Your way or Yahweh?

Whew! I woke up with so much joy today! I absolutely love sweet mornings like these.

This morning I have been thinking about God's character and attributes. God is so good to us. He is the God of yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is our Healer and Restorer. He is our Defender. He is our Savior. He is our BFF4L (seriously though). He is our Rock and our Foundation. He is our Advocate. He is our Daddy (not just dad, but daddy). He is our Comforter in troubled times. How can we, after knowing all of this, continue to live like He is not any of these?

Romans 12: 2 says: "Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds"
Um, you mean to tell me that I shouldn't look like the world? YEP! You mean to tell me I'll stick out like a sore thumb? YEP!

Friends, when we left our old life (Christ-less life), we were given a new body, a new heart, a new mind, and a new freedom. We were also commanded to live a life different from what our culture tells us. We left all addiction (whether it be intoxication, illegal drugs, premarital sex, gossip, lust, money... etc.) behind. Society feeds these things, the world feeds these things, but we have been SET FREE FROM ALL ADDICTION! When Christ transformed our lives, he set us free from these things, and now we live in such a way that brings His name honor! We are without excuse now when we live this lifestyle. It is not God-honoring to live this way, but it is so much easier, right?

Yahweh is another way of saying LORD. This is a personal way of referring to God. For instance, if someone were to say "Courtney is a daughter" , then that would be impersonal. But if someone were to say "Courtney Ann is my daughter", this would be personal. I am being claimed by someone. Yahweh is our way of claiming the Lord as ours. He is my God, not just a God, but The God of my life.

We are given a choice. Are we going to conform to the world, or are we going to follow Yahweh? It is not easy. The biggest misconception is that when we follow Christ, everything is perfect.. the opposite is true in fact. When we follow Christ, we will be persecuted, ridiculed and made fun of by pretty much everyone. But living a life this way is better than living without Christ in our lives. He will fill every void in our lives when we choose to follow him, even if we stick out like sore thumbs (I love that phrase-ha!).

Let's remember his attributes today. There is no temptation that is too strong and there is no addiction that is too great. Yahweh is so much better than your (and my) way.