Keeping your nose to the grindstone is an old saying with a lot of truth to it. By keeping focused on the job at hand, and not allowing your eyes to be taken off course, you will succeed. It’s when our eyes wander, that we get into trouble…for it’s then that we tend to chase after unattainable fantasies.
Psalm 52 :3 “…falsehood rather than speaking the truth.”
Masks…we wear them all the time. They hide the pain, fear, and anxiety in all our lives. By putting up this façade of “everything’s just great in my life”, we can cope around friends, family, and the Church. When we put up a good front for others, we hope we won’t be judged as weak, or unspiritual. But this mask of falsehood is not only us lying to others…but us lying to ourselves also. No one is perfect…no one can live a perfect life…no one that is but Jesus. And Jesus Christ came to get rid of the old Covenant of Laws and unattainable regulations…that we might be free. Free to take off those masks.
Revelation 19: 1-2 ” Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are His judgments.”
Praise be to God, who could sentence us to what we truly deserve
Job 37:23 ” The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in His justice and great righteousness, He does not oppress.”
The Lord is so far above what we can even fathom. Neither can we imagine the depth and width of His wondrous knowledge and wisdom. But despite this all, He does not treat us with tyrannical cruelty and mistreatment…No, quite the opposite.
II Samuel 23:2 ” The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; His word was on my tongue.”
The Holy Spirit enables us to not only hear from God, but proclaim His Word to others. That Word may be encouraging, it may be very telling…it may be the very Word a person needs to hear today. I pray you will be that open vessel in which God can speak through
Acts 11:25 “…The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”
When the followers of Jesus Christ were first called Christians, it was not a compliment…Rather, it was a term of ridicule and mocking. The people of Antioch were in fact, making fun of the disciples by calling them Christians. Little did they know how the term Christian would be later transformed from something sneered at, to a term synonymous with our Lord.
Deuteronomy 32:2 ” Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.”
When the wise speak…we should listen. Nothing is so precious as talking to someone who has gone down the road before us. Their council is enlightening, encouraging, and refreshing…especially when we feel we can’t trudge another step down the path. The wisdom they give is invaluable… showing us balance and direction in our life.
I Peter 1:3 “…In His great mercy He has given us new birth…”
In early Spring, I love to go around poking under the dead leaves of my flower and herb beds …looking for new life. There hiding under the old vegetation are shoots of green chives and pink rhubarb, and lacy bleeding heart. It never fails to amaze and lift my spirits after a cold, hard Winter than to see life rising out of the ground. It’s as if the Lord is saying to me, “See, I’m doing a new thing… the old is gone…new life is springing up!”
Ephesians 4:32 “…forgiving each other…”
Someone has hurt you very badly…the question is not whether you should forgive them, but rather when. The funny thing about forgiveness is, the act is essentially for our well-being, not the perpetrator’s. In fact, sometimes the offender doesn’t even know that they’ve been forgiven…or care. Forgiveness is something kind and healing we do for ourselves. The sad alternative is carrying around pent-up bitterness and anger that will only poison mind, body, and spirit. The quicker you can say the words, “I forgive”…even if it’s between clenched teeth…the sooner you can start healing.
Mark 8:29 ” But what about you? He asked, Who do you say I am?”
If Jesus had asked you this question, how would you reply? Would you speak of your relationship with Him, or tell of how He impacted your life for the good? Or would you simply just say…You are my Lord and Savior, and by Your shed blood I have been saved.
Safetypinlove 