A thought received from the study of John 5:30-47 is the need to remove what covers my vision and have an open heart that lets into my mind and soul the things of God. This day with God, search the Scriptures with diligence and pay attention to this best Way of living as explained by Jesus who worked with a passion to build something that will last forever.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. – Psalm 28:7
Noted in “Strengths and Weaknesses” is that a person or nation may be strong and prosperous, but at the same time there may be weakness with moral decay that eventually destroys in the long run.
There needs to be a balance between our spiritual lives, our career, and family. The Good News is that the Lord is faithful in spite of our downfalls. The best resource for quickly moving into action and having a balanced life is the Word of God.
The Word is where we find the Way, the Truth, the Life, and can best organize around each other’s strengths to glorify the Lord. Let us praise the Lord with the song Housefires – The Way (New Horizon) (feat. Pat Barrett) and be mindful that in every challenge, God is our fortress
We all have strengths and weaknesses. It’s the simple things that make a big difference and like the simple tool called the shovel, we may think our individual God given strength is not that important but when combined with many other people using their strength, it becomes huge.
Today, we dig for more treasure from God’s Word. Reading in 2 Kings 14, Amaziah was king of Judah and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but the high places were not removed. He gained victory over Edom, but pride made him challenge Israel to a war in which he was defeated. Pride is considered a good virtue in some cases but can be detrimental when someone gets overconfident, arrogant, or lacks balance in their life.
Another king named Jeroboam became king in Samaria. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but he did restore the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea (v. 25). He had moral weakness but militarily he was a strong king that helped save the people of Israel with his achievements, including recovering both Damascus and Hamath from Judah (v. 28). The expansion of territory allowed the people of Israel to prosper like in the days of Solomon.
It’s the same in life. There may be times of prosperity, but at the same time moral decay that eventually destroys in the long run. There needs to be a balance between our spiritual lives, our career, and family. God is faithful in spite of our downfalls. The best resource for quickly moving into action and having a balanced life is the Word of God. That’s where we find God’s Way and best organize our life around each other’s strengths to glorify God.
This day with You Lord, we are connected to Your power source because of Jesus. We are not hooked in to things that lead to destruction but to Your Way that leads to life. You give us hope in a world that seems hopeless and supernaturally, You work through each of us because the Spirit inside empowers us to use our skills and talents for Your glory. There is no more fatigue, discouragement, failure, or weakness. There is only strength because we pull together in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. – Philippians 2:3-4
As noted in the post “Interesting and Relevant”, you can apply what is learned from the Bible, from others, and the combined experiences of each other. The church is the Israel written about in the Bible and Jesus is the King. All of these are good reasons to worship the Lord today!
Join in on the worship and celebration with the song Live Like You’re Loved by Hawk Nelson. Like the song recommends, live like the person God made you to be. Someone capable, a person that’s been set free, and very valuable. In fact, so valuable that God gives favor and sent His Son as your Savior.
Thanks for reading. Please like, follow, and pass on to others … Make it your purpose to love what God loves and share with others!
Following God’s Way is interesting and relevant. Following His Way keeps life simple, and we keep others in mind. We have a desire to listen to others and offer God’s plan. To care about our neighbors, work together to execute His plan, and help others see better days ahead. Today, we are reading 2 Kings 13 and as we read, we keep these thoughts in mind.
King Jehoahaz followed the sins of Jeroboam, so the Lord was angry and kept Israel under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son (v. 3). This caused Israel to fall into great poverty, but Jehoahaz humbled himself before the Lord and sought His favor. The Lord listened because He saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel.
The Lord was gracious to them, had compassion, and showed concern for them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day He is unwilling to destroy them or banish them from His presence (v. 23).
The thought today is that not only is following God’s Way interesting and relevant, but we can apply what we learn from the Bible, from each other, and from our combined experiences to help each other along the journey of life. The church is the Israel written about in the Bible and Jesus is the King. All of these are good reasons to worship God today!
Lord, we live in a complicated world in which the lines between virtue and sin are blurred. Pride can be seen as a virtue in some cases and a sin in other cases, but Your Way Lord is clear. Each new day, we have the opportunity to read Your Word that is both interesting and relevant. We can share experiences and learn from the experiences of others. This day with You Lord, help us to live simply, love generously, care deeply, and speak kindly. Then, we humbly come to You in prayer knowing You will simplify our complications. What seems impossible by ourselves becomes possible with You Lord, so we humbly come before You today in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Thanks for reading. Please like, follow, and pass on to others … have a great day sharing the Way!
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This Day With God - A Spiritual Journey 