Me: Prodigal, are you staring at yourself in the mirror.
Prodigal: Just checking the outfit out.
Me: That is fine, but be wary of it turning into vanity.
Prodigal: I don’t want that.
This is from the book The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis
Vain is he that setteth his hope in man, or in creatures. Be not thou ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ; nor to be esteemed poor in this world.
Presume not upon thyself, but place thy hope in God. Do what lieth in thee, and God will assist thy goodwill.
Trust not in thine own knowledge, nor in the subtilty of any living creature; but rather in the grace of God, who helpeth the humble, and humbleth those that are self-presuming.
2. Glory not in wealth if thou have it, nor in friends because they are powerful; but in God who giveth all things, and above all desireth to give thee Himself.
Extol not thyself for the height of thy statue, or beauty of thy person, which is disfigured and destroyed by a little sickness.
Take not pleasure in thy natural gifts, or talent, lest thereby thou displease God, whose is all the good, whatsoever thou hast by nature.
Esteem not thyself better than others, lest perhaps in the sight of God, who knoweth what is in man, thou be accounted worse than they. Be not proud of good works, for the judgments of God are different from the judgments of men, and that often offendeth Him which pleaseth men. If there by any good in thee, believe better things of others, that so thou mayest preserve humility. It doth no hurt to thee to set thyself lower than all men, but it hurteth thee exceedingly if thou set thyself before even one man. Continual peace is with the humble; but in the heart of the proud is envy and frequent indignation.
We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.
This is from the book Men of Faith : Jonathan Edwards by David J. Vaughan
Resolved, to examine carefully, and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and to direct all my forces against it.
The Lord sees all, and has already accepted us. He loves us. People do not love like God at times. They love selfishly, and they love with motives. They love to help themselves. Why do we listen to people instead of God?
,
Thou, even thou, are Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
The short article had left me with a since of fear. My mind was racing toward so many different possibilities. I started to feel my heart race, and my breathing speed up. I sat there imagining a couple of scenarios, and trying to determine several steps I needed to make.
Then quickly before thoughts could take over the Holy Spirit reminded me of God’s word. I didn’t need to plan. I need God’s word. I reached for the bible in the second drawer in my desk. I was desperate for it now. I felt like the dog who sees the bone down the steps, and smells the meat on the bone. I needed God’s word. I longed for God’s word. It was the only thing that would satisfy in that moment of time.
I somehow already knew where to turn. Psalm 91. I had turned there before during this week. I needed these words again. I needed them now, all else did not matter. I opened the bible with the brown leather covering. I felt the pages in my hand. My eyes found the Chapter, and then quickly recognized the sequences of numbers I needed to find.
There on the left-hand page was the entire Psalm. As I read my spirit seemed drawn to several of the verses in the middle.
Psalm 91:2-11 (KJV)
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall by thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
I let out a deep breath. My spirit was refreshed from the living word of the bible. The fear was gone. God’s wisdom, and truth replaced the anxiety of the words of man.
I was going to be fine.
I had a mighty God.
God watches over me.
No longer do I fear, but bow down in reference to the Lord who is with me.
Praise Your Holy Name.
Psalm 91:1
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Prodigal: She is toppin’ the timber and kickin’ up stumps.
Me: Well, I hope she calms down.
This is from The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis
Whensoever a man desireth anything inordinately, He is forthwith disquieted in himself. The proud and covetous are never at rest. The poor and humble in spirit dwell in the multitude of peace.
2. The man that is not yet perfectly dead to himself, is quickly tempted; and he is overcome in small and trifling things. The weak in spirit, and he that is yet in a manner carnal and prone to things of sense, can hardly withdraw himself altogether from earthly desires: and therefore he hath often sadness, when he withdraweth himself from them; and easily falleth into indignation, if anyone resisteth him. And if he hath attained that which he lusteth after, he is forthwith burdened with remorse of conscience; for that he followed his own passion, which profiteth him nothing to the obtaining of the peace he sought for.
3. True peace of heart therefore is found by resisting our passions, not by obeying them. There is then no peace in the heart of a carnal man, nor in him that is given up to outward things, but in the fervent and spiritual man.
That the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, which said unto them, Thus said the Lord God of Israel, I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of bondage.
Me: Your turtle friend looks like he does not have a lot of room.
Prodigal: I think he has just enough.
Me: That is good to hear!
This is from Nicolas Berdyaev
There is no longer any room in the world for a merely external form of Christianity based upon custom. The world is entering upon a period of catastrophe and crisis, when we are being forced to take sides and in which a higher and more intense kind of spiritual life will be demanded of Christians.
This is a time that you will have to do something different. It will be fine. We are pushed into a different direction but the Lord is with us.
What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
This is from the book Joy in Christ’s Presence by Charles Spurgeon
Our Lord took His disciples with Him into the ship to teach them a practical lesson. It is one thing to talk to people about our oneness with them, about how they should exercise faith in time of danger, and about their real safety in apparent peril. But it is another and far better thing to go into the ship with them, to let them feel all the terror of the storm, and then to arise and rebuke the wind and say to the sea, “Peace, be still.” Our Lord gave His disciples a kind of school lesson, and acted sermon, in which the truth was set forth visibly before them. Such teaching produced a wonderful effect on their lives. May we also be instructed by it!
Today this is about the Lord solving the battle for you. He wants you to be still, and allow Him to work in your life. This will be about a testimony to show others how loving, and personal he is during our time of need.
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. Ezekiel 43:2
I was home with my Dad. My Dad was sitting in his yellow chair by the t.v. One of the things that he loves to do is watch game shows. He will play along, and try to win the prize with the audience.
Sometimes He is real good at it. Today’s game show was Let’s Make A Deal. Some points of the game are that you get a chance to choose what “Deal” you would like. Several times in the show they will have a choice you have to make. The choice will be hidden. Sometimes it is behind a huge curtain, small evenlope, or a smaller box.
There is a risk in your choice. Because one of them might be a “zonk” which means you win nothing. The key is to stay away from the “zonk”. To win at the game the goal is to pick the option that has a car, vacation, or money.
I like to watch with my Dad because I like to guess along also. I have won so many imaginary games from my seat at home! As you watch the game, it is interesting to observe how people make their choices. Is the small box good, or bad? Is the large curtain good, or bad?
As we watch the show together, we see screams of delight, and other faces crestfallen to despair. It ends up being a great time together.
What would God say about our choices. Is He happy? I think we sometimes view God as saying we always have to take the small package to remain humble. Really God wants us to be humble no matter what the package looks like, or has in it.
This is why some receive fame, money, or leadership positions from God. They have been tested in their choices, in the small quiet private areas of their lives, and they remained humble. God may bless from choices, and decisions that were made.
Others are still trying to figure out pride. We may be humble to receive the gift, but we have to remain humble is the key. Too many times once the choice was made. God may bless a person. The person becomes prideful, forgetting God’s hand in the gift. At time’s, our pride caused it all to go away, because God wants us to remain humble with the choices that are made.
There are horrible testimonies of several pastors that have fallen over the years, because of pride. At one time they followed God, but different choices , and pride led them away from God.
The Lord knows how destructive pride is with our choices. It hurts our relationships with God, and with others. Our relationship with the Lord suffers because pride causes us to be independent from God. Our pride says we did this on our own, and we can keep this on our own. I don’t have to listen to God, or be close to him. Look at what I can do without God. The pride will continue to say our way is better, I know much more, and I deserve to have it my way.
This creates a lack of reverence for the Holiness of God. We refuse to live, and admit how much the Lord knows, gives us, and has a right to ask for obedience from us.
Pride in choices we make will also hurt our relationships with others because we began to be critical of others. We sense in some way we are better than them. We look down on them. We do not value their judgement, thoughts, or feelings. Our relationships start moving toward how they can follow my plans, my thoughts. We do not think how they could contribute to our plans, and our lives. We do not value their experiences, knowledge, or feelings.
When we have pride over others, it will always show up in how we treat them. At some point, the person will see that they have no value in your eyes. You are just a tool to assist them in their pride. The closeness, intimacy will completely break down under theses emotions.
As I was watching the game show Let’s Make a Deal, we can think life is like that. It is not. Right now you are worried about the choices to make. You ask yourself, will this be a “zonk”. The question God wants you to hear is, what will my heart be like with this choice. Can I praise God if I gain everything, or if this choice means I lose everything?
When we lose in our choice, but we can praise God. When we have a humble heart before God, and can say, “You know best because you know me!” Can we ever really make the wrong choice?
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
