Right Side Up is Better

First Posted in our June 2, 2016 newsletter.

Are you

living Right-Side Up

Or

Upside Down?

Sometimes when we ship a box,

we put "This side Up" or "Right-side Up" on the box.

We do this because we want to make sure the contents

are not

shipped improperly and therefore arrive damaged.

Delicate boxes are not the only things

that need to be

"right-side up."

People need to be (and to live) "Right-side Up."

~ ~ ~

There is a right way to go through life, and there is an upside-down way to go through life.

If we don't live Right-Side Up, we may find ourselves hurt or damaged unnecessarily by our choices.

When we do not live Right-Side Up, we do not live as God intended.

Living outside the will of God makes us vulnerable to harmful situations and circumstances.

The Bible tells us the right thing to do.

The world tells us the wrong thing to do.

~ ~ ~

God says, "Give and you will be more blessed."

The world says, "Take and you will be more blessed."

~ ~ ~

God says, "Show kindness and compassion to people."

The world says, "Sometimes you need to use people to get what you want."

~ ~ ~

God says, "Live by my Scriptures, and you will be rewarded."

The world says, "There is no great benefit to living by the Scriptures."

~~~~~~~

Instead of living by God's Scriptures ......

The world tells us,

"Live by your own standards of right and wrong,

because you are the master of your life."

~ ~ ~

We have a choice:

1. To go through this life trying to follow the Bible

or

2. To go through life following our own reasoning and our own desires.

~ ~ ~

Jesus says to us,

"Follow me."

Jesus wants us to

follow him

in obedience to his Word.

"Follow me" = obey the words of the Bible.

"Follow me"

means that

Jesus is  " not just " your Savior, but he is also your Lord.

"Pick up your Cross" > >  the Cross represents a lifestyle.

That lifestyle is a willingness to follow Jesus in every way.

It is a

commitment to stay close to Jesus.

It is a

firm commitment to refuse to go

where Jesus would not go

and

the determination to go where he sends us.

It is not enough to make God the Lord of our Life - once.

We must make that decision daily.

~ ~ ~ ~

God gives forgiveness,

but that doesn't mean that

he intends for us

to live sloppy, immoral lives.

God wants us to daily choose to live morally right.

~ ~ ~ ~

Note that sometimes God uses the word

"Upright"

when he is talking about

a person who tries to be obedient to him.

For example:

"No good thing will he withhold from them who walk uprightly."

Psalm 84:11b KJV

"Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous:
and shout for joy,
all ye that are upright in heart."

Psalm 32:11 KJV

An important part of following Jesus

is learning to love others.

The Bible teaches:

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

In this harsh world,

I find it helpful

to

remind myself

to begin my day focusing on loving others.

The late evangelist

Jack Frost

often said that

one of the most important things in this life is:

"RECEIVING God's love and GIVING it away to others."

Article Copyright © 2016 Beth McLendon of Inspirational-Prayers.com

A Concluding Prayer is Below.

I invite you to join me in prayer:

Dear Lord,

Your love... your grace... your mercy... your tenderness…..

Help me to display them in my life.

In this

upside down world,

I want to be right-side-up.

Amen

Copyright © 2015 Beth McLendon of Inspirational - Prayers.com

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Right Side Up is Better was posted in January 2024.

Right Side Up is Better

was first posted in our newsletter in the June 2, 2016 edition.

EBEBEB