As a Christian, I follow Jesus. He is my Savior and Lord and I aim to please Him. “Being pleasing”. Do you have it down yet?
It’s not an easy road
I do not live willy-nillie. I discipline my daily life to live like Jesus would in my situation. Sometimes I fail.
But now, more and more I make less and less room in the cavern of my mind for the sins of life (Romans 6:12-14). There is less of the selfish outlook, egotism, lusts of the flesh, erroneous thinking… and the list goes on and on (James 4:3).
I aim for straight-out righteous! (link to quote at end of article)
Little by little I have been matching-up the desires of my heart — to be the desires of what God desires. My worldview is more and more matching-up to God’s view.
Pushed to conform
With so much evil growing, it is getting more and more difficult to think like God thinks. In these End Days, or, as Jesus put it 1 in Matthew 24:14 “…and then the end“…we are being pushed to conform our thinking to the way of the world.
– Source: Think like God Almighty
Resist the roaring lion
I resist the roaring lion who wants to eat me up (1 Peter 5:6-9): I make positive life choices, and I avoid living in ways that displease God. Makes sense, right? However, it’s not an easy road (YouTube video/lyrics). 2
God has been working inside me! That’s what He does. Over the years THAT is reflected in my daily living. More and more I reflect 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight [living our lives in a manner consistent with our confident belief in God’s promises]— 8 we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope”
– 2 Corinthians 5:7-8
“Following Jesus” = “Pleasing Him”
Being pleasing
I do that with my wife: I make it a point to do what makes her happy. Right? I want her happy! What kind of fool would not? 3
Solomon said,
if you are not following “wisdom”,
then you are one or more
of several not so wise types.
– Source: King Solomon’s Fool
For more “not so wise types“… read here
I aim to act as Jesus would
I want my life to be an example of what Jesus would do. How ’bout you? (I’m still not so good at this… but it’s something I’m a’workin’ more on.)
What’s your aim in life?
Each day, as I plan and make decisions, I aim to act as Jesus would — with my friends, neighbors, community, at work, and with the world at large. It’s not always possible to please everyone, obviously, but I work at it so any offense will not be from within me, nor will it be from how I choose to act.
I identify as a child of God
I am a child of God belonging to Jesus. That is my identity. How do you identify? What do you identify as?
I refuse to accept what the world today is presenting for me to be.
* I am not the sum total of all my sins.
* Nor am I what Satan and his minions say I am.
Moment by moment I consciously choose to conform my identity to godliness 4 I remind myself that I am a child of God through God’s grace, not by my own abilities. And I reject sin.
I have been born anew. That is my identity. I am what I am by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 15:10). I am working with Him to make me more and more into His likeness. 5
“Who I am is not
“what I’m going through”.
Who I am is a constant:
I am a child of the King,
an heir to The Throne,
and nothing I’m going through
can make me less.
Nothing can take me away
from His love for me.”
– Source: Who I really really am
______________
6 But if it is by grace
[God’s unmerited favor],
it is no longer
on the basis of works,
otherwise grace
is no longer grace
[it would not be a gift
but a reward for works].
– Romans 11:6
______________
“Don’t fool yourself
by your limited thinking.
Not one person
who lives their life
their own way
will ever inherit
the Kingdom of God
or share in any part of it….”
–Swift’s Amped-up Paraphrase
of the Passage (AMPED-UP)
– 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
– Source: Limited Thinking
Agreeing with God
Have you thought about that before? Salvation is a matter of agreeing with God about what is sin, agreeing with His solution to the condemnation under which sinners find themselves. The solution: giving yourself 100% to Jesus.
We will be called to account for our mindset, our way of thinking. Fear this, fear the wrath, says the Gospel which takes away all fear.
We first must fear God and accept His solution — then He frees us from THE great fear, condemnation by God. In Jesus — we are freed from a righteous “God Damn”.
Source: As if your mindset is protected by God
Don’t “give sin a vote”
In spite of my sins, the Lord accepts me – because I have repented and turned away from them.
He is always at work in me (in you) – nonstop, “to be used for his good purposes” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
Romans 6:13 Living Bible
13 Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God—every part of you—for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes.
Romans 6:13-14 The Message
12-14 That means you must not give sin a vote in the way you conduct your lives. Don’t give it the time of day. Don’t even run little errands that are connected with that old way of life.
Throw yourselves wholeheartedly and full-time—remember, you’ve been raised from the dead!—into God’s way of doing things. Sin can’t tell you how to live.
After all, you’re not living under that old tyranny any longer. You’re living in the freedom of God.
The non-stop work of God inside you and me
Father God disciplines me, His child, like the loving father He is. God is huge, but He cares. He is not distant.
Hebrews 12:6
For the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves, And He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].”
Hebrews 12:10
For our earthly fathers disciplined us for only a short time as seemed best to them; but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
Who would want to
go through all of life
— and end up…
still a fool?
– Source: King Solomon’s Fool
FOR MORE:
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts and passions.
13 Do not go on offering members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness.
But offer yourselves to God [in a decisive act] as those alive [raised] from the dead [to a new life], and your members [all of your abilities—sanctified, set apart] as instruments of righteousness [yielded] to God.
14 For sin will no longer be a master over you, since you are not under Law [as slaves], but under [unmerited] grace [as recipients of God’s favor and mercy]. – Romans 6:12-14
The non-stop work of God inside you and me
The Bible is “able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation”
I run to win. Christ did. Do you?
In Christ I am a strong person
Yes! – I am ready, steady, and able
The Righteous Person Excerpt: Avoiding Evil.
How to be more righteous
A Swift proverb
based on the various translations of Job 11:12
Don’t be an empty-headed wild ass who thinks he knows it all. You’re so vain! You were never “born free”. Don’t be a stupid person who can’t tame himself! If you are a fool – forget about it! You’ll never become wise. It’s more likely that a wild donkey will give birth to a human!
– Source: Personal rules of practice. See: Proverbs 27:12; Proverbs 14:16; Proverbs 16:6.
Before a good cup a Joe Excerpt: Me – getting up another day, praying…
I don’t do frenetic. I don’t do worry. I don’t let it in. I don’t start my day all out of kilter, out of whack. I refuse to stumble into my day.
In the morning when my mind wakes up, before I get up, that’s the time I start my attitude. Before a good cup ‘a Joe, I pray. I think a few thoughts – to my Father God. Not a long prayer, not a lot of words (It’s 5am!) – just a few to set my mind on High.
What God asks of us in the Bible
Being faithful little by little
I am not the sum of all my sins
Being friendly, cordial and gracious
Living daily with gentleness and respect
Doing one act of love at a time
Act in love towards all people
Put down sinners… with compassion and love?
God forgives all wrongdoings of all repentant sinners, no exception
King Solomon’s Fool Excerpt:
Want to be a fool? Stay a fool? Or: Do you want to heed God’s Word, and follow the Truth? Who would want to go through all of life — and end up… still a fool? – Source: King Solomon’s Fool
God is calling us to Himself. Have you read about Him? Have you truly heard His call? Have you heeded His message? – Source: Making God
Proverbs 3:5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
The tragic error people live in all their life
The sins around us and the sins we do
Practicing sin, NOT following Christ
The dangers of consorting with error
The one-off offer Jesus makes to everyone
How you can know you are a Christian
Is Jesus’ worldview your worldview
As if your mindset is protected by God
In Christ I am a strong person
The overcoming faith of Christ followers
Growing into our natural new life in Christ
“The spirits of the righteous made perfect”
Imagine you the perfect person
Distracting meaningless things
Read the series on Every believer’s new life in Christ, from Ephesians 1. We are made new creatures, given new life in Christ – when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
- Growing into our natural new life in Christ
- Every believer’s new life in Christ [Part One]
- Explaining the Basic Christian Experience [Part Two]
Footnotes
- Matthew 24:14 |14 This good news of the kingdom the gospel will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end of the age will come.” See Matthew 24:14 in all English translations.
- Positive life choices:
Responding to insults and losses
Being Jesus “With Skin On” for Children
Rely on the Spirit of God in you
What God asks of us in the Bible.
I “set my mind”: Colossians 3:2, Colossians 3:15, 1 Peter 1:15, Mark 8:33, Romans 6:13.
- It’s like the exuberant newlywed who came home after work and shouted out, “Honey I’m home. And I’m new and improved!” He wanted to please his wife. He was already her husband, but he wanted to make her happy. – Source: My Checkoff List.
- I conform my identity to godliness: Job 22:21, Romans 8:29, Romans 12:2, Philippians 3:8-10, 1 Peter 1:13-16.
- References for “by the grace of God”:Romans 12:3, Luke 6:21, Romans 3:22-24, Romans 5:1-5.
-
My Checkoff List:
Today, all day, I was….I can honestly say before God: Today, all day — “I was…
Ο…| never irritated by anyone (re: raising my voice, changing into that distinct irritation inflection)
Ο…| never scolding, harshly correcting, condemning, mocking
Ο…| never disdainful, disgusted, challenging, putting-down, impatient
Ο…| never unloving, irritable, in a bad mood
Ο…| never snappy, sassy, nasty, pouty, sulky, snarky, moody
Ο…| never angry – to where I sinned with it
Ο…| never spiteful, wishing harm on anyone, vengeful, pent-up with rage
Ο…| never jealous, envious, wanting what someone else has, wanting to possess their things
Ο…| never egocentric, egotistical, narcissistic
Ο…| never selfish, self-centered, contrary,
Ο…| never sheltering negativity, harshly negative in any way
Ο…| never lusting, lusty, sensual towards others, doing porn
Ο…| never “using others”, manipulative, manipulating for my own good
Ο…| never evil-minded, wanting to do some evil thing
Ο…| never discontented, unsatisfied, dissatisfied, wanting more, feeling empty, unfulfilled.
Ο…| never wanton
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