"Taken Seriously"

"I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living." (Psalms 116:9)

 If there was one thing that I think we need to take stock of, it is the importance the God's word be taken seriously, each and every word. There is no wiggle-room for our own interpretation to what God is saying; each and everyone of us are responsible for the message that God speaks into our lives and what we do with what He tells us to do. If anyone is guilty of neglecting to do this, it is me. I have ignored so many things that I know God has spoken into my life; and if I haven't ignored them, I half-heartedly performed them. This blog is probably the only thing that I have totally committed to; and even then, some mornings I wonder if it is actually doing anything, besides causing me to stay committed to a daily devotion and prayer. One thing is for sure, it is a lot harder to get away with sin. Prior to doing this, if I wanted to lay low, I would just take some time off from reading my Bible. Now, it is harder and harder to have a little me time; at least for more than a few hours at a time. I am sorry if anyone might feel offended by anything I just shared, I am just being honest. But seriously, this is what I feel God is speaking into my heart today, that it is all about being open and honest to the Lord and walking before Him as if we are walking right beside Him. He is alive, therefore I am alive with Him! That old man has been crucified with Christ; and the new man is alive with Christ, in the land of the living! Oddly enough, that land includes the land we are currently living in; even if we are just pilgrims and looking for our home to be in Heaven. While we are here, this place is to be made a place of God's work to be done; in our own lives and in the lives around us. He has us here for a reason, and if we are not willing to be used of God, then why are we here? Matthew Henry puts it like this: "If God has delivered our soul from death, we must walk before him. A new life must be a new life indeed." We have two separate lives going on all around us, those that are alive in Christ and those that are dead in their sins. We need to be walking before the LORD in the land of the living; which means that we need to come out from among the dead and separate ourselves unto God...

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am El-Shaddai -'God Almighty'. Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants."" (Genesis 17:1-2) NLT