But you can’t bypass the feel good factor. This time I bought the toothpaste with the tingling sensation. Thought it would be a good feeling for the morning.

Of course I brush to get my teeth and mouth clean. But certainly the feel good factor feels good. 

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    That sounds like a defeatist attitude. The assumption is that people won’t change, so why bother? Surely we believe people can change by the power of the Holy Spirit. But they must be willing.
    And some are not willing to be changed. They are set in their sinful ways. There is something within them that rebels against everything godly. They desire their own identity and way of thinking completely apart from God.

“Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy” (Rev 22:11).

    I found it interesting that several verses before, the people of God are said to have the name of Jesus written on their foreheads (Rev 21:4). In the Old Testament, the Israelites were instructed to have the laws of God on their foreheads (“between your eyes”) as a sign that they belong to God (Deut 6:8). Satan also will demand that people should have the “mark of the Beast” on their foreheads (Rev 13:15-17).
    Their forehead represents their mind, which reflects the state of their hearts. We are talking about hearts that are completely focused away from God. From the depths of their hearts, they are focused on doing evil. There’s no turning back.
    The righteous are focused on God and the things that please him. Their hearts are focused toward whatever is pure and holy.
    Changing the inner leaning of their hearts is a task that only God can do. He can do it if the people are willing to change.
 
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While Jesus was on this earth, he was so welcoming and accepting. He expelled demons, healed the sick, the lame, the blind, the paralytic, and every kind of disease and deformity that people brought to him.
He also fed the hungry, comforted the lonely, befriended the outcasts, and reached out to all types of people rejected by society. The openness and acceptance that he showed was unprecedented.
But when it comes to entry into heaven, we see lots of restrictions.

“But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev 21:21).

God gives to all people life, breath, and all that’s required to sustain life. This is his responsibility as the creator. When Jesus came to the earth, he gave gifts of healing, miracles, and mercy to everyone who approached him. That was his prerogative.
Along with all that, as creator, he has full authority to restrict entry into heaven. That is his right. Since God is holy, nothing unholy can dwell with him.
But we on our own, cannot attain holiness. That is why God has made a way through his Son Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, and only through faith in Jesus can we enter heaven and dwell with God for eternity. That’s how God has restricted entry.
Your Turn
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    It is intriguing to note that while Satan the deceiver is bound up, the people are not carried away by deception. There is no one to deceive them. But soon after he is released, he accomplishes his old task of deception. He’ll only have “a little while” (Rev 20:3), but he deceives the nations enough to gather them for battle against God’s people.
    From the beginning of time Satan has been deceiving people, and people have always been prone to deception. I suppose there is a deceiveability slant in everyone that make us prone to Satan’s deceptions.
    Life is short. We don’t have a thousand years to spare. And Satan roams the land seeking out those he can deceive. Will it be you? Will you completely forget who you are and give in to Satan’s deceptions?
Your Turn
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Advertising is a form of yelling. Now through social media, this “yelling” is practically free. Paid ads also show up on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. So you don’t have much option as it shows up even if you don’t want to see it. They hope that by getting their info in your screen again and again, you’ll eventually click on their ad one day. That tactic just irritates people and gets in the way of their productivity.
But what if you were to be generous? No, don’t use generosity as a tactic to get you someplace. Rather allow generosity to be a lifestyle. Jesus said “Give and it shall be given to you, pressed down, shaken together and running over.” He also said “Freely you have received, freely give.” Learn to be a giver rather than a taker. Consistently give more than you take.
Maybe you can give your time, efforts, energy, or knowledge. There are a host of other things that you can give. Whatever it is that you give, strive to be known as a giver. That reputation will be the source of great joy in life. Ultimately, you will begin to reap the benefits. But don’t do it for the benefits. Just do it as a lifestyle of generosity. It’s much better than YELLING.
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