Being Misunderstood Or Judged Hurts

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."1 Peter 5:7

If anyone has never been misunderstood or judged for something then you are in the minority. You only answer to one person that being Jesus your Lord and savior. Make sure your heart is right with Him.  You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Talk to God. 

It really hurts when a family member falls into the category of judging you or thinking you are judgmental. The enemy Satan seeks to destroy relationships with friends and family so be on your guard and recognize it as such. Only the Holy Spirit can change a persons heart and mind. No amount of begging, pleading, or trying to prove yourself works. 

My friend stop where you are and ask God to reveal anything in your life that needs attention. Don’t compare yourself to others and fall into Satan’s trap. Have you heard the phrase “you are so Heavenly minded you are no earthly good?”Try to stay away from behavior that makes you seem super Holy. Only God is Holy. 

PRAYER: Father help me be still. Help me stay off social media. Help me to continue to pray and not lose heart. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Start With Jesus

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” – Lamentations 3:22-23

Did you start your day with Jesus today? For 21 days beginning 2 August I made it a point to set my alarm for 5 am MST to join Church of the Highlands(Alabama) live for their bi annual 21 Days of Prayer. It helped establish the habit of making Christ a first priority. 

It is very easy to let your day get away with you and realize whoops I forgot to pray and have a quiet time. If honest everyone can admit that happening. I have the You Version Bible App which is a great tool to get you going each day. It is free in the App Store. 

Do you need to get a prayer and Bible reading habit going? Also another good tool is Day Alone With God I learned living back in Arizona where you simply make a day or a morning and go somewhere safe without your cell phone and talk to God. I have gotten out of habit of this since leaving Alabama/Tennessee 6 years ago and need to start it up again. Anyway just make sure to get your priorities right. Now go enjoy your day. 

PRAYER: Today Lord help me pause to think of all my blessings and to trust you with my prayers. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Note: To watch archived 21 Days of Prayer go to www.churchofthehighlands.com/21days

Be Still Mouth

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 18:21

Do you have issues with your mouth maybe butting in, lying, gossip, repeating confidential information, anger, trying to get the last word and on the list goes? If you can get your mouth under control your life would be easier and kinder. The mouth would also refer to  texting because that is the modern way of talking. 

Words can wound people, tear marriages and friendships apart, break up families. It is essential to think before you speak or text. You can look up many verses in the Bible referring to the words you speak or your tongue. 

If you have been victimized by someone’s words try to forgive and move on. Ask God to help you control your mouth if it is a problem. Above all use your words to spread joy, hope, and kindness. 

PRAYER: Father forgive me when I have hurt others with things I say either intentionally or unintentionally. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Alone With Your Thoughts

 "Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."Colossians 3:2

Jumping to conclusions, assumptions, speculating,  wrong thinking, judgments can all surface when you are alone with your thoughts. There is a TV reality show called ‘Alone’ where ten survival experts are dropped off on various remote locations usually in Artic and have to survive with limited things they are allowed to bring. 

This time of aloneness is a huge challenge as there are no other people, no cell phones, no electricity and they are allowed to bring one photo with them. That’s it. Could you do it? Find food, boil water, build a shelter and so forth. One of biggest challenges is loneliness. That is what causes some contestants to ‘tap out’ and go home. The winner is awarded $500,000. 

What do you do to keep your mind not wandering where it shouldn’t be? In order to have and maintain healthy relationships it is essential to keep your mind from bouncing all over the place. Try even a day of aloneness for practice. No cheating. Talk to God. Keep focused on above. 

PRAYER: Lord help me practice the discipline of a controlled and a peaceful mind, learning to let go of stinking thinking. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Release Wrong Thinking

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.Philippians 4:8 NIV Bible Gateway 

It is pretty easy to start thinking wrong. You have control of your mind so turn off the wrong thinking faucet that keeps dripping unhealthy unproductive thoughts and start thinking about God.

Today’s verse says it in a nutshell. Think on things ‘above’ or in other words what the Almighty would be pleased with. Turn off sources of hate and anger in your life that may be causing you to get in a negative hateful mode. 

Use caution on social media. It is not the Bible and many people can spew all kinds of lies and filth on it that have no business in your thought life. 

PRAYER: I need your help every day Lord to get up and get going and put you at the head not the tail. Forgive me for times I neglect talking to you in prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Not Friendly

I get many of my devotion titles from license plates I see or things on tee shirts. This was on a tee shirt I saw on a recent visit to Kings island Amusement Park near Cincinnati. Wow why would someone want to put that on a shirt? 

Everyone is different and some may find humor in saying “leave me alone” but yet God wants us to be friendly and reach out to hurting and lonely people. Perhaps the young woman with that on hurt deep inside and that was her way of reaching out. 

Do you notice people around you or are you too busy in your own life things pass right by you?Take time today to pray for people you see while you are out and about. You never know what is burdening people so be kind. 

PRAYER: Lord help me blow things off instead of getting upset and I pray for hurting souls who just need Jesus. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Do You Know Where You Are Going?

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 NIV Bible gateway 

Many people today don’t care to go to church as they don’t want to do ‘religious’ things they find dull or boring. Big trick of Satan to paint being a believer boring as when you truly are saved and ‘born again’ you want to find a dynamic church to worship in weekly. 

You can accept Christ as savior and then fall away for a time being tricked and tickled by cultures lies and misrepresentation's. It saddens me to see those raised in a dynamic church get sucked into the darkness this world offers them. Many times they trip in the darkness but still run away from all things Jesus. 

Friend do you know for sure if you dropped over dead today when you opened your eyes you would see Jesus? This world is nothing compared to what awaits you. If you gave not asked Christ into your heart why not do it right now. Get on your knees if able and cry out to the most Holy God to set you free from Satans lies, lures, and traps. Also pray for those you know who are blinded by Satans lies to come back to Jesus. 

PRAYER: Father thank you for hearing my prayer and setting me free. I pray for the list to encounter Christ and the back slidden to return. In Jesus’ name. Amen.