the meat market

God has given us all things to enjoy. I know that it's easy to go looking for problems. Even when things are better than they have ever been, we still go and look for problems.

We simply shouldn't ask questions.

Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go in, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. (1 Corinthians 10:25-27)

In the summer of both 2017 and 2018, I had the opportunity to travel to China for a mission trip with Athletes in Action. Oftentimes, as we traveled from city to city, or village to village, we would be invited into these local restaurants. Each restaurant we attended was the restaurant in town that served the best local food. It was recommended that we ate whatever food was served as a sign of respect to the Chinese people who served us and prepared the food. We were simply told not to ask questions, because everything that in front of us was good. 

I believe that is the perfect example of the scripture above. Sure, I know I probably ate things I would never think about eating, but all was good because that is what we believed. We didn't ask questions. We ate and showed tremendous respect. 

Paul gives an answer to the delema as well. Paul urges us to buy whatever meat is sold at the market without asking whether it was offered to idols. It doesn't matter anyway, and no one's conscience would be troubled. When we become too worried about our every action, we become legalistic and cannot enjoy life. 

Everything belongs to God, and he has given us all things to enjoy. If we know something is a problem, then we can deal with it, but we don't need to go looking for problems. 

As we begin another week, let us attack it with that mindset. Everything belongs to God, and he has given us all things to enjoy. 

purpose and discipline

There is a very strong need for self-discipline.

Anybody can become motivated, have a desire to work hard and be successful, but any of that is hard without self-discipline. 

December 1st, I set a goal for myself that I would run 100 miles in December leading up to my wedding day. (1/2/21) That's a pretty hearty goal for me considering I am not much of a runner and have never done anything like that before. I have been running 4 miles a day and knew that if I did not skip a single day that I could actually complete the mark a week early. I have officially ran just over 4 miles every day of the month and know that I will be able to run 124 miles this month. For me, it's a big achievement. For me to accomplish this like I have, I had to be incredibly self-disciplined. Heck, it's December. There have been days where it's been snowing, raining, and freezing cold and I couldn't let myself not run. I am also a big morning person, and needed to do these runs in the morning. So there were nights were I would get 5 hours of sleep and still get up and do it. 

I don't share that story brag, but I believe my relationship with Christ is a lot like this. You have to commit to it daily. You have to do things you don't normally feel like doing. You have to have a purpose, and an incredible amount of discipline. 

I will also tell you this, as good as it felt to hit 100 miles, it wasn't about that for me. The most rewarding part was that I developed phenomenal habits, and pushed myself out of my comfort zone. Although this was merely just a physical task, the self-discipline it helped me create carried over to all aspects of my life. 

Do you not know that in a are all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly;  I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my salve so that after I have preached to others, I myself will be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Winning a race requires purpose and discipline. Paul uses this illustration to outline that the Christian life takes hard work, self-denial, and growling preparation. 

As Christians, we are running toward our heavenly reward. The essential disciplines of prayer, Bible study, and worship equip us to run with vigor and stamina. 

Don't merely observe from the grandstands don't just try out to jog a couple laps each morning. Train diligently - your spiritual progress depends on it. 

We are His

We are God’s creation, and He created us...meaning that we are His.

Know that the Lord is God. 

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 

(Psalm 100:3)

Know that God is our creator; we did not create ourselves. Too often, I feel as if we live in such a way where we are the creator of our own little world. We seem to live with a mindset that everything evolves around us, and the decisions that we make. I mean that’s what it pushed our way right? 

There are both pros and cons to that mindset. The con is that this mind-set often leads to pride, greed, idolatry, and if everything should be taken away, a loss of hope itself.

The pro is that we are still the ones who are mostly in charge of the decisions that we make, but we must learn to trust that everything we do is for God.

When we realize that God crated us and gives us all we have, we will want to give others as God gave us. Then, if all is lost, we still have God and all he gives us. 

The power in understanding that we are His, is knowing what happens when all is lost. If all is lost and we run our world, there is no hope. If we realize that we are His, and all is lost, we still have God and all he gives us. 

Life isn’t easy. I mean look at everything that happened this year. Many people all across the world lost nearly all they had. What are you going to do about it? I know that no matter what happens in my life, as long as I have God and all he gives me, I will be at peace. 

My prayer for us all, going into the new year it to live knowing that we are God’s and that he created us. 

Let yourself be happy

Do you ever think about how many times per day you don't let yourself be happy? It's always on to the next thing, or time to worry and stress about something else. It's an endless cycle..We often contain our happiness/excitement until something big happens, but oftentimes when that happens, it's not even that enjoyable because we immediately start to wonder how we can accomplish the same thing again. 

There was a recent study that was done among the elderly who were slowly passing away, and when asked if they would've changed anything about their lives here on earth, the most popular answer was this: "I wish I would've let myself be happy."

Guys, we have that choice everyday. It's up to us. Are you going to choose to be happy today? 

I will make that commitment. No matter what happens today. I am going to focus on what I can control and work extremely hard, and I am going to choose to be happy because I know that I gave everything that I had. 

The power in this is that regardless of the results, the happiness that we choose to let ourselves feel from working extremely hard will fuel us to do it over, and over, and over again. Ultimately leading to life we want and the success that we dream about. 

Let yourself be happy. 

bought at a price

Did you know that your body belongs to God? 

Many people say they have the right to do whatever they want to with their own bodies. Although they think this is freedom, they are really enslaved to their own desires. 

When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit fills and lives in us. Therefore, we are no longer own our bodies.

"Bought at a price" refers to slaves purchased at auction. Christ's death freed us from sin, but also obligates us to his service. 

It's kind of like the apartment complex I live at it. It's owned by someone else, I live here and pay for it, and I try not to violate the buildings rules. Because our body belongs to God, we must not violate his standard for living. 

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, who you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. 

(1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

As we begin this exciting week of Christmas, I hope this inspires you to honor your body. Treat it well, work out, eat well, sleep plenty, and drink lots of water. Let's honor God with how we treat and love our bodies.

 

aligned desires

In my opinion, aligning our desires with Christ is one of the most difficult things to do as a believer. The reason I say that is that our desires our constantly all over the place. It seems as if there are days where mine are completely aligned with God's and other days where it's the complete opposite. 

Whenever my desires are aligned with Christ's I always feel the most fulfilled. No matter what noise is being made in every other aspect of my life, if I am aligned with Christ I know that my heart and mind is in the right spot. 

But how do we do that? I believe it's intentionality to please God. It's not just going to happen. For me to get my desires aligned with Christ, I need to spend time in the word before I get my day started. I want to give God my best, not my leftovers. Sure, when I do this, I still have days where my desires don't perfectly align with God, but it's a step in the right direction. 

Another thing I do, is that I am intentional about where my mind is at. Meaning, I want to be grateful and continuously express the things that I am grateful for. I believe that one of the best ways to please God is to express how grateful we are for everything we have been blessed with. It's hard to be grateful when you are stressed, just like how it's hard to be aligned with Christ when you are stressed or feeling anxious. Be extremely grateful. Take a gratefulness walk...It could be a walk to get your mail, or even just up the driveway, but when you intentionally spend time being grateful, everything about your day changes. 

Let those who love the Lord hate evil,

for he guards the lives on his faithful ones

and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. 

(Pslam 97:10)

A sincere purpose to please God will result in the alignment of your desires with God's desires. You will love what God loves and hate what God hates. If you love the Lord, you will hate evil. If you do not despise the actions of people who take advantage of others, if you admire people who look out for themselves, or if you envy those who get ahead using any means to accomplish their ends, then your primary desire in life is to please God. Learn to love God's ways and hate evil in every form - not only the obvious sins but also the socially acceptable ones. 

live it out

Some people talk a lot about their faith, but that's all it is-talk. 

They might know all the right words to say, but their lives don't reflect God's power. Paul says that the kingdom of God is to be lived, not just discussed. 

There is a big difference between knowing the right words and living them out. Don't be content to have the right answers about Christ. Let your life show that God's power is really working in you. 

My encouragement for you is just that, who cares about how much knowledge you have about God if you are not living it out. I remember times back in college where there were some people who seemed like they knew so much more than I did about God and it was probably true because they did. But I would always get so confused because how they were living didn't align with the words they say. I don't mean to sound judgmental when I make that comment, but don't let yourselves become deceived by how much knowledge someone else has. Don't let that make you feel down on yourself. 

Our walks with Christ are about living our faith out, not just being extremely wise. We can't just talk the talk, we must walk the walk. Have crazy faith! What matters more than anything else in our lives is our relationship with God and how we live it out. Remember that as you go into today.

"Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power." (1 Corinthians 4:18-20)