Beauty in your life- change your thoughts for a positive outlook
What do you listen to while you work?
When I’m working on something I usually listen to worship music. It is said to improve your memory, attention and concentration which can be a valuable tool for promoting mental health.
I usually listen to singers like Crowder, Jeremy Camp, Zach Willians, or the bands King and Country and Casting Crowns.
The definition of a blessing is “something promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or prosperity.” Who doesn’t want that? God’s Word tells us in Ephesians 1:3, that God,
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spirit blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.“
One of our spiritual blessings is righteousness,
“But of Him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” – 1 Corinthians 1:30
When we understand more about our righteousness, we can see what we can do with this spiritual blessing.
Righteousness is the God-given justification a person has the right to stand in the presence of God without any consciousness of sin, guilt, or shortcomings. Righteousness is something, God imparts. It is something we receive when we are born again of God’s Spirit. The moment we confess with our mouths Jesus as Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised His Son from death, we are saved -born again and made righteous. Romans 10:10-11 says,
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Some people feel like they are not worthy enough to receive anything from God. But they do not understand the spiritual blessing of righteousness. This righteousness is not something we earn, nor can we make ourselves worthy enough to receive it. God Himself makes us righteous by the accomplishments of Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says,
“For He made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Jesus knew no sin, who lived righteously, and took our sins upon Himself so that we might be made righteous before God. This is something God did for us in Jesus. It is not something we can do.
“But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” -Romans 5:8
God loves us and because of Jesus’ sacrifice at the cross, we can in with righteousness.
When we understand that God made us righteous, we can enjoy the blessings. All we have to do is accept Him and repent for our sins. We have an adversary, Satan that tries to talk us out of claiming our God-given righteousness at every turn. He accuses us and tries to convince us that God is not good, but the righteousness of God is given to every true believer.
“And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith” – Philippians 3:9
This spiritual blessing allows us to live freely without fear or condemnation. It allows us to live victoriously, claiming that we are who God says we are and that we have what God says we have. When we understand our righteousness, we do not have to be hindered by our mistakes -past, present, or future. No fear, worry, or guilt can frustrate or defeat us in our walk with Him. We no longer have to feel unworthy. Because God makes us worthy.
When we understand our righteousness we can change our thinking to recognize that God makes us in Jesus. Ephesians 4:24 tells us to,
“Put on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
We can change our thinking to line up with the Word of God and act accordingly. God makes us righteous by His grace and love. When we put on “the new man,” we can renew our minds and be free. We can enjoy a loving relationship with our Father in heaven. We no longer have to wonder if we are good enough for His love and care. He hears our prayers and we can claim what He has made available to us, including abundance, and victory in life.
What a life we can live when we understand our spiritual blessing of righteousness.
In Church this week my Pastor asked us to pray Psalm 37. So I thought I would post what I am praying.
The Lord guides us in the way we should go and protects those who please Him.
“A man’s goings are established by the Lord. He delights in His way. Though he stumbled, he shall not fall, for the Lord holds him up with His hand” -Psalm 37:23-24
As human beings we will never be able to be able to understand everything in life.
We can use Psalm 34:4 as a deliverance to break free of fear.
“I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”
I admit I am fearful sometimes and know it is not good for me, but I’m working on that.
Psalm 37:7 helps us keep hope alive, we need to keep hope alive as long as we do God will come through for us.
There’s been a shift in our world, communities and sometimes even church’s. Instead of gathering together, we feel more conflicted as ever. But Jesus tells us,
“Look! Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the Lord’s house. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, Praise the Lord” – Psalm 134:1-2
I go to church to connect to and worship God, not to connect with others. I go to delight in the Lord.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart“ – Psalm 37:4
His Word encourages me not to worry or fret, even if my humanness and flesh it is hard sometimes. But with the help of the power of the Holy Spirit, I know that I can trust Him and worry less.
“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart“ Psalm 37:3-4
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Whether consciously or unconsciously I turn to mashed potatoes with charred corn mixed in. Ice cream is also my go-to comfort food. I don’t think it is food from my childhood memories. It’s just dang good.
Comfort foods activate dopamine in our brains which makes us feel good. Sweet and starchy foods help our bodies make serotonin which naturally makes us feel calmer and decreases the stress hormone cortisol.
What’s your favorite game (card, board, video, etc.)? Why?
Game playing stimulates brain areas that can offset the risks of conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia or soften the blow of the hit.
I’m not really into video games. I enjoy games like bingo, solitaire, and crossword puzzles.
“The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion“ -Proverbs 28:1
Many people have different views on being bold. It can be seen as a good thing to stand up for what you believe in, but boldness is also often equated with being pushy or over-assertive.
What does our role of boldness in Christ play?
If you are naturally shy, you may have a hard time being bold. You may fear that if you are bold, you will come off as arrogant. Boldness has negative effects when we use it selfishly to get what we want. But as believers, we will face circumstances that require us to be bold in order to stand with Jesus.
Jesus’s disciples prayed and asked for boldness. They knew that in order to spread their message and make Jesus known. They needed the gift of boldness to complete what they were called to do. Acts 4:31 says,
“After they prayed the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God with boldness.”
Being bold may simply be as simple as talking to someone you normally do not talk to or stepping out of your comfort zone by praying with a family member, co-worker, or friend.
A few months ago I was visiting a family member’s home. And he was complaining about how his boss every morning would call the employees in and pray for them. And what a senseless waste of time it was. To say the least, he is not a believer. I simply told him I thought that was cool how his boss cared for them enough to pray for their safety.
At the end of the day, true boldness is centered on Jesus. It requires humility rather that pride, because we cannot be bold on our own.
When the Holy Spirit is within us, we can understand what it means to be bold for Jesus. As a result, when opportunities come our way to share God’s love, we can ask for boldness to complete the task and bring honor to His name.
Below are a few scriptures to help you pray for boldness,
What foods would you like to make?
Foods that I like to make are things like steak sandwiches, stir-fried meals, and tacos, and I love a good chili with form bread.
But I really enjoy baking the most. I have friends who call me and ask me to bake cookies or make them fudge for them. Most people stress during the holidays about all the baking they have to do. But that’s my favorite part. It’s something that helps me de-stress.
What’s happened to the fear of God, so many are living as if there is no God, so what happens when the fear of God is missing?
The fear of God is not completely understood by those outside the church. The fear of God is not a fear of being struck down by God when you sin or having the dread of hell hanging over your head, although that is a real fear for nonbelievers, but rather, the fear of God is a deep, holy, reverential respect and awe of God, for God’s Word, and for obeying God’s commands. Believers don’t obey God out of fear, but out of love, the fear of God is living in obedience to God. Solomon wrote,
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and instruction” -Proverbs 1:7
Fearing God is hating sin, as Solomon writes,
“The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and prevented speech I hate“ -Proverbs 8 13
Believers should not be living in fear of God’s judgment because they have their sins paid for by Jesus. The wrath of God that was our due has been placed on Jesus instead of us. This means there is no more fear of God’s wrath if you believe.
In John 4:18 John wrote,
“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear had to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love”
Someone who follows Jesus should not fear God’s punishment because Jesus has taken it upon Himself as our punishment for sin.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” – Romans 8:1
So, what is there to fear? As for nonbelievers, Paul wrote,
“There is no fear of God before their eyes” -Romans 3:18
And what happens when there is no fear of God in the land? Paul writes,
“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The poison of vipers is under their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. The way of peace, they haven’t known” -Romans 3:13-17
Doesn’t that sound like the world we are living in today?
When sin increases, it is because there’s no fear of God in the land or people’s hearts, and where there is no fear of God, there is no limit to evil. In Noah’s days, the earth had grown so wicked that God had to begin again, with Noah and his family since,
“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart was continually only evil” -Genesis 6:5
In other words they spent all their time inventing new ways to sin, so it’s no wonder that,
“The earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on earth” -Genesis 6:11-12
There was no fear of God at all. They rejected Noah’s preaching and as a result, they all perished. Jesus told the crowd in Luke 13:3 “Unless you repent, you will likewise perish.” Where there ifear of God is, no good is to be expected.
In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Solomon’s summary of the whole book says,
3”The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.”
Fearing man is a stumbling block, but fearing God is the wisest thing you could do. Jesus tells us who to fear and said,
“Do not fear those who kill the body but can not kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell“ –Matthew 10:28
And scripture tells us in Hebrews 10:31,
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
If we trust in Jesus, we never have to worry about fear again.
If we look at the world we can see there is no shortage of sin. If people do not fear God, than its anything goes.
“Because sentence against evil work in not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons (and daughters) of men is fully set in them to do evil“ -Ecclesiastes 8:11
The world my children know is very different from the world I grew up in. There is no denying that American has become a highly sexualized culture that permeates everything. Greed, selfishness, and self indulgence also run rampant.
It seems that everywhere we look in society morals and values have shifted dramatically away from God’s standards. Almost every day there’s another story in the news that demonstrates an ongoing clash between the world’s values and God’s standard.
Sometimes it is easier for me to live by God’s standards if I remove myself from the influence of the world. But I know there is one big problem with that. In doing so, I also remove the influence of Christ from the world. Jesus calls believers to go out into the world and take the gospel with them, and not hunker down in a holy bunker. Jesus said,
“I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world. I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by your truth. Your Word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” -John 17:14-18
The hardest road to walk is living by God’s standard out in the world. But God promised that through His divine powers. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness.
“Seeing that His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and virtue” -1 Peter 1:3
With discipline intentionally and constantly depending on the Holy Spirit we can live lives that please God, and honor Jesus.
There are always those believers that simply throw up their hands without even trying to live by God’s standards, and straddle the fence.
At times we all compromise and think God’s ways are “too hard” or “too boring” or just “too weird” compared to the world.
Why do followers of Jesus sometimes follow the world, the simplest answer is because we are human. But I believe there are a few reasons,
1. It’s easy to indulge our own desires. We have sinful desires and sometimes we give in to them.
2. We have ignorance of God’s Word. Sometimes believers live like the world in one or more areas simply because they don’t know God’s standard. God calls believers to,
“Not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance, but be holy in all we do“ -1Peter 1:13-15
Thankfully we can learn since we have full access to His Word. God’s truth always trumps culture every time.
3. Fear of being labeled is another reason we compromise. Sometimes believers worry more about what the world will think of them, than what God thinks of them. They don’t want to be considered a “bigot” or “self-righteous. They don’t want to stand out in a crowd. So they compromise to fit in.
Dogs or cats?
I can truly tell you o have never met an animal that I didn’t like. Dogs, cats, birds, lizards, rats -the list goes on and on. I love animals. the only thing I really don’t care for at spiders. But, I’ve been known to get a spider and take it outside and let it go, knowing that it might work itself back in my house.
In a book I read, “Highly Sensitive Person,” it said that sensitive people have a spiritual connection to connect deeply with other life forms. Animals are pure souls.
I was attacked by a dog about 3 years ago, I almost destroyed to top of my hand, before I could get away. I didn’t think ill of the dog, but the owner who had no control over his dog scared me.
A child of God has two marks about them. He is known for his inward warfare and inward peace -Warfare and peace. They are children in God’s home and a soldier in their Savior’s war.
When I was saved by God, I had no idea I was walking into war. At first, I felt like I was on top of the world. Finally, my battle was over, I was awakened to Jesus, safe from sin, and headed to heaven. But soon I was in a fight I wasn’t ready for.
With a conflict within me, I never felt such inner division. My soul was at peace yet because of my flesh my body became a field of war. The battle lines were drawn. And the more I tried to kill sin, the more I seemed to discover hidden pockets of sin, sin that was subtle and camouflaged crawling to the surface. It felt like my peace was under siege.
The same gospel that brings peace with God brings war with sin.
Something must be wrong, I thought. Surely a Christian wouldn’t face darkness this black, or division this deep. I struggled for a long time with my dark thoughts and sin. Trying to get rid of the ones I had embraced for years was no easy task. Every day was an up hill battle. I felt as if satan had taken over my body. I cried and felt hopeless a lot. I also repented a lot. Every sin, every temptation that came to the surface I asked for God to forgive me.
One day I told satan he was not going to win the fight. What was going on inside of me proved with arresting intensity was what true Christianity is. I realized that there is no holiness without warfare. Saved souls will always be found to have fought a fight.
The same gospel that brings peace with God brings war with sin. As to say, Jesus is Lord and sin is not. To follow Jesus is to walk in high-handed rebellion against satan. The same Spirit who wraps us with heavenly comfort also clads us with the armor of God.
For four years I felt like a civilian who had somehow walked into a battle, then I felt like a soldier deployed. My war was a normal war and a good one at that.
“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.“ – Galatians 5:17
What could be more normal than for Christians to feel divided, split, and torn in our inner being? It’s a feeling of having two principles within us, contending for mastery. As long as we carry both Spirit and flesh, war will be normal.
I believe this is why we find in us such a strong pull not to pray when we know we need to pray. Or an aching longing to satisfy some craving, for food, drink, sex and entertainment that we know that we know we should refuse. There’s always a driving compulsion to lean on our own understanding rather than the Word of God.
“The presence of inner division and opposition does not mean we’ve lost, it means the war has begun” -J.C. Ryle
We should not be surprised in these moments, any more than an army should be surprised by an enemy attack. Instead, we should take courage, that we are not friends of satan.
The Christian fight is not just any ear, but the best war the world has ever known. We must settle in our minds that this is a good fight. While the battles sometimes beat us and we can feel tempted to despair. It is still a good fight that we will win in the end, because with God there is always victory.
In Micah 7:1 God assures us that He will tread down our foes. He has promised to strengthen us in the thickest parts of the battle.
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismissed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of My righteousness“ – Isaiah 41:10
This battle we are in restores rather than ruins our humanity and,
“Puts to death therefore which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; for which things sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience“ – Colossians 3:5-6
Its a good fight because we fight under, with and for Jesus. He is our great Captain and fellow Soldier who won us for Himself by dying for us, and who vows to never leave our side.
“…Behold I am with you always, even to the end of the age, Amen” – Matthew 28:20
Anyone who lives the life of a Christian soldier, Let him abide in Christ, get closer to Christ, and tighten their hold on Christ every day they live.
We must match forth under the banner “Christ is better,” unsurprised and undaunted by battle, swords drawn, against everything within us. And look to the day when the two great marks of the Christian become one, and the war gives way to Jesus’s endless peace.
From Pity to Praise