Devotion: Do What Good We Can For Everyone

 Daily Bible Verse

The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious; but the lips of a fool will swallow up himself. ~Ecclesiastes 10:12

Daily Inspiration

Our speech reveals what is in our hearts and minds. Are we full of wisdom and grace, or are we on a course toward destruction? When we speak with love and truth, setting aside malice and deception, God’s grace is revealed in us. But when our words are careless, we not only harm others, but we reveal ourselves to be untrustworthy, bringing down judgment upon our own heads.

Daily Prayer

Father God, You alone are the source of all wisdom. My mind is limited and my ways are faulty. Help me to seek You before I speak, so that I may discern truth from folly and speak only what is gracious and right. Guard my mouth against impetuous and unrestrained speech, so that I may not harm myself or others with my words. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pray because God listens!!!!!!!

Do What Good We Can for Everyone

By David Jacobs

Do What Good We Can to Everyone: Put therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; ~Colossians 3:12

Paul’s letter to the Colossians sheds light on the holy way that he believes a Christian should live. as “elects of God,” followers must “put on…bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.”

It is so much easier to do evil rather than good. Pride is something that we are born with, but we must “put on” humility, learn it, and practice it over time. As elects of God, ALL followers of the Church must be lowly and compassionate to everyone. If only it were this easy! I have been guilty of pride more times than I can count, but these times always made me feel worse and more importantly, made others feel worse. “Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly” (Proverbs 3:34).

How do we give grace to the lowly and be meek when we want to be proud? By imitating the Lord. There is no greater gift from God than that of forgiveness, and there is no greater gift that we can give. The call to imitate and instructions for action are scattered throughout the Bible, with none more similar than in Ephesians 4:32, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” We have also heard the instructions to ask for forgiveness and forgive in the Lord’s Prayer: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12).

I think that a good practice that people do not do enough is trying to “put themselves in another’s shoes.” To understand Paul’s message in this verse, put yourself in the shoes of the lowest and imagine. Would you still be prideful? Unforgiving? Impatient? Angry? Blessed are the meek, and longsuffering is a virtue required of ALL Christians, important in the time that this verse was written and today. Go forth and love one another, no matter how high or how low, remembering that their God is far above us and humbles Himself so that we can imitate Him.

Prayer

Merciful God, forgive me for being prideful, judging others as beneath me when it is I that am beneath You. I have treated others disrespectfully and in doing so have treated You the same. You have shown me the path, humble and loving Lord, and it is I who choose whether or not to walk it. I ask that You grant me the strength to walk it today and ALL my days. Amen!

Prayer is powerful!!!!!!

When Your Faith Needs Stirring

For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. ~Hebrews 11:10