Monthly Archives: September 2012

2012 Day 264 – Philemon

20 Thursday Sep 2012

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Philemon is a strange little book of the Bible; at least to me it seems strange. It is written as a short letter from Paul to a man named Philemon. Paul is asking Philemon to forgive his runaway slave, Onesimus, and to accept him as a brother in Christ. The reality is we were all slaves before we became brothers (and sisters) in Christ. Once we accepted Christ’s forgiveness, we became brothers. My thought is this book was written as an example of who we have become in eyes of God once we accept our freedom from the consequences of sin. Praise God for loving us enough to give us a way to have that freedom.

2012 Day 263 – Psalm 119:137-176

19 Wednesday Sep 2012

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God embodies perfect truth so His words cannot lie. Verse 160 says, All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. Everything in God’s word is completely true and trustworthy. The truths are also eternal; they are no less true today than they were 2,000 years ago. We can trust it to lead us through any situation because it will not lead us astray. We should trust, obey, and follow His words in all we do.

2012 Day 262 – Psalm 119:89-136

18 Tuesday Sep 2012

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Verse 105 speaks volumes to me, Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. There is nothing like walking in the woods in the dark. It is intimidating when you can’t see the ground in front of you; you slow down, you are more cautious, and you can easily get disoriented with your direction. What is amazing is how little light you need to change everything. A simple little light can make all the difference in your confidence and your ability to speed up your progression. The same applies when it comes to walking with God and allowing Him to light your path. When you know He is with you and He is guiding you, you can move with confidence and know that the things that not in the light really don’t matter.

2012 Day 261 – Psalm 119:45-88

17 Monday Sep 2012

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When we go through trials it is hard to look at the situation and see the good. However, once we come out of the hurt and gain some perspective, we can look back and see what we learned. In verse 71 it says, It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. It is unfortunate, but we learn our best lessons from some of our deepest pains. That’s not to say its the only way to learn, but it is effective. The key is to remember to be thankful to God for walking through it with us and giving us the grace and mercy to allow us to learn from it.

2012 Day 260 – Psalm 119:1-44

16 Sunday Sep 2012

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Over the next four days we will be tackling the longest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 119. So far in the first 44 verses, the author (listed as ‘anonymous’ but some say it may have been Ezra) talks about obedience to God. One of the most effective ways to being obedient to God is to know His word and to have it close to us at all times. Verse 11 is a verse we have all heard before, I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. By studying and learning God’s word, we learn how He wants us to live our lives in order to honor Him. Scripture, along with the power of the Holy Spirit living in us, is what equips us to build a relationship with God and helps us to follow His perfect plan for our lives.

2012 Day 259 – Psalm 12, 15, 19

15 Saturday Sep 2012

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In today’s reading, Psalm 19:14 really stood out and made me think, May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. I need to be more careful approaching every day knowing that God examines every word and every though that comes out of me. God’s love needs to be more of the guide for what I say and how I think each day, so that it is pleasing to Him.

2012 Day 258 – Colossians 4

14 Friday Sep 2012

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In today’s reading verse 6 stood out to me, Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. As someone who has a very dominant personality, this verse hits me between the eyes. It reminds me that speaking the truth is important, but speaking the truth and coming across as a jerk, are two different things. I need to temper my thoughts to include love and grace so that others may know the heart behind the words. Ultimately, I must allow the Holy Spirit to speak through me to allow the right tone and message to come across.

2012 Day 257 – Colossians 3

13 Thursday Sep 2012

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There is so much information in this chapter about how we should live the Christian life, but when I got to verse 12, I looked at it as if it were a checklist for my life. Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. When I am around other people, regardless of who they are, do I show them compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, or patience? I hate to admit it, but I fail at these things more often than I’d like to admit and, based on Sarah’s comments on yesterday’s reading, it’s not a matter of me needing to just do it, I have to ask myself “why”? Why don’t I do the things that I know I need to do? The answer for me is simple… While Christ lives in me, I do not allow Him to be a greater influence on me than my own desires. In John 3:30, John the Baptist himself said, He must become greater; I must become less. I am no John the Baptist, which means, how much greater must Christ be in me for me to live the life He intended?

2012 Day 256 – Colossians 2

12 Wednesday Sep 2012

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When we know God, we have everything we need to live the life He meant for us. Verse 10 says, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Since Christ has all authority, there is no need to go anywhere else find answers.

2012 Day 255 – Colossians 1

11 Tuesday Sep 2012

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After spending a couple weeks in Proverbs, we will spend the next four days in the book of Colossians. From what I’ve gathered in a couple of different notes, this letter was probably written during Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome and is written as a commentary on information he received about the state of the church at Colossae. There is a lot of great information in this book, but the verse that stood out to me the most talks about how nothing comes as a surprise to God. 16 For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. God is in control, we must never forget that. Nothing is a shock to Him.