John 8:31. If ye continue (abide) in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed;
And then it was Saturday – our lazy day, where some of us have options as what to do with the day. And believe me, I had to force myself to get out of the bed this morning, because it felt so good just to lay there and do nothing but doze in and out of sleep and think dreamy, heavenly thoughts. (smile) Unfortunately though, I eventually woke up to the reality that I had work to do, that others were expecting words of wisdom from me re the quotes that our friend Anselm had sent us this past week, as he aspires to inspire us for a better tomorrow.
Oh, reality is such a hard task master, but I knew that with God’s help, with His awesome faithfulness, I would be able to pen something worthwhile. ‘So Lord, I’m invoking your help, your faithfulness right now! Please show me what you want me to write on this most recent bunch of quotes. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.’
And the first one says: ‘In order to write about life first you must live it.’ And that’s the gospel truth! You can’t write about what you don’t know. Although many of us are doing just that nowadays in this sad era of many truths, of fake news, of amazing levels of dissension and deception, with the social media platform that allows us all to be pundits and soothsayers and know it alls. That’s one of the main reasons why our world is in such chaos; too many of us don’t know a blooming thing about life, having not lived long enough or experienced enough of it to make useful comments, but we voice our opinions on everything anyway and add to the worldly confusion.
And as life gets more confusing, it’s becoming even more important to look to the Good Book for the real truth in every situation, for it’s the ONLY unchangeable aspect in our lives these days. Everything else seems subject to change, but our God does not change. He said so in Malachi. ‘For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ (Mal. 3:6) And let’s be glad that He doesn’t change, otherwise we’d be long ago removed from the scene. (smile)
And why would He want to change eh, when He is perfect in all His ways. So, whatever He’s said or caused to be written is written in stone for our benefit. That’s why Jesus is also the same yesterday, today and forever. (Heb. 13:18) And He’s also the source of ALL truth. ‘I am the way, the truth and the life…’ (John 14:6) Therefore if you want to know truth, you must get in agreement with Jesus, learn His word and put it into action. As He said to the disciples. ‘If ye continue (abide) in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’ (John 8:31-32) Glory be my people!
So, we realize right away that if we want to have a safe, constant and stable life, our best bet is living through our unchanging God and His unchanging Word. That brings us to this next quote. ‘The whole secret of a successful life is to find out what is one’s destiny to do, and then do it.’ More gospel truth my fellow believers! For if you are a believer in Almighty God, then you will know that He has a plan for every life He creates. Jeremiah said it for Him. ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil (calamity), to give you an expected end (a future and a hope).’ (Jer. 29:11)
It’s therefore obvious that God has good plans for us, but to find them out, we must go to Him in all sincerity and truth and ask about them. Now, finding out our destiny or God’s plan for our life is possibly the easy part of the quote, the doing it, is where things get somewhat sticky and difficult. Why you ask? Because of the unpredictability and changing nature of this earthly life. And the next quote speaks to that matter as it tells us: ‘If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.’
I guess we can’t deny that, because it’s the unpredictability of life that turns us on, that excites us and causes us to want to live. That’s why we’re always looking for something new, something exciting, something that will get our adrenalin flowing, despite the danger and misfortune that might lie in it. Excitement, unpredictability, newness, spiciness, are the flavours that we seek in life, not sameness or same old, same old. (smile) And believe me, living for, and walking with Jesus is the most unpredictable and exciting, yet encouraging and reassuring thing we could ever do.
Yes friends, Jesus indeed provides an unpredictable though very safe environment for us to work in. Remember, He promises that though the world is full of trials and tribulations, all of which we cannot escape, we won’t be allowed to handle more than we can bear, (1 Cor. 10:13) and that everything will work out for our good in the long run if we stay under His protective umbrella. (Rom. 8:28)
However, the following quote adds another dimension to the subject, when it says: ‘The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything.’ Now there’s a whole lot of truth to that statement, because if you live life like a scaredy-cat, it definitely will not be enjoyable. But you also have to be responsible, you just can’t flaunt your boldness in life’s face, because it will have you flat on your back in no time at all. Life likes, and expects you to stand up to it, but it doesn’t take kindly to us trying to put it down, make it look foolish.
And you can only have the power and the wisdom to handle life properly if you are a true believer in Christ Jesus and put His words into action in your life. That’s because true wisdom is only found in Him, as James says: ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach); and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering (not doubting)…(James 1:5-6) And then we must also remember that ‘God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of LOVE, and of a sound or disciplined mind. (2 (Tim. 1:7)
So you see friends, the only wise way to live this God created life in this God created world, is in a God dictated manner. (smile) And this last quote adds yet another dimension to the whole experience. ‘Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.’ Now that’s ever so true! How well, how godly, how genuinely, and respectfully we live this life is way more important than how long we live it.
Yes, although you may not believe in God, it’s still very important that you live, a kind, honourable, generous and humble life, for those are the things that cause others to be good to you in return and help you along the rough and rocky road that earthly living entails. And the truth is, we all need help in living life. Much LOVE!
…how you live life…is how life will respond to you…
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