We have an important role to play in preserving our culture. In Matthew 5 Jesus tells us to be Salt and Light.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-19

What does it mean to be salt and light? In the time of Christ salt had equal trading value as gold. It was important to the culture and even used as payment for a salary. Today when someone says you aren’t worth your salt, they are referring back to a time when salt was extremely cherished. Salt left in the shaker is valueless. For it to have value it must be poured out of its container and used as intended.

So it is with a committed Christian. We are priceless to our culture and need to preserve people from the tyranny of sin. You and only you can be the salt of the earth. The purpose of the believer is to get out of our holy huddles and enter our culture with a loving, caring and compassionate heart until others ask “why?”

Light has its value for guiding people out of darkness and comforting them in times of need. A flashlight only works if it has good fresh batteries from which to draw energy. So it is with a true disciple, until we are daily filled with power of God’s spirit and word we cannot be useful for Kingdom work.

Change must occur one life at a time. We need to engage our culture. Be light and salt where you live. Think about some of the Biblical characters and how they changed their environments: Daniel changed the life of Nebuchadnezzar and the empire he ruled; Nehemiah rallied the Israelites to rebuild a wall that inspired Ezra to lead a revival; and Jonah’s life and commitment impacted Assyria. The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that fighting for righteousness and a godly character is always right.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today!!!

“What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”
    says the Lord.
“I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams
    and the fat of fattened cattle.
I get no pleasure from the blood
    of bulls and lambs and goats.
¹² When you come to worship me,
    who asked you to parade through my courts with all your ceremony?
¹³ Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;
    the incense of your offerings disgusts me!
As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath
    and your special days for fasting—
they are all sinful and false.
    I want no more of your pious meetings.
¹⁴ I hate your new moon celebrations and your annual festivals.
    They are a burden to me. I cannot stand them!
¹⁵ When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.
    Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,
    for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.
¹⁶ Wash yourselves and be clean!
    Get your sins out of my sight.
    Give up your evil ways.
¹⁷ Learn to do good.
    Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
    Defend the cause of orphans.
    Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:14-17

This was a word to Sodom and Gomorrah from God. God has had enough, he was sickened by their acts and life choices. Why? Here God is warning them and giving them a way out. He always gives us a way out even in our deepest sins He offers a way to freedom and salvation. Know this though, God will not be mocked, He will always expose our darkness and our actions. Why?

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah tried playing both sides of the fence, they would live their lives any way they wanted and still came to God with prayers, with their ceremonies, and with their offerings. In this chapter God says HE HATES their offerings and sacrifices and tells them to STOP bring them to him, he said they STINK to him. In verse 16 he says “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. REMOVE the evil of your deeds from My sight, CEASE do to evil” God is saying STOP I hate this, it means NOTHING to me!!

Aren’t you glad we don’t live and act like the people from Sodom and Gomorrah? Or do we? We live how we like, say what we want, treat people like we feel like treating them, and then come to God with our prayers and sacrifices. LISTEN very closely here…. becoming Christlike is a growing experience. We have habits and life experiences we have to overcome!! God is patient, God is good and HE IS LOVE. When you were born again you became a new man and what is left are the habits you have, anger, hate, cursing, whatever it is. God speaks to the NEW MAN of how to rid yourself of these “old ways” and that is how growth takes place. GOD DOES NOT EXPECT you to become a “super Christian” soon as your are saved. BUT….He does expect you to grow and move towards holiness. 

What he despises are men that talk one way and walk another way!!! Pretty pure and simple. He even gives us a way to help us in our growth… turn your focus away from yourself and start focusing on “doing good, seeking justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” Verse 17 — in other words make your life about others and not YOU!!!

“As for me and my house, we will SERVE the Lord” …… in holiness, purity and integrity!!!

Now go out and have an EPIC day today!!!

Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. ~Ezekiel 3:10~

As a husband, a father, a brother, a co-worker and as a man we are called to lead others in the Word of God. As humans we can motivate with love, with being stern, with anger, with demanding our ways etc…. but there is a power that comes forth with anointing, power, and sharpness of a two edged sword. GOD’S WORD!!!!

This little Scripture here is powerful and full of truth, power and vision. We know verses that we use when we need to and most of the time it’s from a sermon we have heard, or a song that moved us or even a facebook post, so we repeat them and use them. When we do this there is NO power within our words for the most part. The verse says “let my words sink deep into your own heart” This means to MEDITATE on God’s word, read, meditate, sing, read again and again until it sinks deep into your heart and becomes LIFE and POWER!!!

When we speak these words from our “spirit-man” it comes forth anointed and powerful that cuts through all the junk and brings LIFE!!!!!! I cannot stress enough how important it is to know His Word… why? Because His word changes everything when spoken through a man that is FILLED with the SPIRIT… spoken through the Spirit…in LOVE.

Wash your wife, sons, daughters and family with God’s Word…….. this is how 🙂

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

When I started out with this it was fueled by my word for this year “REAL” as I prayed I heard the Lord speak this Scripture

‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ~ Luke 10:27

I wrote last week about loving God with all your heart…. today I will begin with Love the Lord your God with all your SOUL….

So the question I ask is “how do I love God with all my soul”? This is a huge question. In my last blog I wrote about loving God with all our heart, while loving the Lord with all our heart has to do with affection, love the Lord with all our soul has to do with devotion.

The biblical definition for soul means life, personality, the inner self and our identity. It’s were we make our decisions and choices and ultimately decide our lifestyle and behavior.

To love the Lord with all of your soul means to love Him in the way you live, in the choices you make and in the behavior and lifestyle you adopt.

LOVE THE LORE WITH ALL YOUR SOUL BY PURSUING A LIFE OF HUMILITY IN ATTITUDES AND SPEECH.

When Jesus is our Great Treasure then our affections are captured. This is how we love God with all of our heart…. When our affections are captured then choices become god-centered and a lifestyle of humility.

LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR SOUL BY MAKING GODLY CHOICES.

We do what we value!! If we treasure our relationship with the Lord our choices will simply mirror the Treasure. Choices flow from what we treasure most!

LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR SOUL BY PURSUING OBEDIENCE TO HIS WORD.

We live by every Word that proceed from the mouth of God, we are tangibly expressing our love for the Lord.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart……”

I don’t want to live a “normal” or passive life, but like all people I want to be filled with excitement. I want my heart to be consumed, on fire for something. God put this desire in every person, just think about all the different things people sink their lives, their time, their energy… from hobbies to interest to relationships.

I want to be captivated just like anyone else in this world. Here Jesus lays down the MOST IMPORTANT commandment for mankind and He starts our with loving the Lord with ALL of your heart…..

So if we are told to Love the Lord with all of our hearts that we should pursue it’s meaning. What does it mean to love God with all our hears and how do we go about doing it?

1. UNDERSTAND THAT OUR AFFECTIONS DETERMIN OUR DEVOTION

To determine where our affections actually lie, we have to discern what occupies our time, what motivates our actions, what shapes our dreams and what comprises their reward. Affections wait to be captured. They long to cling to someone or something. Wherever these affections are found so will our hearts be.

2. UNDERSTAND THAT OUR AFFECTIONS FOLLOW WHAT WE TREASURE.

The devotion of our hearts is determined by wherever we find value as our greatest treasure. Matt. 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be.” Jesus just gave us the answer on how to love God with all our hearts. The HEART loves what it treasures!! The treasure comes FIRST and the heart comes SECOND.

For the heart to love Jesus completely, it has to treasure Him supremely. Our affections are the outcome of what we treasure. When we truly encounter the Lord in His glory and worth, loving Him with all our hearts will be the end result.

3. THE GOAL IS TO MAKE JESUS YOUR GREATEST TREASURE.

Jesus was the treasure of Paul’s life…NOTHING else mattered compared to gaining Christ.

⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ~ Phil. 3:8

⁸ Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, Eph. 3:8

The glory of Jesus is so amazing and so satisfying that once discovered, all else pales in comparison. When we divert our attention away for the Lord, our love will begin to grow cold. IT’S THAT SIMPLE. It’s true in our personal lives as well as in the church.

4. SPEND TIME WITH THE LORD….

⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^[a] made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. ⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2Cor 4:6-7

ONLY through the persistent gave on the face of the Lord and His glory does the light pierce our hearts — the same lights the keep the Seraphim consumed before His throne….

⁸ Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:

 

My word this year from the Lord is “REAL” ya I know kind of a strange word to get, to be honest I’m not sure of everything that He means by this word. I know it’s to “be real, or get real” before God and man in ALL aspects of my life. This is FOR ME!

As I was praying about this a scripture came to mind……

‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ~ Luke 10:27

To love Him with with our HEART – SOUL – STRENGTH – MIND and then Love your neighbor as yourself….I am going to take each area and break it down on how to “Get Real”  in our heart, soul, strength and mind.

Keep your eyes open as I write and post about these things…..I must say I feel as though I know the answers to these, I feel like I have them down pretty well and I try to practice them daily in my life…..haha and as I write that last statement the Lord gently and joyfully nudged me with a sweet little whisper “pride son pride” lol

So I am off and running to see and hear what He wants to show me.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today

I will speak of your statutes before kings
    and will not be put to shame,
for I delight in your commands
    because I love them.
I reach out for your commands, which I love,
    that I may meditate on your decrees.

Psalms 119:45-48

Usually soon as we become a Christian we hear that we need to love God and obey his commands (Word) and that is such a big set up for failure, shame, hidden sin, and a relationship with the Lord that is weak and always up and down if we are not taught “how to Love God, how to obey Him”

Here he writes that he delights in God’s commands, he reaches out for God’s commands….. I don’t know about you but that sure was not me for so many years on my walk with the Lord. For many years I was up and down, in and out, and had so many things that I tried to hide from Him and all those church people around me.

So how is it possible to live in a way that you LOVE God’s commands? The writer says he reaches out for them, he meditates on them… bottom line KNOWING them. Most people only know what they are told about God’s commands and decrees, but I want to tell you to dig into them, study them and soon as you go deeper and deeper you will find the very heart of God, and once you find the heart of someone that’s when you fall in love with them. IF you fall in love with the Lord you WILL FALL IN LOVE with His commands!! You will find strength in His word, boldness in His word (I will not be put to shame).

These three little verses hold much power and truth. As always KNOW HIS WORD, study His Word and soon you will find yourself a God follower with a clean heart and clean hands.

Now go out and have an EPIC day today!!!

 My comfort in my suffering is this:
    Your promise preserves my life.~Psalm 119:50

No matter what I go through His promise is the one thing I hold on to. He promises to preserve my life. I have confidence in His word, I have confidence in His promises, I have confidence in my relationship with Jesus. Because of this confidence I can find comfort in my suffering! AMEN!!

The word “preserve” means:

My soul is weary with sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word. ~ Psalm 119:28

There are so many things in this world that makes our soul weary. Relationships, family at times, finances, job situations, a death of a loved one, school, our health, just living life can bring us a weary soul and much sorrow.

Some turn to alcohol, drugs etc to just get some relief and not have to think about things, others turn to counselors or psychiatrist, others turn to reading self help books, others turn to some other type of addiction just trying to get some relief and some peace. Some end up bitter and angry all the time, some lash out at others and some even just drop out of society….it’s life and it happens.

And God says He will and can strengthen us with His Word. His word is LIFE, His word is POWER, His word is STRENGTH. How is this so? The words on the page become alive through the power of the Holy Spirit. Reading and knowing the Word is the most important thing you can do as a God follower. It is your strength, your wisdom, your life.

Now go read the Word of God… take your time….chew on it…meditate on it…. and have an EPIC day today.