Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Your heart is on God's mind!

Have you considered lately that your heart is on God's mind? Read this verse:

Proverbs 15:11

11 Hell and Destruction are before the LORD;
So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.

Please allow me to explain a little bit more. You see Judgment is coming. God is a holy and righteous God and He can not stand sin. Therefore one day He will send His Son back to judge this world of ours. He will destroy the unbelievers and send them to hell. Not a very uplifting word so far huh? BUT I do have good news...for those who have trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, we will have everlasting life before our God. The blood of Jesus will cover us from destruction and hell. Thank you Jesus!

I want you to catch the second part of this verse. Yes judgment and hell are before God but the "hearts of the sons of men" are even more. What does that mean. It means God is more concerned where your heart is than anything else. You see there is only two choices. Either your heart is on Him or it is on the things of the world. The Lord's greatest desire is that you would turn your heart to Him. God is constantly thinking about that. Think about where YOUR heart is. It is on His mind. Wow! That is how much God loves us. He wants all to give their hearts to Him. This is why He hasn't sent His Son back yet. God is giving everyone as much opportunity as He can to surrender their life to Jesus. Be very careful my friend for we do not know when Jesus is coming. Do not delay give your heart to God!

A great verse this morning to ponder! Where is your heart?

Tom

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

How is your steering device?

Very powerful verse about what come out of our mouths!

James 3:3-6

3 Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

Think about the two steering mechanisms mentioned in verse 3 and 4. Both the bit and the rudder and very small in size compared to the horse and the ship. But they are what controls both. It is the same with the tongue. Very small in size compared to the rest of our body but it does great things as says God's word in verse 5. You see our tongue can be used for good or evil. It is our choice. Have you ever noticed this in people. Those who are always negative in word and deed seem to have negative things happen to them all the time? Yet those who are positive in word and deed seem to have positive things happen to them. I don't think this is a coincidence at all. I believe this may be one of the biggest problems in the church today. Many believers are negative and non-believers hear their gripping all the time. Well who in the world wants to be a part of the body of Christ when all they hear is negativity?? Our tongue not only steers us but steers others as well.

Reread the verses for today. God is very clear here that we need to be in control of our tongue because of the damage it can do. Ask your self this morning on how you are doing in controling the tongue. As you can see the consequences are severe!

Tom

Monday, June 28, 2010

Conflict resolution.

How do you handle your conflicts with others? At the youth conference we discussed this. Sorry I got behind on the devotions but travel ate up my time for the devotions! I know how many of us handle our conflicts with others, shouting, fighting, attacking each other. Look at what God' word says:

Matthew 18:15-17

15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

So there it is. The way God wants us to handle a sinning brother in the faith. First you go to him by yourself and try to talk about it. If He listens you keep your relationship. If he don't then you get a couple of friends to go with you to try and work it out. Again if he listens you keep your relationship, if he does not, you then take it before the whole church...wow! Then the church tries to reason with him. The if he doesn't listen to the church you have great sadness for him. When it says let him be like a heathen and tax collector...these folks were looked down upon but we are to have a sadness for them and a hope that they will come back for reconciliation. Remember one of the followers of Christ was once a tax collector (Matthew) and all of us were heathens at one point but God brought us back and we must keep that in mind in our conflicts!

Think about this today...how are we as a church handling our conflicts? Like God designed or like we think is right?

Tom

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Does the unbelieving word see us as the hands and feet of Christ or judgemental hypocrites???

This was the question asked by the camp pastor last night? I had to stop and think on that one for a bit. He went on to say this... as a church we focus so much on the don't do this, don't do that, that for the believer their whole life is focused on the don't instead of the do's!!!

Read this verse:

Micah 6:8

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

The camp pastor said the gospel isn't really about don't it is about doing what God has told us to do. Maybe we focus so much on the don't that it is the reason unbelievers find the church boring even believers for that matter. IF we turn our attention to the do's it becomes an amazing show of God's love. Look at the verse above. Do justly. That means being the hands and feet of Christ and showing mankind His love. Now if we do justly to others it involves making wrongs right! For example if a unwed woman is struggling with food for her kids because she lost her job....we step in and help feed those kids not harp on her having kids out of wed lock. When we show her the love of Christ, God will do the convicting in time! The verse also says to love mercy. God has shown us mercy, and expects us to show others mercy too. When we are wronged instead of pointing the finger, show mercy. If feels good to do the will of God. Then the verse closes with walk humbly with your God. No attitude just Christ likeness. Wow think about that.

You see my brothers and sisters the thought here is the unbelieving world sees us as people who are constantly saying the don't but then we ourselves do the very things we preach to them. Now let me be clear that the Bible teaches many things we are not to do and we should be obedient. But the point here is we should focus on the do what Christ would do and show the unbelieving world that serving them with the love of Christ is exciting and an amazing adventure. Perhaps this would change their view of us of being judgemental hypocrites and bring them into the house of God!

I hope I bought out the point of this good enough this morning. Something to think very hard on!

Tom

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Are you New?

Yesterday was a rainy, nasty day here at the beach. This morning I get up and it is a beautiful new day looking out over the Gulf. With that thought in mind read this verse:

2 Corinthians 5:17

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

I want you to take out the anyone in the verse above and put your name in there and then read it again. Are you a new creation in Christ? I think we all need to stop and really think about what this verse is saying. If we are truly in Christ we are new. That means we are different than before. That is what the rest of the verse confirms for us. The old things have passed away means our old sinful ways are now behind us. Can you say that this morning? I am not saying you will never sin anymore but what God is saying that our new life will strive to stay away from sin. God ends the verse by saying all things have become new...meaning in Christ we have a brand new life away from sin!

So are you new this morning...it is never to late to become new ask Jesus into your heart today!

Have a great day and tell someone about Jesus!

Tom

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Unclean.

Good morning everyone from Alabama. I am at Orange beach with the youth from church for camp. WE had a great night worshiping the King and for our devotion this morning I want to share a thought from last night. I wake up this morning over looking the Gulf. I am sad to say that I see oil on the beach as I look out this morning...the beach and water is unclean. A great man of God once said something about unclean, check this out:


Isaiah 6:5

5 So I said:


“ Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The LORD of hosts.”

Isaiah had just had a vision or an encounter with God. In the book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself uses the Word "Woe" atleast six other times. He uses the word to pronounce coming judgment on other nations. Here he uses it to pronounce judgment on himself! Look very closely. He had an encounter with God and seen how unclean he really was! Isaiah said his mouth was unclean and the people he lives around were unclean. He also said I am undone. In other translations the word used here is finished, broken, or ruined. Wow the great prophet and man of God...Isaiah felt this way when he encountered God. Do you remember how you felt when you encountered God. It should make us feel really small before a Holy and Just God. I felt undone, unclean, broken, and ruined before God the first time I really encountered Him. You know what the good news is??? If you call Jesus into your life like I did many years ago He can take your unclean, undone, broken, ruined life and wash it with His blood and make you white as snow! Oh thank you Jesus! It is all up to you. The work has been done on the cross. You have to choose to be washed!

As I look out right now over the gulf...it will be a long time before it is clean but thank God I am clean right now in the eyes of God...can you say the same.

Have a great day!

Tom

Friday, June 18, 2010

Can I get a witness!!!

This one really smacked me around this morning!

Proverbs 14:25

25 A true witness delivers souls,
But a deceitful witness speaks lies

Don't just let this verse get by you this morning without grabbing onto what it is really saying! If we are true witnesses for Christ we will be delivering souls. WOW! That means we will be working hard for the Lord by living our lives the way Jesus instructs us to so that others will see Christ in us and want what we got. Also it means we will be telling others about Jesus and what He did for each of us on the cross! According to what I read here if we are not winning souls to Christ then we are not a true witness. Now stop and chew on that for a while this morning!

On the other hand there are many who claim to be followers but they are speaking lies. They don't live for Jesus they are just playing games. Churches are full of folks like this who think because they come on Sunday and fill a space in the pew that they are followers of Christ. My friends it takes more than that, it has to be you life in a relationship with Jesus, in active service to the King! These folks never share Jesus with others. Why? Because Jesus is not the most important person in their life. The witness in these folks life is that the world is more important, so in turn their witness speaks lies!

So how is your witness this morning? Is it delivering souls or speaking lies? Never too late to turn and follow Jesus! If you are delivering souls...praise the Lord and keep up the good work!

Tom

Are you confident?

An awesome, reassuring verse this morning.

Proverbs 14:26 (New King James Version)

26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence,
And His children will have a place of refuge.

I must admit I am a very skeptical person in many areas. BUT I can tell you I fear the Lord and I have a strong confidence that He is God and He loves you and me! If we do fear the Lord there will be a difference between us and the world. That is what God teaches us in His Word. He tells us we are to be different and that will happen when our lives are changed because of our acceptance of Jesus as Savior of our lives. In our fear though we also have a place of refuge as this verse goes on to tell us. I always think of our earthly fathers as an example of this. They protect us in harms way but punish us when we do wrong all out of love. In God we have refuge! That gives me so much comfort both now and knowing in the future I will be in the arms of Christ.

Thank you Jesus for giving me a place of refuge and a confidence in You! You are King and I love you. Praise, glory and honor to your name.

Tom

Envy!!!

God speaks to us this morning, listen closely:

Proverbs 14:30

30 A sound heart is life to the body,
But envy is rottenness to the bones.

There is only one way to a sound heart. Jesus. Plain and simple. If we are not right with Jesus our lives are a complete mess. People will always let us down at some point. Jesus never will thus we can have that sound heart. True life comes with that relationship with Jesus. Until you live life with Jesus, you will not know what true peace is. I have been through many difficult times in my life and honestly don't know how I would have made it without Jesus. Yes there have been times I want to give up, throw in the towel, punch someone in the mouth, and many other things but the Holy Spirit guided me in the right direction, to dwell in the arms of Christ and let Him take care of the problem, thus I have a sound heart and true life in Christ.

On the other side is envy. Envy will ruin your life. Envy is caused by wanting what others have in this world of ours...wish I had their spouse, wish I was famous, wish I had their car, wish I had their health, and the list can go on and on. Their is only one thing that we should wish for if we don't already have Him...Jesus! We need to be happy and content with what we have. God has us right where we are for a reason. Live your life not somebody elses. If your focus is on Christ your life will be awesome!

Some may think you don't have my life...that is right but you don't have mine either and I can tell you for a fact Jesus will give you a sound heart and peace that is beyond understanding if you just trust Him!

Envy destroys, Jesus = sound heart! Try Him and find out for yourself!

Tom

Can God exalt the USA?

When I read this verse this morning my first thought was...Can God exalt our nation right now? Read the verse and then answer for yourself.

Proverbs 14:34 (New King James Version)

34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people.

I wish I could honestly say that the good ole USA is a righteous nation but I can't. From top to bottom we are a corrupt, lying, stealing, dishonest nation. Sin is rampant everywhere! We are accepting and promoting things that God hates like drunkenness, homosexuality, adultery, using God's name in vain, taking God out of schools and everything else and the list can go on and on. It breaks my heart to see our nation turn our back on God who so graciously blessed us when we put Him first. It is very clear here in this verse that Righteousness exalts a nation before God. It is my opinion God had been giving us warning signs to straighten up but we are not heeding the warnings!

The second part of this verse tells us that our sin is a reproach, not only us but any people who claim to be followers of God! Let me remind you what reproach is....disgrace, discredit, or blame incurred: to bring reproach on one's family. Wow we bring discredit to the family when we sin...mainly our heavenly Father! Stop and think about that for a moment. It reminds me when I was younger and mom or dad caught me in a lie. It hurt me in more ways than one! But it also hurt mom or dad to know I would lie or sin to them. If I lied to someone else and was caught it brought discredit on the whole family name not just me. This is where our nation is. We are bringing discredit to God!!!

I have good news though...read this:

2 Chronicles 7:14

14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

God can heal our nation but there must be some true repentance and turning back to Him! Pray my brothers and sisters...pray.

Tom

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Can I get a witness?

This one really smacked me around this morning!

Proverbs 14:25

25 A true witness delivers souls,
But a deceitful witness speaks lies

Don't just let this verse get by you this morning without grabbing onto what it is really saying! If we are true witnesses for Christ we will be delivering souls. WOW! That means we will be working hard for the Lord by living our lives the way Jesus instructs us to so that others will see Christ in us and want what we got. Also it means we will be telling others about Jesus and what He did for each of us on the cross! According to what I read here if we are not winning souls to Christ then we are not a true witness. Now stop and chew on that for a while this morning!

On the other hand there are many who claim to be followers but they are speaking lies. They don't live for Jesus they are just playing games. Churches are full of folks like this who think because they come on Sunday and fill a space in the pew that they are followers of Christ. My friends it takes more than that, it has to be you life in a relationship with Jesus, in active service to the King! These folks never share Jesus with others. Why? Because Jesus is not the most important person in their life. The witness in these folks life is that the world is more important, so in turn their witness speaks lies!

So how is your witness this morning? Is it delivering souls or speaking lies? Never too late to turn and follow Jesus! If you are delivering souls...praise the Lord and keep up the good work!

Tom

Monday, June 14, 2010

Must read!

Bonus today...I was reading this devotion this morning and has to share! Hope it speaks to you like it did me! This is from Oswald Chambers.

GETTING THERE


"Master, where dwellest Thou? . . Come and see." "Come with Me." John 1:39

"They abode with Him that day." That is about all some of us ever do, then we wake up to actualities, self-interest arises and the abiding is passed. There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

"Thou art Simon, thou shalt be called Cephas." God writes the new name on those places only in our lives where He has erased the pride and self-sufficiency and self-interest. Some of us have the new name in spots only, like spiritual measles. In sections we look all right. When we have our best spiritual mood on, you would think we were very high-toned saints; but don't look at us when we are not in that mood. The disciple is one who has the new name written all over him; self-interest and pride and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.

Pride is the deification of self, and this to-day in some of us is not of the order of the Pharisee, but of the publican. To say "Oh, I'm no saint," is acceptable to human pride, but it is unconscious blasphemy against God. It literally means that you defy God to make you a saint, "I am much too weak and hopeless, I am outside the reach of the Atonement." Humility before men may be unconscious blasphemy before God. Why are you not a saint? It is either that you do not want to be a saint, or that you do not believe God can make you one. It would be all right, you say, if God saved you and took you straight to heaven. That is just what He will do! "We will come unto him, and make our abode with him." Make no conditions, let Jesus be everything, and He will take you home with Him not only for a day, but for ever.

Are you happy?

A great verse to start the week off with:

Proverbs 14:21

21 He who despises his neighbor sins;
But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.

God is love. He loves everyone. He expects us to do the same. Some people are very hard to love arn't they? That just means we have to work that much harder at loving them. God tells us in the first part of this verse that if we despise or hate our neighbor it is sin! We have to look at the bigger picture when it comes to others. We may not like the way they act, or they may have even wronged us in some way, but we need to remember they have a soul and eventually will either be in heaven or hell and we may be able to make a difference in their destination by showing them the love of Christ.

The second part of this verse talks about our mercy to the poor. Poor can represent many situations. It can be poor spiritually, or it can be poor financially. God says here in His Word if we show mercy to these folks we will be happy!!! Why would that make us happy? The reason is that when we show mercy to others we then become most like our Lord Jesus. He is mercy and He is love! Try it out for yourself. Show some mercy and love and see if it doesn't make you happy!

So to sum up this lesson for today...don't hate, show mercy, and it will be a happy day!

Pray for someone today!

Tom

Friday, June 11, 2010

Accepted!

This is a great verse to think about to end the week on.

Proverbs 14:9

9 Fools mock at the guilt offering,
but the upright enjoy acceptance.

Those who mock our guilt offering are fools! What is our guilt offering? Jesus! We are guilty of sin before our Righteous God. He demands payment for our sin. Jesus paid that demand on the cross on behalf of us. Sadly many mock what Jesus did on the cross as our guilt offering and thus they are fools...God says so here in His Word!

But those who believe in Jesus and have accepted Christ as their sin offering become upright in God's eyes and we enjoy acceptance as sons and daughters of God! WOW!!! Stop for a moment and chew on that. We who were once dead in our sins and had been rejected by God become alive and righteous before God all because of the shed blood of Christ on the cross! Thank you, thank you Jesus!

So this morning if you have not accepted the guilt offering Jesus offers do it today! Don't be a fool! If you have already accepted this free gift enjoy your acceptance by God and praise Him for His loving kindness!

Have a good weekend!

Tom

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Who you hanging with??

Great verse to share with our kids and look at closely ourselves!

Proverbs 14:7

7 Go from the presence of a foolish man,
When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.

Working with the youth at church I teach then this principle often. It is very important that we listen to what God tells us for He knows what is best for us. The first part of this verse is telling us to leave the presence of a foolish man. In others words if you have a friend who is foolish, it is time to find a new friend! Well how do we know if our friend is foolish? Earlier in proverbs we read that the beginning of knowledge is the fear of the Lord. If our friends are unbelievers they don't have the same values we have thus they will make many decisions that we will not or try not to make as followers of Christ! I am not telling you to ignore them but I am saying spending large amounts of time with them is not wise! If we ignore them we don't have a chance to try to win them to Christ. In the second part of the verse God tells when to determine we need to get away from them. Basically when we figure out they don't have any knowledge in them which as we have found from God's Word that only comes form a true relationship with Jesus! It don' take long to figure that out if we are in Christ!

So my friends who are you hanging with this morning, the foolish or the wise?

Tom

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Thank God for wise women!

Again as usual God's Word pretty much speaks for itself.

Proverbs 14:1

The wisest of women builds her house,
but folly with her own hands tears it down.

If you have a wise woman in your life praise God for it! I can not tell you how many wise women I have had in my life over my 40 years. From my grandmothers, to my mom, to step mom, to my wife, to godly ladies in several churches, to a women who has stepped in to be like an adopted mother to me. Thank you Jesus! All of these women build their houses first and foremost on the foundation that can not be torn down Jesus Christ. That is the main reason they are wise. They also build their physical homes with care and love. Again that is why they are wise. God bless these women in my life and other folks lives who build their houses wisely!

Then there is the other side I am sad to say. Women who have not placed their faith in Christ. By their own hands they are destroying their spiritual house. How very sad. They also are destroying their physical house because they are not teaching their children the ways of the Lord and setting a good example for their husband. Look at the definition of folly:

1.the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense.

Wow that pretty well sums up what a man or woman is if they do not have the Lord as the central part of their spiritual or physical home doesn't it??

So take time to think this morning on the wise women who have been placed in your life by God. Then call them up and thank them!!!

Have a great day!

Tom

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Always satisfied!

I must say for myself this verse has be so true!

Proverbs 13:25

25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

This verse must be looked at two ways. First Look at it physically. I can honestly say that since I have been a believer in Jesus Christ, I have never been hungry. I have always had a roof over my head. I have always has clothes on my back. So what I am saying is I have always had the necessities. Now let me be clear on this that all my needs have been met by my Lord NOT all my wants!!! Now God says the wicked will suffer want. We also need to remember the wicked suffering want may refer to the next life as we see some wicked folks prosper in this life.

Now let us look at this spiritually. Jesus dying on the cross for our sins satisfies our appetite for eternal life and peace in our lives. Every man has a whole in their heart that they are longing to fill. It can only be satisfied in Jesus. Some men satisfy that appetite through a relationship with Jesus and some never will by their own choice. That is what the second part of the verse is referring too. The wicked will suffer want because they never satisfy the hole in their hearts with Christ. Hell will definitely be a place of wanting something else!!

So are you satisfied this morning? You can be....come to Jesus and find the satisfaction only He can provide!

Tom

Monday, June 7, 2010

Are you sparing the rod?

I see many good kids come through our youth group. I also see many kids who need discipline in so many ways. I also get to work in the schools some where I live and I see respectful nice young people and I see kids that will walk right by you and not say a word to you when I have spoken to them!!! Very disrespectful. I watch the T.V. and am amazed at what I see the kids doing today. Have you ever watched an episode of Super Nanny? Unbelievable!!! As a whole our society has come up with the idea we should not spank our children. In my opinion and according to the Word of God we do a great disservice to our children by not spanking them when they need some discipline. Read this verse:

Proverbs 13:24

24 He who spares his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

God's word says here if we don't spank our children then we must hate them! WOW! What God is trying to tell us here is they need spankings from time to time for that is a way to teach them what is right and what is wrong. It helps them remember. I still remember a couple of whippings I got and you know what I needed them and could have used a few more to be truthful! We have a problem in society wanting to be our kids best friends instead of being their parent. We also have a problem with parents having kids who see their kids as a burden and let them do whatever they want...what a shame. God's word goes onto say if we love our kids we will discipline them promptly. Folks we need to quit watching Dr. Phil and Oprah on how to raise our kids and stick to the advice of the One who made our kids...God!

So brothers and sisters are you sparing the rod? Heed God's Word...He knows best after all He is our heavenly Father!

Have a great week!

Tom

Friday, June 4, 2010

God's Word

Wow! When I read this this morning it was a shout from God.

Proverbs 13:13

13 He who despises the word will be destroyed,
But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

This verse can not be more to the point. If one despises or hates God's Word the end result will be destruction. For if he hates God's Word then he hates Jesus and one can not go to heaven without a relationship with Jesus Christ. You ask how can I say if someone hates the Word how can I say they hate Jesus? read this verse:

John 1:1

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In reality the Word is Jesus! So to hate one is to hate the other! Now lets shift to the other side, the man that fears God's Word will be rewarded. That reward will be eternity in heaven with Jesus forever. It don't get any better than that!

Now here is what I want us to think about...are we in the Word? I find it interesting that most folks who call themselves Christians have never read their Bible all the way through. What does that say about our love for the Word???

That should give you something to chew on over the weekend. Have a good one!

Tom

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Rich or poor?

Alright brothers and sisters, think about this verse very hard!


Proverbs 13:7

7 There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing;
And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches

Have you stopped and taken a real hard look at this world of ours lately? It seems everything the world is doing is contrary to what God's Word tells us. Just take a look at this verse. It is very simple really. If we are entirely working on being rich then we have missed the whole point of life and thus we have nothing. On the other hand if we are focused on where and what God has for us we won't be rich because our main focus will be on serving Him, thus we may be poor in the eyes of the world but we have everything in the eyes of God. Now which is more important. As I was reading this verse another verse came to mind:

Luke 13:30

30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”

You see this is the principle God has for us...we are to put God first, family second, others third, and then we fall in line somewhere after that! This is what will truly make us rich, and if we do happen to have a bundle of money, if these are our priorities, we won't have near as much! Think about that!

So are you rich or poor? Look at what God teaches this morning!

Thanks Pops, I think your thought this morning helped with this devotion!

Tom

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Work hard!

This is a great verse to keep in mind as you are working today!


Proverbs 13:11

11 Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished,
But he who gathers by labor will increase.

God is honesty. God is truth. God is love. As followers of Chrisy He expects us to have these same qualities. If we are living our life by dishonest gain, God is warning us here that a heavy price will be paid one day. We need to seriously think about this. Many will try to justify their dishonest practices by saying things like I deserve this because they don't pay me enough, or taking this from my work place won't hurt anything. According to God it is not right and we should not do these things. Now on the other had look at what God says....work hard and you will have an increase. In other words, God will bless those who work hard. I have seen this with my own eyes. I have a friend who has had nothing most of his life. His parents were lazy and no good but he determined at a young age he was going to be different. He isn't a big executive at a large company, he works hard at a truck shop and mows yards on the side and what ever else he can do to make ends meet. God has blessed him by his hard labor and his fairness to others. He is one of those fellas that when he tells you something you can count on it being done and done right!

So are you a hard worker? The Bible says if you don't work you don't eat! Wouldn't our nation be much better off if folks would take this verse to heart and get off the freebie band wagon???

Pray for one another!

Tom

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Best to keep mouth shut!

My oh my how I wish at points in my life that I had listened to this verse!

Proverbs 13:3

3 He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

God's Word sure is useful. This verse is another great example of that. How many times in our lives do we open our mouths and say something only to regret it later??? I can answer for myself and say too many times. Sometimes it may be that what we say is right but we should have said it in a more loving way and I am also guilty of this. This verse says if we guard our mouth it preserves our life. In so many ways if we would guard what we say it would be helpful. How many families and friendships have been broken by words that have come out of folks mouths that could have been prevented by keeping useless words flowing from the mouth?? God tells us in the second part of this verse that lips that are open wide will have destruction. Do you know anyone who can not be quiet but has to talk all the time even if they don't know what they are talking about? I do and this verse is so true, constant running of the mouth has lead them to destruction as they have few friends!!! The Bible makes it clear in many places that we need to control our mouths, it is to our benefit!

So this morning let us make sure when we open our mouths it is for edification and proclaiming God's word, that will keep us from trouble!

Have a great week!

Tom