Category Archives: Attitudes & Behavior

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 30, 2014

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Forgiveness

FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE

…Christ suffered for you and gave you an example to follow. So you should do as he did. …People insulted Christ but he did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but he did not threaten. He let God, the one who judges rightly, take care of him. [1 Peter 2:21,23 (NCV)]

The words cut me to the quick. I was deeply hurt and then I got angry. Fortunately, the message came in an email so my mouth didn’t have a chance to blurt out something I’d soon regret. I probably would have defended my actions and then gone on the offense by listing the numerous ways this person had hurt me. Fortunately, God stopped me from responding that evening. Instead, I prayed about this person and what my response should be. As I prayed, God helped me see into this person’s heart: the message could only have been written by a very unhappy person. I realized that the angry words came from deep pain on the other person’s part: pain I had not caused and that had nothing to do with me. I just happened to be the convenient scapegoat. The words God guided me to write in return were loving and warm and, yes, a little apologetic (even though I had to swallow my pride because I truly had done nothing for which I needed to apologize). Instead of adding fuel to the fire, God helped me apply balm to a wounded heart.

Lord, be with us, and even toughen our skin a bit, so that we can let angry and mean words quickly wash over us. Show us how to keep them from soaking into our hearts. No matter how upset we may be, help us respond in a way that will heal instead of hurt.

A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire. … Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim. [Proverbs 15:1,4 (MSG)]

 

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 28, 2014

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Obedience, Temptation & Sin

CREATE IN ME A PURE HEART

6-28-14daisy (blue-eyed)Create in me a pure heart, God, and make my spirit right again. [Psalm 51:10 (NCV)

Lord, help me examine my heart; make it right and pure. Help me remove a prideful spirit. At times, I take pleasure in other people’s failures, a scornful attitude replaces a compassionate heart, and pride creeps in where humility should be. Remind me daily that I’m nowhere near as righteous, important, or intelligent as I often think I am! Father, forgive me and cleanse my heart of arrogance, condescension, pretension, and conceit.

They are blessed whose thoughts are pure for they will see God. [Matthew 5:8 (NCV)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 25, 2014

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, God's Promises, Holy Spirit, Temptation & Sin

WHAT SHIELDS US?

He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. [Psalm 91:4 (NLT)]

When I was a girl, in the Cold War days, my school conducted fire, tornado and air raid drills. Leaving the building in case of fire made sense as did going to the basement in the case of a tornado. Cowering under our desks, however, would not have done much to save us from an atomic bomb! Do we tend to use equally flimsy defense tactics against Satan’s threats? Today, let’s choose to tap into God’s strength and put on His armor for protection.

DSC02124-Chillon-L Geneva-cropWEBBut let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. [1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NLT)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 24, 2014

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Fear & Doubt, Joy, Today: Make it Count, Worry

JOY TO YOU

This day is holy to God. Don’t feel bad. The joy of God is your strength! [Nehemiah 8:10b (MSG)]

From the moment we’re born, we’re already dying. Our task is to live life to the fullest until we die: to live while dying. I had a friend who recently passed away. I miss her, but my greatest sorrow is that, while she was alive, she was simply dying while living. Her mindset would have made Eyore in “Winnie the Pooh” look like an optimist. Instead of savoring each day as the gift it was, she could always find something about which to complain. Misery was her favorite color.

We can face each day with fear and dread, anger and disappointment, regret and resentment or we can face it with confidence and hope, love and joy, anticipation and excitement. The choice is ours and ours alone. Let God fill your heart with His love and peace. May the joy of the Lord be your strength this and every day.

There’s a decision we all have to make, and it seems perfectly captured in the Winnie-the-Pooh characters created by A.A. Milne. Each of us must decide: Am I a fun loving Tigger or am I a sad-sack Eeyore? Pick a camp. [Randy Pausch, from “The Last Lecture”]

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. [Philippians 4:8-9 (MSG)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 13, 2014

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Holy Spirit

HOW TO BEHAVE

Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead bless – that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing. [1 Peter 3:8-9 (MSG)]

It seems so simple on paper, yet so difficult in actuality. Lord, fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we can fulfill these simple instructions. Lead us; live in us, so that we can truly be a blessing to those we encounter.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 10, 2014

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Faith & Hope, Temptation & Sin

IS SOMETHING HOLDING US BACK?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. [Hebrews 12:1-2a (NLT)]

When a horse is hobbled, its front legs are tied loosely together. The hobbling limits the animal’s movement; he can graze and is able to slowly move a short distance, but he can’t go far and he surely can’t go fast. Sometimes slaves and prisoners were hobbled with shackles around their ankles to keep them from running away.

Are there things that are hobbling us or weighing us down to keep us from running the race that is before us?

You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. [Galatians 7:7-8 (NLT)]