I just came in from spending about 2 hours cleaning out the perennial flower bed that stretches across the front of the house. To me, Spring is hope and new life…and every time I pulled away dead leaves, my happiness grew. For underneath, peeking out, was fresh green life and the hope of beautiful flowers. The Lord’s miraculous works were on display for me to marvel in as I toiled in that flower bed…filling my heart to overflowing with joy and thankfulness.
Month: March 2016
Galatians 1:10 ” Am I now trying to win approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
We can only serve one Master. We can have only one allegiance. We either serve man or God. For all our time will be either spent soliciting man’s approval…or solely looking to the Lord for His blessings.
Hosea 14:1 ” Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall.”
When we physically stumble and fall…we learn from it. Walk slower, watch what we’re doing, look out for hazards. But when we stumble and fall spiritually…do we grasp as readily the true consequences of our transgressions…or do we just continue with that downward spiral?
Mark 10:48 ” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘ Son of David, have mercy on me!’ “
Blind Bartimaeus was begging by the roadside near Jericho, when from all the commotion, he realized Jesus was walking his way. He started shouting at the top of his lungs trying get the attention of Jesus who he heard healed people. And he continued to yell…and yell – to the point the gathering crowd reprimanded him sharply. But Bartimaeus was undeterred…for he just knew that Jesus could heal him…so he kept calling out, ” Jesus, heal me!” Don’t ever allow other people’s disapproval or doubt stop you from reaching out to Jesus and receiving your healing…just keep on yelling!
Hebrews 2:1 ” We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
Slipping off the right path can happen so slowly and insidiously that we aren’t really aware of it until something drastic happens. We compromise a little here…we give in a little there…and before we know it – we’ve wandered far from where the Lord wants us. That’s why it’s so important to be ever vigilant…ever on guard for things that will cause us to jeopardize our faith.
Psalm 95: 6-7 ” Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.”
We are the sheep under the watchful eye of the Good Shepherd. Ever protected and cared for, we need not wander away from His ever present safety and security. Thank you Lord for being such a good Father.
Mark 10: 24-25 ” But Jesus said again, ‘Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.’ “
Jesus gave an exaggerated comparison of attempting to squeeze a huge camel through the tiny eye of a needle…it’s almost impossible to do. But then He took it one step farther, comparing it to those who put their trust in riches rather than the living God…their chances of making it to heaven were just about as slim. So I ask you today – where do you base your trust?
Daniel 9:18 ” We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy.”
We are unfaithful…but He is ever faithful to us. We are mean-spirited and unfair to others…but He is always compassionate and gracious towards us. We are judgmental and unmerciful…but He is ever full of grace and loving kindness.
I Timothy 4:7-8 “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
Paul was spurring Timothy on to develop exemplary habits, thoughts, and behaviors… And this would also hold true for us today. For it’s by discipline and instruction that we become the person God wants us to become. And in the end, we will reap the benefit of blessings in this present life and eternal life to come.
Proverbs 22:6 ” Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
As Job mused in Chapter 12:12, “Is not wisdom found among the aged?” Sometimes it will take until a child has matured to adulthood that they finally grasp all the Godly instruction they’ve received at home. From early on, we try to impress on our children the importance of living a life for Jesus…but many times it seems like it falls on deaf ears. But don’t give up, for this is a scripture with a promise for all parents. Keep pouring good into your children…and good will come out.
Safetypinlove 