Taking offense against another person only fosters conflict and produces anger. When our feelings are hurt, we rise up in righteous indignation and can easily allow arrogance to take over at that moment. We feel disrespected and insulted, not even listening to the wise counsel…for all we hear is an attack on our belief system…even if that belief system is corrupted. The world likes to take offense over the craziest things…But as a Believer, we need to be wary of allowing pride to color our interactions with others. Proverbs 9:9 states, ” Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.”
Tag: THE WORD
Acts 18: 9-10 ” One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘ Do not be afraid; Keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ “
Satan would like us to think we’re out there working for the Lord alone…like the Lone Ranger, isolated and unaided by others. Satan would like us to be fearful in talking to others about the Lord…not wanting to offend…wanting rather, to be “politically correct”, even if it goes against the Word of God. Satan would like us to keep quiet, not rocking the boat of this modern liberal society. Satan doesn’t care if we read the Bible or pray…just as long as we don’t do it in public. But Satan also knows the power of the spoken Word, and what a transformation could take place… if Christians weren’t silent.
Ezra 4:24 ” Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a stand-still until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”
The book of Ezra recounts the efforts of the Jewish exiles who returned from Babylon to rebuild the Temple. Sixteen years would pass between the laying of the foundation and when work would take up again. God gave them the vision for the Temple…it was started…but then suspended. Just like the exiles, we too hear from God and plunge forward only to be sometimes detained. Sadly, it’s usually at that stoppage we throw in the towel and claim failure. But just because there’s a delay doesn’t mean it’s a defeat. The Lord never goes back on His promises, and any vision He’s given you…even if it’s been years…is still viable in His eyes. Remember, a delay doesn’t mean a defeat.
Jeremiah 6:17 ” I appointed watchman over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ “
It’s the age-old story of mankind’s rebellion against God. The Lord appoints prophets to bring His Word of obedience and warning…signaling man’s need to take immediate and dramatic action or pay the price. But what do we usually do? We don’t heed His Word, for we want to have our own way. Our evil hearts ever full of stubbornness and defiance when God says, “Obey Me.” We hear the trumpet, but choose to ignore it out of spite.
Isaiah 9:6 ” For to us a child is born, to us a son is given…
All of humanity was lost…floundering in a sea of sin…sinking to never rise again. When a baby was brought forth…God bestowing this precious gift on all. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son – Jesus Christ – to bridge the chasm between God and man…and bring eternal life to a dying world.
Psalm 10:14 ” But You, O God, do see trouble and grief; You consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.”
The Lord understands the misery and sorrow you may feel today. He wants to take that pain from you…placing it in His all-powerful hands and off your shoulders. If burdens are weighing you down today…entrust yourself to God’s mercy and fall upon His grace.
James 1:23 ” Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”
You know your face better than anyone else…every nook and cranny – every spot and wrinkle. You’re familiar enough with your face that you can readily pick yourself out of a group picture. We need to know the Word of God in the same manner. We can’t causally listen to His Word allowing it to go in one ear and out the other. His Word must go deep inside…changing us for the better – not being dismissed and forgotten. The key is to contemplate, internalize, and apply His Word to your life…mirroring His life with yours.
Ephesians 1:11 ” In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will…”
You are not a mistake. No matter what people tell you, God’s divine Will included you as an important part in this world. He has a unique purpose for your life here on earth…your birth was foreordained by Him…He knew you before you were even conceived. You are not a mistake, but a valuable part of God’s plan.
Isaiah 57: 14-15 ” And it will be said: ‘Build up, build up, prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of My people.’ For this is what the high and lofty One says – He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’ “
A refreshing is coming. A time of spiritual edification and uplifting for all Believers. God will send a new wind of change…to restore and strengthen the broken and discouraged. He will breathe new life into old places…and fresh vision into tired and apathetic souls. As Oswald Chambers once said, ” Beware of paying attention or going back to what you once were, when God wants you to be something that you have never been .” A new wind is coming…a time of refreshing is upon us.
Proverbs 13:10 ” Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”
Arrogance and conceit can only bring out the worst in people. A prideful spirit will tell you that you’re better than everyone else and can do as you wish, but this only leads to problems when you come across someone with that same attitude! This Proverb advises instead that we take our practical spirituality and accept counsel from others.
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