Walk the Walk
Whether you are a new believer, a long-time believer or a pre-believer this podcast is for you! Walk the Walk will help answer some questions you may have. I will talk about the Bible...and what it means to me. Not only will I share, but guests will be invited to share their own stories on how God is moving in their lives. You will be encouraged, uplifted and hopefully you will want to seek God to be a part of your life. You are welcome here.
Walk the Walk
Get out of your old habits and develop new habits in Christ! Getting rid of the same ole, same ole
Ever watch your pets swap food bowls and wonder why they're never content with their own meals? That quirky behavior launched me into a reflection on our own human tendencies to covet what others have, setting the stage for a heart-to-heart on spiritual practices in our fast-paced world. Join me as we discuss the art of genuine giving and the significance of using our blessings wisely. You'll hear the stirring tale of a man whose faith led him to forgo business on Sundays, challenging us to re-examine our priorities and the sacrifices we're willing to make to honor our spiritual commitments.
As the new year unfolds, it's time to look around at the everyday comforts we've come to take for granted. Are they edging out our active worship? Let's make a pact to brush off complacency and actively seek out a faith community that reignites our spirit. Discover the transformative power of congregating with like-minded believers in a church that holds the Bible at its core. We talk about how such a simple act can pivot our daily lives towards a more faith-centered existence, fostering a rejuvenation that spills over into every nook and cranny of our being.
Hello and welcome to Walk the Walk. You know we are creatures of habit and I think most of us are aware of that. But I want to give you an example of something that my dogs do. That is weird to me, but it has become a habit to them. They both have their own dog food bowl and I lay it down for each one of them and I also put some carrots in there as a little treat. I guess Both of them will go to their own bowl, eat out all of the treats or carrots and sometimes there is a little bit of meat in there. They will eat those out and then, very methodically, they switch places and then they eat the rest of each other's dog food. It is so ironic because I watch them do this. It is almost like changing of the guard. The way that my house sits. One can walk one way while the other one can come out and walk the other way and go to each other's bowl of food. They eat all of the other dog's food.
Speaker 1:I think what is that all about? I think what it is all about is that one thinks, and I don't know if dogs can think like we do, but I am just going to say that they can. One thinks that the other's dog's food is better, and so they eat each other's food, thinking that they are getting something better. It is like we do when we think somebody's life is so much better than mine, or they have more than I do, or they get treated better than I do. The fact is, there are people that do have other things that are better than what you have. But here is the ironic thing to that People will look at you and think I wish I had what they have, because what they have is so much better than mine. We do that with rich and famous people although I would not want to be any rich and famous person that I know, but we do do that. We think if I only had another so and so much money, or if I only had a nicer car, if I only had a nicer home, if I only had my life would be so much better. Just like my dogs think oh, if I eat the other dog's food, it's going to be so much better. And again I am putting words to a thought that I don't know if they are capable of thinking that, but they do it and they do it every day.
Speaker 1:You know, we fail to look at what Jesus wants for each and every one of us. We are not all the same in personality and behavior. We don't look the same, we don't act the same, we don't respond the same. I mean, we are just all different people than God and I think we forget about that. Our uniqueness is special.
Speaker 1:There are some of us who have more. That doesn't necessarily mean God has given you more. That just means God may have given you more resources, but what do you do with those resources? Is what God wants to see? I know it's an issue.
Speaker 1:I don't even want to talk about tithing today because I understand that this is just a really tough thing for some people but I do want to say this about that Some of us can be very legalistic with that. I have to give so much, even if you pry my hands open. I have to give so much back to the kingdom of God. God doesn't look at the hand that holds the gift. He looks at the heart that holds that gift. Do I want to help? Do I want to give? Do I want others to be better because of what I have, what God has given me, and we forget about that we forget about the fact that God has blessed us.
Speaker 1:You know, I've known of people who have been out of a job and they finally get a job, but unfortunately for them it's a Sunday job. It includes having to work on Sunday. This gets tough For somebody who's been praying to God for a job and then all of a sudden that job requires them to miss church. And we find it very challenging to stand up and say I cannot work because that's my worship day. That's tough, that's a dilemma, but there are some people who will stand firm to that and say no, I want this job very badly, but I cannot work these hours. What a statement to make, but a very hard one.
Speaker 1:I remember several years ago we had and this is before I was really before I developed a real relationship with Jesus. I had a relationship, but I'm talking about a real relationship. We had a horse that we were selling, and this has been many years ago and I have not forgotten this. There was a gentleman who was interested in buying our horse and when he called us on that Sunday he said listen, I'm interested in your horse, but I don't do business on Sunday, so I'll be there Monday if the horse is still available. And I thought, wow, what a thing to say. And I thought, my goodness, just come on over, you're only taking 10 minutes to look at the horse. But he was not bending on that, he was firm and it just made. And, like I said, that just made me think, wow, I wish I was that strong in my faith, because I tell you at that point, had I wanted somebody's horse, I'd have been there Sunday morning knocking on their door. I remember that was before my real relationship with Jesus started.
Speaker 1:And I'm not saying to you that you absolutely cannot do whatever on a Sunday you can't work but I'm saying that there's a way to get around those types of things. You know I can't work from 10 to noon, but I can work from 1 to 4. And that may not even be a possibility. I'm just trying to show you how sometimes God's blessing of a job can become a we can treat it in a way that we turn it into not being a blessing. It's really challenging. It's very challenging for parents who have children, who are in sports and, sure enough, the first game of the day starts at 9 am on Sunday morning. That's what it's come to, the world has dictated to us as Christians when we're going to be allowed to worship, because a parent doesn't want to disappoint a child who wants to be in sports. But I've known of people who have said to their children look, I know you want to, but we worship the Lord first. So we're going to find another way to work around this. That would be very difficult, very difficult. I know of people who have adult children, who know their parents worship on Sundays, who never failed to come to them and say, hey, let's go to the zoo on Sunday, and over and over.
Speaker 1:I'm not talking about on occasion, that's not what I'm not talking about, that kind of thing where you go and have a good time with your kids and it just so happens to fall on a Sunday. I'm talking about repetition every single Sunday. If that's your worship day or whatever your worship day is. We need to stay in firm for God, make a statement. If you're able to make a statement, we need to worship our Lord and Savior, and I know the world makes it really challenging for us to do that, but we need to worship our Lord and Savior.
Speaker 1:That comfortable bed that you sleep in is a gift from God. Treat it as such. Use it to get your rest, but also get out of it to worship God. That TV that you're blessed with is such a blessing, but don't use it as your worship time. Now there are some people who cannot get out, and that is even more of a blessing. That TV gives them what they need as far as worship. So many of us have just resorted to that as our worship time, our church time.
Speaker 1:Get out of the habit of taking God's blessings and making them occurs. I know that sounds very harsh, but remember God gave you everything you own. He gave you the means by giving you a job. He gave you a job that gives you a paycheck. He gave you a brain to figure out what to do with it, but most of all, he gave you a heart, and that heart needs to be chasing God. So this year, as we're starting out on a new year, get that heart right.
Speaker 1:Get out of those old habits of doing it this way. Make changes. Make changes for God. Resolve to say this is what I'm doing for you. I'm getting up every day, and especially on Sunday, and I'm going to find a place to worship you that's not in my home. Find yourself a good Bible-believing church, a good Bible-believing pastor and a good Bible-believing congregation and worship the very God that has blessed you with the ability to get out of your bed, to get into your car, to be able to walk into a church and to be able to worship. Get out of those old habits. This is the year that you should start doing that, and I guarantee you this. You're going to see a change in your life. Give it a try.