
Holiness

Thoughts on life and faith after unexpected life changes at an advanced age

Not many of us start our day by planning to deceive and oppress others. We don’t intentionally scheme to hurt others, but somehow we occasionally do just that.
Zechariah 7:9-10 says, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” God is calling us to be just, compassionate, generous, and caring with each other. Let’s ask God to remove selfishness and deceit from our lives so that we can truly love one another as He loves us.

Before buying this condominium, we rented an apartment. We had to sign a lease agreement that outlined our responsibilities. We agreed to keep the property clean and only use it for the purpose agreed to in the lease, that is our residence. The property owner agreed to maintain the property for our security and functional use.
I Corinthians 6:19-20 says, Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” The person who trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord has transferred ownership of his body, soul, and spirit to Him, as His blood has purchased, or redeemed, the believer. Therefore, we must seek to remain pure, as He is pure, and to serve Him faithfully.
Perhaps you have had the experience of seeing something or someone seemingly everywhere you look. Maybe it is because you purchased a new car and now you see the exact same car everywhere. Or maybe you just seem to see the same person everywhere you go and you jokingly ask them if they are following you.
Psalm 139:7 says, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” We can try to run away from God or from what is His will for us. However, wherever we run to, we will find that He is already there waiting for us. At some point, we need to decide that doing what He calls us to do is actually the best thing for us.

A quick glance of postings online makes me confused. What is real and what is opinion or just made up through AI. Seemingly real videos and conjured up graphical images, so that what we seen misleads us into falsehoods.
Revelation 15:3 says, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!” God is a just God, which means that He is righteous and fair in His deeds with mankind. It also means that He always does exactly what we need. God is also true, meaning that along with His words and deeds always being accurate and factual, He is always real and genuine in His works, never changing His nature. This is the God that we can trust and give our lives in surrender to Him.

If you were to look inside your closet right now, what would you see? My closet is full of old clothing and has nothing fancy in it. I don’t own a suit, although I wore a suit daily when I was working. If I was to be invited to a fancy event, I don’t know what I would wear.
Isaiah 61:10 says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robes of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” As God’s children, we may not possess the fanciest of clothes for our body. But God gives us even better clothes for our hearts, souls, and spirits. He dresses us up in the clothing fit for His salvation and in the robes of the righteousness of His Son.
