Just praising the Lord is a very effective way of taking our eyes off our own problems and focusing on Him. Our pity party will end when we start thanking Him for His many blessings, known and unknown. Elsewhere in Psalms it says, ” I will sing of Your strength, in the morning I will sing of Your love, for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”
Author: kezha1
A Christian mother, grandmother, and retired nurse living in Illinois. Called into a ministry of encouraging others to find their ultimate plan and purpose in life through Christ.
Romans 16:17 ” I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.”
You will hear something, and it won’t sit well with your Spirit. It may not be blatantly against what the Bible teaches…but it still gives an uneasy feeling when you hear it. Satan will corrupt and twist a Biblical principle just enough in order to make it “more politically correct and acceptable to all”…because you know, we don’t want to offend anyone. But unfortunately, bending over backwards as to not offend anyone, has gone to a whole new low in Christian circles.
Psalm 133: 1 ” How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”
If Christians can’t find co-operation and devotion to one another in brotherly love…who can? Understanding, peace, and harmony must start within the Christian body and move out beyond the Church walls…for as Jesus said, “So that they may be one as we are one.”
Galations 2:21 ” I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the Law, Christ died for nothing!”
To paraphrase in another area of Galations…Is the Law opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! The Law can’t impart life…only Jesus can give us the gift of eternal life. The Law is just that…laws to live by, but only Jesus can save us from our sins.
Proverbs 15:1 ” A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Elsewhere in Proverbs it says, “…Patience can persuade with a gentle tongue.” Many times, it’s just the tone of our voice that makes all the difference on how our message is received.
Jeremiah 2:5 ” This is what the Lord says: ‘ What fault did your fathers find in Me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.’ “
We become what’s important to us, ever influenced by what we devote our time and money to. If it’s empty, futile, and meaningless things of the world…we’ll be left wanting and ever searching for more. But if it’s God…our search is over.
John 15: 1-2 ” I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will bear even more fruit.”
The Lord cuts off all the barren branches. But He also prunes the fruit-bearing branches as to insure greater productivity in the future. Being cut back and shaped may be uncomfortable at the time…but totally beneficial for what the Lord has in mind for you in the future.
Ezekiel 24: 15-16 ” The Word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, with one blow I am about to take away from you the delight of your eyes. Yet do not lament or weep or shed any tears.”
God’s commandments are sometimes very unique…requiring great inner commitment, not merely external or superficial obedience. Many times, there was tremendous cost to serving the Lord. In this verse, God is telling him that He is taking Ezekiel’s dear wife home to heaven, but that he may not mourn her in public. God instructed Jeremiah never to marry…and the Lord told Hosea to take an unfaithful, adulterous woman as his wife. In all cases with these men, God symbolically used their situations to demonstrate His relationship with His people and the changes that needed to be made.
Colossians 1:21 ” Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.”
The sinful nature, with all its evil desires and thoughts can not coincide with God…for sin keeps us separated from Him. The world views God with indifference…but He views it as an enemy.
Psalm 24: 7-10 ” Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in. Who is He, this King of Glory? The Lord Almighty – He is the King of Glory.”
He is the mightiest of all Warriors…the all-powerful King…the Ruler over the entire universe, Who stands at the ready to intervene for His people at a moments notice. He is the King of Glory.
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