Live Delivered

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. The Lord tells us the Truth. We must reject the lies.

Genesis 2:24: God speaks to us about the Truth of marriage.  He says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Genesis 1:27:  God speaks to us about the sexes He created in humans.  He says, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

Romans 1:26-27 speaks to us about same sex relationships.  It says, “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men.”

We live in a time now that as people come out of the closet, we put God into the closet. Today we are generally more likely to affirm what man says more than to stand on what God says. We want people to be able to live free of the feeling of condemnation no matter who they are and what they do.

Cain was this way. He wanted God to respect him and to accept his offering just as God respected and accepted Able and his offering. But Able accepted God’s Truth about the offering and Cain did not. Cain did not want the feeling of condemnation that came with his choice.

We are this way today. But now we have so much of Cain’s ways in us from the highest person to the lowest person that it means believers among us like Able are made live under the condemnation of being intolerant to others. The Cain in us has led us to make a lie become the truth we want.

God has spoken to us about everything we will ever encounter. He speaks to us about things that are not by reminding us of things that are Truth. Many people want us to believe the Lord is accepting and affirming of all of us just the way we are no matter how we are inclined to behave or to believe.

When God told us what marriage is; when He told us of the sexes He created; and when He told us about acceptable sexual relations between man and woman, He did not forget to speak to us about what is not. Believers must understand this. The Cains among us want us to believe God forgot something.

Man will want us to believe that marriage can be something more or that there are more than two sexes or that acceptable sexual relations can happen between committed people no matter their sex and marital status. But these views are lies. In a way, these are the views of the Cains among us who want their views to become the truths that God did not speak about before.

When the Lord tells us what is Truth, we must learn to reject what is not. We must learn to confirm the Truth and never to affirm a lie. Man starts their thinking by making a lie seem like the truth and then they dare the believer to find a in scripture anything that would contradict their sense of truth.

The Lord may not specifically speak to us about rejecting marriage between two people of the same sex because there was and is no need for that. The Truth is that He defines marriage between a man and a woman. We must start with and end with that.

We must put what we think up against what He has already said. In no place does the Lord allow for the Truth to be expanded to include what man wants or believes. Scripture will never affirm a lie to be a Truth, and neither should we do that.

God is silent about many things like these because He has already spoken to us about what is Truth. The Truth defines what is and at the same time it reveals what is not. Belief in the Lord is the only way to be saved.  Any other thought is a lie.  We must never put the Truth up against a lie so we can affirm that the Truth is complete. We must put the lie up against the Truth so we can reject the lie to be more than what is Truth.

Live a Delivered Life.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. Even if we know where we are, we are lost without His Word.

Psalms 119:105: Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

John 14:6: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me.”

Sometimes I need to remind myself death is not the end of life, but it is a part of life. If we think of death as simply the end of life, we may not value and live life the best way that we should. Our belief and faith are not just here to help us accept the Lord as our savior, they are there to help guide us in the way we live after we believe.

Thank the Lord that He did not leave us without help in learning how to live towards Him and to stop living toward the world. This is important because just as the Lord allows us to choose whether we believe on Him or not, He also allows us to choose the way we live after we have believed.  But He gives us help to do this, so we get it right.

But what is this help? Where is it?  How do we use it?  Well, this help is God’s Word. Psalm 119:105 reminds us that we can use His Word as a lamp to light the place we live and to illuminate the path, we take from place to place.

When we believe, every day we should check ourselves to make sure we no longer stand where we used to stand.  We no longer walk where we used to walk and we no longer live in the places we used to live. The Word of the Lord is the lamp that lights up the things around us so we can see clearly if this is the place where we should be.

It is also the light that reveals the path of life we take each day. His light shines on our desires, on our wants, on our hearts, and on our faith so that we have a way of knowing if we are on the best path for ourselves. Without His light it is likely we would continue to do all the things we did before we believed. It is likely we will still believe all the things we believed before we believed in Him.

In John14:6, Jesus Himself tells us He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We cannot get to God any other way but though Him.  We cannot make true any other thing that would be contrary to what He says is True. And we cannot live any other life but the life He created.

The Lord does not want death to keep us from life.  He wants death to bring us to more life.  So, He has given us a destination to seek so that we can find more and better life in His Word.  And He has given us a map to follow so that we do not follow the wrong paths to get to the destination He has set for us.

If you are still living like you lived before you believed, perhaps you do not have His Word as a lamp to reveal where you are standing and where you lay down to live. Perhaps you are not following His light that will light up the path of life you take daily.

If you are still living like you lived before you believed, perhaps you are still following your way of living. Perhaps you still follow your truth for how you live and perhaps you still live your life just as you have always lived.

Long ago we used lamps to light the places we lived.  Lamps lit up the room and things around us. With a lamp we could see how to move in the moment. We used a torch to light our way when we were outdoors. The torch illuminated the way forward for us. With the torch we could see where we were going.

That was then. Today is today.  And today God reminds us we have His Word to do the work of the lamp and the torch people used long ago. So don’t rely on any other thing to light up where you are or to illuminate the path you take forward.

The Word of the Lord doesn’t just help you live where you are. It causes you to understand you must leave the person you are now in the place you now live to become the person He wants you to be and go to the place He wants you to go.

Live A Delivered Life.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. Jesus Loves you with the Love that we need from a savior.

Jeremiah 31:3: “The Lord has of old has appeared to me saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love.  Therefore, with lovingkindness, I have drawn you.”

Matthew 28:6: “He is not here.  For He is risen as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

More than pretty dresses and painted eggs, Easter or Resurrection Sunday 2026 is a day to acknowledge the Love our God and Father and Lord and Savior has bestowed upon us.

Today is the day believers have chosen to acknowledge and to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ after His crucifixion. There are many traditions surrounding this day, sunrise services; easter eggs, easter baskets and of course the easter bunny. I don’t know if our traditions truly represent what the resurrection of Christ means, but there is one certainty for me.

Christ is a God Who loves us. No other thing that we would consider a god can even speak let alone love us.

For me, all that Easter means is captured in the words of a song about the Lord. The song says:

Living He loved me.

Dying He saved me.

Buried He carried my sins far away.

Rising He justified and freed me forever.

One day He is coming back and what a glorious day it will be.

No other god can live and speak to us about itself. Only Christ can do that. Why is that?  Because anything that lives and that can love had to be created by the One who has always lived and always loved.  Christ is forever. He was not created by anything or anyone.

No other god can die and save us. No other god has anything of value that can satisfy the bill that had to be paid to save you and I from the consequences of our sins. Only Christ could do that.

No other god can take our sins away such that they are as if they never were. Only Christ can do that.  When He was buried in that cave, He took all our sins with Him.  He came out three days later, but our sins remain buried forever. How glorious is that?

No other god can raise themselves from death and justify the life we live. Only Christ can do that.  By His living today, He justifies the lives we live today.

So, Easter 2026 means a lot. Let’s not forget that one day Christ is coming back and that will be a glorious day. When He returns, He will gather up all who are believers and take them with Him to a glorious home and place where we will live with Him in eternity.

Easter 2026 is a day to remember that “Living He Loved you. Dying He saved You. Buried He carried your sins far from you. Rising He justified you and freed you forever. Today is one day you should shout amen. What a glorious, loving, gracious, and caring God we have.

Live A Delivered Life.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. Sometimes we don’t have the sense to know we do not have common sense!

Proverbs 3:5: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Job 13:5: Oh, that you would be silent. It would be your wisdom.

I believe we are living in a time where common sense is not so common at all. We don’t have to look very far to find instances of someone doing something that doesn’t make any sense at all. Our political leaders are at odds over the question of requiring identification as a basis for voting in our elections.

Why would this be a question at all? Why does it seem like many of us live with a lack of common sense? God gave Solomon wisdom and knowledge that was uncommon to others at the time.  Why don’t we all have such wisdom and knowledge? Is it a flaw in our creation that some of us seem to have common sense and others do not?

Why will so many of us join protests about things we know nothing about? Can you count the number of stupid decisions and choices you have made in your lifetime? On social media, why do we comment on things said by people we don’t know who don’t know us?

We are drawn to things that are noisy; we are drawn to things that stick out; we are drawn to things that seem wrong; Why is this?

Job 13:5 points out and encourages us to quiet down our lives.  It is in the quiet life that wisdom and common sense can be developed and seen.  It is in the quiet of life that we can learn from the things we learn.  It is in the quiet of life that we can see within ourselves the presence of or the lack of common sense.

But this doesn’t answer the question why are we made the way we are? Proverbs 3:5 even warn and encourages us to trust in the Lord more than to trust in ourselves. Wisdom and knowledge and understanding are available to us all. But not all of us seek it because we are more comfortable living our lives in our own ways.

Common sense is the wisdom to live with the understanding that our own ways of living is not sufficient for us to live the way that is best for us. God does not force us to ask for or to have His wisdom and knowledge because He loves us.  He gives us the freedom to ask for His wisdom and for His knowledge.

Free will is the essence of God’s love for us and the strength of His relationship with us.  God wants us to use our free will to seek His wisdom and His knowledge as we live our lives here on earth.  Solomon freely asked and God gave to him freely.

The reason so many of us do seemingly do not have the sense to know we make no sense in the things we do and say is because we refuse to use our free will to free ourselves from our own wills. God will never force you to be wise and understanding. But He will gladly give you wisdom and understanding when you choose to seek that from Him.

You will know if you have common sense or not when you learn to use your free will to ask the Lord for the thing’s others believe He should force us to have. The Lord will never force you to think the way He does.  But when you ask Him to change your thinking, He will not only do that, but He will deepen His relationship of love with you because you empty yourself of the bonds of living by your own will.

When you use your free will to force yourself to seek what He will never force you to seek, He will bless you with common sense that is uncommon to others.  You will be blessed in how you live and others will be blessed because you are blessed.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. If we are God’s seed, we would reflect God’s character!

John 8:31: Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him. “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

John 8:42-44:  Jesus said to them.  “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God.” “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. There is no truth in him.” The devil’s character is to twist and deceive us to believe what he wants us to believe and to reject what God wants us to stand on.

Character is the moral and ethical qualities that define who we are. God is Love and God is Truth.  These are several of His moral qualities. These qualities are reflected in how God acts towards us.  If you want to know God’s character, you will find it by understanding the Why and the Because for the things He does.

If we see God doing things to care for the poor, we should understand that God does the things He does because He is a caring God. This is why God does things to care for the poor. Believers should reflect God’s character because we are of His seed. But His character must be produced in us to be reflected by us.

Seeds need soil and nurturing and water to grow. We don’t allow His character to be produced in us because we do not allow our seed to be planted in the soil of His Word. We plant the seed of who we are in the dirt and sand around us when God wants us to be rooted deep in the soil of His word.

If we are His seed, we must live in His Word more than in we live in the word of the world. If we want to reflect that we are His seed, we must love the Lord more than we love anything on earth.

This can be confusing for us today, especially among believers. We have much division of beliefs among those who profess to be believers and even within the church. For instance we have some believers who believe that same sex marriage is ok and that the Lord is ok with same sex marriage. Why would we believe this? Well, because I just said we believe God is love and God is truth so He has to love everyone no matter what they do.

But God describes marriage as a covenant between a man and a woman and not two people of the same sex. The Lord cannot be both okay with and against same sex marriage at the same time. One position must be of the Lord and the other must be of the devil.

But how do we sort this out?  How do we know His position on this and many things like this?  Well, we look at His character. I have learned that satan will never agree with the Lord on anything, especially a moral thing. Satan wants us to believe that God believes what we believe.

But the devil is a liar and there is no truth in him.  And he disguises himself so that we are unable to recognize him or his ways.  That is why we must abide in God’s word. If the Lord is against same sex marriage, satan’s position must be supportive of same sex marriage because he cannot agree with the Lord.

In this case, if we have the character of God produced in us, we will agree with the Lord that same sex marriage is not something the Lord would endorse. But listen carefully. Satan can never take the position that same sex marriage is wrong. Why not?  Because he would be in agreement with God. And remember, he can never take a moral position that is the same as God.

Likewise, we cannot say God is ok with same sex marriage because that would contrary to His Word. And it would mean satan would have to take the position that same sex marriage is wrong.  Satan will never do that.

So now, you have a way to test your position on many of the moral challenges we face today. If you believe God is for a something, satan will have to be against it.  And if you believe God is against a something, then I’m sure you will find that satan will stand for it.

You are the moral seed of the Lord. Abide in His word always.  Allow the tough moral challenges you face to produce the character of God in you.  Then you will know whose seed you are.  And remember, take your position on moral things not just based on your beliefs and your desires to be good.

If God is for a thing, then ask yourself where does satan stand?  If God is against a thing, ask yourself where does satan stand?  Then look at where you stand. You will learn if you stand with the Lord or with the devil.

You and the Lord can agree on a thing.  But you, the Lord and satan can never agree. You will know whose seed you are when you are rooted deeply in His Word and not in the word of the world.

Live A Delivered Life.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. Your attitude determines the height or depth of your life!

Matthew 5:1-9: Blessed are the poor in spirit; those who mourn; the meek; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; the merciful; the pure in heart; and the peacemakers.

Isaiah 14:12-14: For you have said in your heart: I will ascend into heaven.  I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the congregation. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.  I will be like the Most High. We are talking about satan’s attitude here.

We commonly refer to Matthew 5:1-9 as the sermon on the mountain.  Jesus taught the people about what we call the beatitudes.  This was one of His first sermons to the multitude of people as He began His ministry.

He had already healed a great many people throughout the land as He approached the day of this teaching.  So the people gathered together to witness more of His miracles.  He chose to do something that would heal more than their sickness.  He chose to deliver a message that would heal their souls.

It is as if He was saying to them:

If you want to be someone in your land; before the eyes of man; in your community; become someone who is noticed for having a quiet needful spirit.  People will respect you.

If you want the world around you to be better and you are doing all that you can to make it better become someone who mourns for the land more than for yourself.  God will comfort you by healing the land.

If you want to be big on earth and have much of what can be had on earth, become someone who seeks little of what earth has to offer.  Then the Lord will give you more of all that is good on earth.

If you want righteousness to reign more than worldliness, become someone who is hungry and thirsty for righteousness to reign around you.  Then the Lord will fill you.

If you want to see a society where there is more mercy than condemnation, become someone who is merciful. Then you will be given mercy.

If you want the world to see more of God and His purity and less of themselves, then become someone who is pure in heart.  Then the Pure God will be seen through your purity.

If you want there to be more peace and less conflict in the world between God’s people and the people of the world, then become someone who is a peacemaker. Then both God and the world will call you sons and children of God.

Isaiah 14:12-14 reminds us that the main reason satan was cast out of heaven was because of His attitude.  It is important to understand. Actually, satan started out as high as anything but his attitude brought him to the lowest point there can be.

Jesus is reminding us that out attitudes determines the altitude of our lives. These are states of being Jesus calls us to be more than He is calling us to do. If you want to be more of anything, have the attitude that you are the least of all things.

Live A Delivered Life.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. Our prayers get His actions but our words can get His attention!

Numbers 12:8: “Hear now My words.  If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision. Not so with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My house.  I speak to him face to face, plainly and not in dark sayings.”

Daniel 10:12: Then he said to me. “Do not fear Daniel, for from the first day you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.”

It is because of your words that I have come. In a way the Lord is saying He comes to some of us because we seek something from Him most never seek.  That is the reason He comes to some of us in miraculous ways.

Moses climbed to the top of a mountain to see what was going on with all the smoke he saw from the valley.  When no one else had the courage or the curiosity to do anything, Moses said he would go up the mountain to see what was going on.  God met him there.  Moses had a special place in God’s heart from that time on.

I have come to you because of your words.  That is what the angel said to Daniel.  Daniel had been mourning the state of things for the Jews.  For three weeks he did not eat any of his favorite foods nor any meat nor did he drink any wine.  Daniel sought occasion to get God’s attention.  Daniel wanted to understand what was happening and why. He got it.

Moses and Daniel sought from the Lord that we do not seek.  They didn’t seek healing though many were sick.  They didn’t seek freedom though many were in bondage.  They didn’t seek retribution though many were treated wrongly.

They sought the understanding of the Lord for the things that were happening around them.  They sought to have the Lord’s knowledge and insight about the state of things. They sought something that would be more useful for others than for themselves.

We get the Lord’s undivided attention when we seek Him for His understanding. When things around us do not make any sense, let’s learn to seek Him for understanding.  When things cannot be explained, let’s seek Him for His understanding. When we tell Him we are seeking Him so that we can make His knowledge and understanding our own, He will come to us because of our words.

To get the Lord’s attention the way Moses and Daniel got it, we must learn to approach Him in the way others never do.  Each of them set their hearts to understand. Each of them approached the Lord in humility.  And each revealed the depth of what they didn’t know so that the Lord would fill them with His knowledge and understanding.

It was because of their words that the Lord came to them with knowledge, wisdom and insight that was needed by the people of the world. The Lord hears and answers all our prayers. But searching for Him and for His understanding is different from praying.

When we search for understanding, the Lord hears us as we talk ourselves through trying to understand Him and His ways. This type of conversation is special to the Lord, and it is sure to settle into His attention. 

So, remember, we must always pray and ask the Lord for the things we want.  But learn to add to your praying a disposition of curiosity. There are many things about life we cannot understand without the knowledge and insight and wisdom of the Lord.

Let that become your cry.  To know the unknown; to understand that which cannot be understood; to see what cannot be seen and to hear the unheard so that the world can be blessed by what we didn’t know we needed.

He will come because of your words when your words invite Him to open your understanding to His ways.

Live A Delivered Life.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. Listen for what God says, not for what you want to hear.

1 Kings 22:5: Also, Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, please inquire for the Word of the Lord today.

John 2:5: His mother said to the servants, whatever He says to you, do it.

We must be careful not to speak for the Lord when He does not speak to us. Jehoshaphat was King of Judah.  Ahab was king of Israel.  Israel had fallen away from the Lord.  They did as they pleased.  Judah was still obedient to God.  They did as He commanded.

Jehoshaphat wanted to know if God wanted the two kings to join together to fight against Syria.  They asked 400 prophets from Israel if they should go to war with Syria.  The prophets all said “yes, go up. God will be with you.”  But Jehoshaphat was skeptical.  So, he asked if there was really anyone there who still heard the Word of God.

When God stopped speaking to Israel, they started speaking for Him to themselves. They listened only for what they wanted to hear, not for what God wanted to say. The two kings joined forces and went to battle.  Jehoshaphat lived because he sought the Lord’s desire.  Ahab was killed because he followed his desire.

We do this today, especially when we are faced with what seems like a difficult situation. We set our hearts on our wants before we seek the Lord for His desires for us. We must learn to pray and to listen for what we should say and do, not for what we want to say and do.

Jesus’s mother informed Him that the hosts of the wedding were out of wine. She was not like the Israelites.  She told the servants to do whatever Jesus said to do. Her desire was to hear Him and to accept what He said to do.  He turned water into wine.

Sometimes, we pray for the Lord’s blessings on the things we set our hearts to do even if they are things we know we shouldn’t do. When we do this, it is more likely we will hear what we want to hear than to hear what He really says.

Learn to walk with and to live with the Lord more than to walk ahead of Him and to live with Him as a guest in your life. When you do this, you will hear His voice before you hear your own.

Choose not to worry about the things you face. Whether it is something of the flesh or of the spirit. Learn to stay with the Lord. Then He will choose to fight the battles you face so that you do not have to fight on your own. Allow Him fight for you.

Learn to keep your eyes focused on the Lord more than on your problems. You will come to see the things you face the way He sees what you face. When your eyes are on Him, His eyes will be on the things you face.

Learn to listen for what you ought to say and not for what you want to say. Have nothing that you want to do that is greater than what you ought to do.  When you choose to live by your ought to, you will learn to hear Him before you hear yourself. You will hear what He says about what you want to do.

We live in a world that seemingly wants to be sympathetic to all things and to all people.  To many of us this sounds like something we believe our God would want for us since we all know God is good. But we must be careful never to allow our wants to change what God’s says we ought to be and to do.

If you are going to hear what you want to hear from the Lord, you will almost never hear what you ought to hear from Him. The opinions and views we form about what we want in our flesh will almost always be contrary to the insight God’s give us about how we ought to think about our fleshly wants and desires.

Live A Delivered Life.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. Don’t listen to anyone who doesn’t listen to the Lord.

Luke 4:31-32: “Then He went down to Capernaum – and was teaching them – And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority”.

This is a fundamental Truth.  The things God wants us to hear we will find reason to reject.  The things of the world we want to hear God will reject. Jesus had been teaching the people many things, but He was rejected by those in His home of Nazareth.

It is said that all those in the synagogue, were filled with wrath with the things He taught.  They sought to throw Him out of the city to rid themselves of His teachings.  They rejected Jesus and they rejected His teachings.

But Jesus taught then as His word now teaches with the divine backing of God the Father. He teaches not by the authority of man; not by the certification of man; but the by the power; the will; the divine plan of God. God will never stop trying to teach us with the Word that we would reject.

The people rejected that Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, because He was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor.  The people didn’t want the people to have hope in anything but the things they taught.

Jesus told them He was there to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and to bring sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those who are oppressed.  The people of the synagogue rejected His words because it was counter to their words.

But to those who heard His word, they were astonished.  And we should be astonished too for God teaches of Himself, not of mathematical functions or scientific principles, but of the essence of His truth.  Therein is the authority we should behold; Jesus teaches us of the essence of who He is through His word. He doesn’t teach us about something; He teaches us of something.

We need to be careful where and from whom we receive our teaching.  Luke 4 is telling us it is in Capernaum that we can hear the Truth of the Word of God.  Is what you are being taught delivered to you from Capernaum?  Is it from someone who rambles on about worldly principles and views but they have no real authority behind them?

What the folks at Capernaum learned and what you and I can learn today is that knowledge of natural things; knowledge to run our government; our schools; our homes; all things – all authoritative knowledge comes first through He who teaches with authority.

We are Christ’s home; we are His children; we are His government; we are His all, so there is no real knowledge or authority about anything on earth apart from that found through Him. The question then for you and I is this.  Are we individually people of the city of Capernaum who are taught by Christ to live in Christ by the word of Christ on the power and divine authority on Christ can give?

Be careful that in hearing and learning from places that are not from the Lord that you don’t come to reject the Word of God for the word of man.  The Lord will always reject that which is contrary to Him.  If you listen to the foolishness of the world God will reject your knowledge and count you as one of the many unlearned and misguided by what the world wants.

Be careful who you listen to.  Make sure you accept what God says about what He says so that you are not rejected by Him for what you want Him to believe.  God is not here to have you change what He believes.  He is here to change what we believe.

Live A Delivered Life.

Your Moment at the Well

The Lord’s insight. The more of life’s pleasures you deny yourself, the more pleasure of life you can enjoy.

Mark 6:31: “And Jesus said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest for a while.”

Ephesians 4:22-24: “Put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the Spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

A few years ago, I decided to deny myself the pleasure of an ice-cold Dr Pepper.  I did this for 40 days. Now, I love Dr Peppers.  Everyone who really know me knows that. So, denying myself my favorite drink was no easy thing. After just a few days, I thought my desire to have one would kill me.

It wasn’t easy for me, but I made it through those 40 days of denial. And when I finally had another Dr Pepper, it wasn’t the same as before.  I have not gone back to the way it was before. While I still love a Dr Pepper, my favorite drink is no longer the same to me.

I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences in life. You have been able to deny yourself the pleasure of doing or of having something that you enjoyed a lot. I hope that like me, your life is not the same. I was dying to enjoy the pleasure of a Dr Pepper only to find that I could have pleasure in life without it.

Our carnal lives can never be satisfied by the pleasures of life.  The more we want the more we will want.  The more you drink, the more you will drink.  The more you eat, the more you will eat.  Our old life is never being renewed, it is always being strengthened.  There is no rest in our old life.  In our carnality we will die to keep enjoying ourselves while we live.

Jesus knows that life needs rest.  To rest, He knows that we must learn to live a renewed life daily.  He told his disciples to take a break from the work they had been doing.  They needed rest as they left the old life to have new life He offered.

Sometimes we hang onto the old persons of our carnal lives so tightly that we fail to fully put on the new life Christ has for us.  We hang onto the old so we cannot grab hold of the new.  Ephesians 4 is encouraging us to let go of our old selves and of our desires for pleasure so that we can have more of the pleasures available to us.

We must learn there is no pleasure in anger.  There is no pleasure in selfishness.  There is no pleasure in pride.  There is no pleasure in condemnation, in accusation, in having abundance, in gluttony and in many things like these.  The more we allow these pleasures, the less pleasure we will have in life.

If you are dying to enjoy life, you must stop allowing your old life to live each day.  So, learn that the greatest pleasure in life is the one you experience when you deny your old self so a new you can come to life. There is great pleasure to go from corrupt words to words of life, from hate to love, from working deceit to working what is well and good, from having much to giving much and from being unlearned to being taught by the Word of God.

When we continue to live for and to seek pleasures for our lives, nothing about our lives will change. That life will be strengthened. When we find that we are denying ourselves the pleasures of life we will know that the new life is alive and working in us daily.  Nothing changes about the old you; that old person you were yesterday wakes up every new day.

Everything changes about the new you all the time. The same you never returns tomorrow to live again.  A new you wakes up every new day when you allow that new person to live.

Pleasure in life comes to you most assuredly when you die to the pleasure of living your old life.  Are you dying to enjoy life.  Real enjoyment comes only to the new person you can be, never to the person you have always been.

Live a Delivered Life.