Live A Delicious Life

Mathew 3 tells the story of John the Baptist. When he was approached by the religious leaders (who most people knew to be hypocrites), John said to them:

Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

This simple and powerful statement was a reminder that God wants more than just words of worship. He wants to change our hearts, and when He changes our hearts, our lives change.

Use the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)this morning to consider whether your life is bearing the fruit of a changed heart.

love - Am I putting the good of others ahead of my own good?

joy - Am I choosing to rejoice in the Lord even when life isn't fun?

peace - Am I resting in the knowledge that God is in control and will provide all I need?

patience - Am I comfortable waiting for God's provision, even if it doesn't happen in my timing?

kindness - Do my words and actions "taste" good to others? Do I remind people of Jesus?

goodness - Do I do the right thing, even when it may cost me?

faithfulness - Do I keep my word? Am I fully engaged in the relationships God has given me?

gentleness - Do I treat those who are hurting well? Do I take care of those who are "less than"?

self-control - Am I regularly seeking to put off the old life and put on the new life?

Don't try to work on all of these at once! Choose one or two and ask God to help you shape your life in those areas so that you will look more like Jesus.

O Say Can You See?

This morning I was reading in Isaiah 42 and came across verses 16. In this passage, God is describing the blessings He is going to eventually accomplish for Israel. Isaiah wrote:

“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42:16‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Blindness is used throughout the Bible to describe those who do not know God. Consider the following thoughts about spiritual blindness (along with a verse for each one!)

1) Our natural state is “spiritual blindness”.
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. (John 3:19)

2) God does not want you to be spiritually blind.
But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.(2 Corinthians 3:16)

3) Only Jesus can cure spiritual blindness.
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

4) God gave us the Bible to open our eyes.
the commandment of the LORD is pure, 
enlightening the eyes; (Psalm 19:8)

5) To see as God sees, I must open my eyes to the Bible.
If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (James 1:23-25)

Here are three steps you can take every day to help you see more clearly:

A. REQUEST God’s wisdom (Before you open the Bible, simply pray, “Dear Lord, please show me what you want me to see.”)

B. RELEASE your own agenda and opinions (open the Bible with an open mind. You are not perfect, the God’s Word is!)

C. RECEIVE God’s Word (Research shows that people who engage with the Bible four or more times each week experience the greatest amount of life change!)