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Posted on 01/02/2023 6:16:23 PM PST by JustAmy
Edited on 01/02/2023 7:28:26 PM PST by Jim Robinson. [history]
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TGIF !
I am going to be as lazy as I want all weekend. Sleepin’ In and maybe some shopping.
Have a great weekend FRiends!
😄
Sounds like a great plan!
Bible in a Year:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.
When I noticed a sprig budding next to the garden hose by our porch, I ignored the seemingly harmless eyesore. How could a little weed possibly hurt our lawn? But as the weeks passed, that nuisance grew to be the size of a small bush and began taking over our yard. Its stray stalks arched over a portion of our walkway and sprouted up in other areas. Admitting its destructive existence, I asked my husband to help me dig out the wild weeds by the roots and then protect our yard with weed killer.
When we ignore or deny its presence, sin can invade our lives like unwanted overgrowth and darken our personal space. Our sinless God has no darkness in Him . . . at all. As His children, we’re equipped and charged to face sins head-on so we can “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (1 John 1:7). Through confession and repentance, we experience forgiveness and freedom from sin (vv. 8–10) because we have a great advocate—Jesus (2:1). He willingly paid the ultimate price for our sins—His lifeblood—and “not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (v. 2).
When our sin is brought to our attention by God, we can choose denial, avoidance, or deflection of responsibility. But when we confess and repent, He weeds out sins that harm our relationships with Him and others.
Reflect & Pray
How does knowing your sins are offenses against God change your view about repentance? What sins have taken root and need to be weeded out of your life?
Loving Father, please uproot the sins from my life so I can grow closer to You and others.
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Bible in a Year:
Placing his hands on Saul, [Ananias] said, “Brother Saul, the Lord . . . has sent me.”
But God in His infinite wisdom sent me precisely where I asked not to go. I’m so glad He did! Forty years later, I still have dear friends in that land. When I got married, my best man Stefan came from there. When he got married, I flew there to return the favor. And we’re planning another visit soon.
Beautiful things happen when God causes a change of heart! Such a transformation is illustrated by just two words: “Brother Saul” (Acts 9:17).
Those words were from Ananias, a believer God called to heal Saul’s sight immediately after his conversion (vv. 10–12). Ananias resisted at first because of Saul’s violent past, praying: “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people” (v. 13).
But Ananias was obedient and went. And because he had a change of heart, Ananias gained a new brother in faith, Saul became known as Paul, and the good news of Jesus spread with power. True change is always possible through Him!
Reflect & Pray
How have you sensed God calling you to have a change of heart? How can you encourage a new believer today?
Jesus, thank You for changing my heart with Your love. Help me to extend it to others.
Greetings on this fine Sunday!
We had more snow on Saturday. Was in the 20s and windy. Felt like January.
Had a nice day anyway, went shopping.
Today is cold and sunny.
Hubby is watching college basketball.
I am going shopping again. That is how interested in basketball I am. LOL.
Browsed the books at a thrift store yesterday and found 4 that looked good.
Heading in a different direction today, to another thrift store that has a good book selection.
Have a great day
🌞
It got cold again here too...An Early Spring was too good to be true, I guess. LOL.
Sounds like you had a pretty good weekend all ‘round!
Bible in a Year:
I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.
In a psychiatrist’s advice column, he responded to a reader named Brenda, who lamented that her ambitious pursuits had left her discontented. His words were blunt. Humans aren’t designed to be happy, he said, “only to survive and reproduce.” We’re cursed to chase the “teasing and elusive butterfly” of contentment, he added, “not always to capture it.”
I wonder how Brenda felt reading the psychiatrist’s nihilistic words and how different she may have felt had she read Psalm 131 instead. In its words, David gives us a guided reflection on how to find contentment. He begins in a posture of humility, putting his kingly ambitions aside, and while wrestling life’s big questions is important, he puts those aside too (v. 1). Then he quiets his heart before God (v. 2), entrusting the future into His hands (v. 3). The result is beautiful: “like a weaned child with its mother,” he says, “I am content” (v. 2).
In a broken world like ours, contentment will at times feel elusive. In Philippians 4:11–13, the apostle Paul said contentment is something to be learned. But if we believe we’re only designed to “survive and reproduce,” contentment will surely be an uncatchable butterfly. David shows us another way: catching contentment through quietly resting in God’s presence.
Reflect & Pray
When do you most feel content? How could you set aside unhurried time to be quietly present with God today?
Dear God, I rest in You, the deepest well of my truest contentment.
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Happy Manic Monday!
The weekend went by too fast.
Hope you had a good day!
🌞
Bible in a Year:
Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
Chinese medicine has practiced pearl powder exfoliation for thousands of years, using ground pearls to scrub away dead cells resting at the top of the skin. In Romania, rejuvenating therapeutic mud has become a widely sought-after exfoliant that’s purported to make skin youthful and glowing. All over the world, people use body care practices they believe will renew even the dullest of skin.
The tools we’ve developed to maintain our physical bodies, however, can only bring us temporary satisfaction. What matters more is that we remain spiritually healthy and strong. As believers in Jesus, we’re given the gift of spiritual renewal through Him. The apostle Paul wrote, “Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). The challenges we face daily can weigh us down when we hold on to things like fear, hurt, and anxiety. Spiritual renewal comes when we “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen” (v. 18). We do this by turning our daily worries over to God and praying for the fruit of the Holy Spirit—including love, joy, and peace—to emerge anew in our lives (Galatians 5:22–23). When we release our troubles to God and allow His Spirit to radiate through us each day, He restores our souls.
Reflect & Pray
How can you ask God to renew your spirit? How does the work of the Holy Spirit encourage you today?
Jesus, each day I face obstacles that try to break my spirit. Sometimes I feel defeated, but I know that through You my spirit can be renewed.
For further study, read A Story of a Life Led by the Spirit.
Weekends always go by too fast! Sadly.
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Happy Tuesday!
There are fall-planted bulbs coming up all over my gardens. I put the critter-deterrent devices out this afternoon to discourage animals from eating the tulips. The 3 devices (Broox solar animal repellers) miraculously worked right out of the cupboard they were stored in. They held their charge all winter. Was ready to do a start-up charge like with a cell phone.
Should have flowers in a couple weeks, daffodils first, then tulips.
cheers
🌷🌷🌷
Today was beautiful...60 degrees and sunny. :-)
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