Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Pastor Carl Tedford here!
 
Do you want to Live the Life of Christ in an Expert Way?
 
Then here is a simple, highly effective Strategy
Each of the Four Parts starts with an Action Word, spelling out something we Must Do.

1.  Stand on an Unshakable Foundation (Truth)
      Truth about: 

      God - how He instructs us to live

​     Ourselves - our weaknesses, our tendencies, our struggles                                                

• How we craft the weapons the devil uses to defeat us every time with our thoughts, habits, desires, emotions, attitudes, character, perspectives, biases, and resistance to meaningful change

 
     The Devil                                                                                                                 
     “Be well balanced, sober of mind, and self-disciplined, be alert, vigilant and cautious at all times; For that enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion (fiercely hungry), seeking someone to devour.  But resist him. Be firm in your Faith against his attack- Rooted, Established, Strong, Immovable, and Determined.

 I Peter, 5: 8-9

2.  Demonstrate Unfailing Commitment to Righteousness.

• When we stumble and fall, pick yourself up and immediately return to the Path of Righteousness for His Name's Sake
• Analyze why you failed and placed Boundaries and Safeguards to ensure Victory next time
• Employ the Proactive of Work of the Holy Spirit to Lead and Guide you and Forewarn you of the dangers of Self, Temptation, and Satan

3.  Deny yourself One Decision at a Time.  Do not be overwhelmed by the complexities of living life. Instead, focus on the important Choice to be decided Right Now. Deny your old nature and its desires, and do it God's way, One Decision at a Time.

4.  Make the Right Decision Everytime.  This is Righteousness with the Cumulative effect of compound interest over time, which pays rich dividends of joy, Peace, Contentment, Fulfillment, and Purpose  

So in review,
How do I live the life of Christ in an Expert Way?
Remember the Strategy
 
Stand on an Unshakable Foundation(Truth)
Demonstrate Unfailing Commitment to Righteousness
Deny yourself One Decision at a Time, and
Make the Right Decision Every Time.

Many try to avoid Suffering.
It's Painful, inconvenient, Unpleasant, and to be Avoided at all cost.
 
And yet, Suffering is an undeniable Fact of Life. It is the Human Experience.
 
Everyone goes through Suffering. But, in Christ, we Suffer with Purpose. We are tried, tested, refined, purified, disciplined. 
 
What is the Purpose? This Suffering? 
 
The Apostle Peter eloquently shares:                                                                  
 “The same experiences of Suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters, throughout the world. You do not Suffer alone.”   1 Peter 5:10
 
Then, he writes, 
"After you have Suffered a little while,
the God of all Grace (Who imparts His Blessing and Favor), Who called you to His own Eternal Glory in Christ, will Himself

• Make you perfect= Complete His Work in you
• Establish you = Make you to Stand on an Unshakable Foundation (Truth)
• Strengthen you- So that you do not Give in, Give up or Give out. 
  
  The Apostle Paul says, “…I pray that you may be Strengthened with Might by His Spirit in the inner Man.”     Ephesians 3:16
  
  
• Settle you =Cover you with the Mantle of Peace, God's Peace, that passes all Understand that will Protect, Guard, and Keep your Hearts (emotions) and Minds (thoughts) in Christ Jesus.                                                                     Philippians 4:7                                 

 
I am Pastor Carl Tedford, with Thoughts to Ponder.

There are two Wills in the World:
God's Will and Our Will.
Unfortunately, these two Wills are frequently in opposition to each other. 
It is a lifelong struggle of epic proportion.
 
However, only One will prevail:  God's Will. 
God's Will is decided in Heaven, and in His Way and in His Time manifested on Earth,
 
Jesus taught his Disciples to Pray,
"…Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven"
And He (Jesus) prayed in the Garden of Gethsemene,
"... if this Cup (suffering) shall not pass from me, except I drink it, not as I will, but Thy Will be done"
 
When we accept God's Will, it brings Joy in our Souls, Peace in our Minds.
 
Walking with God is only possible when we do a will exchange--
Exchanging our will, for His Will.
 
Here is a Guiding Principle:
 
Our will must be a lightly held preference, that we readily relinquish, when the Perfect Will of God is revealed.
 
I repeat... Our will must be a lightly held preference, that we readily relinquish, when the Perfect Will of God is revealed.
 
I am Pastor Carl Tedford, with a Biblical Perspective.

Do we run out of Time?
 
Actually...No.

Time was here before we arrived, and
Time will be here when we leave.
 
Time and Eternity are forever linked.

God dwells where Time and Eternity intersect.

Psalm 90 explains God's relationship with Time.
It says, "... from Everlasting to Everlasting,
Thou art God"
 
We Do Not Run Out of Time.
We run out of Life and Opportunity.
 
It is Vitally important that we Find our Purpose, Complete our Assignment and Fulfill our Destiny BEFORE we run out of Life and Opportunity.
 
After a Life Well-Lived, we will be able to say as the Apostle Paul,

"I have fought a good Fight, I have finished the Course, I have kept the Faith, Henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness.
Which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, shall give me on that day:
And not to me only, but unto all them who love and eagerly await
His appearing."
​2 Timothy 4:7-8

Let me take a moment of your time to ask a very important question.
 
Did we do what the Lord told us to do?
 
Many times, we do what He said,
- with our own interpretation
- our unique personalized version, 
- putting our spin on it,
- rewriting His instructions to meet our style, our needs, our desires
 
When things do not turn out well,
We become disillusioned and blame and question God.
 
But, if we are Open, Honest and Transparent,
We have to ask: 
Did I do exactly What He said,
How He said to do it,
When He said to do it, and,
With the Right motive and attitude
 
So, How do we obey the Lord?
 
By doing Exactly what he said,
Step by Step
Decision by Decision
Choice by Choice
 
Then, and Only then, will the outcome be assured.
 
What is the Outcome?
Romans 8:28 confidently proclaims:
 
"And we know that All things work together for good to them that love God, 
To them who are the called according to His Purpose."
​
Notice
... To them that love God,
Jesus said, if you love Me, keep My commandments.
Notice
... To them who are the called according to His Purpose, 
Those who daily strive to conform to God's Will in Thought, Action and Purpose.

--Be Blessed!