Skip to main content

You Are Not Your Own

    So many people, even Christians, consider this life to be their own to use as they please. They make their plans and spend their time doing what they want to do, whether it is pleasing to God or not. How many of us wake up in the morning saying, "Lord, what do you want from me today?" Instead, we wake up planning how we want to spend our time. The majority of the time, we do what we want to when we want to.

    What if this is not how we were supposed to live? What if all our plans and schemes for our life gratify our own fleshly desires and really bring no glory to God? In my eyes, it'd all be for nothing if that were the case. On one hand, the Lord loves to give us the desires of our heart. He put them there for a reason! Everyone has their own joys in life that bring them satisfaction. So I am not saying that Jesus doesn't want to give us what we want. However, we should not confuse our fleshly desires with our God-given heart's desires. The funny thing about it is that your godly desires perfectly coincide with His unique design for your life.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (ESV)

    Our time is so precious to us because it is limited. That makes us prioritize it in order of importance to us. But what we keep on forgetting is that Jesus gave up His life on the cross so we could live. And not just be alive, but really live life to the fullest capacity. Doesn't that make you want to live differently? For me, I can't just say "hey thanks for the get out of jail free card, Jesus!" and go on with my life the same way. I want to thank Him with everything I have, knowing that it will never be enough.

    Praise Him with your life today and every day. Ask Him what He has planned for you so that maybe instead of spending your day doing whatever your flesh feels like, you can make a difference spreading His love to others. You'll be surprised at how when you follow His lead, it turns out better than anything you could have planned for yourself anyway. Do not be selfish with your life and your time, but give everything to the One who gave it all.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (ESV)
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (ESV)

1 Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. (ESV)

Philippians 2:20-21 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. (ESV)John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (ESV)
Matthew 10:39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (ESV)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Jealous Eyes to Thankful Hearts

    When you love someone you want the best for them. You don't think about all the things they have and you don't, but you think of what you want to give to them. Likewise, it is hard to love someone when you are focused on wanting all their blessings. Jealousy is blinding. We cannot love with envy standing in the way.     Envy takes our eyes off of Jesus and the things He is doing and onto what He is not  seeming to do for us, personally. It is a dangerous trap to be in because you are blind to what He has given to you. He blesses and uses us all differently. Amazingly, we are each completely unique in Him. Don't let the enemy distract you with what you don't seem to have, but let Jesus show you what you do.     When we don't see what is around us we begin to lose our thankfulness. We are supposed to be living a lifestyle of thankfulness to Jesus and all the wonderful things He has done for us. We thank Him and we praise Him and let Him use us ac...

Dancing Through the Fire

     For a couple weeks now the Lord has been pressing this message on my heart. He revealed a flaw in my thinking I hadn't noticed. You see, when hard times come it's in my nature to duck and cover. I go into "survival mode" and I get tunnel vision. I only focus on getting through what's in front of me alive. But in doing so, not only do I miss a lot of opportunities, but I give in to the voice of fear in my life.     I know I don't speak only for myself when I say that God wants to us in our "every day lives." Not only at church or on a special mission trip, but in the trenches of the grocery store, the gym, work, etc. It is His will that every soul is saved and He wants us to go out into the world and win those hearts for Him. But when I put myself in survival mode, I block out all the opportunities God lays before me. When I numb myself with the routine of each passing day, week, and month, I miss out on sharing the one thing of eternal importa...

Taking the Lead

    When you are in a position of leadership your entire life becomes public. You have people looking up to you and down on you simultaneously. Your life is judged more harshly not only by those who you are leading, but by God. It's not something one should ask God for flippantly. That in mind, how do you view your own leaders? I would bet that the majority of us have complaints about them. So how do we deal with that Biblically?     First, we need to recognize that leadership in a church is God-appointed. God chooses who will lead the church for a specified season. Do you not think that He could take anyone out of a leadership position at any time if He so chose? The point is, we need to recognize Jesus' anointing and honor our leaders. We also need to judge less harshly those who are in those positions. What would the church see if your life was under the microscope? Have grace and compassion for those whose lives are constantly on display. One of the most import...