#decktalk

Let your deck steal the show with Inspired by Charm's guide to stunning outdoor spaces. Let's talk about decks, baby.

Obviously Jesus suffered and died for us, but he rose again conquering death. For us the cost is huge, salvation may be free to us, but it means we surrender the right we have to our "self". The new life we now have being born again is not our own. Life is no longer about us, but all about Him. We die to self and yes, carry our own cross daily. “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” " ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:23-25‬ ‭ESV‬‬ Interesting that I was having a #decktalk explaining this to a neighbor moments ago and then saw this meme. Being a Christ-follower is a daily surrender of self. It's not about us, it's about Him and pleasing Him, following His mandates. My neighbor asked "Does God punish us?" I said no, not directly, but because of the Fall we still live under the curse of sin. We are spiritually free from the ultimate curse of the Fall as His followers, that being spiritual death, but there are still consequences to our actions that result in self harm and can even have secondary effects often resulting in harm to others. For example, smoking cigarettes, (my neighbor only has 46% use of his lungs due to his lifetime of smoking), doing drugs, drinking alcohol or smoking Marijuana and driving, drunkedness, eating high carb meals that are making us obese, drinking a soda considering its sugar content, sleeping around, living together in a relationship without being married, just to name a few ... all these have consequences. (It's interesting pastors don't preach on these things much anymore - maybe fear of losing their congregants). Are these things sinful? Sure. When it comes to the effects of these things, it's not God punishing us. It is us doing it to ourselves. It's like playing Russian roulette with our lives, and sometimes the lives of others. As we surrender to Christ, He transforms us through the process of sanctification where we sin less and less as our desire is to please Him, not ourselves. https://www.instagram.com/p/ChTIg3kMtX5UT7csEOcY-rtTjWDKMQ2cS6O2G40/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

My friend Melia and I are starting a YouTube Channel called decktalk! Come check us out in our intro video and make sure to watch our very first vlog, both are live now!