To Be Still and Know...A Higher Standard
"Oh that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands." Psalm 119:5-6
There are times when I meet someone for the first time and almost immediately I know they have Christ living in them and we are siblings in the Lord! There is just something about a person who has not only accepted Christ as their Savior but has also given over the controls of their lives to Him that shines through in their personality. They don't even have to say anything about the Lord for me to feel this connection but most times after conversing with a person like this it doesn't take too long before the topic of the Lord comes up because He is just so much apart of their daily lives it has become fluid and natural for them to discuss Him in conversations.
"He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:15-17
God holds us to a higher standard. He doesn't just tell us what we should and shouldn't do for the fun of it. He has reasons for the ways he wants us to live and even if we don't fully understand it all doesn't mean we can pick and choose which parts of His word to apply to our lives. It's like us as parents when we tell our children things to do or give them boundaries. Sometimes they don't obey those rules or boundaries either out of rebellion or forgetfulness or because they don't see why it's important. We as their parents don't make up rules and set boundaries for the the fun of it or to hear ourselves talk, we do it because we know what is best for our children and are in the process of raising them and teaching them right from wrong. One day they will understand and maybe even appreciate it just like the longer we walk with the Lord and the more our relationship grows we can better understand and appreciate why He sets boundaries for us and tells us what's right and wrong in His Word. We aren't called to always understand. We are, however, called to obey. After we accept Christ into our hearts, we cannot continue to live the way we once did. As 2 Corinthians states the old life is gone and a new one has begun! We cannot experience the joys and blessings of this new life in Christ if we are clinging to the old one. You cannot continue to dabble in the old lifestyle that you now know is sinful and walk closely with the Lord in a new life. It just cannot be done. The more you grow in your relationship with the Lord, the more you won't even want to participate in certain activities anymore. It's a natural progression of the Christian's life who is truly committed to God. A Christian who is active in their faith and in God's Word reading and learning, will have new likes and desires. I used to find it so hard to get into God's Word daily. It just wasn't something I desired like I did other things, such as secular books or tv shows. Now though, I literally crave to get into God's Word and see what He has to tell me each day. And let me tell you, those other books and shows did nothing for helping me work through things in my life, did nothing to lift my spirits or encourage me when I was down. They only provided distraction for the moment. God's Word heals, restores, encourages and challenges! God will make himself real to you, you only have to ask!
"Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding." Proverbs 2:3
"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." Matthew 7:7
Be a woman of integrity! Integrity is doing what is right even when nobody is watching. Who you are when nobody is looking, who you are in your mind, that will tell you where your heart and desires lie. Don't wait another day, make Christ the Lord of your life. Hand over the steering wheel to your life and let Him show you what you were made for. Start allowing Him to shape you into that new creation. Be willing to let go of the old parts of your life before Christ that need to be let go of in order to experience this new life in Christ to the the fullest. Be the kind of woman whose actions and personality just radiates Jesus without even having to say a word!
"Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts." Psalm 119:1-2
There are times when I meet someone for the first time and almost immediately I know they have Christ living in them and we are siblings in the Lord! There is just something about a person who has not only accepted Christ as their Savior but has also given over the controls of their lives to Him that shines through in their personality. They don't even have to say anything about the Lord for me to feel this connection but most times after conversing with a person like this it doesn't take too long before the topic of the Lord comes up because He is just so much apart of their daily lives it has become fluid and natural for them to discuss Him in conversations.
"He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" 2 Corinthians 5:15-17
God holds us to a higher standard. He doesn't just tell us what we should and shouldn't do for the fun of it. He has reasons for the ways he wants us to live and even if we don't fully understand it all doesn't mean we can pick and choose which parts of His word to apply to our lives. It's like us as parents when we tell our children things to do or give them boundaries. Sometimes they don't obey those rules or boundaries either out of rebellion or forgetfulness or because they don't see why it's important. We as their parents don't make up rules and set boundaries for the the fun of it or to hear ourselves talk, we do it because we know what is best for our children and are in the process of raising them and teaching them right from wrong. One day they will understand and maybe even appreciate it just like the longer we walk with the Lord and the more our relationship grows we can better understand and appreciate why He sets boundaries for us and tells us what's right and wrong in His Word. We aren't called to always understand. We are, however, called to obey. After we accept Christ into our hearts, we cannot continue to live the way we once did. As 2 Corinthians states the old life is gone and a new one has begun! We cannot experience the joys and blessings of this new life in Christ if we are clinging to the old one. You cannot continue to dabble in the old lifestyle that you now know is sinful and walk closely with the Lord in a new life. It just cannot be done. The more you grow in your relationship with the Lord, the more you won't even want to participate in certain activities anymore. It's a natural progression of the Christian's life who is truly committed to God. A Christian who is active in their faith and in God's Word reading and learning, will have new likes and desires. I used to find it so hard to get into God's Word daily. It just wasn't something I desired like I did other things, such as secular books or tv shows. Now though, I literally crave to get into God's Word and see what He has to tell me each day. And let me tell you, those other books and shows did nothing for helping me work through things in my life, did nothing to lift my spirits or encourage me when I was down. They only provided distraction for the moment. God's Word heals, restores, encourages and challenges! God will make himself real to you, you only have to ask!
"Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding." Proverbs 2:3
"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." Matthew 7:7
Be a woman of integrity! Integrity is doing what is right even when nobody is watching. Who you are when nobody is looking, who you are in your mind, that will tell you where your heart and desires lie. Don't wait another day, make Christ the Lord of your life. Hand over the steering wheel to your life and let Him show you what you were made for. Start allowing Him to shape you into that new creation. Be willing to let go of the old parts of your life before Christ that need to be let go of in order to experience this new life in Christ to the the fullest. Be the kind of woman whose actions and personality just radiates Jesus without even having to say a word!
"Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts." Psalm 119:1-2
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