Tag Archive | Life

Are you living your life…for Christ?

Question: How do I make sure I’m living my life to please God?

Answer: To know that you are living your life to please God, starts with understanding that your life and every life is a gift from God! He is the One who creates life. From conception to natural death, God loves us and cares about each of our lives. And, He wants us all to live our lives in the way He intended for us to live. If we decide to live our lives in ways that just satisfy ourselves first instead of putting God first in our lives, we are not living to please God.

The first step in pleasing God is accepting His only Son, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior. God’s Word tells us that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. That sin keeps us separated from an eternal life with God. But God loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross to take the punishment we deserve for our sins. (See John 3:16) Jesus rose to life on the third day and is alive with God the Father in Heaven. By asking God to forgive us of our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as our one and only Savior, we will have eternal life with God in Heaven!

Jesus, Himself, repeatedly confirms this truth in His Word. For example, in John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (NKJV) And, in John 10:30, Jesus says, “I and My Father are one.” We know this is true because Jesus does not lie!

The next steps to living your life for God through Jesus Christ are to pray and study God’s Word. Pray for His Holy Spirit to guide your steps so that you live in God’s plan for your life. (See Jeremiah 29:11) And, you need to regularly read and study God’s Holy Word, The Bible. This is important because “All scripture is given by inspiration of God. And it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” (2 Timothy 3:16) And the Lord wants you to “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

By following these steps, you will learn how God expects you to live your life to please Him. Will you be perfect? No! If you could be perfect, you would not need the Savior. But, when you mess up and sin, you can ask Jesus to forgive you and repent of your sins! And, He will. Does this mean you won’t have any problems? No. You are still flesh. The Word tells us that the works of the flesh create problems. (See Galatians 5:19-21). We are to pray for God to help us through the difficult times. He is faithful to see us through!

But, while there will be times of trouble, there will also be many times of great blessings! Remember that through the Holy Spirit, you will reap the fruit of the Spirit, “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…” (Galatians 5:22-23)

Therefore, through the Holy Spirit, you will be able to be “salt and light” for the Lord (Matthew 5:13-16) and ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). You would be living a life of holiness and good works which would be pleasing to God! For such a life well-lived, you could hear God say to you, as Jesus said in His story about the obedient servant in Matthew 25:23, “…Well done, good and faithful servant…”

Amen!

Is your mouth getting you in trouble?

Feb8

Question: I’m embarrassed to say that my excessive gossiping at work led to me being passed over for a promotion. Any advice to help me control my mouth?

Answer: As a Believer, we always want our behavior to reflect the love of Christ. While we will never be perfect in this life, we must continuously examine ourselves so that we recognize when we mess up. Then, we are to ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins and repent! Make the decision to stop the sinful behavior. Pray for God to help you change your ways!

Remember what God’s Word tells us in Proverbs 18:21: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue…” (NKJV) We can use our words to lift others up and encourage them. Or we can use our words to tear others down and discourage them. Since we should be about drawing people to Christ, we ought to be using language that pleases God!

For example, when we go around at work laughing with others about how unattractive or unintelligent some fellow co-workers are, we know doing this is wrong. Or, you go around spreading rumors to as many people as you can about embarrassing personal troubles of others you all know. You know you are doing wrong. You know that your words are hurting others. And you know that if someone else was spreading hurtful rumors about you, you’d be very upset! “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them…” (Matthew 7:12)

On the other hand, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life…” (Proverbs 15:4) Positive words can be very useful in helping others and promoting what is good in the sight of God. With our mouths we can pray for others out loud. We can inspire others to do their best and feel better about themselves. Most importantly, we can tell others about the saving grace of Jesus Christ!

Therefore, using our mouths to spread good words can make a big difference in the world. For example, we can tutor a child who is struggling with their school work. We can reassure a teen who is being bullied. We can pray with a friend who is in need of healing. And, we can thankfully share the Gospel!

So stop allowing your mouth to get you in trouble. Use your words for good. Pray that the Holy Spirit will help you keep your mouth in check. And most importantly, remember to regularly use your mouth to “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2 :11)

AMEN!

Are you on shaky ground?

Jan16

Question: As a Believer, I want to spend more time reading and applying God’s Word in my life. But when I try, something usually happens to get me distracted or discouraged from my goals. Why?

Answer: Simple. Satan doesn’t want you to study and grow in God’s Word. He knows that as Psalm 119:100 says of God’s word, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (NKJV) Satan wants you to live to please him, so he does not want you on a path that pleases God instead. You must pray to God for the strength to be faithful in reading and living out His Word.

Reading and studying the Bible helps us understand how God wants us to live our lives to please Him. As Believers, we already know that God first wants us to accept His only Son, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Savior (John 3:16). As we grow in the Lord, we learn that if we don’t live our lives in accordance with His will, we are building our lives on very shaky ground. For example, we won’t be able to stand as strongly when the troubles of life come our way. And, troubles will come!

Remember the parable Jesus told of the two builders found in Matthew 7:24-27. In this parable, Jesus said: “…whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken Him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came , and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”

Jesus went on to say, “Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

So, make sure you don’t let Satan use his tricks to distract and discourage you away from God’s Word. Don’t let him lead you into building your life on shaky ground. Pray for God to give you the strength and wisdom you need to please Him.

Make sure you’re building your life on the strong foundation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Who are you letting run your life?

Mar11

Question: My best friend since high school is very sweet but also very bossy. She keeps insisting that I join her book club even though I’ve repeatedly told her I don’t want to join. As a Christian, how do I let her down without making her mad at me?

Answer: Just be honest with her and stand firm in your decision. Be kind and gentle as you speak and pray for God to give you the right words to say. Reassure her that you appreciate her friendship and thank her for wanting to include you in her group. It’s normal to not want to be confrontational with those we care about but sometimes certain situations call for us to say and defend positions which might not make others happy. If she really is a friend, she should understand and not get mad.

Many times in life, we may encounter people who try to pressure us to do things we don’t want to do. This pressure can come from a variety of different places. For example, your religion professor tells you that you must believe that there are many ways to heaven. Don’t succumb to this pressure! If you are a Believer – having accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior – you know that God’s Word tells us that there is only one way to Heaven. You know that Jesus says in John 14:6, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (NKJV) Stand firm in the truth!

Or, another example of others trying to pressure you to live your life their way might come from famous people you admire. These celebrities might tell you that you should live any lifestyle you want. They basically tell you that if it feels good, do it! But, as a Christian, you know that this is not the truth. The Bible instructs us as to how God wants us to live our lives. He tells us that we are to live our lives to please Him. In John 14:15, Jesus says, ” If you love Me, keep My commandments.” God has provided us with His Holy Word – the Bible – to let us know the type of life He wants us to live. He wants us to repent of our sins and live holy lives… lives that honor Him!

The bottom line is this: each one of us must decide who we are going to let run our lives. We can choose to just live to our lives to please people, or we can choose to live our lives to please God. Remember in Luke 4:8, Jesus says, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”

So, who are you letting run your life? If you’re a Christian, the only answer should be God!

Follow me on Twitter: @valclarksplace

Stop letting the devil steal your joy!

Jun4

Question: Once again, just before my husband and I tried to go out for a “date” night, we got into an argument over something minor and it ruined the whole evening. How do we stop this depressing pattern?

Answer: First you and your husband should discuss the fact that this pattern of behavior happens. Then, pray together that God would guide your conversations with each other and bless you to communicate with each other in a way that would be pleasing to Him. Seek out good Christian resources to help you with this like the ones found on the Focus on the Family web site, www.focusonthefamily.com. Bottom line: you’ve got to stop letting the devil steal your joy!

You see, having the devil interfere in your life trying to cause trouble is nothing new. Satan works to cause us trouble. He even tried to cause trouble for Jesus Christ, Himself. Matthew 4:10 tells of the time when Satan tried to tempt Jesus to serve him instead of serving God. Satan took Jesus up on a high mountain to show Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Satan promised to give Jesus all the kingdoms if Jesus would worship him. But Jesus said, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'” ( NKJV) Like Jesus, we too should be ready to speak the power of the Holy Word against the devil when we see he is trying to disrupt our lives.

There will be other times when we believe we are following God’s plan for our lives and Satan will try to get us off track. He may even do this by using someone in our lives we trust to try to derail us. He attempted this against Jesus. When the time came for Jesus to be crucified — to take the punishment in our place that we deserved for our sins — He began to explain to His disciples what was going to happen. That’s when His disciple Peter, “took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to you!'” But Jesus recognized these words of the devil speaking through Peter. So Jesus pushed back by saying to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men.” (Matthew 16:23) Again, like Jesus, we must be on guard against sinful advice even from those we consider friends. We must understand that it is the devil who is trying to use them to pull us away from God.

Therefore, when you can sense, for example, that an unhealthy argument is coming on between you and that other person — be it a spouse, child, parent, friend, or even a stranger — be on guard. Recognize this for what it really is, the work of the devil trying to destroy the joy of your relationship. Stop and pray to God to give you the right words to say. And, remember Ephesians 4:26-27, “‘Be angry, and do not sin,’ do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” Remember, Satan wants to destroy our positive relationships and cause all kinds of trouble in our lives because he is evil. He wants us to be miserable and defeated just like him.

Above all, Satan wants to stop you from accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, from joyfully living your life to please God, and from having everlasting life in Heaven. Don’t let him do it! Accept Jesus Christ as your one and only Savior and ask Him to forgive you of your sins. Turn away from your life of sin and start enjoying the blessed life God wants for you.

Jesus wants us to take comfort in His Words from John 10:10. “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Take comfort in His words and stop letting the devil steal your joy!

Follow me on Twitter: @ValClarksPlace