- Tuesday, 7/20/21 Psalm 126:6, He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. We are to sow always, even, and maybe especially,
while we’re weeping. Be faithful in doing your duty, even when it is distasteful. Colossians 1:11, Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness. Patience and longsuffering are the same character trait except that patience refers to sweetly tolerating difficult circumstances, while longsuffering means putting up with difficult people. He’ll give us strength to take both. Hmmm, I wonder how we could get that strength from God???
- Wednesday, 7/21/21 Proverbs 16:32, He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. What sets you off? Depresses you? Delights you? Govern your spirit to minimize the frequency and the degree of negatives, and to maximize the positives. Know yourself. Romans 8:4, That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. “AFTER the Spirit.” He’s going somewhere: somewhere holy, somewhere pure; or somewhere to win someone to Jesus. Where’re you heading? We CAN be pretty righteous, if we’ll do things biblically.
- Thursday, 7/22/21 Matthew 25:23, His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things... God rewards faithful service with more work. Many Americans need some revision in their attitudes toward work. Romans 8:26, Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. It’s basic good manners to say, “Thank you,” when someone does something for us. Have we ever thanked the Holy Spirit for praying for us?
- Friday, 7/23/21 Isaiah 13:3, I have commanded my sanctified ones... Just a reminder that God issues commands not wishes. He demands that we tithe, forgive, win souls, dress modestly, grow, pray, etc. It’s easy to dismiss things that we don’t want to do. Need some adjustments? Psalm 71:1a, In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust. To get to Heaven, we must trust His sacrifice as our only hope: not works, not church membership, not sincere effort. If we have to do something to "complete" our salvation, we become our own savior and are saying that what He did was nice, but insufficient. No, He said, "It is finished." However, for a happy life after we're born again, we must daily choose to trust Him. Trust that He’s working in our situations and relationships. Trust that He has a purpose for the problems and the pain.
- Saturday, 7/24/21 Psalm 71:16, I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, EVEN OF THINE ONLY. Yes, we’re to strive and work to do more righteousness and to become more holy, but our righteousness? It’s not worth mentioning. Isaiah 14:13, For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Are we any different than Satan when we decide what we WILL or WON’T do in our Christian lives? (And don’t we all do that when we don’t ask Christ about any of our plans? Or, when we dismiss what Pastor says from the pulpit..."Oh there he goes again, harping about ________") God has issued orders; are we looking for them and obeying all of them as best and as quickly as we can?
- Sunday, 7/25/21 Luke 18:1, And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Two commands...how can you and I up our prayer times, prayer sincerity, & prayer effectiveness? And, how can we encourage ourselves and others to suck it up and take another few steps? Luke 18:19, And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Many people pay lip service to Christ, but totally miss the mark. Is He, in fact, 100% God in your understanding? Is He, in fact, 100% without sin? Is He the only One worthy of worship? Is He fundamentally different from any other human? Many will tacitly agree to that. Let me go further: is any other human somewhere in-between Him and the rest of us? A pope maybe? Mary perhaps? By elevating a mere human (who, according to this verse is “not good,”) we lessen Christ’s glory and exalted position. No, Mary was a sinner who needed a Saviour. (She knew that: see Luke 1:47.) The Pope needs to be born again. Bro. So-n-so has a sinful heart that needs cleansing. And you and I do too. All humans need to humble themselves and come to the only One worthy and acknowledge His substitutionary death, burial, and resurrection as the ONLY way that sin can be atoned for, and simply trust that sacrifice completely and CEASE trusting anything or anyone else: baptism, self effort, church membership, family devotions, etc. Are YOU saved? If not, please message me ASAP.
- Monday, 7/26/21 Psalm 73:3, For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. When we get our eyes off of Christ and our duties and look at the unsaved and give even a moment’s thought that they’ve got it good, we begin to slip. V2, ...my steps had well nigh slipped. Proverbs 21:2, Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts. “Pondereth” means “to examine.” We can convince ourselves; we can convince everyone else; but we can’t fool God. He examines our true motives, our true intents, and our true feelings. Maybe we should do the same? Why don’t you and He take a walk and you invite His scrutiny on your heart, and listen for His feedback. He wants to live in a clean, well-ordered house, so He’ll speak if you’ll listen.
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