Living the life!

I love that we have a God that is present.  I love that He is a true and living God that knows every hair on our head and all the situations and issues that we face and still loves us. I love that He will speak just the right word to you at just the right time and do the same for me. Isn’t that amazing? He is aware of each one of us as individuals at every point in every day. He has given us this wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit, who communes with us and lives in us and speaks to us. He does all of that so isn’t it time we remember who we are? We are the much loved children of God, so let’s start living like it. 1 John 3:1 says “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him” (ESV). We don’t have to conform to the world’s standards; we just have to walk in the precious love of the Father.

You know as we journey toward Resurrection Sunday, I am always reminded of just how much God loves us. I acknowledge it all the time but around this time of year, the feeling is always heightened. I reflect on who I am and what I have done in my life and think about the fact that Jesus took on all of my stuff, my sins, my mess and paid for it. He did the same for you. So today, I challenge you to stop looking at your life like a puzzle to be solved. Instead, I encourage you to live like the child of God that you are. Have you read Romans 8 lately? If not, let me remind you what it says! We are children of God!  “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.  And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.” (Rom 8:14-17 NLT) We will still have sufferings that we must face but we also share in the glory because we are His children! That’s a powerful assurance to stand on! It should make you hold your head high, put your shoulders back, and walk like the son or daughter that you are!

So often on this Christian journey, we get so caught up with the destination that we forget to travel in the joy and peace and abundance that God has promised us. We forget who we are because we’ve gotten bogged down by the things that have happened to us along the way or we are so focused on the end of a thing that we don’t acknowledge and enjoy the lessons that we gained in the middle. You remember when you were a kid and how you couldn’t wait to be grown. But now as you look back at all the amazing things you got to do growing up…all the fun you had or the lessons you learned! You realize what an adventure it was! I believe that’s what God wants for us. He wants us to live out this life with the confidence that we are loved and taken care of and therefore enjoy the journey.  Live out Proverbs 3: 5-6! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” (NLT)

Live the life, saints! Walk this thing out with joy, peace and love. Don’t allow anyone to direct your journey but God. When you feel the pressures of this world start to bog you down, rest in Him! Let Him rejuvenate and restore you. Listen to Him tell you of His love and His care and receive it! Now THAT's living the life!

God bless! AMEN…