Category: Uncategorized

Sex Sells

​I just realized that most of the songs that were attractive to me about women describe the very things that as a dad,  I’m afraid of seeing come alive in my daughter’s life. Think “Toxic” and “I’m a Slave 4 U” by Brittany Spears, you dads with daughters out there, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. 
But instead of trying to completely shelter her from life,  I hope that we can continue to have very real and open conversations like we did today at Carowinds about why a 12 year old boy wanting me to ride with his friend so he could ride alone with my 6 year old daughter ain’t gonna happen,  and why that makes him a “tricky” and possibly dangerous person for her to be around. 

Same thing with me,  as a married man, making contact with any new females who may not know my heart or my true intentions. I’d always rather err on the side of caution than send up red flags of “creeper”, not because I’m just playing with a deeper playbook,  but because women need to see at least an example or two in their lives of genuine,  faithful men who aren’t ruled by the other head.
Let’s show the world that there is a better option than just seeing each other as pieces of meat to be tasted and devoured. I love my friends, both male and female,  for their hearts,  their passion,  the light that shines through,  not the flesh that it is shining through.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.  If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?  For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds. – Matthew 16:24‭-‬27 NLT

Jesus Christ came to save us from sin and death, to FREE US FROM SIN, not to FREE US TO SIN. And this freedom received once we believe and receive is not our own strength, but the strength of “Him who is in is”, if we are indeed a new creation in Christ. 

We need to stop buying what the enemy is selling us, because it is poison, and it isn’t profitable for the Kingdom of God. Yes, sex and pornography and all kinds of sexual immorality is pleasurable for a season,  but there are consequences and things that it sows into hearts that cost much more than any short term enjoyment — and there is no lasting benefit unless we turn away from it and see God turn it into a testimony to His glory and honor. 

It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin. He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.

Hebrews 11:24‭-‬26 NLT

The law is not oppression when we choose to submit ourselves to it because we actually believe that it is the best advice, the One way, One truth, one Life — a light to our feet and a lamp to our path. 

Faith. 

Believe.

Come and follow Jesus Christ on this narrow path and see your whole household touched by the power of the Holy Spirit that comes and lives in you, Children of God!

Witness Testimony

​But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.  And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. – Mark 13:11‭-‬13 

I wonder how many of us at times stand ready to provide evidence against the very ones that we are supposed to love?

Have we ever been upset enough at our “loved ones” to keep a record of their wrongs (contrary to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)?

Or complain to others about our spouse like a dripping faucet in Proverbs 27:15-17?(Husbands, don’t be tempted to use it as a weapon, or you will see yourself emasculated. Wives, don’t be tempted to not believe it is truth.)

I wonder how many pretend to love us to our faces, but underneath the mask hate us, and hate everything that is truth and light?

I wonder how many are right in their demanding something from us because they feel we have wronged them in some way – that we have not given them their due – that we have short changed them from what they deserve?

And I wonder how many might be deceived and how many might be right in their accusations that we have wronged them?

But haven’t we all wronged someone at some point? I don’t say that to justify the wrong doing, but to point out that if we cannot forgive others, then how can we expect to be forgiven ourselves? 

Or are you (in your own eyes) in the right and standing high enough by your own loving service to others that you can accuse another? If so, how deep does the darkness of your emptiness go?

So if you see me standing ready to speak against anything other than sin and death — if you see me testifying against a brother or sister, pray that I will remember who is the accuser of the brethren and how slippery his ways truly are to trick us into division instead of unity. And pray that I will forgive my brother and sister and that they will turn from their wicked ways and I from mine to see the enemy defeated and powerless against Christ who is in us. 

We are a witness to His glory, to His grace, to His mercy, to His love, to His righteousness,  to His holiness — not witnesses against the flesh of pour brothers and sisters. Lift your eyes up, children of God, lift your eyes up, and be in awe of perfect God who has washed you clean and restored you to fellowship with a heavenly family of saints. Rejoice! Sing His praises! Amen.

Somebody Prayed

[Setting: Morning, living room, heated discussion between parents.]
Daughter: “What’s wrong?”
Daddy: “Mommy is mad at daddy. It’s okay, sometimes adults disagree, but we love each other and everything is going to be alright.”
[Daddy hugs and kisses daughter, trusting the Lord to make his last six words not be a lie. Then daddy hugs and kisses mommy and heads off late to work.]
[Setting: Later, at work, phone buzzes. Copious texting.]
Mommy and Daddy: “I’m sorry. I love you.”
[Setting: Daughter joyfully laughing and playing]
Daughter: “Thank you, Jesus. I knew you heard my prayer.”

Insufficient, More than Sufficient

I’ve FELT like a rickety old row boat tossed by the waves, 
and I’ve SEEN things around me being smashed on the rocks, 
and I’ve HEARD all the evidence that says that I am weak and insufficient to lead my household or counsel anyone else by my imperfect life’s evidence,  
but I BELIEVE that even in the midst of this trial I can REJOICE 
because MY STRENGTH COMES FROM GOD 
and I do not live by feelings or sight or senses, 
but by FAITH in the one who can 
break the chains of bondage and deliver to freedom, 
Cast mountains into the sea and bring the valleys level and plain,
Calm the raging seas with a spoken word, 
Heal, restore, save, deliver and lead. 
So if it comes from my mouth let it be His Word, His Truth, His Love, let it be LIFE breathed out by the Holy Spirit. 
If it comes from my hands, let it be His Word in action, His Truth in deeds, His Love in good works, and SERVICE to my brothers and sisters in need. 
If it enters my mind,  let it be His Word and meditating on the things above.
Lead me Lord, in case any follow along this path, so that it bet is your path, and not one I have picked out for myself.
Do not allow my many imperfections and weaknesses to stumble even the least of your little ones,  Lord, because by your Word, it is better that I be cast into the sea with a millstone tied around my neck.
Lord, I come to you,  destitute,  with no excuse, with no worthy payment, with no cross that I can claim by my own works to lay at your feet. I have failed you so many times. I have fallen, but I continue to get up. I only have your promise. I only have my faith in your faithfulness and in the truth of your Word.
Please, Lord, have mercy on your servant who has delighted in the work you’ve set before me, to follow you, to share the Good News, to praise you in the storms. I have not always been humble, but you have humbled me. I have not always been strong but you have strengthened me. I have not always been right but you have corrected and disciplined me. And I have always been loved because you have chosen me. 
What might be impossible for man, you have made true.
Please forgive me any who read this who are religious or quick to judge like I have been before (for praying publicly in the square), He knows my heart and will judge me according to His righteousness, because I am washed in the Blood of the Lamb, and because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. 
Thank you, Lord. 
Amen.

New Kingdom

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” – Revelation 21:5‭-‬9 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:17‭-‬21 ESV

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:17‭-‬32 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.” – 2 Corinthians 6:14‭-‬18 ESV

Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home; for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him. Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both? – Proverbs 24:15‭-‬22 ESV

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;  therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:35‭-‬38 ESV

Circumstances? Works? Or Blood and Saving Faith?

Qualified by the Blood of the Lamb, called and chosen, loved and forgiven, growing from faith to faith, gifted this Grace that is undeserved,  but that wells up inside of me an overcoming fountain of life and grateful obedience where there was an emptiness of sin and death.

#Romans8 #HeCallsMeHisOwn #IBelieve 

Are you His?

Then your past circumstances don’t define you (so let go of guilt and shame)  —

and your works don’t qualify you (so let go of foolish pride, poisonous hypocrisy, and dead religious traditions).

Be honest with yourself about who you love most and who you will serve today — will it be the one true God or will it be self?

Humble yourself before God, acknowledging that it is He who paid the price for you.

Walk in awe and grateful submission as His grace lifts you up to walk on the very waters that you thought might drown you.

Be amazed when He brings into the light those secrets you have hidden that were once did shameful you wouldn’t dare let them out, and rejoice when He overcomes and turns to good what you once thought was evil and shameful and was a chain that bound you.

If Christ has set you free, you are free indeed. Not free to sin and death —  but free to grateful obedience and life abundant & eternal.

So know today, He is faithful to forgive those who will come back to Him. He is faithful to teach and lead and empower those who love and obey Him to walk the narrow path. He opposes the proud hypocrite and lifts up the humble servant.

And He does all of this for His glory, not yours. So rejoice and sing peptides to the only one who is truly worthy of all praise and honor.

Thank you Jesus!

Please consider reading a beautifully related article here: 

http://kellyshorwrites.blogspot.com.ng/2016/07/dont-live-as-slave.html?m=0 

Come back

Proclaim this message from the Sovereign Lord against the mountains of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills and to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring war upon you, and I will smash your pagan shrines. All your altars will be demolished, and your places of worship will be destroyed. I will kill your people in front of your idols.  I will lay your corpses in front of your idols and scatter your bones around your altars. Wherever you live there will be desolation, and I will destroy your pagan shrines. Your altars will be demolished, your idols will be smashed, your places of worship will be torn down, and all the religious objects you have made will be destroyed. The place will be littered with corpses, and you will know that I alone am the Lord . “But I will let a few of my people escape destruction, and they will be scattered among the nations of the world. Then when they are exiled among the nations, they will remember me. They will recognize how hurt I am by their unfaithful hearts and lustful eyes that long for their idols. Then at last they will hate themselves for all their detestable sins. They will know that I alone am the Lord and that I was serious when I said I would bring this calamity on them. – Ezekiel 6:3‭-‬10 NLT

Then a third angel followed them, shouting, “Anyone who worships the beast and his statue or who accepts his mark on the forehead or on the hand must drink the wine of God’s anger. It has been poured full strength into God’s cup of wrath. And they will be tormented with fire and burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb. The smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever, and they will have no relief day or night, for they have worshiped the beast and his statue and have accepted the mark of his name.” This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!” – Revelation 14:9‭-‬13 NLT

Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth. – 2 Thessalonians 2:8‭-‬12 NLT

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.  And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed.  But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. ” – John 3:17‭-‬21 NLT

Look, I will force those who belong to Satan’s synagogue—those liars who say they are Jews but are not—to come and bow down at your feet. They will acknowledge that you are the ones I love. “Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world.  I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.  All who are victorious will become pillars in the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God—the new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on them my new name. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. – Revelation 3:9‭-‬13 NLT

Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.  So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” – John 3:5‭-‬8 NLT

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.  He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. – 2 Corinthians 5:13‭-‬21 NLT

Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it? I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”  The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God. – Galatians 3:2‭-‬7 NLT

The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife.  The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. As Isaiah said, “Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!” And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit. But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”  So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman. – Galatians 4:22‭-‬31 NLT

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you ; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. – 2 Corinthians 13:5 NLT
About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. “Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered?  Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God.  And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem?  No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.” – Luke 13:1‭-‬5 NLT

So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. – Mark 6:12 NLT

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. – Acts of the Apostles 3:19‭-‬20 NLT

Unity

Gentle hearts towards each other, unity in truth and love, and humble honesty in our confession and repentance is what allows the Holy Spirit to fall on us so sweet and tender. Chains are broken and life is restored fresh and new when we are shaken in our very depths. It is then that we take a fresh drink from the fountain of life and find strength in the Lord.
Remember, Child of God, we are blood bought, washed, sanctified, justified by the Lamb of God. We have a testimony to live out today, we have Good News of hope to share with a lost world — not as a conquering warrior on high, but as a loving servant, following in His footsteps. 
Heavenly Father help us to wear the full armor of God, to discern between good and evil,  to pick what is best and whay honors God, to think of others more highly than ourselves, to set our thoughts on things above, to forgive, to love, and to serve others out of our gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done for us, for what the Holy Spirit is doing in us. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. For look—the Judge is standing at the door! For examples of patience in suffering, dear brothers and sisters, look at the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We give great honor to those who endure under suffering. For instance, you know about Job, a man of great endurance. You can see how the Lord was kind to him at the end, for the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy. – James 5:7‭-‬11 NLT

When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers ! Don’t you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can’t you decide even these little things among yourselves? Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? So you should surely be able to resolve ordinary disputes in this life. If you have legal disputes about such matters, why go to outside judges who are not respected by the church? I am saying this to shame you. Isn’t there anyone in all the church who is wise enough to decide these issues? But instead, one believer sues another—right in front of unbelievers! Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you yourselves are the ones who do wrong and cheat even your fellow believers. Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:1‭-‬11 NLT

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬13 NLT

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears. You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. For they heard an awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that they begged God to stop speaking. They staggered back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”  Moses himself was so frightened at the sight that he said, “I am terrified and trembling.” No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.”  This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire. – Hebrews 12:14‭-‬29 NLT

There is a way…

If you keep staring at it,

It will be hard to forget it.
If you keep thinking about it,

It will be hard to not touch it.
If you keep touching it,

It will be hard to let go of it.
If you can’t let go of it,

It will be hard for you to break free from it.
If you let it own you, 

You’ll find out there was a better way.
Don’t give up the way,

Don’t give up the best, 

Just because something “good” 

Has caught your eye.
Your enemies are happy to offer you a pretty poison, 

As long as it steals your joy, 

As long as it kills your drive,

As long as it destroys your purpose.
Eve saw that the fruit of the forbidden tree was good for food and she ate it. And it was so good that she turned and shared it with her husband. It wasn’t until later that they realized the consequences. 
Are there things that you’ve let catch your eye because they are shiny and pretty, but you know they aren’t best?
Are there things that you’ve justified in your life because there is “some good” in them,  even though you know they aren’t best?
Are you offering up temptations to others to come and join you in the poison that you’ve chosen for your life? Will little eyes look at your example and be led into traps that aren’t best for their lives? 
Do you care about what is best? 
Do you want what is best? 
Yes, there is a way that is best. 
Do you want what is best? 
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. 
He is, was, and always will be the best. 
And He says, “Come,  walk with me.”
He doesn’t look for the best as a requirement, He produces the best out of our old lives of “not the best”.
He promises you the best. 
Will you ignore His offer? 
Will you trade the opportunity of the best, for something less?
“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.”

James 1:14-15 NLT
If you want proof, I can show you faith.

If you want prosperity, I can show you trials and sacrifice. 

If you want authority and power, I can show you love and mercy and a life serving others. 
Do you know the way?
Does He know you? 
“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.  On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.  But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.  When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Matthew 7:21-27 NLT