Who is my neighbor? Is it the family living next to us…or the couple down the street…or the lady working with me everyday? It really doesn’t matter to the Lord who exactly I think my neighbor is…what matters to Him is how I treat them. God wants me to be kind to those I have contact with daily – not ridiculing and mocking – but displaying wisdom and discretion.
Tag: power of god
II Corinthians 1:9 ” Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”
Our confidence can’t be in ourselves. For to paraphrase Jeremiah 17:5-7, ” Cursed is the one who trusts in man and his own strength.” Our reliance and trust can only be in the Lord… who can overcome what we are unable to.
Jonah 4:4 ” But the Lord replied, ‘ Have you any right to be angry?’ “
My indignation towards God is never justified. My view on the situation is never complete…my opinion, never unbiased. Only God can see from beginning to end, and every detail in between. Only He can “see around the corner”. I am so very limited in my scope of reality, that I really have no right to be angry at God.
II Samuel 22:2-3 ” The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior – from violent men you save me.”
What do you put your trust in? If it’s your nation’s economy…it may fall tomorrow. If it’s in other men…you’ll be sadly disappointed when they become untrustworthy and turn on you. No, there’s only one that you can put your wholehearted trust and confidence in…for God will never betray that trust – He will never fail you.
I John 2:17 ” The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the Will of God lives forever.”
Besides the eternal benefit of living a Godly life, we tend to forget all the advantages we gain mentally, physically, and emotionally. If our body isn’t bombarded with drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, we’ll live a much longer, healthier life. If we don’t become involved in risky choices and life styles, we won’t have to suffer the consequences that come along with them, and thus our emotional and mental well-being will be left intact. Living a righteous life certainly has its perks.
I John 2:16 ” For everything in the world – the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but from the world.”
To paraphrase Proverbs 27:20, “The eyes of man are never satisfied.” From the moment in the Garden of Eden when Eve’s selfish desire outweighed her rational thinking, we’ve been battling our own corrupt habits and appetites. We are never content with what we have…never happy until we have more. And sadly, this cycle just repeats itself over and over again.
I John 2:15 ” Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
If our mind and will are rooted in the world’s way of thinking, we will be selfish, greedy, and full of violence. The self-centered, narcissistic spirit of the world refuses to love in the selfless, generous way Jesus taught. As it says in the book of James 4:4, ” Friendship with the world is hatred towards God.”
Hebrews 13:5 ” Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have.”
Why can’t we just be happy and more importantly – thankful for what we have? We are ever looking for the next best thing…the new and improved model…always wanting to add to our collection of whatever…but never content with what we have. Paul summed it up best when he wrote to the Philippians in Chapter 4, verse 11 – “For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Paul understood that contentment started from within, and no amount of money or stuff could ever give him that kind of peace or happiness.
James 1: 2-4 ” Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
What exactly is perseverance, and how do we develop it through exercising our faith? Perseverance is hope under pressure…its not allowing surrender or giving in to trials. Perseverance is the purpose in which we reach the goal of spiritual maturity.
Joshua 6:16 ” Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!”
Jericho was a formidable Canaanite city, filled with smug, godless people who weren’t afraid of this Israelite army or their God. And then we have Joshua and his troops, who were simply obeying the Lord by dutifully marching around Jericho for six days. But on that seventh day, God’s display of miraculous power had a two-fold purpose. First to the idol worshiping people of Jericho, the Lord’s judgment was pronounced in one explosive moment as the walls fell. Secondly, as the Jewish people shouted, they watched in awe as Jericho became a heap of rubble before them…demonstrating that God was in control, He was abiding by His covenant with them, and that nothing was impossible when they trusted in Him .
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