Embrace the Within no. 197

“For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose]” (Romans 8:5).

From where I left off yesterday, Paul writes a lot about dying to the old self and becoming something new in Jesus that the old covenant of the Law could not accomplish. And I find that this verse highlights the solution to the very human problem of being rule followers and living lives governed by lists that we can check off to show that we are accomplishing our goals.

My youngest son is big on making lists like me. Making a list lets me understand what I need to accomplish, what I need to bring to work, what I need to get when shopping, what tasks I need to complete in the garden and around the house. Lists are helpful in all types of things in life. BUT a checklist is never going to govern my relationship with folks if the relationship is going to be real. A list will only hinder my authenticity in a relationship.

And that is why lists are of little use in Christianity. I cannot go down a list and check off what I am doing that makes me a Christian. It just doesn’t work that way. And missing things on my or someone else’s list doesn’t make me a heretic or a backslider. What does?

Action makes me a Christian. I live according to His Way. I set my mind on His Way. I act according to His Way. And that always means denying self, taking up His cross, and following Him obediently. It isn’t going to be a list of things I have to accomplish. It isn’t going to be a list of things I need to have. It isn’t going to be a list of things I need to do daily. It’s Him. My relationship with Him should be evident. Folks should notice. If they aren’t noticing, then what am I doing wrong?

A few months back I was having a conversation with my cousin that always ends up getting heated because he is a rather angry fellow that spends a lot of time “owning libtards”. And I mentioned in that conversation that I had been listening to him yell for almost a decade and had no idea he considered himself a Christian. How can I have a relationship with Christ and that relationship not be evident?

It would be the same for me to discover that he was married. I had no clue that what he professed was true because there was no external evidence that he was in a relationship with Christ. I talk about my wife to folks. I talk about my children with folks. I talk about my family with folks. I talk about my friends with folks. And I definitely talk about my King with folks. How can I be in a relationship with someone and not talk about them?

I need folks to know what is important in my life if I want to make new relationships. That is how genuine relationships work. I can’t hide my relationship or have no evidence of that relationship in my life. Relationships that are important are evident.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 196

“What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under [God’s] grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that when you continually offer yourselves to someone to do his will, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either [slaves] of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (right standing with God)” (Romans 6:15-16 AMP)?

Faith is an action. Hope is my confidence. I awaken every day with a choice. What am I going to choose?

Choices are really important to me in my physical, mental, and spiritual journey. I have spent over a decade preaching the good news of choices. And people are as reluctant to listen to that truth as equally as they are reluctant to listen to The Truth. Courage is choosing to change.

I am a creature of routine and habits. And three years ago I made a conscious choice to change those routines and habits to align with my philosophy. I was tired of being told what to fear. I was tired of being enslaved to fear.

And that is when I chose to make a change. And that change was not easy or simple. That change was drastic. I stopped buying into the fear and lies that the world was using to enslave me. I stopped making myself unhealthy. I chose a path to physical, mental, and spiritual health.

And that meant changing my routine. I started with the simple changes of getting myself healthy. I changed my routine to incorporate a physical routine in the morning of ten push ups and ten sit ups and some jumping jacks and such. That routine has expanded and grown over the past three years. I changed my routine to incorporate study and writing every day. That routine has expanded into prayer and studying The Bible and recording those reflections on my blog. I changed my routine to incorporate more gardening. That routine has expanded into several raised beds, trees, and a greenhouse that provide my family with healthy alternatives.

Sure. It looks like a lot now BUT it was all built on the back of making a choice. It all came from the courage of making one choice. And every day I awaken I get to make that choice. Am I going to pray? Am I going to work out? Am I going to read The Bible? Am I going to write my thoughts? Am I going to take care of the garden? Am I going to feed the chickens?

I can just as easily stop. I can stop talking to God. I can stop working out. I can stop studying His Truth. I can stop writing. I can let the garden go. I can let the animals fend for themselves.

I get to choose daily what path I am going to follow. And it doesn’t take something monumental at first. It only takes one simple choice to want to change, to want something different, to want something better. What do you want?

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH