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LOVE vs THE LAW
The LAW screams “Responsibility!” LOVE says “Just respond to Me” We never know what lies ahead each day as the Lord guides us in the newness of His Spirit rather than the oldness of the letter. Are we studying God’s Word and leaving room for the Holy Spirit to minister to us each day? Paul tells us the law was not made for the righteous man who is in love with the Lord, who walks close to God, who desires to please the Lord. It was made for the lawless, the disobedient, the ungodly. Those who don’t care about the Lord need the law laid upon them for their own protection. The law keeps the unrighteous from rampant sin AND IT DRIVES THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS to Jesus. 1 Timothy 1: 8-9 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane”…(the list continues) There are people in “church-ianity”, in LEGALISM, who are caught up in the shadows, bound up, critical, and missing out on so much as they drive themselves and others around them crazy focusing on their list of “can & cant’s”, black & white, and putting the same heaviness on others… when the reality is JESUS CHRIST. HE is our sabbath. HE is our rest. HE is the reality. HE is out TRUTH. HE is the answer. HIS LOVE will drive us to repentance. When we look at the law, we must look at the heart of the Father and not get caught up in technicalities. When we read the Old Testament, we can ask “Lord, show me something about YOU and something practical for ME.” May the Lord keep us from the depression and oppression and exhaustion that come from preoccupation with rules and regulations, obligations and stipulations…that we might know what it truly means to be FREE and married to Mr. Right (Jesus) who loves us unconditionally and will lead us day by day in JOY and LIBERTY, free from the bondage of sin AND the bondage of legalism!! Love Wins. Keep your eyes on Jesus. *Message paraphrased from Pastor Jon Courson's Bible Commentary
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We are pouring gasoline on the fire. We are completing burning out our little, fragile adrenal glands that are responsible for much of our peace and calm and energy and hormone production and natural pain relief… AS GO OUR ADRENALS & NERVOUS SYSTEM, so go our hormones & other systems!
CHALLENGE: Go without coffee a few days. #1: can you do it? #2: Does this post make you angry instead of curious? Are you willing to ask God for the humility to be challenged? Is there any chance coffee could be an idol/addiction? Is this a primary source of comfort or perhaps a crutch to survive each day? Do you catch yourself saying “I NEED MY COFFEE” ?Sometimes we let stuff go (a fast) just to be certain our comfort is solely coming from the ONE TRUE SOURCE of comfort…Jesus!! AND to see what HE has to show us about our habits. #3 If you feel terrible without coffee…that’s the reality of the state your body is actually in. Your body needs nourishment, not stimulants. Your adrenals are likely FRIED (likely your thyroid, too…I know…I’m sorry), and they are responsible for producing over 50 hormones in the body!! No wonder everyone’s hormones are out of whack?! For years I have worked with people whose lives are out of control and health is failing, so much of which is a direct result of lifestyle habits such as this. Don’t worry, I’m not denying we live in a fallen world, and some things ARE out of our control. The coffee and stimulant issue is one of many layers….but our habits add up to make us either MORE HEALTHY or to DESTROY OUR BODY. This means there is HOPE…we can change through the conviction and transforming power of Christ and it WILL HAVE a direct effect on our health. Yahoooo!!!! You don’t need a Doctor to tell you that! If your nervous system controls all the other systems in the body, then doesn’t it make sense to nourish it instead of over-stimulating it and wearing it out daily? And then if IT tells the adrenals what to do, but our adrenals are like the adrenals of an 80 year old person when we are in our 20’s (yes, that’s what’s happening!!)…then how can we expect to have healthy menstrual cycles, happy and stable moods, a healthy libido (when we are married), breasts that maintain their volume, energy, good quality sleep, peace and calm, maintain a healthy weight, hair and nails that grow strong and long, fertility, mental clarity, good muscle tone, endurance, motivation, healthy thoughts…. NEED I SAY MORE? DO YOU SEE HOW THEY ARE ALL RELATED?? I’ll refrain from getting into Bio-Identical Hormones and Birth control pills. I get to see people healed ALL THE TIME!! Those who humble themselves to saying YES to JESUS, to being willing to change WHATEVER GOD WANTS to change AND THOSE who realize that WE DO have control over many of the factors causing us to be sick (diet, exercise, forgiveness, etc) are the ones that get the good results. It’s really just an act of submission to the Truth, obedience to do the work and being transformed by the renewing of our minds to think and live in a new way. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Therefore, in Christ, anyone can change. Just as God made Himself as the Trinity, 3-in-1, He made us in His image…A Spirit, soul and body…they are all part of the whole and cannot be separated. We can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength – Philippians 4:13 Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, BUT I WILL NOT BE MASTERED BY ANYTHING – 1 Corinthians 6:12 Check out a healthy coffee substitute that is 100% good for you: MATCHA LATTE |
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