There’s never guilt with a heart of love.

As we grow and mature as believers, we begin to realize that we need to be careful about how we speak, even when we’re kidding around. I actually think it’s a lie of the enemy to make us think that joking is innocent. I don’t mean that all jokes are evil–of course not. But there is a line that is easily crossed when we’re joking that begins to smell of offense.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, o Lord. (Ps 19:14) May all our words be pleasing to God. When we’re angry, when we’re rushed, when we’re stressed–may we always speak what is pleasing to God.

The way to ensure that the words that come out are good is to meditate on good things. Feed your heart and mind with the life of God’s word. Let His truth fill you and your words and your thoughts become His. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure and lovely, and admirable.Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Phil 4:8) Take in excellence and you will give out excellence. If you start to feel guilty about what comes out of your mouth, it’s time to clean it up.

Another post on the importance of your words: Your Words Carry Power

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God can’t bless what you don’t give Him.

When you give your life to Christ, He gets it all. He paid the price of your sin with His own blood. It covers all that you are–body, soul, and spirit. There is no part of your life that you own anymore. But think about it. Why would you want any part of your life unredeemed, unsanctified? Why would you go into battle with parts of your body purposely exposed to attack?

Salvation is all or nothing. There is no halfway in this. God is not looking for a kingdom of part-time believers. He made it very clear how He feels about wishy-washy faith. (Rev 3:16) This is not your game to choose. Either jump in with both feet, or be left out where there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Mat 8:12) It’s not a pretty picture and you don’t want to go there.

Have you given Him everything? Every area of your life? Are you trying to hold on to something you  just don’t want to let go of? If it’s right for you to have, give it to God to bless. Otherwise, you’re listening to the enemy. You belong to God, blood and spirit. Let Him redeem you fully and bless you  completely.

Another post on wishy-washy faith: Lukewarm Faith Makes Jesus Sick

You have within you exactly what the world needs.

If you are the salt of the earth, what exactly are you offering? Salt is flavoring and a preservative. It just makes food taste better. What are you offering the world that makes it a better place? As a citizen in the kingdom, you are responsible for being salt and light. If you’re not, you are obviously not really engaged in the kingdom.

But if salt has lost its flavor, how then shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. (Mat 5:13) Ouch! If you are not engaged enough in the kingdom to have something to give away, then you are in danger of being trampled under the feet of men.

How do you avoid that? By pressing in to know the One who loves you and died for you. Once you engage your heart with Him, you will overflow with the flavor of the kingdom. His essence will flow through you to a world desperate to know Him. They may not realize what they hunger for until they meet you.

Be salt to a hungry world. Be the source of light and life that is void in a generation lost to self obsession. You are exactly what they need.

Another post on giving out of the kingdom: Rise Up Disciple Maker

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It’s time to learn to fly.

Growth will always involve some level of discomfort. But sometimes that discomfort comes from the wrong camp. Whenever you feel discouraged, don’t immediately agree with it. Discouragement makes you feel bad about yourself, like you’ve failed when you should have succeeded. Any time you feel that, you’re listening to the voice of the enemy. God will never make you feel bad about yourself. If what you’re feeling is discouragement, it’s a lie. Rebuke it and let it go.

If, however, you feel dissatisfaction with a situation, it could be God prodding you forward. He has amazing plans for your life that you can’t see from where you are. You may feel perfectly content to stay where you are because it’s familiar and comfortable. But if you have a greater calling, God will always try to get you to move closer to it, like a mother bird pulling out the comfy nest feathers.

Dissatisfaction will make you realize that what you have is not what you should have. Look up. Take your eyes off of what you think you know and look to see where your path may be leading you. Ask for confirmation. God will give it to you. Then be brave and go for it. Get out of the nest and start to fly.

Another post on attacks of the enemy: The Enemy Will Always Attack Your High Ground

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Growing in grace comes through knowing Jesus.

Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Pet 3:18) This does not appear to be an option. Once we enter the kingdom of God as little children, we are responsible for growing. We are not meant to sit on our salvation as a ticket to heaven and remain unchanged. In fact, if you do remain unchanged, it’s a good indication that you haven’t fully received salvation.

To fully understand that you have been saved by grace is to fall in love with the One who gave His life for you. That love draws you in, closer and closer. You want more of everything that He is. More love, more joy, more peace, and more grace.

Grace is God’s kindness and forgiveness. How do you get more grace? By being more kind and forgiving yourself. You have to lay down your own agendas and put others first. You have to hunger and thirst after righteousness. You have to want what God wants.

As you identify your own need for grace, you begin to receive more. Grace is attracted to humility. The more you know Him–having the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ–the more you grow in grace and the more kindness and forgiveness is yours from heaven.

Another post on grace: Grace Protects Against Sin

Forgiveness comes with forgetting.

Apparently forgiveness is easy to misunderstand. Even Peter couldn’t get his head around it at first. He asked Jesus, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”  Mat (18:21-22)

Peter assumed that you were allowed to be fed up with someone who kept sinning against you. At some point you could just say, enough. I don’t have to keep forgiving this person. Jesus said, no. You need to forgive every single time, regardless of how often it happens.

Forgiveness means that you do not blame someone for something they did, and then you must forget about it. It’s not forgiveness if you continue to blame the person later on. Forgiving means that they are free from obligation. They may need to deal with the consequences of what they did, but you have freed them from personal blame.

Forgiveness is sincere and has no memory. It comes from a heart of love. It is a kingdom attitude to put others first, even if, by some accounts, they don’t deserve it. It is an act of humility to lay down your right to justified resentment. It is a gift.

Another post on forgiveness: How To Forgive

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Christian = I love Jesus

The word Christian is loaded–spiritually, emotionally, and politically. Everyone has an idea about what it means, and it’s usually not what you think it means. Unfortunately, it can mean hateful, prejudice, unforgiving, and superior. Basically, the opposite of what it should mean.

And there are sects of Christianity that don’t want to be associated with other sects. When you speak of Christian, does that mean one who speaks in tongues and/or one who kneels with beads to pray? Is it a political affiliation or a social network?

I’m sick of it. Being Christian to me is nothing more than a label that says I love Jesus. I chose to be believer of God. A follower. A listener. An obedient one. There are no political or cultural boundaries. The kingdom of God is wide open, like looking down from far above with a bird’s eye view. There are no territorial lines. God loves us all. All.

I cannot put God in a box of religious dogma and neither will I align myself with other people’s predefined stereotype. God is good and I will trust Him. I am His child. He is my Father in heaven. That’s all.

Another post on religion: Religion Stinks

God expects you to show your faith to the world.

You are the light of the world…Let your light so shine before men, that they many see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Mat 5:14, 16) Your relationship with God is not meant to be private. Your walk should be a lifestyle of public faith. It should be obvious to everyone that you trust God because of the good things He does for you.

I heard non-believer say that if they ever met a Christian who didn’t try to convert him, he would doubt their faith. Because, he said, if they really believed that there was heaven and hell and didn’t try to keep him from going to hell, then what kind of person would they be? Not a very loving one.

This impacted me greatly. We are responsible for our faith and how we live. One day we will give an account of our lives. Once we received salvation, what did we do with it? Do we truly live as if we’ve been given the gift of life? Are we really willing to let people we know and care about suffer hell for eternity?

Don’t panic and start haranguing everyone you know about hell, but pay attention to how you communicate your faith. If most people you know don’t know you’re a Christian, then you light isn’t shining at all. It’s time to fire up that lamp.

Another post on be the light: You Are The Light Of The World

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God trusts your decisions more than you do.

We all want to know what the will of God is for our lives. Should we take this job or that one? Should we stay or leave? There are a thousand questions we ask Him because we want to do the right and perfect thing. We’re afraid that if we make the wrong decision, we’ll miss the best opportunity, or worse, create a mess. I think the will of God is easier than we think.

When children are little, we expect to make all their decisions for them–what they should eat and what they should wear, and when to go to bed. But you wouldn’t expect to do that for a teenager or grown adult. I think it’s the same way in the kingdom.

When we are born again, we need a lot of hand holding. God makes it very clear how to live in this new life. But as we grow in maturity, He gets quieter. He expects us to trust His presence in our lives. If we have the Holy Spirit in us, then we are naturally influenced by Him. Our ideas and thoughts are a reflection of what He is thinking in us.

I think that we should trust our ideas and not feel the need to ask permission for every decision. If we are truly headed in the wrong direction, God will shut the door. Otherwise, we should  trust in the wisdom of His Spirit that we carry. I don’t think there is a “perfect” decision to be made. God can  work in one situation as easily as another. Stop stressing about the will of God and be the mature believer you are meant to be.

Another post on growing in the kingdom: Position Yourself For Promotion

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