Heed and trust!

 “He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.”

Proverbs 16:20 

Heed the Word and trust the Lord. You will be happy knowing God is leading you!

Tom

Be careful who your friends are!

 “He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13‬:‭20‬ ‭

Wise people follow Jesus. Fools do not. Are your friends wise or fools. Be very careful who influence you!

Tom

Tree of life.

 “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.”

Proverbs 11:30 

To be righteous we must be in Christ. For we are not righteous in ourselves alone. When we are in Christ we have the tree of life which is eternity with God!!! Thus to be wise is to win souls by sharing the gospel with others so they too can obtain the tree of life!

Are you a soul winner for Jesus?

Tom

Correction!

 “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”

Proverbs 3:11-12 

We sin. Thankfully God forgives our sin when we are in Christ. There will be consequences because of our sin for our own correction. Our loving heavenly Father wants us to be obedient and chastening is needed! Be thankful God loves you enough to correct you even though it hurts!

Tom

Do you know Him???

 “Be still, and know that I am God.

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭10‬a

That’s it…just take time and be still. Know the One and only true God. 

Do you know Him? Or just about Him? 

An important question to chew on!

Tom

What would you ask for?

 “At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?””

I Kings 3:5 

What would you ask for?

Soloman asked for understanding to discern what is good and what is evil. That pleased God and He blessed Soloman with wisdom and much more!

May we be careful that what we ask of God is pleasing in His eyes!

Tom

Hidden in my heart.

 “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”

Psalms 119:11 

We must as followers of Jesus learn His Word and then obey it so we do not sin against God. It can only be done by having the power of the Holy Spirit lead us! How much of God’s Word do you know?

Tom

All things come from You!

 “But who am I, and who are my people, That we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given You.”

I Chronicles 29:14 

Here David was gathering supplies for Soloman’s to build the temple. All were coming to giving offerings to help. David reminded them where everything comes from! Not self but God!

Always remember…all we have comes from God! Give to His work in the church accordingly!

Tom

Show me Your way.

 “Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.”

Psalms 143:8

1. God loves us.

2. God is kind to us.

3. We trust God more than anyone.

4. Please show me your way each day Lord.

5. My soul is yours Lord!

Lots to chew on and do today!

Tom

Setting the table.

I found this on Facebook yesterday and wanted to share it. Good stuff! Committed Christian Outdoors in name of Facebook page if you are interested in following them!

CCO Daily Devotional

Setting the Table

Today’s Passage

Romans 13:11-14

Highlighted Verse

Romans 13:14

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

Have you ever asked God to help you overcome something, only to realize you’re still feeding the very thing you’re asking Him to help you overcome?

Paul addresses that problem with a simple but powerful command:

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

Those words, “make no provision for the flesh,” are worth slowing down and thinking about.

Paul isn’t just telling us not to give in to sinful desires.

He’s telling us not to keep setting the table for them.

In other words, don’t feed them.

Don’t nurture them.

Don’t keep giving them room to grow.

The battle is usually lost when temptation is welcomed, entertained, and given a place to grow.

That’s because the flesh is always trying to convince us that we can keep feeding certain desires without consequences.

It tells us we can hold onto them while still growing closer to Christ.

But the Spirit begins to change the way we think.

He teaches us to ask:

“Is this helping me follow Christ more faithfully, or feeding my flesh?”

As we grow in our walk with Christ, we sometimes discover that certain places, influences, habits, or situations are pulling us in a direction we no longer want to go. Those decisions are not always easy. Sometimes they involve things we enjoy, people we care about, or situations that have been part of our lives for years.

Yet as our love for Christ grows, we begin choosing what helps us follow Him more faithfully.

Paul’s command begins with:

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Before Paul tells us what to put off, he tells us what to put on.

The Christian life is not merely about avoiding sin.

It is about pursuing Christ.

And the more we love Him, the less we want to keep feeding the things that pull our hearts away from Him.

Let’s Pray

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace, mercy, and patience toward us. Thank You for loving us even when we are often tempted to feed the very things that pull our hearts away from You.

Give us wisdom to recognize temptation before it takes root and courage to walk away from anything that hinders our fellowship with You. Help us not to make provision for the flesh, but to pursue the things that honor You.

Teach us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ each day. As our love for You grows, help us desire Christ more and sin less. May our lives reflect gratitude for all You have done for us and a growing desire to follow You faithfully. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Trust and hope.

 ““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭7‬ 

The number 1 blessing in life is trusting Jesus for it results in eternal life with God forever. Without the Lord there is no hope!

Chew on the today.

Tom

Done very foolishly!

 “And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.””

II Samuel 24:10 

May we do like David and listen to the Holy Spirits conviction and repent when we sin!!! God will forgive! 

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Tom

The Red Clay Strays-Grateful

I heard this song yesterday and wanted to share it with you! Lord I am so grateful!

 https://youtu.be/_cmz8T9mIyI?is=ldNSggnwvNtjhn5O

Who will deliver me?

 “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! 

‭‭Romans‬ ‭7‬:‭24‬-‭25‬a

Bring the sinful people we are, we need a deliverer!! Who might that be? Jesus!!! The only ONE who can deliver us….did!!! His death, burial and resurrection provided everything needed in the eyes of God to deliver us from hell!! Praise be to Jesus!!!

Tom

I shall not want!

 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭23‬:‭1‬ ‭

We started VBS at church last night. Had a great time with the kids. Above is the verse we learned about. When the Lord is our Shepherd we shall not want be cause He meets all our needs. A truth I have learned for myself. I pray you can say the same. I thank God for being the kind, gracious Shepherd He is and that He takes care of His sheep!

Tom

Are you good?

 Be careful how you answer that question. We tend to compare ourselves to someone else and say “I am a good person.” Especially compared to do and so. Let’s see what God  says:

“As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.””

‭‭Romans‬ ‭3‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭

Conclusion…you are not good! Ouch!

 So how does one become good? Only one way! 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,”

‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭

In Christ is only way to be good in God’s eyes. Following Jesus as your Lord and Savior by trusting in His shed blood to cover your sins. Nothing you have done can make you good it’s all Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. 

I know that’s a tough pill to swallow but it’s the truth!

Tom

You will provide!

 “Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.”

Psalms 65:3 

God did provide!

No greater gift than what God has given us through His Son Jesus covering our sins with His shed blood. Praise the Lord!!! Hallelujah!

Tom

Life!

 “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬ ‭

Only ONE can claim to be life. Jesus Christ. If you are not a follower of Him you do not have the life God made for you. That life is to worship and be with God for eternity. Words cannot describe what our Father in heaven has for His children. Don’t miss it!!!

Tom

We praise YOU!

 “We praise you, God, we praise you, for your Name is near; people tell of your wonderful deeds.”

Yes we praise the only ONE who deserves it! Always near and blessed us over and over again with wonderful deeds!

We love you Lord!!!

Tom

Your destiny!

 “for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart.”

‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭7‬:‭2‬b

The wis King Solomon reminds us if you are alive death is coming. Are you prepared? Only one way to be prepared and that is by being in Christ! Faith in Him alone secures your eternity in heaven…without Him you eternity will be in hell.

As Soloman said “take this to heart”! Follow Jesus now!

Tom