THE WORLD PUSHES COMPARISON. CHRIST OFFERS TRANSFORMATION !

The world that we live in demands so much of us. Many religions also demand so much of us and from us. We are constantly offered up a list of achievements that somehow “Prove” we are successful. Many people of various religions have a list of things “they must do and accomplish” to be Complete. Many, many Christians have a laundry list of things they must do and complete and have their handy “guardrails” up to prevent themselves from falling off the path they are often “consumed” with and by. The world will tell us all the things that make us a “good” person. The world gives us a checklist of attitudes that “we must embrace” to be acceptable to what Culture Deems As Good. Church Denominations all have a dogma or doctrine that defines what one must DO to be in correct posture and thought. It can be Behavioral. It can be Liturgical. It can have the best intentions…and yet lead you to a FALSE UNDERSTANDING OF SCRIPTURE, AND OF GOD’S TRUTH….just like the Secular World. What these things push everyone toward is COMPARISON…and COMPARISON IS THE EXACT THING THAT GOD’S ENEMY, SATAN, WANTS ! While God’s Word tells us that “We are fiercely and wonderfully made, Satan and the world He Has Dominion Over constantly tell you that ‘You just don’t measure up !” Social Media is the World’s latest tool to put a menu of “Comparisons” in the face of all who Participate. It is OK to celebrate our lives, our joys, and our accomplishments to some degree, but it is never good to view ourselves or others in the light of Comparison. Comparison promotes many things. Envy, Pridefulness, Jealousy, Arrogance, Sorrow, Anger, Division…the list is ENDLESS. Religion also can create these same things, albeit with a slightly different flavor. Comparison of Works; Worship doctrines; Service comparisons; Maturity levels….the list is ENDLESS ! COMPARISON WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE, AND IT IS NOT THE DESIGN GOD HAS FOR OUR LIVES ! THE REAL TRUTH THAT GOD REVEALS CAN BE HARSH FOR MANKIND, AND YET IT IS A TRUTH THAT WE MUST UNDERSTAND IF WE ARE TO BE TRANSFORMED ! Religion by itself will certainly produce some surface changes in a person, but without a True Transformation, Nothing Will Be LASTING AND ETERNAL ! The obvious question that we All Must ASK is composed of 3 distinct parts. 1). WHERE AM I CURRENTLY ? 2). WHERE DO I WANT TO BE ? 3). HOW DO I GET THERE ? The GOOD NEWS is that once you come to grips with the first two parts of the question, GETTING THERE will not be difficult. Getting There will be A GIFT that simply requires you to DIE TO SELF. DIE TO YOUR OLD LIFE. BE REBORN…AND BE TRANSFORMED. A NEW IDENTITY THAT WILL SET US FREE FROM BONDAGE, FREE FROM COMPARISON, AND INTO A LIFE OF ABUNDANCE, JOY, AND COMPLETION ! ARE YOU READY TO SEE IT ?

DO NOTHING OUT OF SELFISH AMBITION OR VAIN CONCEIT.RATHER, IN HUMILITY, VALUE OTHERS ABOVE YOURSELVES, NOT LOOKING TO YOUR OWN INTERESTS BUT EACH OF YOU TO THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS. Philippians 2: 2-4

LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND. IT DOES NOT ENVY, IT DOES NOT BOAST, IT IS NOT PROUD. IT DOES NOT DISHONOR OTHERS, IT IS NOT SELF SEEKING, IT IS NOT EASILY ANGERED. IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH. IT ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES. LOVE NEVER FAILS…1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

TRANSFORMATION BEGINS IN YOUR HEART ! I once read in a Leadership Teaching that “The mind justifies what the Heart Desires.” It was a hard TRUTH to swallow at first. I am not always happy with my actions and habits, nor always my thoughts and proclamations. THE HARD TRUTH THAT WE ALL MUST COME TO GRIPS WITH IS THAT “ WITHOUT GOD, WE ARE DEAD IN OUR SIN !” As a believer, this can be very UNCOMFORTABLE. Those without belief in God simply laugh it off, or ignore it. Looking Deeply into our Hearts can be quite Uncomfortable. Often we create excuses or make up “new truths” to deal with our failings and struggles. It is So Uncomfortable that often we are taught, or we choose to think that Facing The Truth And Consequences Of Sin Is Simply NOT KIND; thusly, sin can be ignored, lest someone feels uncomfortable or ostresized. IS THAT LOVING ? Is it OK to allow someone to wallow in Ignorance, or destruction ? How many examples do we have of the “world” ignoring TRUTH to avoid ACCOUNTABILITY ? Spend a day in the life of those who are “homeless”; walk in their world, and I guarantee you, you wil SEE THE FAILURES OF THE WORLD UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL ! I Have. I Have Also Seen What The POWER OF GOD’S LOVE CAN DO IN tHOSE PLACES !!! HERE IS THE TRUTH. GOD’S TRUTH. NOT SOMETHING MAN MADE UP TO FEEL GOOD OR TOTALLY AVOID ACCOUNTABILITY AND CONSEQUENCES.

GOD LOVES YOU ! IN FACT, HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH, THAT HE SENT HIS SON JESUS CHRIST TO DIE ON A CROSS IN YOUR PLACE TO ABSOLVE YOU OF ALL YOUR SIN ! IT REQUIRES YOU TO DIE TO YOUR OLD SELF, AND BE REBORN INTO THE GIFT OF SALVATION AND ETERNAL LIFE. YOU CAN’T EARN IT, AND YOU CAN’T MAP OUT ANYTHING. YOU MUST BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOU, AND THAT HE OVERCAME DEATH AND HAS BEEN RESURRECTED INTO HEAVEN; SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER. HE IS YOUR WAY, AND YOUR TRUTH, AND YOUR LIFE. YOU WILL ONLY COME TO THE FATHER THROUGH HIM. A RELATIONSHIP REBORN. YOU WILL BE A CITIZEN OF HIS KINGDOM, AND REIGN ETERNALLY WITH HIM. IN JESUS, “IT IS FINISHED !” NO COMPARISONS; NO LIST OF TASKS; NO LIST OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS…JUST FAITH AND TRUST ! SURRENDERING SELF AND TRUSTING THAT JESUS FULFILLED ALL OF GOD’S COMMANDMENTS, AND ABIDING IN HIM AND HE IN YOU, YOU ARE WORTHY ! EVEN BETTER, HE IS COMING AGAIN !

Our Job Is To Follow Him, Run To Him, Seek Him Constantly, and TRUST IN HIS LOVE AND GRACE ! THAT LOVE should propel us to WALK AS HE WALKED ! FLEE SIN ! SEEK HIS HELP IN OVERCOMING IT ! Fulfill God’s Commandments in our SPIRIT by HOW WE LIVE ! Use Sin as a Mirror. See It. SEEK JESUS. In Him, OVERCOME It. Let your LIFE IN CHRIST DEFINE YOU. Your IDENTITY IS IN HIM :)

LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST RULE IN YOUR HEARTS, SINCE AS MEMBERS OF ONE BODY YOU WERE CALLED TO PEACE. AND BE THANKFUL. LET THE MESSAGE OF CHRIST DWELL AMONG YOU RICHLY, AS YOU TEACH AND ADMONISH ONE ANOTHER WITH ALL WISDOM THROUGH PSALMS, HYMNS, AND SONGS FROM THE SPIRIT, SINGING TO GOD WITH GRATITUDE IN YOUR HEARTS. AND WHATEVER YOU DO, WHETHER IN A WORD OR DEED, DO IT ALL IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, GIVING THANKS TO GOD THE FATHER THROUGH HIM. Colossians 3: 15-17

BUT THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE, JOY, PEACE, FORBEARANCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF CONTROL. AGAINST SUCH THINGS, THERE IS NO LAW. THOSE WHO BELONG TO CHRIST HAVE CRUCIFIED THE FLESH WITH ITS PASSIONS AND DESIRES. SINCE WE LIVE BY THE SPIRIT, LET US KEEP IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT. LET US NOT BECOME CONCEITED, PROVOKING AND ENVYING EACH OTHER. Galatians 5: 22-25

How interesting that The Apostle Paul was seeing and dealing with “Comparison” even back in his day. Nothing New Under The Sun :) Will we choose to live in the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT ? Will we LET THE PEACE OF CHRIST RULE IN OUR HEARTS ? When I accepted JESUS as my Lord and Savior, I so wanted Salvation and HELP ! Allowing HIM TO BE MY LORD has been a Journey, and at times a Battle. As I mature and get older, it becomes Ever More Clear that I must SEEK HIM IN EVERY PART OF MY LIFE ! I MUST INCLUDE HIM IN EVERY DECISION ! I must BE IN RELATIONSHIP AND FACE TO FACE COMMUNICATION IN EVERY BREATH I TAKE. I will have success, and I will Fall Down….but I will ALWAYS GET UP AND RUN TO HIM. WILL YOU ? ? ?

FREEDOM IN CHRIST JESUS/JAA

BUT NOW, APART FROM THE LAW, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD HAS BEEN MADE KNOWN, TO WHICH THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS TESTIFY. THIS RIGHTEOUSNESS IS GIVEN THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST TO ALL WHO BELIEVE. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JEW AND GENTILE, FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD, AND ALL ARE JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT CAME BY CHRIST JESUS. Romans 3: 21-24

“