I can’t believe this person wrote that! Did they really say that?
There are times when I feel surrounded by crowds of people who are not thinking, not using logic, and not caring about the facts. These people seem to be reacting purely out of emotion – to everything.
And sometimes its hard not to respond back in the same way. It would feel good – for a minute – to say what I’m thinking but then I would regret that I was acting just like they were. Emotionally. Not logically. That’s not good.
God generously gives you and I some wisdom in this situation in Proverbs 26:4, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly; or you yourself will be just like him.”
Yep, when I answer a foolish statement with my own emotional, foolish statement, I am on the wrong track. The right track is to look to God for wisdom and discernment.
God tells me in Proverbs 9: 7-9 to forget about correcting a fool. Their response will be to insult me, abuse me and hate me. But a wise person learns from correction and grows wiser.
That’s the kind of person I want to be – a wise person who is learning and being transformed by the truth of God.
Proverbs is full of God’s wisdom regarding all kinds of situations we find ourselves in.
Thank you for your precious Word to us, Abba Father.
I need to know the truth. You need to know the truth.
And we won’t know the truth by listening to our culture – it is full of lies and half-truths and rationalizations.
Where’s the only place we can find real truth?
God’s Word. The Bible.
I have a huge thirst to know the real truth. I don’t need to hear what he thinks or she thinks or they think or even what you think.
What God thinks – that’s what is important to me.
This thirst has taken me on an 11 year journey of reading through the Bible every year. Somewhere in the middle – like year 4 or 5 – I started saying things like “that’s not in the Bible’ when people quoted things that just aren’t there. One of these things you and I hear often is not true – “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle”. Not in there. That’s one of the most misquoted scriptures we hear.
I know if what someone is saying is in the Bible about 90% of the time. If anyone says something new, I always look it up. Sometimes I learn something new and other times I realize that what they were telling everyone was not true.
What’s also important is that I know what’s missing when listening to a preacher or teacher teach from the Bible. One of the reasons I read the entire Bible is to get a big picture of God, an overall understanding. So I can tell when someone is leaving something out because its too controversial or maybe they don’t agree with it.
I don’t care if its controversial or you don’t like it. It’s in the Bible. That’s the truth. God calls us to adjust our lives to his truth – not the other way around
Unfortunately, I’m hearing about more and more pastors who are adjusting God’s truth to make people happy. They leave out the tough parts because, well, maybe people won’t like it and they will leave the church.
I’ve talked to several good Christian people I know who have left their church because the pastor started veering away from the truth. A denomination that I was a part of for many years is currently deciding whether they are going to take the Bible literally or change what they preach to fit what people ‘think’ is right. What??
The prophet Amos predicated times like these. “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. People will stagger from sea to sea and wander from north to east, searching for the word of the Lord, but they will not find it.” Amos 8: 11&12.
We don’t have to stagger around searching for the Word of the Lord. His Word is in the Bible if we make sure we have a credible Bible. People have actually changed words in the Bible to fit what they think as well.
Any doubt that there is a famine?
Our Bible can be and should be in our hands and entering our minds every day as we read and apply God’s truth to our lives. You can’t count on anyone else to make sure you know the truth.
God has given my husband and I an awesome new church in Denver with a pastor who preaches the Word unapologetically. When he gets on a controversial subject and boldly proclaims what God says about it, my church family erupts in clapping and ‘Amens’ because we know we would not be hearing this truth in some other churches.
We are in a famine but we have what we need to feed ourselves – God’s Word.
Thank you for your truth in your Word, Abba Father.
There are times when I feel surrounded by crowds of people who are not thinking, not using logic, and not caring about the facts. These people seem to be reacting purely out of emotion – to everything.
And sometimes its hard not to respond back in the same way. It would feel good – for a minute – to blurt out my own emotional response….but then I would regret that I was acting just like they were. Without thinking. That’s not good.
God generously gives you and I some wisdom in this situation in Proverbs 26:4, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly; or you yourself will be just like him.”
Yep, when I answer a foolish statement with my own emotional, foolish statement, I am on the wrong track. The right track is to look to God for wisdom and discernment. And to keep my mouth closed until he gives me the right answer.
God tells me in Proverbs 9: 7-9 to forget about correcting a fool. Their response will be to insult me, abuse me and hate me. But a wise person learns from correction and grows wiser.
That’s the kind of person I want to be – a wise person who is learning and being transformed by the truth of God.
Proverbs is full of God’s wisdom regarding all kinds of situations we find ourselves in.
Thank you for your precious Word to us, Abba Father.
There are times when I feel surrounded by crowds of people who are not thinking, not using logic, and not caring about the facts. These people seem to be reacting purely out of emotion – to everything.
And sometimes its hard not to respond back in the same way. It would feel good – for a minute – but then I would regret that I was acting just like they were. Emotionally. Without thinking. That’s not good.
God generously gives you and I some wisdom in this situation in Proverbs 26:4, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly; or you yourself will be just like him.”
Yep, when I answer a foolish statement with my own emotional, foolish statement, I am on the wrong track. The right track is to look to God for wisdom and discernment.
God tells me in Proverbs 9: 7-9 to forget about correcting a fool. Their response will be to insult me, abuse me and hate me. But a wise person learns from correction and grows wiser.
That’s the kind of person I want to be – a wise person who is learning and being transformed by the truth of God.
Proverbs is full of God’s wisdom regarding all kinds of situations we find ourselves in.
Thank you for your precious Word to us, Abba Father.
As the mountain of craziness in this world around me grows, I need to find a way to stay grounded on what is good and right and helpful. Jesus shines his light on my path as I read the account of his discussion with Satan in the dessert.
Satan is confronting Jesus after he has been fasting for 40 days. My first thought was that the human part of Jesus were probably in a weakened state after all this time. After thinking about it, he has been in constant communication with his Father for 40 days straight so physically he may have been weakened, but spiritually he was strong and well fed.
Satan tried three times in three different ways to try to tempt Jesus to show off his power and rule the world like an earthly King. Instead of giving in, Jesus quoted scripture – God’s Word – back to Satan.
God’s Word is the truth and it stood up to all of Satan’s lies over 2000 years ago. Just like it stands up against all of the lies Satan is spewing across our culture today.
Reading, studying and applying God’s Word to my life is the only way I’m going to be able to navigate through all the lies, fake news, wrong thinking, lack of integrity, manipulation and secret agendas that are swirling around me today.
This same crud is swirling around you.
Are you looking for something solid to hang on to through this storm? God and his Word to you is the answer.
I have often felt the attacks of the Evil one. So I can relate to the Israelites when I read in Jeremiah that the siege ramps were being built against the walls of Jerusalem. The attack is coming! I can feel it.
I’ve been there.
When I read that the city will be conquered through war, famine and disease, it all sounds familiar. Attacked on all sides – I’ve been there.
How does Satan attack me? It’s not unusual for my computer to start not working well when I sit down to enter these blogs. If my computer is behaving, then the internet or WordPress will start being uncooperative. Satan doesn’t like these blogs and he doesn’t try to hide it.
Satan also tries to distract me from the Truth with his whispers in my head at night trying to make me question the fact that God is good. I normally start reciting scripture and the whispers stop. My questions also stop because I am reminded of the truth.
Satan often tries to get me to focus on the negative things in my life. He’ll pile on the junk trying to get me to think about all of that instead of God. He attempts to make bitterness, frustration and unforgiveness look like the natural response to situations in my life. Regular reading and study of God’s word keeps me grounded in the Truth.
None of these attacks are working, Satan.
Meanwhile, I know God’s Army of Angels surround me and they are fighting my battles in the spiritual realm. We already know the end of this story – God and his armies are the winners.
Satan with his siege ramps has no power unless I give it to him.
And he isn’t getting a toehold here.
Thank you for your Truth and your Army of Angels, Abba Father.
There are mountains of lies building up around us.
As information flies around the planet faster and faster, it is becoming increasingly less accurate.
Many of the things we watch on TV and videos are not entirely true.
Things we read on the internet have been embellished and edited.
Most of what people tell us are not completely true – everyone has a different perspective. And – let’s face it – we all love a good story.
It’s just not always true.
Actually, the better the story, the less likely that its all true.
We need wisdom today regarding what we’re going to believe.
We need discernment so we can separate fact from fiction.
Proverbs 14:15 is a great verse for us. “The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps.”
We need to be careful about what we believe and give real thought to our next steps. Where we are going. What we’re basing our decisions on.
All real wisdom comes from God.
It is not cynical.
It is not hopelessly optomistic.
God gives us wisdom that is realistic with a good dose of positivity mixed in because of how supernaturally awesome our Father God is.
Giving thought to our steps means not just reacting to whatever is happening to us. It means regularly consulting with God. It means making a plan for our lives based on God’s truth and what he is telling us when we spend time with him.
As we read through 1 Chronicles, we see the Israelites fighting physical battles against their enemies on all sides of them. They went to battle with their spears and swords.
We also have a sword to help us fight our battles – the Sword of the Spirit. God’s word. The Bible.
God’s truth pierces through the lies and sin of our cultures, helping us forge ahead on the good path God has planned out for us.
The Bible is our map for today, tomorrow and the rest of our time here on earth. God lights our way as we read and meditate on his revelation to us. As we memorize God’s word, he is arming us with powerful weapons that he can use to bring us victory.
God wants us to have victory in our lives.
And he can give us victory.
Are we giving him the room and authority in our lives to do that?
Thank you, Father, for the truth you have given us through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.
We are grateful for your son, Christ Jesus, who brought your grace into this world for each one of us when we believe.
We ask that you enrich our words and inhabit our thoughts with your wisdom. Confirm your truth in our lives every day, dear Father.
We are grateful for the gift of your spirit living within us as we eagerly wait for Jesus’ return. Please keep us firmly rooted in you, dear Father – all the way to the end of our purpose here on earth.
Thank you for your faithfulness to us, dear God. Thank you for the personal relationship we have with you.
Come with me on a Journey through the Bible 