Fueled by Faith

Take delight in the Lord,
And he will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you.
He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
And the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun
(Psalm 37:4-6 NLT).

Rising gas prices make electric vehicles appear more appealing. It seems the price of gas makes innovation both necessary and affordable. Before there were full EVs there were hybrid vehicles, which kept a foot in both gas and electric worlds. Hybrids have a gas engine and an electric motor, which utilizes two fuel sources. Seems very innovative.

While innovation is handy in the mechanical world, God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And just in case you have forgotten where God’s pathway runs, he gave us a roadmap for life, and it is your Bible. Some believers are trying to innovate God’s plan by offering a revised version, one which is fueled by God, yet more accommodating to our country’s cultural changes. Yes, we are living in a lost, dark world, but are we not His light?

We must draw a line in the sand. Will we take delight in the Lord, or will we serve our own selfish desires? On one side we desire to please God without caution or concern of the outcome. We stand firm on the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Gospel Message. We feel honored to suffer for the sake of Christ and trust God for the outcome of each trial we endure. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 we read, “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

We realize living for Jesus may seem foolish to the new world order, but we delight in the persecutions. We have confidence in our destination, when we change into our glorious new outfits in the next world.

On the other side, we take the focus off Christ and place it on ourselves. We are in the selfie generation, which generally places the focus on us. It is like quicksand for the spirit! Look at me, and what I have achieved, and how great I am, and how many friends I have on social media. It is a false feeling of achievement, and most of us go along to get along.

We are human, and we sometimes confuse temporary happiness with eternal joy. We seek earthly admiration by falling into the trap of self-promotion, and false humility, to make people believe we are a good person or a strong Christian. Be on guard my brothers and sisters, walk in humility, and live life to please God above all things. Do not choose earthly fuel, feed on the Bread of Life!

So how do we know how we are measuring up? First, do not look to social media to be your plumb line. Instead, open the Word of God, it is not about us, it is all about Him! The Word of God does not lie to us or embellish the truth. God cannot lie, he is the truth seeker and he searches the earth for hearts that seek after Him.

We should be addressing inflation and word usage on our social media postings. We should not be inflating ourselves for attention, but rather, pointing people toward Jesus. We should be economical with our words, as less is better! People wonder where you stand with God with postings that send mixed messages. Why should people want what you have in Jesus when all you have looks like the world?

When we feel good about ourselves and we are in proper alignment with God, our focus changes. We no longer desire people to look at our flesh or encourage others to flatter us. We are takers in that world. We should be offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God and others. The things we write and the photos we post have an impact on the people who view them. Do they promote a Godly image or a self-serving image? You must ask God to search your heart for the answer.

Finally, dressing modestly does not take away from the natural beauty God has given you. This does not mean we must cover ourselves from head to toe, but we can dress fashionably without showing off our bodies. When dressing we should ask this question, “will God approve of what I am wearing?”

Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

In Matthew 6:24 (MSG) we read, “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other.”

As God points things out in our lives that do not honor Him, we must repent, and confess our sins to Him. Then His Word can help fuel our escape from the trappings of this world!