Devotionals

Psalm 90:12

The Hebrew text suggests that we correctly "account" for our days.

I find it interesting that we are to view life by the days, not the years. We are to live those days in such a way that when they draw to a close, we have gained "a heart of wisdom."

With the Lord God occupying first place in our lives we accept and live each day enthusiastically for Him. The result will be that "heart of wisdom" the psalmist mentions...

Because we cannot alter the inevitable, we adjust to it.

Proverbs 22:1

Unfortunately, we have grown accustomed to shrugging off lapses in moral character, manifested in secretive and deceptive lifestyles.

We are frequently told that trying to find people who value honesty and model responsibility, who promote fairness, accountability, loyalty, and respect for others, and who hold strong, upright convictions is not at all realistic.

Proverbs 11:25

Close, open relationships are vital. A glib "Hi, how are ya" must be replaced with genuine concern.

The key term is assimilation. When I use the word here, I'm referring to people reaching out to one another.

Being absorbed in the function of the family of God as a participant (rather than a spectator)

...relating to

...working with

...caring for others whom I know and love.

As I read it over, I see written between the lines the reminder:

This is not automatic. I am personally responsible.

1 Peter 5:7

How wonderful that God personally cares about those things that worry us and prey upon our thoughts.

He cares about them more than we care about them. Not a single nagging, aching, worrisome,stomach-tensing, blood-pressure-raising thought escapes His notice.

This is how the Phillips translation renders 1 Peter 5:7: "You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern."

Isn't that good? He genuinely cares.

Ecclesiastes 7:12

God has given mankind the ability to see beyond the present. And He has not given that ability to any other creation. He has given us eternity in our hearts, without which "man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end,"(Ecclesiastes 3:11).

I have italicized "the end" for the sake of emphasis. Let me tell you why.

Proverbs 16:16

Foolish indeed is the person who considers himself safe and sound because he has money...

And another reason it's foolish to trust in riches for security is that money, in the final analysis, brings no lasting satisfaction, certainly not in the area of things that really matter. There are many things that no amount of money can buy.

Think of it this way:

Proverbs 4:7

The good life—the one that truly satisfies—exists only when we stop wanting a better one.

It is the condition of savouring what is rather than longing for what might be. The itch for things, the lust for more—so brilliantly injected by those who peddle them—is a virus draining our souls of happy contentment.

Psalm 139:17

Most of us are good at criticizing ourselves and finding fault with what we have done or failed to do. I'd like to suggest an alternate plan—spend some of your leisure time finding pleasure and satisfaction in what you have done as well as in who and what you are.

Sound too liberal? Why? Since when is a good self-esteem liberal?

There are times we need to tell ourselves, "Good job!" when we know that is true.

John 1:17

While thinking back on his days with Jesus, John (one of The Twelve) remembers there was something about Him that was like no one else, during which time His disciples "beheld His glory." His uniqueness was that incredible "glory," a glory that represented the very presence of God. In addition, this glorious One was "full of grace and truth."

Pause and let that sink in.

It was His glory mixed with grace and truth that made Him different.

Colossians 1:9-10

Have you ever been in an area of the country where there was a lot of fruit ripening in the sun?

Maybe on some cool September morning you've taken a walk through the apple orchards of the Hood River valley or along the Columbia River in Oregon. It is pleasing to the eye to see such an abundance of sweet, delicious fruit hanging on branch or vine, ready to be plucked.

A fruitful Christian life is like that—sweet, refreshing, nourishing, fragrant, sustaining, delightful to be near. But such a life requires careful cultivation...