From: February 28, 2024
“When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent” (Proverbs 10:19 ESV).
The more one talks, the greater the likelihood of sinning. The wise man “restrains his lips,” keeping silent and actively listening to others before carefully choosing words of response.
Try talking less and listening more today. Ask the Lord to help you hear His voice and to hear the words of others before uttering a word yourself. Talkers should talk less and listen more.
PRAYER: Dear Father, help us to control our tongues today that our words edify the hearer. Fill our mouths with Your Word that we might bless others. Teach us to keep silent and listen before speaking. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: February 28, 2023
“After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else” (Mark 9:33-35 NLT).
Jesus turned the theory of leadership upside down. He taught His disciples that the path to greatness in God’s economy was downward, not upward. They had been arguing about which of them would be the greatest in God’s kingdom. So Jesus gave them the secret to greatness–– serving others.
Jesus was the model of the Servant Leader. He led by service. Washing feet, feeding the hungry, healing the sick, teaching the ignorant– this is how Jesus led. And this is how He still expects us to lead. Leadership is stewardship. In God’s economy, it is entrusted to those who are willing to lead like Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we are in awe of Your love for us. For You have sent Your Son Jesus to die for our sins that we might be saved. We are in awe of You. Help us to be servant leaders like Your Son. For when we humble ourselves, You have promised to lift us up. In Jesus’ name, amen.
From: February 28, 2017
Jesus often used hyperbole to make a point. After taking a child onto his lap, he warned against anyone who would cause such a little one who believed in Him to stumble. He told them it would be better that such a one have a millstone hung around their neck and be cast into the sea. Then, he warned against allowing anyone or anything to cause us to sin as well. He illustrated this with three parts of the human body, the hands, the feet and the eyes, in his warning to drive home the extreme seriousness of sin’s penalty. He taught that it was better to enter heaven missing a hand, a foot or an eye, than to go to hell with them. Perhaps the apostle John had these three warnings in view when he wrote, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). Do not let anyone or anything, no matter how dear it may be to you, cause you to choose sin over believing in Christ.
From: February 28, 2016
The more one talks, the greater the likelihood of sinning. The wise man “restrains his lips,” keeping silent and actively listening to others before carefully choosing words of response. Try talking less and listening more today. Ask the Lord to help you hear His voice and to hear the voices of others before uttering a word yourself. Talkers should talk less.
From: February 28, 2015
The Lord instituted seven feasts for Israel. These feasts were to remind Israel of God’s provision and to prepare them for the Messiah. It can get a little overwhelming reading the description of these feasts, but they are worthy of our meditation as we see how they point to Christ’s past and still yet to come fulfillment of each:
Feast – Jewish Calendar – Christ’s fulfillment
1. Passover (Pesach) – Nisan 14 – Crucifixion
2. Unleavened Bread (Chag Hamotzi) – Nisan 15-22 – Burial
3. First Fruits (Yom habikkurim) – Nisan 16 – Resurrection
4. Pentecost (Shavu’ot) – Sivan 6 – Holy Spirit
5. Trumpets (Yom Teru’ah) – Tishri 1 – Rapture/Return
6. Atonement (Yom Kippur) – Tishri 10 – Judgment
7. Tabernacles (Sukkot) – Tishri 15 – Millennium/Heaven