A friend posted this sermon on FB. This makes you say, hum. We have heard this story throughout our lives, we know this story, and it may be time to hear it again, for many, it is time to believe it and move forward in the divine providence of God, meaning the protective care of God. (Online, dictionary.com)
Cain killed Abel not because Abel wronged him or fought with him but, it was because Cain couldn’t stand the FAVOUR OF GOD on Abel’s life.
Godlyladies.com. Google Images
Sometimes you may wonder why people talk behind your back, why they hate you, why they do the things they do to you. It’s not that you have a problem, it’s because they can’t stand the favour of God on your life.
That’s why you don’t need to stress yourself over people who are determined to frustrate or misunderstand you. You have to understand that not everyone will like you but everyone shall witness that you are favoured by the Lord.
Stand firm in God and what you believe in and no one will shake you.
Life is all a matter of perspective. Scripture reinforces God’s Word regarding perspective through the delivery of His Truth, which is all truth and more than perspective. Let’s unpack this… ~ Lisa Blair
There are two types of perspective. Perspective according to Dictionary.com is, a mental view or prospect. What are the two types? There is the carnal perspective or truth and the spiritual perspective or truth. Prior to being saved, we knew if spiritual perspectives or truths but had no relationship with it, we were looking from the outside.
The Living Tumblr. Wiirodocu.tumblr.com
As born again Christians, the perspective and truths are no longer intellectual ideas. They are engrained in our new fabric. The truth feeds our perspective on life as seen through the eyes of Christ. It governs our actions, weighing heavily on our conscious acts.
The Word instructs us to trust the process, not the expectation of our desires. You see, the expectation is carnal, the process is living by faith and not by sight. It is our choosing, we were endowed with free will. We were also endowed with a heart understanding of the Word which is ALL TRUTH. Free will nudges us toward the perspective of now and us the architecture of failure.
God not only gifted us with free will, He gifted us with Christlike virtues. If we apply His virtues in our daily living we will reap the desires of our heart if they fall within His Will. I say, reach for the sky, stay within His Will meaning apply His truths to your life and will succeed. Will you have setbacks and disappointments, yes. Tell yourself you live by faith and not by sight. You are gifted new mercies everyday.
When we stay locked into prayer. We benefit from our relationship with the Lord. We experience comfort and peace in the middle of sprinkles through the worst of storms, knowing we are covered and never alone. Seek His peace, wisdom, knowledge and purpose. Shift your perspective. Seek His truth and grow your relationship within the context, His perspective, not your own. Carnal perspective is shortsighted, it focuses on the here and now, not eternity.
CourgeousChristianFather.com
Proverb’s 2:6 describes the feeling of being part of the Lord’s family and the benefits of the relationship. We no longer ascribe to the perspective of earthly wisdom and knowledge, we transcend to the truth of wisdom, and knowledge and its application in our life.
And, since the Bible is replete with truth, Paul also shares that as humans we will doubt. We will loose hope. We will suffer, but through it all, we receive the Lord’s comfort that provides hope and the will to move forward despite what may lie before us.
When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. ~ Psalm 94:19 NLT
Other Verses reflecting new life in exchange for human/carnal perspective: 1 Peter 1:3; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16
This morning I flipping through my copy of the June edition of Our Daily Bread and stopped on the June 4, 2022 Devotional, God Focus by Adam Holz. The scripture reference is 1 Timothy 6:6-11.
Our Daily Bread
I am sharing this because the title immediately captured my attention. Some 26 days later it was speaking to me and as you read this, most likely many of you. You see, I fall in the category of being a maximizer. My husband is a satisfacer. It worked well when I was younger or so I thought. Actually it kept me up nights. I was never really content. The truth is, I was always envious of my husband who was as a satisfacer and was content with life as it was, not to overlook the fact that he slept well. There is a saying that I guess satisfacers understand and live, ‘let go, and let God’. Others of us hear it, but are not ensconced in it.
In delving into my past, I now realize you can be a satisfacer, content with what you have and where you are in life and still pursue the path of your God given destiny. Wanting more is not wrong if you do not allow it to govern your life, as the money pleasers in the Bible learned being driven by greed and the need for attention is nothing more than an albatross around your neck.
It is time for me to transition from being a maximizer, always seeking more, perfecting more, and needing more and begin to open my life to being a satisfacer. How many of us are loosing time being maximizers? In looking back being a maximizer caused me to loose time, and the enjoyment of life. When you are a maximizer you are in the maximizer prison, striving for more and missing out on life. As you read this, think about my last post, do you need to view life through a new lens, a new perspective? Is it time to look through our makers eyes as Paul was instructing Timothy to consider. Is contentment all you really need?
EXCERPT, Adam Holz
When I was shopping for engagement rings, I spent many hours looking for exactly the right diamond. I was plagued by the thought, What if I miss the best one?
According to economic psychologist Barry Schwartz, my chronic indecision indicates that I am what he calls a “maximizer,” in contrast to a “satisficer.” A satisficer makes choices based on whether something is adequate for their needs. Maximizers? We have a need to always make the best choice (guilty!). The potential outcome of our indecision in the face of many choices? Anxiety, depression, and discontent. In fact, sociologists have coined another phrase for this phenomenon: fear of missing out.
We won’t find the words maximizer or satisficer in Scripture, of course. But we do find a similar idea. In 1 Timothy, Paul challenged Timothy to find value in God rather than the things of this world. The world’s promises of fulfillment can never fully deliver. Paul wanted Timothy to instead root his identity in God: “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (6:6). Paul sounds like a satisficer when he adds, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (v. 8).
When I fixate on the myriad ways the world promises fulfillment, I usually end up restless and unsatisfied. But when I focus on God and relinquish my compulsive urge to maximize, my soul moves toward genuine contentment and rest.
Reflect – Would you say you tend to be a content person? Why or why not? How do you think your relationship with God affects your overall contentment in life?
Pray – Father, help me to remember that only You can fill my soul.
Insight – One of the most misquoted statements in Scripture is 1 Timothy 6:10: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Notice that money itself isn’t the root of evil, but when it becomes the object of our love, that’s when the problems begin. Because money is so seductive, Jesus addressed this issue at the launch of His public ministry. In the Sermon on the Mount, He spoke of the value of pursuing treasure in heaven rather than money. Why? Matthew 6:21 explains that “where [our] treasure is, there [our] heart will be also.” Jesus also addressed a primary reason we seek security in money—worry. He reminded us that the God who cares for “the birds of the air” values us and can be trusted to provide for our needs (vv. 25–27).
I highly recommend downloading the Our Daily Bread App from your App Store or visiting their Website – https://odb.org/. It is a great tool to begin your day.
I love Colossians 3. It reiterates Galatians 5. God is emphasizing who we are in Christ and how we should govern our lives. That’s right, the does and don’ts of life. Paul was inspired by God to write both Books, one to the Galatians and one to the Colossians, same message. It’s the same message to us today, these millennial years beyond the days of the Bible. It doesn’t matter who we were before Christ entered our lives. When you received Him, you were given new life and freed from your past. You can become the ‘you’ God created you to be, that person who was laying dormant in the recesses of your mind. Shed the past, it does not own you, nor you it. Today is a new day!
Accept this fact, Christ died for you. You have morphed into a child of God. Now is the time to recognize the new you and work towards manifesting that person who was formally lost in darkness.
If you rid yourself of the old behaviors and exchange them for the new behaviors delineated in both Books, your new self will see the light of day. Psychologist’s say it takes six months to eliminate bad habits/behaviors. It is a process. So, this too, you will succeed, fail, retry, give up, BUT never give in to the difficulties the evil one uses to keep you from changing. You may loose friends and loved ones. In exchange you will gain new friends and loved ones who are children of God. The most important of these new loved one’s is our Lord and Savior. Our Lord walks with you. The Holy Spirit will nudge you and direct you. You are not alone.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
NOTE – I added orange text to add emphasis. Scripture: Colossians 3:1-17 NIV. Bible.com. Images: amazing facts.org;knowing-Jesus.com; woman’sday.com
Lisa’s Daily Inspirations 