God is a G

"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 ." ~ Joshua 24:15 NIV

God is such a G (as in gentleman), in that while He knows what's best for us and can see the mistakes we make coming from a mile away, He never forces us to do anything and always gives us a choice.

Can you imagine the amount of complaining we'd do if we were forced to obey Him? We'd be talking about how unfair it is and how harsh God is.

But He loves us so much that He's willing to give us guidance, help, and direction, but never forces us to choose His way.

That doesn't mean we won't have to suffer the consequences of our poor decisions. But it does mean we have a God who is big enough to love us in spite of ourselves.

So glad we have a God who is like Himself and not like us.

God bless,

J.W.

Love + Obedience

"Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.'" ~ John 14:23

Love isn't love if it isn't accompanied by submission. There's a lot of people who claim to love God. My question is, but are they submitted though? Are they obedient?

That is the difference between a saved life and a changed life. It's the difference between our current world and a completely transformed world.

What type of world do you want to live in? What type of life do you want to have?

Here's the secret formula: love + obedience.

God bless,

J.W.

Peace Follows Obedience

 

"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." ~ Philippians 4:9

Ouch. This one hurts.

How easy things would be for us if we would just do the things that Jesus has taught, spoke, and shown to us. So many times we lament the chaos in our life. But the true question is, are we being obedient? In everything?

Really though? 

This scripture proves once again that peace follows obedience. If we want to increase our peace, we must increase our obedience. 

God bless,

J.W.

Be Careful

“So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.” ~ Deuteronomy 5:32-33

Living a righteous life is not easy. In Romans 7:21, Paul says “although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.” It doesn’t take much for us to fall into the devil’s schemes or our own sinful nature.

That’s why Proverbs 4:23 calls us to “guard our hearts.” And Deuteronomy 5:32 tells us to “be careful” to keep God’s commands. Jesus, in fact, said that “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Jesus warned us that it would not be easy.

Because of the original sin, doing what’s right doesn’t come naturally. So, we must be cautious and careful to keep God’s commandments. We must be on guard at all times. We are in a battle and if we are not careful, we can do exactly what Deuteronomy 5:32 warns us not to do – that is, turn aside to the right or to the left.

Jesus tells us to walk the narrow path that leads to life – the John 10:10 life. Walking the narrow path requires self-discipline and a carefulness found in Deuteronomy 5:32.

Be careful today!

God bless,
J.W.

Life Is Simple (Part 2)

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." ~ Luke 22:42

Recently, my Pastor said something that stuck with me and it's this: if you take care of the things that God cares about, God will take care of the things you care about.

In Luke 22, we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, right before being apprehended and ultimately crucified, struggling between what he wants and what the Father wants. Ultimately, the Father's will wins out and as a reward, Jesus gets up with all power in His hands (Matthew 28:18). He fulfilled purpose and got to sit on the right hand of the Father (Ephesians 1:20-23).

So many times, we think the way to get what we want is to pursue what we want.

But in the Kingdom, the way to get what you want is to serve and be obedient to God, even if it's not in line with what you want (1 Samuel 15:22).

It really is as simple as this: do whatever it is He tells you to do.

God bless,
J.W.

Life Is Simple

"His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do it.'" ~ John 2:5

Humans are complicated beings. And as a result, we tend to complicate everything, often leading to confusion, stress, frustration, and ultimately stagnation.

But as complicated as we tend to make things, life really comes down to John 2:5: "whatever He says to you, do it."

That's why the Bible tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). God wants to know that He can speak and trust you to follow through.

It's also why the Bible tells us not to lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). He knows that sometimes you will have to disobey your own logic to walk in obedience with Him (Isaiah 55:8-9).

In all, life really is this simple: "do whatever He tells you."

God bless,
J.W.

People Pleasing (Part 3)

"The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 'We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,' he said. 'Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.' Peter and the other apostles replied: 'We must obey God rather than human beings!'" ~ Acts 5:27-29

Sometimes, people will want you to do something that God has not called you to do.

This scripture shows us that it's okay to say no. Our ultimate mission should be to please God, not man.

People will undoubtedly have expectations of you - expectations of you as a friend, significant other, son or daughter, etc.

But you are NOT beholden to that expectations. You are to be held to God's standards and expectations, and to His alone. Not theirs.

The question is, are you familiar enough with His standards and expectations to know the difference between His expectations and other people's.

The key is knowing the difference and applying it in your life.

God bless,
J.W.

Follow The Leader (Part 8)

"The Lord had said to Abram, 'Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing... So Abram went, as the Lord had told him." ~ Genesis 12:1-4

Often times, following God's calling requires us to leave that which is familiar or comfortable to us.

In Genesis 12, God told Abram to leave the land, people, and household with which Abram was most familiar and to go to a new, foreign, unfamiliar land.

While that command may have been a tough pill for Abram to swallow, after the command was a promise. God promised that if Abram obeyed, He would bless Abram and make his name great (in fact, he would change Abram's name entirely).

But in order to receive the promise of God, Abraham had to obey the command of God - that is, the command to leave the familiar and enter the unfamiliar.

So, the question is, how uncomfortable are you willing to be? And if the answer is not very, then are you really ready to follow God's calling on your life? You can't complain about how slow things might be moving if you're not ready, willing, and able to step out on faith when He tells you to.

God bless,
J.W.

Follow The Leader (Part 7)

"But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you." ~ Proverbs 1:24-26

Proverbs 1:24-26 details the consequences of not heeding God's call on your life. 

Oftentimes, we let fear of stepping out on faith stand in our way. 

But... truth be told, the fear of not doing what God says should scare us even more.

God bless,
J.W.

Heart Surgeon

“My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.” ~ Proverbs 3:1-2

As Christians, we often focus on making sure that our actions comport with God’s Word. But God looks at our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7). As such, He not only seeks obedience in what we do, but also in what we think and feel. Not that we must be perfect, but we should strive to have purity of heart in addition to purity in deed.

God bless,

J.W.

Red Pill or Blue Pill?

“My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.” ~ Proverbs 3:1-2 

Sin leads to death (Romans 6:23) , but obedience to God’s Word brings length of days, long life, and peace.  

So, which would you choose? 

Choose wisely. 

God Bless, 
J.W.

But Have Not Love

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:1-2

As many of you may know, I tend to be a very reserved and aloof person. I don’t say much and tend to stay to myself. As a result, social situations are not easy for me. So, needless to say, when I attended orientation for law school this past week, I was quite nervous about how I would do in making new friends and meeting new people.

But rather than allow those feelings of nervousness to take over, rather than curling up into my shell as is my natural inclination in situations like this, I challenged myself and made a decision – a decision to let love be my guide.

So, 1 Corinthians 13 became my guiding light. I told myself that rather than fearing the unknown, rather than allowing the fear of rejection to overcome me, I was going to do what God has ultimately called us to do and love my neighbor as myself, and as ultimately Christ loves each of us – unconditionally, without pretense or prejudice, fully and wholeheartedly, genuinely.

See, when we allow love to be our guides, we are not only being obedient to God’s world, we not only bless other people, but we open up worlds of possibilities for ourselves as well. God has promised that if we stay true to His word, He would open up windows in Heaven that no man can shut (Revelations 3:7). But in order for the promise to be fulfilled, we’ve got to be obedient to His word. The rewards don’t come without the sacrifice.

So, be guided by love today. Instead of having an attitude, take on a spirit of love today. Love those around you and watch how your life will be richly blessed because of it.

God bless,
J.W.

The Answer to Our Questions

"He replied, 'Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.'" ~ Luke 11:28

A few weeks ago, my pastor preached a sermon on money management.

The key scripture was Proverbs 22:7, which reads "the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."

One of my biggest goals for 2010 is to be debt-free. So, immediately following the sermon, I decided to cut up my credit cards. Yes, cut up ALL of my credit cards. ALL of them.

It was a sacrifice, yes. But, just one month later, with the exception of our mortgage and a student loan, Michele and I will be completely debt-free - meaning Capitol One, VISA, MasterCard, AmEx, and Bank of America will no longer have any control over us.

My point is that while most folks think the Bible is only there to provide spiritual guidance, that couldn't be further from the truth. The Word of God has the power to solve ALL of our problems and answer ALL of our questions, if we would just be obedient to what it says.

After all, in Proverbs 28:20, God said that He would bless those who were faithful to His word. So, find your answers today and be obedient to what He tells you. I promise you, it'll change your life forever.

God bless,
J.W.

To Live Is To Suffer

How ironic is it that in order to live in Christ, we must die to self?

How more ironic is it that by Christ dying for us, we must now live for Him?

Most ironic, however, is that by Christ dying for us, we must now die and suffer for Him.

It’s not a message that is very popular in today’s society (in fact, most preachers won’t even preach on the subject), but it’s true nonetheless.

To follow Christ is to suffer with Him, to bear the cross, to walk the narrow path.

It requires sacrifice, obedience, and doing things you may not want to do sometimes.

But the thing about it is that the rewards you receive for your obedience makes it worth every minute of your suffering.

God bless,
J.W.

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” ~ Matthew 16:24-25


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J0Pcy2GLMg