Month: <span>September 2010</span>

Published September 30, 2010

Say Yes to God’s Purpose

By Max Lucado

“I must preach about God’s kingdom…This is why I was sent.” Luke 4:43

After Christ’s forty day pause in the wilderness, the people of Capernaum tried to keep him from leaving.  But Jesus said to them. “I must preach about God’s kingdom to other towns, too.  This is why I was sent’” (Luke 4:42-43).

He resisted the undertow of the people by anchoring to the rock of his purpose: employing his uniqueness to make a big deal out of God everywhere he could.

And aren’t you glad he did?  Suppose he had heeded the crowd and set up camp in Capernaum, reasoning, “I thought the whole world was my target and the Cross my destiny. But the entire town tells me to stay in Capernaum.  Could all these people be wrong?”

Yes, they could! In defiance of the crowd, Jesus…said no to good things so he could say yes to the right thing: His unique call.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/30/ml_say-yes/

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Max Lucado
From: Cure for the Common Life

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/info/view/about_max_lucado/

Thoughts by All thoughts by Max Lucado Thoughts by Men

Published September 29, 2010

The Danger of Being in Neutral

By John Grant

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8

“Speed Kills.” Or so says the billboard to encourage drivers to slow down. Thousand are killed every year on the nation’s highways due to excessive speed. But as I drove along and thought about the billboard message, I thought how speed can kill the body, but slowness can kill the soul.

Perhaps there is no more dangerous time for our spiritual life than when our brain is coasting, idling or in neutral. It is like going to sleep at night with the door unlocked. There is no telling what will sneak in and harm us.

Our most vulnerable moments are the unguarded ones, not the ones where we are focused on a mission and going ninety miles an hour with gusts to a hundred and twenty. What I think about in my unguarded moments reflects what my mind dwells upon and ultimately decides what kind of person I become.

I need to discipline and exercise my mind just as I do my body. If I fill my body with garbage then it turns to garbage. My mind is no different. What I dwell on in those neutral moments is a good gauge of what is in my heart. I need to be cautious and what I allow in my mind. The best way to exercise and guard my mind is to contemplate those things that are pure, lovely and of good repute.

I should not allow the world to fill my mind with ungodly thinking and focusing on the “things” of this world. The best way to keep the evil one and his devices from entering my mind is to guard its door with scripture and prayer and by focusing on that which is true, noble, just, pure, lovely and good.

The things I allow my mind to focus on will determine the way I live and if I focus on the evils and temptations of this world, I take down my guard and can be led into sin like a sheep to slaughter. If I fill my mind with the things of Christ, then I will become Christ like and if I fill my mind with the evils of this world then I become like the rest of the world.

Beware of neutral…. It’s a killer!

Lord, I know that whatever I fill my mind with is a matter of choice, my choice. Please help me to be aware of those times when I am vulnerable and help me to guard my mind. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.

Question: How is a person’s physical life (how they take care of their body) analogous to their spiritual life?

You can comment on this devotional online at:
https://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/29/jg_danger-of-neutral/
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney
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Thoughts by All thoughts by John Grant Thoughts by Men