STAY THE COURSE

Sometimes when I'm driving by myself, I talk to myself. I give myself a "motivation talk" if you will. 1 Samuel 30:6 "...David encouraged himself in the LORD his God." So on this one trip I was telling myself that I have to stop certain things. Telling myself that I know better.

James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." I've heard it said once or twice that if you know better you do better. I was reminding myself that if I can do good on Sundays and Wednesdays, I can do good on the 5 other days of the week.

Proverbs 18:16 "A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men." Had to tell myself to keep blogging. Keep writing. Keep going. Don't give up. Your time is here. God is not through with you yet. You're not second fiddle. You're not a second class citizen. You matter. Your gift will make room for you. Song writer said, "God has not forgot. If He said that He would do it. It will come to pass. God has not forgot." That song applies to everyone. It is written that God's word will not return unto Him void. Which means God's word is valid. Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Old hymn comes to mind that says,

"Because He lives I can face tomorrow

Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives."

Now all this may seem simple to some, but sometimes it's the most simple things that we forget about this walk as a Christian. A lot of people say they're a Christian now. But being saved is more than a talk. It's the walk. Not just publicly or in the right surroundings, but as one artist put it, "After the show, after the set. After the music stops, what's next?" Anybody can act the part when the camera's on, but when the camera's off do you change character or do you continue to live it out loud. You got to live the life, even when no one is watching. Even when you're home alone and the temptations are at a all time high, what do you do then? Do you stay the course or do you get a little fix in thinking God understands, and I got time.

If you can't tell that in this year alone that life is not promised to any of us, I don't know what to tell you. I haven't seen so much death back to back like this. It's not even just famous people dying, It's family members, friends, enemies, etc getting out of here. It's time to make a decision.

Joshua 24:15 "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

I know this entry was kinda all over place, but I hope some kind of message got through. I hope you were blessed and encouraged. Feel free to share your thoughts and such in the comment section. Feel free to share the post, also. 

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson

TIME TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE FREE

Cue He Reigns by Ricky Dillard. Made a change to the blog. Used to be I’d moderate all comments. Too much work. I’ve lifted that off. Comment one, comment all.  And now…

This past Sunday was life changing. I’ve cried in church before. When I was a little kid, it was an every Sunday thing. The spirit would get high in service and I’d be crying and sometimes screaming. No lie. So needless to say that still happens on occasion. This Sunday was different though. All I was thinking of was the song I’ve sung plenty of times. Grew up hearing my mom singing it. First heard it sung by Donnie McClurkin on an old Carlton Pearson CD, but it never hit me like it did on Sunday.

“Living He loved me. Dying He saved me. Buried He carried my sins far away. Rising He justified freed me forever. One day he’s coming back. Glorious Day.”

Wow. I mean really think about it. Living He loved us. For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten, right? Dying he saved me. What he save me from? Death. The wages of sin is…death. Buried He carried my sins far away. Far away, so why am I struggling with what Jesus already taken care of? Burying my sins, so I don’t have to be buried with them. Rising He justified freed me forever. Whom the son makes free is what? Free indeed. What are habits? What are struggles? What are insecurities? Not only am I free, but I’m free forever. It doesn’t end there. One day he’s coming back. And it will be a glorious day. I mean if that’s not enough to cry out, what is?

So I choose believe that Sunday was an expression of God really freeing me. I wrote a blog some years ago called Off The Chain. The chains are broken now. With that I can’t watch the stuff I used to enjoy for the wrong reasons. I can’t do stuff I used to do while at the same time knowing it was wrong. If I’m free, I got to live free. If I’m delivered, I got to live delivered. I can’t call myself free while still living bound. Some of us have been bound so long that we don’t even know that we’re free. Like Morgan Freeman’s character in Shawshank Redemption. When he finally got out of jail, he was still bound. He asked to go to the bathroom not knowing that he was free to go whenever he had to. Time to know it. Know that you’re free. The chains are broken. Walk in it. Live it.

Stay Saved,

Daniel Richerson aka Big Dusty
Follow me on Twitter @Big_Dusty
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