How do you live your life?

"Angels surrounding His throne and
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
The whole earth is full of His glory
All nations bow to His name
His majesty fills the Heavens
Our hearts give thunderous praise
Declare the Lord is forever
Make a joyful noise in this place"-Flame-Joyful Noise

I'm a different kind of dude, always have been, wasn't a follower of fashion, that's not where you'd find my passion. I didn't run with the it crowd, didn't know where I fit in. I didn't understand then, but I was set apart for a reason.

Been pondering a lot on how better to live my life for God, and this occurred to me today, when I'm about to do something, just take a moment and ask myself, "how does this glorify God, how does it bring honor to Him rather than me, how does it glorify His name?"

And if it doesn't, then don't do it.

I'm working on something right now, and was told that people would think I was crazy, I said that's okay. Hey, I figure most people have thought I was a little crazy for a while now.

But as I thought about it, I remembered, unbelievers already think we're crazy, they can't think me any crazier for what I'm about to do, than they do just because I go to church, or say I love Jesus, or praise God.

So I press on with my project, and pray for it to come to fruition and bring honor and glory to God who created me, set me apart, and sent his only begotten son to shed his blood for me.

I also had a conversation with my cousin Justin today. He had said he wanted to come to church Sunday, but didn't want to go to Sunday School. I think he didn't really want to go, and knew that he could claim to want to go and still not have to go, because he knew if he didn't go to Sunday School he wouldn't have a ride.

Something was said or done, and I told him he was an example, the way he lives his life is an example, that he has nieces and nephews that won't go to church because he says he's going to heaven and never goes to church. I didn't go into the fact that he drinks, smokes pot, pops pills, etc. and that they will think they can, or even should do those things too.

I told him he was an example to them, and did he want to be the reason they didn't go to church and ended up in hell.

He accused me of being like my paw paw, and I told him I wasn't, I was just speaking the truth, then I think he got mad, because one, he cussed, used mf.

You know, there was no reason, and I should have asked him then and there if he thought me or Josh wanted to hear that kind of language. I know my church family has never, to my knowledge, heard me cuss, excepting the ones that knew me before I got back in church. You don't know how foul my mouth was. It was my biggest weakness as far as sinfulness goes, and still is a challenge for me now at times. I hate it about myself. If I stub my toe, there's a good chance I will say something offensive.

And I hate that, because I don't think, that if you never cussed, that upon stubbing your toe for the first time, you would cuss then. I think you would cry out, but I don't think you would resort to a word you didn't use regularly.

That is a burden for me to carry, the world clinging to me as I try to do right by God in my daily life, that I may let those words slip occasionally, and when I'm around others that use them, they seem to flow so easily towards my lips and out of my mouth. I hate it.

And I remember my justifications for it way back when, "who decides it's vulgar, it's just man made words." Well guess what James, if you are going to use the fact that they are man made words and therefore not that bad, you also have to use the fact that man decided they were vulgar, you can't pick and choose what things of man you want to use when it suits you.

But I didn't say anything to him about it.

But he continued, telling me they were living far away from him and he didn't have anything to do with them anyway.

I don't know, I remember when he used to want to get them into church, back when he was going, wanted his brother in church, back when they lived closer, but now they don't know anything about him because they don't live close.

Does he think they don't hear his brother talk about what he's going through, does he think they aren't around when his brother and mother talk about the struggles he faces, the troubles he get himself into. His cousin's know what he gets into.

He walked out, I want to think the words I said were making an impact on him, making him think about his nieces and nephews.

I think about it, and wonder, if I knew them that close like him, and knew they were seeing the kind of life I was living, I think I would lay in bed at night and cry, for fear that I was leading them down a path straight to hell, when all the while I had the keys to the kingdom and could more easily lead in the direction of heaven by the way I choose to live my life.

I know I've kind of jumped around tonight. If you don't know Jesus Christ, get to know him, if you know someone that doesn't know Him, introduce them, plant the seed, water a seed that someone else has planted, watch them grow and flourish, bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the lord.

Tell someone about Jesus today, you could be saving them from hell.

One day, every knee shall bow, don't you want your family there with you?