We were made by the Lord to be used for His plan and His purpose, not to sit on a shelf “looking pretty”! It’s our choice to obey what God’s calling us to do, even if it means getting our hands dirty in the process. But when we choose not to be used by Him, we open ourselves up to be used by the devil to destroy ourselves or others.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior and submit our lives to Him, the Holy Spirit takes up residence inside of our bodies. And with God as our “landLord”, we can no longer live for ourselves and do whatever we want to do. He’s the owner, and we live under His authority.

When we choose to accept Jesus as our Savior, we’re also choosing to make personal sacrifices in order to follow Him. No matter what other people are saying or doing, if we profess to love Christ, then we’re called to obey Him. Are we willing and available to do whatever God’s asking us to do?

It’s easy to think that the grass is greener “on the other side”. But the truth is this: the grass is greener where you water it! Instead of giving into temptation and chasing after what the world has to offer, God’s calling us to focus on all that He’s blessed us with in our marriages, our families, our careers, and in the people He’s made us to be.

Without Jesus, we have no defense against our sinful nature. But with Jesus, we can do all things through His strength! When Christ lives in us, we’re no longer “only human” — instead, we have His supernatural power to not only fight our sin struggles, but to overcome them.

Parents know how rewarding it is when their child not only obeys them, but wants to do things for them out of love. In the same way, we please God not just by obeying Him out of obligation, but by delighting in serving Him. And when we live our lives to please the Lord, it’s amazing how He uses us to impact others in rewarding ways.

When we become Christians, it becomes our responsibility to tell others about Jesus. And sometimes, that means stepping out of our comfort zone. The question is, what scares us more: sharing the Good News with others, or not obeying the call of God to spread the Gospel?

The Apostle Paul wrote that singleness is a gift, because it frees us up to serve God wholeheartedly without any distractions. But he pointed out that if we do get married, we should still be using our lives and our marriages to honor the Lord. When we put God first regardless of our “relationship status”, every other relationship we have benefits from it!

Sin weighs us down and keeps us from living the life that God intended for us. But when Jesus paid the price for our salvation, He washed us clean from our past and freed us from the burden of our sin. As children of the King, we’re now free to run the race before us with our eyes fixed on the ultimate prize: eternal life in Heaven with our Father.

As long as we try to maintain control of our own lives, they’re going to keep spinning out of control. As broken people, we’re naturally drawn to sin, which leads to an uncontrolled way of life. The only way to “get a grip” is to live under God’s reign and rule. He grows the fruit of His Spirit in us and gives us the power to harness our sinful nature.