Feb 18-Feb 4
Feb 18. 1 Tim 3:10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.
Paul lists qualifications for church leaders in Timothy. God's kingdom principle is that those who are faithful in a few things will be given more. It is easy to be envious of great leaders without understanding the effort they had to exert to reach that status. It is also easy to let the daily, mundane tasks go because they do not receive recognition and seem so insignificant, however it is faithfulness in these small things that will reap the great rewards in the end. Sometimes chores are just a test to bring us to a higher position among God and man.
Feb 15. Psalm 21:2 You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
As sons and daughters we are to be ruling and reigning with Christ. This is living a personal life of victory from strength to strength; glory to glory and ever increasing glory. We should not live only recounting past wins but recording present and even greater feats for God. When Esther went before the king she had such favour he was willing to give her anything. This is how God wants us to deal with him and him with us.
Feb 14. Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
David's prayer here is a good one to use in personal devotions. It is easy to repent for outward embarrassing sins, but sometimes things in the heart go unchecked. We are to diligently do heart maintenance because out of the heart flows the issues of life. If we are not cleaning in prayer and the word, the heart can easily be clogged with greed, pride, and bitterness to name a few. A clogged heart can neither give or receive the life giving power of God's love. A finely tuned heart is very sensitive to keep this love moving and flowing through it without any blockages.
Feb 13. Prov 29:11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
It is important not to be ruled by emotions but by the Word and the Spirit. Emotions can distract us from missing a moment to hear God and be used of him. If we let anger, fear, lust, or pride have a place, we will have outbursts in our temper, run away from problems or look at ourselves and others inappropriately. A wise person has perfect self control and can resist those emotions to do the right thing regardless of contrary feelings. A person who rules themselves can be trusted to rule others.
Feb 12. Prov 28:23 Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.
It is easy to flatter because it gives a person instant favor and gratification. Rebuke is a job few people want or enjoy if they are in their right mind. It means instant negativity, offense and hurt feelings. A true rebuke is done gently, lovingly, yet with a sense of urgency. The motive is complete unselfishness with only love for their hearer. The one rebuking gladly takes rejection to see the betterment of their friend, and in the end they will be counted as the true friend.
Feb 11. Prov 27:19 As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.
You can tell much about a person by their face. Ones countenance reveals emotions such as disappointment, fear, hesitation, joy, and sadness. When Moses had been with God, His face was glowing with that glory. We pick up on our face what we carry in our hearts from life around us. Let us only hold to Gods manifest glory and cast away the cares on Him so our faces can be radiant with light.
Feb 8. 1 Thes 4. live quietly...mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Paul is giving the people of Macedonia good instructions for day to day life. Essentially he is telling the people to mind their own business and live a quiet orderly life. Everyone faces drama and hardships in life. Those who are unstable let out their emotions on everyone and expect other people to carry them along. The godly however do not mind being unnoticed, insigificant and working diligently to build Gods kingdom steadily and securely over time in ordinary ways.
Feb 7. 1 Thes 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God,
Paul compared his relationship to the believers in Theselonica to that of a mother and father. Not only did he gently and tenderly care for and nurture the believers in Gods ways as a mother would, but he also carried the authority of a father speaking challenges, hard truths and lessons they needed to know as spiritual children. It is important that we are trained in both a mothering and fathering way so that we do not get too spoiled or too discouraged.
Feb 6. Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
To put off the old man and on the new man, our thinking has to change. It is just like changing jobs, directions on the highway or changing the clock. We have to adjust our thinking to a new set of guidelines in order to get anywhere and do anything. The old order is not going to help but only slow us down. In Gods kingdom our passions, goals and desires need to be linked to what is above and where Christ is, not on the temporal unsatisfying earthly things around us.
Feb 5. Col 2:18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head.
God does speak to people at times through visions and dreams and use spiritual disciplines however our personal revelations and good works must never become the focus more than Christ Himself. Christ is the one that holds all things together and gives them His life source. Just like a branch is useless once cut from a tree, we are useless if we do not hold fast to Jesus. This is important because Satan uses even believers who become fixated on themselves to distract others from the simple gospel and walk with Jesus. Are we pointing people to a man, ourselves or Jesus who only saves.
Feb 4. John 21. Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
God has a unique calling for each of his own while they are on earth. While we can spur others on through good works by our lives, we should not compare callings. It is not useful for one part of the body to tell the other they are more or less important. What we should do is fix our eyes on Jesus our prize and confidently live out what he puts on our hearts without comparison, envy or feelings of low esteem.
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Paul lists qualifications for church leaders in Timothy. God's kingdom principle is that those who are faithful in a few things will be given more. It is easy to be envious of great leaders without understanding the effort they had to exert to reach that status. It is also easy to let the daily, mundane tasks go because they do not receive recognition and seem so insignificant, however it is faithfulness in these small things that will reap the great rewards in the end. Sometimes chores are just a test to bring us to a higher position among God and man.
Feb 15. Psalm 21:2 You have given him his heart's desire and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
As sons and daughters we are to be ruling and reigning with Christ. This is living a personal life of victory from strength to strength; glory to glory and ever increasing glory. We should not live only recounting past wins but recording present and even greater feats for God. When Esther went before the king she had such favour he was willing to give her anything. This is how God wants us to deal with him and him with us.
Feb 14. Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
David's prayer here is a good one to use in personal devotions. It is easy to repent for outward embarrassing sins, but sometimes things in the heart go unchecked. We are to diligently do heart maintenance because out of the heart flows the issues of life. If we are not cleaning in prayer and the word, the heart can easily be clogged with greed, pride, and bitterness to name a few. A clogged heart can neither give or receive the life giving power of God's love. A finely tuned heart is very sensitive to keep this love moving and flowing through it without any blockages.
Feb 13. Prov 29:11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
It is important not to be ruled by emotions but by the Word and the Spirit. Emotions can distract us from missing a moment to hear God and be used of him. If we let anger, fear, lust, or pride have a place, we will have outbursts in our temper, run away from problems or look at ourselves and others inappropriately. A wise person has perfect self control and can resist those emotions to do the right thing regardless of contrary feelings. A person who rules themselves can be trusted to rule others.
Feb 12. Prov 28:23 Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue.
It is easy to flatter because it gives a person instant favor and gratification. Rebuke is a job few people want or enjoy if they are in their right mind. It means instant negativity, offense and hurt feelings. A true rebuke is done gently, lovingly, yet with a sense of urgency. The motive is complete unselfishness with only love for their hearer. The one rebuking gladly takes rejection to see the betterment of their friend, and in the end they will be counted as the true friend.
Feb 11. Prov 27:19 As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.
You can tell much about a person by their face. Ones countenance reveals emotions such as disappointment, fear, hesitation, joy, and sadness. When Moses had been with God, His face was glowing with that glory. We pick up on our face what we carry in our hearts from life around us. Let us only hold to Gods manifest glory and cast away the cares on Him so our faces can be radiant with light.
Feb 8. 1 Thes 4. live quietly...mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
Paul is giving the people of Macedonia good instructions for day to day life. Essentially he is telling the people to mind their own business and live a quiet orderly life. Everyone faces drama and hardships in life. Those who are unstable let out their emotions on everyone and expect other people to carry them along. The godly however do not mind being unnoticed, insigificant and working diligently to build Gods kingdom steadily and securely over time in ordinary ways.
Feb 7. 1 Thes 7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. 11 For you know how, like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God,
Paul compared his relationship to the believers in Theselonica to that of a mother and father. Not only did he gently and tenderly care for and nurture the believers in Gods ways as a mother would, but he also carried the authority of a father speaking challenges, hard truths and lessons they needed to know as spiritual children. It is important that we are trained in both a mothering and fathering way so that we do not get too spoiled or too discouraged.
Feb 6. Col 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
To put off the old man and on the new man, our thinking has to change. It is just like changing jobs, directions on the highway or changing the clock. We have to adjust our thinking to a new set of guidelines in order to get anywhere and do anything. The old order is not going to help but only slow us down. In Gods kingdom our passions, goals and desires need to be linked to what is above and where Christ is, not on the temporal unsatisfying earthly things around us.
Feb 5. Col 2:18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head.
God does speak to people at times through visions and dreams and use spiritual disciplines however our personal revelations and good works must never become the focus more than Christ Himself. Christ is the one that holds all things together and gives them His life source. Just like a branch is useless once cut from a tree, we are useless if we do not hold fast to Jesus. This is important because Satan uses even believers who become fixated on themselves to distract others from the simple gospel and walk with Jesus. Are we pointing people to a man, ourselves or Jesus who only saves.
Feb 4. John 21. Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
God has a unique calling for each of his own while they are on earth. While we can spur others on through good works by our lives, we should not compare callings. It is not useful for one part of the body to tell the other they are more or less important. What we should do is fix our eyes on Jesus our prize and confidently live out what he puts on our hearts without comparison, envy or feelings of low esteem.
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