If I would take to heart this verse and Matthew 7:2, “For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged…” you’d think I would stop judging others. It’s not that I voice my opinion loudly and rudely or treat others with contempt to their face…no, my condemnation is silent, covert, and secretive. But regardless, yes, I still judge, and judge harshly…quickly jumping to conclusions before actually hearing all the details. Other times, I form an opinion when I really have no right to…or I pass a verdict just for sport. Either way, it’s wrong and something I really need to work on…how about you?
Tag: daily devotion
Isaiah 42:18 ” Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! “
We all spend our lives searching for it. But when we’re confounded with it, we usually don’t like what we hear or see. What is it you ask? It’s the Truth. The truth is sobering, straightforward, and serious. It’s what we don’t want to hear or see, so instead, we play mind games with ourselves, pretending it doesn’t exist. But the truth will remain the truth, regardless of what we want to think…and God is really good at revealing it to us. What we have to do then… is accept it.
Isaiah 64:4 ” No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
God has promised a crown of life to those who endure trials. But when we find ourselves in the middle of a life altering trial, it’s too easy to walk in unbelief. But unfortunately, the maturing of our faith comes most times in the valleys not the mountain-tops. For it’s in the dark, scary valleys that we come to the end of ourselves and finally look to God.
James 3:2 ” We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”
As the verse says, we all stumble. And it’s absurd to say anything else. For we all have deficiencies and shortcomings. And as Romans 3:9-20 echoes Psalm 14:1-3…there is no one that is righteous. For if we are unable to keep a tight rein on our tongue, how do we think we could keep our whole body in check?
Romans 12:18 ” If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
This verse is very specific in two points. The first relates to our responsibility in potentially volatile interactions. We are the only person that can control our own emotions, and what rests on us here in this verse is the obligation and charge to live at peace with others. The other point is that we can’t pick and chose who we live at peace with, for it states here we are to live peaceable with all human beings to the very best of our ability.
I Chronicles 29:11 ” Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the Kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.”
Great and mighty is Your name, O Lord, for Your magnificent glory is on display for all to see. We thank you today for Your love and mercy…and praise You for all You’ve done for us. We lift Your name on high, for only You rule and reign over heaven and earth. Amen.
Mark 8:34 ” Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.’ “
Christianity isn’t a one and done experience. For in this verse we see Jesus didn’t address just the crowd but His disciples also…men that had been following Him for years…men that had witnessed first hand miracles, teaching, and preaching on a daily basis. Men that should have had this concept down pat…but obviously didn’t. Our journey as a Believer is ongoing and lifelong. It’s a daily conscious decision of our Will to give up our self and in obedience conform to the example we have before us…Jesus Christ. It’s a long and winding road of faith and life we need to daily direct our feet to follow.
Psalm 141:8 ” But my eyes are fixed on You, O Sovereign Lord; in You I take refuge…”
As a good defense maneuver, being positioned high up in the rocks afforded soldiers surveillance and security. During troubled times, we too need to seek the protection and refuge of the only reliable stronghold we have…God. For when we seek Him for solace…He’s always there.
I Peter 5:10 ” And the God of all grace, Who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
“It is God Who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” (Psalm 18:32) Yes, it’s only by God’s grace, His unearned and unmerited favor, that we are able to make it through trials and suffering. For this verse shows that it is God, not us, that accomplishes this for Believers…to prepare, repair, and perfect us during and after troubling times for His glory.
Psalm 112:7-8 ” He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”
As the song title goes, “Whose Report will you Believe Today?” The bad one the Doctor has just delivered to you…leaving you sad and filled with pain and calamity. Or the report of the Lord’s which is filled with certainty and promise? For when our strength comes from Him and not ourselves, we can rest securely, without fear…leaning heavily upon God’s grace and mercy.
Safetypinlove 