What is in your grocery cart? Who made your shopping list?

Monday’s Motivation

Topic: What is in your grocery Cart?
Eph 2, Eph 4:18, Gal 5:22

 I am reminded of a song How Sweet it is to be loved by you! To experience the love of Christ is to experience the “greatest love of all”! If you have not experienced his love I invite you to trust God and watch him turn your life around. We often fill our lives with things, people, doctrine, anger or anything to help us feel whole. To experience true love we have to open our minds to accept God’s love (Rom 12:2).

 When we self reflect, we must ask ourselves who do we follow? Do we follow Jesus or do we follow the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2). We know Satan was kicked out of heaven and denied the chance of a body. He can only move through people. When we follow Satan we are dead in sin. When we follow Jesus we are saved by grace seated with him in heavenly places (Eph 2:5-6).

 Here are a couple of items on our grocery list to tell us if we are following the prince of air. If we walk down the aisle and see something we like and don’t think twice about the consequences and pick up a bag of lusts of our flesh we are following the prince of air. If we decide to do something and we haven’t consulted God and we know it isn’t right but we have the power and the mind to do it, we just filled our cart with desires of the flesh and mind (Eph 2:3). If our cart is full and we keep adding more causing it to overflow, we have just added greediness. If we walk down aisle 8, that holds painful memories and we put 10lb bag of bitterness, a 5lb bag of wrath and a 25lb of anger in our cart we are following Mr. Air. Bitterness, anger, and wrath have all different flavors and different sizes to keep us addicted.

 

 Aisle 8 has exotic spices called evil speaking and malice that adds extra flavor (Eph 4:31). We can’t forget aisle 6 which has the sticky jars of fornication and other sexual immoralities. Aisle 10 has plenty of dark candies, it full of idols, it has mirrors (they come in life size and minis) that speak to us and tell us we are the greatest and our achievements are by the work of our hands. It has pictures of celebrities that we can take to bow down to and pick up a kit that has all of their favorite things so we can dress like them, talk like them, and act like them. It also has pictures of our neighbors that have more than us so we can pick up a sugary jar of jealousy and envy. There is also a bank in the grocery store. It gives out pay day loans, it lures us with empty words giving us the money to pay for all those things in the cart but doesn’t tell us fine print (Eph 5:6).

 

 When we fill our carts with some or all of those things we are following the prince of air and are dead in sin. We are walking around as zombies and he is leading us and we are unaware of what is going on. He gives us belief in ourselves as the serpent gave Eve when he told her she would be like God having knowledge of good and evil. We are walking around under hypnosis under his control and he is laughing. We must snap out of it and wake up, rise from the dead and allow Christ to shine on us (Eph 5:14).

We need shop at “Shop Light” where there is fresh Fruit! It has fresh Fruit of the Spirit. Ripe fruits of love. They have tender fruits of joy. Angels are standing by with samples of peace hot out the oven. The bakery has a beautiful aroma that dances in our nostrils of gentleness and goodness. It’s always great to pick up a couple dozen of them to take to work to give out to our co-workers. Aisle 3 always looks empty but smells so good. It doesn’t have a floor to walk on but there is a light that is bright and welcoming. Most walk by this aisle and very few walk down, it’s filled with mustard seeds so tiny and small but once they are in the cart, the cart expands giving more room for the things we need (Matt 17:20).

 

 

Only then can we go down aisle 7 that has the wonderful fat burner called longsuffering. Longsuffering is an opportunity to build patience, endurance, and perseverance. Everything we will get in aisle 7 is needed when we face the prince of air. Aisle 7 allows us to be a mean, lean, Jesus fighting machines; it helps build our spiritual muscles. Longsuffering are spiritual pushups that give of pecks of righteousness and sit-ups that give us a six pack of faith. It removes the plaque build-up of anger and wrath. It strengthens forgiveness and patient muscles. Aisle 7 isn’t punishment it’s just training to help us endure in battle (Eph 6:10-18). It’s nothing like being prepared. It’s that moment when you tell temptation to go have a seat. It’s when you tell un-forgiveness goodbye. It’s when you hand vengeance over to the Lord. Being prepared is that moment when fear is absent and faith is present and we are no longer blinded by the prince of air.

 

You may be in battle today or you are just tired of your current employer Mr. Air and you want to be loved; go shop at Shop Light over on love drive and ask to speak to the owner, he is always there. He usually has bag of mercy in one hand and grace in another, it is a gift you will immediately receive. His name is Jesus; he is waiting for you and can’t wait to see you. You can’t shop in the store unless you see him first to sign up and receive your membership card. He will give you a warm comforter that will help guide you down the aisles, ensuring you stay on budget and pick up the right items. He will also give you a lifetime “Shop Light Love membership card so you can return and shop at Shop Light as much as you like (Jn 14:26).

Pray

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.

God Bless You and Yours!


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