Thoughts for Today

"My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD,

Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

For whom the LORD loves He chastens,

And scourges every son whom He receives."

 

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

 

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled

See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven." Now this, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.

 

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.

 

Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them-those who are mistreated-since you yourselves are in the body also.

 

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say:

 

"The LORD is my helper;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?"

 

Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

 

The LORD is righteous in all His ways,

Gracious in all His works.

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.

He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him;

He also will hear their cry and save them.

My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD,

And all flesh shall bless His holy name

Forever and ever.

Joy, Unspeakable Joy.

So, It's been a while. I have been UBER-busy. Went to Disney World for the first time. Flew for the first time. Between work, teenage daughter, and holiday hustle, I am "wo-out". But, "no rest for the weary". And, as I read my devotions this morning, and after listening to Bro. Bo last night (and a little worship music), I have too much to post to just do a Facebook status update....So...

First let's start with Joy!

That is our word from Bro Bo this week. Unspeakable Joy! It started with a song from the Chris Tomlin Christmas CD from last year. It is wonderful by the way, if you have not heard it. But, his rendition of "Joy to the world" is AWESOME. If you don't feel joy after listening to that song, well, I just don't know what will bring it to ya. Then this morning my first devotion was about Contagious Joy. 1 John 1:1-4 ...verses 3&4 say share the fellowship and the JOYS we have with the Father and with Jesus Christ his son. ...then, you too will be full of joy...When you're in love with Jesus, you can't keep to yourself the joy that comes from knowing Him- it just spills over, bearing witness and strengthening other believers.

Next, I read about spiritual harassment. Wow. Never thought about it that way.
"Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8-9).

In the spiritual realm we deal with spiritual harassment from Satan and his legions. The Bible says "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12). It is important to recognize when we are coming against these forces. Satan attempts to distract us from our calling and destiny in life. We often trivialize the reality of the spirit realm of evil.
Paul tells us we must set our minds to deal with the spiritual realm of evil when it impacts our lives. "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Eph 6:13).
The next time you feel obstacles have been placed in your life designed to distract you from your God-ordained mission, remember Paul's words and stand firm in Christ.
 

OOOH. I liked that. I needed that. We have also been talking about spiritual warfare at church. About how much we are all fighting a spiritual battle, daily. God's speaking to me today!

Then, lastly, as I read my Bible reading for today, all these scriptures jumped out at me. I'm running out of time to elaborate on each one (cuz as always i get inspired right as the clock tells me i should be getting off the computer and get ready for work) . So, I'll just post them and you can elaborate as you want. :)

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. 


Ok, gotta go. Hope this helps you today. Hope it inspires somebody to be filled with Unspeakable Joy. 


God Bless you all!