Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions

According to the Oxford dictionary, the definition of good is “that which is morally right.” But then, in the error of the human mind, secondary meaning is also given: “Righteousness.” We will immediately seek scriptural evidence that humanity’s definition of good does not come close to God’s definition of righteousness. No our standards of good does not equal Jesus’ definition of good, which is righteousness.

The Christian asking daily for the anointing of the Holy Spirit, praying several times throughout the day and night, studying the Scriptures, asking God’s will to be revealed, and living a faith-based life demonstrates the desire for Jesus to abide within. They demonstrate a human effort to which God’s Divine power is given, producing daily spiritual growth. And to stay on the narrow Path of Righteousness which is the life-long process of Sanctification.

Sanctification is growing daily to possess the Character of Christ. And for our diligence, we are granted the Omnipotent spiritual help to live according to God’s standards, surpassing our definition of “good.”

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Are we going to mess up? Yes, from Adam and Eve to the present, humanity will sin. That’s why Jesus gave the blood sacrifice of His death for the redemption of sin. Again in human error, we take advantage of the Plan of Redemption. Many of today’s Christians are abusing God’s grace. They have become apathetic, only giving God less than their best.

Every day, we desperately need help! If it was easy to live righteously, we would not need the daily Divine Intervention of our Spiritual Team–God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the angels.

How do we know that we are living according to God’s standards of Good-Righteousness? “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy'” (1 Peter 1:16).

Faith is the foundation of righteousness. God tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Our Daily Commitment

1. “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). Through prayer, we seek God’s will for our lives daily.
2. “So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then” (1 Peter 1:14). Since we are fighting to overcome learned behaviors, hereditary traits, and the love of pleasure, we conform by obeying God in every aspect of our lives.
3. “But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy” (1 Peter 1:15). Yes, the sinful worldliness has caused us to compromise “Holiness.” Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if the people you hang out with and places and things you enjoy, glorify God.

Our thoughts, behaviors, and actions indicate if we are serving God and living holy. Peter, the boisterous, big-mouth, show-off disciple, is the Apostle Peter who wrote the books of 1st and 2nd Peter in the Bible.

The Apostle Paul admonishes us, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things” (Philippians 4:8).

And James speaks of one of our biggest problems, “If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless” (James 1:26).

“The lips should be sanctified, that the words spoken may be few and well-chosen.” E.G.White

Our spiritual journey is not impossible or overwhelming. Pray for Divine help! When we think of having all of heaven on our side to live righteously, we should jump for joy by praising God for His Goodness.

Prayer: God, we thank You for loving us beyond our comprehension. Yes, we desperately need Your help. We pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and discernment to reveal the people, places, and things that are preventing us from living holy. Thank You, Jesus, for Your great love that caused You to die for us. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! In Jesus’ Worthy Name, we pray. Amen.

Nonmaleficence is a word that all Healthcare Professionals are very familiar with. We take an oath “To Do No Harm” to our patients. Yes, patient safety is always our number one priority. And one may think of physical safety, yet, there are other areas in which we keep our patients safe.

In 2017, I drove from Texas to West Virginia for my Aunt’s funeral service. After arriving late Friday night, I received a call from my Uncle to inquire if I could drive to Maryland to pick up my elderly Aunt and Uncle, who resided there. Both had Dementia but still were able to perform their activities of daily living.

Before our road trip, their youngest daughter told me I needed to stop by the pharmacy to pick up Auntie’s medication. When I spoke to the pharmacist, she informed me that my Aunt had taken 30 pills in 14 days, which accounted for running out of her medication and the increase in her Dementia. While in West Virginia, God provided His Divine Intervention. My Uncle [her husband] became alert enough to assist Auntie with taking the correct amount of pills daily.

Her daughters resolved the issue by scheduling an appointment with her Physician the same day I drove them back to Maryland. An alternate treatment plan was developed because my Aunt could no longer self-medicate. Thankfully, there was no permanent damage from the overdosage of her medication. Praise God this situation ended well.

As I thought about this situation, self-reflection was necessary. In many ways, most of us are like my elderly Aunt, who was self-reliant, believing she could self-medicate. How many times have we made decisions without praying for God’s guidance?

Self-reliance places us in harm’s way!

Even the most dedicated Christians struggle with disobedience by following the desires of our hearts. Yes, we are stubborn-hearted and self-willed, boldly pursuing and fulfilling our wish list without asking our Heavenly Father if we are in alignment with His plans. Without Divine intervention, we proceed with our plans. We start new jobs, purchase houses and vehicles, and begin relationships with individuals with hidden toxic traits.

Once we have made our purchases or found our “soul-mate,” with overt happiness, we congratulate ourselves, and tell others that God has blessed us. The irony is that we dare to pray and thank God for blessing us with our choices.

We have a loving God who promises “To do no harm” to humanity. Our Heavenly Father has made countless biblical promises to keep us safe. God promises to hold us up with His righteous right hand, send angels to protect us physically and from spiritual warfare, and be with us through trials, sickness, and sorrow. We are familiar with His promise in Jeremiah 29:11, which tells us that God has plans to give us a future and hope.

Sadly, God’s heart must be grieved that we [His children] do not trust Him enough to wait and rely on His perfect, bountiful blessings.

Christ is our example of the desire to obey God. The Four Gospels [Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John] record Jesus constantly praying to stay in the will of His Father. Even if we have followed our desires–possibly placing ourselves in harm’s way because of an unknown future and the changes that could produce loss, we can repent and make a covenant to trust and obey God from today forward. Love God, Trust God, and Wait on God.

Prayer: God, we pray for forgiveness for living a life based on our desires. We do not know the outcome of our disobedience, yet, we must accept the consequences. From today forward, we make a covenant vow to ask first, trust You, and wait for Your answer. Thank You for keeping us from harm. We ask this prayer in the Worthy Name of Jesus, Amen.

Jesus’ righteousness covers the filthiness of our sins. Yet, we do not abuse grace and mercy by committing intentional or pre-meditated sins. The Apostle Peter tells us, “Be holy, for I am Holy” (1 Peter 1:16).

Loving Jesus means putting Him first. We desire to be aligned with our Lord and Savior because we love Jesus with our hearts. Living righteously requires a desire to obey God and live holy.

Yes, our lives are a daily struggle. Sanctification is a life-long journey of spiritual growth through Jesus Christ. We are never alone! Our Spiritual team is available and ready to give us Divine Intervention available 24/7.

Prayer: God, we thank You for our salvation and redemption from our sins. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Striving to keep a clean house can be a battle for many individuals. We think we have control of the matter, yet, many older things have memories attached to them. Before we realize it, our homes are cluttered, or we have storage totes packed with so many things we cannot even remember what is in them.

Spiritual Clutter: The Christian life can also have too much clutter. We accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior but embrace old worldly habits. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit who alerts us through our conscience that we are outside God’s will.

One of the things that I have always loved watching is documentaries. Yes, I am a virtual world traveler. I have subscribed to several channels focusing on the diversity of global humanity. But then I began to notice a trend on my favorite channel, beliefs in the spirit world and pagan worship ceremonies were incorporated in the middle of the documentary. Yes, the good part!

The beginning pulls us in, and our interest is piqued. So we compromise [unwillingly or make a conscious decision] because, after all, it’s just a cultural overview and their beliefs are not yours.

Clutter is not only tangible items, our greatest enemy desires that our minds are in conflict by presenting activities that reinforce our old, carnal habits. We begin to compromise by watching programs with sexual immorality or filthy language [soft or hard profanity] or reading books with worldviews. Note that the introduction of sin is very subtle. Satan would never present abject wickedness that would be repulsive, causing us to immediately turn away from it.

The evil one observes our behaviors and hears our spoken words. Because of our battle against carnality, we are naturally drawn to people, places, and things that are enmity against God. The compromises of sin produce clutter that is in a spiritual realm. We become attracted to the things that are pleasing and interesting to our senses. In fact, we justify it by saying, “Oh, they are a good person, everyone has faults,” or “It’s a great movie, just a few soft curse words.”

The Apostle Paul had to deal with converts who enjoyed idol worship. Hence, his letters to the churches. Although their gods were actual wood or stone images, today’s Christians have many idols cluttering their lives. The prosperity messages twist the Scriptures. We embrace individuals who say they believe in God, yet, their lives reflect worldly behaviors, and we listen to music created by individuals who are unbelievers.

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds… (Colossians 3:5, 8-9 NKJV).

King David asked God, “Search me, God, and know my heart; Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24)

He knew that the influence of worldly evil disguised as pleasing to the eyes and ears would create spiritual compromise leading one to desire sin, leading us to disobey God. We are living in the last days! And Satan is working overtime to skillfully develop subtle temptations which cause spiritual conflict and clutter.

14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:14-17).

Bible Reading: Ephesians 6:10-18, The Whole Armor of God

Prayer: God, we ask for forgiveness for compromising our relationship with You. Because of the things we watch or listen to, we have a situation of spiritual clutter in our lives. Lord, we ask You to “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.