Pride and arrogance rears its ugly head in the oddest of places, with the least likely of people. Here were the Lord’s Disciples, who had lived and been mentored by Jesus for almost three years, disputing amongst themselves who was the greatest. I can only imagine Jesus just shaking His head in disbelief…wondering if they had retained anything He had been teaching… about servanthood and self-sacrifice…about putting others first before themselves…about being humble.
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.
Psalm 55:22 ” Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.”
The other verse similar to this one is found in I Peter 5:7, ” Cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you.” The Greek meaning for cast in both these verses shows movement and force…in other words, the Lord wants us to not just drop our troubles at His feet, but rather hurl or fling them at Him. So the next time problems and fears are welling up inside you, get rid of them – throw them at the Lord…He’ll catch them!
Ephesians 1:17 ” I keep asking God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better.”
That I may know Him better…this is probably the heart cry of most Believers. We long for a depth of insight to discern readily what is the very best He wants for our lives. We desire to be filled with spiritual wisdom to know God’s Will for us, not only in the important life-changing decisions, but in the everyday mundane happenings. I pray that you too will be filled with a spirit of divine knowledge and understanding….that you may know Him better.
Genesis 32:28 ” Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.’ “
There comes a time in every Believer’s life when we grapple with the Lord…it may be struggling with something He wants us to do…it may be out right arguing with Him about a matter we feel is unfair. Contending with the Lord is a way to move through the thought process, step by step, until the final conclusion is reached. This wrestling with God, in the end, will enable us to be victorious over our flesh.
I Thessalonians 5:16 ” Be joyful always.”
When people are negative and critical…be cheerful always.
When circumstances are difficult and depressing…rejoice always.
When life is hard and cruel…be blessed always.
The world’s problems and difficulties will always be with us…but it’s how we react to them that not only make a difference in our lives, but also impacts those around us.
John 3:8 ” The wind blows wherever it pleases.”
Wherever you live on this planet, you can feel the wind…you can’t see it, or hold on to it…but it’s there. The wind comes and goes at will…it can be a gentle breeze that cools us on a hot day, or a driving force that heralds the coming rain. The word wind comes from the Greek – pneuma – which means spirit, wind, and breath…and in this verse Jesus is comparing the wind to the Holy Spirit. But if you think about it, the Holy Spirit is just like the wind…even though we can’t see Him, we know He’s there.
The Past
For many of us, the past is filled with events we’re not too proud of. Our Past was filled with – Poor Actions & Sinful Thinking. And even though we’ve received forgiveness from the Lord for these past sins, the devil loves to remind us of them, or – Painfully Anguished Sad Thoughts. But the Lord also reminds us that the Past has been forgotten and hidden from His sight, and He wants us to do the same. For Him the Past is – Permanently Absent & Shrouded Times.
Acts 9:17 ” …Saul, the Lord Jesus has sent me so that you may see again…”
When Saul got up off the ground on the road to Damascus he was blind, and he remained that way for three days – but on the third day…(remind you of something else?)… he received his sight. It says that flakes of opaque skin fell from his eyes after Ananias prayed for him… And when Saul opened his eyes – he saw, both physically and spiritually, Jesus for the first time.
Hebrews 13:15 ” Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name.”
When was the last time you confessed Jesus as Lord? When was the last time you celebrated with public praise -(which is what confess means)- for what He’s done in your life? Not only does it build up your faith, but it builds up the faith of those around you.
Today, practice public praise!
Isaiah 29:13 ” The Lord says, ‘ These people come near to Me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is made up only of rules taught by men.’ “
Our lips are the gate to honesty or deception…and giving lip service or insincere devotion to our Lord is the height of falsehood. And when we worship the rules more than worshiping God, it takes it to a realm of legalism that He never intended. Mankind has a bad habit of focusing on Rules… while God wants the focus to be on the Relationship.
Safetypinlove 