Embrace the Within no. 66

"Jesus gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward all Christians."

Francis Schaeffer

I make things so very difficult when they do not have to be difficult. I make things so unmanageable and impossible when they do not have to be unmanageable and impossible. And I do that daily when I put limitations on what God can do in my life. I try to limit God to my very mundane understanding and my own temporal limitations on this side of eternity. And that is the worst disservice I can put on my own faith and belief.

There is a whole body of evidence in my past and in the past of humanity that shows there is no limitation on what God can do. I can look at the possibility of salvation as an impossibility that is made possible through God. I can look at the possibility of grace as an impossibility that is made possible through God. I can look at the possibility of redemption and atonement as an impossibility that is made possible through God. I can look at my life that, fourteen days ago, was impossibly changed from one of self righteousness and self deception to one of love and faith through God.

There are a lot of impossible things that are simply possible because of God. And I fail to see a lot of those things on the micro level of daily life when that is where the impossible is most easily and readily available. The impossibility of doing good with evil all around us. The impossibility of finding hope in a world filled with fear and doubt. The impossibility of love within a world filled with division and strife. The impossibility of overcoming mental, physical, and emotional trauma and living a life of peace. The impossibility of being broken and separated yet finding healing and restoration.

There are a lot of impossibilities that are possible every day. We are walking around carrying God’s image with us and fail to see the possibility that lies within that certainty. Nothing is impossible for God.

Shavua tov. Shalom to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH #GodKnows

Embrace the Within no. 65

"If my heart is right with God, every human being is my neighbor."

Oswald Chambers

Everyone is my neighbor. Everyone is an image bearer of God. Probably something that I do not consider enough when I walk around this side of eternity. A lot of times it is only in retrospection right now that I realize I am out of alignment with these concepts. And that leads me out of alignment with The Way of the Lord.

There are no other ways about it, The Way of the Lord is about love and service. It is acknowledgment of the reign of YHWH and the service to His creation. It’s all about finding the Garden among the Wilderness and I am definitely still working on the Garden.

It’s easy to fall into the spirit of this age. It’s easy to get caught up in the anger and division and animosity toward fellow image bearers. To see the flaws in each other and miss the work with which we need to enact in our own lives. I am really good at seeing flaws in others before I see the faults in my own life. And that is something I look forward to working on fixing and realigning as I further this journey in The Way of the Lord. “Love works no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [is] the fulfilling of the law”(Romans 13:10 NMV).

Love is always the answer BUT it is often difficult this side of eternity when we are misaligned. And that is why starting the day with the spirit of love and truth is an important foundation as we move forward. My morning study and prayer does so much to set the tone for the day ahead. The consistency of knowing that I am going to start my day with the best choices sets an expectation that I can make better choices.

Ending my day with study and prayer bookends the expectation that I am going to make better choices. It is always about choosing how we are going to set ourselves up for success and failure. I can take the time each morning to set the positive tone I want or I can let life run off the rails and get totally misaligned.

BUT daily I must choose that alignment with love. I have to practice love every day in order to get better at love. I have to practice service every day to get better at service. I have to pray every day to get better at speaking to YHWH. I have to study The Word every day to get a better understanding of YHWH. I have to put in the time to practice. You have to talk about practice because what you practice is what you become. You don’t walk out to the sportsball field and become a success without practice. You don’t become an artist without practice. You don’t become a better follower of The Way of the Lord without practice. In none of these situations can you just show up on Sunday without doing the practice the rest of the week.

So, I am going to keep putting in the work. Each day I am going to keep practicing what I want to achieve in the hope that someday I will have it mastered. And every day is a day forward aligning myself on this side of eternity. Working out that practice as long as I am allowed.

Shavua tov. Shalom to your home. Bless your being. The reign of YHWH is now. Be a blessing to YHWH and others.

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #MyNepheshMyChoice #ChristsLifeMatters #EmbracetheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH #GodKnows