The Love of Christ Controls Us

The Love of Christ Controls Us…

When planning our getaway, both Danny and I looked at maps and studied where the best bluebonnet blooms happen and which roads were good riding but non interstate. He had plans and I had plans. We also had friends going with us and they had plans as well. Between all of us we finally came to an agreement and the plan was good. But what would have happened had someone taken all the control of the event? Someone has to lead but the road captain doesn’t have to make all the decisions. He just has to get us there safely. 

In faith and in life we like to have control, take control and be in control.  Many times we like to call all the shots and then put a cross on them. It makes it look good. But that doesn’t give us God’s seal of approval does it? Sometimes we let others control our lives and we call it love. We succumb to their demands in the flesh and try to respond in the spirit. But if we’re not careful we’ll be under their thumb and not realize that we are now in control but it’s fleshly control.

God wants you to know that He has a plan to remove your control issues. His love is meant to be our sole controlling factor. He understands all the decisions you have to make, all the people you want to please and all the voices calling out your name – for help, assistance, relief, blame and more. But He says this morning, let My Love be your control. Let My choices be your choices. Let Me handle the things you aren’t meant to handle. Give your problems, your ministry, your family, your friends, your work, your church and your hobbies over to me. You are not called to be a juggler or a people pleaser. You are called to be a    Christ died for you, so that you no longer have to live for yourself or to please man, but for Him who died and rose again on your behalf.

He also wants you to know if you will quit trying to control things, you will see a light at the end of your tunnel. You will find sweet release in letting Christ control everything. You will still make decisions but they will be based on the Word of God carried out in Agape love. You’ll no longer have to worry about what people will think. And when you get condemnation from wherever it may come, you can speak to it and tell it to leave. You don’t have to be in control anymore. In fact it is only in your emptied state that God can take over. He’s the One who set the stars in orbit. He can work it all out for you. He wants to take care of your business and the business of those you love and pray for daily.  Your responsibility may be great, but must be carried out in love and intercession. There you feel no heaviness and you don’t feel like you’re being pulled in two directions. God will take care of your family and your walk with Him. He promises and what He promises He will perform.

Oh beloved, it’s time to let God lead and get out of the way. Move over and let the Love of your life into the driver’s seat. He’s got awesome plans for you. He calls you beloved and He wants to take you where you cannot get on your own. You’ll have to drop the things that want to control you as well.  You might get dropped but you will see it as a promotion not a rejection. Where you are going it is all God and no flesh. But it will be all good because surrounded by His love, captured into His will and living out His blessings is what you were always meant to do.

God loves you and He’s for you so relax and let His love be your controlling force all the days of your life.

2 Corinthians 5:14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.

Micah 4:5 Though the nations around us follow their idols, we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.

2 Thessalonians 3:5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

Deuteronomy 13:4 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

Isaiah 48:17 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go.

Look to the Future, Not to the Past

This morning as I wake up I remember as a child we had to keep the faucets dripping, put a light in the pump house, and various other things to keep the water pipes from bursting and the pump from freezing. Back then it was hard work to do simple things. Some of you may have to still do these things but for most of us we don’t anymore. There are other things that used to be laborious that we now have much easier. I’m glad for the most part that things are easier. Outhouses and rub boards are pretty much a thing of the past. Cisterns and well buckets have given way most everywhere to a simple twist of the faucet. 

I am thinking too of my own children being young. We had all the grands with us recently and for a moment I could get melancholy that the children I raised are all grown. We had a great time with them and still enjoy reminiscing about their childhoods.

If I just reminisced about the past, pretty soon I’d be wishing I could go back. Unknown days are ahead. We’ve not lived them. We don’t know where we’re going with God but we are going into the future. He has a plan and He’s leading us. We are excited to know that God’s Word tells us that even in our old age God has something for us, so even though we might become quite aged there is still much to do for the Kingdom of God when we follow Him with our whole heart.

The Egyptians left behind slavery. They were taken out of the land of Pharaoh with a strong and mighty arm of the Lord. Many signs and wonders were evident in their lives. They were heading out to points unknown but as long as God was leading it would be good. The wilderness looked fine to them compared to the slavery they had endured. Until they lived there.

God speaks to my heart: Each and every day is a new day with Me. I know there are times when you’d like to go back – maybe to do something over and better, maybe just to enjoy those wonderful memories. But I am not leading you to the past. I am not leading you to relive the good times and I am not leading you to relive the bad times. I am leading you into the future. It may look like a wilderness to you. But you can rest assured that every step I take before you is a step you can take with confidence. Living in the past has no merit whatsoever. Today is the day to live your triumphant life in Me. My name is I AM – I AM here, I AM leading, I AM preparing you for the future, I AM leading you through and teaching you much about My character and nature, even when you don’t know where you are going. 

Oh beloved! Trust the Lord. Let Him lead you out of the past. Let Him use you fresh and new today. Let Him give you a hope for the future. Let Him turn what looks like a wilderness into sacred ground. He will provide everything you need in abundance, along with grace and peace and joy. He loves you and He’s for you and His plans are outrageously good for your heart, your mind and your soul as you live in the light of His Word and follow Him all the days of your life. 

Psalm 78:19 They spoke against God; they said, "Can God really spread a table in the wilderness?”

Psalm 25:9 He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Psalm 31:3 For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.

Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says--your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow

Jeremiah 31:17 “There is hope for your future,” declares the Lord…

Psalm 71:18 Now that I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God. Let me proclaim your power to this new generation, your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

Need Directions? Follow Christ!

Back in the early 70’s my dad often went to the VA hospital in Little Rock. It was the old one on Roosevelt Rd.  One time I took my friend Teri with me. We were barely 16. We dropped my dad off at the hospital for a checkup and proceeded to go downtown to window shop.  We even went into a wedding shop and tried on wedding gowns! I laugh about that now, what nutty things we did.  Mostly harmless, but loads of fun!

The problem with going downtown was the one way streets.  We didn’t really know what we were doing and I was driving. I found myself going the wrong way! Thankfully there wasn’t a lot of oncoming traffic! One man rolled down his window as he met me and warned me.  We got back in the right direction and drove on. It was a close call.

Throughout the years I’ve had plenty of times to discover I was going the wrong way.  Being young you just think you can do it all, have it all and make life conform to your way. Driving a car into oncoming traffic can cause a serious accident. So can going your own way headlong into life.

I traveled my own road for quite a while. It was all about me and it was lined with great ideas and lots of wants. One day I met Someone who told me I was going the wrong way. Jesus loved me enough to roll down His window from heaven and show me the way.  He didn’t just holler at me and say “you idiot!” or “you’re gonna be sorry!”  No, He stopped and got out of His vehicle and waved me down with a banner of love. He left the splendor of His home and went out on the road of life looking for me!  He kept on looking until He found me, then He called me and now He guides me. Occasionally, I might get my direction mixed up and again He will correct me and get me turned around and headed in the right direction. 

While there are many roads that lead to many different places, there is only one road that leads to life. That road is a one way road.  For life and that more abundantly, you have to get on His Road and travel by His guidance. There will be dangers, toils and snares along the way. The road is not always pretty, doesn’t always go smoothly and can travel through dark areas. But this Road will lead to everlasting life in Heaven with Him. 

Not only will He keep you going in the right direction, He will use you to point others to the Way. He will use you to speak His Truth IN LOVE, so that they can go the right way too!

Oh beloved, have you heard the sound of the Lord calling you? Are you headed in the right direction? If you’ve put your trust in Him, then you can let Him turn you around when needed and adjust your life so that light shines ahead in the darkest of nights. He may tell you to turn around, but He always speaks with love. He may ask you to travel with Him, away from all that is familiar, but He will always be with you. His love is His vehicle to call you, to save you, to keep you, to guide you and to get you safely home. And that’s all that really matters.

John 8:12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow Me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.

John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). Amplified

Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says--your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.

Precious Memories! Beautiful Future! Let Him Lead You...

We’re at Bikes Blues and BBQ this week. We enjoy visiting with everyone who comes by the booths. We have one behind Shotz on Dickson Street and one at the entrance to the vendors at the Tyson Track Center. As we drove up yesterday Danny and I reminisced about how many years we’ve been coming up for this event. We laughed as we remembered the year the clutch went out on that old bike just as we were climbing a big hill. We talked about the folks we’ve met along the way. It’s good to reminisce about good times in our lives, whether it’s ministry or family or friends.


But it’s a new day. If we only think about yesterday, we aren’t able to move on. Just like we update our bikes, we pray for new vision and a fresh anointing for today. Maybe you’ve been doing things the old way and expect new results. It just doesn’t happen. Reminiscing is not the same as living in the past. Moving on is just part of life. But if we move on expecting God to be in the lead, we’ll have new memories and blessed times in His presence.

Oh beloved, your memories are certainly precious. Keep them. Memories of loved ones gone can warm our hearts. Share those memories with family as those stories can be carried down through the generations. Are you hanging on to the past as though it’s all you have? Whether past struggles or past joys, they’ll keep us focused so on our past that we can’t move on. Run to the Lord this morning and ask Him for fresh anointing and vision. Ask Him to take you further than you’ve been with Him first. Then, as you and He walk together, He will give you new insight and wonderful plans to carry you into the future. He says to you that your future is secure in Him and that He wants to give you greater blessings than you’ve ever known! Hallelujah! What a Savior – the One Who saves us by His grace, anoints us for this present time and fits us for Heaven! He loves you and He’s for you and that’s all that matters.

Psalm 23:5 …You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

Ecclesiastes 11:7 Light is sweet; how pleasant to see a new day dawning.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.