MYOB

1 Thessalonians 4:11 NLT
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.

Everybody is so much into other people's lives today. It is like our lives are one big soap opera. Or perhaps using today's popular shows, one big reality show. A quiet life is hard to come by today. Even vacations end up being more work than quiet. We cram so much into that week off we need another week to recuperate.

The old empty nest thing seems to have shifted to parents being too involved in children's lives. Many a grandparent today seems to be raising their grandchildren. Sure, it enables the parents to work two jobs and get ahead faster. But does enablement produce healthy growth?

I am from the era where one parent worked and the other stayed home and raised the children. Everyone ate together at dinner time. And they spent time together instead of finding more and more ways to get out of the house. Family time was important and mom and dad could always be depended on to be there.

Then when they grew up and left the home they were on their own. They made their own mistakes and figured out what to do next. They did not depend on mom or dad to bail them out all the time, but they knew if things got real bad that their parents would be there. And that no matter what choices were made the parents would stand behind them and support their choice no matter how right or wrong that choice was.

Minding our own business is a hard thing to do, especially for a parent. Today parents are labeled helicopter parents because they seem to constantly hover over the children, even their grown up and married ones!

Lord help us to mind our own business in the workplace, with our friends, and with our children and their families. Enable us to be prayer warriors for them and give us the wisdom needed to answer their questions without jumping in to solve their problems. May we be good examples for them of how to trust in You, Lord. Let your light shine through us and may our mouths be filled with encouraging words. Thank you, Jesus!

His Nature

2 Peter 1:4 NLT
And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires.

We blame a lot on human nature. It seems to be used often as an excuse for bad behavior. Instead of taking responsibility for one's actions or reactions, we just accept our behavior as being part of our human nature.

True, we were all born into a human body. We all inherited the original sin of the first Adam. And we were all taught how to think for ourselves; how to make our own choices based on a "what is good for me" attitude.

Now that we are believers filled with the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ our new life is not all about us. We are in Christ and He is in us. He wants to be involved in all of our day to day life. He wants us to be in relationship with Him.

That is a big change in our lives, especially in the beginning of our walk with Jesus. Those of us who are married remember the change we had to go through running decisions that we used to make solo by our spouse so we could agree ahead of time. I mean we could no longer come home in a new vehicle our spouse knew nothing about and expect a warm reception.

As we remember to run all our decisions by Holy Spirit our day to day life becomes so easy. Our decisions bring forth fruit instead of frustration. And we begin to walk in His Glory.

Thank you Jesus for allowing such a blessing in my life. Thank you for taking up residence in me and helping me every day giving me comfort and guidance and teaching me more about you as You help me change to take on more of Your nature.

Change

We can put on a changed look, but we can't change who we are, but God can!

The Firewall

God is not concerned about what we do not do. He is blessed by what we do. Jesus stands as a firewall between God the Father and us. The Father does not see our transgressions. He does not see what we miss. He does not see when we mess up and take our eyes off Him. Thank God for the Blood of Jesus that covers us in all actions and reactions as we walk out this life on earth, this salvation walk in fear and trembling.

His Grace

2 Timothy 1:9 NLT
For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time-to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

Grace is defined in the dictionary as a controlled, polite, and pleasant way of behaving. I believe it is more than that. I think of His grace as His unmerited favor in our lives.

Ephesians 2:8 NLT
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God.

It was His grace that allowed us to be saved. When we stepped out in that tiny bit if faith to ask for His forgiveness we were washed clean in the blood of Jesus and stepped into a new reality. We were born again and received the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ to become one with our spirit man.

Our new man does not need God's grace. In Him we have it all. All authority. All power. All righteousness. The fullness of God through Christ who strengthens us.

Our old man is another subject. He is being changed daily to line up with our new man. It is in our continued walk through this earthly life where we continue to need God's grace. He covers us as we walk in the flesh, as we walk out our salvation with fear and trembling. His unmerited favor is upon us as we look to Him daily.

As we allow Holy Spirit to teach us, we learn daily to die to parts of our flesh and turn over our life to our new man, our spirit man who is pure and righteous.

Thank you Jesus for changing me, for renewing my mind, and giving me the grace to learn from my fleshly mistakes and walk more and more in the spirit.

Knowledge

In the world it is said that knowledge is power. We are taught from an early age to accumulate it throughout our earthly lives. But, there is a difference between the accumulation of knowledge and the application of it. Even in the world knowledge without wisdom is useless information. As believers we are called to walk with Jesus not just have knowledge of how He walked as described in the Gospels. As we step out of our comfort zone and reach out to that person in need Holy Spirit in us comes upon us. Then it is His hands and His words that heal and comfort them. It is not us in our wealth of knowledge wordsmithing the right things to say to convince Father God and them; it is Jesus alive in us. It is not our flowery prayers to the father that heals them, it is our Trust in Him and knowing He is doing the work that person needs. For Jesus tells us "You shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." Thank you, Jesus.

Follow Him

Galatians 5:25 NLT
Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives.

If I were to move to another country where English was not spoken I would learn their language. I would learn and follow the customs of that country and blend in as much as possible.

So we become a follower of Jesus and begin our new life as a Christian. We go to church when we feel like it or don't have anything else to do on Sunday morning. And when we are around other Christians we emulate them in words and actions as much as we can.

God has given us a new life. We have been reborn in our spirit. Holy Spirit is in us and yet we are pulled like with a strong magnet back into our old life. How can we follow Jesus when we have the spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit inside of us and ignore Him?

Following Jesus is more than going to church on the weekend. It is more than trying to look like other Christians we know. It is more than praying before a meal. It is more than reading a devotional every day. It is more than listening to the latest Christian music while driving. It is a lot more.

Father God, help me to be more like Jesus. Help me to die to my fleshly desires. Show me what I should do and what I should not do. Show me those around me that are a bad influence on my growth in You. Help me to follow You all the days of my life. In Jesus name, I pray.

Willpower

It is not about willpower. It is about walking in God's will.

Behavior

1 Peter 2:12 NLT
Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

When I grew up it was not uncommon to hear someone in authority over me to say "do as I say not as I do". They knew what was right but were not following it.

And we heard what they told us but grew up doing what they did and not what they said. Actions speak louder than words.

How we behave around others is an example of how Christians behave. We are their example of Christ. When they hear about Christians, it is us they think of and our example, our behavior on a day by day basis.

1 John 3:18 NLT
Dear children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

I hope my behavior shows the love of God to all who come in contact with me in person, on the phone, and on Facebook. May I be the reflection of Jesus in all I do and say.

Growing in Christ

Growing is not about doctrine. It is about doing.