Fantastic Friday #912 - Yesterday

Yesterday

7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so. Hebrews 13:7-9


Do you remember what you were like yesterday? Were you much different today than you were yesterday? As we go through our walk in life, God wants us to come closer to him and to live a righteous life. If you were the same today as you were yesterday, how can you be better? Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. If we want to aspire to be more like Jesus, then we need to work on being better each day. We are not perfect and that is OK, and while Jesus’ sacrifice atones for our sins that does not mean we keep sinning, but we become better individuals every day. These types of steps to righteousness can be taken in small steps each day. Maybe it's a kind word you share with someone, perhaps it's spending time in God's word, possibly it's strengthening that relationship with God while you are in prayer, or perchance it's making a life change that is necessary because it's impacting you and your family too much in a negative way. We can't change overnight, but we can change what we did yesterday by not following the sinful path. Look back on yesterday and see where you can make a change to be better.

Have a great weekend.



Matt

Fantastic Friday #911 - Limitation

Limitation

18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. Romans 6:18-20

About two weeks ago I had surgery on my left thumb. The past two weeks has been challenging and has severely limited my ability to do certain things and do more common things with the speed and agility that I normally do. Something as simple as tying my shoes, I cannot do that myself and rely upon assistance. We are all limited in our ability to be perfect because no one is perfect, everyone has sin in their life. However, this scripture perfectly outlines how we are no longer slaves to the sin that can encompass our lives. God's forgiveness is for us if we are truly interested in abandoning our life of sin then freeing us from the limitations that sin places on us. Those limitations include being close to God and I don't want to be a person who is separated from God. So, when you think about the limitations that you have, God can release you from those limitations and free you from the sin that surrounds us every single day.


Have a great weekend.


Matt

Fantastic Friday # 910 - Corrupt

Corrupt

23 Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.
24 Keep your mouth free of perversity;
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you.
26 Give careful thought to the[c] paths for your feet
and be steadfast in all your ways.
27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27

The world is full of corrupt people. Even thousands of years ago, before Christ came to the earth, there were corrupt people. Many times, people blame each other for being corrupt, or circumstances they are placed in, put them in the position of being corrupt. I think we all know that there is a deeper reason for the corruption in our society and that is the enemy. The enemy thrives off our weaknesses, and he puts the idea in our head that being just a little bit corrupt is not a big deal. The problem with that philosophy is that a little bit leads to a little bit more and a little bit more until the entire person becomes corrupt. It is good that God has given direction for more than a few millennia on how we can avoid falling into the trap of being corrupt. Keeping our mouth away from perverse talk and looking straight ahead are the easiest ways that we can stay away from living a life that is corrupt and focusing on this life that God wants for us. Be steadfast.


Have a great weekend.


Matt

Fantastic Friday #909 - Thoughts

Thoughts


8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9



Do you ever wonder about God's thoughts? Do you wonder why He blesses some and not others, allows some to die and others to be healed, or is silent when you you think you need Him the most? These are thoughts that have gone through my mind over the years, and I always end up back at what this scripture says. God is on a whole different plane of existence than me, and His plans cannot be fathomed by me because of who He is. As creator and all-knowing, He can see everything and know himself why things are done certain ways. We also have to remember the free agency He has given us that can sometimes drive us away from Him. We may not choose the way we need to go, but God's plans never change, and He wants the best for us. He may allow us to suffer, he may allow some to pass on, and he may be silent, but we need to remember that His thoughts are always there, even if we don't know what they are and their impact on us. Don't waste time thinking about God's thoughts, just focus on Him and your relationship with Him, because the revelation of His thoughts are not of this world but of something greater.


Have a great weekend.


Matt