Sunday, October 22, 2023
Friday, October 20, 2023
PUT UP OR SHUT UP!
"Work brings profit; talk brings poverty!" (Prov 14:23 TLB)
What one says one will do means little. Only what one does counts! So in simple terms, "PUT UP or SHUT UP!"
Prayer: Lord, help us to be doers and not talkers! Amen!
Prov 21:25. . . .The lazy man longs for many things, but his hands refuse to work. He is greedy to get, while the godly love to give! TLB
Thursday, October 19, 2023
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
"For God is not unfair. How can he forget your hard work for him, or forget the way you used to show your love for him-and still do-by helping his children? And we are anxious that you keep right on loving others as long as life lasts, so that you will get your full reward." (Heb 6:10-11 TLB)
How encouraging it is to know that our labor, especially that which is done for the kingdom, does not go unnoticed or unrewarded! This is a reminder and encouragement to someone that perhaps is feeling unnoticed, unappreciated, discontented and discouraged. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for blessing the work of our hands. Help us to continue working with sincere hearts to please you in all we do for the kingdom and mankind. Amen!
Col 3:22-24. . . . Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. KJV
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
DON'T GO WRONG....LISTEN!
"Listen to me, you wise men. We can choose the sounds we want to listen to; we can choose the taste we want in food, and we should choose to follow what is right. (Job 34:2-4 TLB)
A wise person will always listen! A wiser person chooses what to listen too. The valuable knowledge obtained through listening will serve as a guide in following the ways that are right! Don't go wrong.....Listen!
Prayer: Lord, help us to always train our ears to listen and choose what is right. Amen!
Job 34:16. . . . "If you have understanding, hear this; listen to what I say. (NIV)
Tuesday, October 17, 2023
GUARD WHAT YOU HEAR!
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom 10:18 KJV)
What we "HEAR" has a direct correlation to our faith. It would be wonderful if the only thing we ever heard was the word of God; then, our faith would experience uninhibited growth. The truth is, there are many things that enter into the realm of our hearing daily. Some good, some not so good. Some things we hear are unavoidable. We would do well nevertheless, to guard what we voluntarily allow ourselves to hear . Remember, what we hear affects our faith, and thus, our lives.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your word and the faith that comes by hearing it! Help us filter out every unnecessary thing that our ears and our faith may remain pure. Amen.
Matt 13:16. . . .But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. NIV
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Thursday, October 12, 2023
QUICK LISTENERS!
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. (James 1:19-21 NIV)
What a great piece of advice if we'd just heed it! Being slow to speak but quick to listen can only yield greater understanding. Greater understanding alleviates the need for anger. How quick are we to listen. . . .How slow to speak. . . . How slowly are we angered? Let our quickness be on the former and not the later two.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for instructing us in the ways of wisdom. Help us to be quick listeners and to temper our speaking and our anger. Amen.
Prov 16:32. . . . It is better to be slow-tempered than famous; it is better to have self-control than to control an army. TLB
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
IT GOES WITH THE TERRITORY!
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." (1 Tim 4:9-10 KJV)
As we labor (work) for the sake of the Gospel, it is true that we will sometimes suffer and be subject to reproach. (ridicule - criticism -opposition) It goes with the territory! Nevertheless, we continue to trust in the one who is the 'Savior of all men', but more importantly, the Savior of we that believe!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for salvation! Because we believe, we have an everlasting assurance that cannot be changed or revoked. Amen!
2 Sam 22:31-33. . . .As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him. For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God? God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. KJV
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
HELP NOT HURT!
"My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, (James 1:19 NIV)
Words spoken without wisdom are like a surgeon's scalpel in the hand of the unskilled! That which was designed to help ends up hurting! Be careful to speak words that help and not hurt.
PRAYER: Lord, may the words we speak always help and not hurt; heal and not hinder! Amen!
James 1:19-20. . . .Dear brothers, don't ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little, and not become angry; for anger doesn't make us good, as God demands that we must be. TLB
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Friday, October 6, 2023
STILL STANDING!
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor 15:58 KJV)
A group of friends went bowling one evening. They each tried hard to make a strike but as it turned out, there would always be one pin left standing. Although the pin was shaken and rocked from side to side from the force of the impact, it settled and remained standing. The enemy and even life in general, may at times attempt to bowl us over and strike us out. Don't fall over. Be the last pin standing. We've got plenty to stand for!
PRAYER: Lord, when the storms of life are raging, continue to stand by us and strengthen us to continue standing with and by you. Amen!
Ps 18:1-3. . . .I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. KJV
Thursday, October 5, 2023
KEEP PRESSING!
"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don't know why things happen as they do, but we don't give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going." (2 Cor 4:8-10 TLB)
With God, its never over until He says its over! We always have what we need to recover, recharge, refocus and begin again. So, Keep pressing!
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for never abandoning us. In you we have everything we need to keep pressing forward. Amen.
Phil 3:13-14. . . . I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us. TLB
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
MAKE EVERY DAY COUNT!
"Men and women don't live very long; like wildflowers, they spring up and blossom, But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here. God's love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear him, Making everything right for them and their children as they follow his Covenant ways and remember to do whatever he said." (Ps 103:15-18 MSG)
No matter the number of years one may be blessed to live, when its all said and done our time here on earth is very brief. Therefore, we must make every moment we live count! The best way to accomplish this is to strive to do God's will and follow His ways.
PRAYER: Lord, may the life that we live be one of significance! Help us to daily follow your word and your will. Amen.
Ps 103:17. . . . But the loving-kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to those who reverence him; his salvation is to children's children of those who are faithful to his covenant and remember to obey him! TLB
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
CHOICE OVER CHANCE!
10-3-2023 . . .CHOICE OVER CHANCE!
"Again I looked throughout the earth and saw that the swiftest person does not always win the race, nor the strongest man the battle, and that wise men are often poor, and skillful men are not necessarily famous; but it is all by chance, by happening to be at the right place at the right time. A man never knows when he is going to run into bad luck. He is like a fish caught in a net, or a bird caught in a snare." (Eccl 9:11-12 TLB)
A man without God is one left to live life on a "take it as it comes" basis; absent of purpose and direction. The fruit of his labor will be nothing and his destination will often be nowhere. There is a better choice to be made and a better life to be lived! It is a life directed by God. It's a matter of Choice over Chance.
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for giving us a life of choice and not of chance. You daily order our steps and our stops according to your own purpose. Amen!
Ps 37:23-24. . . . The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take. If they fall it isn't fatal, for the Lord holds them with his hand. TLB
Sunday, October 1, 2023
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