What did you say?

Slander and gossip is such a big issue in the world today. Some seem eager to share their negative thoughts of others with anyone who will listen. I would guess we have all been hurt by slander or gossip, sometimes to great detriment to our character.  We can't control what others say about us, but we can control what we say about them. We likely want to defend ourselves and criticize them, but we are instructed to forgive and speak kindly to them. Have you forgiven those who have gossiped about you or made false statements about you? Have you resisted the temptation to bad-mouth them? We are forgiven for what we say and we have to forgive others for their words too. It isn't easy, but with the right heart attitude, we can do it.  

Mark 3:28 NIV

28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter,

Unfailing

There a word in this verse that is very important, "unfailing." It is not just in God's love that He leads us but His unfailing love. Why is that so important? All of us at some point in time have made a wrong decision, not listened or didn't hear God and went down the wrong path, but because God's love is unfailing He never fails to guide us back to the right path. He waits for us to hear Him and follow His lead. God knows that our journey will be full of twists and turns as we learn to trust Him and He will never fail us or stop loving us because of the wrong turns. Remember He has an unfailing love for you!!

Exodus 15:13 NIV

13 In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.

Who Am I Serving

What would our days be like if we did everything as if doing it for the Lord? Whether it is making breakfast, mowing the lawn, folding clothes, fixing leaking faucet, fixing someone else's mistake, or just opening the door for someone, we do it for God. I think it would bring joy to the most mundane or messy jobs, it would a peace in the midst of chaos. It would help us keep our focus on God. Today try to do each and every task as if for God, let us know how your day went!

Ephesians 6:7-8a NIV

7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do

The Lord Prepares Us

Has anyone ever asked you to speak at an event, teach a class, or lead a group, and your first thought was, "I don't know enough to do that!" You fear you won't say the right or wise thing or you won't know an answer to a question. Notice in this verse, Isaiah didn't say, "I am well-instructed because I have study hard and read much." He said, "The Lord has given the words to say that sustains the weary!" You may not know the answers to the questions or stumble over the right choice of words, but if you answer the Lord's prompting to serve Him, He will supply all you need to do the job! When asked to serve, all you have to do is say yes! God will provide whatever it is you need to do the work! 

Isaiah 50:4 NIV

4 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.

Share Your Story!

In this verse, Paul is beginning to tell King Agrippa his story, his conversion, his accepting Christ as his savior. Just like Paul, each one of us has a story. It probably isn't as dramatic as Paul's, but it is still a story that needs to be told. By sharing how Christ came into our lives, we give others hope and encouragement. Maybe you were in church from a baby but really didn't know Christ until you were almost 40. Maybe you never went to church and through a co-worker came to see Christ. However you came to love the Lord, you need to share it with others because your story may just be the one that helps them on their way knowing Christ as our beloved Savior! Never hesitate to share, yours is a story with knowing!

Acts 26:4 NIV

4 “The Jewish people all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem.

Mountains and Valleys

Moses had been on the mountaintop with God for a long while and the Israelites were getting restless. So instead of believing in what God had just done for them, they went back to pagan ways.  Imagine what Moses was thinking and feeling, he had been enjoying a wonderful, mountaintop experience with God and then God tells him to go down to the stiff-necked people and straighten them out! What a let down! But the valleys are were our faith is exhibited the most, it is where God can use us the most. God gave Moses instructions and direction on the mountain, but he lived it out in the valley. The next time you have a period of rejuvenation, revitalization, and restoration, be prepared for the valley, the drudgery because that is where you will live out the hope God gave on the mountaintop.   

Exodus 32:7-8a NIV

7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, because your people, whom you brought up out of Egypt, have become corrupt. 8 They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf.

Radiant Faces

How radiant are our faces? Those who look to Him should be radiant! Does that mean that we plaster on a fake smile or happy attitude when we are struggling with life, when we are devastated by events? No, but it does mean that if we truly trust that The Lord delivers us then we will shine even through adversity. We will have a peace, a hope, something others see as brightness in the gloomy times. We don't have to be all smiles to be radiant, we just have to seek The Lord and trust Him and His radiance will shine through us even in the worst of times. 

Psalm 34:4-7 NIV

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

A beautiful radiant face!