- Tuesday, 12/31/19 Proverbs 24:6, For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety. Very simply, when was the last time you had a counseling appointment? The last time you got an outsider’s objective opinion?
Young people need this, obviously, but you middle aged and senior saints: when was your last? 2 Kings 5:3, And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord [Naaman] were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. This young lady had not heard her parents criticize the man of God. Was Elisha perfect? No, but in the eyes of that little girl, the man of God was very close to it. We need A LOT more of this attitude.
- Wednesday, 1/1/20 Isaiah 64:1, Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence... Oh that the Lord would come and take us this year!!! Maranatha Jesus!! Proverbs 24:32, Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man. How we handle our little bits of time will determine if we are productive or not. The little times, the 15 minutes, the extra hour, the unexpected $50...over a lifetime those are what will make a HUGE difference...in your finances, your health, your spirituality, your marriage...everything.
- Thursday, 1/2/20 Psalm 103:1, Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. David talked to himself and gave himself a pep talk; almost a scolding. We do it for others...what about ourselves? Do it, and do it out loud. Read this psalm aloud with feeling...it’s great!! Psalm 119:5, O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Haven’t you ever wished that someone would push you onto and farther down the right road? It would make the Christian life so much easier. We need to be alert for people who would like us to push them.
- Friday, 1/3/20 Proverbs 1:1, The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel. The richest man in the world, a busy man, a man with thousands of servants did not think it beneath him to teach “the simple.” Don’t relegate teaching, discipling, rehearsing to “lower” people. YOU do it. 2 Kings 20:8, And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day? Isaiah had just told the king that the Lord had said He’d heal him...and yet, he wanted a “sign.” Let us be better than Hezekiah: let the word of God be sufficient for us. Take what it says at face value. Accept it and obey it. Peter did the same thing: “If it’s really You like you just said, tell me to come to You on top of the water...” There is NO higher standard than “thus saith the Lord God.” He IS (or should be) the final word on “all things that pertain to life and godliness.”
- Saturday, 1/4/20 Proverbs 1:7a, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. A proper viewpoint of God is like a compass getting locked onto the north pole: it allows an unchanging standard on which to base all subsequent choices. Without it, we wander aimlessly: look at the world around us... Is God laughing at your situation? Mocking you? Proverbs 1:25-26, But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh. (BTW, how does a God Who says He acts like this fit into your theology? He isn’t always sweet and nice: He’s a “terrible” God Who is fearful and dreadful. He’s not some old doddering Grandpa always ready to hug and make nice. Your sin, my sin, is abominable to Him.
- Sunday, 1/5/20 We often lament that we’d love to be free from our sinful ways...but look at how it would happen: 1 Peter 4:1, Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin... Maybe we don’t want holiness as much as we thought we did. Psalm 119:41, Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word. Mercy is freely offered and God will forgive completely, but it is received NOT just by asking for it. Going to Heaven is a gift, but there are specifics to it. We must realize we’re sinners who don’t deserve even a glimpse of Heaven, but rather, an eternity in Hell. Is that you? We must realize that Christ, God in the flesh, paid for all of our sins with His death, burial, and resurrection. Then, we must rely SOLELY upon Him: not Him plus our church; not Him plus a sincere effort on our part; not Him plus baptism to atone for our sins. We must consciously CEASE to trust whatever we have trusted on in the past to care for our sins and only rely on Him. To use a poker term, we must put all our chips on Him and His promise. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It’s not a Baptist doctrine: it’s Bible doctrine. If you died NOW, where would you go, and why? All my nursing friends: ???
- Monday, 1/6/20 2 Timothy 1:6, Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that THOU stir up the gift of God, which is IN THEE by the putting on of my hands. What are you good at? What has God gifted you? Are you using it for the Lord through the local church? Stir it up and pour it out: He gave it to you for others. Psalm 142:3b, In the way wherein I walked have they privily laid a snare for me. Special times are oft used by the enemy to trip us up: we’re off schedule and are more vulnerable. However, since we spend most of our days “normally,” that is where he will work most often. We must always be on guard; we must realize our enemy is a perpetually hungry lion. The first step to becoming a casualty is becoming casual. YOU are a target TODAY.
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