A Life with a Great Love

The Lord offers us in His Word a great peace, a great reward and great goodness to be bestowed on us, but first we must receive His great love. His great love is available to all but only those who receive His Son will ever know the privilege,honor and gift of experiencing His great love by becoming His child.

I John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.

Not only do you become His child but your Heavenly Father will love you with the same love with which He loves Jesus Christ. Unbelievable! We understand how He could love Jesus. Of course He loves Jesus because Jesus Christ is perfect but does He really love the rest of us the same way? Yes!!!

John 17:23 so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

Once you belong to Him there is nothing that can separate you from His love.

Romans 8:38,39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Once you have His great love then He promises to give you all things. You no longer have to work for God’s favor or hope that your good will outweigh your bad. His love is a gift and everything that you receive after His great love is a gift. He wants to give to you and give to you some more.

Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

God’s incredible great love is available to all. There is no one who has sinned too much or has done anything too horrible to be rejected by His great love. All have been disobedient to God. We have all sinned.

Romans 11:32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

God has loved everyone, every single person ever born, the Lord has and is offering His great love to them.

Romans 8:5 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The Lord talks about a “time of visitation”, which means that this is the time that He is coming to you and calling to you to come to Him. Do you hear Him calling to you to come to Him or if you have strayed, calling to you to come back to Him?

Luke 19:44 …because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

The Lord works through His children so that the world might come to Him and be saved. The world is looking for the “real thing” and observing your life to see if you are genuine or a hypocrite. Are you a real Christian or are you pretending to be something that is not really real in your life. Are you ever afraid to be transparent? The Lord wants our lives to be transparent so that others might see Jesus in us. The only way that you can be transparent is if you have a clear conscience.

I Peter 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

If you want to experience the greatest love ever known and want to live a life in His great love then you must receive Him as your Lord and Savior.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

Once you receive Him you will also experience His great goodness in your life. The Lord loves to show the world how good He is and He does it by showing His great goodness to His children, for those who fear Him and to those who take refuge in Him.

Psalm 31:19 How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of men!

 

A Life that is declared “Not Guilty”

No one wants to be judged but it is inevitable. There are two kinds of judgment. One judgment declares one “guilty” and the other judgment is when one is declared “not guilty”. The Bible says that a “guilty” judgment brings condemnation and we were not made to be condemned but to be accepted and loved. We have become guilty on our own and by our own doing. How do we deal with God’s judgment? Whether people want it or not a Judgment Day is coming. However, the Bible says God has a provision for us so that we will be ready to face the One who will judge.

Hebrews 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

If you will judge yourself now then you will not experience the judgment of God that brings condemnation when Jesus Christ comes again. You will experience the judgment of being declared “not guilty” because Jesus Christ took your condemnation on the cross.

I Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

How do you judge yourself? Judging yourself is speaking the truth about yourself and agreeing with God’s Word on His standard, in other words, confessing that you have are a sinner and have sinned. We are a sinner by wanting to run our own life and have sinned by falling short of His standard, which is the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:3-14 (The Ten Commandments)

You shall have no other gods before Me.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Jesus Christ is God’s provision for your sin so that your judgment will not be “guilty” with the result of condemnation on Judgment Day. When you judge yourself then Jesus Christ receives you and you become “in Christ”.

Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ receives you when you trust in Him and call upon Him to become your Lord and Savior and to forgive you of your sins. Then you become His child according to His promise.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

Are you ready for Judgment Day? You can be ready. God wants you to be ready. Once a person dies then it is too late. There is nothing they can do to change their eternal destiny once they die but there is something that can be done now. The Bible says that if you will judge yourself and acknowledge that you deserve hell but that God in His kindness took your sin and guilt so that you would not be declared guilty and then call upon Jesus Christ you will be saved from the eternal punishment that we all deserve. No one is better than anyone else. Jesus did not have to die more for one person than He did for someone else. He died for all so that all might have the opportunity to be forgiven and become His child. He says that He does not want anyone to go to hell. The choice is yours.

Romans 2:4,5 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

God’s wrath will be poured out on those who did not receive Jesus Christ but He will come as a Savior to those who belong to Him, to save them from all of the horrible things that will happen to those who chose to go their own way.

Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

A Life Filled with Truth

Truths are like diamonds. These diamonds really are a girl’s best friend. The more truths that you have in your heart then the richer your life will be. Just like diamonds, truths have many facets to them. You can live your entire life and still be able to learn more about His amazing truths. So realize when you hear something about a truth that it is one or more aspect of that truth and not the truth in its entirety. Often when people argue they are discussing different aspects of the same truth. Truths never change and they are the character of God expressed here on earth.

Proverbs 23:23 Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

The Lord says to buy truth and not to sell truth and to also get wisdom and understanding. It will cost you but the value far outweighs the price. They are a package deal. They all go together. If you have truth then you will receive wisdom and get even more understanding. For whoever has truth…then more truth, wisdom and understanding will be given to him.

Matthew 13:12 For whoever has, to him  more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

There is only one source of truth and that is the Lord Himself. He said that He is the truth so if you want to know the truth then you must know Him.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

We are all deceived until we come to know the truth. Deception means that we have believed a lie in some way and we are not even aware that we are deceived, otherwise it would not be deception. When we are deceived then we actually believe the “lie” that is deceiving us is the truth.

II Thessalonians 2:10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

The truth is the only thing that can set you free. It will set you free from the lies, from sin, from depression, from guilt, from bitterness and from anything else that you can think of that you might struggle with or be overcome.

John 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

Repentance leads to the knowledge of the truth. Repentance is turning away from the lies that you believed and acted on and turning to God.

II Timothy 2:25 if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

The Lord desires that you come into the knowledge of the truth.

I Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God’s Word is truth and it is what sets you apart from the world.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in truth, God’s word is truth.

The Lord wants you to build your life on His truths. Words of truth are the only correct answer that you will be able to give to the Lord as an explanation of why you did the things you did on earth, how you spent the money and time He gave you and an account of your obedience. You will give an account of your life in terms of stewardship and obedience.

A Life that is Near to God

The Lord says that He is not far from you and that those who draw near to Him then He will draw near to them.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

The nearness of the Lord is a refuge. A refuge means protection from the storms and stresses of life.

Psalm 73:28 But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God; I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him, That I may tell of all Your works.

Do you ever feel stressed out or depressed? If so, then you are living as if you have no Shepherd. If you have not come to the Good Shepherd and given your life to Him then now is a good time to do it. Or maybe you gave your life to Him earlier but now you are living as if you have no Shepherd.

Matthew 9:36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Another reason why people do not draw near to Him but rather go far from Him is that they feel that He has been unfair. He is good and there is no unfairness in Him but if that is your perception then it will feel like reality to you. The Bible says that you will go far from Him. Going from Him begins with just not seeking Him or neglecting your time with Him. Do you find that you are making excuses for missing your devotions or for missing church? Before you realize it, your heart has become kind of cold to the things of the Lord and then after awhile you really don’t even miss Him. You will also start going after emptiness and in a matter of time you will feel empty.

Jeremiah 2:4 “What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after emptiness and became empty?

He is calling for you to come back to Him. We all drift at certain times in our lives but don’t stay away from Him. He wants you more than you know and offers you rest for your soul. You will have no rest as long as you are not close to Him. He made you to be close to Him.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

 

 

 

A Life with a New Beginning

The Lord in His mercy offers to everyone who comes to Him a new beginning. We have all messed up and we all need to start over. We messed up because we thought that we could “do life ourselves” and that we did not need God and especially did not need One to be our Lord and to rule in our life.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Sin means to fall short of God’s standard for our lives. We know that we have sinned because all of us know that we are not perfect. Guilt is the consequence of sin and we are all guilty. Repentance is turning away from our sin and turning to God. When we do this then we are given forgiveness and life. We also have been given a new beginning.

Acts 11:17-18 Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”

Being forgiven and justified is a gift of grace from God through repentance and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

This gift of forgiveness and life is available to any who calls on the Lord Jesus Christ. He shows no partiality and He is not prejudiced towards anyone. It does not matter how much or how little you have sinned. We all need forgiveness and the gift of life that God offers through Jesus Christ. It is free and undeserved. We can not work for it and there is nothing that we can do to deserve it.

Romans 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

We have all earned death. It is what is due us and yet God in His great love and mercy sent Jesus Christ to pay the penalty and to take the punishment for all of our sins. Salvation is a gift of God through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

For God so loved all of us that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whoever believes and trusts in Him should not perish and spend eternity in hell but they would receive eternal life and live forever with Him in heaven in perfect love and harmony.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

So, to the one who believes in Jesus Christ the Lord gives to Him not only life but a new beginning in this life. He is no longer alone but the one who believes becomes a new person in Christ and Christ comes into him. The old things pass away and the Lord has a new life for the believer.

II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

What are the new things and what is the new beginning? It is a life of forgiveness and victory over sin. It is a life in relationship with the Lord of the universe. It is a life that experiences God’s love and wants to love Him back. It is a life of faith and obedience to the One who loved us so much that He died for us and took the death that we deserve. It is a life that confesses Him before others and is not ashamed to be called a Christian. It is eternal life and that eternal life begins the moment someone receives Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

John 17:3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

It is the sweetest life anyone could ever know and is knowing that if I died tonight then I would spend eternity in heaven with God. These things He has written to us in order that we may know that we have eternal life.

I John 5:11-13 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

A Life that is Not Anxious

Are you ever anxious and worried? Anxiety can debilitate a person. Worry robs us of peace, joy and love for others because when we are anxious we focus on our problems. Some of our anxiety is about things that have never happened and will never happen but we believe they might so we worry about them.

Philippians 4:6,7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Anxiety is a lack of faith. A lack of prayer is a lack of faith. The Lord says that if we will pray then we will not be anxious. Prayer is an expression of faith.

Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

If you will go to Him with your cares then then you will find mercy and grace to help in your time of need.

I Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

He tells us to cast all of our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. He cares for you and your burdens will become His burdens if you will give them to Him.

Psalms 138:8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Isn’t this an amazing promise…that He will accomplish what concerns you. Are there things that concern you? Are you anxious about whether you will ever meet a young man who will truly love you? Are you anxious in your school work or you job? Do you have a sick loved one? There are so many things that concern us but if we will give them to Him then He will accomplish them for us.

A Life that Seeks

We all seek after different things but the Lord is looking for the one who will seek after Him.

Psalm 14:2 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God.

The Lord wants you to seek Him so much that He says that if you will do this then you will not lack any good thing. Do you need anything? Then you must seek Him. His promises are true.

Psalm 34:10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.

He made us to seek Him because it is in Him alone that we live and move and exist.

Acts 17:26-28, 30-31 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist…

Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

 

The Bible says that only the fool lives as if there is no God.  He also says that if we seek Him with all of our heart we will find Him. The Lord tells us to seek Him continually. He is declaring to us through Jesus Christ that we need to repent and seek Him. He is not far from us.

Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

The God of the universe, who made all things, wants to have a relationship with you and fellowship with you. This is much greater than any king or president and yet if someone of great importance were to contact you then you would make every effort to accept their invitation and in all likelihood you would share what has happened with everyone you know. Yet…He who is the King of kings and Lord of lords is seeking you!

Psalm 138:6 For though the Lord is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.

 

 

 

A Life of Humility

If you want to be great then the Lord says you must be least. If you want to be exalted then He says that you must humble yourself. He knew that His disciples wanted to be great and wanted to be somebody. In our hearts we are the same. So, as they walked with the Lord Jesus He taught them a different way of life. A way that leads to life and to life abundantly.

Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, But humility goes before honor.

If we don’t live life God’s way then we will have sorrow and pain.

Proverbs 10:22 It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it.

Many people will get riches and honor but with it will come sorrow and destruction. Jesus Christ gives us the picture of what it means to have humility. We are to consider others more important than ourselves and to not merely look out for our own personal interests but also for the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-5 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

Humility is the inward expression of total dependence on God and the outward expression of total obedience to Christ. Moses was called the most humble man on earth before Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, came to live and die and rise again from the dead. The phrase that characterized Moses’ life was he “did according to all that the Lord commanded him”.

Exodus 40:16 Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

Humility and obedience go together. Jesus was obedient to the point of death and then the Father highly exalted Him above every name that is named.

Philippians 2:8-11 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is Lord of all. Every knee will bow before Him. You can either bow now voluntarily or you will bow against your will in hell because you did not bow willingly on earth.

I Peter 5:5,6 … all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

Yes, He will life up those who clothe themselves with humility and obey Him during this life. He says that we will reign with Him when He comes in His glory. Don’t be foolish and think that you can wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow may not come but eternity will.

 

 

A Life Filled with Kindness

If you really want to soar in life then learn kindness and let it be a way of life for you. You will not only experience the kindness of others but you will see the kindness of the Lord.

Psalm 18:25 With the kind You show Yourself kind;

Kindness does not mock at, laugh at or make fun of someone else in unfortunate circumstances. The one who mocks the poor will find himself insulting the Lord and the one who rejoices at someone else’s trouble will be punished.

Proverbs 17:5 The one who mocks the poor insults his Maker, and one who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished.

Kindness can begin with you and it influences the entire sphere of influence of the kind person. It is like the ripple effect when a rock is thrown into a pond and touches everyone. The godly woman is kind and is one whom the Lord praises, her husband praises her and her children also praise her.

Proverbs 31:20 She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.

Kindness is part of the fruit of the Spirit. We do not produce it but He produces it through us.

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness

If you really want to soar in happiness in your marriage then marry a man who is kind. The opposite of kindness is anger. Kindness thinks about the other person. Anger thinks about himself and is self centered.

Proverbs 19:22 What is desirable in a man is his kindness,

If a man has an edge or always has to be right or has anger issues then run from that man if you are not married to him.

Proverbs 22:24 Do not associate with a man given to anger; Or go with a hot-tempered man,

Often a man who has anger or rage issues also struggles with pornography since they come from the same root word. A man who struggles with these issues will seek to cover it up when he is pursuing a girl so this is why it is crucial that you ask your father what he thinks of the particular young man.

I Corinthians 7:38 So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better.

It is the father who gives his daughter away and he will want to give her to a man who will love her. Often, if he does not express his opinion then it is because he may feel as though you have made up your mind already. If he is not supportive of the relationship then you would be wise to back away. Either the young man is not the one or it is not the time.

Proverbs 20:5 A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, But a man of understanding draws it out.

Your father has a lot of wisdom. You need to listen to him and especially when it comes to young men. If he feels that you really want to know what he thinks then he will share insights with you. Women can not see through men and men can not see through women. For this reason it is crucial that a father meets very early in the relationship a prospective young man for her daughter and a mother meets early on a prospective your lady for her son.

Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

The Bible says you will be a winner in life and you will be a winner in marriage if you hear your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Proverbs 1:8,9 Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching;
Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head
And ornaments about your neck.

A wreath is what they used to adorn the winners in the Olympic games. Even now, the winners will wear a medal around their neck which is an ornament. You will be a winner in life if you listen and do your mother and father’s teaching.

 

A Life that Can Discern

Discernment is the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong, but not what the obvious is to everyone else also. With discernment you can decide before the action takes place whether something is right or wrong. It is a spiritual strength that allows you tell the difference between the spirit of good and the spirit of evil, the spirit of righteousness and the spirit of wickedness. Often the devil will disguise himself as a messenger of good. Something will look good, it will seem as though it would be good for you but it is evil. It will bring you great sorrow.

Genesis 3:4-6 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

Eve saw three good reasons to eat of the fruit that the Lord told her not to eat. However, it does not matter if there are one hundred reasons to do something, if the Lord says not to do something then you are not to do it. There is only one reason that should determine whether we should do something and the reason is, “does the Lord want us to do it?” Or, has the Lord said not to do something. We do or don’t do everything according to His Word.

Colossians 3:25 For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

The Lord does not show partiality. His ways are laws and they are true no matter who keeps them or who does not keep them. Just as the “law of gravity” is a physical law and does not show partiality, neither does God’s laws.

Proverbs 19:3 A person’s own foolishness leads him astray, yet his heart rages against the Lord.

A person who goes his own way or runs his own life will come into trouble by his own doing but then he will get mad at the Lord. If you find yourself saying, “Lord, why did you allow this to happen?” You need to go back and reexamine your actions to see if you violated any of the Lord’s commandments.

Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Especially if it is a big decision go to an older godly woman who will speak the truth to you and not what you want to hear. Do not go to a man other than your father or your husband. The Bible says that Eve was deceived but Adam was not deceived. if she had gone to Adam then possibly they would still be in the garden.

Psalm 119:24 Your testimonies also are my delight;
They are my counselors.

God’s Word is the only true counselor. One of His names is Counselor. Whoever you go to for counsel, they must counsel you out of God’s Word, otherwise it is not counsel but opinion, which is almost always wrong.

Isaiah 9:6 And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

The Lord is a Wonderful Counselor. Wonderful means that you will be full of wonder as you see Him and His marvelous ways.

Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

It is your spiritual senses that learn to discern good and evil. We all mess up but don’t give up. Learn from your mistakes so that you do not do it again. It takes much practice in life to mature. Don’t give up and you will become a mature Christian.