Prejudice

In reading Acts 10:1-48 the story of Peter and Cornelius unfolds. The issue at hand: prejudice. As explained in the "True Identity" study Bible (Today's New International Version) ~ Like any good Jew of his day, Peter believed that God's salvation was for Jews only. But God showed Peter that he had no right to call others impure, unclean or unworthy of the message of the gospel. Do you have your own "unclean" list? Who's on your list? Homosexuals, alcoholics, pro-choice advocates, prostitutes, people of other races? Deep down do you consider yourself better? Remember that we are all recipients of God's grace--through no merit of our own. If God doesn't show favoritism in accepting people into his kingdom, who are we to turn away from them?

"You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister?
Or why do you treat your brother or sister with contempt?
For we all stand before God's judgment seat."

It is written:
"'As surely as I live', says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.'"

"So then, we will all give an account of ourselves to God.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block
or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister."
--Romans 14:10-13

Get A Grip!

"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace--
as in all congregations of the Lord's people."
~ 1 Corinthians 14:33

We live in a day and age of delayed responsibility. We hear ads say, "Buy today and don't pay for one full year!" Credit card use is at an all-time high. We plan to start dieting and exercising "tomorrow"--but we have had these plans every day for the last year! We forget that our actions have consequences, and that lack of action can have just as severe consequences. Waiting, delaying, and procrastination make change only more difficult.

It is time for us to get a grip and face reality. Postponing the battle, delaying the inevitable, and waiting until tomorrow will never make things any easier. If we are going to experience order in our chaotic lives, we need to acknowledge the disorder. We need to admit that things are spinning out of control. It's time to get a grip. (excerpted from Getting A Grip by Bill Hybels)

"For where you have envy and selfish ambition,
there you find disorder and every evil practice."
~ James 3:16

God Truly is Everywhere!

If God does not enter your kitchen,
there is something wrong with your kitchen.
If you can't take God into your recreation,
there is something wrong with your play.
We all believe in the God of the heroic.
What we need most these days is the God of the humdrum,
the commonplace, the everyday.
~ Unknown

The eyes of the LORD are in every place,
Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
--Proverbs 15:3

Stop Procrastinating!

God has promised forgiveness to your repentance,
but he has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.
~ Unknown

Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. So then, if you know the good you ought to do and don't do it, you sin.
--James 4:14-17

You Don't Have To Know It All

Because God knows all things perfectly,
He knows no thing better than any other thing,
but all things equally well. He never discovers anything,
He is never surprised, never amazed.
--A.W. Tozer

In my search for wisdom, I tried to observe everything that goes on all across the earth. I discovered that there is ceaseless activity, day and night. This reminded me that no one can discover everything God has created in our world, no matter how hard they work at it. Not even the wisest people know everything, even if they say they do. ~ Ecclesiastes 8:16-17

God Has A Plan, Not Man

God sometimes moves mountains
one pebble at a time.
Rebecca Barlow Jordan

"He has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;
yet they cannot fathom what God
has done from beginning to end."
ECCLESIASTES 3:11

The Power of Words

Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to
bring out the best in others in a conversation,
not put them down, not cut them out.
Colossians 4:6 MSG

Our attitudes are contagious. If we're optimistic and upbeat, we'll spread optimism wherever we go. But if we fall prey to pessimism and doubt, our friends and loved ones will suffer right along with us.

Are you fully aware of the power of your words? The words you speak--and the tone in which those words are spoken--have the power to lift others up or to bring them down.

You have the power to be a source of encouragement to your loved ones--and they need that kind of encouragement. So remember the words of Lydia Maria Child, the author and social reformer who said, "An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves." And then start lifting!

The battle of the tongue is won
not in the mouth, but in the heart.
Annie Chapman

hugs ~ Daily Inspirations for Women

What Did You Do For Your Spirit Today?

What did you do for your spirit today?

• Time alone with God
• Encourage someone
• Lend a helping hand
• Read from the Bible (even if it was just one scripture!)
• Meditate
• Reflect
• Praise
• Look at the world through a child's eyes

Know who you are and who's you are. Realize what you believe and LIVE IT!

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ
has become a child of God.
And everyone who loves the Father
loves his children, too. ~ 1 John 5:1 NLT

Angels

Did you know that 34 of 66 books in the Bible mention angels? And not only do they mention them, they talk about them in great detail! Literally, the word angel occurs more than 250 times in scripture.

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,
for by so doing some people have shown hospitality
to angels without knowing it."
~ Hebrews 13:2

FOLLOW

"Leaders who choose which rules to follow and
which ones to let slide set a dangerous example
for their people to follow. And they WILL follow!"
~Steve Ventura

"Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness...

But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you,

then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve...

But as for me and my household,

we will serve the Lord."

~ Joshua 24:14-15

And the people said to Joshua,
"We will serve the Lord our God and obey him."

~ Joshua 24:24

Appreciation

"Appreciation is a combination of understanding,
quiet amazement, and gratitude.
Appreciating something permits its experience and integration." --Harry Palmer


"Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."
Romans 12:10

Stop thinking about yourself; if you love someone, show it!

TORN

Torn by definition means to divide or disrupt by the pull of contrary forces.


For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit,
and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
They are in conflict with each other,
so that you are not to do whatever your want. ~ Galatians 5:17

"It takes less time to do a thing right, than it does to explain why you did it wrong."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

TORN. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

Retrieved January 4, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/TORN

A NEW YEAR'S PRAYER

We stand upon the threshold of the year;
Before us lies a strange, uncharted land.
Go with us, Lord, remove each doubt and fear,
Give us high courage, grasp our reaching hand
That we may safely tread the road ahead;
Within Thy care we will be safely led.

The past has been a strangely tangled maze
Of futile striving, and of wasted powers.
Our need is for the old simplicities,
For serenity and peace throughout the hours
Stretching before us on the road of life--
Free us, dear Lord, from stress and strain and strife.

The New Year! And a road that we must go!
May hope be a gold blossom in the heart,
And faith a steadfast light. Lord God, you know
Each bog, each rugged hill...now as we start
May we look forward, not to days long spent,
But toward a year of brave accomplishment.

Grace Noll Crowell