Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. —Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)
Contentment is a decision to be happy with what you already have. But I am convinced most people are not truly content. Unbelievers certainly aren’t content, whether they realize it or not, but it is very sad how many believers have not learned to be truly content in their circumstances. I wonder how many people can truthfully say, “I’m happy with my life. I love my spouse and my family. I like my job. I’m satisfied with my house and my car. There are things I want God to do for me, but I am content to wait until He does them in His timing. I do not covet anything that belongs to my neighbor. I am not jealous of anyone else or envious of what others have. If God gave it to them, then I want them to enjoy it.”
I believe God actually tests us in this way. Until we can pass His “I-am-happy-for- you-because- you-are blessed” test, we are never going to have any more than what we have right now. Yes, God wants us to prosper in every way. He wants people to see His goodness and how well He takes care of us. But we must desire God more than we desire His blessings. So He tests us to make sure this is the case before He releases greater material blessings into our lives.
Tag Archives: Joyce Meyer
Joyce Meyer – My Normal Mind
I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers. [For I always pray to] the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints (His set-apart ones). —Ephesians 1:16–18
This section in Ephesians is difficult for many of us to understand. What does Paul mean by “the eyes of your heart flooded with light” (v. 18)? I believe he is referring to the mind, because that’s what needs enlightenment. It is with the mind that we grasp God’s truths and hold to them.
Too many of us have difficulty being “flooded with light” because we are distracted with too many other things. The apostle prays for us to have what I call a normal mind—a mind that’s open to the Holy Spirit’s work—so that we may follow God’s plan and live enriched lives.
One way to think about the idea of a normal mind is to look at two of Jesus’ friends, Mary and Martha. Most people know the story of the sisters and the visit Jesus made to their home in Bethany. Martha scurried around, making certain that everything in their home was exactly right, while Mary sat down to listen to Jesus. Luke says Martha “was distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40), and she complained to Jesus that she needed her sister’s help.
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things” (v. 41), Jesus told her, and then He commended Mary for having chosen the “good portion.”
As I thought about that incident, I realized it was more than Martha being distracted. I’m sure her mind jumped around, making certain that everything was exactly right. The implication is that even if there had been nothing more to do, Martha wouldn’t have stopped to sit at Jesus’ feet. She was so caught up in busyness that her mind would have searched for something else to do.
The Marthas seem to be in control of our world, don’t they? They are the ones who get things done. When they’re not accomplishing their own goals, they seem to be telling others what they should do. In today’s world of “multi-tasking” the Marthas seem to get the awards and the accolades. Some people are busy all the time. They wear their busyness like a badge, as if that makes them more important. Their busyness can easily distract them from developing a solid relationship with God. They’re the ones who often lack depth of peace and rarely know spiritual contentment. That is, they don’t have what God considers a normal mind. It is not in the condition He would like it to be in.
People who are excessively busy cannot even sleep when they lie down at night. They are either mentally going over the day’s activities or making mental lists of the tasks for the next day.
This isn’t the lifestyle Jesus calls us to. As believers, we are spiritual beings, but we’re also natural. The natural doesn’t understand the spiritual and constantly fights that part of our nature. The Bible makes it clear that the mind and the spirit work together. That’s the principle I call “the mind aiding the spirit.”
For the mind to aid the spirit, we must learn to pull back from all the distractions around us. There will always be demands on our time and energy, and we can always find plenty to do. But if we want to live with the mind of Christ, the one that should be normal for Christians, it means we must learn to imitate Mary. Despite all the clamor and activities going on around her, she was able to sit, relax, and listen to the voice of the Master. That’s how the mind is supposed to work. It should be quiet and under the control of the Spirit. However, we often find that our minds are so set in a wrong direction that they actually hinder the Spirit from helping us, as they should be free to do.
If you realize from this devotion that your mind has been behaving abnormally, ask God to forgive you and teach you what a normal mind is in His kingdom.
Dear God in heaven, distractions constantly come at me. When I try to pause and focus on You, my mind seems to be filled with dozens of things I need to do. I realize that I truly need only one thing—to focus on You. Please help me push away every distraction and noise so I can hear only Your voice that says, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” Amen.
Alistair Begg – This Man
This man receives sinners. Luke 15:2
Observe the condescension of this fact. Jesus, holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, who towers above all other men—this Man receives sinners. This Man, who is no other than the eternal God, before whom angels veil their faces—this Man receives sinners. It requires an angel’s tongue to describe such a mighty stoop of love. That any of us would be willing to reach the lost is nothing wonderful—they are, after all, our own race; but that He, the offended God, against whom the transgression has been committed, should take upon Himself the form of a servant and bear the sin of many and be willing to receive the worst of sinners—this is marvelous.
“This man receives sinners”; not in order for them to remain sinners, but He receives them in order that He may pardon their sins, justify their persons, cleanse their hearts by His purifying word, preserve their souls by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and enable them to serve Him, show forth His praise, and have communion with Him. Into His heart’s love He receives sinners; He takes them from the refuse pile and wears them as jewels in His crown; He snatches them like branches from the fire and preserves them as costly monuments to His mercy. None are so precious in Jesus’ sight as the sinners for whom He died.
When Jesus receives sinners, He does not have an outdoor reception, no public square where He charitably entertains them in the way men treat passing beggars, but He opens the golden gates of His royal heart and receives the sinner right into Himself. He admits the humble penitent into personal union and makes Him a member of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. There was never such a reception as this! This fact is certain. Even this evening, He is still receiving sinners: It is our prayer that sinners will receive Him.
The family reading plan for September 13, 2014 * Ezekiel 16 * Psalm 58, 59
Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.
Joyce Meyer – Speak Words of Wisdom
For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks.
—Matthew 12:34
It is challenging to say right things when you feel totally wrong. When your emotions are running high or low, you are tempted to speak emotionally rather than sensibly. But you must allow wisdom to rise above emotion.
God spoke about nonexistent things as if they already existed, and He created the world with faith-filled words. You are created in His image, and you can also call things that are not as though they are. You can speak positive things about yourself into the atmosphere and thereby “prophesy your future.”
Think about the words you speak and you will learn a lot about yourself. As a Christian, you are God’s representative, and your words should reflect His character. Meditating on the goodness of God will fill your heart with joy, and the words you speak will glorify Him and be a testimony to others.
Max Lucado – We Don’t Know Enough · September 12
God is the One who judges. We don’t know enough! We condemn a man for stumbling this morning, but we didn’t see the blows he took yesterday. We judge a woman for the limp in her walk but cannot see the tack in her shoe. Only one who has followed yesterday’s steps can be their judge. Not only are we ignorant about yesterday, we are ignorant about tomorrow. How can you dismiss a soul until God’s work is complete? Philippians 1:6 says, “God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.”
Be careful! A stammering shepherd in this generation may be the mighty Moses of the next. Don’t call Noah a fool. You may be asking him for a lift. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 4:5, “Do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes.”
From In the Grip of Grace
Joyce Meyer – Control Your Temper
He who is slow to anger has great understanding. —Proverbs 14:29
It is uncomfortable for others to be around us if we are easily angered. We need to learn how to respond to life instead of react to it, so that we can enjoy God’s power in our lives. God says that a person who can control his or her anger is better and mightier than an individual who can take a whole city (See Proverbs 16:32).
God’s Word says, “Understand [this],my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. For man’s anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires]” (James 1:19– 20). Be a ready listener, and enjoy the freedom from anger that God offers you.
Joyce Meyer – Believe the Best about People
Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
—1 Corinthians 13:7
Believing the best about people is very helpful in the process of forgiving people who hurt or offend us. As human beings, we tend to be suspicious of others and we often get hurt due to our own imaginations.
It is possible to believe someone hurt you on purpose when the truth is they were not even aware they did anything at all, and never intended to upset you.
I can remember, during the early years of our marriage, focusing on everything I considered negative about Dave and ignoring his positive traits. My thoughts went something like this: We just don’t agree about anything. Dave is so stubborn, and he has to be right all the time. He is insensitive, and he just doesn’t care how I feel. He never thinks of anyone but himself. In reality, none of these thoughts were true! They only existed within my own mind; and my wrong thinking caused a great deal of offense and disagreement that could have been easily avoided had my mind-set been more positive.
Over time, as I grew in my relationship with God, I learned the power of believing in the best about people and meditating on the things that were good. As that happened, my thinking sounded like this: Dave is usually very easy to get along with; he has his areas of stubbornness, but then so do I. Dave loves me and would never hurt my feelings on purpose. Dave is very protective of me and always makes sure I am taken care of. At first, I had to think these things on purpose, but now I actually feel uncomfortable when I think negative thoughts, and positive thoughts come more naturally because I have disciplined myself to think them.
There are still times when people hurt my feelings, but then I remember that I can choose whether to be hurt or to “get over it.” I can believe the best or I can believe the worst, so why not believe the best and enjoy my day?
Trust in Him Do you believe the best about people? Is there someone in particular whom you need to believe the best? Trust God to help you meditate on the best of all people until positive thoughts come naturally.
Joyce Meyer – Hearing from God
But the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice. —1 Kings 19:11–12
God speaks in a still, small voice. If you want to hear from Him, create a quiet, peaceful, strife-free atmosphere, and set apart regular time to fellowship with Him there. He may not always speak what you want to hear, or in the way you might think that He would, but don’t get discouraged—God will lead you. He rarely lets us in on His entire plan at the beginning.
Obey what you sense in your heart that you are to do, and when He is ready He will show you the next thing. And always remember to be thankful. As you do, you will find your sensitivity to God’s voice increasing. He will speak to you, and you can hear from Him. Just get quiet and listen, and expect Him to lead you in all that you do.
Power Thought: I can hear the still, small voice of God.
Joyce Meyer – Time Is a Gift
To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven. —Ecclesiastes 3:1
Time is a resource God gives us, and we must use our time to be fruitful. One of the phrases we should avoid, both verbally and in our attitudes, is: “I just have a little time to kill.” Time is not a commodity to kill or to “pass”; it is a gift to steward. If you are like I am, you like to be productive with every minute. In my daily life, I make a diligent effort to keep everything on schedule. Sometimes that gets me in trouble because circumstances sometimes cause me to fall behind, and then I have to rush. I do not like to hurry, so I am learning to put a little more margin in my life—to allow more time between appointments and scheduled activities—and that relieves a good bit of frustration.
There are times when you do not have enough minutes or hours to go complete a task or do something you want to do, but it’s too early to do the next thing you need to do. When you have five, ten, or fifteen minutes, don’t just “kill” your time. Use it to bear fruit. Keep a book or a Bible with you and use those few minutes to read something. Listen to a worship music or part of a sermon. Pray. Make a few phone calls. Write someone a note of encouragement. When you have a few minutes, make them count.
To me, one of the worst things that can happen to people is to grow old and look back upon their lives and realize they never took time to do what they thought they were supposed to do or what they wanted to do. I do not want you to look back in your latter years and think you wasted your life or feel you never really did anything worthwhile. No matter what your age is today, it is not too late to start right now using your time to bear fruit.
Love Yourself Today: Lord, help me today to use wisely the gift of time You have given me.
Alistair Begg – What Is This Power?
…And what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead. Ephesians 1:19-20
The resurrection of Christ, and our salvation, was brought about by nothing less than divine power. What will we say of those who think that conversion is accomplished by the free will of man and is due to his own kindly disposition? When we begin to see the dead rise from the grave by their own power, then may we expect to see ungodly sinners turning to Christ by their own endeavors. It is not the word preached, nor the word read in itself; all quickening power proceeds from the Holy Spirit.
This power was irresistible. All the soldiers and the high priests could not keep the body of Christ in the tomb; death itself could not hold Jesus in its grip: Just as irresistible is the power displayed in the believer when he is raised to newness of life. No sin, no corruption, no devils in hell nor sinners on earth can resist the hand of God’s grace when it intends to convert a man. If God omnipotently says, “You shall,” man will not say, “I shall not.” Notice that the power that raised Christ from the dead was glorious. It reflected honor upon God and caused dismay in the hosts of evil. So there is great glory to God in the conversion of every sinner.
It was everlasting power. “Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.”1 So we, being raised from the dead, do not go back to our dead works or to our old corruptions, but we live to God. “Because I live, you also will live.”2 “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”3 “Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”4 Finally, in the text note the union of the new life to Jesus. The same power that raised the Head works life in the members. What a blessing to be quickened together with Christ!
1) Romans 6:9 2) John 14:19 3) Colossians 3:3 4) Romans 6:4
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The family reading plan for September 8, 2014 * Ezekiel 11* Psalm 50
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Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.
Joyce Meyer – Change Ingredients
To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven: . . . a time to break down and a time to build up, . . . a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, . . . a time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away. —Ecclesiastes 3:1–6
If you are stressed out all the time, something will have to change in order for the stress to be relieved. It will not just go away as long as you keep doing the same thing. If you want different results, you have to change the ingredients. Now, as soon as I mentioned the word change, perhaps you tensed up because you are afraid of change. Almost one hundred years ago, the clerk of Abbington Presbytery came up with percentages for the kinds of attitudes people have about change, and I think they still apply today:
Early innovators (2.6 percent) run with new ideas; Early adaptors (13.4 percent) are influenced by innovators but are not initiators; Slow majority (34 percent) are the herd-followers; Reluctant majority (34 percent); Antagonistic (16 percent) will never change.
If you’re like the bottom 84 percent of people in the above list, you want the safety of sameness. It is amazing to me how some people spend their lives resisting change while others thrive on it. Change keeps life fresh and adventurous.
Lord, my time is in Your hands. Help me to be fearless as I face change and embrace change. I want to be vibrant and fully alive. Amen.
Joyce Meyer – Yes and No
What man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone? Of if he asks for a fish, will hand him a -serpent? —Matthew 7:9–10
We are not always smart enough to know the right things to ask for, but today’s verse promises that if we ask for bread, God will not give us a stone, and if we ask for fish, He will not give us a serpent. There are times when we think we are asking for bread, when in reality, we are asking for a stone. In other words, we may be asking for something we truly believe is right, but God knows that granting such a request would be the worst thing He could ever give us.
We have the ability, in all innocence, to ask for something that is potentially dangerous or bad for us without even realizing it. In that case, we need to be glad God does not give it to us! In such cases, little do we know that God’s saying “yes” to that request would be like letting a serpent into a house. We have to trust Him enough to say, “God, I have the confidence to ask You for anything. But I don’t want anything that is not Your will for me. And I trust You, God. If I don’t get it, I will know that the timing is not right or that You have something better for me and I simply have not thought to ask for it yet.” Don’t ever let yourself get a bad attitude because God does not give you everything you want.
God wants us to be blessed. He wants us to have not only what we want, but what is best for us. If we truly trust God, we must trust Him when He says “no” to our requests as much as we do when He says “yes” to them.
God’s word for you today: Trust God when He says “no” and when He says “yes.”
Joyce Meyer – Are You Trusting or Worrying?
Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths. —Proverbs 3:5,6
What do you let your mind do when you have problems? Do you try to figure things out instead of leaving them in God’s capable hands?
There is the mind of the flesh, which is wrong thinking based on your thoughts and reasoning. And there is the mind of the Spirit, which is right thinking based on the Word of God and the inner promptings of the Holy Spirit. Confusion, frustration, and anxiety are the products of operating in the mind of the flesh. Joy is the product of the Spirit and of following the leading of the Spirit in prayer and fellowship with God.
If you operate in the mind of the Spirit, you can have “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,” and you can have “joy unspeakable” and be “full of glory” right in the middle of terrible trials and tribulations. The peace “which passeth all understanding” and “joy unspeakable” are types of peace and joy that don’t make any sense. In other words, when you have these types of peace and joy within, you are happy without having any particular reason to be happy. You are happy just because you know that God is and that He is able to “direct and make straight and plain your paths” in an exceedingly, abundantly above all-you-can-ask-or-think way. You don’t have to try to change yourself or anyone else—and that makes you happy.
You don’t have to worry about tomorrow—and that makes you happy. You don’t have to worry about yesterday—and that makes you happy. You don’t have to know how to do everything—and that makes you happy. All you need to do is know the One who knows. Trying to figure things out will only wear you out. But if you trust God for the answers, you can enter His rest.
Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Happy Are the Mourners
“Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).
During my days of agnosticism and early inquiry into the Christian faith, I was not aware of my sin. I had come to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, that He died on the cross for the sins of man but somehow it had not dawned on me that I was that bad. My life-style was not much different from that of the average church member. And, though my life was far from exemplary, in my own estimation I was a pretty decent fellow. As a matter of fact, I had some problems with all the talk about the cross and the shedding of blood. It seemed offensive to my aesthetic nature.
I was willing to believe that Jesus was the greatest influence, the greatest teacher, the greatest leader, the greatest example that man had ever known. And if He had to die on the cross to make a point, I did not think it was important enough to be made an issue. In fact, the thing that was really important to me was the fact that according to the Bible and the historical evidence, Jesus lived a very wonderful life dedicated to helping others. Then one day – I shall never forget the time and place, though I have forgotten the exact passage – as I read the Bible I was suddenly gripped with the necessity of Christ dying on the cross for my sins. I finally realized that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin, that I had fallen short of the glory of God and that I deserved death. I realized that there is nothing in me that merited His love, His grace, His forgiveness, His cleansing. I found myself on my knees in tears, deeply conscious of my unworthiness and, for the first time in my life, understood the true meaning of the cross and the reason He shed His blood for me.
Soon after I was elected to the board of deacons of my church and was called upon to serve communion. I shall never forget that experience. I found myself weeping as I served the wafers representing His broken body and the grape juice representing His blood that was shed for the sins of all men, for my sins, because now his death on the cross meant everything to me. A hymn, which had once been offensive to me, now became one of my favorites: “what can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” I believe that this is what Jesus had in mind when He said, “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.”
Bible Reading: Jeremiah 31:10-14
TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will not ignore my sins but will mourn over them by confessing, repenting, and, through the discipline of spiritual breathing, walking constantly in the light as a model of the supernatural life.
Joyce Meyer – Hold Your Tongue
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it! —Psalm 34:13–14
You really have the gift of gab,” one man told me many years ago, when I first started in the ministry. He had pointed out something that I already knew: God had given me “a ready tongue,” that is, I speak easily. Words are my tools. The Lord first gave me that gift, and then He called me into the ministry to use that ability to work for Him.
I have no trouble talking. That’s my gift; that’s also been my greatest problem. Because I seem to always have something to say, I have struggled many, many years over the right use of my tongue.
It has not been an easy battle.
Over the years, I heard various people saying things like, “Hold your tongue.” “Do you have to speak every word that comes to your mind?” “Do you always speak first and think later?” “Must you sound so harsh?” Had I truly listened to what people were saying, I might have realized that God was trying to tell me something. But I ignored their comments and continued in my own stubborn ways.
I know I have wounded people with my words in the past, and I am sorry for that. I’m also grateful that God has forgiven me.
Several years ago, I realized that if God was going to use my life, I had to gain control of my tongue—not to just stop talking, but to keep my tongue from evil, and my lips from speaking deceit, as the psalmist David says.
I had a choice. I could hurt people with my words—and I could do that well—or I could bring my lips into subjection to God. Obviously, I wanted to be subject to the Lord, but it was still a battle.
Our words are expressions of our hearts—of what’s going on inside us. If we want to know who a person really is, all we need to do is listen to their words. If we listen long enough, we learn a lot about them.
As I learned to listen to my own words, I also began to learn a lot about myself. Some of the things I learned did not please me, but they did help me realize that I had a character flaw that needed to be addressed. My words were not pleasing God, and I wanted them to. Once I confessed my failure to God, the victory came—not all at once and not perfectly, but God is patient with me. I’m growing, and part of my growth is keeping my lips from evil.
No matter how negative you are or have been, or how long you’ve been that way, God wants to change you. In the early days after my confession to God, I still failed more often than I succeeded, but every time I did succeed, I knew I was closer to God’s plan for my life. God can do the same for you.
It won’t be easy, but you can win. And the effort will be worth it.
Lord, help me use my mouth for right things. Put a watch over my mouth lest I sin against You with my tongue. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You. I ask it in Jesus’ wonderful name. Amen.
Charles Stanley – Fulfillment for the Empty Life
John 4:3-18
The cry of emptiness rings from both the bleakest ghetto and the ritziest mansion. The same echo of a meaningless life reverberates at the downtown bar and the country club. There are senior citizens, middle-aged men and women, and teens with equally hollow hearts, for which no medical prescription exists.
The Samaritan woman at the well symbolizes millions throughout time who have given their best efforts to satisfy the yearning for love and completion. Until a person tastes the Lord’s love, the sense of emptiness cannot be permanently satisfied. We were created to honor and glorify God; no other act of adoration—whether toward the opposite sex, worldly position, work, or money—can bring a sense of long-term pleasure and purpose.
No wonder the Samaritan woman eagerly accepted Jesus’ offer of a drink that would quench her thirst forever (John 4:15). The promise of salvation includes more than the elimination of guilt: When someone trusts Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit indwells the new believer and expresses divine love to and through him or her. If we’re willing to acknowledge Christ’s death on our behalf and ask His forgiveness for our sins, which put Him on the cross, then we can experience the overflow of God’s love filling our emptiness.
The believer who feels hollow must honestly confess any sin harbored in the heart. Wrongdoing and idolatry block fellowship with the Father, but repentance breaks the dam. The only fulfillment for an empty life is God’s freely offered love.
Joyce Meyer – Pursue Your Purpose
But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides. —Matthew 6:33
Have you ever thought, “What is my purpose in life?” Each of us wants to feel we have a purpose . . . that we’re making a meaningful difference in the world.
God has a purpose for each of us, and that is to do right and glorify God.
How do you pursue your purpose? By getting up each day and putting God first. There are many other things we may be tempted to chase after—job position, education, relationships, money, material possessions, and so on. But too often when you attain these things your life is just as empty and unfulfilled as when you started.
God knows what you need and is well aware of your heart’s desires, and He will grant them if you will just pursue your purpose by seeking Him first.
Joyce Meyer – A New Direction
O Lord,You have heard the desire and the longing of the humble and oppressed;You will prepare and strengthen and direct their hearts. —Psalm 10:17
Sometimes we come to an unhappy place in our lives. If we examine ourselves on those days, we will most likely discover that the things that make us most unhappy are the fruit of the choices that we made earlier.
Today can be a new start. I think God gave us twenty-four-hour days because He knew that was all we could handle. His mercies are new every morning (See Lamentations 3:22–23). You can start over this morning and live today for the Lord. Determine to follow wherever God leads you, and do whatever He tells you to do. You can expect better tomorrows when you live right today.
Our Daily Bread — Not Even a Nod
Luke 17: 11-19
Traffic was bad and everyone was cranky on that hot afternoon. I noticed a car with two young men waiting to enter traffic from a fast-food restaurant driveway. I thought it was nice when the driver ahead of me let them in.
But when the “nice” driver ahead of me didn’t get a nod or even a thank you wave, he turned ugly. First he rolled down his window and shouted at the driver he had let in. Then he gunned his engine and raced forward as if to ram into his car, honking and yelling as he continued to vent his anger.
Who was “more wrong”? Did the young driver’s ingratitude justify the “nice” driver’s angry response? Was he owed a thank you?
Certainly the 10 lepers Jesus healed owed gratitude to Him. How could only one return to say thank you? I’m struck by Jesus’ response: “Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” (Luke 17:18). If the King of Kings can get only a 1 in 10 response of thanks, how can we expect more from others? Better to do our deeds to honor God and serve others than to do them to collect gratitude. May the grace of God be seen in us even when our kind acts go unappreciated.—Randy Kilgore
Lord, we like to be recognized for the things we
- Help us to remember that we are not owed any
recognition or thanks but that we owe You a lifetime
of gratitude for the salvation You offer through Jesus.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may . . . glorify your Father in heaven. —Matthew 5:16
Bible in a year: Psalms 137-139; 1 Corinthians 13
Insight
As the 10 men in today’s reading went away to follow Jesus’ instructions, “they were cleansed” (v.14); that is, healed of their leprosy. Yet verse 19 says that only one man, the Samaritan, glorified God for his healing and came back to say thank you. Only he received Jesus’ word that his faith had made him well. The Greek word for “made well” is used in reference to salvation. Jesus’ miraculous power made the man well physically (v.14). But the Samaritan’s faith, demonstrated in praise and gratitude, led to his spiritual healing (v.19). All 10 were “cleansed,” but only one was “made well.”
Joyce Meyer – The Key to Being Satisfied
Then shall your light break forth like the morning . . . —Isaiah 58:8
We all probably want more light in our lives. That would mean more clarity, better understanding, and less confusion. The prophet Isaiah declared that if we would divide our bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into our homes, cover the naked and stop hiding ourselves from the needs around us, our light would break forth (see Isa. 58:7–8). He also said our healing and restoration and the power of a new life would spring forth quickly. That sounds good to me, and I am sure it does to you also.
Isaiah also wrote of justice, and he said it would go before us and conduct us to peace and prosperity, and that the glory of the Lord would be our rear guard. If we are actively helping the oppressed, God goes before us and He also has our backs! I like that feeling of safety and certainty.
Isaiah further said if we would pour out that with which we sustain our own lives for the hungry, and satisfy the need of the afflicted, our light would rise in darkness and any gloom we experienced would be comparable to the sun at noon (see Isa. 58:10). The sun is very bright at noon, so it sounds to me like helping people is the way to live in the light.
The Lord will guide us continually, and even in dry times He will satisfy us. He will make our bones strong and our lives will be like a watered garden (see Isa. 58:11). All of this happens as a result of living to bring justice to the oppressed.
I hope you are seeing what I am seeing through these promises. I think most of us waste a lot of our lives trying to get what God will gladly give if we simply do what He is asking us to do: care about the poor, the hungry, the destitute, orphans, widows, the oppressed, and needy. Live your life to help others, and God will satisfy you in every way possible.
Trust in Him When you care about God’s children you can trust Him to release more light into your life. If you follow His instructions, as written in His Word, for how to live a godly life—living your life to help others—He will gladly give you all He has promised.
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