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What to do with days when things just aren’t going right?

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What to do with this day when things aren’t clicking and time keeps ticking?  When things refuse to fall into the designated places you had for them?  When it feels like it’s completely squashed before it starts?  So many plans lay ahead but the weight, the feeling, and the pressure of it all leaves one with a sense of having things unaccomplished and unfulfilled.  To look on the outside, it seems that everyone else is getting on with this day and their doings, but the fight in here, right now, and the press that comes with it, it just doesn’t seem to want to work out.  All the gears for all the mechanics of this day are present, in place, and spinning, but they are just not grabbing correctly to move what we are trying to achieve successfully.

What to do with this day when there seems to be conflict and strain with one another?  When relationships don’t hug the way you want them to hug or love in a way you want to be loved?  When misunderstandings, assuming, and yes, even one’s own personal views on a matter put barriers between the spirit of fellowship and love.  When hurts cause one’s steps to move ever so fragile as if on eggshells, fearing the disappointment and disapproval of someone else?

What to do with this day when rogue feelings break away from the pack you had planned for the day and invade and try to rob you of the potential joy that lay ahead in the hours to come?  Thieves of insecurity.  Thieves of shame.  Thieves of feeling woefully torn.  These thieves come with many hideous and damaging names.  The day was brand new and fresh at the start, but that didn’t stop these unwanted parasitic nuisances from latching on and tainting it with the feelings of mess-ups, adversity, pain, and disappointments from your yesterdays.

So, what to do with these kinds of days when our plans, people, or feelings just don’t want to cooperate with the vision you had set for it?

Give it to God!  That one answer tells us how to deal with it, the proper response to it, and what to do with the rest of it.  This is not some Christian rhetoric or cliche.  It is a solid truth that we can stand on and base our faith upon.  We give it to God.

The real truth is that at any given time on any given day, we will all or have all experienced one or many of the daily upsets listed above (and sometimes even more than these).  It is all a part of life, a part that can really throw us off-kilter if we don’t process it right and deal with it in the right way.

Therefore, when everything is going absolutely bonkers, sometimes without rhyme or reason; when nothing within our power or control is working, we give it all to Him who has all power and control.  Not as a mythical genie creature whose bottle we rub to have things or people turn out how we want them to.  But, as releasing it to His majesty and sovereign will.  It’s saying, “I trust you, God.”  Whether this day turns out how I configured it or not, my plans, my people, my times, my heart, and my feelings are all in Your hands.

God is not only the Creator of all the universe and the Author of all mankind, but He is concerned about your daily needs for each individual day also.  All the areas that need filling, all the upsets that need dealing with, all the plans that need to be taken care of, and all the worries that bog us down – He’s concerned about it all.

But, as we release the day to Him we must also realize His best answer for us may be to not move everything or anything into the places where we see fit.  Sometimes, His best answer for what we are going through with this day is to let us learn from it, experience it, and still maintain trust in Him.  Regardless of how it goes forward, despite what we feel in the process, no matter who we are dealing with and how we are dealing with them – He still sees it all, knows it all, and has it all in His loving and powerful hands.

So, when days like this come, we give it to God, step back, and just trust Him for every part of it.

Here are some verses and prayers to hold in your heart when the days just aren’t going right for you:

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Father God, I acknowledge that I don’t know everything about this day, my future, or even how to properly respond to it all.  I pray for Your leading to show me the right path to walk so that my life might be pleasing in Your sight.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

Father God, the end of all things may be vague to me or even remain a mystery.  Help my heart hold on to the very real fact that You knew me from the beginning and You know how my story ends; and that if I am in Your hands, then I am in Your plan.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Psalm 126:6 “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

Father God, my tears and confusion for the day, You see it all.  Help me to know that it is not all in vain.  Let my confidence be in You and Your love for me above all else, knowing that for every sadness, there will be joy.  When You restore, for every sorrow sown there will be a reaping of happiness and peace.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

 

 

 

You are not forgotten! | An Isaiah 49:15 Devotional

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“Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me;” Job 29:2

Have you ever experienced these same thoughts that Job expressed?  Have difficult times ever made you look back to times when you felt everything in your world was right?  When adversity strikes and we deal with things we do not understand, I am sure many of us like Job take our mind’s eye to those past days when trouble wasn’t knocking on our door.

The difficulty of the days he was presently in caused Job to look at those previous times as times of favor, saying, that’s when “God preserved me”.  But now, his expressions tell a different story of what his feelings are feeling.  His troubles caused him to think that just because he was going through adversity, God was not as presently with him as before.

Little did Job know, and many times we need to be reminded, that just as God was with us in the good times, so too is He with us in the troubling times.  It may look different than we are used to seeing it, and it may feel different, but just because we don’t understand and may question it, it doesn’t negate the fact that God is presently near, watching, and keeping His people.

Jesus taught, “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7). 

A bird sold is not forgotten before God, and neither was Job, and neither are you.  Our value before God is so precious and more than we could ever imagine.  The clouds that come during those dark days may try to hide that fact, but the truth of God’s Word is a fact, that no matter how we feel or how hard it may seem, God is still there for us.  Even if you are dealing with hurtful situations and even if you feel like you have been wronged, God’s loving eyes see and His precious hands are working behind the scenes, holding you, loving on you, and valuing you when others may not.

Difficult times are difficult because they are not easy.  During these times, see Him with eyes of faith.  See that He is still with you and that you have not been left in this alone (Hebrews 13:5).  Take your cares, your disappointments, your hurts, and your discouragements to God in prayer.  He is there listening.  And trust me, He does care.

Just because it hurts it does not mean He’s not feeling what you are feeling (Hebrews 4:15).  And just because we can’t figure out all this stuff, God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10), and we must trust Him with it, and with all the times in between.

God is here for you today, God is here.  Regardless of what you feel or are going through, you are not forgotten.

“Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” Isaiah 49:15

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.

“Be Hopeful!”

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“For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.  By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.” Psalm 71:5-6

Dr.  Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on despite it all.  And so today I still have a dream.”   Life goes on and dreams fade.  Aspirations and ideas that were once prevalent, now sit in a dusty corner of our sub-conscience only to be peeked at from time to time.  But, what we are learning is today, that does not have to happen.  Today we can remain hopeful.  That it’s not too late!

Hopelessness kills this world.  It’s like a ravenous disease spreading from individual to individual, house to house, community to community, city to city until everywhere we look all that is seen is what looks like people drowning in the distresses of this life.  Barely holding onto a fading thread of what could be in order to make it through another day.  There is no vigor for or in life.  It’s just a daily trudging through, each step getting harder and harder.

No wonder so many give up and are found sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else go by.  An individual can attend a thousand motivational seminars but if he walks away without true hope then nothing was accomplished.  No real help can come of it because without real hope, as Dr. King stated, “you lose the vitality that keeps life moving.”  But, when one can begin to get a glimpse of what could be, through faith, through the eyes of God, they can begin to see that there can be a greater tomorrow, or better yet, a greater day today for them.

I believe this psalmist knew the secret.  As dismal as life can be sometimes he knew that there was a reason to believe that this all would get better.  All he had to do was view the evidence of the working hand of God that was already performed in his life.  He said, “You are my hope. .  . my trust from my youth.”  The fact that we have made it this far from way back then is proof of His sovereignty over our lives.  By His strength, we have been blessed to be here today to tell of His goodness; to say, “I have been upheld from birth; You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.”  So, “my praise shall be continually of thee.“

You have a reason to remain hopeful.  This is not the final chapter.  There is more to your story than this.  I don’t believe God brought you through this far to not complete what He has in store for you.  “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).  It is not over yet.  We still have hope!

You can declare, “Today will be different.  Today I make the choice to ignore all the negative stuff that’s trying to override the promises of God.  Today, I turn my back on my problems and turn my eyes to Jesus, ‘the author and finisher of our faith,’ (Heb. 12:2).  I have more important things to occupy my mind with rather than all of these trials and tribulations.  All I have to do is remember how He has kept me thus far.  Remember, how He has brought me through to see this day.  Then, I can have hope that what He did once before, He’ll do it again.”

Hope!  Stay anchored in Him, “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast,” (Heb. 6:19).  He shall not be moved.  Therefore, since He is not moved and I am in Him – I shall not be moved.  Hope!

Never stop being hopeful for with it comes possibilities.  Believe what you can’t see.  Grab hold of what you can’t touch, and hope!  If you still have a dream then there must be hope to feed it.  Who knows what you will be capable of doing unless you give yourself a chance and remain hopeful.

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.

Complaintus Interruptus Devotional + 7 Bible Verses that Deal with Complaining

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Now, if you grew up like me watching Saturday morning cartoons (which were the best) with a bowl of cereal in hand, you have probably spent your fair share of time being entertained by a certain coyote and a particular bird who were always trying to outwit one another.  One of the humorous things about the show was the fake scientific or Latin names given to these characters that expressed some funny trait about who they were or what they were doing.  Thus, in parodic form was the title of this article born of the humorous need to make it sound really scientific.

One day, I was walking with my husband and something was really bothering me I had dealt with during the day and I couldn’t wait for an opportunity to unload what occurred.  It was like I was trying to play double-dutch jump rope, looking for the right time when I could jump in and unleash my complaint.

Walking side by side with him to go into our church that evening, while right on the tip of my tongue, ready to come out, my complaint was interrupted.  We ran into another church member and what she said to my husband escaped me, but my husband’s response didn’t.  He said, “I won’t complain.”  And he wasn’t saying it in a lackadaisical church manner, for he put emphasis on his point by refusing to acknowledge the reason for the complaint.  Obviously, I was floored.  Here I am holding something that’s just itching to get out and I experienced a case of “complaintus interruptus.”

 And sometimes, that’s not a bad thing.

Often in life, we do deal with things and we look to unload the weight of it onto others.  Sometimes we feel that if we can just talk about it with someone, that act alone can help us to feel better.  And in most cases, that’s true as long as we are seeking to do it constructively, and not just to do it for the sake of wanting to complain.

There is a big difference.  Out and out complaining is negative and tells those around us that I am just not happy about a situation and I want to gripe about it.  It’s not seeking resolution, it’s just seeking to show discontent, tear down, and spew out unnecessary drama.  Whereas, constructively telling someone of your concerns and upsets, not to unleash or accuse, but to seek counsel that will help you deal with the situation, is a positive move in the right direction to wrangle in the feeling of upset and misunderstandings one may be facing.

We find cases of both in the Bible to teach us the do’s and do not’s of what goes on in these situations.  First, we have the gripers, or murmurers, as the Bible calls them.  Those, who for the mere sake of wanting to expose their displeasure, pop the cork off their mouth and let the unhappiness flow.  We can find these types of characters throughout the Bible, particularly in those whom God delivered from Egypt. Yet, they constantly found something to complain about and it seemed they were never quite happy with what God was doing (see Exodus 14:11 and 16:2-3; Numbers 14:27 for some examples).

For these types of people, God was greatly displeased (Numbers 11:1; 21:5-7).  After only three days of their journey (compare Exodus 15:22-23) they expressed to God their discontent about their wandering situation even though it was these same people who cried out to God for deliverance because of their taskmasters.  It was hard for these people to overcome testing because their complaining spirit always seemed to win out over their emotions, thwarting their focus and devotion from God and His deliverance.

Then, we have those like King David who, in Psalms prayed, “I cried unto the LORD with my voice; with my voice unto the LORD did I make my supplication.  I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble,” (Psalm 142:1-2).  He comes before God humbly, with a prayerful spirit, seeking help and consolation, not to grumble or show his displeasure about his situation.  Simply put, he was going through trouble and he took that supplication and situation to the Lord in prayer.

The Bible invites us to give our worries, upsets, and problems to God by saying, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you,” (1 Peter 5:7; see also Psalm 55:22).  This is a constructive and positive way of dealing with the hurts and disappointments of life.  We take it to the Lord in prayer and we leave it there.  We express to Him, reverently, how we feel, how we are hurting and upset, and we let Him take the wheel, and we leave it alone.  It is a matter of trusting God with our problems, and not demanding something from Him through our murmuring.

God loves those who sincerely seek Him in prayer but He doesn’t like complaining.  Sometimes we need to check ourselves and put a hand up to stop the words flowing before what we think we need to say comes out of our mouths.  Perhaps we need a case of complaintus interruptus to corral wayward thoughts and words.

Some Verses to Ponder:

Philippians 2:14 – “Do all things without murmurings and disputings.”

Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”

Lamentations 3:39 – “Wherefore doth a living man complain . . .”

1 Corinthians 10:10 – “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”

Psalms 39:1 – “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.”

Philippians 4:11 – “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

Hebrews 13:5 – “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

Text Free Photo Credit: Pixabay

“Our Status has been Changed!” | Word For Life Says Devotional

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In the areas of social media, you have an opportunity to let people know more about you.  You can attach personal details of who you are and who you are associated with to your profile.  One of the ways to do this is by clicking the status button and customizing it to your current life situation.  If you are single, married, just got engaged or divorced . . .  Whatever your status, you can let the world know.

A lot of those statuses come by way of change.  Particularly, the change of entering into a new relationship or leaving an old one.  Because of what Jesus did, and because of those who made that decision that they needed Christ as their Savior and accepted Him as their own, now their status in this world has changed.

How awesome is that!

In our spirit, when we accept Him as our Savior, we clicked the status button and changed who we are or are not associated with.  We let everyone know that we have left our old relationship with the world and entered into a new one with Jesus.  We put it on blast that the life people used to see in us no longer exists.  We blow up the spiritual timelines with the transformation that has taken place deep down in our souls.

Now there is a special, heavenly bond between God and us.  No longer are we just mere men and women.  Now our status says that through Jesus Christ we have been changed and our position in the world is known as being His child (John 1:12; Galatians 3:26).  Now our profiles read that the condemnation that once hung over our lives has been lifted (Romans 8:1).  Now, we are now free in Him to experience life anew (John 8:36).  Now, we are able to cry out to Him, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6).  Now, we are carriers of His Spirit and He lives in us (1 John 4:13).

In our new relationship with God, our focus is no longer on what has been, but now it is on the promise of what will be.  Our future now looks brighter than our yesterday.  Our outlook on this life is now based on our new status in heaven.   Our hope for a better tomorrow is completely bound up in Him whom I am connected with today!

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God,” (Romans 8:16) and our status has been changed!  

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com (Sharing any posts or lessons can only be done through the share buttons provided on this site from the original posts, lessons, and articles only. You can reblog from the original posts only using the reblog button provided, or share using the share buttons provided from these social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest, etc., and they must be shared from the original posts only. All other repostings are prohibited. Posts and other items of interest found on this site MAY NOT BE COPIED AND PASTED, downloaded, uploaded, etc to another website or entity not listed (physical or electronic).  See COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.

“A Good Steward”

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“And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability…” Matthew 25:15

So often when one speaks of the idea of stewardship the mind automatically travels down the road to finances. The overall idea of finances and stewardship has been linked together for ages, even since the Bible times – and that’s a correct assessment. I want us to look beyond the management of “talents,” looking rather to talents. Huh!

Well, we have the Bible definition to deal with and then we have our English definition. Talents in the Bible refer to 3,000 shekels of silver while one’s talent in the English refers to that special something that God had planted on the inside of each of us. That skill or ability that comes so naturally, it just flows from one’s being. I think the idea of stewardship or being a manager can nicely encompass those God-given delectables on the inside of each of us.

I really think it is something special that God created these two words, though spelled the same, yet have different meanings, and then, gave a management directive over both of them. Paul charged Timothy and said, “Neglect not the gift that is in thee,” (1 Timothy 4:14). Paul knew that God had bestowed something amazing on the inside of this young man, yet, if it were going to prosper and flourish in him, he would have to pay careful attention to guard it.

Ask any gardener about the care that they take of their land once the seed has been planted. There are many steps to ensure growth. Just as with Adam in the Garden of Eden, God has planted the seed but has given each of us the charge to nurture it. That’s what stewardship is all about. Being careful to manage the thing/gift that God has put me in charge of.

Do you know how much the world needs the unique stuff that God has placed inside you? There can be a million preachers. There can be a million teachers. There can be a million givers. There can be a million ushers, janitors, authors, or whatever! There can be a million of anything that can be fathomed, but nobody can do it like YOU!

You are special. You are unique. Stop hiding your talents, your skills, that special something that God put in you. Stop burying it (Matthew 25:18). Rather do as Paul instructed Timothy and pay careful attention to it. Do what you have to do to cause that seed that God planted in you to grow to the point that it is flourishing on the outside of you. Then, the whole body of Christ can profit from that great gift in you.

“As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same
one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God,”
1 Peter 4:10.

 

“Embracing the Promises of God!”

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Are you just saying, “AMEN!” to the preacher and the message, or are you really getting into an agreement with the words coming forth from the mouthpiece of God?  Do you think the songs that are sung, which carry His good word and lift your soul, do you think they are just to make you feel good for a moment, or are they truths binding themselves on your heart because you can see with eyes of faith what God really wants to do in your life?  Do you think the words written in that Holy Bible are just a collection of tales to temporarily inspire you or are they moments in the lives of others God is using to show you that He can do the same thing for you?

It’s one thing to hear messages, read the Word, and listen to the songs about the promises of God, and it’s another thing to grab hold of them for yourself and believe with a fervent grip that they are for you, too.  Embracing God’s promises is saying, “I may not have it now, but my faith is tied to what God already spoke over my life.  With my physical eyes, it may not currently be before me, but with my spiritual eyes, I am persuaded that God will do what He said He would do, and I embrace that truth!  I choose to hold on to what God said over all else!”

Embracing is active participation in claiming the promises of God for your life.  God gave mankind a will and He won’t force you to believe His promises, but oh how sweet it is if you do.  He puts it out there, and many times He gives evidence that it will happen (and sometimes He doesn’t), but it is up to each individual heart to not only accept it but to hold on to what He spoke for dear life.  That’s why Hebrews declares, “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” (Hebrews 10:23; emphasis mine).   The word “us” in that verse tells us that it is our responsibility to lay hold of everything concerning our faith God speaks, including His promises.  If you believe that God is faithful, then believe He will faithfully follow through with all He spoke concerning you!

God will do His part without fail.  When the unwelcome interruptions of life come, our job is to keep on embracing that truth when facing whatever is before us.  Today, get a hold of the promises of God for your life and refuse to let them go.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Hebrews 11:13

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I am a lifter…

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I am a lifter.

I am an encourager.

I am a builder of my brother.

I am a minister to my sister.

I am an agent of hope to the downtrodden speaking words of inspiration about His freedom.

I am a promoter of grace, sharing words of deliverance with my war-worn sibling of the spirit.

I am a supporter of peace who chooses to use the mouth and the words God gives me to speak light, life, and love.

We are to speak “that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Ephesians 4:29

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Taking Care of House Mess

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when my house is a mess

“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19

Some weeks can be like a crazy schedule gone wild. The rush from one thing to another can drain us of any free time and we fall behind in our daily upkeep. When that happens and you wake the next morning after all the rushing about, you realize the evidence of your busyness is staring you in the face. What in the world happened here! Do messes multiply at night while we are asleep because we really believe it did not look that bad the night before? It always amazes me how easy it is for things to get disorganized and cluttered when we’re not giving them the attention they deserve.

Disorganization throws me off big time. When I’m trying to concentrate on a task and I lift my head up to look around and am spattered with a mess, my mind keeps going to the mess instead of getting back to the mission. Clutter is its own monster to deal with because when schedules grow out of hand, and stuff gets tossed to the side, the clutter monster gets fed and continues to grow and grow. Then, I wonder, “Where did all of this come from?”

When I first got married many years ago, I used to be a perfectionist. While I’m not as uptight as I used to be about a messy house, I still like cleanliness. A place for everything and everything in its place. Calm. Peaceful. Quiet. Yeah, that’s how I like it! It’s an environment that supports what I want to do in life.

Our spiritual lives operate in much the same way. When we are going off in many directions and not taking care of our home, our “temples,” things become disarrayed. We become less focused on taking care of the “home” business, and in our pursuits, our spiritual house becomes a mess.

Inattentiveness will do that. There are so many things that can capture our attention in our day-to-day activities. We have to be diligent guardsmen of the temple that keeps everything running smoothly. Take a museum for instance. It is probably one of the cleanest and most orderly establishments I have ever visited. The stuff that it holds inside is very valuable and some of it could never be replaced. Because of that, there are guards posted everywhere to ensure that everything is kept that way. When the sign says no photography, the guard will make sure no pictures will be taken. Flash does something to some of the works. You will not eat, drink, touch, or sneeze on any artwork. Our local museum has a line around each item and you better be careful not to cross it, or else.

Being that the Spirit we have in us is of more value than any artwork, irreplaceable and priceless, ought we not to guard it with even more diligence? Shouldn’t we be concerned about any messes or clutter that could disrupt the Spirit’s flow of working within us?

Paul thought so. The concern is that since God’s Spirit resides in you, you have the responsibility to keep the house clean. This body is a rental. It’s not permanent. The last part of our above verse tells us, “And ye are not your own?” We don’t hold the deed: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s,” (1 Corinthians 6:20). But we are responsible for the upkeep of the property.

What mess of the spirit has us so cluttered and disorganized that we are less attentive to the things of God? When the spiritual house is a mess it’s hard to function and find peace to complete the task that God is leading us to. We need to respect this spiritual house as one does when visiting a museum.

How do we keep it in order? First, start by having a made-up mind to set priorities. Know that above all else your relationship with God has to come first. One way to do that is to find out what has been sidetracking you and make it fall into place. Then, change your focus of thought to allow the Spirit freer access to move. Unclutter your thought life from that which does not profit to something far better. The Bible advises us: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” (Philippians 4:8). Using this as a filter will help keep the clutter out and rampant thoughts under control.

In verse 9, Paul goes on to explain if they listen to this advice and follow his example, “the God of peace shall be with you.” That means the house is clean and uncluttered, free for Him to move!

If you feel like you are having a hard time connecting with God or you don’t feel the Spirit moving and leading like you once did, check the environment. If you find a need to pick some things up off of that spiritual floor and get things back in order, then do so. There is nothing more precious or powerful than God being able to work in a “house” unhindered, with no messes or obstacles in the way.

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“Watch What You Eat!”

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What we put into our bodies matters.  The foods we eat can either help or hinder our health.  Sometimes, in our house, we stop at fast food restaurants to eat, but it is not an everyday occurrence.  I value what goes into my body.  Is every food choice the best choice?  No, but I try to make it a point to have the majority of what I eat be of nutritional value; to be something that will build me up and not tear me down.

Our spiritual lives work in the same manner.  We are what we eat, spiritually.  If all that we ever digest is the negatives of this world then we are robbing our spirit of the vital nutrients that can increase our awareness and spiritual health.  The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God,” (Rom. 10:17).  What we assimilate in our being is what will be produced in our spirit and in our lives.

God’s word has everything we need.  A daily diet of letting Him speak to us through His word, through His preachers and teachers will enrich our spiritual lives and make us stronger in Him.  When adversity and the storms of life arise, His word, which has already been deeply instilled in us pops into action and carries us through to the other side.

We need God’s word every day.  We need it to grow.  We need it to learn.  We need it to increase our faith.  We will never be the healthy Christians that we need to be if we leave the word of God out of our daily routines. God’s word will build you up and make you stronger in Him.   Many are diligent about their natural health but watch what you eat spiritually.  It can make the difference between spiritual health and spiritual sickness.

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com articles/lessons/worksheets may not be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of WordforLifeSays.com.  Please see the COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.  Blessings to you.

Please Note: Ads below or referenced on this site are prefabricated and mass-produced (of which I currently have no control over) and DO NOT necessarily represent the views and/or beliefs of this site and its admin.