Something bad happens to us… what’s the first thing we usually do? We blame someone or thing for it. Blaming others rather than taking responsibility for the circumstances we find ourselves in is something we do rather well. I remember a saying that was popular years ago…”The devil made me do it!” No, the devil didn’t make you do anything…it’s all on you.
Tag: inspirational
Matthew 2:11 ” On coming to the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”
The Magi came seeking the Messiah, and bringing with them, gifts…but very special gifts. These gifts were expensive luxuries of the day…fit for royal presents. But beyond that, they were also very symbolic in their meanings. The burning of frankincense symbolized prayers rising to heaven like the fragrant smoke it gave off… the prayers of Jesus interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. The myrrh was used for burials and symbolized death…Jesus’s death on the Cross for us. Finally, the gold was given to symbolize His royal status…and also for the very practical reason – His parents would soon need finances as they escaped to Egypt to flee from King Herod.
Isaiah 44:20 ” He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, ‘Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?’ “
Earlier in this chapter, Isaiah has been talking about a man cutting down a tree, and using half to build a fire to cook and warm himself…the other portion, carving it into an idol and bowing down to worship. The heart can be deceived, and it can lead us far from, and contrary to God’s Laws. This Spirit of delusion will blind us from the truth, and cause confusion and false belief in our minds. There comes a time, when we can hear and see the truth, but fail to even recognize it. So deluded from what is right and good and Godly, we flounder in lies and deception, unable to even save ourselves. But there is someone much greater, who can open our eyes and ears to the truth, and dispel the deception …”Return to Me,” says the Lord, “for I have redeemed you.”
Proverbs 16:28 ” A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.”
How many friendships have been blown apart by groundless rumor and hearsay? When whispering behind one’s back suddenly takes an ugly turn, gossip usually is to blame. Gossiping…quite a pastime for many, elevated to an art form for some. But where does all this backbiting get us? Elsewhere in Proverbs it says, “He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” In other words…If you forgive an insult rather than keep dredging it up to everyone who will listen, it will not cause friends to quarrel, take offense, and lose that close relationship they once had. Gossip…just say NO.
Isaiah 25:4 ” You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”
Today we have winds howling outside at 60 miles per hour, but what really makes a difference out here in the wide-open country is the L-shaped wind break of 18 huge pine trees we have around our property. These huge trees shelter the house from the brunt of the storms, and hold back a massive amount of snow in the Winter. Without their protection, our house would be barraged by all the elements. The Lord wants us to take shelter in Him when the storms of life hit…He wants to be our hiding place and refuge from the tempest. As Psalm 118:8 says, ” It is better to take refuge in the Lord than trust in men.” If the winds of the world are howling around you today, find your place of protection in the Lord.
Genesis 9:13 ” I have set My rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the Covenant between Me and the earth.”
After the Great Flood, God spoke to Noah, telling him that never again would a flood destroy the earth…and the sign of this Covenant would be a rainbow in the sky. But this Covenant wasn’t just between Noah and the Lord, this Covenant agreement is between God and all Mankind. Every time you see the wonderful glowing colors of a magnificent rainbow as it arches across the sky, know that God is saying to you…”My Covenant is with you My child, never again will the earth be ravaged by a deluge, never again will I devastate it with a great overflowing of water.”
II Timothy 1:7 ” For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.”
Fear need not motivate our thoughts and actions…it need not grip us in paralyzing terror. Fear is not of the Lord…quite the opposite, Satan uses fear very effectively to stop us from moving forward with what the Lord would want us to be doing. Instead, the verse says that God has given us the ability to discern with a logical, sound mind what is true. As Romans 8:15 says, ” For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave to fear, but you received the Spirit of Son-ship.” You have been adopted into the family of God, and are joint-heirs with Jesus…and this family of yours doesn’t know the meaning of fear!
Proverbs 10:32 ” The lips of the righteous know what is fitting.”
Think back on all the conversations you’ve had with others today…if Jesus had walked in, would you just smile at Him and continue, or would His Presence stop you cold…mid-sentence? This Proverb talks about being able to discern and understand what comes from our mouth should be pleasing, acceptable and said with kindness. In Psalms 59:7 it says that, “They spew out swords from their lips.”…comparing harsh words and sharp tongues to a saber. Cruel, heartless words can sometimes cut deeper than any steel sword… leaving a gaping wound that will never heal. A wise man’s words are gracious…showing mercy and kindness…and always fitting.
Numbers 23: 19 ” God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should change His mind.”
Two things that the Lord cannot do…He can’t lie, in Hebrews it states, “it’s impossible for God to lie.”…secondly, He can’t change His mind, in Malachi it states, ” I the Lord do not change.” Our ways are not God’s ways, but we’re always trying to slap our human emotions onto Him…trying to make Him a little more like us…riddled with the flaws we have. But God is so much bigger than we can ever imagine…His plans will stand forever, He will fulfill and keep every promise, You will never hear a falsehood from His mouth, you will never see Him change. Our ways are not His ways…His ways are perfect.
Proverbs 30: 7-9 ” Two things I ask of You, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown You and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God.”
Two simple, but quite profound things the sage writer of this Proverb is asking of the Lord…First, place a hedge of protection up between deception, wickedness, and me, and secondly, provide me with just a common, usual, and customary lifestyle. The writer is asking God to not only keep Satan far from him, but to also guard his heart, mind and soul from demonic attack. The other request plays on Man’s propensity to become proud when he thinks that it’s because of his own power and strength that he’s wealthy. As it says in Hosea 13:6 “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot Me.” That “self-made man” ideology has been the downfall of many a person who mistakenly thought it was them and not the Lord who supplied all their needs. The writer of this Proverb did not want to turn his back on God through arrogance and pride, or disgrace the name of the Lord, by stealing.
Safetypinlove 