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Exodus 23:4 If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again.
Not too many of us will have oxen and sheep to show our wealth nowadays, but we do have many other things.
So change this verse a bit to reflect some more modern circumstances such as:
If you see your neighbour has left their light on, tell them.
Or: If you see your enemy has left their door open, close it for them!
God expects us to do what is right, even when dealing with enemies.
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Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
You may think it impossible to love your enemy when you think of the love you have for that special person in your life; but this is not the same.
Showing love toward your enemies is not the same as loving your spouse or partner.
Loving your enemies is all about doing right by them because they are fellow human beings just as you are.
Treat all people with the love you would expect Christ to show them and not what you have in mind!
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Psalm 141:5 Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it.
Finding someone you can trust to always give you the truth is hard nowadays because everyone seems bent on getting the most out of everyone else.
But when you find someone like that, you can trust them even when they tell you off. Even when they strike you in your heart you know it is right for them to do so.
It may not be pleasant at the time but afterward you will rejoice you were given the right choices.
Don’t close down your mind just because you don’t like what is coming! Listen and learn!
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Proverbs 17:10 Rebuke is more effective for a wise man Than a hundred blows on a fool.
What do you do when you get into trouble? Do you ignore the trouble and hope it will go away, or deal with it as it arises?
I know I do not always get things right and I have buried my head in the sand at times, but listening to rebuke is always good.
Learning as a child means listening to a whole lot of rebuke at times as you get to know the ins and outs of what is right and good. We listen as we learn.
But if we start ignoring the advice when we grow up, we are becoming more like fools once again!
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Proverbs 17:9 He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.
If you want to show someone you mean friendship, then forgive them for something they have done against you.
Love starts with being able to forgive and separate the wrong-doing from the person.
I read stories about how people have forgiven others for terrible atrocities to families and countries. I hope I can do the same when my time comes to forgive like that!
Jesus forgave and forgot. Will you forgive and forget?
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1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
I think one of the biggest things about loving one another is the ability to forgive each others sins without forgiveness being asked for.
Being able to accept someone else is going to get things wrong and will annoy you or hurt you unintentionally is a sign of that love toward each other.
Being able to forgive means being able to put something aside and not recalling it just at the right time when you need to get your own back!
Forgiveness should be total and absolute. God’s forgiveness goes without end!
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1 Peter 4:6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
This does not mean we have to go stand in graveyards and preach to the graves! This means we have to preach to the people who do not yet know Christ.
Christ will judge every person when the time comes, but unless they have had some Gospel message told them, they may find excuse not to be guilty.
Some criminals get found ‘not guilty’ because they find excuse by one way or another to not be charged; but this will not happen with Christ.
He will ensure every person gets to hear about God, Christ and the Holy Spirit before it is too late!
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Luke 19:38 saying: “ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
When Jesus made His entry back into Jerusalem, it was purposeful and deliberate.
What are you like when you go about sharing God’s Word with others or showing people you are a Christian?
We need to be deliberate and purposeful with our actions in promoting Christ because that is the way people will take notice of our actions.
Don’t just be quiet and live with Christ; make a stand and live for Him as well!
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Psalm 27:8 When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
What do you do when God calls you to seek His face? Yes He is calling you to seek His face right now!
We need to try to get to know Christ in a personal and familiar way and not just at the other end of a book we have read.
Christ may have come to save us thousands of years ago but we still need to get to know Him as best we can.
Getting up close and personal with someone will allow you to know them a whole lot better than trying to read up about them. Pray to and wait on God constantly.
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Psalm 105:4 Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore!
In the days when the Israelites carried the Ark of the Covenant, they relied on God and His strength which was demonstrated whenever the ark was with them.
The people learned to trust in God totally as long as the Ark was with them; we still seek physical comforts.
God wants us to rely on Him even when we cannot see a physical object we can relate to. Faith is believing in the unseen.
God will still show us signs so we can believe, but our faith is strengthened by believing in the unseen because that is when we see His real power!
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Hebrews 6:13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself
When God made His promise to Abraham to be the forefather of a great nation, it was not a promise made in anybody else’s name but one made in His own name.
There is no greater name than God Himself, be in God the Father, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit; there is no higher or greater name!
The most amazing part of this is Jesus Christ Himself is our High Priest who is praying for us and watching over us.
Lift up God’s name today and remember all He stands for!
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Jeremiah 16:17 For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.
Jeremiah did not have a good message to deliver to the people of Israel to begin with, but the overall message was surprising to some.
We may think that God is going to turn us out and push us onto the streets because of all we do wrong, but He is looking out for us always.
God continues to love and protect us; part of that may well be teaching us to give up the bad stuff in our lives, but He aims for our betterment.
Listen to God and live with God to get the most from your life!
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Psalm 51:9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
When we are faithful to come to Christ and lift up our sins to Him in all honesty, He is faithful to forgive us of those sins.
He has promised us to separate us from those sins as far as the East is from the West; and He does when we bring them to Him.
But are we willing to live with the consequences of our sin as well? Are we willing to pay in kind?
Don’t go out and sin just because you know Christ has paid for it; change your life and walk with Christ!
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Proverbs 28:13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
Covering your sins does not lead to prosperity, normally… I qualify that because we see many people who sin leading very wealthy lives; but that is not the prosperous life we are talking about here.
To be rich is one thing. To know God, love mercy, see life, have peace and so much more are the things I look at as prosperity.
Don’t get tied up in money and riches of earth. Turn from the earthly riches and aim for God’s calling in your life.
God will bless you in very different ways to what you normally look at; this is not a physical wealth we aim for but spiritual wealth seeking God and His ways.
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Psalm 38:18 For I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin.
It is never easy to admit to doing something wrong because we know then we have to face up to the consequences of that wrong-doing.
But as long as we keep our sin buried inside of our minds and hearts we keep that anguish about the sin in our hearts and minds too. That is not healthy!
Christ wants us to be honest with Him because He has shown us honesty throughout everything He has done for us.
God is just. That means He will not turn His back on us doing wrong. He also sees everything we do so hiding things is not really an option.
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Psalm 51:3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
What is sin? Does it have to be known to you before it becomes sin? No, sin is doing something wrong against God whether you realise it or not.
Knowing that it is sin is the first step. Unless we know God’s laws we will not know whether we are breaking them.
Admitting to the sin is the next step; we could try to live in denial and pretend we are not sinning but we are only fooling ourselves.
The final step is to turn away from that sin. Repentance is embracing all of the steps above and not just one of them. Be honest with God.
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Joshua 7:19 Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
No matter how many things we think we can hide from our friends and those around us, God will open up the truth and unhide anything that needs to be shown.
Joshua had the unenviable task of picking out the guilty person based on how God told him to uncover the guilty party.
When we lie to hide things we are not just hurting ourselves with all the stress and strain we impose but also all the people around us who will have to find out the hard way.
God wants us to be honest and open with all people.
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Revelation 16:9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.
Who is the one you blame when things go wrong in your life? Do you turn to the people around you and apportion blame on them for not making things smoother to start with?
Or do you turn round to God and blame Him for things after the event?
Each of us will be judged according to the things we do wrong ourselves and not for the things others do wrong.
The end times will see some pretty horrific things as we can read about; and people will turn round and blame God for stuff He has not done!
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Genesis 4:13 And Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!
Cain thought that God was being a bit excessive in the punishment He laid out for him. What do you think?
God has to be just and has to carry out His promises otherwise He would not be God. Why should we ever question what God does?
We should question it; but not to question whether God is right but to work out why God is doing what He is doing. What is it we have not seen or recognised?
When bad things happen in our lives we should not blame God but accept that both good and bad stuff does happen. Through everything God is trying to guide us so we should be trying to listen to Him throughout everything.
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Lamentations 3:39 Why should a living man complain, A man for the punishment of his sins?
What right do we have to complain about things when we know we are in the wrong?
Seems like a silly question but when we are faced with punishment or chastisement in any form we always look for a way out of it. That way out may be to try and apportion blame on someone or something else instead of us!
God knows us from the inside out and will not chastise us for something we do not do or have not done!
God is faithful and just. He carries out everything in truth and with absolute justice.