Sometimes when we see people, it's really easy to judge them. It's easy to make fun of them because they aren't like us, because they're different. It's easy to try and stay away from them, or to think that we're better.
When really, our first reaction should be to pray. To listen. Because, friends, just like us, they have a story too. If we only care to hear it. Today's post is the first episode in A Light for Christ Productions. Less than three minutes long, this video gives us the gentle reminder to listen...and pray. Watch the first episode now!!
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This was one of those profound titles that popped into my head. A real "thought provoker." Actually, the more accurate response when you read that title was probably along the lines of some of my family members. Which, yeah, could be summed up with two small words, "uh, duh." I think we all know that "dead trees can't bear fruit," it's a pretty simplistic sentence. But I don't think we put much thought into it after that. WE are the trees. If we're dead, we're not bearing fruit. If we're not bearing fruit, God tells us plainly of our outcome. We're thrown into the lake of fire. That's a pretty sobering thought. But I'm getting ahead of myself just a little. Let's start from the beginning: John 15 is an AMAZING chapter. It's SO packed full of treasures! It's one of my favorite chapters in the Bible. John 15 can be divided into three main points: 1. The True Vine 2. Love and Joy Perfected 3. The Worlds Hatred Today, we're just going to talk about the first one, "The True Vine." I once heard it said that, "if the Lord saw fit to say the same thing twice in one chapter, then it must be something pretty important. Something that He doesn't want you to forget." Verses four and five of John 15 say pretty much the same thing: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." If we're not abiding in Christ, we won't bear fruit. And if we're not bearing fruit, we're dead. And folks, you can't have a dead Christian. We're either alive, or we're not. It then goes on to say in verse six that if we're not abiding in Him, (and bearing fruit will be the outcome of that) then we'll be cast into the lake of fire: "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." That's a scary thought. Friends, in this life, we're going to have trials. We'll mess up. We'll sin. We'll stumble. But if we're abiding in Christ, we'll come out of those trials victorious. If you're in a rut, struggling with sin, If you're constantly being corrected day in and day out for the exact same thing, If you're having trouble getting along with others, If you are NOT bearing fruit. Then, friend, I'd highly recommend taking a real hard look at where you stand in your relationship with Christ. "Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10-11) Because I think by now, we ALL know where those branches go that don't bear fruit. But, we can't bear fruit unless we're part of the vine, unless we're abiding in Him. What does abiding in Him look like? 1. Loving His Commandments (1 John 5:3) If we're abiding in Him, we'll love His commandments. We'll love His law and take delight in it because we know it teaches us, makes us more like Him. If we're abiding in Christ we won't just LOVE His commandments, we'll FOLLOW them. 2. Loving His People (Leviticus 19:18) If we're abiding in Him, we'll love His people. We'll love our neighbors, we'll love our siblings, we'll love our mother and our father, we'll love CHRIST. We'll abide in HIS love. (John 15:9) 3. Loving Correction (Proverbs 19:20) If we're abiding in Him, we'll love correction. We'll love it because we know that however unpleasant it is, it's for our good. It's making us stronger. If we accept it, it will make us wise. 4. Loving His Letters (Proverbs 2:4) The Bible is God's letters for us. If we're abiding in Him, we'll take joy in reading His letters. We'll search them like hidden treasures, we'll love them, we'll cherish them. So, friends, let's take a good hard look at our lives. Are we dead? Or are we alive, abiding in Him? And if it's the latter, are we loving His commandments, His people, His letters? Are we loving correction because we know it will make us wise? If you're struggling in any of these areas, then there's no time like the present to change. I know I can improve in many of these areas. Let's work on them together. How can I be praying for you this week? Please comment below, or send me a private message or email. I would love to pray for you, no matter how big or small the request.
Until next week, let's keep letting our lights shine! OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Ladies and gentlemen, I’m excited to announce that the new site is FINISHED!!! Head on over and check it out! This blog will still stay here and you'll be directed to it each week with the weekly blog posts.
But be sure to keep an eye on the website for events and other special info! I have two book signings coming up, so head on over and check those out!! =) Goodness, have I got some goodies for you today!! An exciting update: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keep scrolling... . . . . . . . . . . Almost there! . . . . . . . . . . . . . BOOM! Ladies and gentlemen, I'm pleased to announce that we're moving!! Okay, technically the "site" is moving, I'm not going anywhere. =) I've been working on a new and improved website and I have to tell you, I'm LOVING the results, which means a lot by the way, since I'm a terrible designer. But I've had some "helpful help." ;) I'm hoping to have this new site published in the next month or so, but we'll see! A VERY IMPORTANT note: My blog will stay here at THIS address. Nothing will change in that regard. You'll still read blog posts HERE and be directed to THIS site in the weekly emails. =) Anyway, that's the first update. The next one gets even better!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yep, that's right, start scrolling again! =) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Almost there!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I'm teaching you the virtue of patience today, can you tell? =) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ta-da! Over the course of the next month and half, you can expect some REALLY AMAZING things! The last book in A Light for Christ trilogy, "A Marvelous Redeemer" is just about to be released! Here's a small preview of what you can expect over the next month and half: 1. A synopsis release 2. A blurb release 3. A book trailer for A Marvelous Redeemer 4. Cover reveal (Eeekk! I'm SO excited to show you all this cover! Ya'll, this is my TOP favorite cover so far! I love it SO much!) 5. Giveaways (and when I say "giveaways" I really mean "GIVEAWAYS." I have some pretty amazing gifts in the works for all of you, including some fabulous pre-order goodies!!) 6. A Facebook party 7. And SO much more!! These next two months are going to be AMAZING! Stay tuned, folks, you aren't going to want to miss a single update! Until then, if you haven't had a chance to read my blog post published on The Rebelution, head over there and check it out! And if you want to check out my favorite podcast, you can do so by following that pretty brown highlighted text below: (it's actually not that pretty of a color, I would have much rather it be purple or green, but I didn't have a choice, so we're stuck with plain old brown.) Check out Age of Minority, a podcast for YOUTH about the GOSPEL! Their latest episode about J.C Ryle is really fascinating! Until next week, friends! Keep writing, reading, learning and studying! Together, let's be Lights for Christ in the midst of this world! Do you ever get to that point where you feel like you can’t go on? The trials of life leave you weak and wounded. Your thoughts are jumbled, your body won’t function, your day to day tasks become monstrous nightmares. You’re at the end of your rope, you don’t have the strength to journey on. You lay there, tired, weak, trembling, and not even tears can bring you the relief you desire. It might be because of a certain event that’s happened in your life. It might just be life in general, the evils of this world bogging you down. Whatever it may be, it’s not a happy feeling. But how can we fight it? Life sends us tempests, trials that must be fought. But what do we do when we’re out of strength? What do we do when day after day, night after night, we’re fighting the same trials and it’s leaving us spent? What do we do when we can’t fight back any longer and those two words “give up” are looming in our future, looking brighter every day? My friends, we gather strength from the One who has offered it. We lean on Him. When we’re at our lowest, it’s then that He lifts us up from the dirt and murmurs, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28-30) He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:6) So how much closer do you think He is when one of His children are suffering? When life is going great, we don’t often see a need to lean on Him. We think “Oh, I’m fine, I don’t need His strength quite yet.” We shouldn’t lean on His strength during the trials only. We should lean on Him every day. Because, my friends, if we are leaning on Him at all times, when we fall, we only fall into His arms. We fall closer into His comforting embrace. And if we’re leaning on Him, what happens when we stumble? He catches us. The times that we fall are the times that we’ve strayed from Him. The moments that we’ve stopped leaning. When trials hit us hard, we typically take one of two routes. Draw nearer to Him, or stray away. The purpose of trials is to strengthen us, make us more like Christ. But they can only do that if we draw near to Him. If we’re already leaning on Christ, then during a trial, we’ll only cling harder. We mustn’t be pompous and prideful and think that we can take this journey of life on our own. We can’t just draw near to Him during the difficult times. It’s much harder to lean on Him when He’s so far away. So, don’t stray away. Lean on Him and take the strength He has offered. He wants to carry your burdens. He wants to hold you and soothe your worries and tears. Leaning on Him at all times Here are a few examples of ways that we can lean on Him every day: 1. Read His truths daily John 8:32 says, “then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” If we’re clinging to His many truths, we will find freedom. Hold tight to His promises. Take joy in reading His word and learning more about Him. By doing this, you will draw nearer to Him. 2. Pray without ceasing The world lost a very beloved man last week. It’s amazing reading all these testimonies of people all around. There were many amazing stories about Mr. Graham, but two things really stuck with me. He said, I always pray without ceasing. Right now, I’m praying that God will give me the words to say to you. (paraphrased) And when someone asked him how he got back into the habit of reading his Bible every day after he missed a few, he replied simply, “I don’t think that’s ever happened.” So, let’s pray without ceasing. Let’s bring everything to Him in prayer. (Philippians 4:6) 3. Memorize His promises This is another really great thing to do! If we memorize His promises, then we’ll always have them ready and close to our hearts. Here’s a link to some amazing verses to commit to memory: https://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/gods-promises-verses-in-the-bible/ My friends, if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. (James 4:8) That’s just one of His precious promises. But let’s not even get that far, let’s not draw away. He’s our Shepherd, we are His sheep. Let’s stay close beside our Master. It’s safer that way, it’ll go much better for us, I promise. So, when trials hit you hard and leave you trembling on the brink of destruction, just remember to lean on Him. Draw strength from His never ending well of encouragement and promises. Cling to Christ and never let go. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:7 "Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 I'm officially dubbing the last week of every month, "Prayer Week." During this week, I'd love to pray for you! No matter how small the request, I'd love to add them to my prayer journal. So please, whether your request be big or small, let's pray about it together! (These prayer requests will go straight to my email and I won't share them with anyone, unless you give me permission.) I thought today we could do things a little differently! =) So, I'm going to tell you about me and the history of my writing life. As well as a few of my favorite things! I'll try not to bore you!! So, let's dive right in, shall we? I was born in New Braunfels, Texas, the second oldest of Chad and Pam Israel’s six children. So even though we moved to GA when I was three, I’ve always been a country girl at heart! The day we moved to GA was the day I penned my first poem. Well, more of a rhyme to be more precise. Walking into a gas station restroom with my mother, my three-year-old mind couldn’t grasp the fact that people could actually let a room sit so untidy without having the urge to clean it! Listening to my mother sing “Jesus is the King,” I decided to add my own line and wittily piped up, “Jesus is the King, King, King. This bathroom’s not so clean, clean, clean.” (By the way, you just read something that I’ve never shared with the rest of humanity, so you have my permission to feel very, very proud.) And as they say, the rest is history! I can’t remember a time when I haven’t had a story going on in my head. Even before I could write I would tell myself stories for hours, stories that would continue for months and months, in which I was almost always the heroine! I began writing seriously after my ninth birthday. Two stories that I particularly remember writing are tucked safely away in a Precious Moments notebook. One was about a princess (of course!) and the other was about an Indian. I don’t believe I ever finished either story, but I remember how much fun I had building something out of nothing and pouring my emotions out onto the page! Shortly after my fifteenth birthday, my great grandmother passed away. It was in the car, on the way to her funeral, that I wrote my first poem. I remember the day vividly. We were listening to a sermon on the radio when the preacher said something about “the wonderful day of his life.” Mulling those words over in my head, I thought of a sentence that rhymed with it and then shortly thereafter, the entire poem started coming together in my head. I asked my mother for a piece of paper and she passed back a green and purple notepad, in the shape of a bunny rabbit. A few minutes later I held in my hands my first poem, “That Wonderful Day of My Life.” I read it at my great-grandmother’s funeral, a day that I’ll never forget. Many more poems followed that one. As an introvert, poetry was a way that I expressed myself and my feelings. If I didn’t understand something or if I was going through a certain trial, I often times turned to the purple floral notebook and wrote a poem. Over a hundred poems filled the pages of the notebook, and another one similar to it. I published my first poetry book in 2013, with over thirty of my favorite poems. Another poetry book followed that one the year after. In 2015 I started the first chapter of my debut novel, A Higher Ransom, and published it about a year later. A Dim Reflection followed, in the year of 2017, as well as another poetry book and my first devotional. I finished the last book in the trilogy, A Marvelous Redeemer, during Thanksgiving weekend in 2017. It just added itself to my pile of undeserved blessings! Shortly after I published A Higher Ransom, I had the pleasure of attending a large conference where I was able to set up a table for my books. It was at that conference (not even four months after I’d published this novel) that I met the founders of Grace and Truth Books. I gave them a copy of my novel, and shortly after that, they placed an order for several copies! I’m proud to say that Grace and Truth carries my novels, and what a blessing that has been! (By the way, I owe all of that to the Lord, first and foremost, and then to my daddy who first started speaking with them at the conference. Without him, my books probably wouldn’t be sold by G&T today!) In the spring of 2017, I joined the Young Writer’s Workshop. (The best thing that’s ever happened to my writing life!) On September 30th, 2017, myself and a few other writers were moved up to the role of Student Mentor. I can’t even begin to describe what a blessing YWW is in my life. I’ve met countless writers and made so many new friends. My website went from less than 200 site views a month, to over 2,500 (and counting!) But, even though writing takes up a large part of my life, trust me, it’s not all I ever do! When I’m not writing, I can usually be seen working around the house, reading my latest WIP to my younger siblings, and playing in our family band, “Fret Not.” I can’t really remember a time when music wasn’t part of our family. I started taking piano lessons before I could read. In fact, my piano teacher almost didn’t take me for that exact reason! But, I’m so glad she did! Even though piano didn’t “click,” for me, as it did for my older sister, it paved the way to a world of other instruments. I play the mandolin for our band, and enjoy taking the lead vocal parts with my sister, on a lot of our songs. I’ve been homeschooled since Kindergarten. Pulling my sister and I out of school was the best decision my parents ever made. Because of it, I’ve been able to pursue my passions and dreams, with nothing holding me back. It’s opened up a world of endless opportunities! I graduated from Homeschool in the year of 2016. My parents have always encouraged us to be very entrepreneurial minded. I started several home businesses (that never really took off) before I found that writing was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Words are a part of me. They always have been. Being a writer doesn’t just mean being able to write words. Being a writer requires an incredible amount of patience and persistence, two of the main reasons that most writers never end up completing a book. My mother periodically reminds me of something my Sunday school teacher told her when I was about three. She told my mother, “I can’t believe the attention span Aleigha has! After about ten minutes, all the other children will be running around playing. But Aleigha, after thirty minutes, she’ll still be gluing little sequins on her craft sheet, one by one.” And not much has changed since then! Spending hours in the kitchen making mini desserts that will be eaten in less than ten minutes, is actually my idea of a fun time! (Even though I typically have at least one meltdown during the process.) Spending months on a book, pouring my heart and soul into the pages of the story, sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the way I do best, is something that will always be a part of me. I hope I never write a book strictly for entertainment. If I ever do that, you have my permission to lock me in a cold, dark, cell, with nothing to eat or drink, and unleash a thousand moths into the room. (Yes, I said “moths.” It’s perhaps the only phobia I have. Feel free to laugh, but most phobias aren’t usually realistic.) My desire is to never write just words, but to write words that will change people, impact them, and help them to grow stronger in their faith. I write to share the Gospel with others, to empower, encourage, inspire, and let readers know they aren't alone in their struggles. I write to share God's love, faith, and precious story of redemption. I write, not because I’ve mastered all of the fruits of the spirit, or the art of trusting fully in Him (because I haven’t). I write, because the Lord has ignited in me a fire. A burning fire to share with others the lessons He is teaching me. A fire, that I pray, will continue burning brightly until these hands are stilled in death. Woah, that went downhill fast! But honestly, I hope you’ll join me on my writing journey! I can’t wait to see what doors the Lord opens in the future. Because, when you give your life to Him, there’s no telling where He’ll take it! And as promised, here are a few of my favorites! Songs Beautiful Isle of Somewhere (SUCH a "beautiful" song!) And Nearer My God to Thee has always (and still is!) been my absolute favorite. Books The Bible (Of course!) Nonfiction | Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (This book, John Bunyan's autobiography, is by far one of my favorites! Fiction | I can't choose!! That's like asking a writer to choose their favorite author. There are too many beautiful stories out there! Food I'm not a very picky person! I like Chinese, Mexican, Italian, American, pretty much everything! Restaurants It's a tie between Panda Express and Chick-fill-A! =) Candy I love everything caramel, soft peppermints, gummy candy, lollipops. (Yeah, my candy choices are pretty amateur.) Color It's a tie between Green and deep purple, but royal blue is pretty hard to beat too! What are some of your favorite things? Write them in the comments, I'd love to hear them! Another one of my favorite things are quotes! I love a good quote and enjoy making up my own too! I read a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt yesterday. She said, "Do one thing every day that scares you." I think there's a lot of truth to that statement. We, as Christians, should always be changing, and to change, we must Do Hard Things. (That's another amazing book, by the way!) In order to grow, we must be ready to do things that scare us. It can even be as simple as overcoming the fear of moths. (Trust me, I'm getting there, but not yet!!) So this week, let's all do something together. Let's do something hard. Let's do something scary. And let's do it for His glory. My great-grandmother passed away in 2012. It was in the car, on the way to her funeral, that I wrote my first poem. I remember the day vividly. We were listening to a sermon on the radio when the preacher said something about “the wonderful day of his life.” Mulling those words over in my head, I thought of a sentence that rhymed with it and then shortly thereafter, the entire poem started coming together in my head. I asked my mother for a piece of paper and she passed back a green and purple notepad, in the shape of a bunny rabbit. A few minutes later I held in my hands my first poem, “That Wonderful Day of My Life.” I read it at my great-grandmother’s funeral, a day that I’ll never forget. Many more poems followed that one. As an introvert, poetry was a way that I expressed myself and my feelings. If I didn’t understand something or if I was going through a certain trial, I often times turned to the purple floral notebook and wrote a poem. Over a hundred poems filled the pages of the notebook, and another one similar to it. But I always find myself going back to that first poem. For several reasons, it holds a special place in my heart. And I have a feeling that it always will! So, without further ado: The poem that started it all.... That Wonderful Day of My Life
Once when I was young, I heard a voice so clear. It told me over an over again, my time was very near. I was so close to heaven, I could hear His voice; such a pretty sound! Those worthless straps of sin no longer kept me bound. Once when life's final battle had been fought with all I had, I then stood in judgment, but not to be judged by good or bad. I stood in front of something, so big and clothed with light. I saw that book of life, and as two angels took their flight, The doors were then opened, I watched people passing through, I heard Him call my name, and then I walked in too. I walked down those streets of gold, with beauty quite so rare. I heard those words, "My child," I turned around and saw Jesus standing there. He put His arms around me and I hugged Him very tight, Nothing had been so wonderful, than God taking my soul that night. Dear Friends,
The chains of your past don’t define who you are. If you’re new in Christ, if you’ve repented of your past and asked Him to forgive you, then He has. Your past is history. He’s forgotten all about it. Now it’s your turn. Don’t be chained to your past, friends. It doesn’t define you. So, live in the present. Chains of My Past These chains of my past are too great to bear, Its vice-like grip, holding me fast to this chair. These chains of my past are like poison to my soul, Injecting its venom, keeping me from being whole. These chains of my past are visible to no one but me, And all I’ve ever wanted is to just be free. These chains of my past aren’t always so clear, Sometimes the grip is so light, I don’t even know it’s there. But the chains never leave me, they’re here to haunt me of my past, Draining me, killing me, how much longer will I last? These chains of my past are too strong to break, The grip only tightens, leaving me trembling in its quake. These chains of my past, I’ve tried and tried to break free, But its grip is too strong, will no one help me? The deep dark room where my memories are kept, Keeping me chained to that chair as my friends around me wept. But I can’t change, this dark room is my home, Chained by my past with no place to roam. But then on that day, my life turned from its doom, I cried out to the Lord and a brilliant light filled the room! I said, “God, please forgive me! I’m sorry for my sin! I’ve let these chains define me, they must be gone for me to win! I hate these chains of my past, and I want them no more, Break these chains of destruction, throw them out and slam the door!” Then the most blessed sound was heard as I glanced down with tear-filled eyes, My chains were breaking! My chains were breaking! The Lord heard my cries! My chains fell off! I found myself free. The Lord, my Savoir, had rescued me. All I had to do, was see myself as merely man, Because God can do things that no man ever can. These chains of my past don’t define who I am, I’m no longer its victim, I’m a different man! Now I live my life in the light, I try to shine it bright wherever I go, And I spend my days getting stronger and trying my hardest to learn and grow. I now talk with others who bear the same chains that held me, I tell them about the One who can break their chains and set them free. I’m no longer the man I was, but a new body has taken my place, Those chains are forever gone, not even a scrap of metal in their place. Sometimes I think back to who I was before, But those memories are so dark I just step back and slam that door. So instead, I raise my hands to Heaven, my Bible clutched tightly in my fists, With tear-filled eyes and a trembling heart, I glance down at the scars on my wrists. The scars are there for a gentle reminder, of the life I lived before, But they aren’t here to haunt or define me, because I don’t live that life anymore. I thank God for breaking those chains, they’ll never again have their grip on me, I thank Him for His mercy, love, and kindness. Because now? Now, I am finally free. © 2018 Aleigha C. Israel Have you ever gotten homesick? I mean literately home sick. I remember the week when I first felt the truth of those two words. My sisters and I left with my father on a business trip. We had such a wonderful time, and the memories we made are still etched in my heart and mind. But it was the first time I’d left the rest of my family behind. And it seemed that part of my heart had stayed with them. I was literately sick after the first few days, and my stomach was in knots. I can’t describe the feeling that went through me when I was finally home again! Do you ever feel that way when you’re thinking about Heaven? Do you ever want to go home so badly it hurts? Do you ever get so tired of striving, trying to stay upbeat against the wickedness and not letting it consume you, that you just say, “Lord, I want to go home!” I’ve felt that way before. Many times, actually. I think it’s only natural that we long for Heaven, that we long to see His face and be in His presence. He is our Father after all! But I’m not quite sure that we need to long for Heaven with such intensity that it causes us to grumble about our present home. Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s not the case! Now, don’t get me wrong, we should earnestly desire and long for Heaven, to be with Him in eternity. We should hunger for that “day of rejoicing,” when we’ll “sing and shout the victory!” But I think that we can turn our longing into a telescope lens that points straight to Heaven, keeping in sight that goal, our prize, our home. Keeping it in sight at all times so that we’re constantly asking ourselves, “Will this matter in Heaven?” or, “Is this a good use of my time here on earth?” Why are we here? I believe there’s a few answers you can give to that question. The first and foremost being that we’re here for His glory. (Isaiah 43:7, 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Psalm 86:12) Now, you’ve probably heard that before, but have you ever put a lot of thought into what it means? Let’s define the word glory. One definition of glory is “to take great pride or pleasure in.” So, I think it’s safe to say that God put us here on earth so that He could take pleasure in us. After all, don’t you think that most artists take pleasure in their masterpieces? Now, that might seem like a prideful way of thinking, saying that we’re His masterpieces, but it’s true. (Ephesians 2:10) So, back to our purpose here on earth. Our purpose is to give Him glory, or in other words, we’re here so that He can take pleasure in us giving Him glory. Read 2 Corinthians 5:9. It says in that verse that our ambition should be to please Him. So, what does that mean for us? How do we take this title and apply it to our lives? Well, if we’re hateful to those around us and are constantly seeking out things that appeal to our flesh, then do you think God is taking pleasure in that? I think it’s safe to say the answer to that question is, “no.” So, I’m pretty sure the answer to the question above, “how do we apply this title to our lives,” is to do things that bring Him glory. Or in other words, do things that will please Him. Here are a few ways we can do that: 1. Have a desire to learn more about Him (Philippians 3:10, Isaiah 26:9, Psalm 73:25) This includes studying our Bibles and trying to learn all we can about our Heavenly Father. And not just reading, but learning, yearning, and taking great delight in it! 2. Strive to keep a “will this please Him?” attitude (Romans 12:1, Ephesians 5:8-10) Let’s start asking ourselves with everything we do, “is this pleasing to Him?” Not only that, but once we’re born again, we’ll have an earnest desire to please Him in all that we do! I think this will cut down on a lot of useless things we spend our time doing! 3. Take delight in His creation (Colossians 1:16) He made the sun for His glory. He made the earth and the butterflies and the pretty blue sky and bright red roses all for His glory. But He also gave them to us, so that we can take pleasure in His workmanship and give Him praise and glory. So, this week, take a deep breath of the fresh air, and take a minute to watch the birds flying in the sky. Take a moment to study the pretty purple sunset and yes, take a moment to, “stop and smell the roses.” He made them for us, so let’s enjoy them. 4. Get along with others (Hebrews 12:14-15, Colossians 3:13-17) He made your siblings, He made your spouse, He made your mother and father and friends. They’re all a part of His masterpiece, just like you. You’ll be living in Heaven with these people! So, the least we can do is get along with them here on earth. Let’s take special time this week to get along nicely with others. Even if they’re hard to be around. Just remember, a lot of people have it worse than this. So this week, let’s do something together. Let’s constantly ask ourselves, “is this pleasing to Him?” And if it’s not, let’s throw it out. Throw it out and replace it with something that will bring Him glory. When we all get to Heaven, it’ll be a day of rejoicing. I long for that day. I long for that peace and joy. I long to worship in His presence for eternity. But we’re here for a reason. We’re not dead yet, because the Lord has a plan for our lives. He has a plan for your life. So let’s spend our time here on earth with wisdom, making sure to bring glory to Him in all that we do. We’re His children. He’s our Master. Let’s be good and faithful servants. |
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