Category: A Christian life

Deuteronomy 30:19

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.

We live a life of conditions, a series of if…then statements. If I work 40 hours on my job, then my paycheck will be a certain amount. If I honor my curfew, then I won’t be grounded. If I drive too fast, then I might receive a ticket. If I brush my teeth, then I will have fresh breath. If I only eat candy, then I will have cavities. The list is endless!

The Lord grants mankind free choice. This makes us different from all other created beings. We must choose to follow Him. He lays out in his word the consequences that follow our choices. Read all of Deuteronomy chapter 28. He lists blessings of obedience and curses of disobedience.

Even the free gift of salvation depends upon us. Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, then you shall be saved.”

God spoke to King Solomon when he dedicated the temple: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

The pattern is clear. We have a responsibility to choose good and refuse evil. Many times people want to blame God when they suffer consequences due to their own choices. God is true to His word. We must be true to ourselves as we examine our circumstances and alter our choices in order to receive God’s blessings.

Eternal life is contingent upon your choice today!

Choose life!

2 Timothy 1:4 (The Message)

I miss you a lot, especially when I remember that last tearful good-bye, and I look forward to a joy-packed reunion.

I had an unusual dream last night. I was walking somewhere with someone (details of some dreams are fuzzy), and we happened upon this underground tunnel. The tunnel was a large open space with many rooms carved out along the way. The people who had created the tunnel discovered a valuable substance. I don’t recall if it was gold or diamonds or what. It was unfortunate that the few of us had stumbled upon the find. In an effort to conceal the location, people decided to blow up the tunnel with us trapped inside.

I pleaded with the main lady to at least allow me to write goodbye letters to my husband and children. She agreed. Interestingly, in my mind, I felt perhaps writing letters would buy enough time for us to be discovered before she destroyed us. But, as my dream morphed, it became more about writing these letters then survival. I had so many people that I wanted to know I was thinking of them. I didn’t want to leave anyone out. I needed to tell each person what they meant to me, and how I wished we had more time.

My writing tablet morphed into a Bible, and I would flip through page after page and write short notes to each person, or groups of people for lack of time: my husband, my children, my parents, my sister, my sisters in law, my nieces and nephews, my dear long-distance friends, my church ladies, my gym partners, my church as a whole. It seemed the more I wrote, the more the Lord would drop someone else in my mind to leave an encouraging word. The funny thing is at the end of my letter writing, I wrote “My only regret is that I never learned to dance.” Thank you Dancing with the Stars. Lol 😂

I woke up today thankful for the reminder of how fortunate I am to have friends and loved ones. I’m not ready to leave this wworld in a diabolical tunnel explosion because there are people with whom I want to spend quality time. There are special occasions I don’t want to miss. I want to write my letters of appreciation while I’m still thriving!

Tell those special to you that you love them today!!

Read Judges 1:19-36

And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly drive them out. (vs 28)

Now read Judges 2 – how sad.

…but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have you done this? (Judges 2:2b)

Sheep on a hillside in Israel. We are “like sheep”.

Ancient stairs in Jerusalem

Consider the promises of God & how wonderful they are. All we have to do, like the children of Israel, is follow God and possess the promise. Easy enough?!? Yet, they could not do it and neither do we.

It is imperative that we keep our eyes on Jesus and not ourselves. Verse 19 of chapter 2 tells us, “…they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.” When we allow ourselves to be enticed by self-gratification and pleasure for a moment, we are not concerned with God’s blessings. We must open our eyes and wake up!

The promises of God are eternal! Look at the big picture. Look at the end of an action before taking that action. Are we settling for a temporary “fix”, or are we laying up our treasures in heavenly places for an eternal blessing?

Read Judges 2:4. The people wept. Repentance is more than just being sorry for our actions. We must cease to do the things that cause the sorrow as well. Confess those things and turn from doing them.

God has given us promises today, in the 21st-century. We have been empowered by God to go and possess whatever He has promised. But we cannot allow ourselves to be enticed by the enemy so that our standards slack. We cannot alter our belief system based upon the trends of the times, but we must rather be steadfast and unmovable concerning the commands and promises of God.

What trends in today’s society seem to sway your convictions and beliefs? What can you do?

Ask God to equip you to be strong and resist the temptation to “fit” the mold society is providing.

John 21:22 (NLT)

Jesus replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me.”

As I was listening to my Bible app the other day, this conversation between Peter and Jesus took on a whole new meaning for me. I actually got tickled thinking about it! 😄 Jesus and Peter just concluded this deep heart-to-heart moment where Jesus repeatedly asked Peter, “Do you love me?” (Verses 15,16,17)

Peter was so overcome with emotion as the Lord asked him the third time, and Peter anguishly repeated himself, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” And, Jesus continues to prophesy over Peter ending with the command, “Follow me.” (Verse 19)

Then, Peter turned around, looks at John, and says, “What about him?” Wow! Isn’t that how we are? What about him? What about her? What about that group? What about that organization? We are always worried about someone else.

When we focus on others rather than ourselves, we fall into the trap of comparisons. When we compare one to another, we will never be satisfied. In some way, we always fall short. We are unique individuals. No two people share the same fingerprint. If even our fingerprints differ, why would we expect other aspects of our body to “look just like so-and-so”? Our physical appearances are distinct, our personalities vary, and certainly our talents and abilities are diverse.

I love how Jesus answered when Peter inquired about John, “What is that to you?… Follow me.” Right back to his command from verse 19, “Follow me.”

If we keep our eyes on Jesus, and follow wholeheartedly after him, perhaps we will cease to meddle in the business of others. We are not called to judge but love. When the comparison tempter arises, remember Jesus’s words, “What’s it to you? Follow me.”