Seek God’s Understanding

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.Proverbs 3:5-6

These verses from Proverbs can be a continual, lifelong, daily prayer for us to pray for all those we love, because our natural tendency is to lean on our own understanding and do things our way instead of depending on God’s wisdom and ways.

The longer I live, the more I realize that all of our responsibilities, all that God has called us to do, are beyond our own human ability.

There is nothing I can do apart from God.

In everything—whether it is parenting; relationships with my Wife, children, grandchildren, and friends; ministry work; writing; speaking; or teaching.

I need to depend on God, seek his higher understanding, his wisdom and his will, and then trust in his leading with all my heart.

As I do these things, I become the recipient of God’s wonderful promise in Proverbs 3:6—he will direct my path—a promise that is backed by all the honor of his name.

Even when it seems that there is no way out, when we’ve hit our own limitations or a dead end, God will guide us and make a way for us.

LORD, help me to trust in you with all my heart today. Guard me from depending on my own limited understanding. Instead, help me to rely totally on you.

I desire to seek your will in all I do today.

Thank you for the promise that you will direct my paths so that I can walk hand in hand with you, depend on your higher understanding, and seek your will in all I do.

BECAUSE OUR UNDERSTANDING IS EARTHBOUND . . . HUMAN TO THE CORE . . . LIMITED . . . FINITE . . . WE OPERATE IN A DIMENSION TOTALLY UNLIKE OUR LORD . . . WHO KNOWS NO SUCH LIMITATIONS. WE SEE NOW. HE SEES FOREVER.
Charles R. Swindoll (b. 1934)

Freedom to Serve

You have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13
In the past couple of days, we’ve talked about developing our serve. We must learn to accept the servant attitude of Christ. When you and your spouse serve each other, you both become winners.

One thing that encourages service is the expression of appreciation. Has your spouse served you in some way this week? Think! Has he or she taken out the trash, cooked a meal, washed dishes, mowed the grass, changed the baby’s diaper, or washed the dog? If so, why not express your gratitude? You might say, “You know, I didn’t tell you this earlier, but I really appreciate your washing the dog. That’s something that I find very difficult. I know it’s messy, and I appreciate it.”

Look for something your spouse has done for you and express appreciation. Then do something good for your spouse. Mutual service and mutual appreciation lead to a great marriage. They aren’t required, but they can be given freely, as the above passage from Galatians points out. And it is in giving our lives away to each other that we discover the joy of service.

Father, thank you for all the ways my loved one serves me. Help me not to take those actions for granted but to express my appreciation wholeheartedly and often. Help me to serve him or her as well.

God will guide

God will guide you in your purpose when you align with His will, word and way. Living independently of God’s guidance is a sure way to get off of God’s track. Adhering to God’s guidance is paramount as we strive to remain on God’s pathways of promise.

God guides us all, but we don’t need to get caught up thinking that God has one standard approach to his divine guidance. God can lead a believer one way using one method of guidance and then lead another believer a totally different way because of his sovereignty.

God specializes in individualized instruction; he knows what to do in order to get each of his children on track. No matter what guiding method God decides to use in your life, be ready, willing and receptive to get on board with his plan.

In scripture we read about four accounts when God guided Joseph, Mary’s husband, to follow through with God’s plan with the angel of the LORD appearing to him in a dream. Although some things probably didn’t make sense and human reasoning resulted, God’s plan prevailed because he sent divine guidance to Joseph during his trial experiences.

When Joseph planned to divorce Mary quietly after learning of her pregnancy, an angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream and guided Joseph in truth.

An angel of the LORD appeared to Joseph in a dream a second time telling Joseph to Get up! Take Jesus and Mary and flee to Egypt until instructed to leave. God guided Joseph in revelation regarding Herod’s plan.

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream a third time telling him to Get up! Take Jesus and his mother to Israel for those who sought the child’s life are dead. God guided Joseph in direction.

God additionally warned Joseph in a dream when he was afraid and Joseph settled in Nazareth. God guided Joseph in confirmation.

God has the power to guide in dreams! Let Joseph’s story encourage you today. Regardless of any circumstances and uncertainty you face, remember God is our guide and will guide you in truth, direction, revelation and confirmation. God loves, protects, blesses and guides every one of his children. Trust God, the Divine Guide.

God's Plans

God's greatest desire is for Him to be glorified through your relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Your purpose and destiny will unfold as you turn to God daily through prayer, study, worship, and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

One of the best ways to know God's specific purpose for your daily life is to read about Him and what He has to say.

Because God's Word holds countless layers of insight and meaning, it never grows stale.

He will speak to you by bringing certain words, phrases, or verses to your attention.

The more you grow in your relationship with Him, the more insights you will have into His character and how He operates.

Another part of understanding your daily destiny is to live in a righteous and biblical manner where God has placed you, and to do so consistently.

A third opportunity to understand your purpose is to realize that every Christian is called to an active ministry.

That doesn't mean we will all be full-time preachers or missionaries.

But with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you are to share the gospel through your words and conduct.

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Wholeness

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

This includes you who were once far away from God.

You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body.

As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Colossians 1:20-22

with God, we are meant to be people of integrity, the same on the inside as we are on the outside.

But sin has driven a wedge into our lives, creating an internal rift that alienates us from ourselves, from others, and from God.

It’s what makes us want to hide, to wear masks that make us look better and less broken than we are.

The wholeness and integrity that God has for us, on the other hand, eliminates the need for deceit because we have nothing to hide.

This is the internal peace, the shalom that Christ brings us as we continue to yield our lives to him, healing the divisions within us so that we can have peace with God, with others, and with ourselves.

As you pray for God’s peace today, ask for the grace to admit your brokenness. Ask, too, for the faith to believe that God will heal you and make you whole.

Lord, you breathed life into the first man and the first woman. They were your perfect creations. In the midst of my brokenness, breathe your life. Heal me and make me whole, I pray.

A clean heart

Keep Your Heart Pure
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Psalm 51:7

Firearm experts point out that if a gun is never cleaned, it will eventually become a safety hazard. That’s because every time you fire a gun, residue is left behind.

This grime will eventually clog up the works, rendering the firearm unsafe to use.

The same is true with our tongues.

Every time we lash out in anger, every time we accuse, berate, gossip, criticize, or betray a confidence, a residue is left in our hearts that will make our tongues more harmful to ourselves and others.

Cleaning a handgun is fairly straightforward.

After safely disassembling it, you wipe it with a cloth rag, removing as much of the caked-on carbon as possible.

Then you apply a solvent and scrub the gun with a brush.

After more wiping and scrubbing and brushing, you oil the components that need to be lubricated.

Then you reassemble it and, presto chango, you have a gun that is much safer to use.

Cloth rags, solvents, and oil won’t quite do it for our tongues, of course.

But there is something we can do to make them less hazardous in the future.

We can begin by recognizing negative patterns of speech, asking God to search our hearts and to show us where we have sinned.

Then we can ask him for forgiveness.

A clean heart will enable our tongues to function the way God intends, building others up rather than tearing them down.

“Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. . . . Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. . . . Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you” (Psalm 51:1-4, 7, 15).

Remember and Don’t Forget Deut 4:32-40

“He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other.”

DEUTERONOMY 4:35

We all share a tendency to forget. Sometimes, this helps us to cope with suffering that we’ve endured, but often we are forgetful about things that should have an ongoing, transformative effect on our lives.

Deuteronomy is crafted to combat this propensity, as it begins with a retelling of what had happened in the past as God led the Israelites through the wilderness to the edge of the Promised Land
(1:1–4:49).

Moses pleaded with the Israelites to never forget all that God had done on their behalf.

God had been faithful to them, providing for them and caring for them during the wilderness years.

“Remember,” Moses repeats over and over again—16 times in the book

(along with another 10 warnings against forgetfulness)!

In the midst of suffering, it is easy to forget the good things God has done for us. Suffering can refine and strengthen us and teach us precious lessons from God.

Deuteronomy details the trials and wonders the Israelites had experienced,

explaining that God showed them those things so that they would know him and trust him (4:35).

Many times we, too, wish that life were not so hard and cry out for our suffering to end!

But in the midst of our suffering, we must remember that God speaks to us and instructs us just as he did for the Israelites in the wilderness.

Can we learn life’s important lessons only through pleasure and comfort?

Certainly not.

To ensure we hold on to our hard-won wisdom, we’re encouraged to share what we’ve learned about God’s goodness with our children and those around us.

It is important to take time to reflect on God’s faithfulness to us through difficult circumstances.

As the opportunities come, we can boldly share what God has done for us with our loved ones and friends.

As we talk about God’s faithfulness we’ll even remind ourselves,  the Israelites, so we can take heart and continue to walk by faith.

Brotherly Hate

Read Genesis 4:1–5:32

When it was time for the harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.

Abel also brought a gift—the best of the firstborn lambs from his flock. The Lord accepted Abel and his gift,

but he did not accept Cain and his gift. This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected.

“Why are you so angry?”

the Lord asked Cain. . . .

“You will be accepted if you do what is right.

But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out!

Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you.

But you must subdue it and be its master.”

One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.

” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him.

Afterward the Lord asked Cain,

“Where is your brother?

Where is Abel?”

“I don’t know,” Cain responded. “Am I my brother’s guardian?”

Genesis 4:3-9

How do you react when someone suggests that you have done something wrong?

Do you move to correct the mistake, or do you deny that you have a problem

or need to do anything?

What about when the critic is someone in your family?

This reading describes Adam and Eve’s immediate family.

It focuses mostly on Cain, the first son—his choices and what God thought of them.

Don’t read too fast or you will miss important details—but it’s all there,

including the most horrifying fact of all:

Cain killed his brother, Abel.

Our experiences today mirror what occurred between these two brothers, however horrifying, because theirs is the story of what can happen when anger and jealousy rule.

Tangles in the ties that bind—reacting to criticism, jealousy, sibling rivalry—all appear in this passage.

The lessons bear remembering, so you’d better go slow.

Cain’s failures hinged on his reaction to God’s rebuke (Genesis 4:6-7).

We don’t know why God rejected Cain’s sacrifice.

But instead of listening to God, learning, and changing his ways, he reacted impulsively.

Cain was wrong, yet he would not accept responsibility for or deal with it.

He countered God’s correction with anger and denial.

After Cain’s sacrifice was rejected, God gave him the chance to right his wrong and try again. God even encouraged him to do so, but Cain proudly refused. The rest of Cain’s life is a startling example of what happens to those who refuse to admit their mistakes. It also shows what happens when we blame others for our problems and allow anger to build.

As you read this passage, learn from Cain’s mistakes. Then the next time

someone suggests you are wrong, especially God, take an honest look at yourself, and make the necessary changes.