A return to Weekly Words to Live by...

....it's baaaaack. Weekly Words to Live By. Because we can all use a litle inspiration, and food for thought, sometimes.

Comments

[kristen ayers]

soooo glad you've brought them back, Tracey! I, for one, have missed them greatly.

[Kim]

This is a good one..... and one to think of every day.

[Audrey]

You do have the best "Words to Live By". I have enjoyed them in the past and they have often made me think!

[Two Crazy Crafters]

Yeah! I love your Words to Live By! Have a nice day! Twyla

[Dinahsoar]

Truth. Jesus said "let him that is without sin cast the first stone". Since the Bible declares 'there is NONE righteous, no not one' that eliminates everyone from throwing rocks--except for the Son of God. And he said that he didn't come to condemn the world, because it was already condemned. He said he came to seek and to save that which was lost. Hence, it is HIS opinion of us that matters.

And he invites ALL to come to him just as they are...he says "whosoever will may come"...and the invitation he issues says "come unto ME all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." A loving gift offered to all, by a loving God and Savior.

[Gretchen]

Words to live by is great and I love this quote.

Gretchen

[Pam]

I'm glad you brought them back!

[Laurie]

So love this one, whole industries would go under if everyone lived by this!

Laurie S.

[Nanc Nielsen]

Loved them before and look forward to the quotes again, thank you!

[Dawn]

Tracy,

Instead of being offended by the few who were concerned enough about you to make some tough love comments, maybe you should actually take heed and do some real soul searching. Maybe God is trying to get your attention? God was looking out for Moose in this situation, but He is also looking out for you by having people come by and make serious comments that should be getting your attention, if you really are a Christian in the true and biblical sense of the word.

You obviously believe that one who points out another's sin must believe themselves to be a saint, meaning perfect or without sin. That is simply not true. The people who I've seen make comments on your blog that point out sin are doing so in a loving manner and appear to be doing it in hopes that you will come to your senses.

Dinahsoar has painted a false picture of Jesus, but she IS correct when she says that it is HIS opinion of us that matters. So many people have misused, abused and taken out of context the "Judge not, that you be not judged" and the "Let the one without sin cast the first stone" scriptures. These do not mean that we are not to point out the sins of others; rather, when read in context the former tells us to judge but to judge with mercy. There is much more to the latter with reference to the Old Testament and why Jesus did not condemn the adulteress and why no one present was qualified to throw the first stone, but time and space do not permit. We're to take the bible as a whole. Jesus often pointed out one's sin so that the person would recognize where they'd gone wrong so that they could repent and be saved (i.e., enter the kingdom of heaven) and discontinue their sin (e.g., the rich young ruler, the woman at the well who was living with her boyfriend, the woman caught in adultery, etc.). Sexual relations outside of marriage really is a sin, in case you didn't know.

True, Jesus was/is compassionate and loves sinners. But He also hates sin and expects people to repent of their sin and to obey Him and to go and sin no more. (John 8:11) Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments. (John 14:15) Jesus said there are many who will come unto Him and say Lord, Lord didn't we do this and didn't we do that in your name? And He will tell them to depart from Him because He never knew them. (Matthew 7:19-23) These are people who think that just because they "believe" there is a God that they are saved, but the demons believe and tremble. (James 2:19) And these are the same people who believe that because they are decent, caring and law abiding citizens who pray to God, feed the poor and make donations to charities that they will be saved. But God says their hearts are far from Him because they live in overt sin and do not obey His commands. (Matthew 7:19-23; 13:15) Not that being obedient saves a person, but because a saved person strives to obey God's word and doesn't choose to live in overt sin. A saved person will still sin from time to time, but they don't *continue* in that sin, especially when that sin is pointed out to them. A saved person will see that they are living in sin and will eventually choose to repent and turn away from their sin.

So Tracy, I hope you will really think about what you are doing, the life you are now living and will repent and go and sin no more. I pray that the Lord will continue to tug at your heart and that you won't ignore these warnings He's giving you through the people who read your blog and who care for you. God is showing you your heart, He's prompting you to repent. He shows me my heart ALL the time (and it ain't always pretty) and I am thankful for that. It causes me to come to grips with my sin and to repent. So no, I do not think I am better than you or sinless or perfect, I simply know where you are because I've been there (sometimes it's not easy to give up sin, but it IS possible, if you are willing and with God's help), but you seem to be offended and defiant rather than thankful and repentant when you receive godly counsel from others. (Proverbs 12:15; Galatians 4:16) You are living with a false sense of peace about your lifestyle and your eternal well-being, and that concerns me. You seem to believe that God doesn't take it all that seriously and that having sex outside of marriage isn't really even a sin...maybe it's because everybody's doing it? I don't know. But we all know that just because *everybody's* doing something doesn't make it right in the eyes of God, and THAT is Who TRULY matters. It doesn't matter if your family, friends and blog friends see nothing wrong with how you are living; rather, it matters what God says about your lifestyle.

I'm praying for you. If you ever feel the need to correspond, you have my email. God Bless.

[Lori Hilleboe]

Love the Words to Live By............... Hugs and have a great day !!!!!!
Lori in AZ

[Karin]

Lovely. I've so missed reading your blog! I'm glad that our "new" computer crashed and I'm using the "old" one that had your blog still listed in my favorites! I've found so many places that I had forgotten about. It's liek finding an old friend. :)

[Audrey Hansen]

Tracy - you really gotta have thick skin to put yourself out there on a blog, don't you? That's why I don't I guess. But I'm so glad you do, and I would miss you if you quit. You're a good woman and we all know it. Glad the "Words" are back!