When will you turn from the burn?

Turn or burn. Throughout our life, we make decisions to move away from the old habits to embrace wiser, safer paths. Some time after, we will take educated risks and may suffer consequences. Hopefully, we remembered to pray through this and all episodes to ease our hurdles.

My turn from the burn is a constant struggle. There are things I have done in the past that I look back on and say, "what a waste." Some of this foolishness I look back and think what a great time it was, but still "what a waste." We can beat up ourselves pretty fast and easily. Anyone who has attended or been part of a wedding may have heard the following Scripture:

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. " 1 Corinthians 13:11

Only through prayer for God's strength can I put childish ways behind me. The transformation for some is fast and for others it is slow. But if we place ourselves in His hands, we will become part of His will and His time. God refines all who come to Him. He wants us to be tested and to place ALL of our fears and faith with Him. Pray to Him in the name of Jesus Christ to have you heart filled with the Holy Spirit and He will begin to work on you. I repeat, Pray to Him and He will work on you. How awesome is it that the Creator of the universe is always accessible and ready to talk with you?

Check this one out - "When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." Genesis 5:21-24

Enoch was part of the lineage from Adam to Noah and father to Methuselah who lived 969 years. When God gave Enoch a son, he started to walk with God for 300 years. God loved Enoch so much that he took him away. Enoch's turn from the burn came when Methuselah was born. Somewhere in Adam's lineage, God's voice was heard by a good man who was willing to walk with Him. This probably means Enoch not only walked the walk, but talked the talk. As a result, God took him. God did not let Enoch die as the rest of the lineage did. If we stick with the burn, then we too will die. If we turn from the burn, then God will hold a place for us. How cool will it be to meet Enoch in heaven? When will you turn from the burn? If you struggle daily, so do I. Be patient, prayerful and take it one day at a time.

Continue to Fall on My Sword

Just when I think I am starting to do something of value, I fall on my sword. Just when I think I am doing right, I fall on my sword. Two steps forward, one fatal step back, I fall on on my sword. You think your life is pretty well in tact until you fall on your sword. We realize, apologize, organize, strategize, compromise and then, something dies.

"I have set before you today life and good, death and evil." Deuteronomy 30:15

We sin. We know we sin. We feel bad about our sins. We seek forgiveness for our sins. We confess and feel better about our situation. What's done is done, right? Not exactly. Have we fully changed our direction toward God? We may feel like new men and say, "I will do it my way!" But what happens then? Success? Only temporarily. What we tried to do had the right intentions, but we lost focus on God after he forgave us. Some of us (me) go back to the realization step and start over again. This is when I crawl back to Jesus with my impaled sword in my side to seek His forgiveness yet again. The others who do not go back to Him go a different direction; they begin to compromise.

They make their own rules to fit with what works best for them and how they can gain the most benefit. Sounds like a foolproof plan. The problem is that this plan is not part of God's plan at all. No matter how much good I do, if it is not part of God's plan, it will not last and neither will I. My self-made-man approach will only lead to an endless cycle of lost time and eternal death.

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. " Isaiah 64:6

To my brethren, who struggle like me, where do we go to change our ways? Who do we call? The answer is Jesus. Once we commit to Him and His commandments, the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts and lives. We have a choice every day, every minute, every second to answer His call and receive His love. With blinders and earplugs on and depending on our rules of compromise only builds a wall between us and Jesus. Once closed, eternal life will be inaccessible. Only Jesus can clean our filthy rags, only He can set before us today life and good. Pray for God's guidance and be honest with yourself and with Jesus.

When I realize the wrong I have done, what choice will I make? What choice will you make?