New Year, New Life, New You

On Friday night my friend and her daughter from Kansas City came to the house. It was getting kind of late, and I noticed Patty yawning, hopefully out of being tired and not boredom. So we decided to make a pot of coffee. I knew  drinking coffee late was a bad idea, but  I had a cup with her. Patty, one of the truthtellers and blunter friends in my life, said, “How come you haven’t blogged in a while? Are you slacking off? You know,  I  got my daughter Lindsay to follow your blog.”

 I made up an excuse of holiday and birthday craziness, but Patty was right I’ve slacked off. I’ve been focusing all my energy on everyone and everything but God. I see this blog as my 3rd job, the most important job, and my employer is God. Wow, you think I would want to work hardest on his job instead of Christmas shopping, parties and birthday celebrations. As always, Patty says something stingly true that inspires me to be a better person.

So they left but the coffee buzz stuck. I tried to go to bed but all I kept thinking was, “Yeah, why haven’t you written?” I aways mull over what to write and give myself a hard time about it not being a good enough story to write. I get stuck on the drama of the story as it relates to the bible, and  instead of doing something, I do nothing. Starting from a blank canvas can always be intimidating. Nobody can say it’s bad if I write nothing when I’m blank on what to write. There I go again trying to please people instead of God.

So I couldn’t sleep. I got up, grabbed my bible and sat in the living room until 4am. I read scripture and prayed for God to speak to me on what to write. With heavy eyelids and a foggy mind, I started typing with no clear vision in mind at all, just letting God lead me to the words to type. So you may like it, you may not but hopefully since GOD directed me during the wee hours of the morning, you’ll consider some of these insights inspired by the Lord.

My Grandmother used to say there was only one perfect one, and they crucified him. That’s so true. I’m for sure not perfect or sinless and nor do I know anyone who is even close to perfect. I’ve made my share of mistakes past, present and unfortunately there will be more than I want in the future. Thank the Lord literally that he died for us so that we may be forgiven for our sins.

When you ask Jesus to come into your heart and accept that he shed his blood for your sins, if you truly mean it there should be a deep desire to live Christ like. Your old self seems to die.  You are born again, like a new. It takes time but the spiritual goal is to not do, say or think anything that you wouldn’t want God to see or hear.  

That doesn’t mean that you are capable of living a completely sinless life or that you get a free ticket to sin as much as you want without guilt because you believe in Jesus.  In fact, God expects for you to live for him and to constantly try to live a righteous life.  He expects more from you.  The way we live and think is the one way we can show gratitude for the gift of eternal life he gave us. 

If  you claim to be a Christian and you find yourself still living a life full of such things as: sexual immorality, adultery either physical or through fantasy in your mind, cursing, drinking, gambling, pornography, overeating,  partying, drugs and selfishness; you have to ask yourself have you really turned your life over to God? 

Are you really living for him or are you really focusing on yourself?

Afterall, we are naturally extremely selfish and self-serving creatures. Even from the beginning our toddlers love the word, “my and mine.”

Remember these less than godly activities attract evil and negativity into your life. These activities are not of God or from God.  Sinful living or thoughts  create distance from the one who loves you the most, God. Inevitably,when we go against the grain of what we know God wants for us, we find trouble: jailtime, lost or damaged relationships, worry, anxiety, health issues, depression, loss of homes and jobs, and even worse, death from a sinful behavior. I’ve personally lost friends  from reckless living.  

One of my friends lost his life when his heart exploded from steriod use.   One close family friend decided to take a short ride to the store was after a day of casually drinking at home while laying out in the backyard,   the tipsyness of the alcohol numbed the importance of a seatbelt even for a quick trip down the road and influenced her to try to pass on an 18 wheeler on a 2 lane road, an innocent day of casual drinking ended a life in a ditch.

 In college, one friend was hit by a car when his car broke down in Houston. After an all nighter, his judgement was impaired, and he tried to cross a major freeway. His body was too damaged to have a viewing after several cars clipped him going 65 miles per hour on the Katy Freeway.  I’ll never forget the SWT football helmet laying across the casket of a youngman in his early 20s.

Chances are if you are easily swayed to go to the darker side of life, you haven’t fully committed your life to Christ. If you always find yourself in some bad situation or drama, you may need to pay close attention to this message.  Satan constantly tempts us, lures us to that darker side of life and helps us justify these bad behaviors; he helps us make excuses for our actions and even gives us ammo to blame someone or something else for the real issues or even direct our anger and anyone but ourselves.  Accountabilty is not a word in the devil’s dictionary.

We are all battling our own demons. The enemy loves when we try to fill the  void in our lives with food, drugs, sex and so forth.  He loves it when we get angry and impatient and when we give up. 

Voids and personality flaws  can only be filled and cured with one thing: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.

In this immoral world,  these behaviors seem more fun than living the straight and narrow. I’ve witnessed a weird adult peer pressure where some of the sins are defended and are presented as being more socially acceptable than a cleaner life. It’s the Christian for example that publically disagrees with the affair at work,  that will find himself standing alone in a corner of righteousness, while other sinners label him  a goodie two shoes. Even Christ himself was persecuted, so expect and be ready as you become the Christian friend to those you’re worried about, you too will be persecuted, yelled out and outcasted.

Sadly these days being a churchgoer, a bible reader and a defender of what’s right,  is not the norm.  The clean life seems boring, but it’s not boring if you think about how pleasing it is to God. And from what I read, the fiery lake is not going to be one big sinful party of sex, drugs and rock n roll; it’s an eternal life of torture. We got one shot at this life and since the bible says he will come like a thief in the night, so we must be ready for his coming everyday.

 As I look back on my life, there are many moments that I’m so thankful he didn’t choose as the hour to show-up.

When you feel swayed in the wrong direction, surround yourself with things that bring light into your life like prayer, reading the bible, Christian friends and family who are not afraid to show some tough love.  

Get as far away as possible from the temptation whether it be an old admiror on facebook , a text from a flirty co-worker or that innocent daily glass of wine to take the edge off when you help the kids do their homework; whatever your vice or whatever is keeping you from a closer relationship with GOD by all means get rid of it.

 Get GOD, Get a therapist, Get a doctor, Get support  and  surround yourself with people that help bring the best out of you.

Also, although it seems odd, physical light is important too. Bring the light into your home and office with lamps, opening the blinds, lighter colors on the walls.  Depression, anxiety and loneliness are very dark places and just letting the literal light shine can lift your spirits. Physical light combined with  spiritual light is a  winning combination that can’t hurt.

 It also doesn’t hurt to start new fun hobbies and add some good clean fun into your life like a new yoga class, a running club or getting back into an old talent like painting or singing .  Redirecting your energy off your old habits and into something creative, fun and new can make a huge difference on your outlook too.

And when you slip up and  become a slave to a sinful thought or behavior, if you’re walking with the Lord, acknowledge the problem, be accountable, pray about it,  ask for forgiveness,  and seek God’s guidance asking him to lead you to the right place to sort everything out.

 We have to make a conscious decision to do better, to be better; not better for others, not better for yourself,

Be Better for the Lord!

It will get easier and easier to set aside your selfish desires because you realize everything in this life is about Him.

• He will give you the willpower you thought you didn’t have…
• He will give you the self-control you wish you had
• He will put love back into the center of your life. ( Love for Him, Love for Others & Love for Yourself)

God has a plan for your life so don’t worry about planning out everything.   Just when you think you are in control, have a plan place , he will throw you a curve ball. If you trust him, and focus on the virtues of God,  life will roll easier.

He doesn’t promise a perfect life or a life free of pain. But with God in our lives, we make it through wiser and closer to God. Plus, we are equipped to help others by sharing our experiences and how God got us through.  

Fighting sin is a moment to moment war.  You’ll continuously have to  fight your sinful nature and thoughts with more holy thoughts.

We are just human and can’t do it alone, not without God’s help.

  Ask yourself this…

If I called God on the phone and asked for advice and feedback on ______________________:

• What would he say about your thoughts and actions?
• What would his advice be?

 

After that phone call, I’m sure your focus, your energy and your attention would be quickly re-directed towards doing everything in your life to please God.

 Make January a New Year and New You, thinking of our bodies and minds as Temples of  God.    So love God, honor God by taking care of yourself spiritually and physically. Live and think to make God  

Some Scriptures to Consider:

Corinthians 6: 19-20 : NIV

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

 

John 3:19-21

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but when men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.

Ephesians 4:21

Surely you heard of him and were taught in accordance with the truth of Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.