Path to Excellence

I remember one time when my wife and I put an office chair together. We struggled because some of the parts didn’t line up. The product was defective and things didn’t fit together. When things don’t line up, we don’t have a chance. It’s the same with our life plan. If it doesn’t fit with what God wants, it’s not going to work. If our life plan lines up with what God has laid out, we can then be made into people of great usefulness for His glory.

We note in reading Job 31 today that Job claims that his life plan lines up. He said that he had been a faithful husband, a family man, a fair employer, a concerned person for the needy, and a law abiding citizen. He claims to be a man of the right attitudes and behavior towards others and the community in which he lives.

From the beginning of the book of Job, we know that Job lost his children, his livestock, and his property. He then had painful sores from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head (Job 2:7). 

During these third round of speeches, accomplished are two sides of the story much like during a trial when we have witnesses and a judge. Job says he has always been a man of integrity but his friends say he is going through difficulty because he is being punished.

Since the Garden of Eden, the world became a place of deception. We don’t know which side to believe. We can be thankful that God has entered in through Jesus Christ to make the path clear towards a brighter future.

It is worldly deception entering into the heart that leads to mediocrity. There is a need to be honest with ourselves and have the attitude of knowing where we fall short and what we need to do. The solution is to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. To then absorb the excellence of the Lord. His truth begins to clear out mediocrity and set us on a superior path.

This day with You God, we know about your high standards and the only way for us to meet these standards is to accept our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You have given us the Holy Spirit, grace, and the power to help us grow each day towards these higher standards that You desire. We pray that studying Your Word today has prepared us to step ahead along the path to excellence and away from the path of deception. 

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Poetry Friday 08-12-2022

A poem posted at my other blog Step Ahead is inspired by the post “Preparing For Action” about the documented record of Jesus entering Jerusalem for Holy Week. It took a lot of courage for Jesus to come into Jerusalem knowing about the sufferings he would endure over the next week before the crucifixion.

Take courage in the fight as you step ahead with boldness. Use the poem as affirmation and be inspired by the song Battle is the Lord’s by Rebecca St. James ft. Brandon Lake. You can boldly step ahead with the Lord by your side because you have confidence that everything will turn out alright.

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Eternal Blessings

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. –  Matthew 5:11-12

Written in “Reward in Heaven” is that the rewards of this world are temporary and easily lost but our sure reward because of our Redeemer is that we become heir to God’s rich treasure of eternal blessings. The currency of God’s kingdom is grace and the flow of grace from our Lord Jesus Christ gives us something to ease the struggles of our earthly life.

Like the song Imagine by MercyMe, if we accept Christ as Savior, we inherit an eternal reward beyond what can be imagined. 

Index of devotionals

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Reward of Heaven

We seek You every day; 
In in You we believe,
Thankful for Your provision, 
And grateful for all we receive. 

Today, we are reading Job 30 and remembering that Job’s past included a large family and significant wealth.  In his past, he rescued the poor and the fatherless, and was the father of the needy. People listened to his advice in the past but in the present, he has lost everything; his family, his wealth, and health.

Job’s friends no longer respect him like they did in the past. In fact, they detest him and even his family has turned against him so Job is discouraged. He feels like he’s being punished for his past faithfulness to God instead of being rewarded so he complains about his sufferings and that he has lost everything.

We may feel the same at times but we must not live in the past or dwell on the present but focus on our reward in heaven. The rewards of this world are temporary and easily lost but our sure gift is that our Redeemer lives. Blessings always lie in the strength to keep striving because in the end, all our troubles will subside. At the end of a life that has accepted Christ as Savior is the reward in heaven that is beyond what we could ever envision. We become heir to God’s rich treasure of eternal blessings.

This day with You Lord, we remember the past, we receive grace in the present, and look forward to the treasure of eternal blessings. The cross changed everything and someday our troubles will subside. Our soul is safe and we look forward with joy because our Redeemer lives. Amen.

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Hand in Hand Together

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! –  Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

What resonated for me and what I shared in “Unified for Victory” was that apart we are weak but together we are strong. Job and his friends were not together.

Like geese going south for the winter, we can help each other along the journey and the Holy Spirit provides a means whereby each individual provides something for the cause of Christ. In return, each member receives the combined strength of the whole. Together as ONE in Christ, the application of our faith then becomes combined excellence and God’s glory is the ultimate outcome.

Take inspiration from the song Together by King & Country. Hand in hand together, the light of Divine favor and protection will brightly shine upon us and we will make it to the destination together.

Index of devotionals

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