The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.” ~~King Solomon

When we follow God, doing what He wants us to do, our words are His words. His words give life. Being plugged into Him gives us wisdom.

Not so much with the wicked. It is easy to see where abuse comes from. Not from God and not from the wise.

May we listen to God, speak His words, and give life.

“The mouth of a good person is a deep, life-giving well, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.” ~~King Solomon (Proverbs 10:11 The Message)

“It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this.”~~Jesus (3 Radical things to do)

We all want to live. Before Jesus, we were in the world of the dead. We knew it then and we fully understand that now.

Jesus shows us how to live in the world of the living. He puts it to us simply. These are all radical and demand our full devotion.

1. Believe what Jesus says.
2. Align ourselves with the Father.
3. Put Jesus in charge.

“It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.”” ~~Jesus (John 5:24 The Message)

“But you haven’t seen the half of it yet, for in the same way that the Father raises the dead and creates life, so does the Son.” ~~Jesus

Some days we think we have seen it all. Of course we know it isn’t true but it sure does feel that way.

Jesus challenges us to not think that way. Jesus is fully aligned with His Father’s purpose. He has every ounce of power that resides in the Holy Spirit. He raises the dead. He creates life.

He does it all, just like the Father.

“But you haven’t seen the half of it yet, for in the same way that the Father raises the dead and creates life, so does the Son.” ~~Jesus (John 5:20)

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• “The Father loves the Son and includes him in everything he is doing.” ~~Jesus (mww1954.wordpress.com)
• The Word of God (shelleywilliamsblog.com)
• If Jesus does it … (mww1954.wordpress.com)

Are we missing the forest for the trees?

Jesus had a lot to say to the Religious Scholars of His day. He still does. Do we really think reading the Bible constantly saves us? Is that where our life comes from? Are we missing the forest for the trees?

Jesus is standing right in front of us. He is giving us life right now.

You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you’ll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want. John 5:39-40 (The Message)

“The Son gives life to anyone He chooses to.” ~~Jesus

Jesus makes it clear he has authority, even to give life. He demands that we understand this. It is core to the new agreement we have with God through Him.

No one is making Him do it. He does it because He wants to.

Jesus doesn’t shut anyone out. God handed all authority to judge over to Jesus. Anyone who dishonors Jesus, dishonors God, for it was God’s decision to put Jesus in the place of honor.

Jesus chooses to give us life. That is the good news we have today and forever.

“The Son gives life to anyone He chooses to.” ~~Jesus (John 5:20-23 The Message)

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What do I do when I’m hungry?

I love bread. I love all kinds of breads. I love bread with butter. I love bread with oil. OK, I think you get the picture. It satisfies me. I can make a meal of it.

Jesus satisfies me like bread can never do. My soul hungers for right standing with our heavenly Father. He takes care of that for me so that I never have to hunger for right standing anymore. That longing is fulfilled completely. Taken care of. Done. It is finished.

It is all about Jesus. He is the real deal. He is everything I need to be right with our Father. It is ALL about Him. He is life. He satisfies your hunger.

 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35

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Are we pretending to be a know it all?

We all know some “know it alls”. Perhaps some times we also pretend to know things we really don’t.

There are some things we should know and be able to speak about. We should know life, how we get it and keep it, and how serving the Messiah makes it possible. There should be no pretending about that. We serve a “real” God. We have “real” life. Let’s talk about that. That is what we know. We are literate on that.

“They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life.” ~~Apostle Paul (Romans 1:21The Message)

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Can peace be multiplied?

It just keeps rolling on. Over and over again. His grace. His peace. Multiplying infinitely and never stopping. This happens as I deepen my experience with God and Jesus. This is what I want to experience in a life of pleasing God. My relationship with Him should be personal and intimate. We should be friends. Jesus has given me a ticket to participate in the life of God. I have turned my back on a corrupt world.

May I see His amazingly divine POWER!!!

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:2-4

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Can I respond with blazing fast speed?

My Father is helping me. He is bringing out the best in me. He is helping me to have a God-formed maturity. This is unlike our culture that is always dragging me down to its level of amazing immaturity. It is interesting how our culture assaults us everyday. So very subtle that it is hard to even recognize it. What I need to recognize is what He wants from me and to respond to it with blazing fast speed.

So … I take my everyday and completely ordinary life — my sleeping, eating, going-to-to work and just walking around life — and I place it at our Father’s alter as an offering. I embrace our Father’s desire for me. I see my place in Him. I see His love for me. I fix my attention on God. He changes me from the inside out.

“Those who have lived the wrong way, will walk into a resurrection Judgment.” ~~Jesus

Jesus is always clear. There will a resurrection judgement. Those who have lived the right way are going to walk into life. Those who haven’t won’t. No confusion here at all. I acknowledge that I am clear about this.

May I stay clear and live the resurrection life.

“Those who have lived the wrong way, will walk into a resurrection Judgment.” ~~Jesus  

“Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live, or chase after phantoms of evil and die.” ~~King Solomon

There is a way to live and there is a way to die. Living comes from aligning myself with God and His loyal servants. Dieing comes from a phantom life of evil and their friends. Wisdom knows the difference.

I will take a stand with God’s faithful. That is the way to life. That is the way of Wisdom.

“Take your stand with God’s loyal community and live, or chase after phantoms of evil and die.” ~~King Solomon (Proverbs 11:19)

“Just as the Father has life in himself, he has conferred on the Son life in himself. ” ~~Jesus

Jesus knows that God is all about life. He is our source and it will last forever. Jesus also knows that His Father has given Him the same gift. Jesus gives it to us. All life is ours in our relationship with Jesus.

“And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.” ~~Jesus

We say we want life. OK. Jesus is right in front of us. He wants to give life to us. Are we willing to receive it right now?

This isn’t did I receive it yesterday. This isn’t do I want it tomorrow. Jesus is in front of us right now. Do we want it now?

Yes, Lord, we do.

“And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren’t willing to receive from me the life you say you want.”” ~~Jesus 

“The time has arrived—I mean right now!—when dead men will hear the voice of the Son of God and will come alive.” ~~Jesus

Jesus offers us life. And He offers it now. We receive it by listening to His voice. Once we hear His voice we must not delay in responding. He expects us to obey.

“The time has arrived—I mean right now!—when dead men and women will hear the voice of the Son of God and, hearing, will come alive.” ~~Jesus

“There is nothing more tragic than to find an individual bogged down in the length of life, devoid of breadth.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life.” ~~Jesus

Jesus knows about judgment. His Father has given Him the authority to judge us. He has also demonstrated the power of resurrection in Jesus. Jesus demands that we know when we live the right way that we will walk right smack into a resurrection life. We have Jesus’ full authority. It is a resurrection life now and in the future. Not fully now but one day it will be.

“Those who have lived the right way will walk out into a resurrection Life.” ~~Jesus

Run after peace for all I am worth

I should go all out for it. Pursue it no matter what. Peace is from Him but I have to go for it. Don’t say things that hurt others. Cultivate the good in others. Go after the good. Ignore the evil. God approves this and listens to me in this context.

May I cultivate the good. May I go for peace no matter what. May my day fill up with good.

Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here’s what you do:

Say nothing evil or hurtful;
Snub evil and cultivate good;
run after peace for all you’re worth.
God looks on all this with approval,
listening and responding well to what he’s asked;
But he turns his back on those who do evil things.

1 Peter 3:8-12

I resolve to do something out of the ordinary

 I resolve to do something out of the ordinary. I commit to living a superordinary life in Jesus. I will live the radical life Jesus called me to live.

It was Henry David Thoreau who wrote, “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” I don’t admire Thoreau as a theologian, but I think he largely got it right in this quote describing the normal human condition and maybe the condition of lots of Christians.

I believe a large number of people, perhaps even you, get bogged down in the routines of life. I have nothing against routines, except when they become our master. Much can be said about the righteousness of living a careful, responsible life before God. But, this is not at issue for me in this resolution.

My fear is that the life Jesus lived and died to give us (“I came that they may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10) can get lost in the devotion to safety and routine. I’m not advocating going out today to partake in some “extreme” thrill sport. I’m simply encouraging you to do something outside of your normal routine, to experience life outside the lines you’ve drawn, to provide yourself with the opportunity to “sing your song.” God is ready to do amazing things. His Holy Spirit is in us and the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. We can live an extra-ordinary life in Him.

How? Only you can decide for sure, but maybe it’s as simple as, at the prompting of God, taking the long way home from school or work to gain a new perspective on the world right around you that otherwise goes unnoticed. Maybe he wants to perform a miracle in someones life we don’t normally see. Maybe He wants us to be the Good Samaritan.

The claim

Jesus is the light of the entire world. What He said and did guides us along the path we take every day. He directed us to love God and to love one another. That is the light. To live otherwise is a desperate lie. This is the life we share with one another.

May I live in the light that Jesus sheds on my path. May I not wander off into darkness.

If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin. 1 John 1:6-7