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Philippians 4:8 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.
How often do we focus on the negative side of life or of people? How often do we ignore the good and righteous things in life?
Don’t you find it brings you down by thinking about all the wrong things in life?
God wants us to try and focus on our lives with Him and bring what that shows us to the forefront of our thoughts.
If we try to think of the righteous ways and things more often, just maybe we will do and follow those ways!
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Genesis 37:11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
When Joseph started having dreams about what would happen in the future, the reaction from his brothers was one of rejection and hatred.
The initial reaction from his father was to rebuke Joseph for saying such things; but he did know God could do anything and so kept those dreams in mind.
We often rebuke others for saying things which we do not like, but if they are coming from God, we need to listen and bury them in our hearts.
It would be better to listen and think about things rather than rejecting them without thought – God does move in mysterious ways!
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Luke 2:51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
When Jesus returned to Nazareth, He showed great respect to His parents – even though He knew His Father in heaven was above all.
Jesus was willing to teach us through His subjection to His parents just as He taught us about God the Father; it was through His example that His mother remembered His teachings and held them in her heart.
Showing respect to our parents comes alongside loving others and loving God; God wants us to love without limit!
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1 Timothy 5:4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
Our parents and grandparents are the ones who are responsible for us being in this world and they should be honoured for what they have done.
If we can learn to have such honour and love within our own families, then we will be able to extend that love to God more easily than someone who has not been able to love their families.
God has always upheld families and wants us to be able to uphold our families and look after those who have raised us. When we do so, we please God because He knows what is best for us!
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Proverbs 23:4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
How many times have you heard it said you must work 7 days a week in order to be successful?
The more we focus on getting rich from our deeds, the more we will lose focus on Christ and His ways!
God has commanded us to have a day of each week set aside to rest and recuperate; a day we can spend in His arms and worshipping Him. Don’t waste that day!
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Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding
The focus of our trust should be our Lord and God; not in the religion, deeds, exercises or anything else, but in the Lord.
Miracles come about when God wants them to be done and not when it pleases mankind because it is God we worship and not mankind.
We may not understand how things can be possible, but when we come to our Lord and request things, He can make things happen which we think are impossible.
Nothing is impossible with God!
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Judges 21:25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.
What happens when people have no person of authority to show them right from wrong? They tend to go and do what they want!
What happens when the person in authority loses their own way and instils doubt in the people’s hearts? They lose respect for the authority and do what they want!
God is our ultimate authority and He has never given us any reason to doubt Him – in fact He has shown us so many reasons why we should keep Him alone as our one true God! So follow Him!
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Luke 14:33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
One thing I learned very quickly about working for God is we have to be willing to face hardships but also willing to let go of our prized worldly possessions!
If we keep ourselves focused on the worldly things, we have built up instead of what God is calling us to do, we will tend to uphold those worldly things instead of God’s Word.
God may call us to put aside those special things in our lives because they do not make a firm foundation for us to build on. Stick with what God gives you and trust Him!
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Luke 14:28 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?
Starting, or doing something for God is compared to building a tower here – in order for it to succeed we have to make sure we follow good advice but also make sure we build it on a firm foundation!
Rushing ahead and hoping things will hold together is never wise. God wants us to be prepared for the work we do for Him.
If you rush into His work and things fall apart because you have not expected the hardships it is likely you have not listened to the Lord when He warned us the path ahead is not simple and straightforward.
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Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
How many times have you jumped into a project and seen it fail almost as soon as you started? How much advice did you seek on that project?
Chances are you jumped ahead because you thought it was such a good idea and did not seek much advice because you were so sure!
God places many people around us who can give us advice, be it on physical matters or on spiritual matters. He puts them there for a reason – listen to those around you…
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Proverbs 15:8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.
Do you like it when people say one thing and do another – when others deceive you into doing something because they lie to you first?
Imagine being able to tell exactly when people are trying to deceive you or being able to always see the truth! God is never deceived by what we do or say!
If we pretend to do things right, we may be able to fool many people much of the time, but God sees through us and does not like us deceiving others.
Lift up your honest prayers to God because He does want to hear us admitting to the truth and accepting His help to make things right…
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Proverbs 21:3 To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
Why are rules and regulations made? Are they not made so we know right from wrong?
God had the prophets of the Old Testament write down many laws which have stood the test of time and have even made it into societies laws… and they are there for a reason!
God would rather we do things according to His law rather than sacrificing or depending on the Lord’s sacrifice to cover our sins.
Do it right so you don’t have to offer up or depend on sacrifices!
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John 14:10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
During this time of reassurance and guidance, Jesus told them He and the Father were one; but also, there was nothing which He was doing which was not sanctioned by God.
He was not offering them empty words. He had already shown them the miracles and given them so much to think about before He finalised this truth.
Don’t just tell people to follow Jesus. Follow Jesus, show people you are doing so and then show them how they too can follow Him!
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John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
Can you imagine how confused the disciples would have been if Jesus had simply started off by saying that He is God!
Jesus first prepared them to this fact by saying if they believed in God, then they should also believe in Him. Then He expanded on this by saying He was going to prepare a place for them to stay…
They had given up their former lives to follow Jesus and learn all they could from Him. Now He was giving them comfort in saying what He was already preparing for their futures. This same comfort He is offering us too!
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2 Chronicles 15:3 For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law.
Just as we lose our way when we drift away from God, whole communities drift away when there is nobody who is willing to show them the word of God.
We can see this many times in the history of Israel because it is written down for us; but are we willing to admit to the same when we are not willing to step forward into our communities and bring them God’s Word?
Jesus encourages each of us to go out into our communities – where the gospel is needed, where hope is needed – and show them God’s love.
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John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Jesus showed His humanity in many ways so we would try to emulate His ways…
In His prayer here Jesus calls out to His Heavenly Father to bestow on Him the glory the Son of God demands; not to get all the glory, but to enable Him to freely and openly glorify God in Heaven.
He does this to be a faithful witness to the people around Him and to all the world as we read these words.
He does this all in humility, acknowledging God in Heaven as His God and as our God!
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Psalm 91:14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
Ever wondered why God does things for us? Because we love Him and don’t hide the fact!
It is no good just saying we are Christians, or just going to church on Sundays, or trying to be good and avoiding evil… God wants others to know we love Him!
In this day and age where we are being punished for admitting we know Jesus Christ we need to trust in Him and depend on Him to guide us to the right people who are willing to taste and see…
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Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
No matter how low or dejected we feel, God does not lose sight of us nor does He ignore us.
We may feel like He is ignoring us or has wandered off to take care of others, but the truth is He is here with us and continues to try and guide us in His path.
The trouble comes when we wander off and leave Him behind or we stop listening! Stop and listen for He is trying to guide us.
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Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
After a long break due to severe illness and hospitalisation I am tentatively re-starting these daily schisms.
The one thing which has stood out above everything during this time has been our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Despite being in various high dependency units in hospitals and almost bedridden at home for much of this year, I have known Christ was with me!
Encouraging people just to stop and taste Christianity when all around them seems to be breaking up or breaking down has been my goal – a goal I did not always reach outside of my head!
Each of us must have our own journey with Christ to see just how good He is! Taste and see…
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Philippians 2:16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour in vain.
One thing we do as Christians is work. We give to the poor, we feed the hungry, we give water to the thirsty; and some of the time it is very hard work doing this stuff!
Imagine never being paid for any of the work we do! Well, as Christians we should be doing this type of work because we love Christ and His people, not because we need paying…
Our work will not be in vain because our reward is going to be far beyond any earthly treasure we can inherit from working!
Trust in Christ and all He has promised.