Tag: Decisions

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Why Else Do It?

MAY 6

MATTHEW 6:1_Take heed that ye do not your alms before men…

Take heed is translated as pay attention! Jesus begins with a firm exclamation! Just as with the verilies, He’s about to reveal an important part of the salty-lit-up disciple life. You’ve sat at the feet of Jesus long enough by now to know this will be something different from the status quo.

The word alms here is translated as righteous. Does Jesus say pay attention so you don’t do righteousness before men? Jesus messes with your mind right from the get-go. Shouldn’t the whole purpose of righteousness be to do it before men? Why else do it?

Those committed to be disciples accepted the calling to be light. Shouldn’t your light shine before men? Isn’t its purpose to draw seekers into the presence of The Savior, The Great Balancer, The Great Hope, The Great Transformer, The Great Surgeon, The Great Healer? Your righteousness must be before men.

I hope you are hanging on for more clarification from Jesus as He teaches—I am! 

PRAYER

Jesus Teacher, I want to learn whatever You have to teach me. I want the truth to guide my life, and help me make right decisions. I want to heed the Holy Spirit’s insight. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                          

Christ wants me to pay attention to His teaching—I will!

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Tell The Truth!

APRIL 10

MATTHEW 5:33_Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.

To forswear is to lie under oath. If you are in a court room and lie on the witness stand, it is called perjury. You can go to jail for perjury. When you are in the witness chair, tell the truth. For that matter, always tell the truth!

If you swear to your parents that something you tell them is true, but it is really a lie, you’re accountable for that. You don’t have to be in court nor even have witnesses around to be held responsible for lying. 

To swear is to make a promise – a guarantee to what you say. One of the worst decisions in life is to make a promise to God, and not keep it. If you promise God something keep it. Be very careful what you promise – think before you open your mouth. Until you become an adult it is best to discuss with your parents any promise you intend to make . If you do not live with parents, find a Godly adult to help you make wise promises.

Life used to operate on a man’s word was his bond. That meant if you promised to do something you would do it, no matter what. No legal documents were necessary when your word was your bond. You gained a reputation for being an honest person.

Your reputation always goes before you and follows after you!

PRAYER

God of Truth, I want anyone who has dealings with me to find me to be a person of my word. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                             

Christ keeps His Word—I want to keep my word and His Word too!

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The Perfect Plan

APRIL 9

MATTHEW 5:32_and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Is Jesus too harsh on divorce? He brings adultery into the picture after the divorce! Why?

In Mark 10:5-8, Jesus went back to the beginning – to creation itself – to the original marriage – to God’s perfect plan. The Garden of Eden was perfection and everlasting life. Adam and Eve blew the whole plan by their disobedience to God, all life reaped the consequence – sin. Life will continue to reap sin consequences until an end comes, and all things are made new.

God’s perfect plan for marriage is one man and one woman for life. Their union causes them to become one. Perhaps Jesus adds adultery to re-marriage because no piece of paper (divorce contract) can sever God’s design of the physical union. The divorce contract can sever the legality of the marriage, but it cannot sever the oneness of flesh. This is why sexual sins are so devastating.

Why is purity marriage insurance? Foremost, it is God’s plan. His plan builds love by denying the flesh and bonding spirits – two people for each other. It builds respect for each other. It builds loyalty for one and only one. Aren’t those things you want in marriage?

We discussed before how impurity spells betrayal like no other sin. It is definitely one of the hardest to forgive. The Great Hope can give power to forgive. He asks you to do no more for your betrayer than He has done for you.

This is not to simplify the devastation. It may require a time of separation., and the key word in this sentence is time. Running straight to the divorce court does not give The Great Surgeon time for the surgery – including the time for healing and recovery. The basis of any decision has to be what action you believe will please Jesus.

When the marriage is broken beyond repair (one spouse has re-married), The Great Hope has good news. An individual life is not beyond repair.

Jesus repairs broken lives.

Jesus wants to bring His love into all families. Let Jesus use you to shine His love in your family.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus, Some of Your teachings are very difficult and hard. I know they are all designed for the very best life. I want that! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                    

Christ loves God’s original plan—I want to love it!

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The Great Hope

APRIL 7

MATTHEW 5:32_But I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife…

You wouldn’t want to have open heart surgery without some kind of anesthetic. Even with an anesthetic, the entire process will not be a piece of cake. Expect pain. It will come. Pain is an inevitable part of the heart transformation process. Even if you choose to opt-out of Jesus’ heart surgery – pain is a part of the life process. If you are expecting a pain free, drama free, heart-break free, struggle free, or easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy-mac’n-cheesy (learned that from my niece, Mary) life – face reality!

If someone offers you something for nothing – beware! The good things don’t come easy. When you receive the results of your surgery, or the payment for your hard labor, or whatever you have suffered your way through to success, the pain is not something you dwell on. It was simply a means to an end. 

The Holy Spirit will help you focus on the facts. The fact you have a hard heart. The fact The Great Surgeon can transform your heart to love. The fact heart surgery transforms self-centeredness to self-sacrifice.   

All of life is all about decisions. The ultimate decision is to make the main thing (Jesus) the main thing. Make that decision first and you greatly lessen your chances of feeling compelled to put away your spouse.

Nobody enters a marriage expecting it to end in divorce. Sometimes things happen – don’t give up.

The Great Surgeon is also known as – The Great Hope!

PRAYER

God of Hope, Help me never lose hope that You can change any situation I bring to You for a cure.  In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                             

Christ wants to give me hope—I will accept it!

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A Natural Process

 APRIL 5

MATTHEW 5:32_But I say unto you, whosoever shall put away his wife…

God wants a husband and wife’s love for each other to be complete – no gaps. Jesus came to stand in the gap. Let Him! When Jesus is in the gap, the causes begin to minimize. Why? The hard heart begins to soften. Sin is still present, but with Jesus in the gap battles can be won, step by step, one at a time. And it takes time!

The Great Transformer is very good at what He does – perfect! Love Him and you will learn to love His words. That’s how loving your marriage partner becomes a natural process. By loving Jesus first. None of it happens overnight.

John 15:16 (KJV), “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you …” The Holy Spirit woos you with the unconditional love of Jesus. When you respond to that love, you begin to learn true love. A love that never quits or lets go. A love that chose you.

To have Jesus choose you is amazing! There is nothing you can do to deserve it. Neither prominence, beauty, talents, nor wealth have anything to do with Jesus’ choice. The fact that you are reading this blog tells you – you are  chosen!

I John 2:8 (KJV), “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.”

Chosen people give light to the world – because they know love.

There are many who made decisions before they responded to Jesus’ love, or invited Him into their marriage. Can they chew the strong meat now?

Keep following!

PRAYER

Loving Lord, I can never thank You enough for choosing me, but I’ll try! In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.                                                                                                              

 Christ chose me—I will respond with yes!