- Tuesday, 8/28/18 2
Kings 15:3-4a, And he did that which was
right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had
done; save that the high places were not removed... Having human examples
is good, but be sure to choose ones that push you to excellence and don’t allow
you to wallow in mediocrity. Have
you been away from God and are wanting to get back to a daily walk with Him and
to again strive to become whatever He’d allow you to become? 2 Kings 19:30, And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again
take root downward, and bear fruit upward.
Note the ingredients AND the order. First, work on getting your roots
down into the Lord: Bible, prayer/praise/worship, church attendance. THEN begin
serving: soul winning, discipling, bus route, etc. Do NOT take too long to add
the bearing of fruit. There is no use to have an extensive root system without
something above ground, but the root system must come first. So, take a month
or so and start to get a new walk with God, and then start trying to serve: go
greet people before the service or SS class; pick up quickly after SS; pass out
1 tract...per week and get to 1 per day. Start slow and grow.
- Wednesday, 8/29/18
Proverbs 24:10, If thou faint in
the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Don’t TELL me how strong you
are on the days of your victories; SHOW me how strong you are in your times of
defeats. Proverbs
25:2, It is the glory of God to conceal a
thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. We all want
answers to our perplexing questions and situations. But God says that the honor
comes, not when we get the answer, but when we search for it. If we’re seeking
the answer, we will more likely be turning to God and asking Him...and that
sounds a lot like...what’s the phrase? “Walking by faith” or “Seeking the Lord”
or “Praying without ceasing.” We want
the journey to be over; God wants to teach us HOW to journey, and to take Him
along as our “Travel Buddy.”
- Thursday, 8/30/18 Mark
10:44, And whosoever of you will be the
chiefest, shall be servant of all. Many a young Christian strives to serve
everyone, and that’s good. God rewards, and promotes that one. Now that you’re
a leader: if you will still be chief...are you still serving all? 2 John 1-2, The elder unto the elect lady and her
children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have
known the truth; for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with
us for ever. How’s your love life? OK, we love our families and friends and
folks at church, but John said he loved all those that HAVE KNOWN the truth.
Pointed question: how’re you at loving the one who’s turned their back on the
things of God? Love? Or judgment? At the one who despises you? Love or hatred?
Or the one who fell into sin and embarrassed you or the church? Love? Or
condemnation and gloating? Or the one who is wrong on their doctrine, and you
know it, but he won’t listen to you explain the truth? Love? Or distance? Or
the one who has been exposed to the truth and isn’t saved yet? Love? Or
“Whatever...” I think a LOT of us (me,
especially) are a LOT farther from Bible Christianity than we’d like to admit...
- Friday, 8/31/18 A word
of encouragement if you feel you’re trying your best and totally failing in the
Christian life: Jude 24, Now unto him
that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the
presence of his glory with exceeding joy... You may stumble, but you won’t
fall. And, you’ll be cleaned up spotless before the wedding...which is coming
VERY soon!! Keep on keeping on!!! 1 Chronicles 4:40, And they found fat pasture and good, and the
land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old.
Will those who come “into your land” a couple of decades from now find things
quiet and peaceable? Yes, there will be life after you and I...will those who
live there be blest, cursed, or totally on their own because you and I were
totally selfish?
- Saturday, 9/1/18 2
Timothy 4:7, I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. We like to hear these
words, and hope to utter them someday. But, very simply, to finish
victoriously, we probably ought to fight hard TODAY. To cross the finish line,
run today. To “keep the faith,” guard it TODAY. Mark
13:3-5a, ...Peter and James and John and
Andrew asked him privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall
be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? And Jesus answering them
began to say... Did you ever think how much better it is to live now than
back then? We can read and reread and study and look at a concordance and so
forth...and these men had only their memory to refer to. We’ve got it SSSOOOOOO
good...but “to whom much is given, much is required.” Are you ready to bring
forth what He’s expecting and requiring from you concerning your Bible?
- Sunday, 9/2/18 “What
you don’t know, can’t hurt you.” NNNOOOOO!
Hosea 4:6, My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge. Ignorance is very dangerous: to the one who is ignorant, and to
all around him. However, ignorance is completely curable. And we all are
ignorant to one degree or another. Mark
14:5-6, And they murmured against [the
woman with the alabaster box of ointment.] And Jesus said, Let her alone; why
trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. “How to be like Jesus”:
notice and defend the ones who’re serving God...even if they’re not doing it
the way the crowd thinks they should. Accept and applaud any effort make to
serve God by anyone. He is the Judge, not you nor me.
- Monday, 9/3/18 Job
16:2, I have heard many such things:
miserable comforters are ye all. Perhaps we should let those who’ve been
deeply hurt teach us how to comfort those that’ve been deeply hurt; or
condemned; or not been offered forgiveness. We need to not only learn how to
love, but HOW best to show that love. Psalm
23:2a, He MAKETH me to lie down in green
pastures... “The Coercive Christ” Sometimes the Lord will MAKE us do things
that we don’t like, that we don’t want to do...almost like a parent making us
get in the car to go somewhere or to go take a nap. (Oh yeah!! He’s our
heavenly FATHER...) Sometimes, that undesirable task turns out to be much to
our liking (green pastures to a lamb) and sometimes it is horrible (trip to the
dentist). But ultimately, our lives are pretty much beyond our ability to
control. So...will we balk and grump and argue and fuss, or will we submit and
trust? (I know what I SHOULD do, and I know what I USUALLY do...)
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