Hey! I hear some snow might be coming our way this afternoon. We could use some and it won't hurt my feelings to see some fluffy joy fall from the sky. I enjoy snow and cold weather. I am excited to possibly try out the new snow blower tonight. So I raise my mug of Door County Jingle Bell Java in a salute to snow.
Yesterday we discussed having each of us to humbly ask God to show us the things that we need to remove from our lives. So, hopefully you followed the advice given in the Scripture and asked. God is faithful and He no doubtfully obliged your request. So the big question of the day is "Now what"? Answer to that. Do exactly what He pointed out.
When we obey the Lord, we can live a life of joy, without shame, rooted deeply in the Lord and confident in our eternal hope. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”. Our obedience is actually part of our assurance that we truly know God.
1 John 2:3English Standard Version (ESV)
3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
When God’s children obey their Heavenly Father, He is glorified. Jesus told us that the plan is for others to “see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”. Of course, performing “good deeds” requires obedience to the One who calls us to good deeds. A Christian’s testimony of holiness is a strong witness that God is at work in the world.
“Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in obedience to him” Psalm 128:1.
The Bible often tells us that God blesses and rewards obedience. James 1:22-25 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. . . . Whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” See also Psalm 119:1-2
God is gracious. If we haven’t been living for Him, if we haven’t been following His commandments, if we’ve been living in and for the world, we can be transformed by the blood of Jesus Christ. We can ask God for forgiveness, and He will give it. And He will choose to forget the sin, just as if we had never committed it in the first place. God is glorified when He extends forgiveness, because it is written, “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds. . . .
Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” Hebrews 10:16-17.
To become untangled by the way we allowed our lives to be twisted into a knot like a pretzel we need to submit humbly to the guiding hand of God. He is faithful to complete what He starts if we let him.
Philippians 1:6New King James Version (NKJV)
6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
So go ahead and say yes to an overhaul of the soul and be ready for a new year. God bless.
Marty
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