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He guides me

Psalms 16:7-11 NLT
I will bless the lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. I know the lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY …
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Yes, He guides me, even in those seasons of trial, even in those seasons of mourning – He is always with me. And we pass through these seasons, not left devastatingly destroyed and crushed by our circumstances (even though at times it may seem that we come quite close) –

But once we have come out the other side, He is proven faithful and true, we will know one day what purpose it served in our life and the life of those around us, and it will be clear to us. But today, we hold on in faith.

You have offered us this imperishable life of Christ alive in us, reshaping and remolding us in preparation for our final destination – eternity not limited by the confines of this current physical body and life.

This life is but a shadow of what lies ahead, so let’s prepare ourselves with those things that matter most, and let’s welcome our brothers and sisters to join us on this wonderful journey.

Let’s know the beauty and love and value that can be found in each and every person that we encounter each day, and let’s remind them off that in the way that we treat them today. Let’s see past the chains and struggles and circumstances of their life, and let’s plant and water the seed of Christ in their life.

I love you friend, and my hope today is that we can love and encourage those around us. A door held open, a smile, a wave, a thank you, a hug, a prayer, and a truthful, encouraging word may turn the perspective of another just enough to help them through a struggle today. Imagine if we all supported and loved and encouraged each other openly – even those we don’t agree with – won’t that help us all find common ground and agreement, rather than argument over who is “more right” and who is “more wrong”?

Let’s be light and salt in our lives today, friends. I love you.

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The Godly are Disappearing

Psalms 12:1-8 NLT
Help, O  Lord , for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!
Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts. May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues. They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”
The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.”
The Lord ’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over.
Therefore, Lord , we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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This passage was our family’s Life Application devotional for this morning. It takes an especially strong meaning on a morning of family absence and loss.

Yes, the godly are fast disappearing.

Ask me if I rejoice for those that are absent from the body and with God (2 Corinthians 5:8), and my voice will reply truthfully yes.

But ask me if I mourn with my family and with all who mourn the absence of a loved one, and my heart cries out with a voice so strong that I am overcome, with tears and groaning that written, or even spoken, words will not capture.

And yes, we will be surrounded by empty,  but well intentioned words from those who both are and aren’t a part of our lives, but who see the circumstances of this season of our lives. And there are even those who will use flattery and deceit,  because being purely of this world that is the only way they know how to behave.

But what is important right now is that this promise He gives us. It is true. He does rescue us as we have longed for Him to do.

Those of us whose bodies of flesh have worn out from our lives walking and loving and serving and raising families – when the burden of this fleshly body can no longer hold back this new creation from being reunited with our Lord and Savior in fullness of His glory and grace and honor and power. And He rescues us, drawing the unperishable out from inside its perishable vessel.

We know with full confidence,  Lord,  that you are faithful. We know with full confidence,  Lord,  that you preserve and protect your children. Let us use our time that we have in these fleshly vessels to continue your work, to fulfill your purpose,  until these bodies wear out and your promises are fulfilled in their fullness.

Let us see past the evil and wicked and proud ways of mankind around us,  and see their chains – let us see their desperate need for this grace and healing and renewal that only comes through Christ Jesus,  our Lord and Savior. And use us to share this Hope, Faith, Love, and Truth so they might recognize your voice and accept your grace.

I love you,  friend.  But my love by itself would fall so short of the love that we each need to know personally in our lives. This love I share is not just my own love,  but it is the love of Jesus Christ, of God come in the flesh, reaching out to touch our lives today,  so that we might accept this truth,  believe and be saved, hold tight to our faith and be fruitful, share love and see others strengthened and encouraged,  and share truth so that others too might be prepared for that day, when the imperishable is called out from the perishable.

His promises are true.

Do you know Christ dearly and closely today,  friend?

Is he alive in your heart and in your day ahead.

We only get one today,  one opportunity to serve the purpose that He has for our lives today.

Our lives can either be an example to others of His way down the narrow path – or an example to others of our own way, stumbling into darkness.

What example are we setting for those around us that watch our lives? Are our words and actions and decisions leading others around us into the place that we want them to go? Are we leading them into light or into darkness?

Help us,  Lord, in your strength to live the life today so that others might see your light, your love,  your mercy,  your grace,  and your truth.

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A life of Praise

Psalms 9:1-8 NLT
I will praise you, lord , with all my heart;
I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
I will be filled with joy because of you.
I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.
My enemies retreated;
they staggered and died when you appeared.
For you have judged in my favor;
from your throne you have judged with fairness.
You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
you have erased their names forever.
The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;
the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.
But the lord reigns forever,
executing judgment from his throne.
He will judge the world with justice
and rule the nations with fairness.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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Wow, it would take the rest of my life for me to sing of all of the great things that He has done for me up to this point in life. It seems like I can never catch up in praise to the blessings that He pours out. So yes, I praise the Lord with my life. I praise Him from my heart, and it shines forth in my life in ways that I just can’t “turn off”.

When this Holy Spirit caught hold of my life, things changed, and they continue changing. I didn’t magically have full understanding of all things and I didn’t magically become free from all sin and temptation in my life – no. But what did happen was a change on the inside – a change from seeking sinful things to seeking Godly things – a change from focusing on loving myself to a focus on loving God and loving others.

And when this change happened, so many of those enemies in my life fell away – either immediately because I had no interest in them any longer, or through my resistance and reliance on Christ to be my strength, they fled from my life. I’m not speaking about people – no, people of flesh and blood aren’t my enemies – I’m speaking about that darkness that is devoid of God’s goodness, that absence of God’s presence, that place called sin.

Yes, I still stumble, I am not perfect. I make mistakes, I let people down at times, I fall short of the mark of perfection – but I’m reaching for that goal, I’m stevie forth my arms to God with my everything, because He is the one thing that I want and need to hold onto.

His power crushes those old things in my life that were chains and burdens. I watch in awe as those things that used to control my life and lead me down dark paths fall away, because I can see them now for what they are – traps, tricks, and danger placed in front of me by the enemy, but that God now uses to demonstrate His strength through my weakness.

And this renovating work of His refining my heart and cleaning out this temple for Christ to live in me and through me – this battle between His will and my rebellious flesh nature, it is won, even if all of the opposing troops have not yet been slain. Because I am surrendered to Christ. I want to see Him crush all those things in my life that are not an honor and glory to Him. I am now resisting the enemy and not resisting God’s will, and that is a game changer.

Yes, I need to surrender daily. Yes, there are still temptations and thoughts and situations that I encounter where I could have been wiser yesterday – and I examine them and try to learn from them for today. And this living Word of God that is written on my heart, and that speaks to me through the written Word of God, they agree in my Spirit and I know the truth of this Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ –

That God loved me so much, even when I was still in rebellion against Him, that He came in the flesh to our world as Jesus Christ, 100 percent man and 100 percent God, to live the example life showing us God’s true character and nature, demonstrating love, mercy, grace, honor, glory, righteousness and all the things that make God’s nature so different from the choices that we make when left to our own devices, and He died on the cross and rose from the dead to sit on the right hand of God with all authority to fulfill this great and undeniable demonstration of His love for me, so that I might know Him, and accept His offer of grace, and love Him in return, and so that He would come and live in me, and that my old nature would die as it is replaced with His nature. And I don’t say this with pride, because anything good is Him, and anything worthless is me. He is worthy of all praise.

But I do say this with boldness, because He died for each of us. Yes, for YOU.

Let’s be the Christ in us, today.

Let’s be the representatives and ambassadors for Christ that we are meant to be.

Let’s surrender to Him and see those enemies retreat, let’s watch as he crushes them beneath His feet and uses them as a stepping stone.

Let’s quit trying to win a battle under our own power, and instead understand that the real battle is already won – let’s see the opportunity to serve in His Kingdom even now, following in the footsteps of Christ’s example and teachings, loving and serving others, so that they might see the battle won in their lives as well.

I love you, friend.

Have a blessed day.

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Faith like a Child

PSA 8:1-9 ESV
O Lord , our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord , our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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Oh, to have faith like a child.

This world around us breeds doubt and lays tricks for us.

When we see how tiny we are compared to the lengths of this earth, when we see how far the expanse of the heavens extend, when we see how wonderful your design is even at the microscopic levels, when we learn the sciences of the amazing physical world that surrounds us – it is hard for us to understand why you would be mindful of us, mere mortal human beings. But even that is not trusting in your creating us originally with that purpose in mind, when you created us in your image and breathed life into us.

Yes, you made us with a purpose.

Faith like a child. Isn’t that who we are if we are yours? We are like children, clinging to you in faith. We are your chosen, elected, and adopted children. You have extended your mercies to us, and we have accepted your offer of grace, of salvation, of a renewed life in Christ.

And yes, there is a difference in accepting this offer of grace and in loving and serving our of grattitude and our of a changed attitude on the inside, which is the whole point of this Good News of the gospel – a cleaning of the inside of the cup – a relationship with Christ alive in us –

Instead of just outward action striving to earn favor or rewards under our own power, making a presentation to others that we are clean and worthy, playing the part on the outside with works and words, while dead and empty of fruit on the inside, this is religion.

And sadly, many will see the two and confuse one for the other, because the enemy is a trickster, and he tries his best to imitate the things of God and lead others astray.

But like a child who knows the voice of his father, I listen for that voice of love – because that is the voice of my father. Even in his correction, He corrects me with Love and patience. He does not crush me under the stone, He sets me on it as my firm foundation.

And I fear for where I would be if I was not in His hands, because He protects me, and He guides me, and He loves me, and He rescues me from those traps the enemy lays before me.

I do not know His wrath, I only know His love – so it is difficult for me to share that other voice that I hear many so often using to talk about God. The consequences that I have faced in this life were of my own choosing, and He has even rescued me from so many of those. The love and peace and joy heavy always come from walking in His ways.

So I don’t know this God of wrath and punishment and anger that many fear and run from. No, my Father is there with open arms, waiting for me. And I don’t run into His arms because I fear His wrath and punishment, I run to His arms because I know His love, and His mercy, and His forgiveness, and His grace, and His honor, and His glory, and His power.

I’m not a hired hand, working to try and earn favor or build up treasures for myself – a hired hand will desert the flock in times of trouble because they are working for their own gain and honor.

No, and I am not a shepherd myself, and I am not a teacher, but the Good Shepherd walks with me, and He lives in me, and He guides me when I follow, and He teaches me when I listen, and He loves me and protects me.

So I follow Him, because He is my Father, and I know His voice.

If you do not hear that same voice of love, surrender your life to Christ, see past the religion that focuses on a life of self. If I’m only worried about:

How do I keep from going to hell?
How do I get to go to heaven?
How do I earn favor with the Lord?
How do I avoid the wrath of God?
How can I get the Father to love me?

I might only know a religion that is focused on ME.

But there is a relationship that was purchased for YOU and ME with the blood of Jesus Christ, God come in the flesh:

Lord, I know that I deserve eternal separation from you by the worthless works of my life, but I trust in your promises, please remember me.

Lord, my time spent with you, learning from you, praising you, worshipping you, is such a blessing, thank you for the opportunity to experience a foretaste of your kingdom even now.

Lord, use me however you see fit, let me be salt and light in this world of darkness, let them see you in me, so that they might hear your voice and see your love and we might fellowship together as your children even as a foretaste of your kingdom.

Lord, please have mercy on those still held in captivity, those that do not know your voice and your touch – those that need your renewal – those that need to be healed from their spiritual blindness – those that need to be healed from their deafness to your truth – so that they too will hear your voice, the voice of a loving Father.

Lord, please have mercy on us when we stumble, and correct us gently in your loving hands – but apply the pressure necessary to crush the will of those in opposition to you so they might repent of their evil ways and know a full life. And who can refuse you, Lord, if they are yours and encounter your voice? Who would turn away your love and mercy and forgiveness?

Lord, you are worthy of all honor and praise. My works are worthless rags in your eyes, but your works done through Christ living in me are wonderful. Those works are Yours, not mine, and that is why I lay down any crowns at the feet of Christ, because I do not deserve any honor or glory or title or exaltation – You alone, Lord, deserve honor and praise.

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Praise

Psalms 7:17 NLT
I will thank the lord because he is just; I will sing praise to the name of the lord Most High.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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…

Praise.

Yes, let’s lift our praises to the Lord with our everything, with our whole body. Let’s praise Him with our voices in song, with our arms lifted high, and with dancing and great rejoicing!

Keep going – praise isn’t just a Sunday morning song at church – but that’s a great start of we aren’t yet involved in fellowship with other believers.

Praise.

Yes, let’s lift our praises to the Lord with our everything, with our whole mind. Let’s praise Him with our words in pray, with examining our lives for understanding and guidance, with meditating on the Word of God, on bended knee, with broken spirit, surrendered to His will, grateful for this free gift of grace, seeking to draw near to His presence.

Praise isn’t just prayers thanking God a few times a day – but those are great steps in a faithful walk.

Praise.

Yes, let’s lift our praises to God with our everything, with our whole spirit. Let’s praise Him by being yoked with the Holy Spirit of Christ in us, following The path of His will, bearing and growing the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives, filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. A life of love, mercy, and forgiving understanding towards those that are lost – a life of repentance and accountability and encouragement in our lives and the lives of fellow believers – a life of steadfast dedication to follow Jesus Christ – the way, the truth, the life.

Praise.

It is a life lived choosing God, honoring God – moment to moment, choice by choice.

It is living for His glory and honor, not for our own personal gain – but a surrendered life grateful for what He has done for us, letting His light, His Love, shine through our lives onto others.

Help us praise God today with everything – body, mind, and spirit.

Have a blessed day, friend of Christ.

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The Lord Hears

PSA 4:1-5 ESV
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

…

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

Be angry, and do not sin;
ponder in your own hearts on your beds,
and be silent. Selah

Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord .

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Not Legalism, Not Lawlessness

Psalms 5:8-12 NLT
Lead me in the right path, O lord , or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow.
My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery.
O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps. Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. For you bless the godly, O lord ; you surround them with your shield of love.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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These enemies, they are spiritual and unseen powers that work through us if we allow them to. So if we have Christ in us, we choose to either let this Holy Spirit of Christ in us, of Love, work through us, bearing these fruits of the spirit – or we choose to live fruitless lives.

The right path, the narrow path, is to follow a path that we cannot walk on our own – in fact, it is against our very nature to walk this path, which is why we must walk with Christ. And to do this, we repent of our sins, we ask for forgiveness, we hope in His promise of salvation, we ask Him to come into our lives as our personal Savior, we seek Him daily in our lives through prayer, through time in the Word, through fellowship with other believers, through keeping His commandments, and through loving and serving others.

Our nature is to either fall into lawlessness, ignoring His commandments and living a life filled with all kinds of focus on self, trapped in things that initially seem only to be harmless pleasures, but that have consequences both seem and unseen –

Or our nature is to fall into religious legalism, ignoring His love and mercy even for those who are His enemy, still focused on self, but using His commandments to judge and accuse and condemn and tear down others instead of loving, and encouraging, and forgiving, and serving, and building up others.

Without Christ guiding us and making the path clear, our futures are not bright.

These spiritual enemies lie. They will tell those in the ditch of legalism to point their fingers at those in lawlessness and attack them and tear them down – not lifting a hand to help them – just kicking them while they are down.

These spiritual enemies lie. They will tell those in the ditch of lawlessness that Christianity is just the religion of those hypocrites that love to kick them and that hate them. They will tell them that Christ is just a bunch of jealous people who don’t want them to be able to enjoy their pleasures since their religious rules don’t allow allow them to.

But being a follower of Christ is not either of those. A follower of Christ has this Holy Spirit alive inside them – guiding and teaching and convicting them to repent of their sin, and to ask for forgiveness for stumbles – and bearing fruits to be shared in love, mercy, and forgiveness towards others.

The conviction is supposed to be a surgical instrument aimed inward at those things that need to be fixed in our own lives, not as a weapon raised against another person. The mercy is supposed to be shared with others, not hoarded for ourselves.

And people that don’t have Christ but who act the opposite, their own choices will be their downfall. Those who do not love God’s ways but love the darkness, those who deny Him in their lives because they love pleasures and self above God will get what they are asking for – separation from God. Those who do not love their neighbor, those who do not show forgiveness, and mercy, and love to others – they have not received forgiveness and mercy and love themselves – they have never known Christ.

Those that live by the sword condemning and accusing others, they will die by the sword of their own words of unforgiveness. The one that hates and condemns his neighbor for the sexual sin of adultery, will stand convicted for his own sexual sin of lustful thoughts towards the other’s wife or daughter. Who can expect to withhold forgiveness and mercy and love towards others, and receive anything themselves?

So if we do not take refuge in you, Lord, if we are in lawlessness, convict us strongly of our evil ways so we will understand our need for Christ in our lives, leading us to a repentant life.

So if we do not take refuge in you, Lord, if we are in legalism and have no love or mercy towards others, make our own sins come crashing down around our heads to humble us and make it clear that we need mercy, so we should show mercy.

Lord, please be gentle with your discipline for those meek and eager to listen and learn – but be strong and bold with a rebuke and with consequences to break through the strong willed and the hard of heart. Break us, Lord, and mold us into a vessel for your use.

To any that read this, my journal for the lesson that I am learning today, please have a blessed day. If this lesson is just for my life, I thank you for taking the time to care about what is going on in my life. If there is a lesson in this for you as well, I am thankful to the Lord that He provides.

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Who am I?

Psalm 144:3-4 ESV
O Lord , what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

PERSONAL COMMENTARY
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…

I ask myself many times, “Who am I, that when I was even still His enemy, He cares enough about me to be lifted up on a cross for my salvation?”

And I realize that if He sees value in me, if He cares enough to look over my life and protect me and guide me and teach me, that He knows a lot better than me how He plans to use my life.

So I’m sitting back, enjoying this amazing time of being awake, of being taught, of being active in this walk of faith. I don’t know where we’re going Lord, but I’m sure not going to let go of your hand!

Where could I go without you? The lawless unbelievers hate me for shedding light and truth, and the religious practicers hate me for sharing love and grace. But they hated you too, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

You are my friend, closer than a brother. These enemies surround me and use these men around me to twist my words, to spread lies about me – to still judge me by that the works of that dead body that was defeated when I was raised in life with Christ. I have no interest in the words of men, nor in earning their respect, nor in accepting their titles or trophies.

Fill my life with Christ, with Love, with these fruits of the Holy Spirit, these treasures that nourish my soul for eternity. And keep me walking this repented life of grace, of renewal, of redemption, of service, of faith, of truth, of hope, and of love.

These fleeting moments will pass quickly enough and I will be a foreigner and a traveler no more – when I return home. This life is but a passing shadow of the life ahead.

NOTE: I journal and share what I learn. I encourage anyone and everyone to discuss and share together. The point of me sharing isn’t because I think that I can teach anyone – the point of sharing is so that we might share and fellowship and learn together. So if you find anything that I share compelling, convicting, or spoken carelessly – I encourage you to respond so we can discuss. I am seeking and learning daily, and I always find value in sharing and learning together. Sometimes discussions are iron sharpening iron, sometimes they are correction, sometimes they are refinement, and sometimes they are reassurance through agreement. Any input is valued and respected and my goal is to put my own content through the same testing that I would be examining another’s. It is hard to truly be unbiased, but my goal is to seek truth, not just defend my own position/tradition. Love you, friend.

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To whom am I yoked?

I enjoy reading 2 Corinthians 6 in the light of 1 Corinthians 5:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 ESV
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”

We aren’t to be UNEQUALLY YOKED. This doesn’t mean that we abandon or judge the unbelievers around us in our lives:

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 ESV
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

Because we are to be the light of the world. We are supposed to love and help unbelievers have an opportunity to find their way to this love and salvation. We are to “go out” to the lost with this Good News. We aren’t to separate ourselves physically from the lost, nor are we supposed to love them less or treat them badly because they are unbelievers. We are to hold fellow believers accountable, not kick a lost man while he is down. Our enemies are not flesh and blood. So even if our true enemies are using a person against us, aren’t we instructed to behave in this manner towards even those being used against us –

Luke 6:27-36 ESV
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them. “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

But that does not mean that we become yoked, tied together, with unbelievers and their worldly ways. That does not mean that we should be actively participating in those things we know that we should not be doing. We are supposed to share light, but resist any temptation to sin. If we love Christ, if He is our Lord and Savior, we seek His Kingdom –

Matthew 5:13-16 ESV
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

So if someone is lost and does not yet have Christ, it benefits them greatly to remove themselves from the worldly ways and people around them that are influencing them. It benefits them greatly to surround themselves with others that are believers that love God, and love others, and who are actively seeking and serving God in their lives.

And if someone is saved and has Christ alive in their life, it benefits them greatly to yoke themselves with other believers – the more faithful the better, because even they will stumble at times. Because we work together to build each other up – so that we are filled with His strength, and His Truth, and His Way – so that when unbelievers come to join us, we can help bear their burdens – and the Christ inside us (this Holy Spirit) will be strong in lifting and bearing this cross through both ourselves and our brothers and sisters.

We should each through Christ bear the share of these burdens – and when we are working together in the unity of Christ, we find that the burden is light, because we are yoked to Christ, and they are yoked to Christ, and He is the foundation that bins us together.

Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Philippians 2:1-3 ESV
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Amos 3:3 ESV
“Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?

Ephesians 4:3 ESV
Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

If we yoke ourselves to Christ (trust in Him), then through Him we will be yoked to our true brothers and sisters. We place our trust the Lord, not in men of flesh and blood.

Psalm 146:1-10 ESV
Praise the Lord ! Praise the Lord , O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord !

Psalm 118:6-9 ESV
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

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Turn my mourning into dancing

Ecclesiastes 3:4 ESV
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance

Psalm 103:1-4 ESV
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy

…

Psalm 30:11 ESV
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,

Psalm 146:1-2 ESV
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

John 4:23 ESV
But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

Hebrews 13:15 ESV
Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Psalm 96:1-9 ESV
Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.