Unaffected, Unmoved, Unavailable

When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Genesis 5:1

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61:10

How affected are you by others?

How often do situations move you into fear?

How available are you to the enemy’s agenda?

Guilty!

I know the truth of who God says I am.

Yet often, I fail to remember.

I know the truth, yet I often forget.

Am I alone in this, or does this happen to you, too?

When I forget, I am affected deeply by the ugliness of others.

When I forget, I am moved to fear or anxiety, sometimes even liking my pity party.

And when I forget, I become available to the devil’s lies. To his schemes. To his agenda.

That’s why we need Jesus, His ever present help.

Why we need the Holy Spirit’s whisper, reminding us of the Bible’s truth.

Only with our continual trust in God can we even hope to thwart the enemy’s plans for us.

One weapon we have is to memorize scripture.

Paste a special one somewhere you’ll see it often.

Continually remind your brain of Who made you. Of Whose image you bear. Of Who loves you.

Let’s try it for a second.

Think about how bad someone recently made you feel.

Feel your mood start to shift downward?

Now confidently speak these words to your brain: You are God’s temple and God’s Spirit dwells in you (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Picture yourself standing tall alongside Jesus, His crown on your head.

Picture yourself standing at the cross, Jesus looking at you, dying just for you.

Picture Jesus standing in front of you as you walk into a tricky situation.

You are protected, loved, and safe.

You are chosen.

The next time you begin to fall back into your poor me, even deserving of the attitude self, picture yourself seated in the high places with Jesus.

He chose you for this time.

He is for you, not against you.

With the Creator of the entire universe by your side, absolutely nothing else matters.

Walking in this world will only last for a short time, when compared to all eternity.

Why let others bring you down?

It’s not worth it.

You’re certainly worth more.

God says so.

Photos by Tim MossholderNEOM, & Adam Davis on Unsplash

Turn Yourself In

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16

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God is looking for you.

You’re a wanted soul.

Wanted for redemption.

For a relationship with the One true God.

Funny, though, because God knows just where to find you.

But He has always given us a choice.

To surrender or not.

So let me ask you this:

What are you waiting for?

What’s the hold up?

Fear?

Not being in control?

Would you, with your limited knowledge, rather be in charge?

Or God, who knows the beginning from the end?

But I like living for myself.

Ok, but your days are numbered and then what.

What about all of eternity which stretches far beyond your vision?

Oh, I’ll go to heaven, because I’m a good person.

Sorry, but you’re still full of sin.

And the only way to wipe the sin away is to trust Jesus to take away all your sins for you.

He will, because He loves you.

And He wants to be your friend.

There’s no strings attached.

Just ask.

But God saved you from more than yourself.

He wants you to make a real difference with others.

He wants you to have the peace of God in your life.

Maybe you’re a Christian, but your heart is still yours, wrapped up in what you want.

God wants all of you.

Only when you surrender your heart will God be able to step in.

When you put your total trust in Him, He carefully guides you with every single step.

It’s not always a smooth path, but He’s your constant companion.

And when He’s with you, you’ll have His peace which passes all understanding.

It guides your heart and mind.

So turn yourself in.

Trust.

And let God take over.