Forgiveness that never runs out

 Psalm 85:1–13 (ESV):  

1  Lord, you were favourable to your land; 

you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 

 2  You forgave the iniquity of your people; 

you covered all their sin. Selah 

 3  You withdrew all your wrath; 

you turned from your hot anger. 

 4  Restore us again, O God of our salvation, 

and put away your indignation toward us! 

 5  Will you be angry with us forever? 

Will you prolong your anger to all generations? 

 6  Will you not revive us again, 

that your people may rejoice in you? 

 7  Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, 

and grant us your salvation. 

 8  Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, 

for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; 

but let them not turn back to folly. 

 9  Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, 

that glory may dwell in our land. 

 10  Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; 

righteousness and peace kiss each other. 

 11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground, 

and righteousness looks down from the sky. 

 12  Yes, the Lord will give what is good, 

and our land will yield its increase. 

 13  Righteousness will go before him 

and make his footsteps a way. 

God not only provides one off salvation, but also offers forgivness and restoration to those who are His people but have gone astray, been disobedient and sinned. The sons of Korah recognise that God forgives completely. All sin is covered by Him, He leaves none left. Yet, our memories and behaviours do not always reflect this. We can still walk around as sinful people, or wearing the shame of a sinful past. Neither of these are necessary for this is known of God, ‘You forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin.’

However, it takes time for you and I to walk free from some things. There are some wrongdoings or habits in our lives which we know God would want us to be rid of, but we have to put in some personal, painful effort to overcome them. It can hurt and be hard work to strive for freedom from sin. I am sure that this is why the psalmists say, ‘Let me hear what God the Lord will speak’. To overcome sin, wrongdoing and bad habits we all need encouragement, comfort, support and strength. Listening to God gives you that. I imagine this phrase was said pleading or in desperation, ‘Let me hear what God the Lord will speak’! When the desires of the flesh seem powerful and the voices of others tempting, ‘Let me hear what God the Lord will speak’! It is easy to hear what we want, what others say and to feel the cravings of the body, they can be consuming. So it is of great importance at those times to seek God’s voice by exercising discipline and taking time to hear Him. You may hear God speak through; recalling scripture, or reading it, praying, worshipping, speaking with a fellow believer or by being still. Just ensure that you position yourself so that you hear God’s voice during the difficulty. 

When you know you need to walk free from something you need God’s support. It takes a lot of strength to break habits, addictions and sin. Yet you are not on your own in this strive for freedom. God wants to to speak to you and encourage you plus He has restored and forgiven you already and He will revive you again. So approach Him about what is going on, ask for His forgiveness and for His strength. Let God speak to you, ‘for he will speak peace to his people’. In the midst of trial and temptation, how much do you need that peace?! The Holy Spirit can provide what you need, you just need to ask God to help you. You cannot break free of these things effectively in your own strength. It is a physical and a spiritual battle so you need God to help you. His is for salvation and restoration and He promises that, ’the Lord will give what is good’. Even if you keep failing in the endeavour for freedom, you can continue to ask God for forgiveness and freedom for He wants good for you, so keep persevering. God’s forgiveness and goodness never run out, even though it might seem like a long, painful journey to freedom. The battle may be long, but how long is it in comparison to God’s salvation and steadfast love that last for eternity?! 

Repentance and forgiveness are free and everlasting, keep reminding yourself of that. The great and marvellous truth is that God, ‘forgave the iniquity of your people; you covered all their sin. You withdrew all your wrath’. ALL sin, ALL wrath is covered by the blood of Jesus. Past, present, future and repetitive sin are dealt with by the sacrifice of Jesus. You are not good enough or strong enough to get through these things alone, but God is. So trust Him to equip you in overcoming habits, addiction and sin. Let God speak His peace to you, and allow yourself to accept His forgiveness and restoration.

As this psalm acknowledges, God has dealt with sin once and for all, forever. I know that we all get caught in sin, addictions and unhelpful and unholy habits. This is an age old problem, the Israelites in the Old Testament recognised it, and Paul puts it so well in the New Testament, ‘I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 1 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.’ (Romans 7:19-19) Paul goes onto say that with our minds we can know the law of God and desire to follow it, but our bodies have sinful desires that we are battling against. He cries out, ‘Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!’ It is a real battle within yourself that you need to keep on fighting. People throughout time have had the same difficulties. So instead of concerning yourself with your wretchedness, think about Jesus, the peace and goodness of God, and imagine the glory and the relief when one day this battle is ended as you’ve become free! Paul’s advice is, ‘to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace’ (Romans 8:6). This is not to say you should deny or ignore the fact that what you are doing is wrong - of course you should, you should repent and thank God for forgiveness and the strength to continue the battle. What Paul is saying though, is that you should spend less time worrying or ashamed about what you are doing wrong, and spend more time thinking about God - set your mind right. Think about what the Spirit of God has already changed within you, read the Word to see what else He can do. Put yourself in situations where you can, ‘hear what God the Lord will speak’ for ‘surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him’. Therefore when facing a stronghold in your life, grow in your understanding of the greatness of God, spend more time thinking about Him and His greatness than you do about the hardship. Pay attention to and focus on the goodness and grace of God, ‘set your mind’. You get to choose what you think about, so are you consumed with thoughts about sin, or thoughts about the enormity, love, grace, joy and forgiveness of God? 

Are you good?

Today as we look at the next psalm, it is important to note that there is another psalm, 53, that is almost identical. So the message of this psalm is doubly important as the Bible has the same message in the same book twice! 

1  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” 

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; 

there is none who does good. 

Who can look at the world and all that is in it and not believe there is a God? Or look at the way all things work together, from the organs of the smallest beast to the structure of the most magnificent tree and not recognise that there must be a master creator, designer and sustainer of all things? Only a fool, says the psalmist, can see these things and not consider that there must be a God. The result of this foolish conclusion is living a life without God. As a person rejects God and refuses to even consider the reality of Him, they move away from the source of goodness and love (which is God) and so cannot do what is correct, right, loving, honest or honourable. This leads to the degradation and contortion of character, mindset and desires and develops into; debasement, abuse, degradation, manipulation, and revolting activities. People become corrupt when they turn away from God and do whatever they wish. They live as if they are the master and creator, designer and sustainer of their own existence which leads to distress and despair in the lives of many. It is not good. 

2  The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, 

to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. 

3  They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; 

there is none who does good, not even one. 

As God beholds what happens on Earth, it does not take Him long to see evil. To see those who have gone away from Him and lead lives of corrupt abomination. In fact, it is difficult for Him to find people that are doing right and are looking for Him. When God looks around He concludes, ‘all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.’ Mankind is in a desperate state. When God looks, He sees no righteous or good people around. 

This may be hard to consider and you may think that you know some 'good' people, yet is any human truly good? Are anyone’s motives pure, innocent, honest? If you could look from God’s perspective, what would you see? You would probably conclude, as He does that every person on Earth has failed to do good but have done some terrible things. Even those that believe and trust in God go awry. They are not truly good either plus they are not whole-heartedly seeking God - they get worn out, selfish and distracted too. So, as God looks upon the Earth we should not be surprised that no-one is good. His standard of goodness is far above ours! All of mankind has failed. We have all gone our own way - you have, I have, others have, so we have all failed to be good and we have all failed to live God-filled lives. 

Therefore as we cannot achieve the level of goodness or godliness God is looking for, how can any of us understand Him or His designs and purposes? Yet, as God looks down upon His world He wishes to find those that are looking for Him -  that is what He is searching for. He is not looking for corruption, debasement and sin, trying to catch people out - God wants to find people who are good and who seeking Him, and He keeps searching. What kind of person will He find when He looks at you?

4  Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers 

who eat up my people as they eat bread 

and do not call upon the Lord? 

5  There they are in great terror, 

for God is with the generation of the righteous. 

Even as God looks on and sees the corruption, lack of people following Him and absence of good in the world, He has pity. How can people eat and drink the very things God has made and not recognise Him? God clearly feels sad and concerned about the way people are living - not for His own sake, but for theirs. Instead of appreciating the provision and life they have, the opportunities and delights, people take everyday blessings for granted and end up not just consuming food to live, but end up consuming the lives of others in order to have more themselves. People can think this is success, profit, achievement. Yet cannot see that depravity, distress and the debasement of life is never good or fulfilling. So the spiral into sin continues as mankind do not learn or seek to learn that life can be different. Instead they continue in selfish ignorance seeking after more at the expense of others. They are in great danger. For there is a God that looks upon the Earth. He sees the abuse of His world and His people and it grieves and angers Him. Those who are oblivious and unconcerned about His presence and power are living in great peril. For the Almighty God sees and will act. One day, anyone that has been living in ignorance or disobedience to God will feel the terror of their decisions. Will that be you?

6  You would shame the plans of the poor, 

but the Lord is his refuge. 

7  Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! 

When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, 

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. 

Those that are overlooked or oppressed will be upheld by God Himself. Even if others shame them, treat them with derision and abuse them, God looks out for them. He will rescue them and be their strength - The Lord is on their side. If that is you - rejoice! If you know that you have treated others in such a manner - tremble! For God will, ‘restore the fortunes of His people’ - one day we will all get what we deserve. Are you living to receive the terror or salvation of God?

Even though God has looked down and seen the awful state of humanity and the evil and lack of good in each person, He still cares about His creation. He still loves and wants the best for those He has made this is why there is the hope of salvation. When this psalm was written, there was the hope and looking forward to a time when people could be truly restored, forgiven and made good. Now those things are attainable. Salvation has come from Zion (v7)! Through Jesus, the son of God, salvation has arrived. No longer do you have to worry yourself about being good enough because Jesus was - he lived the perfect life of goodness that no-one else could achieve. He did that, then he traded that life for a gruesome death in order to put to death all your ungodliness, corruption and vileness. Now you can be free from all sin and wickedness and considered by God as good. This happens when you trust and believe in Jesus and all that he did, and accept that he sacrificed his life as the pure and final atonement for sin. Then, like Jesus, you can live a new life. One where the old has been put to death. You can be forgiven, restored and made good because Jesus goodness can become your goodness. If you decide to live a life seeking God and trusting in Jesus for freedom from sin, then when God looks upon the Earth he will see you and see you as good. As, when he looks at you he no longer will see all the bad stuff, he will just see how you represent His perfect son! Are you trusting in Jesus for your salvation - for freedom from the spiral of sin and the desire to be good?

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

What is sin?

  So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. 

James 4:16–17 (ESV)

James here is telling us that sin is not just the things that you do that you know are wrong, but also not doing the things that you know are right. Have you ever considered that? 

Being apathetic, noncommittal or neglecting to do the right thing is just as sinful as doing something you know is wrong. Think about the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. I am sure most would say that the men who walked passed and did nothing were wrong. They did not show good character, kindness, faith or love by ignoring the plight of the injured man. The priest and levite walked passed, they were men of faith so they knew better. They would have read the scriptures and understood that God instructs them to love their neighbour, yet they still went their own way, ‘so whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.’ Those two men were ignorant and they sinned by doing nothing. I doubt that the priest and levite considered that their lack of action was deliberately sinful. Maybe they were too busy, distracted or scared to help. However, did they know the right thing to do and fail to do it? 

It is easy to sin this way for all of us, no matter how much you love God and know His word. Have you ever not done what you know is right because you have been afraid, too busy, or not thought it was a big deal? If you have known the right thing to do and not done it, that is sin.  Just like we acknowledge that the levite and priest were wrong, it is wrong for you to overlook doing what you know is right too. I think we have all sinned in this way because it can be scary to do the right thing, or will take too much time, so we neglect to do it instead of being obedient to God. That is the reality. 

All sin is doing the opposite to what God wants. That is whether you knowingly do something you know is wrong or not doing what you know you should. It is so easy to sin isn’t it?!

The Bible tells us, ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:23). So it should be no surprise if you realise that you have neglected to do right at times. James has not written this to condemn you, but quite possibly to wake you up to the reality that sin is easy to get into and so thank God for Jesus! Jesus has put to death all sin. The things you have done wrong and the things you should have done but haven’t - his death and resurrection cover all of it! This means that you can be restored to God and to the sin-free state God always intended you to be in. How incredible is that?! All you need do is recognise what Jesus has done, ask God for His forgiveness for when you have got it wrong, accept it, and then ask God for His Holy Spirit to empower you to do what you know is right in future. Sin may be easy to get into, but if you know Jesus has paid the cost for all of it, sin is also easy to be free from. Jam

Doxology - a word of praise to God

The final couple of verses from Jude are entitled ‘doxology’. This basically means that it is a word of praise to God. There are several doxologies throughout the Bible, we will look at a few of them today to compare them with this one from Jude;

*24*Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, *25*to the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 

Jude 24–25.

As you can see these verses are no longer addressed to the reader of Jude’s letter, but are aimed towards God, like a prayer of praise. They serve as a reminder to those that read this that God is worthy of worship because of who He is and inspire further praise from those that read these verses.  This is common for the other doxologies in the Bible, here are a couple more for us to consider today;

*10*Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. *11*Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. *12*Both riches and honour come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. *13*And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.

1 Chronicles 29:10-13

*25*Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages *26*but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— *27*to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Romans 16:25-27

What inspiring verses! All three of these examples give glory to God which means that they hold God in high honour, they esteem Him and declare His majesty. All of these doxologies, although written thousands of years apart, by different authors, have similarities. They all honour the majesty, power, dominion, glory and eternal nature of God. These qualities of God have always been present, and are always worth praising. It doesn’t matter what culture you’re in, the state of your country, or your life; God still is majestic, powerful, in charge, glorious and eternal! That will never change. That will be true beyond our graves. This is God’s nature, and He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow as these different texts prove. This one God is surely worthy of praise, of recognition, of extolling, of trusting in. It doesn’t matter if you’re having a bad day, week, month, or life, God is still the same. It doesn’t matter if you’re sick or well, rich or poor, God is still the same. God is still the same to you and everyone else - have you taken some time to look at Him rather than your circumstances? 

When you look at God, which these doxologies encourage us to do, rather than what’s going on around you, you cannot fail to be inspired to hope. These words of truth give strength and inspire awe. Even as mere humans, we can appreciate something of the; magnificence, power, might, glory, significance, and never-ending nature of Father God. He surely deserves an outpouring of us declaring ‘glory’ to Him as these other writers have done. It is too easy to get caught up in the day to day routines, trials and temptations that they carry. That is why we need verses like these to remind us of what this life is all really about. The letter of Jude for example has spent most of the content warning its readers of the perils of living a life not wholly dedicated to God, and helps us look out for the danger of not living a life set apart for God and being swallowed by sin. Therefore these words at the end that remind us who God is, and encourage us to extol Him are a welcome reminder to put into context what is really happening, who we really are, and who God really is. If you want to live a life honouring God, you do need to get your life straight, you do need to be aware of what you are doing, but it is all in the context of knowing who God is.;

‘the only God, our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.’

‘Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.’ 

‘to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!’

As you consider your life, don’t neglect to consider who God is in it and the place you have given Him in your life.

How does that inspire you to express your praise and worship today?

Facing the Furnace

  

*24*Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” *25*He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.” 

*26*Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. *27*And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. *28*Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. *29*Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” *30*Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. 

Daniel 3:24–30.

WOW!

Don’t you think this account is incredible? 

The three men; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, are thrown into an overheated furnace and survive - that’s amazing in itself, but we also learn that; there’s another person there the, ‘fourth is like a son of the gods’, and not only that but they do not even smell of smoke when they walk out, and there is no evidence on their bodies (or clothes) that they have been anywhere near any fire! That’s incredible!

Now, I wonder what the onlookers were thinking or feeling! Especially those whom were responsible for these men being thrown in. They must have been awestruck, devastated and terrified all at the same time! Some of those gathered had planned for these three jewish men to be killed, but the plan had failed in an unbelievable and almighty way. Then, not only that, but the very people they wished dead, were now promoted! How vulnerable and confused the accusers must they have felt.

What a beautiful picture of how God switches things around. He brings the dead back to life, and the proud and aloof to humility. 

Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego had been given the death sentence, and they still did not renounce their faith. They faced a powerful, ruthless king, and they did not fail to stand in hope. The accusers accused, and these men still stood for what they knew was right, even though it meant they had to face death, the result was that their faith was revealed through the fire as genuine.   

These men; Meschach, Abednego and Shadrach were doing what they knew was right by their God. They stood up for what they believed and did not fall into what the rest of the world expected from them. They faced persecution for it. For being different, for not conforming to the pattern of this world (Romans 12:1). For being faithful followers of the One True God, they were rejected by those in power, accused by those in authority. 

So, if today you are facing trials, accusation, persecution, even death, you are in good company. Shedrach, Meschach and Abednego also did - Will you hold on to what you believe, like they did, to the end? Do you have the courage to admit the faith you have when faced with opposition (- that’s a tough one as it is often tempting to be quiet).

I am encouraged, and a bit scared by the examples we have read today, of men really staking their lives on their faith and not being ashamed to do so. Would I stand and face the furnace knowing that God can do something miraculous through it? Would you?

Are you Living?

Some people believe that to be living means; breathing, heart pumping, brain working or even being able to love and be loved, to have an income, or pursue a particular lifestyle and have fun. But is that all that living is about?

How about looking at this from the perspective of someone who believes in God and has chosen to be a disciple of Jesus - what does living mean then?

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Matthew 10:39

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:8

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:12-13

What do all of these verses from the Bible tell us ?............That in order to live, we must die.

What does that look like?

This does not mean to physically die, although we will all do that one day, (and so you need to be prepared for that). It does lead us to think about baptism - the physical demonstration of your life dying as you believe and put your life in the hands of Jesus. That is part of it. But, this sense of living by dying is surely more than that one act. It is a lifestyle. If you have been baptised, that is a great commitment to God, but this dying to self is worked out over a lifetime, it is not just a one-off event. That's where it starts. When you are baptised you put to death yourself and choose to live for Christ as a result, it is not like the next version of yourself, the new improved version of you - No! You have died and chosen for Christ to live in you through the Holy Spirit. This involves a whole lifetime of putting Jesus in the driving seat of your life. It means dying to the things you want and expect and what others expect of you.

Being alive in faith is about living sacrificially not selfishly. 

That looks like how you handle the big and the small things in life; 

How you speak to people, how you respond at work, the job you have, how you raise your family, spend your money, look after your body and  the possessions you have. 

To lose your life most likely means making radical decisions that the rest of society look at and think you’re bonkers! It means considering God above everything else and putting what He wants for you above what you want for yourself. I don’t speak as someone without experience here. 

There was a time in my life when I gave up the best job I ever had. Not because I wanted to, because I really didn’t, but because God asked me to. I was really upset, disappointed and reluctant to do it. I loved that job, I was successful, had a good rapport with all my colleagues, was making a real difference to the lives of young people, and God invited me to give it up to focus on family. Some people may jump at that chance, but for me it was a really difficult thing. Family at the time was so hard. I went to work for relief and to feel like I had a positive impact somewhere at least because home was, I don’t even know how to describe it, but it was emotionally, physically and mentally draining. It was were I put in my best effort but I felt like I was being dragged through the mill really. 

So, being handed this choice between work and family, between where I felt successful and a failure, it was a heart-wrenching decision. It was not easy. Dying to yourself never is is it? Being sacrificial isn’t - it’s dying a bit inside. Yet, what do you do?

You have probably guessed it already, but I did give up the job. It was not easy. It did not transform our family immediately, but it was life-changing. I didn’t particularly like it, but I did do as God asked. 

Do I regret it? No. 

I have never regretted being obedient to God, but I have regretted the times when I haven’t been. 

There are times when I have felt God prompt me to do something, maybe talk to or pray for someone and I have bottled it because I was embarrassed and fearful - those are the times I regret. Each time I have walked away feeling sad that I have missed out and that person has also missed out on potentially meeting a God who loves them. I have never once regretted talking-to or offering to pray for someone when God has prompted me to, even if they didn’t seem to respond at the time. 

God does not want us to live in fear, but it was for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5). God wants us to REALLY live. He doesn’t want us to feel like we have missed out (like I do when I don’t do what I know I should), he wants us to live free from that worry and shame. He wants us to have LIFE!

In every one of the gospels, Jesus is quoted as saying that he who wants to save his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for Jesus' sake will find it.

Do you want  to find your life? 

It means that you must start living life sacrificially not selfishly by putting Jesus on the throne of your life, not yourself or anyone else. The promise is, if you are willing to give up your life and put it in God's hands, you  will find life in all it’s fullness. It will not be easy - it is a sacrifice after all! But our life will be greater, it will be freer and you will really learn to live. 

So, do you really want to live? 

If so, how does that look for you right now? 

Maybe God is inviting you to trust Him is some way. It could be that you take the first steps in acknowledging that there is a God after all that really cares about it. It could be that God is challenging in a different way; to look at your finances, job, family, leisure time, possessions or relationship. Whatever it is, are you going to take God up on His challenge? 

Are you ready to live?