What would this world be like if everyone honored and sought the good of others before themselves? If there was only humility and kindness rather than conceit and selfishness in all our interactions? What would the world be like if our focus was on becoming more like Jesus and less like the world?
Tag: promises of god
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.”
The corrupt nature of man hasn’t change one bit from when this scripture was written to today…or for that matter…from when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. Man’s means and manners on the most part involve fulfilling and satisfying those sinful needs and pleasures that can never be fully appeased. Proverbs 27:20 tells us that our eyes are never satisfied. The world is always searching for the next new thing…the next new entertainment …the next new indulgence…never to be satisfied by the status quo. There is only one thing that can fully satisfy that longing and that is a relationship with the living Jesus.
Psalm 111:2 ” Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”
I just came in from spending about 2 hours cleaning out the perennial flower bed that stretches across the front of the house. To me, Spring is hope and new life…and every time I pulled away dead leaves, my happiness grew. For underneath, peeking out, was fresh green life and the hope of beautiful flowers. The Lord’s miraculous works were on display for me to marvel in as I toiled in that flower bed…filling my heart to overflowing with joy and thankfulness.
Galatians 1:10 ” Am I now trying to win approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
We can only serve one Master. We can have only one allegiance. We either serve man or God. For all our time will be either spent soliciting man’s approval…or solely looking to the Lord for His blessings.
Hebrews 2:1 ” We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
Slipping off the right path can happen so slowly and insidiously that we aren’t really aware of it until something drastic happens. We compromise a little here…we give in a little there…and before we know it – we’ve wandered far from where the Lord wants us. That’s why it’s so important to be ever vigilant…ever on guard for things that will cause us to jeopardize our faith.
Psalm 95: 6-7 ” Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care.”
We are the sheep under the watchful eye of the Good Shepherd. Ever protected and cared for, we need not wander away from His ever present safety and security. Thank you Lord for being such a good Father.
Daniel 9:18 ” We do not make requests of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy.”
We are unfaithful…but He is ever faithful to us. We are mean-spirited and unfair to others…but He is always compassionate and gracious towards us. We are judgmental and unmerciful…but He is ever full of grace and loving kindness.
I Timothy 4:7-8 “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
Paul was spurring Timothy on to develop exemplary habits, thoughts, and behaviors… And this would also hold true for us today. For it’s by discipline and instruction that we become the person God wants us to become. And in the end, we will reap the benefit of blessings in this present life and eternal life to come.
I Corinthians 13:12 ” Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”
Who can understand God? Who can comprehend His ways or grasp His greatness? What we perceive now falls so pathetically far from what we’ll then realize…when we’re face to face.
Isaiah 61:11 ” For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden cause seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.”
Just as the warming soil causes things to germinate and bud, so the Lord causes His power to be shown before all the earth…His honor and glory on grand display for all to see. For as the mystery of life is unveiled each Spring…God’s goodness and majesty is made evident the world over.
Safetypinlove 