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 John 7:17 (NLT) Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. |
An Equation for Life Do you look for unknown answers to life’s difficult questions? I do. We all want to do God's Will and serve. But how do we know we are listening to God or merely to our own thoughts?  Several
weeks ago, someone I knew was having a tough time. They were experiencing
sickness, death of a loved one and one tragedy after another. They were
asking all the questions of why and to what purpose did all this suffering
serve. I wanted to to give comfort and answers to this person, but I had
nothing meaningful to give them as their questions were the same questions
I would be searching for. So I did the only thing I could do for them. I
prayed for them to gain insight and wisdom. I prayed for answers. But
no answers came until two days ago when a friend sent me “Ten Reasons To
Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering” an entry found on the internet
at www.geocities.com/cryingdove7.geo/TEN.html.
The reasons were:
(You are urged to go to the internet and obtain the in depth
explanations of each of these ten listed reasons.) It was like manna from
heaven and I knew immediately who to send it to. I received a reply of
thanksgiving from them, as the article supplied the answers they were
searching for. Rod McKenzie |
NOTE: This page contains 5 devotions. Pick
one using the above buttons. |
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| James 2:17 (NKJ) Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. |
Faith and Work Faith is not usually associated with work, but James says, "Faith without works is dead." He also says, "Be doers of the Word, not hearers only." (James 1:22 New King James) Faith is an act. Faith is acting on the Word of God. Therefore, work and action are definitely a part of faith. When you
are believing God for something by faith, you have to work at being
patient for the answer. Let us run with patience the race that is set
before us. (Hebrews 12:1 King James) It’s important to exercise our
faith muscles to strengthen our faith.Jesus
says, "Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does
them....." (Luke 6:47) Too many times people are trying to draw the
lucky ticket, like playing the lottery, when actually you have to work at
being a successful Christian. Work, in that you daily work, or apply, His
words into your life-actions.The
following is an adaptation of an anonymous poem from John Maxwell's book,
Success One Day At A Time: He worked by day . . And prayed by night . . He
gave up play . . And much delight. The Bible he read . . New things to
learn . . And forged ahead . . Success to earn. He plodded on . . With
faith and pluck. And when God prospered him . . They called it luck.Prayer Lord, give us the power to be doers of Your Word. Help us to have endurance in our walk by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Additional Scriptures Titus 3:8; John 14:15; James 2:20-26 Charlie Morgan |
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| I Corinthians 9:2526 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I don’t fight like a man beating the air. |
Jumping Frogs I was sitting in 12th grade English class, but I did not hear the teacher. My mind was several hours and miles away. Tonight was the conference cross-country championship. I was not one of our top runners, but tonight was going to be different. I had decided to sprint out with the leaders and stay with them. I could do it! (Once upon a time there were 23 frogs on a log. Seven decided to jump off. How many were left? The answer is 23. Deciding to do something is not the same as doing it.) How did I
run at the championship? I ran like a person who had not trained to run
with the leaders. I ran like I practiced to only finish, not win. I ran
focused on my next step rather than on victory. It is easy to live by
feelings. It is easy to avoid giving extra effort. It is easy to live an
undisciplined life. But the easy way is not the best way. A river becomes
crooked by taking the easiest path so do people.Prayer Lord, sometimes I think I am one of the most lazy, excuse-giving, undisciplined people I know. Other times I am full of will power and doing well. God, I just want to be controlled and empowered by you. Holy Spirit, fill me with your energy and will. Please. Amen. Additional Scriptures Luke 9:23; 2 Peter 1:5-9; Psalm 25:4-5; Colossians 1:29 David Phipps
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| Psalm 118-29 O give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever. |
God’s Steadfast Love We are a nation of people who expect that we should always be happy; never sad, never angry, never alone. Yet the reality of life for most of us is vastly different. (Antidepressants are among the best-selling products of pharmaceutical companies and are often prescribed by family doctors as well as psychiatrists.) In my work, I often deal with people who are suicidal and who believe that life is too difficult to be lived. I personally know what it means to be alone in a society of "couples" and families. Sadness, anger, and loneliness are painful, and we are a society which avoids pain as much as possible. Somehow we got the idea that to live happily ever after means living without any emotional pain. Our
society also fosters the idea that we should renounce all feelings and
never admit a need; always have the right answers, and always appear in
total control. We have been taught from childhood on that it is weak and
cowardly to admit to painful feelings. However, it is clearly not God's
desire that we live in perpetual pain, morbidly focused on what might have
gone wrong in our lives. Learning to live in the "steadfast love of
the Lord" takes time and requires work. It is a process, not an
event; and, a life-long growth process at that.King David
often felt lonely, discouraged, depressed and hurt. But he was a truthful
man who allowed himself to think and feel and be. In the Psalms he often
expressed confusion and loneliness. Yet his willingness to express his
feelings of emotional pain led him again and again to the "steadfast
love of the Lord" and allowed him to express great joy in his faith
and thankfulness in his life. He never allowed himself to give up on God,
knowing that God's love for him is steadfast.I have
often, in my life, given up on God. I don't like to admit it, but I must
be honest. I gave up on God because I thought God had given up on me. I
have complained about "bad luck" and negative events, especially
when I was young. Now I can look back and take a longer view of my life,
and I see that the steadfast love of God has endured for me. I have
learned to accept events in my life as experiences that have enriched my
life, given me strength to endure emotional pain and allowed me to
influence others. I have been given the courage to overcome obstacles in
my life, knowing God has promised to be with me and guide me. I have
learned to trust in the steadfast love of the Lord.Prayer Lord, help me to deal with emotional pain by trusting in your steadfast love. Thank you for guiding me through life's obstacles and allowing them to enrich my life. Amen. Joyce E. Lewis
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| I Corinthians 3:12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. |
Gold Or Straw When I read the subject Scripture, I had this vision of myself at the end of my life, shooting into heaven cartoon style, feet first with the seat of my robe smoking and me patting out the flames! The point in this Word to us is that we can accept Christ and be saved and not do what is pleasing or even called by Him to do. This is a test to determine if we have religion or the Person. On that
day in heaven when God's fire is touched to your earthly works, will they
come forth as gold or burned up? I know when I realized what that meant, I
trembled and had this thought: 'Could I ask the Lord to burn them up now?'
He answered that question and I obeyed. I have smelled smoke ever since!
But better to suffer the loss now than in eternity. I don't want to smell
like smoke (hell) in heaven!God is a
tender Father. When He revealed my real motives to me, that I was serving
in ministry to get my own needs met even though in my heart I truly wanted
to do the work of God, He poured out an equal measure of love and mercy
with the discipline. I learned to love the discipline of the Lord through
this experience. Painful, but affirming. I also learned that as a Father,
He is impossible to shock. In fact, He seems pretty much bomb proof to me.
In the real world, I found the more honest I was about myself the farther
people got from me! That taught me to be dishonest and whitewash. I had on
the traveling clothes of a Christian, but wasn't really going anywhere.
But with Him, the more honest I get the closer He gets. The intimacy with
Him is what I crave now. He meets every need I was trying to meet myself.
And now, I have silver in place of hay, gold instead of straw, and
precious stones for my sticks.Prayer Dear Lord, I lay my ambitions, my desires and my opinions on the altar of sacrifice. Burn up what is not of you! I say yes to this work of purification in my life. Replace it with your desires, your opinions and your work for my life. Give me gold, silver and costly stones in place of the garbage I thought was valuable. Give me your eyes, with wisdom to see what is truth and valuable. I thank you for your mercy and love revealed through your Son, who having died while we were yet sinners, made provision for our selfish and self-centered hearts. Help us to fear your Holiness and be fearless in our search for your will and mercy. In the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen Additional Scriptures Isaiah 64:6; Romans 5:8; Proverbs 3:11; Hebrews 12:6 Lisa Sowry |
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