August
26, 2005 HE SURROUNDS ME WITH FAVORHere's a scripture that I speak aloud most every
day:
"For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous;
you surround them with your favor as with a shield."
--
Psalm 5:12
Except that when I say it, it sounds like this:
"Thank you, Lord, that you surround me with your
favor as with a shield." He blesses me and surrounds
me with favor as with a shield because I am
righteous. HE has made me righteous. Therefore, I
walk in that righteousness. I walk uprightly because
that is what the righteous do. And I partake of the
blessings of the righteous, blessings which God has
bestowed upon the righteous.
August
23, 2005 LOVE
James 2:8
8If you really
keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your
neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.
1 John 3:10
10This is how we
know who the children of God are and who the
children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do
what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone
who does not love his brother.
1 John 3:14
14We know that we
have passed from death to life, because we love our
brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
August
17, 2005 MORE RECEIVING INSTRUCTION
Proverbs 15
12 A mocker
resents correction;
he will not consult the wise.
31 He who
listens to a life-giving rebuke
will be at home among the wise.
32 He who
ignores discipline despises himself,
but whoever heeds correction gains
understanding.
Proverbs 16
20 Whoever gives
heed to instruction prospers,
and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.
I've heard great ministers say if the Bible
mentions something more than once, pay attention.
I'm sure if I did a quick search, I'd find a few
more just in Proverbs, not to mention elsewhere in
the Bible. Apparently it's pretty important. Thing
is, people who resent correction usually don't
realize they resent correction. They usually don't
see rebukes as "life-giving." They don't realize
they are ignoring discipline, and they don't realize
in doing so, they despise themselves. If only they
realized they would prosper in heeding instruction.
There's usually some pride in there somewhere, an
"I-know-what-I'm-doing" attitude. And that's what it
is, an attitude. A WRONG attitude.
August
14, 2005 RECEIVING INSTRUCTION
Well, you can't read through Proverbs 13 without
noticing that those who receive instruction are
wise.
Proverbs 13
1 A wise son
heeds his father's instruction,
but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.
10 Pride only
breeds quarrels,
but wisdom is found in those who take advice.
13 He who scorns
instruction will pay for it,
but he who respects a command is rewarded.
18 He who
ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame,
but whoever heeds correction is honored.
I guess
Proverbs 12:1 makes it pretty clear:
1 Whoever loves
discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.
I used to think that once I was an adult and
on my own I wouldn't have to take orders from
anyone! I could do what I want when I wanted.
That is true, but we are never too old to
receive instruction or correction or advice.
It's just wise to do so.
August
12, 2005 REMEMBERING HIS BENEFITS
I know...ten days since my
last posting, but last week Craig and I went away
for a few days. What a relaxing trip. See a couple
of the pictures I took and use them for desktop
wallpaper.
School starts Monday. I'm a school
librarian, so I started today with meetings at
my
school. This week has been hectic--taking the
girls shopping for school clothes, attending
workshops, getting my library ready. Busy, but God
comes first!
When I got up early this morning and took a
shower, I began to visit with Him. I echoed David's
words from
Psalm 103:
1 Bless the
LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His
holy name!
2 Bless the LORD,
O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all
your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your
life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and
tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies
your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like
the eagle’s.
I will not forget any of His benefits. I will
daily remind myself that He forgives ALL my
iniquities, heals ALL my diseases, redeems my life
from destruction, crowns me with lovingkindness and
tender mercies, and satisfies my mouth with GOOD
things. I will not forget these things. He is good.
August 2,
2005 THE WORLD
The theme that jumped out at me in
my reading today was "THE WORLD." I was
reading in 1 John and noticed in chapter 2 and
verses 15-19 several references to "THE WORLD,"
which reminded me of another scripture I read the
other day in James about the same thing. Here they
are, along with some others...
1 John 2:15-19
15Do not love the
world or anything in the world. If anyone loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in
him. 16For everything
in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the
lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and
does—comes not from the Father but from the world.
17The world and
its desires pass away, but the man who does the will
of God lives forever.
James 1:27
27Religion that God our
Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to
look after orphans and widows in their distress and
to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
The world. The world. The world.
John 3:16
"For God so loved
the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever believes in
him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:17
For God did not send his Son into
the world
to condemn
the world, but to save
the
world through him.
God so loved the world
that He sent Jesus into the world to save the
world.
John 1:10
He was in the world, and though the
world was made through him, the world
did not recognize him.
Jesus said that He is the light of the world.
John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,
"I am the light of the world. Whoever
follows me will never walk in darkness, but will
have the light of life." (See also
John 9:5,
John 12:46.)
And He also said that WE are the light of the
world (if we are followers of Him.) But we must
not hide that light.
Matthew 5:14
You are the light of the world. A city on a
hill cannot be hidden.
We must not
closely identify with the world to the extent that
we look the same as them. There should be a
difference between us and them.
John 15:19
If you belonged to the world, it would love
you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to
the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world. That is why the world hates you.
Jesus prayed to the Father:
John 17:14
I have given them your word and the world has
hated them, for they are not of the world any
more than I am of the world.
God so loved the world that He sent Jesus into the
world. Jesus was the light of the world. Yet though
He was in the world, He was not OF the world. The
world hated Him, and it will also hate His
followers.
John 17:18
As you sent me into the world, I have sent
them into the world.
Jesus sent us into the world. WE are the light of
the world. The world will hate us as it hated Him.
James said:
1 John 3:13
Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world
hates you.
And back to the original thought from another verse
in James:
James 4:4
You adulterous people, don't you know that
friendship with the world is hatred toward
God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the
world becomes an enemy of God.
We sing a song in our church called "Friend of God."
We sing, "I am a friend of God. I am a friend of
God. I am a friend of God, He calls me friend." And
we sing it with great excitement and enthusiasm. But
do we also remember that if we are a friend of God,
we will be an enemy of the world.
August 1,
2005 SEARCH ME, O GOD
Psalm 139:23-24 says:
23 Search me, O
God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there
is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
In other Bible translations, the word
"offensive" in verse 24 is also translated as
"wicked," "hurtful," and "grievous." The actual
Hebrew word there (Strong's
06090)--otseb--is a variation of the
root word etseb (Strong's
0689) and does mean a hurt or offense, but
also could be translated as an "idol."
Daily we need to make adjustments in our walk
with the Lord. Daily He is faithful to show us
WHERE we need to make these adjustments, then WE
must be faithful to do what He has shown us.
Search me, O Lord, and know my heart. See if
there is anything in me that is offensive or
hurtful to You. See if there are any idols in my
life, anything that is taking Your place, or
taking Your time.
