“The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise he receives”. Proverbs 27:21
There is the test of praise to make sure our motives are pure. Why do I do what I do? If it is for the praise of men then I have misdirected motives. My faith has faltered, as I am more concerned about pleasing people than my master Jesus. “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God” (John 5:44)? Praise from God builds belief and activates obedience.
Jesus did not receive man’s praise, “I do not accept praise from men” (John 5:41). He knew the danger of being enamored by earthly accolades instead of humbled by heaven’s honor. When the Lord leads you into a mission misunderstood by the masses do not be swayed. Stay the course with Christ, because His words of “well done” are all that really matters. Listen for the applause from heaven and let it drown out any ovations on earth.
The test of praise makes you more thankful and less critical, more respectful and less condescending, more patient and less demanding, and more diligent to learn and less inclined to grow lazy. When praise and glory come your way make sure you reflect it onto your Heavenly Father. Proud Herod forgot this, “Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died” (Acts 12:23). Anything praiseworthy in life is because of God’s blessings.
So when sincere saints offer you compliments quietly give them up to Christ. A courteous thank you and a private prayer of thanksgiving to God go a long way to passing the test of praise. Before long they will begin praising the Lord because of your service. “Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ” (2 Corinthians 9:13a). Do I let go of praise and leave it with the Lord? Do I praise God for His grace?
Related Readings: 2 Chronicles 20:21; Psalm 56:4; John 12:43; 1 Thessalonians 2:6
8.28.2009
The Daily Verse: Psalm 72:6
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!
Psalm 72:6
Today is a new day. Let yesterday be what it was, and let tomorrow worry about itself. Embrace Christ's sovereignty as a refreshing rain shower on the parts of your heart, mind and soul that have been in drought.
Psalm 72:6
Today is a new day. Let yesterday be what it was, and let tomorrow worry about itself. Embrace Christ's sovereignty as a refreshing rain shower on the parts of your heart, mind and soul that have been in drought.
8.27.2009
The Daily Verse: Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:29
I would imagine each and every one of us has a soul that could use a little more rest. Consider the things you take responsibility for, and if you think your impact on them is just as vital as God's. Chances are, there are a few weighty things you can turn over to Him, since He's God whether you're trying to be or not. Rest in knowing that His yoke has your best interest at heart, and He doesn't intend for you to carry unnecessary burdens.
Matthew 11:29
I would imagine each and every one of us has a soul that could use a little more rest. Consider the things you take responsibility for, and if you think your impact on them is just as vital as God's. Chances are, there are a few weighty things you can turn over to Him, since He's God whether you're trying to be or not. Rest in knowing that His yoke has your best interest at heart, and He doesn't intend for you to carry unnecessary burdens.
Boyd Bailey: Quarrelsome Wife… (mom)
A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.” Proverbs 27:15-16.
A quarrelsome wife is not keen on listening and learning how to better relate to her husband. Her view of the world tends to settle issues with arguments. She’s inclined to be contentious and avoids rational conversations in place of ones driven by emotion. What is behind this implosive behavior? How does it need to be addressed and resolved?
“Pride only breeds quarrels” (Proverbs 13:10a). Pride is at the root of an angry and combative person. There is a sense of superiority that needs to be validated through winning arguments and belittling anyone who gets in their way. Humility and love are not a part of the relational equation, because it’s perceived as weak and passive. Unless stopped a quarrelsome wife will destroy everything in her proud path.
How can you help someone struggling in their own small world of hurt and hostility? Ignoring and doing nothing is not an option. This approach only worsens their condition. The remedy is not more medication but a resolve to patience, prayer and love. Pride is best confronted with an honest humility supported by the grace of God. Indeed, you may have to take a break from your business to take care of business at home.
Take the time and address this destructive behavior early, so it doesn’t destroy your marriage. Seek wisdom from a more mature couple that has learned how to fight fair. Perhaps you seek professional help and take a proactive approach to emotional healing. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
How do I need to love my wife when she becomes angry and quarrelsome? Who can we confide in and create a plan to resolve our differences? “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Related Readings: Job 6:24-26; Isaiah 59:3-5; 2 Corinthians 10:5; 2 Timothy 2:23
A quarrelsome wife is not keen on listening and learning how to better relate to her husband. Her view of the world tends to settle issues with arguments. She’s inclined to be contentious and avoids rational conversations in place of ones driven by emotion. What is behind this implosive behavior? How does it need to be addressed and resolved?
“Pride only breeds quarrels” (Proverbs 13:10a). Pride is at the root of an angry and combative person. There is a sense of superiority that needs to be validated through winning arguments and belittling anyone who gets in their way. Humility and love are not a part of the relational equation, because it’s perceived as weak and passive. Unless stopped a quarrelsome wife will destroy everything in her proud path.
How can you help someone struggling in their own small world of hurt and hostility? Ignoring and doing nothing is not an option. This approach only worsens their condition. The remedy is not more medication but a resolve to patience, prayer and love. Pride is best confronted with an honest humility supported by the grace of God. Indeed, you may have to take a break from your business to take care of business at home.
Take the time and address this destructive behavior early, so it doesn’t destroy your marriage. Seek wisdom from a more mature couple that has learned how to fight fair. Perhaps you seek professional help and take a proactive approach to emotional healing. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
How do I need to love my wife when she becomes angry and quarrelsome? Who can we confide in and create a plan to resolve our differences? “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
Related Readings: Job 6:24-26; Isaiah 59:3-5; 2 Corinthians 10:5; 2 Timothy 2:23
8.25.2009
The Daily Verse: Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:29
I would imagine each and every one of us has a soul that could use a little more rest. Consider the things you take responsibility for, and if you think your impact on them is just as vital as God's. Chances are, there are a few weighty things you can turn over to Him, since He's God whether you're trying to be or not. Rest in knowing that His yoke has your best interest at heart, and He doesn't intend for you to carry unnecessary burdens.
Matthew 11:29
I would imagine each and every one of us has a soul that could use a little more rest. Consider the things you take responsibility for, and if you think your impact on them is just as vital as God's. Chances are, there are a few weighty things you can turn over to Him, since He's God whether you're trying to be or not. Rest in knowing that His yoke has your best interest at heart, and He doesn't intend for you to carry unnecessary burdens.
Boyd Bailey: Loneliness In Illness…
“As long as he has an infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he must live outside the camp.” Leviticus 13:46
Leprosy was a dreaded disease much like Aids is today. People were sent out of town into isolated colonies where they felt rejected and feared. This is the nature of illness, especially severe sickness. Those of us, who are well, either don’t totally understand the condition of the sick, or we don’t know what to say. However, we can still show up to love on them and serve them during their time of struggle.
We don’t want to feed the unhealthy person’s feelings of rejection and fear. Illness can be dreadfully lonely. The emotional struggle many times is harder than the physical pain. This is why we need each other, ‘in sickness and in health.’ So what are some ways to reach out to someone who is physically and emotional hurting? How can we be intentional in our concern for them?
A first step is to put ourselves into their situation. If I were suffering from cancer how would I want to be treated? Prayer and care would be high on the list. To be prayed for is the highest of privileges. Your prayers do make a difference; it is like adding additional supplies to hungry and fatigued troops on the front lines of battle.
God listens intently to your pleas for compassion and healing. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b). Prayer makes a difference with God, the one you are praying for and it makes a difference in you. Your prayers sensitize your heart toward the one you are lifting to God’s throne of grace.
Care means you show up. This is 99% of caring. You show up at the bedside, you show up at their home and you show up at the funeral. When you take the time to show up, you provide a dose of medicine that can’t be prescribed by a physician. Your smile, warm touch and listening ear refresh like a hot shower in the cold of winter. It may be a card, flowers or a phone call, all of these add up to put the sick person on the road to recovery or give them a much needed peace of mind.
Yes, there are the ‘hard’ elements of doctors, nurses, medicine and therapy, but the ‘soft’ elements of prayer and care provide a safe environment for the other to be more effective. Jesus illustrated the importance of loving on the ill when He said about Himself, “I was sick and you looked after me” (Matthew 25:36b). Who is struggling with sickness that I can love on today? Who needs me to read Scripture to and lift to the Lord in prayer?
Related Readings: Exodus 23:25; Psalm 41:3; John 4:45-47; Acts 28:8-9
Leprosy was a dreaded disease much like Aids is today. People were sent out of town into isolated colonies where they felt rejected and feared. This is the nature of illness, especially severe sickness. Those of us, who are well, either don’t totally understand the condition of the sick, or we don’t know what to say. However, we can still show up to love on them and serve them during their time of struggle.
We don’t want to feed the unhealthy person’s feelings of rejection and fear. Illness can be dreadfully lonely. The emotional struggle many times is harder than the physical pain. This is why we need each other, ‘in sickness and in health.’ So what are some ways to reach out to someone who is physically and emotional hurting? How can we be intentional in our concern for them?
A first step is to put ourselves into their situation. If I were suffering from cancer how would I want to be treated? Prayer and care would be high on the list. To be prayed for is the highest of privileges. Your prayers do make a difference; it is like adding additional supplies to hungry and fatigued troops on the front lines of battle.
God listens intently to your pleas for compassion and healing. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b). Prayer makes a difference with God, the one you are praying for and it makes a difference in you. Your prayers sensitize your heart toward the one you are lifting to God’s throne of grace.
Care means you show up. This is 99% of caring. You show up at the bedside, you show up at their home and you show up at the funeral. When you take the time to show up, you provide a dose of medicine that can’t be prescribed by a physician. Your smile, warm touch and listening ear refresh like a hot shower in the cold of winter. It may be a card, flowers or a phone call, all of these add up to put the sick person on the road to recovery or give them a much needed peace of mind.
Yes, there are the ‘hard’ elements of doctors, nurses, medicine and therapy, but the ‘soft’ elements of prayer and care provide a safe environment for the other to be more effective. Jesus illustrated the importance of loving on the ill when He said about Himself, “I was sick and you looked after me” (Matthew 25:36b). Who is struggling with sickness that I can love on today? Who needs me to read Scripture to and lift to the Lord in prayer?
Related Readings: Exodus 23:25; Psalm 41:3; John 4:45-47; Acts 28:8-9
8.24.2009
Boyd Bailey: Focus on Today… ***
“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1
Today is the only time we have for certain. ‘What can I do today to further God’s plan for my life, both professionally and personally?’ Perhaps you pray a similar prayer each day to recalibrate what Christ wants for you. This is how Jesus taught us to pray, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come… Give us each day our daily bread…” (Luke 11:2-3). Daily bread is God’s reminder of our desperate need for Him.
If we only dream about tomorrow then the realities of today lose their attraction, even to the point of becoming irresponsible. Future ambition cannot abort taking care of my current commitments. Today you can trust the Lord. You can love family and friends. Today you can serve a stranger, meet a deadline at work, babysit for a neighbor, go to the doctor, or plan your next special time with your spouse. Focus on today and you’ll find fulfillment, obsess about tomorrow and you’ll become sick with discontentment.
Presuming on tomorrow can put us into a predicament. This is why debt is deceptive and dangerous. Aggressive borrowing can bring down our financial house. We cannot expect to expand our business on the uncertainty of credit. We cannot promise ourselves ease of life and entitlement of affluence. Christ is our provider, “If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). Faith is our filter for future opportunities.
God’s activity is not easily discerned; by design He invites dependence. Therefore, focus on today by faith and feel the assurance of His activity on your behalf. “Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). What current commitment needs my undivided attention? Do I need to replace any future presumptions with present prayer and planning?
Related Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:22; Isaiah 56:12; Matthew 6:34; James 4:13-15
Today is the only time we have for certain. ‘What can I do today to further God’s plan for my life, both professionally and personally?’ Perhaps you pray a similar prayer each day to recalibrate what Christ wants for you. This is how Jesus taught us to pray, "When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come… Give us each day our daily bread…” (Luke 11:2-3). Daily bread is God’s reminder of our desperate need for Him.
If we only dream about tomorrow then the realities of today lose their attraction, even to the point of becoming irresponsible. Future ambition cannot abort taking care of my current commitments. Today you can trust the Lord. You can love family and friends. Today you can serve a stranger, meet a deadline at work, babysit for a neighbor, go to the doctor, or plan your next special time with your spouse. Focus on today and you’ll find fulfillment, obsess about tomorrow and you’ll become sick with discontentment.
Presuming on tomorrow can put us into a predicament. This is why debt is deceptive and dangerous. Aggressive borrowing can bring down our financial house. We cannot expect to expand our business on the uncertainty of credit. We cannot promise ourselves ease of life and entitlement of affluence. Christ is our provider, “If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15). Faith is our filter for future opportunities.
God’s activity is not easily discerned; by design He invites dependence. Therefore, focus on today by faith and feel the assurance of His activity on your behalf. “Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things” (Ecclesiastes 11:5). What current commitment needs my undivided attention? Do I need to replace any future presumptions with present prayer and planning?
Related Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:22; Isaiah 56:12; Matthew 6:34; James 4:13-15
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