"The one who guards his mouth protects his life; the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin." Proverbs 13:3
Amen!
Amen!
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"When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, act decisively, for then the Lord will have marched out ahead of you. ..." 2 Samuel 5:24
Planning is helpful. Planning requires time and intentional behavior on the front end, but it will often save a lot of time and misfortune. For those who plan, there are often various steps involved in the plan in order for it to be successful. Do we allow one of those steps to be "ask God for help"? If not, we are missing out on a big part of a successful plan. Lord, thank you for the abilities that You have given be but help me to not rely solely on my ability when I can ask for Your involvement and Your abilities. "Before Abraham was, I am." John 8:58
We unfortunately find ourselves at times in a mindset that all that exists is us and all that will ever or has ever existed is NOW. the facts are that the world has been spinning for centuries. And it will continue to spin long after we are gone. Today is simply one day of many and we are simply one person of countless. God has always been and He will always be and our problems today, no matter how insurmountable and overwhelming they may appear to be to us, that are very small in comparison to God and His ability to help us through whatever we may face. Lord, my pain is real but so are You and although I may feel that my world is smothering me, there is a lot more space for others and for God to help me. "While He was reclining at the table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came as guests to eat with Jesus and His disciples." Matthew 9:10
Jesus ate with sinners. He wasn't one. Lord, as I hang out with those who don't know You, help me to behave the way You would want me to. "Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble, not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8-9
If all we do is to seek revenge or respond negatively when others treat us poorly, the cycle will never end and evil will persist. But if we choose to choose good when encountering evil, then we can break the cycle and hopefully more good will be the result. Lord, help me to respond with love and compassion and acceptance, especially when my instinct is to retaliate and respond in kind when I am treated poorly. "We have this kind of confidence toward God through Christ. It is not that we are competent in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God. He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit produces life." 2 Corinthians 3:4-6
Self-Confidence refers to your belief in your ability to perform a specific task. We are confident when we feel we can do something, usually based on our previous experience. Unfortunately, our lack of self-confidence also comes from our experiences, usually bad experiences. God has give us our ability, and He has also even us the experiences to use those abilities, thus our confidence should be not rooted in ourselves but rooted in Christ. This should allow us to be confident always, and not only when we think we are good at something. Lord, help my confidence to be found in You and not in me. "Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour." 1 Peter 5:8
We need to not only watch out for ourselves but we also must be vigilant in watching out for those we love. We need to be aware that there is an enemy out there and they are looking to harm us and others. We need to have courage enough to point out that danger to our loved ones, even if it means an uncomfortable conversation. Following Jesus is a TEAM sport and we are not going to be successful when we go at it alone. Lord, help me to have peace and to not be scared, but also help me to be alert and aware, and when I see that someone I love may be in danger, help me to have the courage to say something. "Consider how the wildflowers grow: They don't labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! If that's how God clothes the grass, which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will He do for you-you of little faith?" Luke 12:27-28
Lord, thank you for caring about me! "You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result." Genesis 50:20
Good is not merely an outcome. Good is often a result of first making good choices. God desires good for our lives. However, when we make choices that go against His desires, the result is often not good and then we mistakenly blame Him. Lord, please help me to know Your desires so that I am more likely to make good choices that result in good in my life. "I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you." Joshua 1:5b
We have all heard that God is always with us. That is very comforting, especially at the times that although we may have others around us, we feel that no one understands what we are going through at that moment, thus we feel isolated and alone. But God is not only always with us, He will never leave us. That too is comforting as we may currently have people in our lives but unfortunately, sometimes we feel as if they are going to leave us for someone or something else. God will never do that. Lord, thank you for always being with me and never ever leaving me. |
AuthorCOACH. FATHER. HUSBAND. SON OF THE KING. WHITWORTH UNIVERSITY. Archives
June 2019
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