God’s Great Faithfulness
Lamentations 3:22
Salt and Light
Matthew 5:13-15
The Race Is On
Ecclesiastes 9:11
We Need Discipline
Proverbs 13:18
Discipline is one of the most hated terms of our times...right alongside patience and self-control. But have you noticed how often it comes up in the testimonies of those who win?
Here are some key uses of discipline:
No runner completes the training or a race without it.
No weight-loss program is maintained without it.
No human body is kept fit without it.
No mind is sharpened without it.
No temptation is overcome without it.
A Positive Perspective
Ecclesiastes 3:22
A Position We Can’t Fill
Romans 14:13
Each one of us belongs to the same Lord. When we stop dictating, it is easier for others to mature as they follow the Lord's directing.
Freeing others means we never assume a position we're not qualified to fill. This, in one sentence, is enough to stop any person from judging another. We're not qualified. We lack full knowledge.
How often we have jumped to wrong conclusions, made judgmental statements, only to find out later how off base we were...then wished we could cut off our tongue. What keeps us from being qualified to judge?
Prayer Is Private Devotion
Matthew 6:6
Prayer is never something we do to be seen. It loses its whole purpose if it becomes a platform to impress others.
It is a private act of devotion, not a public demonstration of piety. According to Jesus, it belongs in the closet of our lives, an act done in secret.
Christ never saw prayer as pleading or begging or hammering away at the throne of God.
No, the Father knows His children, He knows what we need. Therefore, there is no reason to think that connecting with Him requires special words excessively repeated.
God Is Bigger Than Our Excuses
Isaiah 6:8
We all have excuses to disqualify ourselves from God's service.
"I'm not physically well"
"I've got this temper problem"
"I can't speak very well in public"
"I don't have a lot of education"
"My past is too raunchy!"
"You see, I'm a divorcee"
"I was once in a mental hospital"
And on and on and on.
But God is bigger thananyof those reasons. He specialises in taking bruised, soiled, broken, guilty, and miserable vessels and making them whole, forgiven, and useful again.