Deep Yearning

Certain situations in my life produce deep yearnings within me.  These yearnings lead me into strong intercession in prayer.  I strongly desire to see a particular outcome when I have a deep yearning.  But a deep yearning can be a blessing or potentially a challenge to me based on how I handle it.

Deep yearnings require me to put my faith and trust in God for the outcome.  This can create a challenge for me.  I can desire the outcome of my deep yearning so badly that I hurry to obtain it.  When that happens, and I choose to give in to the impatience, I can set out to make something happen in the strength of my flesh instead of waiting and relying on the Holy Spirit to bring it to pass.  I have had the experience of disappointment as a result of being in a hurry.

There’s nothing wrong with a deep yearning for God to intervene in a situation involving myself or another person or for the fulfillment of a promise from God.  That can be a wonderful thing meant to bring me before the Lord for His mercy to help.  But if I let it consume me to the point that I get in a hurry about it being fulfilled, I can cause many problems for myself and others.

This is shown to us in the Bible through the lives of Sarah and Abraham.  God had given a promise—a son who would be an heir.

Sarah was old as was Abraham, and time had passed since the promise had been given, and the deep yearning for its fulfillment was increasing all the while.  Sarah concocted a way to see it fulfilled so that the yearning could be satisfied.  She came up with an idea rooted in her finite wisdom and presented it to Abraham.

Neither she nor Abraham submitted her idea to the Lord.  They simply ran with it.  They chose to fulfill the promise of God in their way, and they talked enough about it to convince themselves that it might be God’s way of doing it.  So Sarah gave her handmaid to Abraham so he might have a son through her.  It produced a son, all right.  He was named Ishmael.  But Ishmael was not God’s idea.  Ishmael was not the promised son God had in mind.  So Ishmael could not rid Abraham of the deep yearning for the fulfillment of the promise. Ishmael brought satisfaction on some level to Abraham, but he could not be the answer to the deep yearning produced by the promise.

Later, once the real promise came forth in the son Sarah herself gave birth to and named Isaac, Ishmael and his mother Hagar became a problem.  Hagar and Ishmael held Sarah and Isaac in contempt and caused tension in the camp, and thus Abraham had his heart broken when he had to send Hagar and Ishmael away into the wilderness.  You see, Hagar and Ishmael could not be allowed to continue to remain in the camp due to the conflict it created for them to be there.  They would always compete with the promised son and the favored wife.

If you can see and hear it, this story is meant to demonstrate why the Law can not remain in place as a means of righteousness for a believer in Jesus.  In New Covenant understanding, reliance upon the Holy Spirit becomes the way for the believer in Christ.  A person may have a deep yearning to be right with God and thus have a strong loyalty to the law, thinking it is the means of fulfilling the promise of being made right with God.  But it is not the way.  Jesus is the promised Son, and He alone is the fulfillment of this promise that has produced such a strong, deep yearning in so many.  Trying to fulfill the promise of being made right and kept right with God through any other means, no matter how good it may seem, is an imposter solution that can never truly satisfy the deep yearning.  All our deep yearnings need God’s solution without being tainted by our own ideas or recommendations for obtaining it quicker.

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Choices

I have observed that many exhibit the ability to have short memories regarding choices and the outcomes they bring into life.

Recently, my wife was in an auto accident that was not her fault, and thankfully, she was not injured.  She was sitting at a stop sign well back from the line of stop.  A woman was turning onto the street my wife was stopped on.  My wife noticed the woman was constantly looking into her rearview mirror as she was making her turn and, as a result, turned too sharply and hit our car.  The lady explained she had almost been hit at that intersection by someone not paying attention.  Because of that one-time experience, she behaved differently when turning and turned way too sharp.  Her memory of a prior incident led her to behave differently at that intersection than normally.  It hurried her into the turn without looking ahead and checking her surroundings.  She was fixed on looking backward while trying to go forward.

Whether or not she will remember the consequences of her choice and the lesson it can teach her depends on what she remembers about it.  Often, a person can go away from the consequence of a bad choice without even recognizing it is the result of their choice.  Many times, others get blamed for an outcome that is a direct result of a poor choice on the part of a person who is claiming to be a victim.  When someone suffering from a poor choice claims victimization, they cannot see the effect of their choice and thus cannot learn from it.  This is what I mean when I refer to a short memory regarding choices.

Choices are a powerful thing.

Jesus spoke about the power of choice in a parable in Luke 14 when he was invited to a ruler of the Pharisee’s home to eat bread during the Sabbath.  Jesus was being watched closely by all present.

A man was there in front of Jesus who had dropsy.  Jesus asked the lawyers and Pharisees present if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath.  Jesus knew He had a choice to make regarding this man’s need in front of Him.  Jesus also knew the potential consequences of His choice.

Naturally, Jesus healed the man.  Then, after He had healed the man, Jesus gave a lesson on choices.  Jesus paid attention to the lawyer’s and Pharisees’ choices regarding where they sat at the dinner.  They had chosen the best places.  Jesus spoke of them possibly being invited to a wedding feast.  He told them not to sit in the best place because a man more honored than them may arrive and force the host to come to them and ask them to move and make room for the more honored guest.  That would produce a consequence of shame on their part.  Instead, Jesus said, sit down in the lowest place.  That way, the host can come to you and ask you to move to a better place, and you will be honored in front of all present.

By giving this instruction regarding the choice to humble oneself, Jesus demonstrates the power of choice—especially the choice of humbling oneself in any situation.

The path of humility will always produce a greater reward than a path of arrogance rooted in self-importance or selfish ambition.  Jesus chose to do something that could bless a man who had a need that was obvious to all.  Jesus’ choice was rooted in humility with a desire to bring blessing and offer the gift of wisdom.

Jesus’ humility and submission to His Father led Him to choose the opportunity of being a blessing.  Today, there will be many opportunities for us to make choices.  I encourage you to let Jesus, who lives in you, help you make choices with the aid of the Holy Spirit.  It will set up a better harvest for you and bless others.  This always starts with choosing to be Christ-conscious and others-minded.

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Put On

Every Morning there’s a point that I put on my clothes to start the day. I would not dare go out without being properly dressed.

It is important to put on the right clothes.  If I have a meeting, I dress differently than I would if I went on a walk and then to the gym to exercise.  I dress differently if I am going to mow, work on a car, or do some other type of messy job than I would if I were going to church.  I dress according to purpose.

I do not wear my good clothes to do messy work, and I do not wear messy clothes when I am going to be with people and desire to make a good first impression.  The point is that I put on according to purpose.

Jesus spoke a parable.

Matthew 22:11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, “Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, “Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

If the man had been adorned in the proper garment, he would have been okay, but he was cast out because he lacked the proper attire.  Of course, this is speaking of how the man was not born again and, therefore, did not have the proper garments to start with.  But it also reveals the benefit of appropriate raiment according to context.

It is wise to put on according to context, which is also true regarding spiritual things.

Ephesians 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Verse 24 says it so clearly.  Put on the new man.  What is that verse saying to us?

We’re being told to let the new man be what others see in our decisions and actions.  When our outward behavior is in step with the new man we have become in Christ, we are properly adorned.  When that is not the case, it is akin to someone showing up at a formal wedding in droopy basketball shorts, flip flops, and a ratty tee shirt, unshaven and unkempt.  They stick out like a sore thumb for not-so-good reasons.  They are out of place and out of context.

A believer in Christ will also stick out oddly when they behave as though they are not in Christ because they refuse to be adorned with the new man.  They may claim to be in Christ, but their behavior fails to offer any convincing proof due to being contrary to what they claim to be true.  It results in causing others to struggle to be convinced.  This is why Paul said,

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Putting on the new man is an important part of our effective witness to others. I encourage you today to put on!

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Soul And Spirit

I was a mess when Jesus rescued me in my very early twenties.  He had much soul work to do on me.  There’s still soul work being done on me.  Thankfully, my spirit man is being renewed day by day within.

In the gospels, we read how Jesus said to His disciples and especially Peter,

Matthew 26:40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

It wasn’t long after that exchange that Peter cut the ear off one of the guards that had come to arrest Jesus, and Jesus had to do a miracle and put the ear back on the man and tell Peter to put away his sword.

Peter was dealing with the situation as he had learned according to his ways before knowing Jesus.  His soul was not yet on board in this situation with the Spirit.  Like all of us, Peter had some soul catch-up to do.

It is God’s desire that the whole of us be preserved blameless until the coming of Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Father does not just care about our spirit.  He cares about the whole person, body, soul, and spirit.  This is why allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us to think differently in our souls and to act differently in our bodies is important.  This is especially important for those of us who minister the word of God to others.

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

This work of the soul is often referred to as character building.  It can be difficult for my body to respond correctly if my soul thinks incorrectly about a situation.  My soul is like the steering wheel of my body.  I need to be washing my soul with the truth of the word of God for this reason.  This is made clearer in,

Ephesians 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

I am still learning what it means to live out of the righteousness I have been made already in Christ.  Thankfully, whenever I miss the mark, there is grace at the throne of grace for me, and I do not need to be stuck in an emotional prison of failure.  I get to keep going and learn from any mistakes I may make.  But if I refuse to learn and grow and allow the word of God to wash my mind and refresh my soul, I am destined to repeat the very thing I just regretted so badly and which likely produced undesirable consequences in my life that I would have much rather avoided.

The point of all this is that getting my soul and spirit in sync is of great importance, and to do that, I need His word much more than just what one can get in a single Sunday service.  I encourage you to take His word seriously and engage it every day.  The whole you needs it more than you may realize.  Without it, we are left with whatever emotions, reasoning, and responses our affected soul and body have to offer.  That is not always the best.

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The Hope Of The Gospel

When I am trying to help someone discern the difference between old covenant thinking and new covenant thinking, I use an example involving the presence of God.

If, for some reason, my life gets busy one day and it interferes with my ability to set aside a morning time with God, do I feel as if He is distant now?  If I feel that my failure to get alone with Him that morning means He has pulled Himself away, I am not thinking in a New Covenant way.

God’s presence in my life is established forever, not by anything I do or do not do.  It is established based on what Christ has done.

There’s New Covenant Scripture that can help us with this idea.

Colossians 1:21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

I was once alienated and an enemy of God.  The evidence of that was visible to others by the life I lived so selfishly.  But in His mercy, He came to me and reconciled me.  He did this when Jesus sacrificed Himself to pay for past, present, and future sins to reconcile me to God through His body, not mine.  This is literally saying that this work of reconciliation, which makes the presence of God available in my life, was done by Jesus through His flesh when He died.

What was done?

He reconciled me and presented me holy, blameless, and above reproach!  Where?  In His sight!  Jesus in me made me the righteousness of God!  I am righteous now, not by anything I have done to become righteous but by what He did to make me so.

This brings Paul to offer a serious admonishment regarding this truth.  He says, “If you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard.”  I’m not to be looking for this solution anywhere else.

In other words, I need to do as Colossians 2 encourages me to do.

Colossians 2:6  As you, therefore, have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Old Covenant thinking wants to make righteousness and the presence of God about what we do to merit it, whereas the New Covenant makes it about what Christ did to make it our continual reality.  If Christ lives in me and I am filled with the Holy Spirit, how is it possible to be away from the presence of God?  When spirituality is reduced to methods and means apart from Christ, it moves a person away from true New Covenant reality and faith into self-derived merits to sense God’s presence.  It strips a person of the hope of the Gospel and places them in a performance-based lifestyle that is a roller coaster ride of disappointment and exasperation.  Always wondering about whether or not enough has been done to please God, although Scripture says He is pleased by our faith.  Faith in Christ pleases God.

I encourage you today to remain in the hope of the Gospel now and always!

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No Flesh Should Glory

My youngest son, when he was a little boy, had had a dream that seemed real to him.  He spoke of having been at his mother’s and my wedding.  We laughed about it and then helped him to understand that he had seen pictures of our wedding and dreamed of such a thing, but it was impossible that he could have been at our wedding.

Sometimes, our minds can imagine things so vividly that they are perceived as real.  Not every perception can be trusted.

What would you think if I were to tell a story that claimed that before I was conceived, I willed to be born?  I would be worried about you if you didn’t think that claim was absurd.

If I were to try to take credit for my natural birth in any way, you would be justified in thinking of me as being deceived.

This statement of no flesh should glory can trip someone up if they do not understand the point of it.  It is a statement dealing with something similar to what I have already been discussing.  Perceptions that seem real to someone but just cannot be.

The statement is found in the Scriptures.

1 Corinthians 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.

It is positioned in such a way as to diminish the idea that anyone should even attempt to think they had anything to do with their salvation.

1 Corinthians 1:26  For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

God did the choosing in this case, not us.  We did not choose ourselves for this amazingly wonderful gift.  We did not qualify ourselves for it either.  God chose us on purpose for a reason. He did not choose us because we were all that and a bag of chips.  He chose us when we were nothing, spiritually dead in our sins and trespasses.  He did this to bring to nothing the things that are.  In other words, to end any boasting on anyone’s part of having merited being selected.  If we read further the Scripture about this, we discover why.

1 Corinthians 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

The point is to take out of the way any boasting in ourselves and instead replace it with giving glory and honor to Jesus!  It is designed to spotlight Christ in our lives so that He might receive the glory, honor, and praise for our salvation, acceptance, redemption, and life change.

My belonging to Jesus had nothing to do with me being smart enough to choose Him.  I was not wise.  It had nothing to do with my pedigree in the natural. I did not have one to start with.  By bringing someone foolish like me to Christ, he shames the wise in this world who trust in their wisdom and cannot seem to get it.  By choosing a weak-willed person such as myself, he shames the strong-willed, self-made people who think they can get it done with their strength and willpower.  He chose me!  He saved me!  It was all by grace; even the faith I employed to turn to Christ was His gift.  I can only boast in Jesus and the love of the Father!

All glory to Jesus!  All praise to the Father!  Thank You, Holy Spirit, for opening my eyes, heart, and understanding when You made me alive in Christ!  I have nothing for which to boast in, in myself, and I glory in Christ, who has placed me continually in Your presence, Father.

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Subtle Shift

There is a way to say things that can shift the focus and give credit to oneself rather than keep it where it should be.

There is also a way to ensure the focus and credit remain where they should be.

For instance, Peter and John one day were going up to the temple to pray and encountered a lame man who had been there begging most all of his life.  Peter told him that silver and gold he did not have, but what he did have, he would give to him and then commanded the man to rise and walk.  The man was instantly healed and ran and leaped and went into the temple, leaping and praising. Everyone knew the man well and was amazed.  Then the man went to Peter and John and held on to them. I interpret that to mean he was hugging them.

At this point, Peter could have launched his ministry and increased his influence tremendously by speaking of his healing ministry.  But it’s interesting to see how Peter handled this sudden increase in attention.

Acts 3:11   Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16 And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

Peter gave the credit where the credit was due and kept the focus where it needed to be kept.

Peter did not yield to the temptation of a subtle shift in focus or credit to advance his ministry brand and increase his popularity for greater ministry opportunities.  Peter was convinced it was not by his power that the lame man was healed.  Peter was convinced it was Jesus who healed the man.  So, it was the easiest thing for Peter to credit Jesus with the miracle and then draw the attention of those listening to Jesus and the importance of believing in Him.

I have no power to heal anyone, raise anyone from the dead, do any type of miracle, or operate in a gift of the Spirit.  But the One living in me has power, and the Holy Spirit who dwells in me has power.  So when I see someone healed or someone receives a miracle, or I am used for a spiritual gift of any kind, I know it is not me. It is Him.  Therefore, it is simple to give Him the credit for what happens.

Anything good I do is credited to Jesus Christ, who made me new by giving me new life in Him.  Anything wonderful I get to participate in supernaturally is credited to the Holy Spirit, who is operating to make Christ known and bring people to realize the goodness of God manifest in Christ.  I desire always to be as Peter was in that moment.  Able to resist the temptation for ministry promotion, give credit to whom it is truly due, and turn the focus to Him, who gave everything to bring salvation and hope.  Jesus is the only one worthy of receiving praise!

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Boasting In The Lord

BOAST - verb- talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements, possessions, or abilities:  noun - an act of talking with excessive pride and self-satisfaction

There can be a certain measure of satisfaction in speaking of one’s achievements in life.  It is especially gratifying to make comparisons and feel like one is coming out on top in such a situation.

When I was a boy, about ten years of age, I could ride a wheelie around the block on my ten-speed bike and change gears while doing so.  I boasted of such an accomplishment as a boy.  As a boy, I was also a pretty good baseball player, earning MVP one year.  I boasted about that as well.

There have been many things for which I would boast through the years.  But there are plenty of things for which I cannot boast.  My salvation and relationship with God is a major one.

I had nothing to do with my salvation, and I do nothing that adds to it or helps maintain it.  It is all of Him, and it is all based on the obedience of Jesus Christ.  My relationship with God and my ability to refer to Him as my Father is all because of Jesus, and I make my boast in Christ.  I find it healthy to be often reminded of such a truth.

Ephesians 2:4   But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Any desire and effort in good work that I do now in life is attributed to the creative work of Christ.  Jesus made me a new creation, and because of Jesus, I am seated in the heavenly places with Him; I am evidence of the incredible great mercy of God and exceeding riches of His grace by His kindness towards me simply because I am in Christ.  There’s no other reason for the kindness of God towards me.  I did nothing to earn it.  I cannot do anything to advance it or to increase it.  His kindness towards me is fixed based on Christ Jesus, and therefore, I make my boast in Christ!

I do not base anything positive in my relationship with God on what I do for Him.  I have learned that the credit for goodness, kindness, mercy, and grace belongs to Jesus alone.  I am happy to give Him all the glory for my amazing blessing in belonging to the Father through knowing Jesus and being made new in Christ.  This gift of revelation from the Holy Spirit maintains my constant closeness to Him and my awareness of His presence in my life.  It is all because of Jesus!  To Jesus be all the praise!

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Power That Works

Fall is approaching, which means less daylight.  Thankfully, I can have power at home that allows me to flip up a switch on my wall and light up a room even when it is dark outside.

It is a manmade power that works and that we heavily rely on.  It is a power that brings possibility and opportunity.  It enables us to use tools that equip us to build things or repair things.  Tools designed to help us in our day-to-day affairs.

When that power goes away, we find ourselves at a loss as to what to do.  How will we cook, clean, shower, or bathe without the things that power provides us with?  Whenever there is a power outage, people contact the source of their power in great numbers to make them aware that they have lost their power because that is how important having power is.

No one makes someone talking about their need for this kind of power in life feel stupid for speaking about it.  No one criticizes a person for being thankful for this power in life. I’d bet you could get all your neighbors on board with appreciating the fact that they have this kind of power so readily available, and likewise, I’d bet they will be in unity with you about making someone aware whenever it is lost in your neighborhood.

Interestingly, usually, when power is lost, it is not the fault of the source for it.  It generally is because something happened to the means of transmitting it.  A tree falls on a transmission line, a car wreck takes out a power pole, or lightning strikes a transformer.  Something happened to interfere with the flow of the power and interrupt it.  Such a problem needs to be fixed before power is restored.  The source of power goes right to work doing what is needed on their part to see it restored.

This natural phenomenon of power that works reveals to me that power matters.  This is true as well in the supernatural.  A power that works matters.  There is a power at work in those who belong to Christ!

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

There is a power at work in a believer in Jesus that is meant to activate based on asking and thinking.  When a believer in Jesus is inclined to bring a request to God, it activates a power within far greater than the level of power needed for the request.  Whenever a believer is moved in their imagination about something, it activates a power far greater than what is needed to see the thing imagined brought into reality.

I can plug up multiple devices in my house and not be concerned with whether or not there will be enough electricity to supply the demand.  The same is true when it comes to my walk with Jesus.  The Holy Spirit dwelling in me is all-powerful, and cannot experience a depletion in His power just because I asked for something or imagined something.

If you belong to Jesus, you have a power that works in you!  I encourage you to tap into that power daily.

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You Have What It Takes 3.0

You have what it takes not because of who you are and what you can do in the power of your flesh but because of who Christ is!

John 1:2 But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:  13 who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.  14 The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Being born again has nothing to do with our will or our own power.  It has everything to do with the will of God and the power of God.

Once you become born again, you have what it takes!

We just read of how Jesus was full of grace and truth.  Jesus was full of something!  You are full of something, too!

John 1:16 From his fullness, we all received grace upon grace.

You are full of His fullness!  Whatever He was full of, you now are full of.  You have received grace upon grace!

God gave you favor to receive favor!  How can that be improved on by any attempt in the flesh?

When we stand in the confidence of the finished work of Christ, we partake of His fullness, and it brings forth the fruit of grace at work in us.  In Christ, you have what it takes!

1John 4:15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.  17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

As He is, so are we in this world!  As He is present tense.  He is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on High, delighting in the glory He had with His Father before the world began.  There’s no separation between Him and His Father.  We are to walk in His fullness while on this earth, enjoying the benefits of acceptance and deep relationship with the Father because of our position in Christ.

Jesus gave His life to bring us into the joy of knowing the Father and being in union with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus enjoys such unity and connection with the Godhead.  It was His prayer in John 17 that we might be one just as He was one.  It was a prayer of experiencing oneness with God just as Jesus had oneness.  It was a prayer for a deep relationship and all the benefits that come with it.  The odds were stacked in our favor when we came to Jesus!

You have what it takes, and to fully enjoy that reality that is already yours in Christ, you must believe it and take advantage of the privileges of relationship it promises to you.  You already have everything you need pertaining to life and godliness in Christ.  You have what it takes!

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Tainted Grace

When we speak of something being tainted, we think of it being marred or distorted from what it is meant to be in its purity.

If I were to purchase a work of art by a master of art and then begin to paint on it as if to improve it, I would be tainting it; it would be considered marred and lacking its original beauty for which it was most appreciated.

So, it is when grace is not allowed to manifest according to its purity and beauty.

One of the clearest manifestations of grace is a thankful heart.  When it is understood and believed that it is by grace that we were redeemed and given favor with God, we have nothing by which to boast and are eternally grateful for the generosity of God in making this blessing a reality to us through Jesus Christ.

A hidden gratitude is no gratitude at all.  The truly grateful is not ashamed of giving credit where credit is due.

There is a line in a movie where the character comes into an office meeting after being on a date with a woman he had been pursuing, and he declares to everyone that he is in love, he is in love, and he doesn’t care who knows it.

When the heart is deeply affected by a right belief, it expresses gratitude and delight.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Complaining, grumbling, a lack of gratitude, discontentment, discord, and a lack of peace taint the expression of grace.  They have nothing to do with the fruits of grace.

Grace cannot be modeled to others by criticisms. Complaining and always being upset over something.  Trying to disguise a lack of peace behind a false claim of righteous indignation cannot manifest grace.

One of the clearest ways of manifesting the work of grace is by being thankful.  Finding what is good, hopeful, and according to His promises by opening up our eyes to His eternal presence with us can produce a grateful heart that manifests His grace.  Living in the knowledge of His unearned favor can create the fruit of peace in us and manifest His grace alive and active in us.  If we know our performance did not merit our favor with Him to start with, we can know it is not our performance that will keep us in the place of favor.  Knowing this, according to faith, gives birth to peace and produces a grateful heart within us.

I encourage you today to remind your soul of the great benefits you have in Christ and allow grace to shine through you, pure and untainted.

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Manifesting Grace

When I think of manifesting grace, I think of what it means to be a partaker of kingdom life.  The kingdom of God is about increasing and growing in many ways.  It is multifaceted.

Sometimes, there can be a fixation on how many people are being added when thinking about grace and growth in kingdom life.  But there is much more to grace and growth in kingdom life than just numbers.  It was significant enough to motivate the prayer of a major apostle of the Lord in Scripture.

Colossians 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Being unaware of the will of God in one’s life leads to aimless living.   It automatically evolves into a lack of purpose and focus.  But there is wisdom and knowledge of God’s will given by the Holy Spirit to any who desire to know it.

The purpose for this generous offer of knowledge and wisdom from the Spirit is made clear.  It is to equip us to live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way by bearing fruit in every good work and growing in our knowledge of Him.

Here, we have a promise from God to strengthen us and empower us according to His glorious might so that we might have endurance and patience and be equipped to give Him thanks.  Not just any generic type of thanks but a joyful thanks.  The motivation for this thanks is rooted in our qualification to share in the inheritance of His holy people in His kingdom of light.  Our qualification was made possible when God rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son, whom the Father loves and who is light and life!

There’s more than enough done for us in Christ always to have something to be grateful for.  There can be no room for debate concerning how it pleases God to find us being thankful towards Him.  It also produces in us a desire to live for His glory.

Colossians 3:17 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.

When we live according to faith in Him and His power to make us new creations in Christ, we find things to be different than before we knew Him.  Our view of things changes dramatically.  Nothing is forced or contrived, it is free-flowing due to who we have become in Him.  To do something according to His name is to do it from the place of His authority and power.  Live energized by the Holy Spirit to know His will and do it, and you will find His equipping empowerment flowing in and through you every time.  This is what manifesting grace is all about.

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Mighty Weapons

Assumptions are built on not knowing for certain something and the imagination running on speculations.  When assumptions are made, it often results in a believer suffering because they are seeing or thinking about things according to the truth.  But the arena of the mind is where our battles are fought.  Trying to fight based on assumptions can be dangerous—assumptions such as the enemy being so powerful and having strong weapons that are hard to come against.  That kind of imagination can get a believer into real trouble and produce a victim mentality.  But the Bible tells us something different about these things.

2Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Your weapons are not based on your strength and ability.  You have mighty weapons originating with God!  Christ’s obedience is your key to real victory!  Knowing what Jesus did at the cross is key to knowing how complete the victory is.

Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Jesus disarmed our enemy and all his minions!  Jesus took away the handwriting of requirements against us that the enemy used to condemn us!

If you were sent to battle and had a high-powered weapon you had been trained to use and discovered your enemy had no weapons, just a bunch of threats, would you feel intimidated?  Would you feel like a victim about to be made a prisoner of war?  Or would you feel like a victor ready to celebrate?

Jesus has already defeated our enemy, and He sat down at the right hand of God, and we are seated with Him in the heavenly places!  Jesus took the weapon the enemy used against us away from him.  he disarmed the enemy completely.  All the enemy can do now is employ deception and lies. He has to do his best to convince a believer to question the truth God has spoken concerning the finished work of Christ.  Christ did everything needed to secure our salvation.  Jesus is our redemption, sanctification, and glorification.  Putting all our hope and confidence in Him is our greatest weapon!

This is the gospel message we should revel in.  It is why Paul boasted in,

Romans 1:16   For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

1Corinthians 1:18   For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

The depth of your confidence will always rely on who stands with you and whether they have the power to help you.  Here, we read about the power given to us in the person of Christ, the good news concerning Him, and the cross on which He died.  Add to that the promise of the Holy Spirit, who represents God’s power, and you have a recipe for success and victory!  You have mighty weapons, my friend!

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Power Breeds Confidence

Growing up as a kid, I had an older brother who grew quicker than most other boys and was intimidating.  Whenever he was around in the world of “kiddom,” it was amazing how bold my younger brother and I would become.  No one would dare mess with us, knowing he would pummel them if they did.  It gave us great confidence in those situations.

When you know God’s power, you can confidently face any situation.  You need not fear when you know His power.  Satan works in your circumstances to play down God’s power in your mind.  He looks to operate through your emotions and five senses to keep you from realizing the power of God for you.  He seeks to get you to think about the natural instead of the spiritual. By doing this, he magnifies your problem.  Remember, he roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he “may” devour.  Scripture does not say he is a roaring lion. It says he roams about as one.  In other words, it is an act.

In the grasslands of Africa, the hyenas and jackals sometimes will prance as though they are the king of the jungle.  That is until the real lion roars!  When the Lion of the tribe of Judah roars in your circumstances, everything pretending to have authority has to go!  Your God is not needy!  He is almighty!  I am not saying He is almighty to you.  I’m saying it to whatever is against you!   There’s no circumstance greater than our God.

Another thing you need to know is that God has real integrity.  Integrity is not merely honesty; it is the ability to do whatever has been honestly promised.  It involves not speaking beyond one’s means to supply.  God can make a promise with real integrity because He has the power to supply it.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Did you catch what it says?  According to the power that works in us!  What power?  Christ Jesus, the head of the church who has all authority in heaven and here on earth!

Everything in God’s word has a dimension of His power to make it so.  All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ.  God backs up His word.  So, knowing what God has said in His word is important so that you can pray and speak according to it.  God’s word activates His power.  He will not deny Himself. He will uphold His word and be true to what He has spoken!

Matthew 28:18   And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.   

Christ has all authority on earth and in heaven!  Christ lives in you!  You are now in Christ!

1Corinthians 1:23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

The power and wisdom of God lives in you!  Once you truly know God is all-powerful, what He has promised, and how He is for you, not against you, you will bully darkness and victimization out of your life!  Knowing this can empower you to accomplish things far greater than your own strength and ability would ever be able to do. I encourage you to consider this and allow the Holy Spirit to grow it in your heart.  Possessing these facts according to faith empowers you to intimidate your circumstances and the enemy who tries to magnify them to you.  Knowing His power breeds confidence in you!

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All Powerful

Power is multifaceted.  Everyone knows a little something about it.

Two hundred forty volts of electricity is powerful as it can power strong motors, appliances, and other things that produce strong results.  But then we see lightning and understand that the amount of power in a lightning strike supersedes 240 volts by far. We know that there is far greater electrical power out there.

A 60-mile-a-hour wind can be powerful and do some damage, but a hurricane with 140-mile-and-hour winds is far more destructive due to its much greater power.  We respect a hurricane’s power far more than a 60-mile-an-hour wind.

The subject of power can be subjective based on what kind of power we are discussing and in what situation it is applied to.  We witness isolated expressions of power in some way every day of our lives.  The matter of powerful things or people is important to all of us.  So what would all-powerful look like?  How would the idea of someone being all-powerful impact us?  Is there such a person?

Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

God is not just mighty, as if He is slightly stronger than other things or His enemies.  He is almighty and all-powerful.  Nothing can even come close to His power. God is the only one who can truly say that nothing is too hard for Him.

You can try to put your trust in a man or someone you think has power, but only God can say nothing is too hard for Him.  We define this attribute of God by using one word - Omnipotent - meaning all-powerful.

Psalm 62:11 God has spoken once, twice I have heard this:  That power belongs to God.

Power belongs to God.  Power is not outsourced to Him.  He doesn’t pay the local power company for His supply.

There are ways God’s power can be seen. One is by laws and principles.  There is a law of gravity, for instance.  To overcome it, you must employ a more powerful law of lift.  It is the reason birds and planes can fly in defiance of gravity.

Real encounters with God’s power can raise you above things too powerful for you in your own strength.  Another way God’s power is seen is by an encounter with it, such as that which Israel experienced when God used His power to free them.

Deuteronomy 26:6 But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 Then we cried out to the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”

It says they cried out to God, and He heard them.  You can spend every day fighting for yourself and trying to be tougher, smarter, or know more angles to take than the next guy.  Or you can run to your Father, who has all power, knowledge, and wisdom and can impart what you need in any situation.  But to be inclined to run to Him, you need to believe He has the power to help you and will use His power to do so.

All-power means He has power for anything that occurs in our lives.  Believe He is for you and not against you, and believe that He will use His power to bring you into the good of His will and purpose for your life.  If God be for us, who can be against us?  I encourage you to turn to Him, who has all power in any and every situation, regardless of how small or big it might be.  Let Him lead you and help you today.

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All Knowledge

It is said that knowledge is power, and to a degree, I can understand why they would say that.  A person with great business knowledge may become the CEO of a large company.  Having great knowledge in a particular field of expertise and skill can put someone in charge of others.  But no one possesses all knowledge about everything in real-time.

When I was young and unmarried, I roomed with a science and robotics engineer who worked in Oak Ridge, TN, at the National Labs, and the poor guy had to read magazines and periodicals every day to stay on top of the many changes occurring in his field.  He had to continually gain knowledge to avoid falling behind and losing his employment.

He had been educated in his field and had a degree.  But that was not enough for him to stay on top of the ever-changing discoveries in his field.  With time, things change due to discoveries made in many areas of life.  Who can keep up with all of them?

You and I, as individuals, change with time as well.  If you were to run into someone you haven’t seen or spoken with in many years, they would only know you according to what they knew when they last saw and spoke to you.

This phenomenon of not knowing doesn’t apply but to One being.  Only One person can be all-knowing, and the Psalmist wrote about Him.

Psalm 139:2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;  You understand my thought afar off.  3 You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.  4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.  5  You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.  6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;  It is high, I cannot attain it.

God’s knowledge is absolute.  God does not know everything because someone taught it to Him.  He does not need to gather information to know everything. Changing times can’t catch Him off guard, and nothing happening now surprises Him or informs Him.

He knows all the changes occurring in your personal life and the many things you face each and every day.  He is never shocked or surprised about what is occurring and how fast things are changing.  The Holy Spirit spoke through men many generations ago in the Bible and accurately detailed specific conditions that would be a reality in our times.  God knows everything!  he knows the number of hairs on your head.

God is all-knowing and uses that superpower to attentively be aware of each of us individually in His desire to care for us.  There is nothing happening to you that He does not know and understand with absolute clarity and accuracy.  He knows better what is happening to you than you can even know it.  Knowing this can help make what Peter said in Scripture make even more sense.

1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

I encourage you to think about this today and let Him care for you by casting all your cares on Him.  Look to Him for wisdom and insight into your situations and all the things that seek to weigh you down.  He desires to help you, I recommend that you let Him do just that.

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Everywhere

Just because you can’t see, smell, hear, taste, or feel something doesn’t mean it isn’t there.

We can be prone to be so five-senses oriented that it dominates our perspective on things unseen in our reality.  We can become “blind” to what is invisible but very much surrounds us.

For instance, Television and radio waves cannot be seen, but they are all around us in the air.  These waves fill the air around us but require the proper device to capture them.  If you get a radio and tune it to a station, suddenly, you can hear what is in the air around you.  The same is true with a TV.  The signals exist unless you were to go deep down into the earth or way far away from any antennas to where you get beyond their signal capacity!  That is unless you have a satellite tuner for radio.

These invisible signals exist pretty much wherever you may regularly be.

Something else can be unseen, unheard, and not felt, but is always present no matter where we may be.  In fact, there is no place you can go to be away from it. The Psalmist wrote about it in the Bible.

Psalm 139:7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence?  8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.  9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,  10 Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.

There’s nowhere you can go to escape the presence of God.  Just because you aren’t aware of it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.  Like invisible radio or television waves, He is always present, and if you’re tuned in, you will know it.

The Creator of all things is Omnipresent, which is simply a one-word way of saying He is everywhere all at once and all the time.  God is the only One who can be Omnipresent.  The devil cannot be omnipresent.  The devil is a created being and is limited.  Anything created has certain limitations concerning this attribute that is exclusively God’s alone.  Nothing created can be everywhere all at once.

Concerning Jesus, who is also God, the Scriptures say,

Ephesians 1:22   And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

I personally get excited at the thought that there is nowhere I can go that God will not be.  The real kicker to this is the fact that as a believer in Jesus filled with the Holy Spirit, I am His temple, and He lives in me, so how could it be possible to ever be without Him?

1Corinthians 3:16   Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

I encourage you to do your days with this thought of His being with you always, everywhere.  It can be a real blessing to be aware of such an amazing truth.  He will never leave you, nor will he ever forsake you.  He is your everywhere companion, and you are never alone.

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Therefore

Sometimes, a person can struggle to reconcile grace and freedom from the law with any type of bodily discipline being encouraged and advised under the New Covenant.  They struggle to imagine that any suggestion to bring their body under subjection to truth could be anything other than a call to performance or a mixture of legalism.

Is it possible to find an apostle in the Bible better versed in grace than Paul?

When anyone knows the Scriptures and what they teach regarding grace, they know that the letters Paul wrote contain most of the instruction in the truth concerning grace.  Paul is often known as the grace apostle.

So, we know Paul was not a minister of mixture.  He testifies that his ministry is of the New Covenant.  He also declared he did not handle the word deceitfully.

2Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2Corinthians 4:2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

Paul was adamantly against any type of mixture in ministry concerning the gospel of grace.  But even still, he found it appropriate and necessary to address matters about the discipline of the body.  Unlike the gnostics who believed nothing done in the body mattered because they taught that only that which was of spirit mattered.  Paul believed the body had significance because it was God’s temple.

1Corinthians 6:18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Our bodies still matter to God.  God cares about these bodies of ours for a reason.  I would assume that you care about the condition of your home or apartment.  You do not want it infested with rats, roaches, or some other nuisance pest.  You wouldn’t want a drifter squatter to come in and call it home and mess it all up.  You wouldn’t want it to leak water over your bed at night during a storm.  You would want it to be a nice place for you to live.  You would want it to be pleasant, inviting, clean, and have things in it you can appreciate and enjoy.  That is pretty much what is being conveyed by what Paul says regarding the body.

“Therefore, glorify God in your body and spirit, which are God’s.”  God lives in us.  That is a very important truth.  Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.  We are not our own.  Therefore!  That is an important word to pay attention to.  This emphasis on body and spirit is meant to help us be aware of how important it is to be mindful of being His temple and glorifying Him both in body and spirit.  There’s great wisdom in “Therefore” instruction.

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Something More Important

In making decisions, the most important thing will always be at the top of one’s priorities.

For instance, if a young man or woman has a vision of becoming a great athlete, they begin training and developing the fundamental skills needed.  They will forfeit other things in their pursuit of their goal.  They learn to avoid giving in to the desires of their flesh that would prevent them from achieving their goal.  They have deemed this goal to be more important to them than certain other pleasures.

The same becomes true when a person chooses a career path that requires additional education or training.  They set aside the things that would interfere with the time and financial resources needed to pursue their goal because they have given it a higher priority in their life.

Even in the world, these types of decisions are admired and honored.  Many who look on and cheer for them do not know the battles each one had to fight within themselves to reach their goal.  If the goal isn’t given a high enough priority, they will be unable to sustain the effort to reach it, even with others cheering them on.

Some things require being given proper priority to be given the time, energy, and resources they require to see come to fruition.  Priority is often determined by value.  The things we give time, energy, and resources to are the things we have ascribed value to.

This is also true when it comes to our spiritual lives.  It is the job of the Holy Spirit to bring us into sanctification in our bodies, which are the temple of the Lord.  It is the will of God that we have priorities in this area because of the value we place on His temple.  As an apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul wrote about this.

1Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

The value is possessing the vessel that is the temple of the Holy Spirit in sanctification and honor.  This establishes a priority of disciplining the flesh according to the will of God.  Not giving in to the flesh for it to seek after pleasures however it may desire.  In this matter, for a believer in Jesus, the importance of the will of God must be given a much higher priority than self-gratification if possessing one’s vessel in sanctification and honor is to be realized.

What we determine to be of greatest importance will always merit our time, energy, and resources to pursue.  In the New Covenant, where we no longer perform to earn or merit righteousness and acceptance, there is still significance to knowing there are some things more important than others.  Our spiritual justification is taken care of in Christ, but God still cares as well about our bodies because they are His temple.  The temple of the Holy Spirit is something more important than all the things the flesh might otherwise desire.  We have been called to holiness in Christ.  I encourage you to consider the importance of possessing your vessel in sanctification and honor.

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The Poison Of Popularity

Humanly speaking, it’s amazing how not much changes in the scheme of things.  Social dynamics may employ new and different tools, but their appeals and how they influence have not changed.  The whole idea of the power of the need to fit in with a particular group is still at work in all kinds of circles within society.

Humanly speaking, the drive to be a part of something and be accepted by the ones already a part of that something still exists today.  It is a human trait.  Unchecked, it can be a snare.

For instance, I was known as a hood in my early Jr High School days.  There were two distinct social groups at that time.  Hoods and jocks.  Hoods were the boys who smoked cigarettes, used foul language, dressed a certain way, threatened violence, and partied.  They were often in trouble with teachers and the principal.  I spent much time in the office.  Jocks were the clean-cut athletes, often model students, and always praised by the school staff and parents.

I observed that adults were not all that different at the time. They, too, had the social groups they were part of and morphed their behavior to fit in with. Today, adults scramble to fit in with groups on social media platforms.

Scripture speaks to this reality of life.

1Peter 4:1 So, since Christ suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin, 2 in that he spends the rest of his time on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires.

3 The time that has passed was sufficient for you to do what the Non-Christians desire. You lived then in debauchery, evil desires, drunkenness, carousing, drinking bouts, and wanton idolatries. 4 So they are astonished when you do not rush with them into the same flood of wickedness, and they vilify you. 5 They will face a reckoning before Jesus Christ, who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

Peer pressure and the fear of rejection by certain people can lead someone into situations and behaviors inconsistent with who they truly are.  It creates a conflict within the soul of such a person.

Believers in Christ are new creations; as such, the heart’s desires have changed by the power and work of the Holy Spirit.  To try to continue as before results in an inner conflict.  I liken it to how it feels to eat the wrong thing.  It seemed good at the moment, but later, inside your gut, you deeply regret it.  Such is the poison of popularity.

In Christ, we no longer need the approval of those who do not care about the will of God.  We have been born again and made new in Christ to live life according to the Spirit now.  It is our true calling, and it is where we are most happy when we flow in it.  I encourage you today and always to never be taken in by the poison of popularity in any social circle.  Liev free in Christ to love and pursue His will for your life at all times.  There will always be someone who will challenge His will for you, but if you truly know what it is, that is all you will need.

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