What Idols Are you Worshipping?

 

You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.Exodus 20:4

 

When you think of an idol what comes to mind? A gold statue? A music celebrity like Taylor Swift? For an alcoholic it could be booze.Television addict?  For many it might be whatever consumes your life and what you live for. 

Ask yourself a serious question. Who or what are you worshipping or spending the most of your waking hours consumed with? Only you can be convicted of what that might be. 

Take inventory of your life and your heart. Do you crave the world more than you do things of Christ? You know what gets your focus most can be idolized. Take a break from news, social media, and turn your eyes upon Jesus. 

PRAYER: Father grant me the ability to back away from anything unhealthy that has a bigger place in my life than you do. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Who Are Your Friends?

A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.Proverbs 18:24

Who are your real friends? Do they lead you to Jesus or away from Him? You should be helping to point others to Jesus. 

Be loyal to your friends. If one betrays you let it go and move on. Try to look for those who need a friend and step in. 

If you have children or grandchildren  pray for them to be led to good uplifting godly friends. Pray for the Holy Spirit to convict them of those who would lead them astray and lift up the lost. 

PRAYER: Lord thanks for freedom to choose. Help me in my choices and help my children and grandchildren in their choices of friends. Guard and protect them.In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Jealous?Get Help From God

 

“A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.” Proverbs‬ ‭14‬:‭30‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Think of a bag of rotten bones. Not too many of us may have seen those but all of us have seen rotten garbage. It is putrid. 

Peace is what you and I need to strive for not when it comes to jealousy but all things bothering you. Proverbs 17:22 calls a peaceful spirit like good medicine. Yes good medicine indeed for your whole being. 

Jealousy is earthly and not a fruit of the Spirit. It is sometimes caused by Facebook comparing, feelings which are not from God. When you start to be jealous start praising God and writing a list of thanks. Now go have a blessed day. 

PRAYER: Father God thanks for all opportunities in life. Help me not succumb to being jealous of another but be grateful for what I have. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Twisting Truth? Still A Lie

 

Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
Colossians 3:9

Do you lie? If you answered no you probably just lied.

The point you know lying is wrong and it is one of the 6 things the Lord hates so why do on occasion you ‘twist the truth’, tell a white lie, and so forth. Ponder that.(Proverbs 6:16-19).

I think no one sets out to but sometimes it happens. Don’t do it in a court of law or you will not enjoy what happens next. Be truthful no matter what. A person that lies all the time knowingly will end up in lake of fire according to scripture. (Revelation 21:8). God gains no pleasure in punishing but he wants all to repent and be set free.

PRAYER: The truth sets people free. Satan is a liar and tries to get people to lie too. Help me follow Christ and not get tripped up into being untruthful. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Zip Your Lip, Turn Off Your Tears, Talk To God

 

“Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”Proverbs 10:19

Just because I write devotions doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with the area of ‘stinking thinking’. Satan loves to get Christ followers all upset with people that ‘deserve’ to be hurt and so forth.

Christ wants us to emulate Him. Think about this for a moment. If you go off the rails and trash a friend or family member is that honestly being Christlike? Of course you know the answer. It is hard to be like Christ when you fill your mind with hatred if all you ‘dwell’ on is social media.

I have been upset and started crying big buckets of tears almost feeling sorry for myself when in actuality I needed to talk to my Heavenly Father. All have sinned. Period. Let the Holy Spirit do his work and your work is to love people, forgive them no matter what, and above all to never stop praying. Eliminate any remnants of ugly speech from your mouth. Get your heart right with God and trust Him.

PRAYER: I get overwhelmed sometimes and in anger our ugliness can spew forth out of our mouths. My job is to love, not hate. It is to let the Holy Spirit work. Help me Lord stay on your potters wheel. Mold me and shape me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Unhelpful Thoughts

  

We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted andproud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ,2 Corinthians 10:5 AMP Bible Gateway 

If you could get your mind to stop thinking unhelpful thoughts your day would go much better. Besides this verse Philippians 4:8 is another good speaking of what things are good and helpful and so forth. 

I know discipline in this area is essential because if you don’t think before you act or speak it could destroy relationships or cause conflict. 

Think kind and helpful thoughts and try to be still. Ask God to help you if this is a weak area. 

PRAYER: Lord use my words to help bring joy to another. Work in the lives of any who need discipline in what is in their minds. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

#BG2 #Biblegatewayblogger

Casting Stones

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

John 8:7 

Recently a famous pastor who I had the pleasure to meet one time fell from grace as a woman from his past charged him with sexual misconduct. He had repented of this years before and spoken of it, so why now does this lady come forward at age 54? 

My feeling is all of us have sinned(Romans 3:23) and this happened and was not hidden. What advantage does a person have in destroying another’s reputation?I am not defending this but simply saying don’t go around gloating about other’s downfalls because all have stumbled someway at some point. 

Pray for those in prison, jail, in detention, and those misunderstood. Also pray for accusers of people as scripture says Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10). Don’t gossip about those who have had a downfall but pray for them. Be kind. 

PRAYER: Lord I lift up all individuals falsely or wrongly accused of something. I pray for people who truly need help and want freedom from junk in their past. I thank you that you can restore the years the locust has eaten as it says in scripture. In Jesus’ name. Amen.