Is He Lord or Not?

 

By Andrea Merrell

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

 

“Why are you talking about God?” my friend asked. “This is real life, not church. What’s He got to do with anything?”

Without hesitation I said, “Actually, He’s got to do with everything—especially for the born-again believer.”

The conversation happened many years ago, but I remember it well. It was the classic case of secular versus sacred. As far as she was concerned, God was relegated to church and the Bible, nothing more.

I once heard a man say, “If you give God an inch, He’ll take more than a mile.” He believed if you give God certain parts of your life and heart, He will only want more. This man was not willing to surrender even that tiny inch.

What I’ve learned over the years is that if He’s not Lord over every single area of my life—including my thoughts, words, actions, habits, relationships, possessions—He’s not Lord over me at all.

God wants us to trust in Him with our whole heart, not just a small part of it. He promises that if we acknowledge Him in all our ways, He will direct us and make our paths straight.

I don’t know about you, but I need God involved in every area and in every moment of my life. I’ll gladly give Him that inch and ask Him to take all the rest. I’m all in.

How about you?

Photo by Miriam G on Unsplash

The Invisible Friend

 

By Andrea Merrell

I have called you friends.

John 15:5 NKJV

 

Everyone made fun of the little boy. Called him crazy. Unstable. A loser. Why? All because of his invisible friend.

Sadly, the boy was born into a seriously dysfunctional family full of alcoholism and abuse. He became so lonely and distraught that he created an imaginary friend—an invisible source of strength and comfort, for he had no one else on whom he could depend.

Unfortunately, many skeptics view our relationship with the Lord in the same way. They call us crazy. Delusional. Losers who need a crutch, a made-up source of strength. What they don’t realize is that while our “friend” might be invisible, He is definitely not imaginary.

The Bible calls Jesus a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). His love for us is so great that He laid down His life for us (John 15:13). Jesus Himself said, “I have called you friends” (John 15:5). And the best part of all is that He promised never to leave us. He is our constant and forever companion.

So take heart, my friend. When you say yes to Jesus, He takes up residence in your heart. Not only does He become your Savior and Lord, but your best, life-long friend. He might not be visible to the human eye, but He is more real than anything or anyone we can see, hear, feel, or touch.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Law or Grace?

 

Law or Grace?

By Andrea Merrell

For the person who keeps all of the laws except one

is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.

James 2:10 NLT

“We are no longer living under the Old Testament law but under grace,” the man said, yet his actions did not line up with his words. His attempts to keep parts of the law kept setting him up for failure. He became a slave to the law, afraid to make a mistake.

Someone once compared the law to an x-ray machine and a mirror that can show you what lies deep inside or what you need to do on the outside, but they can’t do it for you. They can’t fix things or solve your problems. In fact, the only thing the law will do for you is bring on discouragement and condemnation because when we live under the law and mess up on one little part, we are, according to James, guilty of it all.

The good news for us is found in Romans 8:3 (NLT):

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. (NLT)

That’s grace! Jesus fulfilled and satisfied all the requirements of the law through His sacrifice. As born-again believers who live under the dispensation of grace, we are free to follow the Spirit of God rather than the letter of the law—a bunch of unrealistic and unattainable rules and regulations.

Paul goes on in Romans to say

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. (8:15-17)

Abba Father, thank you for setting us free from the law of sin and death and adopting us as your children. Thank you for your grace as we follow after your Spirit. Amen!

Photo by Alex Shute on Unsplash

A Matter of the Heart

 By Andrea Merrell

If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

1 John 3:21 NKJV

 

“You don’t have to worry about other people putting you down; you’re too busy doing it to yourself.”

I heard those words eons ago, but they have stayed with me. So many years of my life were wasted, beating myself up because of the least little thing. Constantly trying to be perfect so I could measure up. Every time I failed, I fell deeper into despair and further from God. I lived in a perpetual state of guilt, shame, and condemnation, uncomfortable in my own skin.

When we allow others, the Enemy, and even ourselves to convince us we’re not and never will be good enough—and we’ll never do things the right way—we end up in a prison of our own making, wondering why God won’t bail us out. We want Him to help us, but we’re too ashamed to ask.

It all comes down to a matter of the heart. “If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God” (1 John 3:21 NKJV). The Passion translation explains it like this:

Whenever our hearts make us feel guilty and remind us of our failures, we know that God is much greater and more merciful than our conscience, and He knows everything there is to know about us … When our hearts don’t condemn us, we have a bold freedom to speak face-to-face with God. And whatever we ask of Him we receive because we keep His commands. And by our beautiful intentions we continue to do what brings pleasure to Him. (vs. 20-22)

The Bible is clear; we no longer have to live under that black cloud of condemnation. Jesus has freed us once and for all from that self-imposed prison. And absolutely nothing can separate us from His love, mercy, and grace.

If that black cloud is following you, run to the Lord, not away from Him. Accept His forgiveness and walk in the freedom He purchased just for you.

It’s not difficult. It’s a matter of the heart.

Photo courtesy of FreeDititalPhotos.net and sumetho. 

Get Rid of the Rocks

 

By Andrea Merrell

It is impossible that no offenses should come.

Luke 17:1 NKJV

There it was. Again. The truth hit me like a bullet aimed straight at my heart.

I thought I had dealt with a certain situation, but when the offending party’s name came up, all those old, resentful feelings resurfaced.

God’s conviction and correction came as no surprise because my pastor had been teaching on the subject. He explained that we will all have the opportunity to be offended. More often than not, we will have many opportunities. He also said that when we pick up an offense, it’s like picking up a handful of rocks and carrying them around.

Jesus said that in order to be His disciple, we must pick up our cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). When we pick up our cross, it simply means we are following Jesus’ example. And as my pastor said, we can’t carry our cross and rocks at the same time.

Offense leads to anger. Anger leads to resentment. And resentment leads to bitterness. When a root of bitterness takes hold, it’s like a deadly poison that corrupts everything it touches.

We cannot keep offenses from coming our way, but we can choose whether to take them on or not. Let’s get rid of the rocks so we can joyfully carry the cross of Christ.

 

Photo by Oliver Paaske on Unsplash