…a life that’s lived for Christ, giving him the reins
How I live each day – shows God how much I love Him (or not):
- How I complete each moment of the day…
- How I follow His lead, letting Him guide me…
- How I leave each soul in my wake as my soul meets another. 1
Like God Himself does, I want my soul to reveal itself from my face and have me shine acceptance upon you and spark some peace inside your soul right now.
Numbers 6:26
The Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval],
And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].’
In the strength of His Spirit, each day I want to… lift up my countenance upon you (whoever you are) and have you sense acceptance, approval and love – from me. I want to give you peace inside your soul when our souls connect. I want your heart and life to be more “tranquil” because I maintained a healthy soul and “shined on your soul”.
I need to ask myself: Am I supportive of the souls I meet? Every day, every meeting of the souls: Do I shine with approval and love — upon those with whom I come in contact?
Or do I dim their soul (put out their light) with my merciless condemnation, indifference, apathy, harshness, or my lack of gentleness? Do I lift their spirits at that moment in time, with who I am, with how I engage? Or like a train in the night do I pass them by without regard for their soul?
A life that’s lived for Christ. It’s not a popularity contest to see who is the nicest. It’s a life that’s lived for Christ – to show myself to God as “approved”. Not to show man, but to show God. When I step into His realm That Day, I want to enter His approval for what I’ve done on earth, for the good fruit I produce by the power of His Spirit in me.
Since my sins have already been removed forever by His grace – I’m not trying to “get forgiven”. That is a done deal from that moment in time that He saved me. So now that I’m saved, my life goal is that I will enter His presence knowing that by His Spirit I did my best to be a healthy, redeemed soul for His glory.
2 Timothy 2:15
Study and do your best to present yourself to God approved, a workman [tested by trial] who has no reason to be ashamed, accurately handling and skillfully teaching the word of truth.
Sins aside (as in “as far as the East is from the West…” aside) the question is: Is what I am doing with my life “approved” by God? I stand now confident in Christ, forgiven, made His forever child. But is the life I live, here and now… approved by God? Will He say on That Day, “Well done, good and faithful servant”?
Now, let’s see: — what have I done, what am I doing, what will I do today — to show my Savior that I truly love Him? To what extent am I sold-out to Him today? Jesus clearly delineated to what extent He wants our commitment. He wants “all” of us (not bits and pieces):
Luke 10:27
…“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
With Christ it’ll never be “cryin’ time again” because He’s leaving. We can tell by His Word that He’ll never be far away again, ever. He is the faithful groom. He’s not a fickle human, frail and prone to wander, like we. I’m not afraid of that (His leaving…). But, oh, I want to show Him my love. My life is going to show it.
I am nurturing a healthy soul so I can pour grace on your day and be gracious to you, friend or foe, whatever your sin. A healthy soul is beyond mere “charming”. Healthy souls exude caring and grace on all around, whether “red or yellow, black or white”. We’re all one race, descended from Adam and Eve, created equal by Creator God.
Regardless of your race or creed, or your specific sin – a Christ-filled soul can bless you. The healthy soul does not hope to get back a reward or residual from having been “healthy”. The face of a healthy soul shines with love and gracious acceptance, unadulterated agape love.
Jesus recognized that there are “things” that each of us has to battle inside our soul, things that can keep us morally weak and unable to walk in maturity. In order to possess godly character, to truly be spiritually mature… we must strip away that which hinders our walk with Christ.
Spiritual maturity is when you recognize your sin for what it is, and confess it, repenting more quickly, not wallowing in it. It is that point in time where you maintain yourself free of “moral or ethical deficiencies”, as Jesus taught.
For the rich, young ruler, Jesus spoke directly to his hinderance.
Matthew 19:verse 21
Jesus answered him, “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].”
Apparently that rich, powerful man relied so heavily on his riches, that they hindered his desire to follow Jesus. Jesus saw that, so He said “go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor”. His implied message was ‘— then you will have the ability to truly follow Me.’ As the AMP version says, “[becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk]”.
Apparently some things keep us away from salvation in Christ. Something needs to be confessed, repented of, walked-away-from… or (from Matthew 19:verse 21)
- we can’t become His disciple,
- we can’t truly “believe” Him
- we can’t truly “trust” in Him
- we can’t walk “the same path of life that I [Christ]walk”
In essence, because we can’t give Him “our all”, because we’re hanging onto something of our self, the tragic result is — we can’t accept His free gift of salvation. Are you there? Are you a “so-called believer” who cannot give Him “all”, the “all” that Christ Himself requires of us in Luke 10:27?
Luke 10:27
…“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
He did not, and does not, ask you and me to be sinless. That will come later. He points us in that direction. But He asks you and me to come to Him now just as we are, and turn from our rottenness and give Him all we are in genuiness and truth. He only accepts the genuinely repentant. That’s called “getting born again“.
Then, no matter what we’ve done, or who we’ve been, or how we’ve lived, in that moment of genuine repentance and acceptance of Him, we are saved, we are made brand new by God Himself – right then, and we begin to walk with Him, follow Him. Then He begins His work of bringing us into spiritual health and strength. Little by little we become a more healthy soul as His Spirit guides and leads.
A Healthy Soul… based on Galatians 5:22-23
- walks with wings of grace, not slithering condemnation, pride and selfishness
- walks into your space smoothing soothing lotion on your roughed-up soul
- with unguarded presence – expresses: “I’m fine with you”, “I am yours for this moment in time together”
- is longsuffering and gentle, not back-stabbing, pouty, self-absorbed
- is compelled by the Spirit, listening to His still, small voice (Acts 20:22)
- feels obligated and directed toward action because of strong convictions (Acts 20:22)
- produces the fruit of the Spirit more and more, the good fruit of Galatians 5:
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit
[the result of His presence within us]
is love
[unselfish concern for others],
joy,
[inner] peace,
patience
[not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting],
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
I’m not where I want to be, but I’m getting there, one step at a time. I’m seeking to be more conscious of who I really am inside and out, and what I’m actually doing for the lives of those around me each day.
FOR MORE:
- The wake is the region of disturbed flow (often turbulent) downstream of a solid body moving through a fluid, caused by the flow of the fluid around the body. –Wikipedia.
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