If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:25

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For me, I always like to see a "yield" sign vs. a "stop" sign. Stop means stop. It slows my travels. Where a yield sign allows me to keep moving if the traffic is clear. But...if a car is coming I have to give way to them. Yielding the right of way keeps me from having an accident, but the decision to yield is up to me. 

To live a life in Christ, we must learn to importance of yielding our ways to Him. God wants and expects us to keep moving through life, yet there are times when we have to wait for Him to allow us to "go" or when he asks that we surrender up something He knows is not good for us...we must obey and yeild to it. Unless we learn the importance of yielding our life to Christ 24/7, we will eventually crash. Spiritual repairs can take weeks and months to be repaired from our selfish will. 

Why keep your spiritual vessel in the repair shop? God wants you on the path of life, making an impact for Him with blessings along the way. Yield your entire life to His direction and purpose and you'll have uninterrupted travels and less heartache. Yield the right of way and stay safe! God bless.  

Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. Psalm 119:37

While in High School, I ran high and low hurdles in track. The key to success when running this race is to keep your focus ahead. One distraction will put you out of sync and cause you to have an accident while leaping over the hurdle. 

After God lead me to this verse, I sat back for a few minutes and thought about my life. How many times I turned my attention away from what I knew was right and pursued something outside His will.  Trust me, I crashed every time. Yet, God was right there, helped me up and encouraged me to keep running and look straight ahead. And that I did after each wreck. As I've progressed through life, those distractions don't seem to get my attention any more. I've learned that this race called life is mine and it's up to me how I get to the finish line. 

Believe it or not, you too are running with me. We are all running the race of life. Where is your focus? If it's not on God's truth, then you are distracted and eventually it will be a hurdle that will cause you to crash. Fewer hurdles come when we completely keep our focus straight ahead. Never forget that friend, life will be a little easier. Maybe it's time to rid yourself of the hurdles already in your lane. Cut them loose and never allow them to distract you again. Keep running...God is with you all the way!

And when He had given thanks, He broke the bread and said, "Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.". 1 Corinthians 11:24

Known as "The Lord's Supper", was one of the final meals Jesus had with His disciples in which He told them to remember Him when they broke bread. Jesus gave His life for our freedom to live victoriously in this world. We should always remember His great sacrifice for our sins and praise Him. Thank him today for your freedom. 

If you are blessed enough to live in a country where freedom to move about unrestricted, free to worship God and live without the threat or fear of persecution for your beliefs, you need to be thankful for the many lives who died so freedom can rein on through time. Take a moment to remember and thank those who gave their all for your freedom. 

Thank those who have served and continue to serve. Although they might not be on the front lines fighting, they have given up their freedom to serve their country and support all facets of the military and it's operations here and abroad. 

Take a few moments and thank God and the people who work for your continued freedom. Pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones....they need our prayers. Finally, live your life in a respectful manner, never taking your freedoms for granted. You can do your part to memorialize those who have served, continue to serve and the fallen so you live each day in freedom. Happy Memorial Day. Thank you for your service! God Bless.  

But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:14

You know of someone who everyone draws to? It's like they are a magnet, bringing people in around them....like dogs running to the food bowl. What is it about them that brings them in? Most likely it's their character, their attitude and how they make others feel. I have known only a few people in my life that when they come in a room, everyone wants to be near them. 

Jesus Christ was that way. People were drawn to Him because of the love He showed the crowds. He took time to be with them, instructing and healing. When someone feels loved by another, they are drawn to that person. Love is a powerful emotion, it's like super glue that holds two things together.

What kind of person are you? Do you find people drawn to you, or tend to shy away? How is your attitude? Do you make time for others? As Children of God, we are to resemble Christ in our life. Others should be drawn to us because of our Christ like character. 

Check yourself and ask God to make you more like Him. Ask Him to help transform those "rough" edges in your life to smooth them out. As your attitude and character changes, you'll find more people drawn to you because the love and concern you show them. Put on love today, the world needs to see the love of Christ. 

God bless. 

She (wisdom) is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her.

Proverbs 3:18

Wisdom, something gained over time, through life's experiences, that helps you make better choices and right decisions. In today's verse, wisdom is compared to a tree. If you know much about a tree it has a strong root system that grows wider and deeper each year, providing more strength and ability to tap into new sources of water and nutrients. It's green leaves collect the suns rays to produce it's own food that makes it grow each year. If you were to cut into the tree, you would see growth rings. Each ring's width represents how well it grew by utilizing the resources around it to grow. 

Reality check, how tall is your tree of wisdom? Have you used years of poor choices to help make better decisions for tomorrow? When we learn from our mistakes and avoid duplicating them over and over, our tree grows and gets stronger. Right decisions and living within the will of God provides much nutrition and helps you grow in wisdom. But, you need to keep your heart and mind well fed with God's word and choose to do right. Wisdom doesn't come easy, it takes years of seasonal droughts and periods of powerful storms that grow and strengthn you. 

Wisdom is gained with every storm of life. Use them to grow your wisdom bank, so your future choices and decisions will be sound and God honoring. Soak up God's word to provide the internal nutrition needed to grow big and tall. The shade of wisdom you provide others will be refreshing to those who find comfort in receiving your wise words. Have a blessed day friend.

He who is not with Me is against Me and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad. Matthew 12:30

In the game of football, players on the field are either playing defense or offense. The defense is protecting their goal and always feeling the push, the pressure from the opposing team. The offense is always moving ahead to reach the goal. The offensive team is usually the most recognized because they score points to win. 

The Christian life is like those players. Let me explain. If you are not living an obedient life in Christ then you are on the defense, always pushing against everything and everyone to protect "your way". You don't want "God's way", so you are always pushing back...trying to defend yourself. That battle of living a "self-pleasing" life will wear you down, and certainly won't have God's blessings...or help. 

If you are with God and live within His will, you are on the offense. Always moving forward, towards the goal. You are on God's side when you follow behind Him, every step of the way. And the greatest reward is scoring points. If you are on the winning team, life will be more rewarding than trying to defend your own persoanl pursuits. 

So whose side are you on? Evaluate your life and switch sides if you recognize any selfishness in your thoughts and actions. It's easier to advance than push against God's winning team. Play offense with God and rack up points for Him. Your reward awaits you in Heaven!

God bless.

   "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.".

Do you remember singing that song as a child growing up in church? It was one of my favorite songs. Simple, yet has a message for all believers....let your spiritual light shine through your life. 

The world we live in is darkened by the satanic influences of the devil; I truly believe this. If we, as children of God, are going to impact the world for Him, then we need to let His light shine. Does your life reflect the character of Christ? It might in some areas....other areas maybe not so much. Ask God to help you work in those parts of your life that hinder the light of Christ....break the chains that bind and hold you back from being spiritually free to share Christ. The world needs your light. Be a light today. 

God bless.