​2 Chronicles 26:5 “Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.” ~NLT

When I was growing up, I did not like listening to my dad’s advice.  It wasn’t that he talked too much, or that he liked to hear himself talk. It was because most of what he advised me on was right. He was correct in his advice because of his experience.

But still, I didn’t want to hear it. I would have rather lived my life on the “50/50” chance that my way was the right way. And often enough it wasn’t. This habit rolled right into how I received God’s Word.  I remember reading certain scriptures and saying, “God’s not talking to me.”  Or “This scripture right here, I’ll have to work on. I’m not ‘that’ Christian yet.” 

There is a saying, “If you know better, you do better.” Easy to say and sounds good. So why can’t we put action to these words? It’s because we live our lives, reaping the success of our own actions and effort.

The world gives us these rewards because we pursue them the way the world teaches us too.
But remember, there is nothing the world can give us that God cannot surpass. If we would only live in obedience, we could taste God’s flavor of success and the rewards are more than we could imagine.

For example, as an alcoholic my wife only prayed for me to stop drinking. But because of her obedience, there are so many other changes that have happened to me. I am so much more than what she prayed for, and we both thank God for that! “…Seek Guidance from the Lord…” Try obedience in ‘…doing better…’ and watch what happens in our lives. The success will be more than you can imagine because the victory has already been won!

May God continue to bless and keep you under His umbrella of peace in Jesus’ name.

​Amen

 John 6:44 “For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me…” ~NLT 

Growing up during my middle school days, we played games in the neighborhood. Being picked for teams was important. You knew how good you were when you got picked in the top three. 

Today, I look at this differently. I switched the word ‘picked’ for ‘chosen’. This day and time, being chosen for anything, first or last, is a blessing. In my Christian walk, I was approached by one of the Deacons at our church and asked to join the Deacon board. I was chosen by them with the consent of our Pastor. They saw the spirit of the Lord in me. To this day I consider that a blessing. 

Not only does Jesus make the statement about us being chosen by God in the text above, but Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes…This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.” ~NLT

If you love Jesus and are thankful for what He has done for you: know that it is not because of anything you have done. It is because God choose you to be a part of His Son’s eternal work!  
  
We should embrace God’s love in including us in His Son’s journey. Be grateful that we are a part of God’s miracles!  Knowing this, we can navigate better in this confused, deceptive, and destructive world. 
  
Our flesh may not like the path of obedience, but the flesh has nothing to do with salvation. Our spirit does. And like Jesus said in John 6:63, “The Spirit alone gives eternal life.” ~NLT Feed the spirit with the Word. Starve the flesh and watch your faith grow strong. You have been chosen. Be grateful. 
  
May God continue to bless and keep you healed, guided, and protected in Jesus’ name, 
  
Amen ​