Author: admin

People can tell a lot about our heart by listening to what comes out of our mouth! We can’t help ourselves. Whatever is on our mind inevitably finds its way out of our mouth!

This can lead to a number of potential dangers. One is the hurt and conflict it causes others. Our words can be a vicious weapon, if used for attack. Even careless words can cause deep wounds. God, who made our mouth, knows full well the negative means by which it can be used.

That’s why Scripture warns us to let our words be few. The fewer words we speak, the less likely we’ll say something we regret! Unfortunately, some people love to talk! Their mouth is in drive, regardless of whether it has anywhere productive to go! Inevitably words are spoken that would have been better left unsaid. The wise person realizes that no pleasure that results from constantly speaking is worth the pain that is caused to others when we say too much. Strive to be someone who speaks when they have something worthwhile to utter, and who remains silent when the words they had at hand would only have caused others pain.

The world celebrates wealth and possessions. God honors wisdom. In our society, it is possible to accumulate money without necessarily being wise. An athlete might be able to run fast with a ball in his hand, but be seemingly incapable of making wise decisions with his life. Someone might be good at earning the top dollar, and yet be destroying her family or offending her friends with every word she speaks. Just because someone has been successful at making money, does not mean they are people we should emulate.

At times people achieve leadership positions and assume they are the experts and have no need to learn from others. Such foolish people have position and influence, but no wisdom. The truth is that it is far better to have little wealth and much wisdom, than much wealth and great foolishness.

A fool with money or power will always have flatterers close at hand. A fool will readily listen to them. It is easier to listen to a flatterer than to take a hard look in the mirror to determine the nature of reality for ourselves. Yet many a leader has ultimately fallen because, though they had achieved a measure of success, they did not learn from it and maintain humility. Success closed their mind so failure was not far behind.

There truly is safety in numbers! The world in which we live is dangerous. Enemies abound. There are countless people who would rob you and take advantage of you if they thought they could. Despite the numerous security systems, protection agencies, and police departments available today, it is almost impossible to avoid being harmed by others at some point in your life.

That is why it is crucial to surround yourself with trustworthy friends and associates.Your one pair of eyes may not be adequate to detect all of the dangers lurking around you! Others may see things you missed. People may have various experiences and expertise that you lack, so they are alert to dangers you are oblivious to. It is far more difficult to take advantage of someone who has a healthy supply of friends and counselors!

Are you currently attempting to handle your affairs by yourself? Have you left yourself vulnerable? Are there issues you are unprepared to handle on your own? If a crisis occurred, would you be unprepared to handle it? In these uncertain and turbulent days, you cannot afford to walk alone.

God did not design us to be loners. Some people tend to gravitate toward solitary lives. They don’t make much effort to obtain friends. They avoid social gatherings. They don’t open themselves up to others to share their pain or fears. Neither do they seek to know others or extend help to them. These people are content to live life in their own, self-imposed, bubble. After all, if you don’t relate closely to anyone, then you don’t have to worry about being hurt by them, right?

But, regardless of how introverted, or shy, or reclusive we might feel, God did not create is to live alone. He made us social animals. We cannot experience all of God’s goodness for us, if we refuse to connect with other people. For, just as friends and family can bring us our greatest pain, they also can produce our most delightful joys.

If you have been hurt in the past by people you were close to, you may tend to steer clear of new relationships. Nevertheless, God did not design life to be “played” safely. The goal of your life ought not to be to avoid pain. It ought to be spent enthusiastically embracing everything God has for you. Look around you. Are there potential relationships that could bless your life richly, if only you gave them a chance?

We humans like to flatter ourselves that we are a special creation, set apart from the rest of nature. While in some respects that is true, it is also a painful reality that we are subject to the identical laws as the animal kingdom. We shall surely die just as every creature on earth inevitably breathes its last. Just as every animal, regardless of its lethal power, will ultimately return to dust, so we too, despite the glory of our humanity, will eventually be reduced to dust as well.

These are crass, disturbing truths that most people are loath to contemplate.

While it can be morbid to dwell upon our mortality, it can produce a profound humility. For we will not live forever, or even necessarily long. Our health can deteriorate at any time. We can be victimized by accidents or illness at the most unexpected of moments.

However, rather than becoming cynical or pessimistic, these facts ought to provide us with a sober view of our life and purpose. We should not live our lives as if we have plenty of time to do what must be done. We must passionately seize each day that we have been granted. We must savor relationships and the simple pleasures of life. We must not presume we have ample time to make mend broken relationships. Rather, we must live as creatures of dust who have limited time to accomplish God’s purposes. Knowing our future ought to inspire our present.

You do not need to be a private investigator to be able to discover evil in your world. It is everywhere. Along with evil, is injustice. One of the most troubling of humanity’s questions is this: Why does a loving and holy God allow injustice in this world? Why does He not punish the evildoer and rectify every wrong committed against the innocent?

The sagacious writer of Ecclesiastes found the answer. God will deal with evil and wicked people, in His own time. Just as there is a specific season and time for every purpose of God, so there is a divinely appointed time of accountability, both for the wicked as well as the righteous. We needn’t worry about wicked people getting away with their crimes. We ought not to fear that innocent victims will never see justice. For God has an appointed time in which every sin will be fully accounted for. No injustice escapes His holy gaze.

As surely as spring follows winter, so God’s judgment will follow humanity’s sin. The key is to trust His timing. He does not always act as quickly as we might like. But His timing is sure.

It can be heartbreaking to watch your efforts of years go up in smoke in minutes. The company you built from scratch; is dismantled by its new owners. The organization you carefully constructed; is led to ruin by the new CEO. The beautiful yard you meticulously cultivated; is overrun with weeds under its new owners. Few things are as disheartening as seeing your efforts being treated casually or scornfully.

Unfortunately, such is the fate of many. Few people care as much about our work as we do! People have their own priorities. Others will not appreciate the sacrifice and labor we invested. Such a harsh reality ought not discourage you from giving your best effort. But it should cause you to consider carefully where you make major investments.

The only place you can invest yourself that will always outlast you, is God’s activity. His work is eternal. Ten thousand years from now you will be running in to people your life impacted for God. No one can diminish that or take it from you! Invest wisely!

There is nothing quite as therapeutic to the soul as rejoicing in God’s goodness. It is easy to become obsessed with problems and disappointments. Company lunchrooms are filled with habitual complainers. There are people who will wax eloquent to anyone who will listen about the unfair working conditions or their demanding boss. These martyrs appear to spend more energy complaining about their work than they expend doing their work.

Christian employees should not be that way. They understand that their labor provides a platform for them to accomplish good and to honor their Creator. Further, our reward for hard work is to eat, drink, and to enjoy the fruit of our labor. We spend a lot of our life working; God intends for us to find enjoyment in it!

The opportunity to work is a gift from God. Too many live their lives focusing on reaching the weekend, or retirement. But it is the satisfaction of working hard and well, and enjoying the results, that are God’s special gift to His creatures. May you work hard, and rejoice well!

Some things are beautiful, some times. But everything? That’s what Scripture says. God created everything in your life for a particular purpose. And, in its proper time, it is beautiful. The key is that you are experiencing, in the correct season, what God intends for you.

Becoming a parent is an amazing experience. But it can be less than beautiful when it occurs for a sixteen-year-old single mother. Leaving a job can be great, when you have faithfully done stellar work and are being given a heartfelt farewell party. It is not so attractive when you are being let go because of constant conflicts with the boss. Much of the success we achieve in life is based on timing. Events in our life can be beautiful, if they happen at the right time.

Beauty is also often in the eyes of the beholder. That is, events in your life can be wonderful, if you view them the way God does. If you are presently experiencing something that does not seem pleasant to you, or welcome, perhaps you need to search for God’s purpose in it. Even painful experiences can have a beauty to them, if you look for it.

Some of these verses may strike us as inherently incorrect! Of course there are times to love (Duh, like all the time!). But when is it appropriate to hate something? We ought always to seek peace should we not? But when would a Christian ever embrace war?

There are certainly Christians who could learn to love people more than they do. Some believers tale far too much delight in going to war. For such people, they need become more familiar with the heart of God.

But at times, our problem is that we do not hate enough. What should we hate? Anything God hates! God hates sin. Because He knows that sin brings death to those He loves. God hates pride, for it blinds us to our sin. God hates division, for it weakens His people and makes them vulnerable to their enemies. God hates idolatry, because it is a rejection of His love. Hatred means we are not indifferent to that which causes ours, and others, destruction.

Likewise, we ought to be at war against everything that is assaulting the kingdom of God. We are in the midst of a spiritual battle. We have an enemy seeking our destruction. It is supremely naïve to live life like we are on a picnic when in reality we are in the midst of a battlefield.

Are you loving, and hating, what God does?