Read Pr. 20:3
It is honorable to choose not to stand up for yourself. I'm not saying we should never fight but there are times to fight and times to retreat. Everything in us wants to get what is ours and not be violated but there are times to walk away. I know a little about this because I just walked away from making thousands of dollars because it was what I was suppose to do. God has angels that are assigned to each one of us to write down everything we do, every offense against us and our reaction. God repays us more than man can ever repay us. I am already seeing how God is going to restore what I have lost without the stress of the other job. It is better to trust in God and let him guide your path than your own understanding. The second part says that you are a fool to be obstinate. God is not interested in our "rights" because rightfully we should be condemned to hell but graciously he has offered us eternal life. If we have died to ourselves then no one can hurt us. Jesus was despised and hated by men; he spent most of his life being misunderstood but instead of defending himself he retreated to a quiet place and spent time with God. The only people he stood up to were the religious leaders because they were leading the people astray. He spoke truth and let the chips fall; he was not a people-pleaser.
Lord, help us to learn by your example. Help us to love our enemy and be at peace with all men. We stand up for You.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
Fri.'s Devo - Under Authority
Read Pro. 20:2
Everyone lives under authority. If you have no boss there is always your parents or your spouse or God and according to this verse you don't want to get on the wrong side of them. To offend your superior on purpose is to sin against your own soul. God places people in authority that are not always the nicest most deserving people but God has a reason for letting them be on top. Many times it is to test us in some way. Jesus learned obedience through the things he suffered. He was born under a strict ungodly Roman rule where justice was unjust and the wrong people were in office. But he submitted to their law and even paid taxes. He honored the authority of the land even though he had every right to disobey...after all he was the son of God, the creator of this world. He totally laid his position down and humbled himself to the rules of the government. The only people he defied were the religious leaders. We tend to get this entitlement attitude which if anyone was entitled it would be Jesus. Maybe we need to learn to be more humble and teachable.
Lord, I know I need to learn this lesson so open my eyes to opportunities where I can choose to lay down my rights for the sake of the kingdom.
Everyone lives under authority. If you have no boss there is always your parents or your spouse or God and according to this verse you don't want to get on the wrong side of them. To offend your superior on purpose is to sin against your own soul. God places people in authority that are not always the nicest most deserving people but God has a reason for letting them be on top. Many times it is to test us in some way. Jesus learned obedience through the things he suffered. He was born under a strict ungodly Roman rule where justice was unjust and the wrong people were in office. But he submitted to their law and even paid taxes. He honored the authority of the land even though he had every right to disobey...after all he was the son of God, the creator of this world. He totally laid his position down and humbled himself to the rules of the government. The only people he defied were the religious leaders. We tend to get this entitlement attitude which if anyone was entitled it would be Jesus. Maybe we need to learn to be more humble and teachable.
Lord, I know I need to learn this lesson so open my eyes to opportunities where I can choose to lay down my rights for the sake of the kingdom.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Thurs.'s Devo - Wine
Read Pro. 20:1
I grew up in a non-alcohol family and married a man who grew up the same so we don't drink at all. I know the men in the Bible, even Jesus, drank wine on occasions and that the Bible says that to get drunk is a sin but here it goes a little deeper. It tells the symptoms of certain drink. Wine makes you cynical and intoxicants make you loud and out of control if abused. We have all seen this play out and I choose to not have it in my life. If you do drink you need to consider the side affects. The Bible says that if you are mourning that wine will soothe your pain. Jesus turned water to wine because it was a joyous celebration where people should forget for one day all the problems and stresses of the day and rejoice. But beware, it dulls your senses and exposes your heart. If you are open enough to bear it then go ahead and drink. The last part of the verse says that alcohol can deceive you and if you let it you are not wise. It will distort your senses and ability to react which is why you shouldn't drink and drive. It can also cause you to become dependent upon alcohol if you have an addictive problem. But the wine of the Lord is life and joy and addictive in a good way.
May we be filled with the wine of the Holy Spirit.
I grew up in a non-alcohol family and married a man who grew up the same so we don't drink at all. I know the men in the Bible, even Jesus, drank wine on occasions and that the Bible says that to get drunk is a sin but here it goes a little deeper. It tells the symptoms of certain drink. Wine makes you cynical and intoxicants make you loud and out of control if abused. We have all seen this play out and I choose to not have it in my life. If you do drink you need to consider the side affects. The Bible says that if you are mourning that wine will soothe your pain. Jesus turned water to wine because it was a joyous celebration where people should forget for one day all the problems and stresses of the day and rejoice. But beware, it dulls your senses and exposes your heart. If you are open enough to bear it then go ahead and drink. The last part of the verse says that alcohol can deceive you and if you let it you are not wise. It will distort your senses and ability to react which is why you shouldn't drink and drive. It can also cause you to become dependent upon alcohol if you have an addictive problem. But the wine of the Lord is life and joy and addictive in a good way.
May we be filled with the wine of the Holy Spirit.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wed.'s Devo - Discipline and Instruction
Read Pro. 19:25-29
I dont' know about you but I hate to be disciplined; I just want to do it right the first time. Verse 25 says that if you discipline the teacher then the students will understand. That is so true. When our pastor tells us of his failures and the way God disciplines him, it helps me to learn. If you are teachable then you can learn by watching, not by having to go through it yourself. I seem to have to go through it myself to really get it. On the other hand, there are people who have advise that isn't worth hearing and will only hurt you. The world is full of wisdom that is foolishness to God. If the tree is bad then the fruit will be bad. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit. So if you are being influenced by a person who is not a professing Christian you need to find another mentor. I don't care how famous or how much "good" they have done in society. You don't walk with them in their secret lives and you don't know their innermost thoughts. The ungodly have nothing but judgment to look forward to. We have been given the Word of God to give us all the right advise and wisdom we need. It is better than any wisdom the most wise of the world can give because it is written by the creator of the world.
I dont' know about you but I hate to be disciplined; I just want to do it right the first time. Verse 25 says that if you discipline the teacher then the students will understand. That is so true. When our pastor tells us of his failures and the way God disciplines him, it helps me to learn. If you are teachable then you can learn by watching, not by having to go through it yourself. I seem to have to go through it myself to really get it. On the other hand, there are people who have advise that isn't worth hearing and will only hurt you. The world is full of wisdom that is foolishness to God. If the tree is bad then the fruit will be bad. A bad tree cannot produce good fruit. So if you are being influenced by a person who is not a professing Christian you need to find another mentor. I don't care how famous or how much "good" they have done in society. You don't walk with them in their secret lives and you don't know their innermost thoughts. The ungodly have nothing but judgment to look forward to. We have been given the Word of God to give us all the right advise and wisdom we need. It is better than any wisdom the most wise of the world can give because it is written by the creator of the world.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Tues.'s Devo - Use Your Gifts
Read Pro. 19:24
If there is one thing I don't want to be it is slothful. A person that is slothful is lazy and takes the gifts that God has given him and hides them. He doesn't use them for anyone and few even know he has these gifts. Our gifts are given to us to share them with the body and the world. What if Jesus had hidden his gift of healing? He used his gift of healing to bring the people to him so that they could hear his message of the kingdom. Our gifts get us into places we could have never gotten in on our own and it we can use it to share the Lord. I have seen this happen countless times in my business. Yesterday I was able to help a friend decorate her daughter-in-law's house for a Christmas present. I received no monetary reward, in fact, it cost me but I needed to do that. In my own life I was behind this month financially in my business so it was a perfect time to plant seed. Doing for others takes the self-pity away and replaces it with gratefulness. Isn't that what Christmas is all about....doing for others. So let's not be slothful with our gifts but let's give them out freely and let them open doors of ministry.
If there is one thing I don't want to be it is slothful. A person that is slothful is lazy and takes the gifts that God has given him and hides them. He doesn't use them for anyone and few even know he has these gifts. Our gifts are given to us to share them with the body and the world. What if Jesus had hidden his gift of healing? He used his gift of healing to bring the people to him so that they could hear his message of the kingdom. Our gifts get us into places we could have never gotten in on our own and it we can use it to share the Lord. I have seen this happen countless times in my business. Yesterday I was able to help a friend decorate her daughter-in-law's house for a Christmas present. I received no monetary reward, in fact, it cost me but I needed to do that. In my own life I was behind this month financially in my business so it was a perfect time to plant seed. Doing for others takes the self-pity away and replaces it with gratefulness. Isn't that what Christmas is all about....doing for others. So let's not be slothful with our gifts but let's give them out freely and let them open doors of ministry.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Mon.'s Devo - Kindness
Read Pro. 19:22-23
I don't know if I understand this verse correctly but what I get from reading it is this. What we really desire in our inmost being is to bless God and give him back something. We all want to please our heavenly father so we do it by being kind. God desires us to be truthful and honest with our feelings. We can't hide anything from him anyway so we might as well be honest. He loves that because it means humility. We all have wrong motives and selfish ambitions but I think if we will be honest and tell God this he will take our sin and selfishness and change it when we confess it. It is always better to be poor before God than try to lie and trick him. He won't be tricked or manipulated so we might as well be honest with him. That is the mark of a relationship. The next verse says that fearing God gives you life and satisfaction and you will not be visited with evil. I don't know about you but I don't want evil visiting me. I would rather have a visitation from God or his angels.
Lord, help us to be honest and kind to you and our fellow men.
I don't know if I understand this verse correctly but what I get from reading it is this. What we really desire in our inmost being is to bless God and give him back something. We all want to please our heavenly father so we do it by being kind. God desires us to be truthful and honest with our feelings. We can't hide anything from him anyway so we might as well be honest. He loves that because it means humility. We all have wrong motives and selfish ambitions but I think if we will be honest and tell God this he will take our sin and selfishness and change it when we confess it. It is always better to be poor before God than try to lie and trick him. He won't be tricked or manipulated so we might as well be honest with him. That is the mark of a relationship. The next verse says that fearing God gives you life and satisfaction and you will not be visited with evil. I don't know about you but I don't want evil visiting me. I would rather have a visitation from God or his angels.
Lord, help us to be honest and kind to you and our fellow men.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Fri's. Devo - God's Counsel
Read Pro. 19:20-21
We can come up with the best ideas and the best counsel but if it is not God's ideas or God's counsel then it is not the best. God created us and has planned out the future for us in very detailed form. All our "great ideas" cannot compare to his infinite wisdom and plan. He says that our eyes have not seen nor our ears heard nor has it even entered into our hearts all that he has planned for us. His imagination goes much further than ours. And what is better is that he has arranged how to pay for it and who is to help us and what the end result will be. Jesus was born into a world full of injustices and political unrest but he came preaching the kingdom of God which is not of this world. There is a way we can live in the kingdom of God and still live in this world. There is a way we can prosper when the world is falling apart economically. There is a way we can raise Godly children when the masses are bent toward sin. There is a way we can have a great marriage when the divorce rate is appalling. There is a way.... it is called the Kingdom of God.
We are to seek him first and all these things will be added unto us. In the end it is God's counsel that will stand anyway so why not take it now and have joy and peace and prosperity. Lord, help us to live in your kingdom.
We can come up with the best ideas and the best counsel but if it is not God's ideas or God's counsel then it is not the best. God created us and has planned out the future for us in very detailed form. All our "great ideas" cannot compare to his infinite wisdom and plan. He says that our eyes have not seen nor our ears heard nor has it even entered into our hearts all that he has planned for us. His imagination goes much further than ours. And what is better is that he has arranged how to pay for it and who is to help us and what the end result will be. Jesus was born into a world full of injustices and political unrest but he came preaching the kingdom of God which is not of this world. There is a way we can live in the kingdom of God and still live in this world. There is a way we can prosper when the world is falling apart economically. There is a way we can raise Godly children when the masses are bent toward sin. There is a way we can have a great marriage when the divorce rate is appalling. There is a way.... it is called the Kingdom of God.
We are to seek him first and all these things will be added unto us. In the end it is God's counsel that will stand anyway so why not take it now and have joy and peace and prosperity. Lord, help us to live in your kingdom.
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