The Armor of God

       

     I know of some people who would engage in a full-on battle for their addictions and the means to feed them. They will do whatever it takes to get their want satisfied and they don’t care who they hurt while they are getting what they think is satisfied. When you live in the world of addiction you do have to have a sort of warrior mentality in order to live in such a way because otherwise you would see your selfishness and the harm you cause others and you wouldn’t be able to sustain a life so self-pleasing and destructive. You have to have a kill or be killed mindset but people don’t realize so does the enemy and when people who live as addicts think they are living for and serving themselves they need to see they are really serving the enemy and his schemes.

 Trying to live and be content by feeding some all-consuming addiction and believing you are satisfied is nothing more than deception and when you live in that world you are basically a warrior of (for) the enemy. Even if you are unaware of it, if you are not putting on the armor of God and warring in the spirit realm you will not be able to live in the Victory our powerful Savior conquered for us. When you don’t live in the victory of Jesus then you have given the victory over to Satan.

       The only real satisfaction comes from Jesus Christ, knowing Him personally and serving Him as Lord and Savior. Until we come to Him and surrender everything to Him we will never know satisfaction. The world is full of people looking for something they will never find because true joy, peace, contentment and yes that ever elusive state of “happiness” can only be found in a deep and intimate relationship with Jesus.

      

We can live victorious in Christ and we can do it every day if we put on the whole armor of God. God gives us everything we need to not only live in Him but He also wants us to live in the victory Jesus died to give us. A Victory means a battle has taken place and we as Christians know that Jesus has already won the battle for us, all we have to do is abide in Him and live in that victory.

       One of the ways we can live victorious is to put on the whole armor of God and wear it always. God has great plans for His people (Jeremiah 29:11) and because the ultimate climax to His plan has us living triumphantly with Him in heaven our walk with Him here on earth is learning how to walk in the victory He already won for us when He conquered sin on the cross and death by resurrection! We already have the victory because our wonderful and glorious Savior did all that was needed to fight and win the battle. 

       So our responsibility is to suit up with God’s armor which is perfect in every way and remember there is a battle going on—yes, I know I said it has already been won and that is true but the enemy would have us believe that it isn’t and if he is successful we don’t live in the victory that Jesus already won for us. Jesus tells us in John 10:10 (NKJV) that, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…”, another way to say it is the “enemy” wars against us to steal our victory and to ultimately kill and destroy us—don’t let the enemy steal your victory.  

No warrior would go into battle against a formidable enemy without first suiting up and putting on every piece of protection available to them nor would they midway through the intense battle or right there on the battlefield start to take off or put down some of their protection. And so it is with the armor of God, put it on and don’t take it off.  And what a wonderful and GREAT Warrior we serve under who gives us everything we need to stand in the victory of this battle, but it helps us not if we don’t first put it on and then leave on every piece of armor we need to stand, live, and abide in our victory.

       Let’s look at what the bible tells us about God’s Armor and how we are to use it. If you are new to God’s family these instructions about God’s armor will be very important to learn but no more important for new Christians than for those of us who have been with God and serving in His army for awhile—we all need the armor of God or we cannot live in victory over our addictions (sins) of the past or our temptations of the future. 

       The scriptures about God’s armor and how to use it can be found in the book of Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18. I am going to paraphrase these verses but when you study them yourself insert your name where I have mine and learn how to put on the armor of God.

 Finally (ultimately), Sarah, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (not your own). If you put on the whole armor of God you will be able to stand against the wiles/ schemes of the devil. For your war/fight/battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly/supernatural places. Therefore, Sarah, take up the whole/entire/complete armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all (you know to do) to stand—stand therefore, (Therefore stand, don’t retreat or fall) having belted your waist with truth, and put on the breastplate of righteousness (Jesus is your righteousness), shod your feet (everywhere you walk do it) with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all take the shield of faith—you have a shield of faith, Sarah, take it up (hold it high) and use it to quench (stop) all the arrows being fired at you by the wicked one. Take up, put on the helmet of salvation and protect yourself with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; and Sarah, pray always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Be watchful and stand (stay) on your guard to this (the) end with all perseverance and supplication for all of God’s chosen people. 

       Note that all of the armor is protective and defensive gear the only actual weapon is the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. God’s word is so powerful that it is the only weapon we need as it tells us in Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV) that “…The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” We can live in our victory by wielding our sword (of the Spirit—which is the word of God) at the enemy.  

       We don’t have to wander around with no protection from and unaware of the schemes of our enemy because we can suit up with the whole armor of God:

1.  Belt of truth-without truth none of the rest of the armor matters

2. Breastplate of Righteousness-Jesus is our righteousness and He must be in our hearts

3. Feet shod and walking in the gospel of peace-we must walk in peace (violence and discord are the ways of the enemy)

4. Shield of Faith-our faith is how we stop the arrows (attacks) of the enemy

5. Helmet of Salvation-we must be saved and walk in that salvation

6. Sword of the Spirit/the Word of God/the actual weapon-this is the one and only actual weapon, use it

7. Prayer in the Spirit/for all of God’s people-prayer is protection and a way to connect with our Warrior/Savior

8. Stand guard/Be watchful-Never let our guard down

       

So we must understand that we are fighting to stand, walk and live in the victory Jesus already fought and won for us. In her book, A Confident Heart, Renee Swope shares with us the names of God and He is “El ha-Gibbor: The Mighty God, God the Hero (Isa. 9:6)”. Let’s put on the whole armor of God and STAND, therefore, and proclaim that we live and abide in the victory that our Mighty Savior fought and triumphantly won for us!  Our victory is inevitable and certain because of our victorious and Mighty Savior. Hallelujah!!!

~

His Ways Are Not Our Ways...Hallelujah!

     God’s ways are not our ways, but now that we are new creations in Him we are learning His ways and we are learning to follow His ways because we now know they are best for us and we now trust our life, our sobriety and our freedom from addiction to Him. 

     We cannot maintain our freedom from addictions without Jesus as the center of our new life. We need all the help we can get from Him and there is unlimited help, we just need to tap into it every day all day long.

     I read or heard once from Joyce Meyer Ministries that even a godly thought directed toward God is considered prayer in the heart of God—I just love that and I firmly believe it. God already knows our hearts inside and out, and He even knows our heart better than we do, so if we are directing our thoughts and desires toward Him and His kingdom we will be in constant communication or communion with Him. If we are in communion with Him we can have the constant help we need to stay free from the things that will harm us and keep us from our Savior. 

     Remember, you are not just working on sobriety; you are building your testimony. I consider it your story of how you and God came to be and the path you are now taking once He turned you to the “light” direction.  God is an amazing God who uses us in ways that we may never even know or understand.  You are now a child of God and He has plans for you and it is to use what you have gone through so don’t lose hope when you are feeling like your life has no purpose. Your life now has God Almighty’s Purpose, and He is just preparing you for what is to come and you want to be ready as He brings this new purpose into your life.  

     When He says His ways are not our ways He means it (Isaiah 55: 8-9), but He isn’t some sort of unapproachable God who tells us His ways are different and higher and His thoughts are different and higher. He tells us this so that we don’t try to trust our own ways as they are futile when it comes to His ways. Besides, haven’t we proven that, by trusting our own ways to the point of our own demise?

      He does tell us that we can reason or talk with Him and Him with us, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…” Isaiah1:18 (NKJV). God wants us to know that we can go to Him about anything and everything in our life, and He wants us to know we can trust Him with everything.

     Let’s talk about trust as it relates to the past and now your new life in Christ. 

      When you lived in the mire of addiction you kept trusting in and counting on your so called “friends”, but addicts don’t have friends they have addiction companions—because misery loves company—and that’s it! There is no such thing as trust in that world and anyone who has lived in it knows that I’m speaking truth.

      BUT GOD, came into your life and now you can really know what it is to embrace trust for once in your life. You can trust the one who is a friend like you’ve never had before. He tells us in Proverbs 18:24 both the NKJV and the NIV version are impactful and relevant to what we’re talking about: NKJV, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” And in the NIV, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  His word even says in Micah 7:5 (NIV), “Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace guard the words of your lips.”  He is not the kind of friend who says “I will be there, I promise”, but then they are nowhere to be found when you really need them! No, He never leaves or forsakes us and He doesn’t just say it, He means it!

     God is not “out to get us” as some would think and He deals with us in kindness and compassion—even if we don’t think He is being kind and loving, He knows what is coming in our life, so we need to trust Him. 

     I used to think that God was not very patient and of course not very compassionate either, but His word tells us otherwise and now that I am pursuing an intimate relationship with Him I know His word and His ways enough to know that God is kind and very compassionate and loves to deal with us in that way.

     “…Because His compassions fail not…they are new every morning...” and, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”  And there are more supporting scriptures—some of them can be found in: Lamentations 3: 22, 23, 25, 32, and 33 (NKJV).

      We can trust Jesus as our true friend and God the Father as our loving Father, not like some father’s in the world who might have been absent, abusive and or neglectful.

     God the Father wants us to know that He loves us and because of that love He will correct and chasten us, just as any loving father would. He is The- Father- of- all- father’s and He never means us harm, and He can only correct us toward what is good and right for us. Our Father in heaven can never lead us wrong or astray and He will never inflict undue or unnecessary pain or harm on us, He just won’t, it is NOT His nature.

     Remember we talked before about not licking our wounds and not catering to our pain, but instead let God cater to it. Let’s look at some of the ways He does this—first of all we have the privilege of casting all our care upon Him, His word tells us this in 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalm 55:22, God wants us to cast our cares upon Him and let Him bring about the answers to the situations we face each day. This includes giving us strength when we need it to overcome temptation and stand strong in this new freedom from addiction.

      He cares for us in our hurting and pain, it matters so much to Him that His word tells us that He not only hears and answers our prayers, but our prayers are saved up in heaven, “…the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders…each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people”, Revelation 5:8 (NIV). God also saves the tears we cry, “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?” Psalm 56:8 (NKJV).  In Psalm 4:8, He keeps us safe when we sleep at night and He gives us His peace.

      When we speak of His peace there is nothing to compare it to—by that I mean it isn’t earthly so nothing on earth can compare to it.  But He does tell us this about His peace, John 14:27 New Life Version says this, (“Jesus Gives His Followers Peace”) “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give peace to you as the world gives...”  He even suffered physical pain for our peace as it tells us in Isaiah 53:5. Also, in Philippians 4:7 Paul tells us that God’s peace surpasses all understanding, and all through His word He is referred to as the God of Peace!

      This is not the kind of peace that we have ever experienced before and we should cherish it as such. Hold on to His peace and never let it go. Let His peace keep you and strengthen you during tempting times, during trying times, during those times when you know you will make it, but those around you aren’t quite convinced yet and because of that you are feeling discouraged.

     With the peace of God our Father and His own peace Jesus gave us, we are completely equipped and prepared to journey with Jesus down this path of no more addictions. We are now in pursuit of His plan for our life and that is a completely new path, it has twists and turns that we are not used to. But we can get used to it and that’s what this new journey is all about—learning His ways. Don’t give up, soon enough those who weren’t quite convinced that you are a new creation will be completely and thoroughly in awe of what our Great God has done in you and they are going to want it too!  So keep going because there is joy to come and a harvest to reap and a brand new life to live—and Jesus is the closest, stick it out when things get tough friend, you have ever had or ever will have.

     Trust and follow His ways and they will take you down the path that leads to Him and His eternal purpose and the place that is being prepared for you in heaven.

~

   

Forgiveness...Finally! Part lll

      God wants you to see that He is, and has always been aware of your pain, your damage and the path it has brought you down so far. It is time to change the path and let God take you to healing waters that run deep.

       “God is the expert at addressing people in pain. Most of the Bible was written to hurting people.” Jim Berg tells us in his book Changed into His Image. We can’t hang onto the pain and be healed from it, and I believe that is the key to forgiveness—letting go of and receiving healing from the pain.

      He wants us free from hidden and stuffed anger, He wants us free from old hurts, and He wants us free to receive and offer forgiveness that lasts and sets us free to love those who have hurt us.

      Let’s look to Jesus our perfect example and the one who really and truly knows what suffering is, and yet the scriptures tell us that He looked beyond the pain, agony, and humiliation to the joy. There is joy to come, I promise you. God’s word tells us more about the suffering of Jesus and how His heart handled it.

      Let’s look at both the NKJV and the NIV translations as they are both important and tell us what this means. Hebrews 12:2,3 NKJV, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.” And also the NIV says, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Jesus did not consider the pain He was to endure more important or impactful than what the end result of His suffering would bring. He was persecuted and did die rather than to live without any one of us, because if He didn’t die we would. Jesus looked to the eternal purpose for His suffering and He wants us to do the same.

     When you are tempted to think that all your suffering is for nothing or it has caused you so much damage just look to Jesus who knew the joy of saving you was far more important than what He was about to suffer! The scriptures tell us to consider what Jesus did and let it be the perfect example to us and what we have endured or are now enduring and by His example we can go on and know that there is joy to come. He wants you to consider the joy set before you when you show the world that it is possible to truly change and become a new creation in Him. And He wants you to consider the joy set before you and others when you help someone who needs the specific help God has now equipped you to give. Also, let’s not forget the joy set before all of us—eternity in heaven with the very one who suffered to save us!

      We must release our pain to Him and let Him show us just how beautiful our (once ugly) pain and damage is with His light now shining on it.

      Realize the pain has a purpose, but its purpose is ultimately to bring you to God, to be healed and made whole and then the purpose takes your healing and now travels another path, it is now a journey to show others who are hurting how our Great God healed you and made you a new creation in Him. How healing and purposeful to know that He can and wants to use us and what we have already been through to help someone else. 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 (NKJV) tells us this, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” Those verses tell us that we are to seek our comfort in and through Him—He is the “God of all comfort”, not just some comfort but all comfort. We are then to extend and give that same comfort to others who are now hurting. The reality that we need to be comforted is evident in the scriptures and it is not a “sore” subject with God as long as we are truly seeking healing and not just catering to and nursing our pain—let God cater to your pain as you let it go to Him. That may sound or seem strange, to let God cater to your pain, but remember it does have a specific, God-given purpose and He knows how to heal it and now turn it into His resplendent glory.

     We have to read and take hold of what the scriptures tell us about God, His plans for us, His purpose for us, His ways to obtaining those plans and purpose—then we can begin to let Him move and work in us, we can let Him have His way with us because He never means us harm. But in fact, He has an absolute perfect plan and we should enjoy letting God do whatever He will with us knowing that He has an eternal and kingdom purpose for all that we have been through.  

     Now that we can let go of the pain of our past and learn how to give and receive forgiveness the way God intended us to we need to consider and keep in mind a few things to help us so we are on the right track with restored, renewed and reconciled relationships.  First, let’s remember that none of this is possible without Jesus helping us. Second, obtaining forgiveness and extending it to others is going to take action on our part—we can’t sit idle and expect it to happen. The attempts done genuinely must also be done in our heart as well as our actions.

     Part of forgiveness and it being very real, active and lasting in us is that we not only learn how to effectively receive it, but also that we learn and understand how to effectively seek and ask for it from others. There is nothing worse than people attempting to make amends with each other and not doing it the way it should be done because what can happen are these sort of half- hearted apologies, “I’m sorry” you might say, “oh that’s alright” the other person says, but it is not alright and that is why there is an issue that needs to be forgiven, or (my least favorite) the no apology at all, let’s just act like nothing happened, and at least we are now speaking to each other again sort of pseudo forgiveness. Later when the first little irritation comes, boom, everything you ever did to each other explodes and now you are back to square one because all of the issues were not considered when they should have been. Get issues out and seek truth and healing for and from all parties involved.

     When we are truly seeking forgiveness and reconciliation we should do it genuinely and sincerely and we should ask for it in a way that seeks to restore a healthy and whole relationship, Jim Berg also reminds us of this, “I’m sorry or I apologize never address the matter fully. One can be sorry that something happened yet not assume any responsibility for it. ‘Will you forgive me?’ By asking forgiveness, a statement like this assumes full responsibility for the wrong and seeks a reconciliation between the estranged parties.” When we take the time to attempt restoration in a way that honors everyone who has been hurt we can be assured there will be true and genuine healing and in turn true abiding forgiveness.

     Genuine not looking back forgiveness is a gift from God. Human effort alone will not completely bring forgiveness.

      Even after forgiveness has been given or received, the devil will still plant thoughts in our mind’s towards those we have forgiven and vice versa. Remember, the mind is the battlefield and thoughts alone are not sin, it is what we choose to do with those thoughts that can birth sin. Don’t let thoughts of the offense or the offender keep haunting you, and learn to let things go. Satan will ALWAYS bring up our past, that doesn’t mean we have failed, it is a sign that we have succeeded. This is true concerning forgiveness also. The enemy wants you to hang on to hurt and offenses you have already forgiven others for, but don’t—just don’t, let them go and grab ahold of Jesus instead!  

     Let’s remember these verses in Ephesians 4:31,32 (NIV) when we are harboring unforgiveness and or trying to hold on to abiding active forgiveness, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

     If we truly adopt a forgiving spirit in our lives we will be able to walk in this freedom Jesus died and rose to give us.

~

                                     

Growing In God...Giving God What Is His

       “I don’t want to, or I don’t know how to give it to God. I want God to just take it from me.”  Oh, I have said those words so many times in my life.

      If we really think about it, we don’t want God to just take it from us—if we give something we have freely given it and we don’t feel a sense of loss, instead we feel a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction; however, if something is taken from us we feel a sense of loss and as though we have been wronged or an injustice has been done to us. God is not an unjust God.

        The reason we have to give it to Him is because, first of all, He is a gentleman and He won’t take it forcefully from us, and second, because that is how we grow in our personal relationship with Him. He wants to know that we are willing to give it to Him.

       Relationships are give and take, we all know that, but it must be a reality in our lives. We give Him our pain, our insecurities, our fears, our hopes and dreams too, and He takes those things we give to Him and in exchange He gives us His peace, His help, His guidance, His promises and His blessings.

 I’m learning that there is no sense at all in trying to build walls or have things in my life that separate me and God.  He already knows my heart and everything in it, so if I don’t give my entire heart to Him it is going to cause me problems in my walk with Him and in this new life He is creating for me. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV) “...for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” He knows our heart and the intent of it at all times, and a wall does just that, it separates us from Him!

    

     Maybe we are struggling to know His plan for our lives, or maybe we are struggling to give Him our pain of being hurt in the past. For many there are issues of forgiveness. There is a spiritual battle going on and the enemy doesn’t want you to know that you can give everything to God. And not only can we give it to God, but we are instructed in 1 Peter 5:7 to give our cares to Him. Also, Psalm 55:22 (NKJV) says “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”  Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Jesus is so serious about us giving Him our cares, concerns and worries that the last part of chapter 6 of Matthew is Him telling us that God our Father feeds and clothes everything in creation and that we are so special to Him that of course He will also do it for us, the very ones He loves the most.  But we must not worry and we must spend our time and attention furthering the kingdom of God. He wants us to look to Him for everything; He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider.

     Oh, so we give Him our worries and concerns and He gives us all our needs met, both spiritual and physical, sounds like a great deal to me!

     I still struggle with this. I still have a hard time with pushing on, pressing through, and walking in victory. And sometimes I feel like an infant who still needs to be weaned off the milk and start learning how to eat the solid food of God’s word and His ways. And yet, there are other times when I feel so grown in Him and full of Him that nothing could stop my progress.

      As with everything in life, and it is no different in this new life in Christ, there are highs and lows, but they are really what make this life exciting. Waiting and trusting in the Lord to see how He is going to help you get through this next step can (if you let it) start to become exhilarating as your thoughts and prayers go one way and His answers come in another.

     Remember, His ways are not our ways. Isaiah 55:8-9 (NKJV), “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” That statement and those verses used to confuse me and make angry—then I realized I wouldn’t want to serve a God whose ways were my ways—what a mess that would be. The reason for the confusion and anger was because I thought that meant He couldn’t or didn’t really know me, but just the opposite is the truth. It means He knows what is best for me.

     I know that even when I don’t think I am growing in the things of God that if I am just obedient to the Lord and what He is guiding and leading me to do, I will be able to look back on my life and see “God’s signature all over it” and realize that in fact I was growing and that was God moving.

     Growing in Him doesn’t always happen in the way we think it should.  Sometimes we come to realize we have grown in an area that we didn’t even know we needed to grow in. I love my Abba Father and that He does that for me, He knows me better than I know myself and He sees and knows what I need or don’t need long before I ever do...”For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.”(Matthew 6:8 NKJV)

     I may not know what my need is and I may be seeking Him about or for one thing and suddenly I find myself in a test or trial I thought I had already overcome. That is when I sense the Holy Spirit—something wants my heart’s attention. My heart senses a need I didn’t know I had.

  

     

     That is what this new life is all about. Learning how to give God what is His. YOU.  You and everything about you is what God wants. You are His and He knows what is best for you and remember He has great plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11), and you can trust God.

      It’s like anything else in this new life with our Lord and Savior, we have to walk it out, we have to live in it or it will lose its effectiveness in our life.  We have to experience Jesus and our freedom through Him every day, all day long, if we don’t we will be opening ourselves up for the old patterns and behaviors, and we may begin to let go of the transformation God has already done in us.

      I have walked away from God before, it is not something I’m proud of, BUT GOD, uses everything we go through to bring glory to Him and to help us to grow and draw closer to Him and He showed me that even during that time He Never Left Me! I can even draw strength from my backslidden days—it helps me now when I am tempted to give in and give up. I can remember those days when I tried to do life on my own and how messed up it got, and I am able to remember and realize that I was not better off without God, I was in fact miserable. Praise God that He is forever married to the backslidden heart. “Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord, “for I am married to you.” (Jeremiah 3:14 NKJV) He loves us enough to let us go if we think He isn’t the answer, and He patiently waits while we learn valuable lessons about trying to walk away from The Truth after having walked in it.

     One of the valuable lessons I learned was that I can get as close to Him as I want to, and I can also get as far away from Him as I want. He patiently waits for us to see that without Him we cannot do this thing called life, nor do we want to, now that we have known the power of truth. But, we must remember that yes He is waiting for us to come back to Him, but He knows that we are creating consequences for ourselves while we are denying Him. Galatians 6:7 (NKJV) “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” This is the thing, you have as you know, your free will and you can walk away from God because He always and forever loves us, but He will not force us to love Him. But walking away from Him can mean some very serious consequences or “reaping” even once we have come back to Him.

     My years away from Him were the years of my life that I went to addiction and tried to fill myself with the things that are temporal and people who never cared for or loved me. Those were years of sowing a life of sin that affected a lot of people in my life who are still suffering the reaping of my sowing. Like the quote says, “No man is an island entire of itself...” what we do affects a lot of people around us.

     Let’s live like we know we do affect others, and now instead of making people in our lives mop up the mess of our mistakes let’s shower them in the overflow of the blessings of God in our lives. They will take notice, I promise.

     Give yourself to God, give all of you to Him and don’t hold back because if you give everything and all of yourself to Him you will grow in God and that’s what this new life in Him is all about. 

~