DAILY DEVO... don't be a slothful Christian.

TODAY'S DAILY...

No one likes to be called lazy, perhaps another word no one likes to hear is "slothfulness". I always thought the two words meant the same. But honestly, the hardest working person can actually become slothful. 

“Slothfulness” has nothing to do with energy or the lack of it, actually it speaks of our inward condition and the state of where we are headed. 

(Proverbs 19:15) "Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless go hungry."

Today's Scripture indicates that laziness will not lead us anywhere, not anywhere productive anyway. But even in the busiest of busy days, people can find themselves stuck in becoming slothful or living in a neutral state of mind. 

Like driving a car, the state of being neutral means you are not going anywhere, you are simply in idle mode. 

I never want God to find me being lazy, but I also don't want to be found slothful either. If you are feeling "stuck" in your ministry or perhaps in your life as a whole, maybe it's time to switch gears and get moving again. It's time we stop being so idle in our Christianity. 

BLESSINGS. Laurie

@copyright2017 laurieadams

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE READING: Ezekiel 24-26, Hebrews 11:32-40, Proverbs 19:15-21 

DAILY DEVO...Are you washed and stuffed like a turkey?

TODAY'S DAILY...

Today is my last Thanksgiving post this week. I pray each of you have a blessed gathering at your table of thanks.
************************
"May your stuffing be tasty,
May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes and gravy
Have no lumps.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your
Thanksgiving Dinner
STAY OFF of your thighs!" (Unknown)

Today is Thanksgiving Eve and while that poem was meant to make you chuckle, it has a great spiritual lesson.

Today, tonight and tomorrow morning we will all be busy with the preparation work for our Thanksgiving meal. Cutting, mixing, blending, baking, roasting and cleaning.

Everyone who has ever hosted Thanksgiving in their home knows that it requires a lot of preparation work. It takes hard work to prepare all that our little poem describes. The turkey. The dressing. The potatoes. The yams. The desserts. And so much more.

Likewise, if we desire to have a heart of gratitude and serve God with a thankful heart; it takes preparation:

First; like a turkey we must be washed and cleansed. Before a turkey can be stuffed, it must be clean...

(Psalm 51:2) "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin."

Secondly, like a turkey, we should be stuffed with the good stuff...

(Galatians 5:22,23) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control."

When we start with these two ingredients in life; washed by the Blood and pursuing the fruits of the Spirit, an attitude of gratitude will come more easy. Instead of wearing our food on the outside (like the poem says), our spiritual food will spill out from the inside - from our washed but stuffed heart. 🦃

Gobble Gobble. Happy Thanksgiving!

@copyright2017 laurieadams

DAILY DEVO...Doesn't God deserve our thanks?4

TODAY'S DAILY...

It is Thanksgiving week and I am sharing "Giving Thanks" posts this week:

I have come in contact with too many people who no matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to satisfy them. They are never happy. Never content. 

Reminds me of the story about the ten lepers in the Bible. Leprosy was a terrible disease and most that were inflicted were cast away and isolated from others. Their one hope was to be healed one day.  

Imagine with me, what it was like one day when 10 lepers approached Jesus, begging Him to heal them. 

In an instant, their request was granted. But out of 10 whose lives were changed for the better, only one came back to say "thank you"! 

What happened to the other 9? Were they so full of ingratitude that they couldn't muster up a simple "thank you"?

Today, I see some "leper attitudes"; people who don't have hearts of gratitude. Some people are expectant of receiving and reluctant to give thanks. Too many times I have even felt taken advantage of or at least unappreciated for the kind things that I have done. 

Imagine how Jesus must have felt that day...

(Luke 17:17,18) Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?”

Ingratitude is a sin, and surely it grieves God's heart when we are not appreciative of God's kindness. 

We can either choose to be ungrateful like the 9 or we can choose to be grateful like the 1. May we all take a moment and reflect on what God has done for us today and simply say "thank you". 

Doesn't He deserve at least that?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEK!

Laurie

@copyright2017 laurieadams 

DAILY DEVO...think before you speak

TODAY'S DAILY...

I've heard it said over and over, "think before you speak" but yet too many times we do the exact opposite: we speak without thinking. 

Today's Scripture Reading takes us to Proverbs where we are reminded that a righteous person will study their answer before responding...

(Proverbs 15:28) "The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil."

Some time ago I saw an acronym for the word "Think", I don't know who came up with it to give credit but I thought it was worthy to share today as we think about the words we speak. Before opening our mouth, let's ask ourselves the following 5 questions:

1. Is it True?
2. Is it Helpful?
3. Is it Inspiring?  
4. Is it Necessary?
5. Is it it Kind?

T.H.I.N.K. - may we study the words that we speak and refrain from using any words that kill, steal or destroy. 

Think about it before you speak about it! 

BLESSINGS. Laurie

@copyright2017 laurieadams

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE READING: Lamentations 3:38-5:22, Titus 3, Proverbs 15:27-33

DAILY DEVO...guard the deposits that God makes

TODAY'S DAILY...

When we deposit our money into a bank, we not only expect our finances to be kept safe but we expect it to make more money!

In today's Scripture reading, Paul is saying the same thing about our relationship with Christ. 

(1 Timothy 1:14) "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit Who lives in us."

God has placed His trust in us for something far more greater than money. God has entrusted us with faith, the gospel and His plan. No doubt, He would like to see something happen with his investment.

Guarding the deposit that God has made in us goes far beyond counting the blessing; the deposit of His Word into our hearts is not something we should take lightly. Nor should it be something we keep stored up in a lockbox. 

God wants us to share our wealth of knowledge of Him with others. We should never mismanage the great deposit that Christ has made into our heart; into our lives. 

Keep the things of God safe and be faithful with everything that God gives you. In doing so you will see your riches increase. 

BLESSINGS. Laurie

@copyright2017 laurieadams

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE READING: Jeremiah 48:1-49:6, 2 Timothy 1, Proverbs 14:7-22

Laced with Grace...never get weary of doing good

I am flat out tired as I write this devotion.

Between life, working in ministry, working a job and going to school, my body is screaming, “I’m tired!” I am sure one or two of you reading this today can identify. Sometimes we just get weary.

The Bible tells us to not get weary. It isn’t talking about physically, actually, in the book of Galatians it is talking about not getting tired of doing good…

(Galatians 6:9Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)) “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap if we do not give up.”

Now, the fact that Paul has to warn us that we should not become weary in doing good tells me that there is a very good chance that we WILL get tired of doing good things. Not the kind of “get tired” as in needing a nap but the kind of “get tired” that propels us to quit.

Truth is, when we can’t see the fruits of our labor we tend to want to throw in the towel. Imagine with me that you work day in and day out at a factory. At the factory, it was your job to produce the best fruit that you could. Every day you work  hard, but at the end of the day, you see no fruit. You continue this for days, then weeks and over years…still no fruit. One day you decide that you aren’t  going back to that factory. I mean why? You have no fruit to count. Why keep doing a good job for nothing!

But what you didn’t know (or see) is that the “fruit” came in a different shape. The fruit you were making was the “good morning” to the one no one else would speak to. Your fruit was encouraging the one who needed encouraging. Your fruit may not have been noticed by you, but it was being counted in so many other ways.

Doing good is not something that we should ever tire of doing. Doing good is a way of thinking, a way of living; it is what defines who we are!

If you are tired (physically), get some rest. If you are tired of doing good, keep doing and see how God will bless you for endlessly being devoted to Him.

BLESSINGS, Laurie

@copyright2017 laurieadams

DAILY DEVO...God is faithful!

TODAY'S DAILY...

We all know what it is like to be let down or have promises broken. People have disappointed me thru all stages of my life, that's to be expected, but God has remained faithful thru it all. 

The definition of faithfulness is "constant; true to one's word or promise". That is exactly Who God is!

We are reminded in today's Scripture reading that whatever God promises, He is faithful...

(1 Thessalonians 5:24) "The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it."

In a world that is ever changing, God is the only thing that remains the same. He doesn't make mistakes, He doesn't change His mind and He never sways from the Truth. God is the firm foundation which I stand upon. 

People will continue to disappoint me in this life and I'm sure I will disappoint them as well, but the longer I live the more I understand that God's faithfulness is all that I need.

May we all learn that our word means something and that there is something about keeping our word. May we all be found to be faithful; faithful to each other and faithful to God.

BLESSINGS. Laurie

@copyright2017 laurieadams

TODAY'S READING...Jeremiah 31:23-32:35, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28, Proverbs 12:1-14

DAILY DEVO...God loves us so much He disciplines us

TODAY'S DAILY...

One of the most loving things a parent can do for their child is tell them when they are doing something wrong. 

We have all either been corrected by a parent or been on the other end of the correction belt, as a parent. 

Whether we use the term "correction, reproof or rebuke"; all three words are used in the Bible and God says it is necessary for our growth. 

I suppose no one really likes to be punished, but when God reprimands (punishes) us, He does it out of love. It is an act of His love that He wants us to walk the straight and narrow way. 

I suppose at times my own children thought it was unfair to be punished, but in the end they learned their lesson and they changed their ways. 

In Jeremiah chapter 31 we are reminded of God's everlasting love...

(Jeremiah 31:3) The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness."

Before we would punish our children for a wrongdoing, we would always say to them, "this hurts me more than you". A child who is about to be punished finds that hard to believe but as a parent I assure you, it pains us greatly when our children do wrong.

If it's that way for you and me with our children, how much more do you think our sin (our wrongdoing) hurts our Heavenly Father? 

If God is reprimanding you for something today, it isn't because He wants to but it's because He loves you! 

BLESSINGS. Laurie

@copyright2017 laurieadams

TODAY'S READING...Jeremiah 30:1-31:22, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:11, Proverbs 11:27-31