"To answer before listening is folly and shame." Proverbs 18:13
I will admit it. I do this. Sometimes out of impatience, sometimes unwittingly, sometimes lately, because of my decreasing capacity to hear accurately. Whatever my reason or explanation, I would do well to listen more and better.
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21
These words of Paul are certainly true for him, and should be true for all of us who follow Christ.
Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Kim:
"And He said, Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord and behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, 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 still, small voice……" 1 Kings 19:11 – 12
A still small voice…..are you listening???
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it" Matthew 13:45-46
A number of years ago NASA gave each of the 50 states a special gift from the Apollo 17 mission, a little chunk of rock from the moon. Over the ensuing years a number of states lost or misplaced their gifts and could not locate them. The state of Arkansas though, eventually found theirs in a plastic bag in one of the files from back when Bill Clinton was governor.
"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, 'Bring us some drinks!" Amos 4:1
The Bible is not always delicate or sweet in its indictments against selfishness and opulence.
"All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart." Proverbs 21:2
From time to time, I need to read Proverbs. I never have to read very long before God reveals something to my spirit that is good for me to know.
A devotion from Heather Gent:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
In the last couple of weeks, I've been undergoing what feels like open heart surgery without the anesthesia. God has allowed circumstances into my life that have tested every fiber of my being, as well as my devotion to Him. However strong I believed my faith and dedication to be, He has since shown me just how weak it really was - a revelation that has caused me to question absolutely everything in my life.
Our Friday Devotion comes to us from Council Member, Hank:
"For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Romans 7:18b-20
See if the following scenario sounds familiar to you: You try to do the right thing most of the time, but it seems the more you try, the more difficult things become. You attempt to keep that passage of Scripture in mind that says "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6:9)
"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13
As you may know by now, I, from time to time, like to break down verses word by word or phrase by phrase. This passage of encouragement once again lends itself to that type of a devotional. Hopefully this will satisfy each of you with a morsel of spiritual nutrition that you need in your hearts.
"Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers for by doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed pure, for God will judge the adulterer and the sexually immoral. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:1-5
As you may have figured out already, this is sure a long passage of scripture for me to write a devotion about. I almost always choose a verse or two and then, not long or complex ones. Until I saw these five verses together I had not realized they were such a compelling paragraph, and had only remembered them as pieces or verses on their own.
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