Daily Choosing to Live For Him

Recently, I was reading in I Thessalonians. And, once again, I felt challenged by the word of God.

Challenged to take inventory of my relationship with God.

Challenged to take another look at my spiritual life.

Challenged to take a glance in the mirror of God’s Word and examine the reflection I see in my heart, my marriage, my mothering, my homeschooling and my friendships.

I am so thankful for the free gift of my salvation. The fact that God loved me enough in my humanness to send His Son as the one and only, final sacrifice for sin is amazing and incredible. What a blessing to know that I have been redeemed through His blood that was shed on a cross 2000 years ago.

The knowledge that He did that for me brings me to my knees. 

I have been set free from the bonds of sin and I can live victoriously in this free
gift.

I am a forgiven, loved, hand-created child of God.

And so are you. 

Amazing grace… how sweet the sound of that promise is to those of us who
believe.

In reading I Thessalonians 4, I was again reminded that we hold a responsibility to not only live in that freedom but to also continue living everyday in a way that is pleasing to God.

“Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

Although we have been forgiven, redeemed, saved by grace, we are called to live a life that is worthy of God.

Colossians 1:9-14 says, “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Not that our works save us, but that our works show that we have been saved.

And, it is our choice.

God does not force us to “live a life worthy of the Lord”. We have the ability to live as we want, but when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we have HIS power to help us live a life free from the bondage of sin. We have been set free and no longer have to live in sin, but can choose to live a life that is pleasing to God.

He shines His light on our hearts and promises to daily help us clean out even the darkest corners.

In choosing to live a life for God, others will see God in us. We will shine like stars to the “crooked and depraved generation” around us.

I want to challenge you to dig into these scriptures, allow God to do some spring cleaning in your heart and allow Him to help you live a life that is pleasing to Him in every way!