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    • Walking with Jesus

      Posted at 8:10 am by sneuhofer, on June 22, 2018

      Proverbs 14 gives a contrast between the life of the wise vs. the life of a fool (or the unwise). As I read through this Proverb, there were several verses that caught my attention and forced me to ask the question “Am I choosing to live by the standard of God’s word in every area of my life?” and if not “Am I changing to align every area of my life with the word of God.”

      Our life is a daily journey to learn what God’s word says and then walk it out-loud for others to see so they may come to know the saving grace of Christ’s love. So the first verse that stopped me dead in my tracks to do a little self assessment was verse 9.

      “Fools don’t care if they sin, but honest people work at being right.”

      I got out my journal and wrote down my thoughts to the following questions:

      • Is there anything in my life that doesn’t align with the word of God and if so, am I staying there?
      • Do I refuse to accept God’s truth about an area of my life? Maybe it’s not a refusal to accept the truth, maybe it’s just not trusting God to know what’s best for my life in that area.

      • Have I fallen into repeated patterns where I know my actions, words and deeds speak negatively about my walk with Christ? [I guess what I mean by this question is: what do others who don’t know the truth of God’s word see when they watch the way I live my life? When I come to realize what others are seeing in me that don’t line up with God’s word, I ask God to forgive me of (the specific sin) and give me the courage to  to change so my belief align with His word.]

      Verse 12 also had me looking inward,

      “Some people think they are doing right, but in the end it leads to death.”

      Is there anything in my life that I think I’m doing right, but I haven’t checked  against God’s word?

      Since accepting Christ as my Savior, I have so desired to live the abundant life He has for me and I strive to walk in His truth in everything I do…from the way I act around others, conduct myself at work, raise my child, and treat my spouse. [I know I’m not perfect…and I know God’s grace is sufficient for me every day of my life. When I mess up…I fess up.] My prayer is that I will continue to grow daily in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ so that I may life a life worthy of the gospel. Thank God that my walk with Christ is a “marathon, not a sprint!”

      My prayer is also the same for you. I pray you will live your life according to the truth of God’s word and when sin in your life is revealed, I pray you have the strength to lay it down at the foot of the cross and trust Jesus to help you grow and change.

      Related reading: Gal. 5:22–23; 2 Peter 1:5-6; Titus 2:2-6; 1 Cor. 15:58

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      Posted in christian living, Christian walk; Christian growth, pressing on | 0 Comments
    • God provides a way out of the sin trap

      Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on June 21, 2018

      Proverbs 20:27 (NIV) “The Lord looks deep inside people and searches through their thoughts.”

      In Proverbs 20, Solomon writes about the sin that can easily trip us up: drunkenness, laziness, dishonesty, gossip, and inappropriate anger. He also tells us that the Lord has given us ears to hear and eyes to see.

      Our battle is not the sin itself. Sure, it is difficult to stop something once it becomes a habit. But the real battle is in our thoughts and the playing field there. If I don’t control my thoughts and make them obedient to Christ, I can easily get tripped up and do those things I know aren’t pleasing to God.

      This is where learning the word of God is so important. Once I know what pleases God through careful study of His word, I must strive to control my thoughts. Thoughts really do run our lives. This could lead to problems if my thoughts aren’t aligned with God’s word.

      What about temptation? Have you ever found yourself saying “I easily fall into temptation” or “the temptation was just too much to handle.” Temptation itself is not a sin; giving in to temptation is. God always gives us a way out. His word promises that in 1 Corinthians 10:13.

      “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”  (MSG)

      We were all born with a sin nature. When we rely on God and His mighty power to help us stand strong, we draw even closer to Christ and further away sin.

      Related reading: Ephesians 6:10 – 13; Hebrews 12:1; 2 Corinthians 12:9; James 1:12

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      Posted in God is my refuge, God is my strength, sin | 0 Comments
    • Are you all that you were made to be?

      Posted at 7:00 am by sneuhofer, on June 19, 2018

      1 Corinthians 15:10 (NCV) “But God’s grace has made me what I am, and his grace to me was not wasted.”

      As I was reading through 1 Corinthians 15, I thought about Paul’s words “God’s grace has made me what I am.” Isn’t that so true? Every morning we wake up it’s because God has so graciously allowed us another day. I had to go to my Bible dictionary (Nelson’s Compact Bible Dictionary) and look up the word “grace”.

      Grace – Favor or kindness shown without regard to the worth of merit of the one who receives it and in spite of what the person deserves.

      Grace is given to us so freely, not because of who we are or what we’ve done, but because of God’s great love for us. As I read through the Bible, I can look at Paul’s life and see how God’s grace plucked him out of a life of persecuting and basically destroying the Christian church to a life of encouraging and building churches in his known world.

      We might look at Paul and think he certainly didn’t deserve God’s grace; like all, Paul deserved death. (The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23). But something miraculous happened to Paul on the road to Damascus that changed his life.  He bumped into the risen Lord (Acts 9:3 – 5) and experienced His grace first hand.

      The gift of grace was given to Paul that day and he received it through repentance and faith. God had a purpose for Paul, just like God has a purpose for each and every one of us. After his Damascus road experience, Paul went from persecuting Christians to telling anyone who would listen of Christ’s redeeming love. His life was changed because he allowed God’s grace to wash over him and transform him into what God intended for him to be.

      God’s grace abounds to all of us. Have you received His grace and are you allowing it to transform the way you live?

      Related scripture: Ephesians 1:7 – 8

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      Posted in grace, purpose, reaching people for Jesus | 0 Comments
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