Keep Away

1 John 5:21 
Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts. (NLT)

Remember telling your child not to touch the stove because they would get burned? Maybe you even remember getting burned when you touched it. Most do not listen to those warning words. It seems like something inside makes us do what we know we shouldn't.

Have you ever gone into a store and come out with more than you paid for? By that I mean that the good deal was because there was more in your shopping bag then what was rung up by the cashier. Did you think of it as a hidden blessing or go back in and pay for that extra item?

Then you were a teenager and all your friends were involved in things you knew from your upbringing were not right. The quandary was should you remove yourself from them or ignore that inner voice reminding you of what was right and wrong.

God wants all of us. He wants to be first in our life. Our relationship with Him is not a Sunday morning thing or even worse a Christmas and Easter date. Anything that takes our focus off of Him is sin. He wants us to be happy and to enjoy things while we are here on Earth. However, He does not want those things to replace our relationship with Him.

So let's not keep away from God. Let's seek Him out in all we do talking to Him throughout the day while we do what He has provided for us to have.

Open The Book

Matthew 7:7
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. (NLT)

It is not what you dig out of scripture through research and debate. It is what Holy Spirit digs out of it just for you; what jumps off the page to fit your circumstances today! He knows what you need and all you need to do is Open The Book!

Having the intellect we possess because of how God made us is a good thing. However, He did not give that to us to circumvent relationship with Him.

Before I was Spirit filled, I would read the Bible and see the history and moral lessons it contained. And that was all good. Psalms and Proverbs were good sources of godly information. The Gospels showed me about the life of Jesus as He walked the earth in His ministry. And the rest of the stories in the New Testament gave me examples of others walking out their faith as they shared the Good News and then discipled those that came to Christ.

After the infilling of Holy Spirit my reading changed. I read the same passages but truth I had never seen before would jump out at me. It was not that the stories changed. No, they took on new meaning that spoke to me about my life circumstances. Holy Spirit was guiding me and teaching me truth through the same book I had been reading for many years.

I am saved, you say, but when will Holy Spirit begin to make these things available to me? I can only tell you what happened with me. When I took the time to ask, He presented Himself to me in new ways. Of course I also had to make an effort to stop what life was luring me do and listen to Him.

Take the time to ask for the infilling of the Holy Spirit and get ready to have the words jump off the pages as you Open The Book.

The Reruns

1 John 2:27
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true-it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. (NLT)

Okay,  we enroll in a course at college or wherever. That gets us permission to attend. We have no opportunity to learn by just enrolling. Then again, showing up for class does not mean we learn anything either. Sure, the teacher has a lot to say that could be beneficial, but  we  have to pay attention and participate.

And to really gain something out of the course we have to put our own time into reviewing the notes we took, doing the homework, and reading the material in the textbook required by the instructor.

If we do not take the time to do our part, we will gain nothing from the class. Our commitment and participation is necessary to our success, to our goal of learning the material we signed up to learn.

Sure, we gave our life to Jesus and He had the Father send Holy Spirit to live within. He can teach us everything we need to know.  But. we must participate. We need to have a true relationship with Jesus and take time to read and reread His Word daily.

The first time through the Bible  is great, but the  re-runs are even better. Holy Spirit teaches us as He reveals new truth to us right in His Word.

Good Works

James 3:13 
If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. (NLT)

We all know many that appear to live an honorable life and that do good works. This does not mean they understand God's ways or even acknowledge Him at all. Good works are noticed by others especially when they are bragged about by those that do them. We see this in all walks of life as they tend to attached their names to the works they did.

Often when someone dies you hear about how good they were as an explanation of where they were spending eternity. The world has this formula that says you get to heaven based on how many good things you did in life. The Bible tells us a different story,

First one has to be saved and to do that they must acknowledge not only God, but accept Jesus as their Lord and savior. They must invite Jesus into their life; into their heart. When that truly happens, the Father sends Holy Spirit to reside in them. They are born again and on the path to an eternity with God; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Does God expect good works from us? Yes, He requires it. But as we become more Christ like over time our life of good works becomes second nature. We do because of who we have become. The works we do are not a calculated list of what we feel God would have us do. They are a result of listening to Holy Spirit as He instructs us and guides through our salvation experience; our walk with Him through this earthly life.

Living Life

Philippians 2:14-16
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. (NLT)

Sounds just like me. Right! I wish this is how others saw me all the time. But it is probably not true. I can be seen complaining and arguing. When I am right, how can I help but challenge those who disagree with me?

It is tough to live life in this fast paced, competitive world and be the person this passage is suggesting. However, this is what we should be like. As believers and followers of Jesus who was just like this, doesn't God expect it of us?

How can we be shining His light in the world if we are engaging in things others can criticize us for? Being a believer is not a "do as I say not as I do" venture.

"Father, I know I fall short as I live this life you gave me. I want to be just like Jesus in all I do and say. Help me. Change me. Make me a living example of Jesus to all I come in contact with. In Jesus name, I pray."

Gossip

Proverbs 26:20. 
Fire goes out without wood, and quarrels disappear when gossip stops. (NLT) 

I wish I could say I am not one to gossip. But I guess I am. We just cannot seem to keep our nose out of others business. Of course everyone wants to tell us their business. That is not gossip. When we tell others about what they told us it becomes gossip.

Often we might meddle just to get the latest scoop on what is happening. Then we tell others what we heard and that is gossip.

Fact is, it is easier to deal with everyone elses stuff than to deal with our own. It is easy to understand their problems. We even have answers for them. We can tell them exactly why they are in the middle of their mess and what they have to do to fix it. This probably is because of all the movies and television we have watched. Isn't that where we get to be detectives and psychologists?

They ought to give a degree for the amount of crime shows we have digested. Go to college and earn an AS, BS, or PHD. Watch enough television and earn a TV degree.

It is often the meddling and resultant gossip that causes quarrels among family members and friends. If we could just stop the gossip, the quarrels will disappear.

He Intercedes

Hebrews 7:25. 

Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. (NLT) 

When I was growing up my parents had my back. They were praying for me and there for me whenever I did anything wrong and encouraging me through good and bad times as I learned to stand on my own two feet. Of course I did not realize this until I was a bit older and on my own. 

Even later in life as I dealt with grown up issues, I know they were back at their home interceding for me. And I am sure you are doing the same for those close to you. We care and pray for those we love without any need for them to know we are doing so. 

As believers who have asked Jesus into our hearts, He forever intercedes for us. He is a shield between us and the Father only allowing our best to pass through. He protects us and forgives us as we go about our lives bouncing from temptation to temptation trying hard to live as He who lives in us.