- Tuesday, 12/28/21 Song of Solomon 1:2, Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. Very simply: has the fire and flame of passion
and enjoyment lessened or disappeared from your marriage? Recognize, repent, and recover it. Song of Solomon 2:2, As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters. I heard something wise one day (too late for me, but still wise): We need to have A+/D- marriages. Each person in the marriage should look at their spouse as an A+ partner: perfect, totally acceptable, and feel that if they never changed one iota for the rest of their lives, we would be totally happy and satisfied. However, each member of the couple should look at themselves as a D- partner: that is, barely acceptable, with many profound mistakes and wrong thinking and wrong actions, and that they are barely an inch away from losing their spouse.
- Wednesday, 12/29/21 Psalm 30:5a, For his anger endureth but a moment. We mustn’t ever get so wrapped up in the love of the Lord and His compassion toward us (both of which we don’t begin to grasp), that we gloss over His potential for anger and chastisement. Psalm 30:12b, O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee FOR EVER. None of us want to quit on God, yet many of us do and will. Why? Maybe it’s because we don’t keep our eyes on the long road ahead and get too wrapped up in the pothole right in front of us. I know you want to be in the Christian life for the long haul, so tell yourself and Him and others that you are going to be: make plans to be. And, look at your trends for the last year or two or three. Looking at those, will you still be in church in 10 years?
- Thursday, 12/30/21 Psalm 31:19, Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men! Does it mean that great rewards are promised for trusting God...in the sight of the sons of men? or for trusting Him prior to and more than men? Psalm 69:30-31, I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. Notice that God is pleased with a song and a “Thank You.” He’s easy to please; we should be also. Enjoy the simple, mundane things and let the bigger things be an unexpected bonus...IF they come.
- Friday, 12/31/21 Romans 2:21, Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? A danger to which veteran Christians needs be alert: not living up to what we believe. Preaching perfection abroad, but settling for mediocrity within. Don’t. Proverbs 27:14, He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him. Basic Christianity: we’re to modify our actions to match others’ needs/wants, not vice versa. Here, it speaks of one who is a morning person forcing his alertness on another.
- Saturday, 1/1/22 Psalm 73:17, Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end. There’s a certain level or depth of understanding life’s puzzles that is only revealed through a close relationship to God’s house. We all NEED to assemble at church, and more of it. Proverbs 27:17, Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Improvement and increased effectiveness may have to come at the price of sparks caused by a friend. So that one who got on you harshly, when you felt it was out of the blue and unwarranted, may have been intended by the Lord to refine you.
- Sunday, 1/2/22 Psalm 37:3, Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Faith IN God and good works FOR God produces stability in life and sufficiency. Our job? To follow God’s formulas. In Psalm 37:1-8, not fretting is commanded directly or referenced 4 times. Maybe we shouldn’t get so fired up about vaccinations or politics or finances? Maybe, we (especially me) should get on the same page with God and be A LOT more fired up about souls and serving others.
- Monday, 1/3/22 Proverbs 28:14, Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. Running scared of falling makes for very sure footing. Do you feel in danger or safe? Proverbs 28:13, He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. If we don’t stay in the habit of searching for, confessing, and forsaking our sin, we tend to begin to justify it, become tolerant of it, and accept it as “normal, acceptable, and good.”
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