New Year, Fresh Beginnings, and Choices

New Year, Fresh Beginnings, and Choices

January 1st is always recognized as an opportunity to have a fresh beginning. A Chance to choose to walk a new path in your life. As the new year begins, probably 95% of the population makes their New Years Resolutions. These are quite commonly related to healthy eating, losing weight, exercising more, and others associated to the physical body. These are good choices, I do want to live more healthy. But more importantly to me are those decisions I associate more with my spiritual being. That being said, what I consider it to be is not a resolution, but rather my hearts desire, that is to live a life of following the Lord more closely. 

Doing this means making choices every day-- choices in what I watch, what I read, what I listen to, and the very words I choose to speak. Let me state now, I am not perfect by any means, I am just trying to consciously choose to do my best to walk upright before the Lord. I feel a burden to boldness in a new way this year, and it will be reflected in some of my blogs as the Lord leads, and that begins today.
(You have been warned.)

We know that the Lord has given us a free will, we can choose to live whatever lifestyle we want. But, that doesn't make them all good. Some things feel great at the time, however they can destroy our physical being, and in the long run, they can separate us from the very presence of the Lord. Fortunately, for as long as our body draws breath we can choose Jesus.

The thing that I keep hearing in my spirit lately, both in my prayer time, and in words I have heard spoken and written by others, is that we are living in a perilous time, a time when many people are willing to compromise their walk with the Lord for momentary "happiness." Some may think it old fashioned, but I believe that doing my best to walk in righteousness is a good thing. That means I have chosen a life of no compromise... I won't compromise my values. I don't feel that as a Christian, people should sleep together outside of marriage, I don't believe in drunkenness, 'recreational' drugs or similar things that modern society finds quite acceptable. Sorry, not sorry, when I read God's word this is how I see it, and the way I have chosen to walk. It is a choice we all have to make for ourselves.

Lately what is breaking my heart is, that almost daily, I am seeing a complacency toward righteousness... Many have become afraid to preach the Gospel that includes living a life with out compromise. Yes, we have forgiveness, but we are told in the Bible not to practice sin, that means to choosing to continue in things that God calls sin. My perception when I see a  person who says they are Christian choosing to sleep around, shack up or get drunk, or other things that the word says not to do; well in short, it brings a sadness to my soul. 

When we say are Christian then that means we are saying that we have chosen to become Christlike. I am not talking about new believers, they need instruction to leave the life of practiced sin behind. I am thinking of those who claim to have had a long term relationship with Jesus as Lord, and yet seem to enjoy living a life of active compromise. -- I just don't understand it. Why? There is joy in living a life lived by the Word of God. 

We are told in the Bible that we are to rule over the sin in our lives, not let sin rule over us... the choice is ours, do we chose to run the race of faith in an way that is pleasing to the Lord, or do we make light of the gift of salvation and live as though we never received the Lord.

What will your new beginnings be in 2019?

Blessings!! 
Mary

Romans 6 (NKJV) Reads as Follows

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Full Steam Ahead

My last blog gave a brief overview of last year, highs and lows.  From the loss of my dad, which was both a good and sad thing at the same time, followed by my trip to Australia & New Zealand, and ending with the loss of my job. Through all of it, I have to look back and say... Full Steam Ahead.

As each of us looks at our life, we often view it like a card game, we all have a different hand dealt-- it is up to us how we play it out. We can choose to dwell on the low cards or get so focused on the high ones that we forget that all will have to be played. What we need to do is to look at the full hand, and remember that this hand will play out and a new one dealt. Well it's January and time for a new deal, what it is, I haven't a clue, lol. But what I do know, is that I will not face it alone. I will play it through with the Lord right at my side.

I wish I could say that I never have doubts when I look forward, but that would be a lie. I am human, I deal with all the same emotions of fear, trepidation and dare I say depression that anyone else does, and sometimes I even get overwhelmed by them. However, it is at those points that I take a deep breath and adjust my focus, and remind myself that I am not in charge, I do have control over my actions, but not of those around me-- I choose at that point to trust the Lord. I need to remember to press in at those moments and listen... listen to the Lord and what He is telling me.

If I remember to listen, then I will remember that I have a great partner in the card game of life, His plays trump all. He is the author of all things and His word promises me that I will ultimately win, Salvation gives me that.

In the meantime, His word also lets me know that there will be good times and rough times to come in my future, but that is okay, He WILL be with me through it all. Knowing that, I know that I can look to my future with joy, so as I said earlier-- 2019 I will enter it like a ship on the ocean, going Full Steam Ahead.

Happy 2019!!