A Dead-End Road

Proverbs 16:18

What is it that drives us on so relentlessly? Are you ready? Take a deep breath and allow yourself to tolerate the one-word answer: PRIDE.

We work and push and strive so we can prove we are worthy...we are the best...we deserve top honours. And the hidden message: I can gain righteousness all on my own, by my own effort, ingenuity, and energy. And because I can, I must!

And why is this heretical? Because ultimately this philosophy says:

1.I really don't need divine righteousness. (After all, God helps those who help themselves, right?)

Verse of the Day: October 30, 2023

Ephesians 2:8-9

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Take It by Faith

 

Isaiah 55:9

Despite all of our searching and all of our study of the Scriptures, we'll never be able to see everything clearly, to fully grasp and understand and answer all the questions. They are beyond our comprehension—a puzzle, a mystery.

InKeep a Quiet Heart, Elisabeth Elliott says, "Today is mine. Tomorrow is none of my business. If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future, I will strain my spiritual eyes so that I will not see clearly what is required of me now."

Verse of the Day: October 29, 2023

Romans 12:1

A Living Sacrifice

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Verse of the Day: October 28, 2023

1 Peter 1:24-25

For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Heed God’s Promptings

Proverbs 16:9

Nothing wrong with planning. Nothing wrong with thinking it through. Nothing wrong with doing your charts, listing all the pros and cons, talking it over...

But as you are moving along, stay sensitive to the quiet, yet all-important prompting of God through His Holy Spirit. It's easier to steer a moving car. Just get the car rolling and you can push it into the filling station to get the gas. But it's hard to get it moving from a dead stop.

So you're on your way, you're making your plans, you're thinking it through. Just stay open....

Verse of the Day: October 28, 2023

1 Peter 1:24-25

For, All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached to you.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

The Sheltering Tree of Friendship

Proverbs 17:17

The poet Samuel Coleridge once described friendship as "a sheltering tree."

When you have the quality of a sheltering tree, the branches of your friendship reach out over the lives of others, giving them shelter, shade, rest, relief, and encouragement....Friends give comfort. We find strength near them. They bear fruit that provides nourishment and encouragement.

Verse of the Day: October 27, 2023

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

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Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.