But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. – Galatians 5:22-23
The thought from “Spiritual Summits” is to reflect on the past, hope for the future, and praise the Lord in song with gratefulness. Words of worship and praise affirms a future in which God’s plan for uswill grow the fruit of the Spirit like the rain showers grow the crops for the harvest.
Worship today with the song The Goodness by TobyMac (feat. Blessing Offor) and take in the thought that during tough times, roots are growing and know that the Lord is still the goodness in my life. The fruits of the Spirit are growing through the good, the bad and ugly because the Son is above me.
This day with God, I’m reminded of the following thought from a sermon: Climbing higher in scaling the spiritual summits requires prayer. By praying in the name of Jesus, we can pray with confidence as a child of God because the Spirit can be counted on during defining moments of the climb. – Rev. Steve Ramsdell
With Jesus, there is power for forgiveness and with forgiveness, there is the opportunity to receive the goodness of God. Reading today the song of praise in Psalm 65, the goodness of God brings rain showers to prepare the land for the harvest.
A person’s praise of God is based on the wonders of His creation. The seas, the land, and the mountains which are worthy of praise. The crops of the land that are nourished with rain. Our praise to the Lord are words that spark our actions towards attainment of great feats for His glory. Each step of the way, momentum is gained until ultimate accomplishment.
God’s been involved in the world in the past to set in motion amazing beginnings for the future. Think of how Jesus fulfilled His purpose on the Cross and how in one cataclysmic moment, there became a better Way to our future. We can take in the seeds of God’s Word. Sow these seeds, cultivate, and as these seeds grow into fruit, share with others so they can participate in the harvest.
Reflect on the past, hope for the future, and praise the Lord in song with gratefulness. Words of worship and praise affirms a future in which we climb higher towards God’s plan for us. Then we gain confidence each day towards reaching our spiritual summit.
We pray today Lord that our hearts, our minds, and our actions are aligned. We set out to collect the powerful insight gained in Your Word. We discover insight each day and like seeds, we generously spread this insight so others can grow in Your Word too. Our daily worship and praise affirms our future actions and this formulates hope which we hold onto as we climb higher each day towards the summit. In Jesus name … Amen.
Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense,
but the one who has understanding holds their tongue. – Proverbs 11:12
Simple truths are powerful as written about in “Handle with Care”. The thought was that both electricity and words can be dangerous but are very useful if channeled for the right purpose. Words used as lies become weapons for an enemy and electricity can kill if not handled in the proper way.
Take inspiration from the song The Words I Would Say by Sidewalk Prophets and like the lyrics go, learn to forgive and forget. Take time to pray and be thankful for each day. Know that love will find a way.
We learn very early in life that fire burns and that you sink in deep water. Many times, it’s the simple ideas that seem to be overlooked in favor of the more complex. Simple thoughts and ideas can result in amazing discoveries. Think of Ben Franklin’s kite experiment and the idea that lightening contained electricity. By using a kite along with a piece of wire, he demonstrated the electrical nature of lightning. We also know that when electricity is not handled with care, a person can be electrocuted.
People must be handled with care too. Reading today in Psalm 64, the people that David had trusted betrayed him and he was a hunted man. Probably written at the time of the Absalom rebellion, David’s enemies used slander as their weapon.
David reacts towards his enemies schemes and assaults with confidence in God because he knew God could turn their words against them and bring them to ruin. There are only 26 letters in our alphabet yet arranging these letters into words can be extremely powerful so they need to be handled with care. Think about it: All the lyrics to songs and all the books written were formed from these 26 letters of the alphabet.
When wounded by bitter words, our major concern must be that we hold our composure and channel our anger in the right way. Like David, go to God in prayer and let Him fight our battles. Depend on God for wisdom in the words to say and the actions to take.
We are grateful for Your Word Lord for it is powerful. We learn at an early age that we sink in deep water and that some things we touch are hot. It’s these simple truths that have so much power. Like electricity which can kill, we pray that we handle our words with care. We depend on the wisdom from Your Word Lord to guide our steps and are thankful for Your grace. With grace, we come to You to gain wisdom in order to live the way life is meant to be lived. Your Word gives us the way to a beautiful life and healthy life. Help us to use Your Word in the proper way. In Jesus name, Amen.
The inspiration for Psalm 57 is David running from Saul and escaping into the cave of Adullam (1 Sam. 22:1). The words “I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings” from verse 1 should resonate with anyone that is facing a difficult challenge. In the shadow of God’s wings, we can evaluate and choose the way to go. As long as we choose the prompting of the Spirit, there is liberty and ultimate victory. There is mercy that removes worry as we make our request and are blessed.
This Day With God - A Spiritual Journey 