Tag: Purpose

A Life that Knows the Truth

If you want to be free in life then you must know the truth. There are so many lies that can deceive and that many people believe that are very destructive. Unless you can sift through what you hear and see then you also will be led astray. There is a way which seems right but its end is death.

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.

If you know the truth then the truth will be like a sieve through which all knowledge should flow. What is true and pure will pass through but the truth will sort out the junk. The Bible is the truth but unless the truth is on you then you are at the mercy of someone else. Rather than waiting to hear something and then trying to figure it out, if you will only put the truth within your heart then you will immediately be able to discern what is true and what is false. It is foolish to think that you can discern the truth on your own.

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

Let God’s Word be your counsel and then you will be led in the right way. Your life will be pleasant. You will not be following man but God.

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

As you put God’s Word within you heart and you do it then not only will you gain in discernment but you will receive understanding.

Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments;
His praise endures forever.

Putting God’s Word in your heart will help you not err in your judgments nor in your actions.

Psalm 119:11 Your word I have treasured in my heart,
That I may not sin against You.

Many a person has made a wrong decision and then want to blame someone else but you are to blame if you did not seek out God’s counsel before your decision was made. Oftentimes spiritual leaders will teach application of principles found in God’s Word and rather than learn the truth of the principle a lot of people will just do what the leader says to do. Seek out the truth in God’s Word yourself. Understand the truth behind the principle and application. Do not depend on other Christians for your understanding of the Bible. The Lord has given you the Holy Spirit who will lead you into the understanding of the truth. Learn to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

John 16:13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Finally, be obedient to the truth that the Lord gives you. He will give you greater understanding the more you obey Him. Do exactly what He says and you will be free.

John 8:31,32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

 

A Life of a Beautiful Worthy Woman

There are three characteristics that should be in a woman who is worthy of being called beautiful. A beautiful woman should have a good heart, a great soul and a godly character. These qualities will make any woman beautiful and her beauty will outshine the stars. Her eyes will be bright and she will not need any enhancements to her beauty for she will have natural beauty.

Luke 8:15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

The only time the Bible mentions a good heart is when the Lord describes the person who hears the Word of God and they hold it fast and bear fruit with perseverance. An honest heart is mentioned with the good heart so one also needs an honest heart to have a good heart. Do you hear the Word of God and hold it fast? Are you attentive to what He is saying to you or do you merely go through the motions of a quiet time with the Lord, that is, if you have your devotions with the Lord. Spending time in His Word everyday is a good place to start to hold fast His Word and to bear fruit with perseverance.

Matthew 23:11,12 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

A great soul is one who thinks of others and puts others before themselves. The soul is made up of the mind, will and emotions. It is who you are on the inside and is expressed through your unique personality. There are ways that you can serve others that no one else can do. Jesus takes your personality and expresses His Christlikeness through you. This is a great soul. If you want to know how great your soul is then ask yourself who you seek to be friends with and what do you all do? It is true that “birds of a feather flock together”.

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Great souls will look for other great souls because each one will stimulate and teach the other one to be even greater by being more of a servant and obedient to the One True Master.

Hebrews 19:23-25 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Finally, a beautiful woman will have godly character. This comes with time and maturity. The Lord will help you. As you learn to follow and obey Him then you will become more like Him. He is the culmination and expression of a beautiful life of the greatest worth.

Philippians 2:3-8 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, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

He is our Teacher and we are His pupils. If we will allow His to train us then one day we will be like Him.

Luke 6:40 A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.

He showed us by His life and His example and taught us with His Words. We will be blessed if we do them.

John 13:13-17 You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

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.

 

A Life of Great Value

A person’s worth is what their life is valued at by what someone is willing to pay for it. Your life is of great worth because God Himself gave up His only begotten Son so that He might redeem you for Himself. We were worth little and not much more than the price of a slave because that is what we were before we came to be His child. We were slaves sold into bondage to sin and lived accordingly. You might not think that you were that bad because you don’t or did not do someone else’s sin but your sin was unique to you and you are just as guilty.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.

Sin brought death and destruction and due to the wickedness of our hearts we were worth little.

Proverbs 10:20b The heart of the wicked is worth little.

The Lord gave us a new heart when we received Him and He restored us to a right relationship with Him.

Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

We are of great worth to the Lord. However, what is your value to others? Your value to others is how much you point them to the Lord and add to their relationship with Him and others. If you are a stumbling block then your life is worthless in helping others. If you cause division in families or churches then the Lord says that is something He hates and it is even an abomination to Him.

Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things which the Lord hates,
Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that run rapidly to evil,
A false witness who utters lies,
And one who spreads strife among brothers.

Are you sharing the Gospel with others? There are many ways to do this so that others can hear and receive the good news that Jesus Christ died for them and rose again that they might have eternal life. The Lord will help you. You can give or you can go or you can help others to go.

Romans 10:14,15 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”

There are only two things that are eternal and that is the souls of men and women and the Word of God. How are you investing your life into eternal values. How much eternal value do you have? The Lord tells us to store our treasures up in heaven where neither thieves break in and steal nor where moth and rust destroy.

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Eternal value is of far greater worth than earthly value. Live a life for the Lord and your worth will be great because you will have done His will. He gave His life for you and has given you incredible value to be shared with others. The Lord says that those who refuse to listen to His words and who are stubborn and have gone after the gods of this world, they are worthless.

Jeremiah 13:10 This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless.

Those who have lived for eternal value and have listened to His Words and done His Words have stored up great worth in heaven. They have done the will of the Heavenly Father and have not considered their life as dear to themselves but have known and lived a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

Acts 20:24 But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.

You do not know the day when your course will be finished. Have you lived your life pleasing to the Lord? If He were to call you home tonight would you be ready?

Luke 12:20,21 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Invest what the Lord has given you in eternal values and your life will be of great worth here on earth and in the life to come.

 

 

A Life of a Beautiful Woman

Beauty to a young lady is like wealth to a young man. If there is not the maturity to go with it then it will become a curse rather than a blessing. It will attract unscrupulous individuals and the naive young lady will be blinded and deceived by the attention her beauty brings to her. Rather than it being used for good it will become her snare if it becomes her main attraction and confidence. There is only one true confidence and that is the Lord. A beautiful young lady must learn to put her confidence in the Lord rather than in the outward appearance which she was given from the Lord.

Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.

If she is wise then she will want the attraction of her inner beauty of being a godly young lady to be greater than the temporary beauty of her outward attraction which will only fade with time.

II Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

A godly young lady who puts her confidence in the Lord will only become stronger and stronger as she matures. Her influence will be greater and her beauty will radiate even more as her countenance will be lifted up.

Ephesians 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,

The knowledge of the Lord will brighten her face as she walks with Him and gains in wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is like the wise man and who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom illumines him and causes his stern face to beam.

Being godly, she will reach out to others and the wisdom that the Lord gives her will feed many.

Proverbs 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many,

She will live according to God’s ways, or at least seek to know Him and walk with Him and will grow more like Him, and in doing so, will lead others to the Lord and teach others how to walk with Him. She will not only be beautiful on the inside and outside but she will shine in brilliance like the stars forever and ever.

Daniel 12:3 Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

A truly beautiful woman will realize that her beauty is like a beautiful vase and that it is what is inside the vase that gives off the sweet fragrance. The vase can only enhance what is inside but can never replace it.

Ephesians 5:2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

As you learn to walk in love as the Lord commanded and as He has loved you and given Himself up for you, then you too will become a fragrant aroma of the Lord in this world. As your outward beauty fades the inner beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ will grow stronger and stronger and permeate everywhere you go.

II Corinthians 2:14-16a But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life.

There is no greater influence in the world than a beautiful woman who is filled with the Lord’s Holy Spirit and whose life represents the knowledge and love of the Lord. Her life has a power that is greater than all positions in the world and her influence will last for all eternity. Wise is the beautiful young lady who seeks to know the Lord and seeks to be like Him in every way. She will be like salt and light which changes everything that it touches.

 

A Life on the Path of Life

The path of life is smooth and gets brighter and brighter as you go on it. When you are not on the path of life you will be confused, walking in darkness and filled with doubts.

Proverbs 4:18,19 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
The way of the wicked is like darkness;
They do not know over what they stumble.

If you belong to the Good Shepherd then He will lead in the paths of righteousness. He will lead you beside the still waters and cause you to lie down in green pastures. He will restore your soul when you are weary.

Psalm 23:1-3 The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

The path of the righteous is also the path of life and in its pathway there is no death. A person can be alive physically but dead spiritually and there soul also can die. Sin brings death to the soul. That death is the guilt, remorse and regret you feel when you know you have done wrong.

Psalm 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

He is on the path of life who heeds instruction. Listen to the Lord and do what He says. Go towards the light. Jesus Christ is the light. Follow Him and He will make known to you the path of life. Are you struggling with a decision and don’t know what to do? Ask the Lord to direct you on His path, which is the path of life and you will not regret it. You will know when you are on the path of life because the way will become clearer and clearer. If you are feeling confused then stop and do not go further. The Lord is not a God of confusion.

Proverbs 10:17 He is on the path of life who heeds instruction,
But he who ignores reproof goes astray.

The path of life leads upward for the wise. The wise are those who look to the Lord and walk in His ways. Get on the path of life and stay on it. It will keep you from hell on earth and hell below earth.

Proverbs 15:24 The path of life leads upward for the wise
That he may keep away from Sheol below.

 

A Life Free of Snags and Snares

There are two things that will hold us back from fulfilling the purposes of our life and they are snags and snares. A snag is something that is beyond our control but will be an obstacle to achieving our purpose in life. A snare is a trap that ensnares us and is something that will hold us back.

Proverbs 13:14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn aside from the snares of death.

Wisdom will help you recognize the snares so that you can turn aside from them rather than fall into the snares of death.

Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.

When a person fears the Lord then they will avoid the snares of death. They will stay away from the paths where the snares are hidden traps to ensnare the foolish who walk along the paths that lead to death.

Proverbs 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards himself will be far from them.

A perverse person is one who is perverted in their thinking and one expression of a perverted person is that they will use curse words. Guard your mouth and your will protect yourself. One of the first ways that children learn to rebel is in their language. When you have children never allow them to use curse words. Children are attracted to other children by the language they use, whether it is pure or perverted.

Proverbs 17:20 He who has a crooked mind finds no good, And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.

The only way that your children will never use perverted language is if they never hear it. Do you ever use curse words or watch movies with curse words? You may think that this is not important but young men are attracted to a lady whose speech is gracious rather than perverted. A man and a woman who will make a good marriage will not use curse words.

Proverbs 22:11 He who loves purity of heart
And whose speech is gracious, the king is his friend.

Fearing the Lord and not using curse words go together. The person who fears the Lord will be careful in their speech and even more than that, they will be careful what they listen to, knowing that the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

Snags in life are situations that we have no control over but they hold us back. What do you do about snags? Well, to those who love the Lord, the snag is something that will allow them to see His power and His love for them. He can and will remove it if that is His will. He is greater than all and will not allow anything to happen that will prevent His will and plan from being accomplished in your life. He causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

The Lord wants us to walk by faith and trust Him. He will accomplish His purposes in our life and when He removes the snags it will be His confirmation that this is something that He wants to accomplish.

Job 42:2 I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

Give thanks to the Lord for the snag for he wants you to trust Him. There is nothing impossible with Him.

Matthew 19:26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Man’s impossiblities are God’s opportunities. Trust Him and see His salvation. He delights in showing His glory.

John 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

Jesus is saying the same thing to us today, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Is there something that is holding you back that is our of your control? Thank the Lord for it and be still and know that He is God. He will be exalted in your life, for He is God. He will accomplish the purposes for which He created you.

Psalm 46:10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

 

 

 

 

 

A Life with a Purpose

When a young person loses hope they quit dreaming and when they quit dreaming then they quit living and are only existing. The Lord has so much in store for each person and He gives a life purpose and direction. How do we know His purpose for our life and how do we accomplish our potential. Living life to the fullest is becoming all that you can be and reaching your full potential in life. How do we know our purpose in life and fulfill it? The word purpose means: the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. Not all accept the purpose for which they were created.

Luke 7:30a But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves,

Jesus knew His purpose in the details for which He was sent.

Luke 4:43 But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.”

Jesus knew His overall purpose for which He came.

John 12:27 Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

It is only in Christ that you can discover your purpose. Life is far more than eating and sleeping and work. Apart from the Lord you will just “go through life” without real meaning. If you want to know God’s purpose for your life, in the details and particular purpose just for you, then you must follow God’s purpose for you in the His general purposes for you and everyone else. Humans are the only aspect of creation who have not followed God’s purpose for which they were created. What are the basic purposes?

I Peter 2:20b,21 But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,

The first step in discovering God’s purpose for your life is to do what is right in what He has already revealed to you to be His will. Is there anything that has been left undone that He has told you to do? Why should the Lord make known anything else to you if you are not doing what He has already shown you?

I Timothy 4:7 On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;

God’s purpose for you is to be godly and to discipline yourself for this purpose. How are you doing in your own personal discipline? If you are lazy and indulging yourself for your own comfort then why should He make known to you His purpose for you? It is easier to direct a moving vehicle than one which is sitting by the road. Are you going about and leading a disciplined life by doing what you already know what you should be doing or are you waiting until He shows you what He wants you to do? Get moving doing what you already know to do.

I Thessalonians 4:7 For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.

The Lord has called us to be pure. Are you reading and listening to things that you should not be paying attention to? What is your music like? Music is often a general expression of the heart. Does it feed your fleshly desires? Why should the Lord show you His will if you are allowing garbage to go into your mind?

Colossians 1:28,29 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

Are you involved with a church or the body of Christ is some way that is helping you fulfill the Great Commission of making disciples? We all can’t do everything but we all can do something to proclaim Christ to the world. When you are doing His will then His power will mightily work in you. You will find that as your are united with other Christians for the purpose of fulfilling God’s will in the world that you will bring joy to others and you will find your purpose in life.

Philippians 2:2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

The Lord will make known to those who follow Him, the mystery of His will for their lives, which is in accordance with the kind intention which He purposed in Christ. The Lord is kind and His will for you is good.

Ephesians 1:8b,9 In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him

So, having done all of these things, how do you know God’s will for your life? The Lord says that the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. As you go in the direction of God’s will for you then it will become clearer and clearer.

Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

His peace will rule in your heart as you follow His direction. If you find yourself being confused then you must stop and not go any further in that direction but you need to wait again on Him. The Lord is not a God of confusion.

I Corinthians 14:33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace

Don’t try to make something fit. If it is God’s will then it will be a good fit for you. He made you for a purpose and as you fulfill the purpose for which you are created then you will be secure and have joy and meaning in life. You will not need to compete with others or feel that you need to impress others but you will be secure in where He has you.

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Don’t forget to give Him thanks for the purpose for which you are created. Giving thanks to the Lord keeps your focus on Him rather than on the purpose. The devil will do anything to get our focus off of the Lord and onto something else, even if it is something good like His purpose for our lives.

 

 

 

 

 

A Life Free of Guilt

One of the things that man can not live with is guilt. Guilt is a horrible thing that will cause us to do anything to get rid of it. The love of God draws us to Him and it is the guilt of man that drives us to Him. If we refuse to come to Him for forgiveness then we will either try to deny the guilt, bury the guilt, hide the guilt, forget the guilt or try to deny the existence of God in hopes of being free of guilt.

Genesis 3:9-11 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

The Lord told Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but man ate of it. He knew that he had done wrong and felt guilty.

Ecclesiastes 7:29 Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

The Lord made man upright and to have fellowship with Him but man chose to go his own way. The word for wanting to go your own way is iniquity. It basically means that you want to run your own life, or in other words, this is what man says in his heart, “nobody is going to tell me what to do”. We see this in toddlers as soon as they can exert their own will. We sometimes will call it the “terrible twos” but really it is our “terrible lives”. A toddler just has not learned to cover it up yet.

Proverbs 21:8 The way of a guilty man is crooked, But as for the pure, his conduct is upright.

It does not say the way of a crooked man is guilty but the way of a guilty man is crooked. We are all crooked in our ways. When we see someone that makes us feel guilty then we will change our path to avoid them. Our path is no longer straight but crooked.

Psalm 18:26 With the pure You show Yourself pure,
And with the crooked You show Yourself twisted.

When we are crooked because of our guilt then we will have a twisted view of God. He will seem harsh or mean or unfair. We will not want to come to Him or obey Him. However, your view of God is not a revelation of who He is but an indication of the state of your heart. If you disagree with the Bible and your view of God is, “My God would not…” then you do not know Him correctly. He is who He is and He is a just and loving God. Sin and guilt has distorted the correct view of God in man’s eyes. How can we see who He is clearly? Everything we do is a response to our view of God. Our biggest need is to have the right view of God.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

We need a pure heart. The Lord is the only One who can cleanse our hearts.

Psalm 51: 1-4 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak
And blameless when You judge.

It is against the Lord first of all that we have sinned. He can and wants to cleanse us from our iniquity, that is, wanting to be our own God, and then from our particular sins, that is, the particular sins that we have committed against ourselves or others. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who took away our sin and His death on the cross paid the price for our sins. It is because of His blood that we can have total forgiveness of our sins but we need to ask Him to forgive us. He wants to forgive us and cleanse us and restore us.

Psalm 51:10-13 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You.

Are you struggling with guilt? Go to Him and receive His forgiveness and by faith claim what He has done for you on the cross. If you have given your life to Him then He has forgiven you of all of your sins and longs to have fellowship with you once again. Once we become His child then we are always His child but our fellowship with Him can be broken. Allow Him to restore it. After you have been restored and know the joy of your salvation once again then you will want to share Him with others for you will again see that He is good and loving and kind.

A Life of a Peacemaker

The Lord wants all of us to be peacemakers. He even says that the peacemakers have a special blessing. A peacemaker is a characteristic of the children of God.

Matthew 5:9  Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

This word peacemaker means that the Lord uses this person to help bring others into peace with God. One of the aspects of the Christian life is that once we were His enemies but now we are at peace with God.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

The fruit of being right with God is that He declares us righteous because of our faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for each one of us on the cross.

James 3:18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

Sometimes the Lord will use you to plant the seed or even to water, but God is the one who causes the growth.

I Corinthians 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.

If you are wise then you will invest your life in eternal values. There are only two things that are eternal and they are the souls of men and the Word of God. These will last for all eternity. Are you reaching out in some way to see others come into His kingdom. The Lord has not called everyone to be evangelists but He has called us all to build His kingdom.

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who is wise wins souls.

The Lord wants us to do this so much that He promises us that if we will seek His kingdom and His righteousness then He will provide everything that we need for our life.

Matthew 6:25-33 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Are you anxious for your needs? The Lord cares for you more than the birds of the air or the flowers of the field. He does not want you to be anxious but He wants you to build His kingdom. He knows what will make you the happiest and that is living for something much bigger than yourself.

Luke 16:9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings.

The Lord says that those who come to know Him through the money that you use to share the Gospel and build his kingdom, those very people will welcome you into heaven. He has given you seed to sow, where the fruit is righteousness. Maybe the saddest people in heaven will be those who have no friends to welcome them into heaven.

II Corinthians 9:10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;