I love this devotion I just read. This is the big one~ I live to give my son. I always tell him the only thing we ever have that no one can take from us ( beside our salvation ) is our integrity. We live in a world today that most people have no idea what that really is and the compromise of it, is nothin but a thing. Enjoy this - it's a keeper for sure.
Sowing Righteousness
The Bible says in Galatians 6:7, Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
And in Proverbs 11:18 it says,
The wicked man does deceptive work, but he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
The Bible teaches the law of the harvest, that what you sow, you will also reap. If you treat others fairly and uprightly, it will come back to you.
We live in a world that doesn't put much stock in integrity, fairness, uprightness, and righteousness. We must be careful to not give in to that influence. We need to be different.
How? By not cutting corners. By putting in an honest day's work. By giving people what they pay for and more. If you will pursue righteousness, it will come back to you.
You may remember a story back in the eighties about an armored car that crashed in Columbus, Ohio. Two million dollars in cash spilled out on the highway, and the motorists helped the armored car company gather all of its money.
But, when it was all said and done, only $400,000 of the $2 million made its way back to the armored car company. $1.6 million ended up in the pockets of the people who stopped along the highway to "help."
I'm sure they had every excuse under the sun. Some probably even said, "Well, I've been praying for God to meet my needs, and it was a miracle!" No, it was not a miracle. They were thieves!
You cannot make an excuse for that kind of thing. And yet, that is the way the world thinks. There should be a difference between us and the world. We need to pursue uprightness, integrity, honesty, and godly character. They need to be hallmarks of our lives.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Just a random thought I'm trying to figure out.
How to be effective in encouragement or exhorting a mature christian.
It is hard to just give people the Word of God. They know it and somehow they have rationalized their situation as not really fitting into the boundaries of what the Word says. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but think about it for a minute. How many people do you now that hear the Word of God all the time, they have walked with the Lord for years, and somehow they still do not choose the right thing. See, now you hear what I'm saying. It's not that God's word is ineffective, it's just that their hearts have become hardened. They have chosen disobedience for so long that they now have a hardened, often times dead heart, therefore causing their minds to be without any clarity for anything in their lives. Do you know anyone like that?
So what do we do, how do we help this kind of person.???
Try to find out why their hearts are wandering. What is the real root issue going on. Try to get them to a place of choosing prayer, Meditation with Jesus. Somehow they need to find that connection of abiding back with the One who loves them more then anything. Show them how to meditate on the scriptures. Get them to pray and meditate. This is a good place to start to begin to break down those walls they have build around their hearts. Please know that I am not saying not to give them scripture but the purpose of the scriptures needs to look different. they need to find themselves in the Lord. People often have way more Bible knowledge then they are apply - so what is the missing link? The bridge between knowledge and doing is meditation. This is a place God can work.
add some wisdom to this table - trying to figure it all out. Just tired of "mature" believers not choosing God.
It is hard to just give people the Word of God. They know it and somehow they have rationalized their situation as not really fitting into the boundaries of what the Word says. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but think about it for a minute. How many people do you now that hear the Word of God all the time, they have walked with the Lord for years, and somehow they still do not choose the right thing. See, now you hear what I'm saying. It's not that God's word is ineffective, it's just that their hearts have become hardened. They have chosen disobedience for so long that they now have a hardened, often times dead heart, therefore causing their minds to be without any clarity for anything in their lives. Do you know anyone like that?
So what do we do, how do we help this kind of person.???
Try to find out why their hearts are wandering. What is the real root issue going on. Try to get them to a place of choosing prayer, Meditation with Jesus. Somehow they need to find that connection of abiding back with the One who loves them more then anything. Show them how to meditate on the scriptures. Get them to pray and meditate. This is a good place to start to begin to break down those walls they have build around their hearts. Please know that I am not saying not to give them scripture but the purpose of the scriptures needs to look different. they need to find themselves in the Lord. People often have way more Bible knowledge then they are apply - so what is the missing link? The bridge between knowledge and doing is meditation. This is a place God can work.
add some wisdom to this table - trying to figure it all out. Just tired of "mature" believers not choosing God.
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