October 7, 2021                         THESE  THINGS  SHALL  BE   ADDED
Luke 12:22-24, 28, 29-32  “And He said to His disciples, ‘For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat; not for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body than clothing. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; and they have no storeroom nor barn; and yet God feeds them, how much more valuable you are than the birds!’”       “But if God so arrays the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O men of little faith!”        “And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall wear, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”
The verses above are not a mandate to quit your job! The point is where our trust lies; do we trust our ability to work and produce, or do we trust God for everything-including food and clothing. That sounds like a rather simple question-but it is a question we must wrestle with and a question that we must answer; it is a question that demands a deep look inside. If misunderstood, these verse could justify being lazy. However, it is clear from other scriptures that work is of God; the Apostle Paul worked. We must be conscience of the fact that God made us in His image, and He is a God who works and produces. One who does not even know God can work-but he does so merely with self effort and with self-interest. As members of God’s kingdom, we can do our work as unto the Lord, and for that reason, work takes on a new and fulfilling meaning-and because we work as unto Him, we should be the best workers. It is God who is our provider; He provides us with jobs, and ways to make an income, and He gives us the ability to do the job. When we come to know that God truly is the One who provides, we cease to be anxious and we no longer worry; worry is a red flag that says that our trust is not in God. It may be easy to trust God when things are going good; but our trust in God must remain steadfast even in the difficult times. Our primary focus should be on seeking His kingdom; we seek His kingdom by having a heart to know Him more fully; by reading His word; and by embracing and doing what we read-by obeying His commands. There are only two kingdoms; the kingdom of this world, and the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is far different from the kingdom of this world; and only as we seek His kingdom first, will we experience life in His kingdom here on earth. Seeking His kingdom means that we lay aside our desires, viz. die to self, and pursue Him and His ways. The mystery is, that only when we die to ourselves, do we find life; the self-life is unfulfilling. The blessing is that as we seek Him and His kingdom life, we discover that He supplies what we need. Because we are the ‘flock’ of God, there is nothing to fear; nothing to worry about; and nothing to be anxious about. Sounds too good to be true? It’s not, when we seek Him above everything else.
Colossians 1:13 “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,”
Philippians 4:19 “And My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory, in Christ Jesus.”
2 Peter 1:3 “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.”
Blessings, Buddy

 
October 5, 2021                               PRESENT  YOURSELF  TO  GOD
Romans 6:11-15 “Even so consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust, and do not go on presenting your members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourself to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law; but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!
How we consider, or view ourselves, in regard to our life as a believer is crucial. Are we ‘sinners who continue in sin,’ or are we ‘new creations’ with a new nature? We are admonished in the verses above to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. In regards to sin, some may classify sin into two groups; the overt outward sin that is obvious, and the sin that is internal that may not be seen by others. For example, we are all appalled by the sin of murder; but we may not be so appalled by the ;sin of worry. It seems that we are ok with the ‘small’ sins; we excuse some sins by claiming that that is just ‘how we are wired.’ I’ve heard believers to say that ‘I am just in impatient person, that’s just the way I am.” Let us reject the lie that we have heard so long that says ‘Even though we are believers, we continue to sin and we cannot help but sin.” It is imperative that we do as Paul tells us to do if we are to overcome sin; we must consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God. In this case, consider means to ‘count it as so.’ We must believe that God has made provision for us to live without yielding to sin; He has put His nature in us; living out of this new nature, we do not want to sin. Romans 6:16 tells us “Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to him whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?” We can yield ourselves or present ourselves to who we are in Christ and present our ‘members as instruments of righteousness to God.’ We must proclaim our deliverance from the power of sin because God has said that sin shall not be master over us! We are to present ourselves to God as those alive from the dead; we were dead in sin, but God has made us alive. As mentioned above, we may excuse, or become accustomed to, what we may call ‘small sins’-such as worry, fear, wrong thoughts, and etc.; but the good news is that we can lay aside all sin and can be one hundred percent righteous in body, soul, mind, and spirit. I know what you must be thinking at this point; I am not saying we can reach sinless perfection, but I am saying we can live free from the power of sin-we do not have to sin. If and when we sin, we confess it to God and turn from it. The temptation to sin is not sin; yielding to the temptation is sin. Let me say that for us to sin, should be abnormal for us. We do not have to let sin reign in our mortal body; it is a matter of yielding ourselves to the Spirit, not to the flesh.
Romans 6:19, 22 “I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”       “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”
Blessings,
Buddy
​

 
October 2, 2021                                     A  TRACK  TO  RUN   ON
Titus 2:11-14 “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in this present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
On a certain day in a certain place, the grace of God appeared; Jesus, the Son of God was born, ‘bringing salvation to all men.’ The grace of God ‘appeared;’ man had nothing to do with it; man was lost and separated from God with no hope of a Savior. Even though the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, some reject this salvation, thus remaining separated from God. However, those who receive this salvation of God, are made new creations and given new life and a new mandate for life-a new track to run on. Even though we live in a fallen world where things are not as they should be, as believers, we do not have to live with confusion, doubts and questions about life. God has given us life and has shown us the way in which we should walk-and it’s not according to the ways of the world. The good news is that His ways are not burdensome nor are they difficult to understand; AND He gives us the power to live according to His ways! Psalm 119:105 tells us “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  You might say that God has installed a new operating system in us; He has changed our motivations in life, our desires, and has changed what satisfies us. Because of His work in us, we find lasting fulfillment when we live the life that He offers to us. How blessed we are and what a privilege it is to be able to ‘deny ungodliness and worldly desires,’ and to ‘live sensibly, righteously and godly” as we look for the ‘blessed hope and the appearing glory of our Father’ that will be revealed when He returns. God has redeemed us from our sins and is purifying us, and has made us His own possession, zealous for good deeds! God has not left us to ourselves to figure it out or just to do the best we can in life; He has clearly spoken and has revealed the way that leads to life-to a life not filled with regrets. Jesus warned us that there would be trials in life, but He promised that He would not forsake us, but would strengthen us and comfort us and enable us to overcome. Let us lay aside life according to our ways, and embrace and walk in His ways. We discover His ways in His written word; and we have received the Holy Spirit who enables us to live according to His ways.
Proverbs 12:28 “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Colossians 1:10 “So as to walk in a manner worth of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Blessings,
Buddy            bfitzgerald10@gmail.com

 
September 30, 2021                               LIVING  IN  THE  LIGHT
Ephesians 5:8 “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.”
Romans 13:12 “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
1 John 1:7 “But if you are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
 Even though we live in a dark world where evil abounds, we can live in the light. Not only can we live, or walk in the light, we are light. Ephesians 5:8. We have a mandate from the Lord to let our shine: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under a peck-measure, but on a lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Mathew 5:14-16.  There are regrets for the things done as a result of living in the darkness; but no regrets for the things done as a result of living in the light. When we live according to the ways of God and according to our true identity in Him, we enjoy a peace of mind and spirit. It is quite simple-just be the person God calls us to be and do the things that are pleasing to Him. The truth that we must know is that we have the power to make choices; we choose our thoughts and we choose our actions. When I am wronged or someone does something that aggravates me, I have a choice to make; either stay aggravated, repay evil with evil, or take on the attitude that Jesus would have in that situation. Walking in the light is taking the ‘high road;’ it is responding to the circumstances and the ‘happenings’ in life out of the new heart and the new mind that God has given us. Our words and our actions can be and should be light; we can be the conduit that God uses to bring life, hope, blessings, wisdom, and peace to those who are hurting, to those who have lost their way, and to those who are discouraged. Let our light not be dim, but let the light of God shine brightly through the life we live.
Colossians 1:13-14 “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
John 8:1 “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
September 28, 2021                            THE  NECESSITY OF VISION
Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Proverbs 29:18a “Where there is no vision, the people perish:”
Acts 20:35 “In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
In the kingdom of God, there is no boredom, aimlessness, despondency, or any such thing. We must be alert to the fact that it is possible for us as believers to be more influenced by the ways of the world than we are by the kingdom of God. The fruit of living according to this world is obvious; all one has to do is listen to the news to see the results of life without God. We may need to remind ourselves that we are created in the image of God-and that is amazing to say the least! We know that God is creative, that He has purpose, and that He acts. Because we are made in His image and because we have been given a new nature like His, we are to live lives of purpose, and to be creative, and to act-to be about what God has put before us. God has already prepared good works for each of us to walk in; we have a job to do! We are ambassadors of God; we are light in the darkness; we have the Spirit of God living in us; we have been made new (not refurbished); and we have been made overcomers in this world. We can speak the words of God to those who need to hear; we can bring comfort to the hurting; we can encourage those we are discouraged; we can help someone who is need; we can listen to others; and we can be living expressions of the love of God. One sure way of not fulfilling our calling is to focus on ourselves; that leads to discouragement, disappointment, and a general sense of aimlessness. When we are about the things of God, when we are walking in His ways, we find energy for life; we can sleep well at night and can begin each day with the awareness that ‘this is the day that the Lord has made; and we can experience His peace and joy even in the difficult times. If you realize that you are lacking vision and have been just living on auto pilot, read God’s word and ask the Holy Spirt to make His word alive; and most importantly, act on His word-do what you read-be about what God has for you.
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give it to you.”
Blessings,
Buddy  

 
September 26, 2021                              SWALLOWED  UP  BY  LIFE
2 Corinthians 5:1-10 “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord-for we walk by faith, not by sight-we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
We may have the belief that death is our great enemy and we may live in fear of death. Our fear of death is likely an indicator of us being tied to life in this world rather than seeing ourselves as a pilgrim who is passing through this life on earth. (Do not misunderstand; hardly anyone wants to die, and there is a sadness when one dies-that is normal.) Also, having a fear of death is a result of not understanding or not believing what the scriptures say about death. It may sound amazing to us, but Paul said that he would rather die so that he could be present with the Lord; but he also wanted to continue his life on earth that he might fulfill the purposes God had for him. It is simple; while we live in this mortal body, we are not at home with the Lord. Think about this: inside this mortal body of ours, lives the immortal Spirit of God-the super-natural living in the natural; we are spiritual beings living in a natural body.  The Holy Spirit has been given to us as a pledge that one day, this mortal body of ours will be swallowed up in life and we will forever be with the Lord.  Because the Holy Spirit of God dwells in us, we have this groaning deep within because we know that there is more-something greater than the life we experience in this mortal life. Like Paul, we can always be of good courage because we know that God’s plan is for this mortal body of ours to be made immortal. WOW! We face trials and difficulties now, but they are temporary. If we walk by sight, we will be discouraged; but by walking by faith-by believing the plans God has for us, we are always of good courage. Our focus must shift form a fear or dread of death, to having an ambition to live our lives in a way that pleases Him; one day we will see Him face-to-face and at that time we will be “recompensed for our deeds in the body, according to what we have done, whether good or bad.” Our desire to be pleasing to Him comes out of our love for Him-not out of an unholy fear of Him. So, if we fear death, let us replace that fear with the realization that we are destined to put on immortality-and that happens when this mortal body dies.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 53-55, 58 “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”      “For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’”    “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
September 24, 2021                                 EAGERLY  AWAITING
1 Corinthians 1:5-8 “that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
There is a tendency for us to live for the now, giving little thought to the return of Christ. We can become so focused on this present life, we lose sight of the tremendous blessings that are yet to come. We live in a fleshly body that is doomed to die, and we live in a fallen world where trials are the norm-but it will not always be this way; there is a new day coming! The word of God gives us much instruction for living in the here and now, and we are to live in a way that is pleasing to Him and honors Him. Pleasing Him with the way we live and walking in His ways certainly blesses us in the present; however, there is even a greater reason to live according to His ways, as there are future blessings for doing so. The Lord will return at any time, when we least expect it. “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Matthew 25:13. When He returns, we will have one of two responses; either we will feel ‘not ready’ and embarrassed or ashamed because of the life we are living when He returns, OR we will rejoice at His return. How we will respond when He returns is determined by the life we live today. To anticipate His return and to be ‘eagerly awaiting’ His return is to insure that we will rejoice at His sudden return. It is a subject for another blog, but we have a great inheritance that we will receive when He returns; anticipating all that will happen to us at His return is more than enough reason to live as unto Him in this present life. Let us not be guilty of living in any way that is not pleasing to Him; let us not live according to the ways of this world. Instead, let our hearts be fully turned to the Lord and all He has for us and let us be learning more of Him as we read and embrace His word; and let us adjust our thinking and our actions in any way we need to do so in order that we may be ready for His return.
Matthew 24:27, 42-44 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”       “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”
Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.”
Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with Me, to repay everyone for what he has done.”
Blessings,
Buddy
​

 
September 22, 2021                                    ONLY  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
1 Corinthians 13:13, 16:14 “But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”       “Let all that you do be done in love.”
Mark 12:30-31 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other greater commandment greater than these.”
Sometimes I think that we view human love and the love of God as the same-if we do, we are wrong. If we live and operate out of human love, we live beneath what God has for us. Human love is insufficient and human love fails. Once we look closely at human love, we find that it is a selfish love; human love is based on the desire for self-fulfillment. (One may even be about good deeds because doing good deeds makes them feel good about themselves.) The good news for us is that God has poured out His love into our hearts-and His love is a super-natural love. Romans 5:5. We are no longer limited or restrained by mere human love. If and when we find ourselves getting frustrated, or angry, or being impatient with others, it’s a sure sign that we are not operating out of the love of God. (We do not have to feel condemned when realize that we are not operating out of His love-but use that realization to turn us back to the love of God.)  Once we know and experience the love that God has poured into our hearts, we take on a new view of others, and of life itself; it is like getting a new ‘operating system’-we are changed at the core of our being. With the love of God, we can love the unlovely, the inconsiderate, and even the guy that cuts in front of us in traffic-lol. Living out of the love of God does away with our ‘trying’ to love, or ‘trying’ to have the right response-expressing His love becomes natural-and that is freedom. It takes a lot of energy to be frustrated or angry, or to be irritated; His love liberates us from the self-life. His love introduces us to a much bigger world where we discover that we can live our lives as ambassadors of Christ, expressing the love of God wherever we go; we can live on a higher plane. Following are a few descriptions of love from 1 Corinthians 13 that give a good picture of what the love of God is like.
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.”    “Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant.”     “does not seek its own”    “does not take into account a wrong suffered”     “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with truth”      “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”     “Love never fails” 
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
September 19, 2021                                       REAL  LIFE
Romans 8:11-14 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus form the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Sprit who indwells you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”
The single most important issue for each of us is that of what our mind set on.  Verse 6 of Romans 8 tells us “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Who does not want ‘life and peace?’ Dying to self and to the flesh is absolutely necessary if we are to experience life and peace. The absolute ‘bottom line,’ the core issue, is that of who are what is directing my life, or what is motivating me to do what I do. There are only two options; self, (also referred to as the flesh) or the Spirit of God. Naturally, by human nature, we focus on self-preservation and self-fulfillment, so the instruction to die to self does not seem logical or the right thing to do. As believers, we have been made new creatures and have been given new hearts, new minds, new natures, and a new Spirit; however, our ‘old’ self has not been annihilated; it is possible to let the old self be the chief influencer of our lives. The battle lines are clear; we war against the flesh. We win this war by ‘considering’ ourselves dead to sin. See Romans 6:1-13. To consider here means ‘to count it as so’. It may sound contradictory, but it is true that our old self was crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6), and it is true that we are called to die to self. Christ broke the power of sin; now we are able to say no to sin and yes to God. Christ has won the victory and sin has been defeated, but we must make the choice to claim His victory in our lives. We have been freed to walk according to the Spirit-and not according to the flesh-who we use to be. The verse above tells us that if we are living according to the flesh, we must die-not a physical death, but dying to self. A lot more could be said here, but the point is that Jesus dwells in us and He gladly gives life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit. The greatest deed we can do, and the most fulfilling thing we can do is to die to ourselves and live as unto God. Living as unto God means that I desire to do the things that please Him; that I read His word so that I may gain more knowledge of Him; that I say no to the desires of my flesh-the selfish part of me; and it means that I live and respond out of the new creature that God has made me. God did not make us robots; He has given us the power of choice. If we choose to lay aside our ways, and walk according to the Spirit which He has given us, only then will we experience real life.
Romans 6:2b, 4, 6-7, 11 “How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”    “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”    “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”  “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 5:16-17 “But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.”
Blessings, Buddy

 
September 17, 20201                           A  ROADMAP  FOR  LIFE
1 Thessalonians 5:14-24 “And we urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with all men. See that no one pays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may you spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass.”
It’s not complicated. Man tends to complicate everything. God is the giver and sustainer of life and His intention was, and is, that we as His created ones live in fellowship and in harmony with Him. The relationship that Adam and Eve and God enjoyed was God’s desire for mankind. Even though Adam and Eve sinned against God and the fellowship that they had was marred, God made a way for the redemption of man and a way for the fellowship and enjoyment to be restored. Even though we live in a fallen world that has not yet been fully redeemed, we must cling to the fact that the life that Adam and Eve lived in the garden before they sinned, is the life that God still desires and still makes available. Jesus came that our sins might be forgiven and fellowship with our heavenly Father restored. With all of that being said, the point is that God takes no pleasure in us living complicated and unfulfilled lives; He came to give us life to the fullest. In His word, we discover the keys to life; and these ‘keys’ are contrary to the ways of the world. As we read His word, we should do so with the mindset that His word is the blue print or roadmap that leads to life; His word is not up for debate-it is THE way to life. When we accept His word as the authority on life and we adjust our thinking and our actions according to His word, we are blessed and we find that we can enjoy fellowship with God! In His word we find that He is not against us, but for us, and that He supplies all we need. The verses above are a good snapshot of the life that God has for us; and these verses are doable because the Holy Spirit living in us gives us the desire and power to do what God commands. (The ‘commands’ that God gives are not burdensome, but life-giving.) Let us not be guilty of reading and forgetting; read the verses above again and find ways to implement today what God has said. It’s quiet simple; today-encourage someone; be patient with others; seek what is good; rejoice; give thanks; pray to your heavenly Father; be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit; and abstain from evil. The major thing is for us is to lay our will and our ways aside, and make the choice to walk in the ways of the Lord; He has given us a roadmap to life-and that roadmap is the word of God.
Colossians 3:1-4 “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Blessings,
Buddy