Category: Faith & life

Our Daily Bread

September 6, 2022

Here is a devotion from a great free resource I have used a lot over the years – Our Daily Bread. I found it encouraging today. I especially liked the statement about self control that I bolded…

A hole in the wall

Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control. Proverbs 25:28

Something was eating my flowers. The day before, blooms proudly lifted their heads. Now they were headless stems. I prowled the perimeter of my yard and discovered a rabbit-sized hole in my wooden fence. Bunnies are cute, but the pesky animals can mow down a garden of flowers in minutes.

I wonder, might there be “intruders” shearing off the blooms of God’s character in my life? Proverbs 25:28 says, “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” In ancient days, the wall of the city protected it against invasion from enemies. Even a small opening in a wall meant that the entire city lay open to attack.

So many of the proverbs are about self-control. “If you find honey, eat just enough,” wrote the wise man (25:16). Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit that guards us, protecting us from losing ground to impatience, bitterness, greed, and other pests that can intrude and destroy God’s harvest in our lives (see Galatians 5:22–23). Self-control is a healthy-mindedness that watches for the holes in the walls of our lives and keeps them patched.

When I inspect the perimeter of my life, I can at times see vulnerable holes. A spot where I give in to temptation over and over. An area of impatience. Oh, how I need the healthy-minded self-control of God in my life to guard me from such intruders!

Dear God, please grow the fruit of self-control in my life that I might be protected from intruders. Amen.

GPS

September 5, 2022

Let your life be guided by G.P.S:

G – God’s Word
P – Praying continuously
S – Spirit’s prompting

Weary and burdens

September 3, 2022

Matthew 11:28 NLT – Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

For some reason I hear Jesus say “Come to Me all who are weary” and I miss the “carry heavy burdens” part. I have burdens I still carry. Things that always seem to be on my heart and in my mind. I need to come to Him afresh and allow Him to take my burdens. How about you? Have you got heavy burdens you carry? Maybe it is time to let them go to Jesus?

Prayer

Dear Jesus, You call us to come to You if we are weary and carry heavy burdens. Right now I come to You afresh as I am weary and burdened. I give them to You and exchange them for Your rest and peace. Amen.

Joy bringer?

September 2, 2022

I read this on Twitter today from @GregLaurie. It really made me think about being a person who brings joy and light…

Some people bring joy wherever they go.
Some people bring joy whenever they go.

Which Person are you? Are you the person that lights up the room or turns off the lights? Are you the person that brings everyone down or are you the person that builds other people up?

Just come with Me

August 31, 2022
The pathway up to my solitary place of prayer

Psalm 32:8-9 TPT – I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide. So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!”

In today’s passage I really enjoy three things that God encourages us with.

1. He promises to stay close to us.

2. He will instruct, guide and advise us along life’s pathway with His eyes.

3. He invites us to just come with Him.

When I read this it gives me a lot of encouragement and a lot of comfort. The Creator of the universe promises to be with me and help me along the life’s pathway.

When I read of His promises in this passage, there is no way I want to stubborn or difficult, I just want to just go with Him and trust Him. It is by far the best place to be.

Prayer

Dear God, thank You that the Bible says that You will stay close to us and You will guide, instruct and advise us along life’s pathway. I pray I will willingly follow You each and every day. Amen.