Thursday, September 30, 2021
Happiness That Is Up To Us
James 3:18--- And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
2 Corinthians
9:6---He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth
bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
The secret to a happy
life may be no real secret exists. The non-secret to a happy life is happiness
comes to you because of the gratitude you feel about who you are and what you
do. Whether you have a life of peace and joy, even when there is suffering, is a
matter of your being thankful while making choices about who you are and what
is important to you. If thankfully you doing the Lord's will in all you say,
think, and do is your highest priority, these seeds of joy will germinate and
produce His happiness in the form of joy and peace in your soul. If you
continuously strive to serve Christ by giving away His care, kindness, and
compassion, these seeds of joy will produce a harvest of happiness in your
life. Happiness does not come to you via snail mail, e-mail, fax, or telephone.
Happiness is the result of the kind of person you are…a person of gratitude for
the blessings you have been given. When you are unselfish in thanksgiving,
happiness is the result. When you are selfish, unhappiness is the result.
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Guarding Your Tongue
Proverbs 18:21---The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Everyone uses words
to communicate. Some of us love to use words, but what words are we going to
use? Every day we can use words to give others life. We can use words to give
others hope. We can use words to give others joy. We can use words to tell others
how much we love them. We can use words to tell others we accept them and we
forgive them. Our world is filled with words of death, hatred, ego, greed, and
lust. We must use Christ's words of light to counter the words of darkness
filling up our world. The words we send out come back to us. The words we send
out can store up treasures for us in heaven or dig our grave so deep down our
grave descends into the pits of Satan's hell. What we send out in words has
consequences for others and for ourselves…eternal consequences for others and
for ourselves. What kind of words will you send out today and in the days to
come?
Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Guardian Angels
Hebrews 1:14---Are they, not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
We must all take
comfort in these words from Hebrews. For all of us who have renounced our sin,
we who have thrown down the cunning wiles of temptation, we who have repented
of what Satan delights in seeing us do, we all live under the umbrella of
angel’s wings. In our humanity, we are often not able to see angels or their
protective cover. In our humanity, we cannot see into Heaven nor do we often
see our real place in the destiny of the world. Because of what we cannot see,
we too often miss out on the number of times an angel has been there to help
us, shield us, and keep us from harm. A cancer victim might tell you there are
no angels and there is no protection. However, when we have faith, we can see
Jesus just across the great divide separating us from Him. When a cancer victim
has faith, the victim is not concerned about getting earthly protection in the
here and now, for the cancer victim who keeps the faith clearly sees Christ’s
arms are open and waiting. Praise be to our Lord Jesus for sending us guardian
angels who help us keep our faith and protect us from the evil one who seeks to
destroy us.
Monday, September 27, 2021
Growing Daily
Psalm 126:6---He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.
Our life can get so
full of daily activities we forget we are supposed to grow, mature, and develop
each day. As we get older, we often look forward to “retirement”. For many
people, retirement from a career or a life pursuit means forgetting entirely about
growing and getting better each day. God’s will is for you to grow each day.
God will always smile upon those people who seek to grow in His wisdom, love,
and grace. Too often, we think just surviving on a daily basis counts as a
period of growth. However, if we do not intend to grow and get better we can
stagnate. If we do not take active steps to grow and get better each day, we
can remain in this stagnating state until we die. Every day you can grow in
God’s wisdom, love, and grace. Every day you can read, pursue, inquire, ask,
seek, knock, question, investigate, learn, add new skills, communicate more,
pray more, and meditate more. Age must never be an excuse for not growing. Age
must never be a barrier to growth. The mind is a terrible thing to waste at
any age. God is not glorified when we refuse to use our gift of thought to
grow. God is glorified when we choose to plan, reason, and think ahead in His
name and for His work each day.
Sunday, September 26, 2021
Grief, What Do I Do Now?
Grief rips away at the heart and can turn a life teeming with meaning into an empty wasteland. When tears well up in our eyes and grief fill our soul, what are we to do? In a time of grief, our first instinct should always be to run to God. It is in God's arms that we find the comfort and warmth of love. In God's arms, we can find new meaning and new purpose when the dark days of grief attack us. However, when we lead lives apart from God in the present or when we think we do not need God in the present, then when grief comes, God is hard to find. When we share all that we are and share all that we have with God when the times are good, He most surely guides and comforts us when times of grief overwhelm us. When you pour out your heart and love for God today, no matter what grief might fall into your life tomorrow, all the love you gave Him comes back one thousandfold when you need Him the most.
Saturday, September 25, 2021
Grief and Joy
Acts 9:39-41---Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
Life is a mixture of
grief and joy. There are years and seasons when joy abounds. There are also
times of grief when grief seems to never end. In our times of joy, we have a
wonderful Lord and Savior who brings us the twinkling stars and shining moon.
In our times of grief, we have a wonderful Lord and Savior who helps us
remember the twinkling stars and shining moon. During our times of grief, our
Lord reminds us how our future can be full of eternal days of peace and
happiness. As we draw close to God when we are hurting, He fills our hurting
hearts with peace, understanding, and love not found on earth. Even when we
are at the end of the road and we cannot move forward anymore, God is a
powerful God who makes new pathways and new roadways for us to travel. When we
think we will never laugh again, there is the trickle of His love helping us to
live, laugh, and absorb His infinite beauty.
Friday, September 24, 2021
Good Measure, Pressed Down, Shaken, and Running Over!
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to eke out a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life." "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of." And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill. Someone once said what goes around comes around. Jesus said it another way: Luke 6:38 --- "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Good For Evil
Matthew 5:44---But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Remember the last
time someone wronged you? Maybe a friend betrayed confidence. Or perhaps
someone attacked your character or lied to you or…well, any one of thousands of
scenarios. Whatever the offense, how did you respond? In matters of good and
evil, our responses can take one of four directions. First of all, some people
return evil for good. This is the devil’s way of doing things. We see this
attitude demonstrated by criminals and by cruel governments. You offer these
people your best, and they hurt you in return. Then some people return evil for
evil. These people aren’t devil-like; they’re beast-like. Animals, especially
wild animals, generally react this way. If you step on a snake’s tail, you can
soon expect to find its fangs in your ankle. Others return good for good. This
isn’t devilish or beastly; it is a natural human response, the response of an
unregenerate person. We don’t find this hard to accept. In fact, when we do
well to others, we expect good in return. But the fourth response, returning
good for evil, makes us halt in our tracks. Jesus says, “But I tell you not to
resist an evil person.” He then gives some illustrations of this: If someone
takes away your coat, let that person have your cloak also; if someone borrows
from you, do not turn away; and if anyone compels you to go a mile, go two. If
we were to put such response into practice, we’d see God do tremendous things
through us. Jesus, in His great love and compassion, has told us how to respond
to others, especially those who hurt us! But we can’t respond this way on our
own; it’s not part of our human nature. Instead, we must turn to Christ
Himself, who returned ultimate evil with ultimate good. Christ went into the
very depths of ruin and hell for our evilness, and in His goodness, He suffered
for us and conquered evil for all time. Only through Christ can we gain the
ability and the desire to go the second mile, to turn the other cheek. Has
someone done you wrong recently? How can you return good for evil today?
Wednesday, September 22, 2021
Going Back To The Way Things Were
You may want to go back. You may want to go back to an earlier time when things were better, or easier, or grander than the way things are now. However, you are changed every day. You get better or worse every day. You are not who you were before. You are different. If you could go back, if you could go back and stand where you stood before, things would not be like they were then because you have changed. Our walk through life is determined not by how much we look back, but how much we look forward. Indeed, we can learn from the past by looking back, but we can learn from looking back only if we look back to learn. Yearning to return to where we were can use up too much of our soul. Yearning to go back to another time takes too much of the time God gives us to glorify Him. We tend to forget the darkness of the past. We tend to remember only the best and forget the worst. You do not want to go back because if you went back, you would have to live through the dark times a second time which God does not want you to have to do.
Tuesday, September 21, 2021
God's Invisible Breath
The man whispered, "God, speak to me." And a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear. So the man yelled, "God, speak to me!" And the thunder rolled across the sky. But the man did not listen. The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you." And a star shone brightly. But the man did not notice. And the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle!" And a life was born. But the man did not know. So, the man cried out in despair. "Touch me God, and let me know that you are here!" Whereupon God reached down and touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on. MORAL: Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way you expect.
Monday, September 20, 2021
He Loves In Spite Us
1 John 4:9---In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
God sent
His son into the world and we crucified Him. We crucified God's only child. We
murdered Him. Before we murdered Him, we tortured Him to the point He almost
died from the torture. Can we accept what we did in the deepest part of our
hearts? Can we accept what we did to Christ and not fall upon the ground in
total and utter remorse? Can we accept we committed torture and murder against
the most beautiful, innocent, and divine person ever to live? Can we still
remain who we were before we accepted our guilt? We are not to remain the same
when we accept our guilt for crucifying Christ. We are to change. We are to
turn away from the person we are who crucified Christ. Instead, we are to turn
toward Him in sorrow over what we have done. Love walked among us, but what do
we do now when we realize what we did to Him? Most of all, we must accept our
individual guilt in Christ's torture and murder. We must accept our personal
responsibility in murdering God's only Son. Most of all, we must accept Him as
Savior and Lord. We must accept His forgiving love and grace. We must turn away
from our darkness and walk toward His light and love.
Sunday, September 19, 2021
God With a Man
A man suffered greatly. Every day and every hour, even on Christmas, this man had to battle against pain and suffering only he knew about. For this man, the idea of God being with us sometimes seemed to be a joke because of His suffering. The man seldom spoke about His plight. No one seemed to care about his suffering because everyone seemed to be too busy with their own lives and their problems. The man believed in God and struggled to make contact with Him, but the suffering always seemed to get in the way. The man prayed every day but he seldom prayed for himself. In his prayer life, the man always puts others first. The man died a quiet and even blissful death. He was carried to Heaven on the wings of angels and stood with Christ before His new heavenly home. The Lord was about to escort him to his new home when the Lord asked Him to look back at the earth. In an instant, the man saw how his life and suffering had touched the lives and hearts of others. Then he saw how those lives and hearts had touched still others. On and on the touching went. The man finally saw, even when his suffering seemed to beat down the presence of God, that God was not dead. For when God seemed to be dead within him, others were being touched by God because of his suffering. Standing in Heaven, the man saw God was never really dead but was really with the man, and through this man's suffering, God came to be with others.
Saturday, September 18, 2021
“I Will Answer You”
Jeremiah 33:3---Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
“Call to Me…” God says in Scripture, yet so many of us are
slow to respond to that invitation. Why do we pray so meagerly? I believe it’s
because unbelief whispers in our ears, “Your prayers won’t work. God won’t hear
them. Others may come and receive all sorts of bounty from God, but not the
likes of you, not the one who has so often broken His commandments. God doesn’t
even want to hear from your lips.” Do thoughts of unworthiness creep into your
mind, building a wall between you and God? Yet against these whispers of Satan,
God’s Word speaks to us, “Call to Me…” God reaches out to us, inviting us to
reach out to Him. Yet doubts still discourage us from praying. Inside our heads, we hear, “Prayer will do no good because God will not answer. I’ve tried before,
and I haven’t received answers.” Have you ever felt that way? Then read the
second part of Jeremiah 33:3, an assurance that stills such doubts: “I will
answer you.” God has promised to respond to our prayers. When we call on God,
we can feel confident that He has made us worthy of approaching Him and that He
has promised to answer us. We should also keep in mind all the other principles
that the Bible teaches concerning prayer. For example, to maintain an open
prayer line to God we must confess our sins and ask for forgiveness while
forgiving those who have sinned against us. Another principle is that we must
call upon God in faith, believing He will do that which we ask of Him. The
Scripture says that whatsoever you shall ask, believe that God will give it,
and you shall have it. We should also call upon God with great perseverance and
ask according to His will. Finally, we should pray with gratitude, thanking God
for all He has already done. How’s your prayer life these days? Are any of the
concerns I mentioned earlier stopping you from fully enjoying your connection
to God? I invite you to call to God and remember His promise to answer you. Do
these things, and wait for God to show you “great and mighty things”!
Friday, September 17, 2021
God Reveals His Understanding And Compassion
Psalm 145:9 -12---The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
God knows
you. He knows everything about you. At the times when you hurt and need someone
to understand, God has compassion and He understands. God's compassion and
understanding is not just an idea. God's compassion and understanding is not
just an abstract intellectual thought. God's understanding and compassion
become a reality if you will let His reality become your reality. God reveals
His understanding and compassion in your reality when you can admit you need
Him. God reveals His understanding and compassion when you admit you cannot
walk His path on earth alone. God reveals His understanding and compassion when
you lift up the burdens of your heart and ask Him to touch you. God reveals His
understanding and compassion when you see Him begin to walk beside you. God
reveals His understanding and compassion when you tell Him your life is
unbearable and you need Him now more than ever. God reveals His understanding
and compassion when you are honest and truthful.
Thursday, September 16, 2021
God Loves Us In spite Of Ourselves
John 13:35---By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
There are
so many hurting people in this world that have never known what it feels like
to be loved. They have only known hurt, neglect, and abuse so in turn that is
all they know how to give. I've heard people label them as trash, oxygen
wasters, and other words I dare not repeat and it's usually followed by
"God needs to send them straight to hell." But...before you give up
on someone like this, think about how many times you have hurt, neglected, and
abused God. Then consider how many times He has forgiven you without ever
loving you any less. Each of us has consequences we must face (and rightly so)
for our sins no matter how mild or severe the sin was but hell is not one of
them if you have accepted the free gift of salvation.
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
GOD IS
Genesis 1:1---In the beginning, God created heaven and the earth.
God Is! One of the first questions I ever asked my daddy was, “where did God come from?” I remember his answer, “Son God just is, and He had no beginning nor will He ever have an ending.” I was so young, and I could not comprehend the idea of someone having any beginning. After following Christ for over fifty years, I have come to a place where I realize God did not ever try to prove His existence to anyone; He wants us to accept Him by faith. In The Beginning, God and God has always been. John explained it in this way---In the beginning, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1)There are no other words to describe God, He has always been, and He will always be. God Is; ALMIGHTY, BRILLIANT, CONQUER, DIVINE---DIVINE LOVE, DIVINE MAGNIFICENCE, DIVINE SIGHT, DIVINE SOUL, DIVINE VOICE, DIVINE WILL, DIVINE WISDOM, EXCITING, FASCINATING, GOD, HELPER, I Am That I AM---I am the way ---I am the Truth---I am the Life, JUSTIFER, KNOWLEDGE, LOVE, MASTER, NOURISHMENT. There is no end to who God Is! God created the Heavens and The Earth. The Word Create comes from a Hebrew word that makes. Webster says, to create means the act of bringing the world into ordered existence. God brings order where there is no order! We would not be here today if God had not brought existence into order. God is the only one who can bring our country back into order. Man has a fix-it mentality but while we try to fix things, we continue to get more out of order. The time has come for us to trust God to bring things back into order. The first thing that needs to be brought into order is our lives. When we allow God to bring us into order, all things will be better. Notice Genesis 3 says, “And God saw it was GOOD.”
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
God is From A to Z
A--God is Awesome
B--God is Bigger than your problem
C--God is the one who cares about you
D--God is the one who Delivers you
E--God is the one who Excites you spiritually
F--God is the one who Frees you
G--God is the one who Gives to you peace
H--God is your Healer
I---God is In Love with you
J--God Is Joy unspeakable
K--God is your Keeper and King
L--God Is Lord of Lords
M--God is the Master of your life
N--God is the one who never leaves you
O--God is Open to your calling Him.
P--God is Always Present
Q--God Is Quick to listen to your prayer
R--God is Righteousness
S--God is Steadfast
T--God is Trustworthy
U--God is Ultimately Wonderful
V--God is the one who provides Victory over sin
W--God is Willing for all to come to repentance
X---God is the one who X’s out sin
Y---God is Yearning to hear from you
Z---God is Zealous for you
Monday, September 13, 2021
God Is Bigger Than Your Fear
Psalm 112:4-8---Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man showeth favor, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved forever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.
You sometimes
experience fear. Fear is both good and bad. Fear helps you survive what easily
threatens you. Yet fear can also make you run away from what you must defeat.
No matter what you fear, God is bigger. With God, you can take the courage to
face tomorrow. You need not fear death, because, with God, the sting of death
has been taken away from your future because of Christ's sacrifice for you. You
need not fear poverty because God has built for you a home of incredible wealth
where you will spend the rest of your days into eternity. You need not fear
being lost, for God is always with you and He will lead you in all His ways.
You need not fear being unloved, for God has already poured out His love over
you if you would only accept Him and open your heart to Him. You need not fear
the future, for God has built for you a glorious future. You need not fear
pain, for God has already made for you a way to His comfort. Friend, You Need
Not Fear.
Sunday, September 12, 2021
God Has Given You Direction
What talents and traits have God given you? Most people have some idea of their talents and traits. The talents and traits God has given you can be an indicator of His will for your life. Your talents and traits are pointers you can use to measure your hopes and dreams against God's will. If you are great in math and accounting, God may need you to use your math ability to fulfill His will for your life. If you are mechanically inclined then work or service in a mechanical field may be God's will for you. God's will is like the wind. You can either go with the wind or go against the wind. Walking is easier with the wind at your back. Likewise pursuing hopes and dreams using your native talents and traits is easier than pursuing hopes and dreams requiring you to use talents and traits you do not have.
Saturday, September 11, 2021
GOD Always HAS A PLAN
Jeremiah 29:11---For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
There was
only one person alive on the small island. He prayed every day asking God to send
someone to rescue him. Every day he looked around for God's help but he
couldn't find it. Tired of waiting, he made a shelter to protect himself and
protect his few possessions. But then one day, after looking for food, he came
back to find his little shelter on fire. The worse thing was that everything he
owned was burned. He was confused and mad at God. He asked God, "why did
you do this to me?" and he fell asleep over the sand. Early the next
morning, he heard the sound of a boat that came close to the island. They were
rescuers. He asked them how they knew he was there. The rescuers said to him
that they saw the smoke signals he made. It's easy to get mad at things when
they go wrong, but we shouldn't lose our hearts, because God is working in our lives.
Remember, the next time your small house is on fire, it might simply be a smoke
signal that comes from God. For every negative thing that happens to us, we
should tell ourselves, "God has a positive answer to this".
Friday, September 10, 2021
God As The Guiding Force
Psalms 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd
God wants
to be the guiding force of your life. Of course, you are not mandated to follow
His guidance. Your decision to let God be the Leader and Guide in your life is
purely voluntary on your part. Although He wants you to go His way, there are a
thousand voices calling you from the world trying to get you to go your way
rather than His way. Every day you are influenced by these pulls and tugs
trying to draw you away from God's guiding hand. When Christ is your Great
Shepherd, you must actively and intentionally follow Him. With God as your
shepherd, you may get lost but He will come looking for you. Matthew 18:12---
if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not
leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which
is gone astray? If you are willing, He will find you. Every minute of every day
He is always calling your name for He loves you so very, very much.
Thursday, September 9, 2021
God, Our Real Source of Power
John 7: 36-39---What manner of saying is this that he said, Ye shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, thither ye cannot come? In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
You have power. You have the power to heal or hurt. You have the power to forgive or seek revenge. You have the power to love or hate. If you accept you have power then be a true child of God by accepting the responsibility of using the power you have. Your power is a gift from God. Your power is from God. God gave you the force or energy we call life. When you are mature, you can direct the power of your life into doing God's will. Using your power according to God's will produces a blessing for God. When you are immature unfortunately you let the power of your life be corrupted by your sin. God gave you the power of life for a reason and a purpose. God gave you the power of life so you can shine His love out to a world steeped in darkness. The world is thirsting for Christ's Living Water. Your life is to be lived so you are a vessel pouring out His Living Water to others. In a world full of darkness, you can bring the hope and promise of life to millions. Perhaps you do not believe you reach millions, but the power of God within you is supernatural. Within the realms of the supernatural, you can do the impossible. Your heart, filled with the power of God's love, touching just one other heart, can bring the power of God down into the heart and life of many others. Using the power God gave you, you can, by the way, you live, reach generations of people you will never know. Your silent prayers, your spoken prayers, your godly thoughts, words, and actions, bring God into the world.
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
God's Partnership
2 Corinthians 2:12-13---Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.
No one is
helpless. No one is hopeless. However, there are times in our life when we may
feel helpless and hopeless. At the other extreme in our life, there are those
times when we are so full of power and enthusiasm we are able to run over any
obstacle with ease. In either case, at either extreme, we need to let God get a
grip on our life. We mistakenly try to live our life on our own. When we try to
live our life on our own we lose. In our complex world of dependency upon one
another, we do not have the capability or the wherewithal to manage every
situation on our own. When we are faced with what seems to be a situation of
total hopelessness, we need to let God grasp us. We need to let God grasp the
situation in which we are enmeshed. By letting God come into a circumstance, we
gain new power and new perspective. Letting God grasp a situation does not mean
we give up control. We are commissioned to do God's will, but we are not
commissioned to sit back as we try to convince God to do His will for us while
we do little or nothing.
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
God's Invisible Breath
The man whispered, "God, speak to me." And a meadowlark sang. But the man did not hear. So the man yelled, "God, speak to me!" And the thunder rolled across the sky. But the man did not listen. The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you." And a star shone brightly. But the man did not notice. And the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle!" And a life was born. But the man did not know. So, the man cried out in despair. "Touch me God, and let me know that you are here!" Whereupon God reached down and touched the man. But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on. MORAL: Don't miss out on a blessing because it isn't packaged the way you expect.
- Author
Unknown -
Monday, September 6, 2021
Giving Hope...As A Form Of Giving Love
Each of us is called to love others. One of the best ways of showing others we love them is to give them hope for the future. When you give hope as a form of love to others you help others prepare themselves for the future. When you give hope away you help others feel more confident and secure in a world where many people have little confidence and little security. When you give the gift of hope, others can begin to understand how much God loves them and how much He cares for them. It was noted elsewhere, "When you give hope, you give joy to the joyless. When you give hope, you give the laughter to destroy the grip of hopelessness. When you give hope, you show the beauty of giving without the "show" reflecting upon yourself. When you give hope, you show the godly inner glow of humility. When you give hope, you show others another person cares for them and cares about them. When you give hope, others see hope is not so distant a leap to see Christ also loves them and cares about them. When you give hope, you show others there is no end in sight within the heavenly realms of love."
Sunday, September 5, 2021
Giving And Sacrificing
In the First World War, there was a young French soldier who was seriously wounded. His arm was so badly smashed the arm had to be amputated. The soldier was a magnificent specimen of young manhood, and the surgeon was grieved the young man must go through life maimed. So the surgeon waited beside the young man's bedside after the surgery to tell the young man the terrible news about having to amputate the arm. When the young man awakened from the anesthetic and the young lad's eyes opened, the surgeon said to him: "I am sorry to tell you that you have lost your arm." "Sir," said the lad, "I did not lose it; I gave it for France." Jesus was not helplessly caught up in a mesh of circumstances from which He could not break free. Apart from any divine power He could have called upon, to the end of His earthly life Christ could have turned back and saved His life. However, Christ did not lose His life; He gave it. The cross was not thrust upon Him; He willingly accepted the cross for us.
Saturday, September 4, 2021
Give Us This Day...
Matthew 6:34---Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
“Do not
worry…” Jesus’ words are easier said than done, aren’t they? It’s hard to even
imagine a life completely free from all worry. Whether it’s big, life-altering
circumstances or the daily nuisances of life, we all struggle with worry. Maybe
that is why Christ, in the first sermon He ever delivered, spent a significant
portion of His time on this very subject. The word “worry” in this section of
The Sermon on the Mount is actually translated as “anxious.” It literally
means, “To divide the mind.” Isn’t that a great mental picture? Worry divides
the focus of our minds. It takes our attention from what is utmost, and
scatters it here and there, resulting in a complete lack of direction if we
aren’t careful. So how do we guard against a divided mind? Jesus’ answer was
clear: “Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33). So maybe
the question isn’t, “How do I keep from worrying?” Maybe a more fruitful
approach is, “What am I seeking?” Nothing focuses the mind like the Holy Spirit
of God. He puts our lives into perspective, pulling out the weeds of this world
that can choke out the fruit of the Spirit. As a child of God, we have the
incredible privilege of coming to Him in prayer. This sacred time with Him is
our opportunity to lay all of our burdens at His feet. The problem is, we tend
to lay them there, and then pick them back up. Are we more capable of solving
problems than He? Have we more resources? More knowledge? More wisdom? More
love? Of course not! So we must lay them down in sincere faith, and leave them
there in unwavering trust. Where are your burdens? Are they dividing your mind
- distracting you and robbing you of joyful living? Or, are they where they
belong – in the capable hands of your loving, sovereign Father?
Friday, September 3, 2021
Gave All He Had
I once heard the story of a rice farmer who saved an entire village from destruction. From his hilltop farm, he felt the quake and saw the distant ocean swiftly withdraw from the old shoreline, like some prodigious animal crouching back for a leap. He knew that the leap would be a tidal wave. In the valley below, he saw his neighbors working low fields that would soon be flooded. They must run quickly to his hilltop or they would all die. His rice barns were dry as tinder. So with a torch, he set fire to his barns, and soon the fire goon started ringing. His neighbors saw the smoke and rushed to help him. Then from their safe perch, they saw the tidal wave wash over the fields they had just left. In a flash, they knew not only who had saved them but what their salvation had cost their benefactor. They later erected a monument to his memory bearing the motto, "He gave us all he had, and gave gladly." I think the same words could be said of our heavenly Father and the gift of his only begotten Son!
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Gaining And Storing Spiritual Power
Eph. 6:10--- Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
The spirit is light and love. The spirit of light and love is like water. The spirit of God is referred to in the Bible as living water. We lose spiritual power by not storing up the spirit when the spirit or the power of the spirit is available. Spiritual power is like a stream of water flowing through our life. When we do not construct a damn to hold back or store up the water or spiritual power, we will not have a resource from which to draw when we need the power. Much of our spiritual power goes unused. Our spiritual power goes unused because of our faulty beliefs, our doubts, our ignorance about the spirit, and the attack of satanic evil against us. Spiritual power may not appear according to the way we want the power to appear. Spiritual power may not appear at the times and places we want the power to appear. Spiritual power is the province of God, not the province of human beings. The spiritual power of light and love comes from God and is not created, generated, manufactured, fashioned, molded, or shaped by any human. The stream of God's living water flows through our hearts. We can open our heart and let the living water flow in or we can close our heart and the living water will seem not to exist. We can open our hearts and the living water of God's healing love pours into us. We can open our hearts and we can store up the power of the living water by being humble, giving, compassionate, forgiving, and counting our blessings.
Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Being an Example
Proverbs 22:1--- A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold.
More than
anything else, the Presidency of the United States rests on the character of
the person who inhabits the office. This is how the founders of the U.S.
designed it. It was their idea to find a person in America with great character
who would shape the character of the nation. The first person they found was
George Washington, a man who did this job splendidly. When he took the oath of
office, he wrote, “I walk on untrodden ground. There is scarcely any part of my
conduct which may not hereafter be drawn into precedent. “The annals of history
are filled with men and women who’ve set examples of character that are worth
emulating. Yet unfortunately, just as many or more people have set examples of
character that teach us lessons on what not to do. Now the truth is that our
lives are going to be scrutinized according to the kind of character we’ve
shown. When others look at us, they will either see a person they want to be
like or a person they don’t. And as today’s passage clearly says, someone with
a good name (reputation) will be held in high esteem. Don’t simply aspire to be
mediocre in your character. Live a life of the character that will leave a lasting
example for generations to come!
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