What's your relationship status?

Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 GWT 




I see posts on my social network sites where either guys or girls, will put their relationship status for everyone to see. Excitedly publishing who they "belong" to or are dating. Sometimes they will use the "complicated" option - what's up with that? I saw a post form a girl that said "Yeah, I finally have him, now everything is good!" As if being in a relationship is going to make every facet of your life good - Oh c'mon! We all know that's not the truth! It's comical while at the same time its sad that we, as people would put our very lives in the hands of another human being, another imperfect human being. A human being who will, in one breath say "hail him, hail him!!! And in the very next breath say "nail him, nail him!"




Look at the scripture reference above. Those of us who choose to give our hearts & lives to Jesus belong to Him. Not some imperfect human who loves us one minute and hates us the next. What did Paul mean when he said that our bodies belong to God? Many people say they have the right to do whatever they want with their own bodies. Although they think that 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 no longer own our bodies. "Bought . . . with a high price'' refers to slaves purchased at auction. Christ's death freed us from sin, but also obligates us to his service. If you live in a building owned by someone else, you try not to violate the building's rules. Because your body belongs to God, you must not violate his standards for living.


If you have not made the decision to give your heart to God please dont wait another second, for then you you will truly have a relationship status that will never be "complicated." 


Say this out loud: "Lord Jesus forgive me. I believe in you. Come live inside me - Amen"

Always be eager to practice hospitality.

As we embark upon the holiday season I felt to share this, it does however, apply to each day and season of our lives.

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. 

Romans 12:13 NLT

Christian hospitality differs from social entertaining. Entertaining focuses on the host: The home must be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured. Hospitality, by contrast, focuses on the guests. Their needs-whether for a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or acceptance-are the primary concern. Hospitality can happen in a messy home. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen while the host and the guest are doing chores together. Don't hesitate to offer hospitality just because you are too tired, too busy, or not wealthy enough to entertain.

Never again speak in the name of Jesus

 The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them goThe apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.” Acts 5:40-42

Peter and John were warned repeatedly not to preach, but they continued in spite of the threats. We, too, should live as Christ has asked us to, sharing our faith no matter what the cost. We may not be beaten or thrown in jail, but we may be ridiculed, ostracized, or slandered. To what extent are you willing to suffer for the sake of sharing the gospel with others?

C.R.E.A.M.

Proverbs 23:4 NIV, Luke 12:15 NIV, Luke 16:19-31 NIV, 1 Timothy 6:8-10 NIV and 1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV

The world tells us, get rich or die trying, ball out, stunt, stack chips, chase paper, it's all about the benjamins, C.R.E.A.M.(Cash rules everything around me). This mentality tempts people until they feel like, 'I wanna be a millionaire so freakin' bad' and 'If you ain't doin' it big, you ain't doin' nothin'.

This worldly philosophy also inflates the egos of the haughty so that their speech is ALWAYS about money and how to get more, and some elect even become deceived, simply worshiping God because of the material wealth that they think is associated, which is why they always boast of what they have and how much they spend. But, what does God say on the matter of wealth?

Pv.23:4-"Do not weary yourself to gain wealth,
Cease from your consideration of it."

That seems point blank enough, but there's more...

1Tim.6:8-"If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content."

That's a hard one for us Americans; we consider that to be unbearable poverty!

1Tim.6:9-10: "9But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

People, erred by prosperity teachings and fueled by the continual boasts of the haughty, become disillusioned and began to seek alternative ways to get their true hearts' desire: money instead of God.

Lk.12:15-"Then He said to them, 'Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.'"

It doesn't matter how much money you amass in this life. Greed is a craving that's only filled temporarily and is not everlasting as salvation. And wealth has NO BEARING or relation to the status of your salvation.

1Tim.6:17-19- "17Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed."

As Christians, wealth is NOT a sin to possess, but our TRUE wealth is in salvation through Christ, not money. We shouldn't rely on wealth as our saviour or even insinuate that money is some sort of saviour by constantly promoting the chase of it. We shouldn't find our ultimate comfort nor boast and brag of wealth, which belittles those with less than us, lest we be like the rich man in Luke who ignored Scripture and lavished himself in earthly riches instead.

Lk.16:19-31- "19 Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.' 25 But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.' 27 And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father's house- 28 for I have five brothers-in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.' 29 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.' 30 But he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!' 31 But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Christians, store up heavenly treasures for yourself by obeying God's Word, because wealth on earth is good for nothing but the time spent on earth, but we are destined to spend eternity somewhere else and that will be determined by who we really have faith in and serve: God or the idol of money. 

God is trying to spoil our fun?

Two older guys show up on your front porch on Super Bowl Sunday. They introduce themselves as Ed McMahon and Dick Clark. One of them holds balloons. The other points a microphone at your face. A TV camera crew seems to be filming everything. A big van is parked in front of your house with Prize Patrol painted on the side in big letters.

"Congratulations!" one of them says. "You've just won eleven million dollars!"

You roll your eyes. "Yeah, and my mother's the queen of England!"

One of the guys chuckles heartily. He holds a cardboard check about the size of Nebraska. "Here's your winner's check!" He extends it in your direction.

You shake your head and start to close the door. "Look," you say, "halftime's almost over. I gotta get back in the house." You start to close the door.


One of the guys wedges a foot in your door. "This is for real!" he says. "We really want to give you eleven million dollars!"

"Look," you say, "you're wasting my time, all right? Now, go away, before I call the cops!" And you slam the door.

Now, you'd never act so rudely, of course. And you'd at least take that big cardboard check and try to cash it, right? You might be a little suspicious, but you wouldn't blow a chance like that, right? Or would you?

In some ways we all do that, day after day. Oh, Ed McMahon and Dick Clark don't appear on our doorsteps every day. But God does. And, like the two guys in the story above, God just wants to give us good things to make our life better and to make our futures secure. Over and over again he tells us that he loves us and just wants to do good to us. Over and over again he pleads with us to trust him, trying to convince us that his aim is not to hurt us but to help us.

But we often close the door in his face. We make choices as if God is trying to spoil our fun. We act as though he's trying to "fake us out," like there's a "catch" to his offer of a better life. We seem to think that wrong choices are more desirable than right choices, as though God were trying to keep us from having fun. But that's not true. In fact, God is not trying to spoil things for us-he wants our life to be good and enjoyable and rewarding. He wants to save us from the disappointment, destruction-and death-that sin causes. "I don't want you to die," he says. "I want you to turn from wrong choices so you can really live."

How's your image?

Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”  (Genesis 1:26-28)

Human life is valuable because of the image every person bears. No matter how tall or how old he or she is, no matter what color his or her skin or hair, no matter what language he or she speaks, every human being is unbelievably valuable because he or she is created in God's image. That's true of you. It's true of your friends and family. And it's true of people you've never met, and even people you don't really like. Their lives are precious because they're made in God's image.

Question: Do you act like you believe your life is unbelievably precious? If so, in what ways? If not, why not? Do you act like you believe the lives of others are unbelievably precious? If so, in what ways? If not, why not?

My prayer for you and me today is this: "God, I thank you that all human life is in your image and is valuable to you. And help me to see the value you place on us through your eyes"

Could it be this easy?

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. 

Philippians 4:6-7 The Message Bible

Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 God's Word Translation

Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 Good News Translation

According to The Word of God, it IS that easy. I don't know about you, but I'm putting this into practice right now.

Remember that Bobby McFerrin song?

Don't worry be happy