- Tuesday, 3/19/19
Proverbs 11:17, The merciful man
doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
Do yourself a favor: forgive somebody(-ies) today.
Leviticus 16:21, And Aaron shall...confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins... Allow me to define all three words. Sin: purposefully doing wrong. Transgression: accidentally, inadvertently doing something wrong; stepping over the line. (Think of a sin as a flagrant foul in basketball: purposefully hacking the opponent, whereas a transgression is simply stepping on the out of bounds line.) Iniquity: giving self the permission to choose or decide what is right or wrong (“that shouldn’t be the rule”) or whether I am allowed to decide. Iniquity is switching from player to referee.
- Wednesday, 3/20/19 Joshua 1:2, Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise... The situation is what it is: the divorce is final; the child won’t speak to you; the medical tests are conclusive; the job is lost. Go on. Live with the situation. Quit pining over what coulda/woulda/shoulda been. Arise, and take the next step. John 19:15c, The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. A deeply introspective question that we all need to repeatedly ask ourselves: “Who is REALLY my king?” Whose laws am I more prone to disregard? to fudge? Whose financial obligations am I more careful to fulfill? Who gets the first payment from my account on payday? Who is King in my life? My family? My friendship? My work demeanor? My driving activities? My internet browsing?
- Thursday, 3/21/19 Proverbs 13:7, There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches. Are you richly poor, or poorly rich? (Or, poorly poor?) Reread the verse. We hear people say, “I hate my hair” or, “I hate my nose: it’s too big!” Does God hate your lips? Proverbs 12:22, Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight. Even a little poison corrupts the whole being. We must have zero tolerance to OUR sins and much tolerance toward others’. Too often we hold others to a higher standard of behavior than we hold ourselves. We even go so far as to expect the unsaved at work to behave like a Christian. (You can dress up a pig and put on earrings and perfume, but they’re still a pig, and will act like one.)
- Friday, 3/22/19 Psalm 9:1, I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. I wonder how often (& what) I do with my whole heart. (I’d probably be ashamed if I truly knew.) God deserves our best today...let’s renew our spirits to give it to Him. Paul won multitudes to Christ. No doubt, some in each church were slow to grow and had a hard time overcoming previous lifestyles. But Paul knew they were God’s children and His responsibility. Philippians 1:6, Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Lessons: 1They are not OUR converts or OUR children: they’re God’s. Yes, we have a responsibility to “teach them all things,” but it’s the Holy Spirit Who must put the word into their hearts and onto their minds. 2We are far too impatient with new believers. The people in Ephesus, TWO YEARS AFTER Paul came to town finally got rid of their idols. 3Oftentimes, we judge new believers for not conquering a sin in 6 months but forget that it took us 10 years to get over the same thing. 4Individuals are...individuals. What may have been an easy victory and no more temptation to me will torment you for decades, and vice versa. 5Maybe, to sum it all up, we should talk a LOT more to God about our converts and encourage them a LOT more...all the while while working on our own (many) faults.
- Saturday, 3/23/19 Psalm 9:15, The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. What is our reaction when that jerk at work “gets what’s coming to them”? Or the rude driver? Or the unsaved relative. THEN is a great chance to show love. Colossians 1:11, Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness... Notice, strength comes to produce patience, longsuffering, and joy...NOT to solve or alleviate the problem. God’ll be FAR more likely to change our negative circumstances if we’ll accept the negatives, and allow ourselves to grow into proper behavior IN them...i.e. being a good Christian WHILE in the fire. Too often we only focus on eliminating our problems, while God sent the problems to refine us. That we don’t grow and learn means we have to keep getting new instructors (i.e. problems) sent to us to teach us “last semester’s material.”
- Sunday, 3/24/19 Colossians 1:29, Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. God’s choicest servants and most influential people are those who allow God to work ON THEM primarily. Are you a “finished project” or a “work in process”? How much cooperation (or flak) are you giving the Contractor (the Holy Spirit) and His subcontractors (Pastor & leaders)? Philippians 3:1b, To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Even if you’ve heard it all (you haven’t), it’s safe to hear it again. Veteran Christian: are you as teachable and as hungry as a new convert? Maintain their hunger, but add the discernment of maturity. Today...give your pastor and Sunday School teacher a "new" member in your seat: one whose heart is hungry, whose eyes are focused, whose mind is not distracted, and whose ears are open.
- Monday, 3/25/19 Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. If God wanted to do something at your church, would you be in one accord with everyone? Would you be in one place with everyone? Would you have been at the prayer meeting earlier? Matthew 11:9, But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. John had just given evidence of a lack of faith (by asking if Jesus was truly Whom they were waiting for.) Jesus however, continues to lift him up in the eyes of the people. Do we do that? Or, if a friend, leader, convert stubs their toe one time, do we automatically and permanently blacklist them?
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