Nov 19 Your Word is wisdom

Father, James says Abraham’s “faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.”

I pray that my life and faith will be the same.

I understand that my actions alone will not save me.  That salvation comes by believing in You and accepting You as Lord of my life.  But I can also see that my actions bear out what I believe.   And since actions are what others can see, others will know my faith by my actions.

In addition to my actions, my words speak a lot about who I am and what I believe.   So set a guard on my tongue!

I have learned by experience that words cannot be unsaid.  Once spoken, their impact is made.  Father, forgive me for the times I have spoken without thinking, and in doing so, caused hurt to someone.

And forgive me for the times I spoke after thinking, but was wrong in the way the message was delivered.  For it is not only the words chosen, but also the way they are spoken that carries meaning and can cause trouble.

Words can tear down, damage, hurt, berate, mislead, manipulate, and deceive a person.  But they can also lift up, encourage, enlighten, inspire, bless and show love.   Father, give me wisdom for how and when to use my words.

Help me see through the “wisdom” the world offers.

That kind of wisdom can come from my own flesh: a kind of “sensual wisdom” based on my own thoughts and feelings.  It will produce self-satisfaction and pride, and ultimately, guilt – as James tells me my own desires can lead to sin.

Or it can come from others in the world, leading to approval and acceptance from the crowd.   It produces disorder, and You have told me I should not be conformed to the pattern of this world.

Or it may be demonic wisdom that brings envy, immorality and leads me to worship other things, eventually producing fear.

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”  This wisdom produces the Fruit of the Spirit in me.

Father, help me listen and discern Your wisdom from all the others.  I desire to hear from and follow You alone.  Amen

James 2:18-3:18

Apr 26 Hearing God’s Voice

Father, thank You for the example of Gideon.  What a great illustration to show me it’s ok to ask You for confirmation that I am indeed hearing from You.  It’s important to be sure before taking action.

There are times when I am sure I hear You and understand what I am to do.

But other times when, probably due to fear or reluctance on my part, I second guess myself and come up with lots of reasons why I might have misunderstood You.   I need to be reassured.  So I am glad to know it is all right to ask for that reassurance.

I desire to follow in Gideon’s footsteps, Lord. First, it’s important for me to know who I am hearing from.  He asked for confirmation and received absolute proof he was hearing from You.  Upon realizing it was truly You, he built an altar that acknowledged You as The One True God.

Then, he was obedient in Your instructions to remove the worship of other gods, tearing down the false altar and Asherah pole.  And even though he did this fearfully, You protected and blessed him.

As he followed through with Your plan, he asked for clear validation.  Gideon used a good example of something that would be unlikely if not impossible to have happened naturally.   So I too, need to be sure I’m not asking for a sign that will simply support my own desire; like, “Lord, if the sun comes up tomorrow I will know You mean…”

How do I verify I am hearing from You?  Asking You to combust food like Gideon did, is probably not the best route to go these days, although not beyond Your ability.  And You have left Your written Word as a guide for me.  So I have learned to ask three questions:

1 – Does what I hear agree with Scripture?  The answer must be “yes.”  I believe You will never tell me anything that contradicts what You have already told me in Your Word. So I must be familiar with Your Word.

2 – What will the result, or the fruit of the act be?  It should lead to and produce the fruit of the Spirit; which is peace, patience, love, joy, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, and self-control.   The acts of the flesh are immorality, idolatry, impurity, debauchery, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissension, envy, and the like.  So I can look at the expected result and see where I am headed.

3 – Will it benefit my relationship with You, Lord?  Everything I do will either draw me closer to You or pull me farther away in our relationship.

So I can ask the three questions.  But if confusion still exists, it is good to know that I can come to You with whatever concern I have.  And know that You will answer me so I can be sure of Your direction.

Thank You that You let me hear Your voice.  And help me confirm it.  Amen

Judges 6:11-40; Galatians 5:17-23

Apr 26 Hearing God’s Voice

Father, thank You for the example of Gideon. What a great illustration to show me it’s ok to ask You for confirmation that I am indeed hearing from You. It’s important to be sure before taking action.

There are times when I am sure I hear You and understand what I am to do. But other times when, probably due to fear or reluctance on my part, I second guess myself and come up with lots of reasons why I might have misunderstood You.   I need to be reassured. So I am glad to know it is all right to ask for that reassurance.

I desire to follow in Gideon’s footsteps, Lord. First it’s important for me to know who I am hearing from. He asked for confirmation and received absolute proof he was hearing from You.

Upon realizing it was truly You, he built an altar that acknowledged You as The One True God. Then, he was obedient in Your instructions to remove the worship of other gods, tearing down the false altar and Asherah pole. And even though he did this cautiously, You protected him and blessed him.

As he followed through with Your plan, he asked for clear validation. Gideon used a good example of something that would be unlikely if not impossible to have happened naturally.   So I too, need to be sure I’m not asking for a sign that will simply support my own desire; like, ‘Lord, if the sun comes up tomorrow I will know You mean…’

How do I verify I am hearing from You? Asking You to combust food like Gideon did, is probably not the best route to go these days, although not beyond Your ability. And You have left Your written Word as a guide for me. So I have learned to ask three questions:

1 – Does what I hear agree with Scripture? The answer must be “yes.” I believe You will never tell me anything that contradicts what You have already told me in Your Word. So I must be familiar with Your Word.

2 – What will the result, or the fruit of the act be? It should lead to and produce the fruit of the Spirit; which is peace, patience, love, joy, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, and self-control. The acts of the flesh are immorality, idolatry, impurity, debauchery, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissension, envy, and the like. So I can look at the expected result and see where I am headed.

3 – Will it benefit my relationship with You, Lord? Everything I do will either draw me closer to You or pull me farther away in our relationship.

So I can ask the three questions. But if confusion still exists, it is good to know that I can come to You with whatever concern I have. And that You will answer me so I can be sure of Your direction. Thank You. Amen

Judges 6:11-40; Galatians 5:17-23

Sept 20 Freedom in Christ

When my first son was small, I remember wanting to avoid having a child who yelled ‘no’ all the time, so I tried to avoid saying ‘no’ to him if I could. Eventually, I did end up having to say ‘no’ much more than I wanted. It was such a convenient way to help him understand what was allowable and what was not.

There were so many ways to tell him what he could do because so many things were permissible. Yes, he could walk on the sidewalk, or on the rocks, or in the grass or on the bricks, or holding my hand or with granddaddy, but ‘no’ was the quickest, easiest way to make the point that he could not walk in the street. And it wasn’t long before he learned ‘no’ and with it came the desire to rebel against it.

How similar is my life of freedom in Christ. There are so many things that are good to choose from, it would take a lifetime to list them all. For instance, I can be told to speak to people in love, in truth, instructing, encouraging, in kindness, with joy, with laughter, personally, with others, in groups, tell jokes, share stories…the list could go on extensively. But it is simpler to give someone a standard of communicating by saying ‘don’t lie’.

And yet, this creates a list of ‘no’ that I find myself focusing on, filling my thoughts with the negative.   When I focus on the ‘no’ more than all the things that are ‘yes’, it gives me a sense that godly living is restrictive. And the desires that have ‘no’ in front of them are the things I spend more time thinking about so I can try and avoid them.

So when I hear “walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”, it is immediately freeing! It changes my focus onto all the freedoms that the Spirit gives me! When I am so focused on all the great things the Spirit shows me I can do, I will be so busy doing those things, that I will not have time think of the desires of the flesh. And by doing the ‘yes’ things the Spirit invites me to, I will automatically be avoiding the ‘no’ things, without even thinking about them!

Father, let me see past the ‘no’ statements to the freedom in the ‘yeses’! Help me reframe my thinking by looking to all the things the Spirit leads me to. Let me bless others with all the yesses. Let me live in the blessing of Your ‘yes’. Amen

Galatians 5:13-26

Apr 26 Hearing God’s Voice

Father, thank You for the example of Gideon. What a great illustration to show me it’s ok to ask You for confirmation that I am indeed hearing from You. It’s important to be sure before taking action.

 

There are times when I am sure I hear You and understand what I am to do. But other times when, probably due to fear or reluctance on my part, I second guess myself and come up with lots of reasons why I might have misunderstood You.   I need to be reassured. So I am glad to know it is all right to ask for that reassurance.

I desire to follow in Gideon’s footsteps, Lord. Looking at his actions, I see it is first important for me to know who I am hearing from. He asked for confirmation and received absolute proof he was hearing from You.

Upon realizing it was truly You, he built an altar that acknowledged You as The One True God. Then, he was obedient in Your instructions to remove the worship of other gods, tearing down the false altar and Asherah pole. And even though he did this cautiously, You protected him and blessed him.

As he followed through with Your plan, he asked for clear validation. Gideon used a good example of something that would be unlikely if not impossible to have happened naturally.   So I too, need to be sure I’m not asking for a sign that will simply support my own desire; like, ‘Lord, if the sun comes up tomorrow I will know You mean…’

How do I verify I am hearing from You? Asking You to combust food is probably not the best route to go these days, although not beyond Your ability. And You have left Your written Word as a guide for me. So I have learned to ask three questions:

1 – Does what I hear agree with Scripture? The answer must be ‘yes’. I believe You will never tell me anything that contradicts what You have already told me in Your Word. So I must be familiar with Your Word.

2 – What will the result, or the fruit of the act be? It should lead to and produce the fruit of the Spirit; which is peace, patience, love, joy, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, kindness, and self-control. The acts of the flesh are immorality, idolatry, impurity, debauchery, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, dissension, envy, and the like. So I can look at the expected result and see where I am headed.

3 – Will it benefit my relationship with You, Lord? Everything I do will either draw me closer to You or pull me farther away in our relationship.

So I can ask the three questions. But if confusion still exists, it is good to know that I can come to You with whatever concern I have. And that You will answer me so I can be sure of Your direction. Thank You. Amen

Judges 6:1-40; Galatians 5:17-23

Jan 12 Trust God with it all

 

Thank You for sharing the secret to prosperity with us in today’s Proverb. It is a simple statement, but holds the key.

You instruct us to “honor You with our wealth, with the firstfruits of our crops”. We so often consider “honoring You with our wealth’ to be tithing money to an affiliated church. Period. And while money is certainly a part of our ‘wealth’ it is not the only thing. Some of us have a wealth of talent, some a wealth of personality, some a wealth of time, or of good health and energy. All these things are gifts from the Father of Lights from whom every good and perfect gift comes. So we need to consider giving of our talents, our time, our energy, our relationships, all in a way that brings honor to You.

Lord, help me think beyond the change in my pocket. Let me glorify You in how I treat other people, how I speak to them, how I look on them in my heart attitude. Let the bounty of Your provision to me in time and talent overflow onto those around me. Help me spend the minutes in my day as carefully as the dollars in my purse, in a way that points to You, and brings acknowledgement and praise to You. Help me turn away from greed, selfishness, pride, arrogance; and reflect the righteous qualities of the fruit of the Spirit: goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness, patience, peace, love, joy, and self-control.

The second part of the key is timing. The firstfruits of a crop are what is harvested before the rest of the crop is mature and ready to be gathered. Earthly wisdom would be to ‘get what you can, can what you get, and sit on the can’. It would be to bank a ‘sure thing’; and then wait to see if the rest of the crop comes in. After all, there could be floods, winds, freezes, insects or disease that could overtake a ripening crop and destroy it completely. Then nothing would be left to sustain the grower and give profit.

But You tell me to honor You with the firstfruits. It’s an exercise in trust. It means I am willing to sacrifice a ‘sure thing’ because I trust the One who is in control of it all. Help me act in faith, being willing to show I trust in You and in Your will for my life, by giving You what is given to me first. Don’t let me be fearful of the future and stockpile the firstfruits for myself, then be satisfied with ‘tipping’ You if any is left over.

Father, thank You for this lesson, this reminder. It speaks again to the reassurance I have in You that You are the One with the power and the might and the authority and the sovereignty over all things. And reminds me that I can trust You with all things in the present and the future. I choose to trust You with my words, my actions and my prayers. Amen

Proverbs 3:9-10