learning DAILY

Psalm 95:2, “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout

                    joyfully to Him with psalms.”

                   

One of my mentors once challenged me to write down twenty-five things I was thankful for each day for thirty days. If my math is correct that would be 750 things I was thankful for!  I could not write the same thing during that time.  The first few days were fairly easy because I was thankful for family, friends , co-workers, my salvation – all the normal stuff. Then I needed to give some real thought about what to write; I needed to consider all the things I take for granted.  I learned that I have so much to be thankful for and not to let a day go by without being thankful for the very little things that I so often just accept.  My mentor told me that he had gotten to the place where he was thankful for the breeze blowing and the singing of the birds; those things that happen around us every day.

How often do we go to prayer in a hurry, out of obligation, without considering whose presence we are seeking? It would not be as enjoyable for my family to talk to me because they felt it was an obligation or getting the conversation done so they could move on to their important schedule.  Consider the Creator of all wanting to hear from you, to know what brings you joy and what causes you pain.  He just wants to be a part of your life. I know the laughter and joy my family brings to me.  And, I know that our Heavenly Father looks forward to hearing from you each day.

So, consider entering into the presence of your Heavenly Father today with thanksgiving and joy.

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Matthew 7:1, “Judge not that you be not judged.”

The motto of the gym I go to is “No Judgment Zone.”  It means that no one is to make no judgment about the amount of weight one is lifting, the weight or condition of another person; one is simply to worry about themselves and not judge others.  That sound very familiar to what Jesus was saying to His listeners and to each of us today. 

Dr. Ed Newton, Lead Pastor at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, spoke to idea of judging recently.  He said, “There is danger in being judgment based on outward perception”.  Too often we make judgment about people or ideas without know more about them.  The result is the destruction of that person or idea – often to make ourselves look better.  In John 7:24, Jesus said, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”  Wait. Read that again.  He said to judge with righteous judgment.  It is essential for the reader to understand this in order to understand later posts. 

You and I cannot judge another person’s relationship with the Lord.  But we must judge the actions and words of those around us.  Jesus said in Matthew 24 that we would know the false teachers from the true ones.  If we are not judging the fruit of others, we are going to be deceived by those false teachers.  Judgment of fruit must always be done by the standard for truth - the Word of God. 

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1 Timothy 4:7,8, “But reject profane and old wives fables, and exercise yourself 

toward godliness.  For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable 

for all things, having a promise of the life that now is and of that to come.”

I just got home from the gym where I went through a great workout!  Ah, exercise….  I amazed how difficult it is the older I get.  While on the treadmill, I watch both men and women (of all ages, by the way) pumping weight, working the abdomen, stretching, and other things I am not sure of.  I believe it is a good thing to make sure the body is being taken care.

I can’t help but wonder if the same amount of time is being taken to exercise the spiritual aspect of life.  Another word for exercise here is discipline.  Timothy is saying that one is to discipline himself toward godliness.  Disciplining one’s self to go to the gym to work out is a good thing. But, exercising spiritual disciplines (Bible study, prayer, meditating on God’s

Word, etc.) is profitable for all areas of our life now and eternally.  Shouldn’t the spiritual disciplines be more important than bodily exercise?

Go to the gym, walk or run, do everything to make your body stronger, faster, and healthy for a long life. But don’t forget the spiritual disciplines that will draw you closer to the Creator of all things.

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2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God, a worker 

                           who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of

                           truth.”

I have often wondered why people go to church – what is their objective?  Is it to receive a ”goose-bumpy, feel good” experience or to worship God in order to be more like Him?  I have heard it said that people will receive what they expect.  I have experienced the “goose-bump, feel good” experience and I know that it can be misleading and does not last.  I have also experienced how the worship of God builds a relationship with Him that far exceeds that other short lived experience.

Timothy tells the reader to be diligent in their relationship to God.  To be diligent is to be “constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything." (according to the dictionary on my phone).  What are we to be diligent in doing?  The answer is to showing ourselves approved by God.

God expects us to use our mind!  Dr. David Jeremiah states in the Jeremiah Study Bible, “the approved worker rigorously studies and applies God’s Word, eager to find its truths and unfolds them to others in the pursuit of godliness.”  He is saying that the approved worker studies the Bible for himself to find out what it means to live a godly life.  Do not become mentally lazy regarding God’s Word.  Do not rely on others to tell you what it means because that may lead one into error, into wrong thinking.  So, we study to “show ourselves approved to God”.  It can be quite an adventure.

Join me!  And, invite a friend to come along.

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