Posted by: Anthony D. Carter
on Dec 9, 2008
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From a wise mind comes wise speech; the words of the wise are persuasive.
God's Word reminds us that "Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing"(Proverbs 12:18). If you seek to be a source of encouragement to friends, to family members, and to co-workers, then you must measure your words carefully. And that's exactly what God wants you to do.
Today, make this promise to yourself: vow to be an honest, effective, encouraging communicator at work, at home, and every place in between. Speak wisely, not impulsively. Use words of kindness and praise, not words of anger or derision. Learn how to be truthful without being cruel. Remember that you have the power to heal others or to injure them, to lift others up or to hold them back. And when you learn how to lift them up, you'll soon discover that you've lifted yourself up, too.
Lord, You have warned me that I will be judged by the words I speak. Keep me mindful, Lord, that I have influence on many people; make me an influence for good. And, may the words that I speak today be worthy of the One who has saved me forever. Amen
Posted by: Anthony D. Carter
on Dec 8, 2008
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Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life-even though invisible to spectators-is with Christ in God. He is your life.
What does the love of Christ mean to His believers? It changes everything. His love is perfect and steadfast. Even though we are fallible, and wayward, the Good Shepherd cares for us still. Even though we have fallen far short of the Father's commandments, Christ loves us with a power and depth that is beyond our understanding. And, as we accept Christ's love and walk in Christ's footsteps, our lives bear testimony to His power and to His grace. Yes, Christ's love changes everything; may we invite Him into our hearts so it can then change everything in us.
There is not a single thing that Jesus cannot change, control, and conquer because He is the living Lord.
Dear Jesus, My life has been changed forever by Your love and sacifice. Today I will praise You, I will honor, You, and I will walk with You. Amen
Posted by: Josh Fairbanks
on Dec 4, 2008
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John Chapter 1 is the definition of short but sweet. It gets right to the point and never leaves it. It's filled with basic foundations for us to remember and to live by.
For me John Chapter 1 picks up with the 5th verse. We're reminded that God is the light. He is ONLY the light. There is not a shimmer of darkness within Him. We can not claim to walk His path yet walk in the darkness. We're lieing to ourselves because it's not possible to walk in both.
However, if we follow in Him and we walk in his path; if we keep fellowship with our fellow man, the blood of the Son will wash away our sin. To talk in his path is to keep fellowship with one another. We must reach out to one another both Christians and non Christians. We're all children under God and those of us walking in his light must continue to reach out and pull as many as we can out of the darkness.
Like much of the message that came with Christ, John Chapter 1 wraps up reminding us that no man is void of sin. And if we try to pretend that we are without those transgressions we are but liars. AND if we say that we haven't sinned, we our calling our Lord a liar and His word has no place in our life.
I love the next verse because of one key point. We are told that if we confess our sins to God, he will forgive us and cleanse us of our sins. But there is another part in there that hits home with me.
"He is faithful."
HE has faith in us. We're constantly focused on having faith in Him. But we forget that He has faith in us. How powerful is that. When we slip up, mess up, live in sin and lose our focus on walking with Him, He has faith that we can right ourselves. He has faith that we can live righteously. The creator of all things, He that is infallible, believes in YOU. How can you ever lose faith in yourself?
