Category: Christian Living

Uncompromising!

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Genuine. 

Real. 

No hypocrisy. 

No pretense. 

No compromising. 

Just honest to goodness, holding on to one’s integrity with every fiber of their being.  “This is what I believe, and I’m sticking to it!”  The person who governs his or her faith by these attributes is a person who is truly sold out for God.

This one will unashamedly hold on to their beliefs despite circumstances.  They are as clear as transparent glass in their true devotion to God.  What you see is what you get.  They are the same inside and out.  They are as unwavering in their faith behind closed doors as they are in the open square.  They are the same in the streets as they are in the church house.  Their walk with God doesn’t swing on the hinges of what is convenient or comfortable or safe.  They live for Him, for an audience of One, in the good times and the bad.

No backing down.  No false or phony surface worship.  Their hearts are truly tied to God in the most real of ways, and substituting for less just is not an option.  And let’s face it, in a world filled with so many things that are artificial, at the very least, one’s faith should be real.

At least, that’s what Daniel and his friends: Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah believed. Chosen to enter the king’s training program designed to indoctrinate them while being held captives in Babylon, they were given favorable treatment and “a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank,” (Daniel 1:5). While all of this may sound good on the outside, on the inside some things that came with this special favor didn’t sit right with Daniel. It came with a price that Daniel was not willing to pay. The price: compromise.

So, the Bible tells us, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, not with wine which he drank . . .” (Daniel 1:8). Historically, traditionally, and according to the Law, to do so would be to participate in that which is considered unclean and not appropriate for the strict dietary guidelines of their faith.

Special privilege or not; an opportunity to advance and make life easier for himself could not and would not cause Daniel to do anything that would eat away at his conscience in his relationship with God.  Throughout his young life, he has known nothing but to adhere to the ways of his people passed down from generation to generation under the instruction of God.  Now that he was in captivity and at the disposal of the enemy’s power and influence, Daniel still persisted uncompromisingly to hold on to his belief and not waiver from what he had been taught to be right.  The enemy’s goal may have been to indoctrinate these young people with their own ways, but God was already seared on their hearts and Daniel and his friends were resolved to keep it that way. They may have been in a strange country now and under strange human leadership, but their hearts were still tied to God and His ways, and they were determined with everything in them to follow God all the way.

Following God all the way, that’s the true definition, in my opinion, of an uncompromising life. We all face decisions and choices in life that may not sit well with us. They may ask us to do things that we feel aren’t pleasing to God or we know that it’s just out and out wrong. Jesus helps us with those decisions by plainly and without apology reminding us, “No man can serve two masters . . .” (Matthew 6:24). To follow the world would be to deny God. To follow God, as Daniel and his friends did, would mean turning your back on the world, the desires, and those things that we believe would make our life easier and advantageous.

When Daniel and his friends decided to stay with God and not take the easy way out, God blessed their faithfulness: “As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17). Previously, God made it known, “For them that honour me I will honour” (1 Samuel 2:30). Our God is a just God and He believes in rewarding them that diligently seek Him and His ways (Hebrews 11:6). In the end, God elevated Daniel and his friends with more.

Even if the reward isn’t as immediate. Even if we don’t see it on this side of heaven, God is still calling for uncompromising people of faith to pick up the standard of His Word and live it.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments . . .” Psalm 111:10

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So, I sit . . .

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Like Mary at the feet of Jesus, so I sit (Luke 10:39).

In His presence . . .

Learning from Him . . .

Being filled and renewed by His Spirit . . .

What a glorious position to be in!

Cares of this world all around, but today, I choose to sit . . .

At His feet, I am in a joyous place. Before His throne, I am drawing nigh to His presence. You, oh Lord, have given me this blessed space to be where You are.

I don’t have to wait for the scepter of an earthly king to be stretched out, allowing me access. No, but the King of all kings welcomes me by His grace to enter into His holy courts. In this place, our drawing near is magnetized by His love. As I bow, as my head lifts up in prayer, closer am I drawn to Thee by Your Spirit. Deeper in fellowship I go. Deeper in praise my heart doles out what is due to Your holy Name.

It will never be enough, for You are worthy of so much more, but with a heart full of assurance and faith, I enter the sacred place and sit like Mary sat, at the feet of Jesus. I take in all of who You are. I am filled with Your presence. I am renewed by Your Spirit. I am strengthened and enlivened for the day ahead.

What a joy to sit in this place. What an honor and privilege to offer my Lord praise and prayer from the sacred assembly of my heart. You inhabit the praises of Your people. You hear every prayer that flows from their lips. Just to be where You are is a treasure all its own. How grateful I am to be in this place. Oh, how Your peace washes over me, drowning out everything that is not like You. As the priests stepped their foot in the Jordan bearing the Ark, so I step through the floods all around me, and they have dried up to give me passage to my promise – to lead me to my inheritance where I can just sit and enjoy You face to face forevermore.

Oh, what a blessed place to be . . . So today, in my heart, I sit.

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details. 

“Your Anointing is Dangerous, but it’s Worth It!”

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A shepherd boy who had been forgotten when Samuel came to call, David was treated as a “less than” by everyone who knew him the most, except God.

God, looking past his outer array saw something special in him. He instructed Samuel to, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he,” (1 Samuel 16:12). Following God’s lead, “Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward,” (1 Samuel 16:13).

Not only had he been empowered and anointed by God’s Spirit on that day, but his life has never been the same since then. Because of the anointing in his life, David experienced ups and downs; he experienced victories, and he experienced times of loss. But in the end, he is still known as one of Israel’s greatest kings; as the bloodline through whom our Lord Jesus Christ came, and as a man after God’s own heart, Acts 13:22.

What David gained, Saul lost. As David became empowered by God’s Spirit, Saul was stripped of this anointed pleasure and replaced by something evil, 1 Samuel 16:14. This made David a continual target of hatred and adversity. What started out as a relationship of love (1 Samuel 16:21) quickly turned to envy and hatred after David returned from the slaughter of the Philistines because the women of the city sang, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands,” (1 Samuel 18:7).

Saul knew he was on a downward spiral and as a bird of prey perched to claim his next victim, “Saul eyed David from that day and forward,” (1 Samuel 18:9). Even when David was sent to relieve Saul of the distressing spirit that had come upon him, his life became an endangered treasure as the javelin of hatred whisked through the air intent on taking his life, 1 Samuel 18:10-11.

The LORD was with David. The people loved David. The anointing was on David, but that didn’t mean people wouldn’t try to squash what God was trying to accomplish in his life. David was at times a fugitive, constantly on the run, but he escaped time and again in what I am attributing to the providence of God.

At one point, in a dark cave in the wilderness of En-gedi, David had the opportunity to rid himself of the provocation of Saul once and for all. Yet, David refused to come against anything or anyone who had once been anointed by God, 1 Samuel 24:6.

This did not immediately vanquish Saul’s pursuit of David. Not until Saul perished in the battle against the Philistines did David become free of this enemy who pursued his life, 1 Samuel 31.

Hear this, we may not be aligned to be a great king of Israel or the like, but the Bible tells us, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people,” (1 Peter 2:9a). The anointing on your life makes you and me something and someone special before God.

The rest of 1 Peter 2:9 states, “That ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” Because God has poured His oil of anointing, through the power of His Holy Spirit, upon each and everyone that belongs to Him, we are designed to make a mark for Him in this world.

This anointing will bring enemies and battles, and yes, at times may seem dangerous, yet, “He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God,” (2 Corinthians 1:21). God is the one that has anointed us, and “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Through Jesus Christ; through the power of His Spirit in us, we have been called and blessed to walk in the power of all God designed each one of us to be. Don’t let your circumstances dictate your anointing. Don’t let the Sauls of your life pierce through what God has divinely appointed for you. David ran for his life yet God’s plan for him never faltered. He was set aside for the Master’s use, and so are we.

There will always be adversity against God’s anointing, but if God anointed you choose today to walk in all that He has blessed you to be. Your anointing may seem dangerous at times, but in the end, it is well worth it. Just ask David.

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Alive in Us | The God We Feel!

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God is not only this great and wonderful God that we read and learn about, but in our walk with Him we experience Him; we feel Him in every area of our lives, and through every situation we face. Even if words escape us and we can’t properly explain it, and even if we don’t see it clearly right now, we know that He is there because we can feel Him alive in us, working around us and through us, covering us, carry us, and holding us through it all.

“The God We Feel!” — Word For Life Says…

“Jesus Didn’t Let Discouragement Win!” — Word For Life Says…

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Discouragement is a pit that we don’t have to waste time swimming in. As children of God, we are made for so much more! Sometimes it does get hard, but we must make a conscious decision to respond the way Jesus did and to not let it frustrate us from everything that God has for us, and everything He wants us to be and do.

“Jesus Didn’t Let Discouragement Win!” — Word For Life Says…

Purpose in the Struggle | Another Look at the Hardships Faced in Our Christian Journey

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Why, we may wonder, why God does not just remove every obstacle and resistance to our faith?  Why in this journey must we fight?  Why must we strive against adversity in reaching where we are aiming to be?

Can a faith that is not exercised truly be called faith?  For if the road traveled is always smooth and the pathways are always leveled plains, how then will we ever learn to climb?  How will we learn to exert our muscles and pull our weight to mount upon the top? 

More strength only comes by using more strength.  More faith only comes by being forced to use more faith.  We can only learn to climb by experience.  We can only learn to push ahead by continuing to push ahead.  We can only learn to fight by being made to fight.

There are things that God knows His people will only learn by going through them.  That’s why Judges 3:2 says, “Only that the generations of the children of Israel might know, to teach them war, at the least such as before knew nothing thereof;”. 

When choosing multiple services in life we tend to want to choose those with experience.  Take getting a simple hair cut for example.  We want those who have had plenty of practice perfecting their skill before attempting to put scissors near our heads which could alter the way we look for good or for bad.

God has many plans and purposes for His people but what we fail to see or have the patience for is the seasoning of the saint, the molding and perfecting that goes on behind the scenes.

I guarantee no one whom you have read about or seen doing great exploits for the Lord, just fell into that role ready to go.  There was some teaching.  There was some humbling.  There was some learning along the way.  It may have been behind closed doors and away from the eyes of the public, but God takes the time to make sure His vessels are properly prepared to go forth and hold all the potential and purposes He has for them.

The children of Israel might have been concerned as to why certain enemies were left in the neighboring surroundings.  By them, God was testing His people.  By them, God was teaching those to war who had never known war before.  God was causing faith muscles to be exercised.  He was training hearts to not focus on what they see in the enemy but on what they know about their God.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:” (1 Peter 4:12).  There is no struggle or contention that does not come without a purpose.  Though it may not be pleasant it is plentifully seasoning your walk with the Lord.  Like the children of Israel, it is teaching your hands to war.

One can never be a good soldier without ever facing contentions.  One can never learn to fight unless they have been made to fight.  One can never learn to pray in earnest if they never had that petition that would draw them to the knee with fervency.  And one could never learn to seek and lean on Him if their heart were never stirred to do so through the challenges faced.

“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:” (1 Peter 1:6-7).  It may not always feel like it, and it may not always feel good, but there is purpose in the hardships we face, especially when it comes to our faith which is found more praiseworthy in the eyes of Christ than gold that will perish.

Sometimes we may not understand everything and we may ask, “Why?”  But as we journey, may our eyes never leave Him who promised and is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).  Take heart, dear friend.  Through it all, at the end of our Christian race, we may look back and see the fruit those hard times produced, and we may see the purpose in the struggles.

“But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10).

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com articles/lessons/worksheets may not be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of WordforLifeSays.com.  Please see the COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.  Blessings to you.

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Your Heart, God’s Temple

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“So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the Lord. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the Lord.” 1 Kings 7:51

As you read and study, you begin to realize the amount of lavished riches that went into constructing and furnishing the original temple that Solomon built for the house of the LORD (and, rightly so). Yet, as lavished and as wonderful a sight it must have been to behold and walk through, with silver and gold this and that everywhere, the grand temple in which God truly desires to live is in the simplicity of the human heart; a place where He can abide and guide by His Spirit.

It may not appear to the human eye to be as beautiful and as ornamentally decked out as that magnificent building, but to God, a heart that loves Him, and makes room for Him to dwell – there are no luxurious accommodations found on this earth that can compare.

Jesus taught, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23), showing it is the temple of our hearts where He desires to reside.

Paul taught in Corinthians: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16), and “. . . for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16).

A lot of people are living for a showy outside life, but it’s the treasury of your heart God values the most because it is in this place He wants to reign, rule, and abide through His Spirit. The lavished, ornamental details of a physical building cannot compare to a heart that has been made a ready place for God to dwell.

While we are still called to gather together to worship God, learn of His Word, and edify one another (Hebrews 10:35), everyone has the individual responsibility to prepare their hearts to be a place where God wants to be.

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22 (I suggest reading Ephesians 2 in its entirety)

“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:6-7

“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:27

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com articles/lessons/worksheets may not be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of WordforLifeSays.com.  Please see the COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.  Blessings to you.

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God’s Design | A Lesson from the Confident Bird

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This morning, I saw
high in the tree,
a confident, little bird
looking down at me.

I thought, if that were me,
on the branches that swayed,
I would not be so confident.
I would be very afraid.

The bird looked at me,
as if to say,
he had no reason to fear,
for God made him this way.

To fly high, and conquer
heights unknown.
To soar was his gift,
upon the winds that blow.

What’s true for the bird,
is true for me too.
For I have gifts and talents,
special things I can do.

If the little bird was confident
in God’s designed plan,
I, too, can be sure
in God’s design for who I am.

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Psalm 139:14

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

“Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.” 1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com articles/lessons/worksheets may not be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of WordforLifeSays.com.  Please see the COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.  Blessings to you.

Please Note: Ads below or referenced on this site are prefabricated and mass-produced (of which I currently have no control over) and DO NOT necessarily represent the views and/or beliefs of this site and its admin.

Laboring Women

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“And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.” Philippians 4:3

Laboring women.  Those two words together more than likely bring immediately to our minds the idea of childbirth, which is a unique celebration in and of itself.  Yet, the Bible has a way of showing people beyond the norms of what may immediately come to mind.  It highlights the character, contributions, giftings, and skills of those, men or women, who were used by God or allowed God to use what they had or could do to further Kingdom business.

While we are familiar with Ruth, Deborah, and Esther in the Old Testament, and with names like Mary (take your pick), Pricilla, and Dorcas in the New Testament, what we find in the pages of Scripture that there are numerous characters (men and women alike, although I’m focusing on a female point of view here), whose lives and contributions made a significant impact even though they were not mentioned by name.

Paul made special mention in the verse above to the Philippian church to “help those women which laboured with me in the gospel.”  These women supported his ministry.  These unsung, nameless warriors are only known by mention here and the people they served then.  We don’t know who they are or how they helped in such a way for this honorable mention here – but help, they did, therefore Paul wanted the church to keep in mind the way their works provided service.

Another thing we don’t see here is the struggle to be seen.  We don’t see a fight or contentions arising because they wanted the recognition of their name and actions to be made known.  It’s as if it was just their pleasure to serve the gospel and to help in whatever capacity they could.

Their service mattered and made a difference.  And while they are not named here, the “Book of Life” holds their names.  Father God knows who they are, and He knows who you are.

You may not always receive the pat on the back, the acceptance, the “Good job!”, you are looking for, but what you do for Christ, what you do for the furtherance of the ministry of the Kingdom of God matters as well, and it is important.

Your name may not be published far and wide ascribing your accomplishments.  But if it is published in that Book of Life, have no fear of missing out because the Holder of that holy record sees everything you do for His Kingdom, and you can trust that He will reward you accordingly.

God sees and knows what you do for Him!

Further Inspiration:

“Overlooked?  Not By God!”

“Shamgar, Who?”