As my Grandmother use to say…”You hang around the pig pen long enough and you’ll come out smelling like one!” You keep company with questionable people, and even if you don’t partake in ________ (you fill in the blank), others will find you guilty by association. Don’t be deceived and lead astray by the arrogant notion that you are too discerning, or too intelligent, or too spiritual to not be ensnared and lured in by sin. Sadly, your good character can be tarnished by the company you keep.
Category: Daily Inspirational Devotional
I Corinthians 3:11 ” For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid which is Jesus Christ.”
What is your life built on? Maybe its education and career, or your family name, or self-made success. Conversely, it may be built on a shaky base, like a house of cards ready to fall at anytime. For our lives to be firmly established we need a “Jesus” shaped foundation. We are all part of God’s family, built on the precious saints that have gone before us, with Jesus as the solid foundation.
I Peter 3:9 ” Do not repay evil with evil or insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”
Most of the time when someone gives us a snide remark or an unkind,hurtful comment, we become offended. Anger rises up, and we feel slighted, disrespected and belittled. At that very moment, the Lord is asking us to stop our inclination to confront and trade insults with the person…and instead, to be kind. We are called of God to bless rather than curse, to show integrity in the face of intentional wrongs, and to rise above petty annoyances…that we might acquire favor.
Matthew 22:37 ” Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ “
Jesus called this the First and Greatest Commandment- to love the Lord with all our mind, body, and emotions. He wants us to surrender it all to Him…every corner, every part, every area of our lives. Many of us though, put stipulations on giving everything to Him…”You can have all of me ,except for this area of my life that I want to still control.” To be wholly surrendered to God is to heed, listen and obey what He’s asking you to do.
I Samuel 16:7 “…the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Everyday we see people and make snap judgements about them, whether it’s correct or not, simply by how they look. Our first impression holds much weight in how we perceive others. It’s so wonderful then, that God doesn’t look at our crusty exteriors, but at our hearts. He searches and knows the secrets of our hearts and who we really are deep down inside. The God of all knowledge understands and knows us intimately…and yet loves us still.
Proverbs 11:2 ” When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”
We were right in the middle of a huge remodeling project that Landy and I were doing in our house, when I fell and fractured my right wrist. I was casted from the tips of my fingers, to above my elbow with strict orders from the Orthopedic Specialist not to use the arm at all. For the next 8 weeks the Lord had me learn the true meaning of pride and humility. When you are forced to ask for help for the simplest of tasks, you learn humility. I was in alien territory…after all I was the person who took care of sick people…but now it was me who needed help. I learned that pride can rear its ugly head in all different forms… that not accepting help from someone is prideful, in that you are robbing them of a Blessing. I learned that accepting help from others will not somehow diminish your worth in their eyes. Finally, I learned that Landy can cook much better than I ever thought!
James 3:17 ” But the Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.”
God brings people into our lives that are just plain ornery and cantankerous.
We may not be the reason at all for these emotional outbursts, but yet we are the target at that moment. The skill is to defuse the situation, not become effected by the emotions swirling around at us, and accomplish the task at hand…sometimes easier said than done. But with wisdom from above, we can. The Lord can give you compassion to look beyond the person to the misery within and genuinely be that Peacemaker in their lives.
I John 3:18 ” Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”
Some of the most endearing memories I have related to this scripture were during the many years I managed Alzheimer Units. Everyday I would see frail, elderly spouses come in to visit their loved ones…even if that person no longer recognized them. You could see by their sincere actions and unconditional love that they were putting God’s Word into practice in simple, heartfelt ways. Faithfully, day after day, they would be there showing their love in small ways, even if it wasn’t reciprocated. Truly, this was God’s love in action.
Genesis 26:18 ” Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham.”
The enemy had stopped up the wells and rendered them useless, so Isaac had re-dug them, that the wells might provide water for their animals and people. The enemy can also stop up our well of salvation…taking away our joy, and drying us up Spiritually. Is it time to re-dig the wells in your life so that the Living water can once more flow?
II Chronicles 20:22 ” As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”
The Lord inhabits the praises of His people… praise takes our eyes off the circumstances and allows God to work. Jehoshaphat could have allowed fear and doubt to come in and place soldiers up front rather than the singers. But as the singers went ahead of the army saying – “Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever.” The Lord began to move…He caused the enemy armies to turn on themselves and destroy each other. The most effective tool the Lord uses to break down such Strongholds is from the inside out. As the song by Ramey Whalen says…Our praises rise like a weapon in His hand.
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