Embrace the Within no. 142

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord].

Matthew 6:24 AMP

I can’t serve two masters BUT I try to serve the world and God every day. I get distracted from the light that is my goal by the diversions to the left, to the right, and behind me. I put my time and effort into things that do not bring God glory. I do these things because I am a human that is fallen.

I try to have the best of what God has to offer and the best of what the world has to offer. Sometimes it is for the worst the world has to offer as well. I try to keep my foot in the ways of the past me rather than in the new creation me. Why do I do that?

Why do I trust in the Lord BUT not fully submit to His Way? Why do I believe in Christ and love God BUT want to keep my old self as well? Why do I want to be a slightly modified creation and not a new creation?

There are a lot of reasons why I hold onto things that are not moving me forward. And one of those reasons is comfort. I have become comfortable with the way things are in this world. I have become comfortable with being comfortable. And change does not ever come from a place of comfort. Change comes when I am made uncomfortable by myself, by others, or by God. I can’t change in comfort.

When I first started this journey, I was really uncomfortable with a lot of things. Prior to that, I was okay with the way things were in my life even though the world made me uncomfortable. What moved me to change into a healthy person was the uncomfortability of the situations around me. I was uncomfortable with being unhealthy. I was uncomfortable with being powerless. I was uncomfortable with being surrounded by emptiness. Wherever I looked were hypocrites and lies. I was uncomfortable with living a life like that.

Are you comfortable? Are you settled into an acceptance of your situation in life? Are you resigned to your situation?

I pray that I never again feel comfortable with where I am in the Kingdom of God. I pray that I am always striving towards being better for the Lord. I pray that I always serve as an Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Lord. I pray that I serve no king BUT Christ daily in my walk with the Lord.

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 141

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so if your eye is clear [spiritually perceptive], your whole body will be full of light [benefiting from God’s precepts]. But if your eye is bad [spiritually blind], your whole body will be full of darkness [devoid of God’s precepts]. So if the [very] light inside you [your inner self, your heart, your conscience] is darkness, how great and terrible is that darkness!”

Matthew 6:22-23 AMP

Our focus in life, our sight should find its focus, in the light and not the darkness. Earlier in the sermon I am called to be “the light of the world” while within these lines I am called to see the light. I can’t be the light if I am focused on things that are not the light. Other focuses dim my light and lessen the intensity with which I show the world the Truth.

I need to look at where I am going. I can’t look to the left or the right or even behind me and expect to get where I want to go directly. Looking in all other directions is going to get me off course and maybe even stumbling and walking in weird patterns or circles or swaying off course. BUT focusing on the opposite of what I want, closing my eyes to the destination and making myself blind to the path I need to walk . . . well, that is going to fill me with darkness instead of light.

It sounds so basic when it gets explained, however, I often know what is right and true and righteous and I would rather look somewhere else. Life is full of distractions that will turn my eyes off the path. I can look to the left or the right at what my neighbor or friend or enemy is doing. I can look behind me into my past at the things I used to do. Or I can close my eyes completely to The Truth and walk around blindly even though I know His Way.

How will I know when I am on the right path? How will I know when I am veering off the path? How will I know when I am looking behind me? How will I know when my eyes are closed? It is as simple as getting my heart checked out.

I need to ask some serious questions about the state of my heart daily. Is my heart healthy? Am I walking with the love of the Lord in my heart? Am I doing what is right for God and others? When my heart is healthy, I am walking in the light and reflecting that light to the world. When I am in darkness, I know that I am doing wrong because the Spirit will guide me to know that I am doing wrong.

I get to choose every day whether I listen to my selfish heart or I walk in the light. I pray that today I do a better job of walking the path of light. I pray that my focus is straight ahead at my goal of being a better Ambassador for Christ. I pray that my focus on the light helps better reflect the image of Christ in my daily life. I pray that I show His Light to the world.

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

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoGodsNoMasters #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH