I know it has been a while since I last blogged…I either don’t have much to say or I forget about the blog that I have. I am not very good at really blogging all that much…Today though I am going to blog about the sermon notes from church..All I can say is WOW! To me, it was a very touching service. There has been alot of things on my mind lately and my heart has been heavy. I absolutely HATE drama and there has been to much of it and I am sick of it!! I am not use to all the drama that has been going on lately, and my husband who I love so much tries to protect me from it, and I appreciate it, although I know he can’t.
So, here are the notes from today’s sermon….I hope they touch you as much as they touched me.
Galations 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Standirm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Three reason we quit living for the approval of others.
1. We violate our own integrity .
We do this when what we believe is not consistent with the way we live.
We damage ourselves when we know what is right…and then we do not do what is right.
What others think is always going to be an issue.
But…We can begin to be authentic (to be who God created us to be)….
We can begin to quit pretense…
We can begin to live from the values that God teaches and have been placed in our hearts.
Quit living values that we know are not us…
Quit living a life that conflicts with what we know is right.
2. We have a tendency to sacrifice what or whom we love.
If we seek the approval of others and ingore doing what is right…those we love will suffer.
Often this course of behavior will cost us dearly. To change feels awful but to stay on this course is even worse.
When we seek the approval of others we often put them before our families.
Where is grace in relationships? Why do we harm those we love the most?
3. The dysfunction of living to please others creates pain.
Galations 2:20 “I have been crucifed with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
What pleases God is when we quit serving other Gods.
What pleases God is when we quit serving the law of pleasing others.
Today we can begin to experience freedom…Freedom to be who God created us to be…Freedom to be authentic…Freedom to be transparent…
First….Know that we live for God and not for pleasing others.
Second…pleasing others is shifting sand..some are never pleased.
Third…we have been set f ree…we are going to live from the inside out…believe and do the right things.
Here are a few questions to think about:
~What are your vaules and most important things in your life?
~How much time do you spend with the most important things in your life?
~ How many boxes of “garbage” do you still carry around inside of you?
I’m sure God has a plan a midst all the drama. He has a way of using us through these difficult experiences!