Nothing to Lose

When You Have Nothing to Lose

 

Let's look at a tale of two men. One had it all and couldn't let go and the other was given it all and wasted it. The story of the first man is found in Matthew 19.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God

¹⁶ Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
¹⁷ “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
¹⁸ “Which ones?” he inquired.
Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, ¹⁹ honor your father and mother,’^[c] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”
²⁰ “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”
²¹ Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
²² When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
²³ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴ Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
²⁵ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

I think Jesus knew the man's heart and saw that he desired to be "perfect" or "good". He thought it was about what you do with your hands or your abilities. Jesus is simply informing him that it is not within our reach or our ability to be saved. This was obviously a "good" man. Someone who was determined to do the right things. But what he "lacked" was to be generous. To love others more than himself. So Jesus told him to sell his possessions and give to the poor or needy, which is what He had been doing. He was asking the man to join Him in helping others. But the man was pleased enough with himself that he went away sad. It was not an option for him at that time. We don't know what he did later. Maybe years later he did help the poor and join the faith. I hope so.


The other man we learn about in Luke 15.

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
This man wanted it all and he wanted it now. So his father gave it to him. He abused it and lost it. But he came to his senses and returned to seek mercy and it was granted to him even before he presented his request. His father forgave him while he was still a ways away. It doesn't say that he restored his fortune. That was already given to him and to his brother. So everything that was left was his brother's. But they celebrated his return and gave him other gifts and he was forgiven.

So it is the man who had nothing to lose that found forgiveness and was honored. Many times people come to God simply because they have nowhere else to turn. They have no other options. You may think that God is not pleased to be their "last" option. But He is. He is there waiting for them to come their senses and ask for His forgiveness and salvation. When you see someone that is in need, just remember that they may be closer to finding God than you might think. Don't push them away by treating them badly as others do. You will know if they are genuinely seeking help. They may be right where God wants them to be; where He can reach their heart. Pray for them and pray for yourself that you will see what God is really doing.

All scriptures are the NIV version from the http://www.biblegateway.com/ .

Please feel free to visit KLove radio's website for encouraging words and music and daily verses, prayer, etc.


Praise The Lord

Praise The Lord

 

I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws. Psalm 119:30 NIV

 

This is the daily verse today from http://www.biblegateway.com/ . It is important that we make wise choices. Life is one long string of choices. In the end, we have chosen where we will spend eternity, one choice at a time. Today let's choose to Praise the Lord.

 

 

Psalm 150

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 150

¹ Praise the Lord.^[a]

Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens.
² Praise him for his acts of power;
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.
³ Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
    praise him with the harp and lyre,
⁴ praise him with timbrel and dancing,
    praise him with the strings and pipe,
⁵ praise him with the clash of cymbals,
    praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

 

The more we say it, the more we focus on it. That's a healthy reminder. I believe the Psalmist had that in mind. So should we. Today we have breath, so we have no excuse. Join me in praising Him for all that He has done. He is glorious and wants the very best for us. Praise Him!

God's Blessing: Do We Appreciate it?

God's Blessing

 

Too often when God blesses us, we are happy for a short time and then we forget. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt, He led them out with a mighty hand and many miracles and yet they grumbled against their leaders and ultimately against their God. They had been enslaved for many years, and yet when they were granted their freedom, it seemed like that was just not enough for them. Do we look at God's blessing the same way? When he provides work or food or help for us, do we think to ourselves that that was great, but why didn't he give us a million dollars instead of just helping us with the rent? We should be cautious and careful how we treat His blessings.

 

Exodus 3:17 New International Version (NIV) http://www.biblegateway.com/

¹⁷ And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—a land flowing with milk and honey.’

 

^{Exodus 14:8} The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. ⁹ The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen^[a] and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. ¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹² Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” 13  Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.

¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

 

²⁵ He jammed^[b] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward^[c] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
²⁹ But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹ And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

God destroyed the enemies who went after His people. He only asked them to be still and trust in Him. This is a good lesson for us.

Exodus 17:3

But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?”

 

 

Repeatedly, God would provide and then the people would grumble and complain at the very next challenge. Because of this there were not many of them that ever saw the fulfillment of the original promise to take over the Promised Land. Only the ones that were faithful and did not grumble got to see it and enter it. We all have challenges and needs and hurts. It is up to us whether we will trust Him or continually complain about our circumstances and eventually be cut off from His blessing.

 

Lesson: We probably would not appreciate Heaven, if we had not experienced some degree of hell on Earth. He builds our faith, shows us His power when we need Him and trust in Him. Find some reason to give Him thanks everyday!



Being Good or Being Blameless

Should We Be Good?

 

The real question is should we be good, or should we be blameless? What do each of these mean? What's the difference, and why does it matter? Let's investigate. I'll give you the scripture that got me thinking.

Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

¹ I will sing of your love and justice;
    to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
² I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
    when will you come to me?

I will conduct the affairs of my house
    with a blameless heart.
³ I will not look with approval
    on anything that is vile.

I hate what faithless people do;
    I will have no part in it.
⁴ The perverse of heart shall be far from me;
    I will have nothing to do with what is evil.

⁵ Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret,
    I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    I will not tolerate.

⁶ My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
    that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
    will minister to me.

⁷ No one who practices deceit
    will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
    will stand in my presence.

⁸ Every morning I will put to silence
    all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
    from the city of the Lord.

 

This Psalm states that it is from King David, a man who was rescued by God many times, disciplined by God, reinstated by God, and blessed by God as the King over His people. In this chapter we see that he made a conscious choice to separate himself from evil men (people) and that as king he would see to it that the evil were not blessed or allowed into his presence to seek help. He states that "I will be careful to lead a blameless life". We know that, for the most part he did that, but several times he failed and committed sins that affected not only himself, but his family and his kingdom. God is very mindful of such promises that we make to Him. We know that the only people that are blameless are Jesus and those that He personally can call His own; those that confess that He is Lord and confess their sins to Him, and are purified by His blood.

 

We should have no pride in doing "good".

 

Deuteronomy 6

New International Version (NIV) http://www.biblegateway.com/

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. ³ Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[a] 5} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. ¹⁴ Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. ¹⁶ Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. ¹⁸ Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, ¹⁹ thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

 

Doing good here is clearly defined as obeying the laws that God gave to Moses for the people of Israel to follow. The laws were designed to be good and to keep the people from sinning, but they did not have the power to accomplish that. Why? Because our will is ours alone. If we choose to sin and disobey, we face the consequences of our decisions and our actions.

 

So, in reality, we should make every effort to be "good" and to do what is right. But we also need to know that in our own weaknesses, we cannot. So we need Jesus to help and strengthen us and wash and cleanse us, so we can be blameless. It is impossible on our own.

 

Galatians 6

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

 

So our focus needs to be on walking in the Spirit and watching for opportunities to do good and be kind to others so that we honor and bring glory to Jesus and to God. We should also be united with other believers so that we encourage and strengthen each other. In that we have hope.



No Compromise ( Living a Godly Life )

No Compromise

 

 

 

Back in the late 1970's I had the pleasure of meeting a contemporary Christian music artist named Keith Green. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Green ). I really enjoyed his music and saw him at an outdoor concert and festival in Oregon. Some friends and I were able to meet him as he was walking around the festival. He lived his life just as he sang, with No Compromise, which was the name of a really good album that he had out at that time. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snyPIp6m-U&list=ALBTKoXRg38BA6CB3sm345FX5yk-lmMPje ) He shared some personal thoughts with us and made quite an impression on me. I can speak to the fact that this is the way God wants us to be, living examples of what He has called us to be. The only way we can do that is by living with no excuses, and no compromise. It is all around us and it is our job to filter it out of daily life. We do that by our choices and our actions. They need to reflect everything that we believe.

 

 

Psalm 119: ⁹ How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to your word.
¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from your commands.
¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you.
¹² Praise be to you, Lord;
    teach me your decrees.
¹³ With my lips I recount
    all the laws that come from your mouth.

 

So there you have it. The key is learning His Ways and putting them to memory. We do this by reading and studying His Word. We do this through prayer. Just ask and He will guide your paths and help you say "no" to sin. Temptation is not sin, unless we say "yes" when we are tempted. We need His strength and His help to continue to live sin-free. We worship and sing His praises and show our love and commitment to Him through our voices. We also walk free through sharing. When we share what we have learned with others, we also remind ourselves.

 

 

Hebrews 7: ²⁵ Therefore he (Jesus) is able to save completely^[c] those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶ Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

Jesus is our example of how to live. He lively a holy and pure life, and so should we. Can we? NO. We can be perfect through His grace, though. And we can continue in His grace as long as we are not deliberately continuing in sin, or a path or pattern of sin. There should be a clear difference between the life we lived before we knew Him and who we are as Christians.

Hebrews 10: ²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^[d] and again, “The Lord will judge his people.”^{[e] 31} It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

 

Hebrews 10: ³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For,

“In just a little while,
    he who is coming will come
    and will not delay.”^[f]

³⁸ And,

“But my righteous^[g] one will live by faith.
    And I take no pleasure
    in the one who shrinks back.”^[h]

³⁹ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.

So, No Compromise needs to be our motto. Call it living by faith, being set apart, being godly, etc. It doesn't matter what you call it, but we need to be an example for others to follow, and we can't do that if we are riddled with examples of falling into or continuing in the sinful nature. We need to fall on Him, so He can take us and fix us and prepare us to spread His Gospel. Let's take hold of His Calling and set the example.

All scriptures are courtesy of http://www.biblegateway.com/ , the NIV version.



Calling

Knowing Your Calling

 

 

It is so important for each one of us to know who and what we are in God's eyes. He has a plan for each of us, and it is special for us and valuable to His Kingdom. I know there has been a lot of discussion on this topic, but an old pastor of mine recently passed away and I wanted to share something that I learned from him that might help someone to find their purpose or rekindle the fire that was once lit in their life and in their spirit.

 

Isaiah 40:3

 

New International Version (NIV)

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord^[a];
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.^[b]

 

⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,^[c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
¹⁰ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

 

God is calling those who will prepare the way for His second coming. There are many ministries and many media available to do that, but people need to rise up above what they are currently doing to achieve that. If the Holy Spirit is leading you to lead others, then you need to trust Him to help you do it and to lead you in the way that you should go. You already know that it is what He wants to do, because it is in line with what needs to be done to prepare for Jesus to come again. These verses are describing John the Baptist as he went before Jesus calling people to repentance to prepare them to accept the salvation and calling that Jesus would come to bring. The same is true in this age as we need to remind the world that He is coming again and His requirements and calling have not changed. He will never change. He is looking for voices in this day to go before Him and prepare the way for Him to come again. He is coming either way, so we may as well prepare.

Isaiah 6

New International Version (NIV)

Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Clearly none of us should think of ourselves as equal to Isaiah or John the Baptist, but with God all things are possible and He can use us the same way that He used prophets and teachers and evangelists of other eras. Today is the day of salvation and we can be His voices in this present age. But first we need to hear His voice, know His calling, understand our gifts that we have received from the Holy Spirit, and be willing and not afraid to speak His Word. We live in a world that is not unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, or Ninevah, or Babylon, or Egypt, or any of the other nations that God saw were so corrupt and ungoldly that He felt the need to send prophets and warriors into to save the few that were righteous, or destroy them altogether. He is coming soon. Let's join His Army and help prepare the Way for Him.

Peter 1
 

New International Version (NIV)

1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

² Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Confirming One’s Calling and Election

³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.
¹⁰ Therefore, my brothers and sisters,^[a] make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, ¹¹ and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

http://www.biblegateway.com/ All scripture is copied from this site using the NIV translation. They offer a daily scripture for your encouragement. You can also visit http://www.klove.com/ for additional prayer requests and live Christian music and encouragement. We all need encouragement. There is a war for God's people to fight and in times of war there needs to be times of refreshing. Please seek out people and media that fill you with encouragement so you can fight the good fight of faith on a daily basis. 

We are all Junkies

We Are All Junkies

 

 

Just about everyone has things in their lives that they like (love). You know those things that we would do just about anything to make time to do. These can be healthy or unhealthy. For some, like myself, it is running or fitness. For others, it is a career. For still others, it is love, family, travel, sports, etc. There are those that have unhealthy "addictions" like drinking, drugs, violence and crime, laziness, anger, etc. The point is that most of us have things that are so important to "us" that we sacrifice other things or people or GOD to do or to have. When we do this for some period of time and we turn more and more attention to this and more and more attention away from God, we begin to go sideways. Whatever we do with our lives, God has to be number one. When anything else becomes number one, we have chosen an idol, and we can make just about anything in our lives become an idol for us. It is usually unintentional. It just happens. The answer:

 

 

1 Samuel 12:20-22 (http://www.biblegateway.com/)

New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “Do not be afraid,” Samuel replied. “You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless. ²² For the sake of his great name the Lord will not reject his people, because the Lord was pleased to make you his own.


God will gladly accept you back, you just need to refocus yourself on Him and on His ways. His ways require us to all things in moderation. We can still do the healthy "habits" that we have so long as they don't take our eyes and our focus off of Him. He will have us serve no other "god" except for Him. We need to work. We need to take care of our families. We need to have healthy avenues to blow off some steam. We can have a little wine, etc. But the things that are illegal, or immoral, or things that we do in excess, are the things we need to get rid of or bring back under control.

Ephesians 5

New International Version (NIV)

5 ¹ Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.^{[a] 6} Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them.
⁸ For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰ and find out what pleases the Lord. ¹¹ Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. ¹³ But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. ¹⁴ This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ¹⁸ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.