Another Beautiful Day!
Paul had the chills last night at 8:00pm. He took meds and went to bed. Overnight he was coughing a lot. I started out sleeping on the couch, trying not to g something else...I'm still taking 20mg of prednisone. Around 2:00am I woke up and heard Paul coughing so went in to check on him...he was feeling better. We slept in until around 7:30am this morning...
We decided to try some new medicine this morning to try to beat this crud...
Pray that it works. I've had it the whole time we've been in AZ. It's getting old...
We've been taking it easy while we've been here...
So thankful for all we can do...
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Today's Bible Study
By Dr. Charles Stanley
Too many believers have walked away from God. No, He has not moved—they have. The moment we stop drawing near to our heavenly Father, we put a limit on our knowledge and understanding of Him. This is completely true of the lost man or woman, but to a certain degree, it also applies to the Christian who isn’t living a godly lifestyle.
More than once, I have listened to believers talk about how they can no longer trust the Lord. These individuals may have made a series of wrong choices, but they blame God for failing to prevent the negative consequences. We must keep in mind that His primary desire is to draw us into an intimate relationship with Him. Sin has consequences, and the Lord will not change the principles He has established. If we want to know why something has happened, we need to move closer to Him, not farther away. We also need to seek His forgiveness when we sin.
Someone might ask, “Didn’t Christ’s forgiveness take care of my sin––past, present, and future?” Yes. If we have accepted God’s gift of salvation, our guilt is completely erased in terms of our eternal destiny. But you and I still need to confess the wrong choices and decisions we make as believers.
Let me use an analogy to explain this truth. Think for a moment about being dressed in white—this is exactly how God views your life the moment you turn it over to Him. But then you receive an invitation to visit a coal mine. You want to go but realize white clothing is inappropriate for such an adventure. Nevertheless, curiosity and pressure from friends lead you to accept the offer. Soon, you are in the mine and covered with dust and grime. Your clothing needs to be cleansed.
Believers are often tempted to walk away from God’s call on their lives. We live in a corrupt world, where all manner of wickedness, profanity, and filth are within our reach. When you and I give in to temptation, it’s as if we have just reached out and touched the grime of a coal mine and wiped it on our white clothing. But we can ask forgiveness and become completely clean again. Every believer is sealed with an eternal “stamp” signifying that he or she belongs to Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:13). Our salvation is secure. Even so, we can become spiritually dirty and in need of God’s cleansing touch.
The Lord does not want us to mix purity and sin, so we must make a choice. One leads to inexpressible joy, peace, and security, while the other results in isolation, insecurity, regret, and deep sorrow. God demands our full commitment—anything less has serious consequences. Of course, all of us can have moments of waning devotion. But despite that, there should remain an underlying sense of love for God that we are not willing to compromise. Knowing the truth about sin and its path to destruction is important, but we must also choose to be God-focused rather than self-centered or worldly-minded.
If you are carrying sin around, you are going to be weighed down. You can’t enjoy life completely, and you certainly won’t experience the full measure of God’s blessings and goodness. Jealousy and resentment will steal your joy and prevent you from reaching your potential in Christ. Greed will limit your ability to know what the Lord is calling you to do. And endless pursuit of worldly fame and wealth will harden your heart to the simple pleasures that He gives each day. Lust and immorality will deaden the heart and spirit to such a degree that hearing God becomes impossible. As believers, we cannot engage in sin and remain in close fellowship with our Father (Ps. 66:18). Over time, we will become spiritually deaf to the principles written in His Word. That leads to one wrong decision after another.
When you have taken the wrong path––and all of us yield to sin at some point––there is Someone who will stand with you before God. John wrote, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). If you have walked away from God and said no to His plans for your life, confess that sin to Him. He will forgive you and cleanse you from unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Then, you can once again enjoy the peace, joy, and security of an intimate relationship with your heavenly Father.
Adapted from “In Step with God: Understanding His Ways and Plans for Your Life” (2008).
Looking forward to another great day...
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