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Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. I don’t know about you, but every day it seems like we get busier and busier and have less and less time to get things done. We get up, go to work, come home, do our “To Do” list, go to bed and wake up the next day and do it all over again. Before we know it two weeks has went by and you get paid from your job. I got a text message the other day saying my paycheck had been automatically deposited. I completely forgot it was “Pay Day." Even years ago, when I was self-employed “Pay Day” came at many different times. When jobs were completed weeks later or when banks paid out on a processed file months later. But we argue and say, “When we are self-employed, we don’t always get paid, some of our deals fall apart or fall through.” My answer to that would be, “Yes, in fact we were paid, just not the way we usually think of. We got pain out of the deal, when the deal died.” Sin is the same way. When we sin, we all get paid, a paycheck. We all are paid minimum wage. The minimum wage of sin is death. Sin does not discriminate against any person and pays everyone equally. That “Pay Day” could come in two hours, two days or even nine months depending on the sin. But paid, we will be... Guaranteed! Again, we argue and say, “But my sin does not affect anyone but me, I can manage my sin. I only watch pornography at lunch in my car, my office, or work vehicle. I only watch pornography before my wife gets home from work while I am by myself.” Or we say, “I will drive home from the bar after I have had only two drinks. Well maybe three drinks. Hey there is my buddy and his wife from work who just got married. I should go buy all of us a drink and celebrate their new marriage. OK I will drive home after four drinks or more, but I am OK. I can manage it.” We think we can get away with sin but God sees all and knows all. We think sin only affects us, but it actually affects everyone around us, even to the point of death. Look at the story of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11 & 12. Their sin caused two deaths. Bathsheba’s husband Uriah the Hittite was placed on the front line of battle by David’s instruction in the letter to Joab. David wanted Uriah killed to hide his sin and have Bathsheba to himself. It's interesting how one sin usually leads to another one very quickly. Soon Uriah died in battle. Then Bathsheba’s new born baby died, 2 Samuel 12:15 says, “Then the Lord struck the child.” Verse 18 says, “...the child died.” I know many people who have been affected by drunk drivers. Some were hit by drunk drivers going the wrong way on the freeway. Some were the drunk drivers and had a car accident hurting themselves and people in another car, in some cases. Many had their drivers' license taken away because it happened more than once. But there is hope. Eternal life is a two-sided coin. “Tails you lose, but Heads you win.” “Tails” says the wages of sin is death. But “Heads”, says the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We win, Jesus took the loss of death for us so we don’t have to. Jesus loves us that much John 3:16. When we accept Christ Jesus and His free gift of eternal life, we can't help ourselves, we want to give Him a gift back. It’s a true gift exchange; He gives us His life and we give our life to Him. We want to serve Him with 100% percent of what He has given us. We want to use all of our talents for His glory. We don’t do it because we have to, we do it because we want to. Serving God comes from our heart overflowing with Him. We have joy in life and joy for the future. Colossians 1:27 says, “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Because we have Christ in us, we do have hope for the future, we know we have eternal life with Christ Jesus our Lord. God loves us so much and wants us to love Him in return, but He does not force us, He lets us choose. I love what Joshua says, in Joshua 24:15. “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Revelation 3:16 says, “So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” We can't be “Casual Christians” anymore. The time is now to make a stand and make a choice, one way or the other. Get off the fence and choose God. Your neighbors need you. Your coworkers need you. Your spouse needs you. Your children need you. The world needs you. They all need you to become who God has called you to be. His perfect plan for your life is waiting on you. "Casual Christians” Have a Choice Today, “Heads You Win or Tails You Lose.” Casual Christian by Degarmo & Key
The original song was released in 1985
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Written 3/20/21 Luke 18:29-30, “And He said to them, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers of parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.” Wow, what a cool promise. When our hearts are right and we have God as our motive to live this life, we get a “DOUBLE BLESSING”. When Jesus calls us to do His work, we get to see a blessed harvest now, but also in Heaven later. I don’t know about you but, I have always loved a “buy one, get one free” deal, it just makes sense. If you buy one item, you get another one for free. Who wouldn’t want that deal? We all live our lives day in and day out, toiling for a paycheck. Most of the time the paycheck is gone before we even get the chance to spend any of it on anything fun. Bills for homes, cars, education, food, electricity, the list goes on and on. Then we feel bad about saving, or let alone even preparing for retirement, (Yes, I am that age.) Who has money to save or prepare for retirement, or even invest right now with many markets having great returns on investments? God is showing us such a great picture here. This is the greatest “buy one, get one” free deal, in the history of the world. In fact, it’s OUT OF THE THIS WORLD! That is why it’s so great, but it’s a faith deal. The best part is, we won’t see it until later. It’s almost a retirement account, it’s not a 401K or even an IRA, it’s a GIA, God Investment Account. When we invest in God and His vision for our lives, we get a heavenly investment policy. Talk about a company benefits package, for a calling God has put into your heart! It’s a no-brainer, two for one. Buy one get one free. God wants to bless us two times, not just once. How cool is that? So, when you get up this morning and you step out of bed, put on your God socks. You say, “What are God socks?” You have two feet, right? Two feet taking you into a day to do your purpose and the calling God He has put into your heart. He lives there and guides our every move by the Holy Spirit. He loves us so much we don’t even have to do it by ourselves. We have a full-time coach. I don’t know about you, but I think back to 20 years ago when I was working out at the gym. The best workouts I ever had, were because I had a personal coach at the gym. He pushed me to be the best me possible. He saw the potential in me, that maybe I did not see in myself. He put more and more weight on my shoulders to strengthen me. Then he made me do squats, with that weight to strengthen my legs. What an awesome workout. I was sore head to toe, but I was getting stronger than I had ever been. That’s what we get with the Holy Spirit, coaching and leading us. He pushes us to become the best we can be. It’s because we have a God calling in our hearts, that we want to work out for God every day. You see those people that work out all day every day, those people at the gym so fit and trim. It’s because they work out so much and treat their bodies with respect. God wants us to do the same thing spiritually. Go to, Gods Gym, every day all day. When we step out of bed, we put on our “God Socks." One sock, is for the things that we do day in and day out, our routine. The other sock we put on for God, is for our heavenly purpose. We wear both socks throughout our day, but our focus should be on the things that matter to the heart of God, spiritual things. Both your feet and both your socks, are walking each day farther down the path God has called you to walk. Enjoy the journey. That’s why we have “God Socks”, to be comfortable on this journey with the Holy Spirit. This is the journey that Jesus leads us and guides us, all along building up the treasure in Heaven, “DOUBLE BLESSED.” This is the best retirement program in history! Rewrite history today as you start your day. Get in God’s word, let Him speak to you there. Pray about what He showed you in His word, and let Him help you understand it even more. Then “Meditate …”be still and know I am God.” Psalm 46:10. Be quiet, and listen. Picture the face of Jesus, your best friend. Know, that He loves you more than you will ever know. He cherishes our time together; He is sad that most people don’t know Him this way because only 3% of Christians read their Bible. [*1] I was one of those people for the last 20 years. Twenty years ago, I had a similar relationship with Jesus, as my best friend like I do today. We talked and cried tears of Joy every day. But one thing led to another and I just got busy. Busy with life, too busy for time with Jesus. Oh, I still went to church once in a while, but I told myself because of my schedule for work, I can’t go to church very often. That excuse should have made me at least read my bible, but I did not for some reason. I prayed all the time, but most of the time the prayers seemed only one-way prayers. I was praying to heaven, but nothing from heaven was coming back. The circle was broken, until things changed in February 2021. The Holy Spirit has been calling me back for years. Having reminded me of the sweet time we used to spend together each day. We were like one, what He thought, I thought. What made Him sad, made me sad. What brought joy to His heart, brought joy to mine. We were inner connected as one, the Holy Spirit living through me. Colossians 1:27 says “… Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The Holy Spirit has been drawing me back to that. With all the events of this last year in 2020, God said for me to, “Be careful of the voices you listen to. Be sure those voices speak my name.” Through many turn of events, I have found one voice, that I have been inspired to listen to these last few months. He has a voice that speaks the name of Jesus. My bother in Christ, Lin Wood. If you don’t know who he is, look him up. You can find him on the new social media, that does not censor our rights of “Free Speech." That's another topic for another day, I follow him. Being a lawyer, his speech is both eloquent and truthful and based on God’s word. He shares his love for Jesus Christ every day in whatever he is doing, and in his legal practice. God leads him because Jesus is his best friend. His testimony is similar to mine, between the ages of 14 when he knew Jesus until 66 he did his own thing. He lived life but something was missing. Then a little over two years ago, the Holy Spirit pulled him back and now they are best friends again. What a beautiful story! If you have the chance to hear his testimony, it will bless you and give you encouragement. You can hear Jesus in his speech and sense his heart for God. He includes scripture in his posts and when he talks. He is my brother in Christ. He said something last month in February. He was sharing about his own personal time with Jesus every day. Not just once a day, but all day. “Pray without ceasing,” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. He said that after he reads his Bible, he prays. Then after he prays, he “Meditates” on God, “Meditates” with God. He allows the God of the universe to talk to him if he would listen, and “Meditate”. Psalm 1:2 says, “But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.” I have heard that verse for years, but for some reason it clicked when my brother, Lin Wood, said “Meditate”. The Holy Spirit said, this is what you have been missing. This is what we started to have 20 years ago. I want you to have it again, but this time even better. That became my prayer, to be close to Jesus again, better than I had before. That night, February 13, 2021, Jesus woke me with a vision. I saw a faceless man in our home. At first, I was scared and frightened. I asked God if I should get up and fight to protect my home? How did this stranger get in? Did he break in from a door or window? God said “No, you don’t need to get up.” I wasn’t fearful, I was calm. I knew everything was going to be ok. When I got up and started to read my devotional book, that takes you to one or two verses to read for the day, the verse I was supposed to read was John 20:19. “When there it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said, “PEACE BE WITH YOU!” Jesus wanted me to see that the man in my vision who entered my house, who had no face, was himself Jesus and His Holy Spirit. He appeared to give me peace. Wow, no coincidence I was supposed to read that verse. Then I had my meditation time. This is the first time in 20 plus years I came before Jesus on my knees and was quiet. He gave me my prayer language again, and He showed me another vision. I heard train horns blowing in the distance as I was quiet. He said those were the horns of Joshua. Then I heard the sound of rain dripping outside the window in perfect pattern. God said that is my people marching in perfect pattern around Jericho. They marched once a day for six days straight quietly. On the seventh day, that day, marching around the city seven times. Then on Joshua’s command, everyone blows their trumpet and shouts, because God has won the battle. That is what God showed me my first day meditating on Him. The next day He just gave me seven words to write down, “You will be a light to many.” Simple, God likes to keep it simple. Since then, in my meditation time God and I have been going deep. He is revealing more and more to me and His plan for my life. On February 27, 2021, God told me to start writing a blog, so here we are today. Many times, when I start doing my morning devotions, He just starts writing through my hand, when I stop, I have a blog. He has given me the words to write, the verses to look up, and add to the words He is speaking. It all ties together. So, for me, when Lin Wood said he “Meditates”, that was for me to hear. I needed to hear that. That changed my life. I am a completely different person now from who I was before. Galatians 2:20, says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by Faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” What a transformation I have experienced. What joy I now have to get up every morning and spend time with Jesus. Every night I go to bed like a child on Christmas Eve. I can’t wait to get up in the morning, to see the gift Jesus is going to give me to unwrap. Because I am His child, we open the gift together, He helps me. You can have this relationship too with Jesus as your best friend. You may or may not know Him, but He still will call you and draw you to know Him. Surrender to His call, you know you feel it. Don’t lie to yourself, that’s the enemy. Ask Jesus into your heart, if you don’t know Him. Ask Him to forgive your sins and He will wash you white as snow, now follow Him. Many people including myself, follow someone on social media, follow Jesus. Get the app. It’s called the Bible. You can literally download the Bible to your phone and “follow Jesus." But be careful what you pray for, He will respond when you “private” message Him. He may even tell you to do something or say something to someone, that may be uncomfortable for you to do. He is testing you to hear his voice, drawing you closer to Him. If you already know Jesus, then get back into your Bible, that dusty book over there on your shelf. (I know how dusty mine was with 20 years of dust on it.) Get back in Prayer, then “Meditate” on Jesus, “Mediate” with Jesus, keep it simple. It’s not complicated, just listen, be quiet and listen. He will speak to you, every day if you take the time. Make the time, put God first in your day. Matthew 6:33, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” If you make the time for Jesus, He will reveal His mysteries to you. He will speak to you. Write down those nuggets of wisdom and the dates. Go back and read them often for encouragement. Then you will see how faithful God is to give His children good gifts. Matthew 7:11 says, “To those who ask Him.” We have to come to God in prayer and meditation and “ask”, then listen. He is our good Father and loves us, He will answer us, have faith and put on your “God Socks.” You have a G.I.A., God Investment Account... "Double Blessing" This is Danny Gokey – New Day (Lyric Video)
This is what it’s like when you read you’re Bible, Pray & Meditate with Jesus, it’s a New Day. [*1] www.statista.com Bible readership in the U.S. 2018-2020
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