Devotionals

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.

Psalm 140:7

Romans 11:33-34

Ecclesiastes 3:22

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?

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.

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.

Psalm 19:13

Life on earth is really nothing more than a string of moments, one after another. And I do not want my testimony for Jesus Christ to be shattered by a single moment of indulging my flesh.

I don't want one moment of rage or pride or arrogance to cast a shadow over a lifetime of walking with my Lord.

Frankly, I fear that possibility. And do you know what? Iwantto fear that possibility. When I stop fearing it, I am in grave danger.

Proverbs 15:16

Fortunesays that to be successful you need to make the big bucks.

Why else would the Fortune 500 list make such headlines every year? Anyone who is held up as successful must have more money than the average person.

Understand, there is nothing wrong with money earned honestly.

Certainly there is nothing wrong in investing or giving or even spending money if the motive is right, if the heart is pure. But I have yet to discover anyone who has found true happiness simply in the gathering of more money.

1 Corinthians 6:20

Committed individuals live with shallow tent pegs.

They may own things, but nothing owns them. They have come to terms with merchandise that has a price tag and opted for commitment to values that are priceless.

Denying oneself is not to be equated with losing one's uniqueness or becoming of no value.

There have been great people in each generation who modelledself-denial as they made significant contributions to humankind.