Today's Scripture Passage: Proverbs 18:14-16
14 A man's spirit sustains him in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear? 15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out. 16 A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.
Today's Scripture Message:
Life is going to happen, either you are going to be anchored by your past and the wrong done you or your mistakes or you’ll rise above them and tap into what you were gifted and walk into the environment necessary to propel that gift into its intended light. A simple truth “Inside an apple seed is a whole tree”. What seed is inside you that needs to come out and be placed in an environment conducive of its growth?
You have something inside of you waiting to reach the surface, it is YOUR gift, YOUR potential. “As you work this gift, you work out the potential” – Bill Winston. There is something in you that is great, have faith in what you have already been provided – His word, your gift, His spirit, your provision, His son, your salvation. Know it is DONE.
Prayer for the day:
Father, with what you’ve given me, point me into the magnificence of my intended gift. I understand, in order to increase my gift, attention need be paid to it. Help me to focus and use what I have to the best of my ability to lift others, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thought for the day:
“Use your gifts faithfully, and they shall be enlarged; practice what you know and you shall attain to higher knowledge ”
~ Matthew Arnold
Goal for the Day:
Increase what you have with what you know.
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Pastor Dickow’s Fast from Wrong Thinking
Revolution Day 25:
Today we’re fasting from the thought that says: “I don’t know what I’ll do if THEY don’t come through for me.” So often we look to someone else to meet our needs or we feel disappointed if someone doesn’t keep their promise.
Let’s change it today:
1. God will provide. Philippians 4:19 says He provides all our needs according to His riches and glory. Renew your mind to the fact that He provides for ALL our needs, not just finances.
2. Dependence upon others is NOT humility, it’s misplaced trust. Psalm 43:5 says, “Why so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God.” David is saying that when we put our hope in anything other than God, we will wind up depressed. Shift your trust and hope to God.
3. Hope is born from the love of God. Believe the love He has for you. Meditate on Romans 5:5 which says, “Hope does not disappoint (let you down) BECAUSE the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.”
4. Realize that over-dependency upon others keeps you from loving them. When you depend on someone doing for you, providing for you, coming through for you, you can’t love. Therefore you can’t succeed, because love never fails. You can’t love them, because you need them too much. Love gives.
5. Don’t trust the provision, trust the provider. Deuteronomy 8:3a says “...that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone...”.
6. Treat a broken promise from someone as an OPPORTUNITY to trust God. “DIS”appointment becomes “HIS”appointment when we look to the true promise Maker and promise Keeper—Hebrews 13:5.
THINK IT & SAY IT:
I trust in God as the Promise Maker, not the promise breaker! God will provide for ALL MY NEEDS. I free myself from dependence upon others, and I will depend on God, empowering me to love others freely. My trust and hope is in God. And THAT hope will never let me down, because God’s love is in me, and He will never disappoint me. I will not put my trust in what I have, but in the One who provides. My every need comes from every Word that comes from the mouth of God, in Jesus’ Name!”
Daily Lenten Reflection from St. Michael of Old Town
Saturday of the Third Week of Lent
April 2, 2011
The Pharisee spoke this prayer to himself, “O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector”…But the tax collector stood off at a distance …and prayed, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:11, 13
The evangelist Luke opens this parable with an introduction (verse 9) and Jesus closes the parable with a conclusion (verse 14).
It would be unfortunate to simply conclude from this parable that we are simply to thank God that we are not like the Pharisee. In order to avoid a kind of self-congratulatory reading of this parable that the parable itself would seem to condemn, it may help in noting that everything the Pharisee says is true. He has set himself apart from others by his faithful adherence to the law. He is by the standards that both Luke and Jesus employ a righteous person.
The Tax collector, on the other hand, knows that he possesses no means by which he can claim to be righteous. He really has done nothing of merit; indeed, he has done much to offend the law of Israel. And, for this reason he stands back, hardly daring to approach the Temple. He throws himself on the mercy of God.
This is the essential contrast: one makes a claim to righteousness based on his own accomplishments, while the other relies totally on the mercy of the Lord. Rather than be grateful for his blessings, the Pharisee appears smug to the point of despising others. In his mind there are two kinds of people: the righteous and the immoral, and he is grateful that he is among the righteous. The tax collector isn't so much humble as he is desperate. He is too overwhelmed by his plight to take time to divide humanity into sides. All he recognizes as he stands near the temple is his own great need. He therefore stakes his hopes and claims not on anything he has done or deserved but entirely on the mercy of God!
I have found in my own life that there is one thing that always opens me up to the mercy of God and that is gratitude! Gratitude allows me to move out of my own narrow vision of myself and the world around me. Over the years I have asked many men and women who are involved in 12 step recovery: What would you say is essential to your ongoing recovery? Everyone, without exception, says I begin the day with gratitude and I end my day in gratitude!
Fr. Tom Donaldson
Most gracious Creator, I give you thanks and praise for all of life. Strengthen my attitude of gratitude and allow me to always be receptive to your redeeming love and mercy. Amen.
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Inspiration
By:
Lindsey Ragans
... begs the question: What is a true friend? One who is there when you need them most…
Happy 92nd Day of the New Year
Daily Affirmation: “Something GREAT Is Going to Happen To and Through Me Today!!!
LIVE ON PURPOSE!!! LET’S GO!!!
Many Blessings!!!
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