isaiah was 'just sayin,' when he said...

Isaiah 26:3... (MSG.) "People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole,  Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.  Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing."

See you soon!

-Kelly