DAILY DEVOTIONALS: 4.24.21

Get Rid of Rage - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back. �Proverbs 29:11 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/get-rid-of-rage/- Listen Sometimes we feel justified in unloading both barrels and giving someone a piece of our mind, because we think that we�re in the right on the subject. So let�s just say, for the sake of a point, that we are right. Even if that�s the case, we don�t have to scream at people. We don�t have to turn it into a major conflict.We may rationalize it by saying we�re more spiritual than the other people, so we need to set them right. But if you�re really a spiritual person, if you�re really a godly person, then you�ll be a humble person. You�ll also be a loving person�not someone who�s filled with angerand rage. I have no doubt that social media feeds this. I think we spend way too much time looking at our phones and tablets and following our favorite websites, which inflames us. Yet as believers, we should show love and forgiveness. And if we don�t, we�ll grieve the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. Therefore, it�s not only possible to grievethe Holy Spirit, but it�s also possible to lie to the Holy Spirit, resist the Holy Spirit, and insult the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul wrote, �And do not bring sorrow to God�s Holy Spirit by the way you live. . . Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as wellas all types of evil behavior� (Ephesians 4:30�31 NLT). The Bible says that a person who loses his temper is a fool (see Proverbs 29:11). And Jesus said, �Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples� (John 13:35 NLT). As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to love others and be at peace. When Christians love one another, it�s a powerful witness to a lost world. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GodIs Spirit “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John4:24) Mankind has always struggled with this aspect of God. The Second Commandment prohibited any attempt to represent God by any physical shape (Exodus20:4-5). The triune God cannot be contained by finite attributes. •“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1Timothy 1:17) •“Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” (1Timothy 6:16) Were it not for the Second Person of the Godhead, He whom the apostle John identifies as “the Word,” we wouldhave no possibility of knowing God (John1:1-14). Philip asked to see the Father, and the Lord Jesus replied: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John14:9). But how can this be? Paul explained to the Philippian church that Jesus Christ emptied Himself, took on the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men (Philippians2:7). Our Lord Jesus, our Redeemer and Savior, the same Creator who spoke the worlds into existence, “was made flesh” (John1:14) in order to provide all that was necessary for the thrice-holy God to “be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans3:26). Jesus insisted “no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John6:44). Salvation is not possible unless “he that cometh to God [believes] that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews11:6). Jesus Himself told the Samaritan woman, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” HMM III -------------------------------------------------------------------- GodIs Holy �Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises,doing wonders?� (Exodus15:11) The awesome vision of the throne that God gave Isaiah included a short description of the seraphims. They stood above the throne announcing, �Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory� (Isaiah6:3). They are cited again in Revelation 4:8 constantly saying, �Holy, holy, holy, LORD God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.� Apparently, the holiness of God is all-consuming. Both the Hebrew and Greek words for �holy� used in Scripture are strong descriptions of separateness, a dedicated detachment from all else. �Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy� (Revelation15:4). �There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God� (1Samuel 2:2). It is this absolute and unique transcendence that sets the Creator of the universe above and beyond all others: �For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me� (Isaiah46:9). Although there are �gods many, and lords many� (1Corinthians 8:5), and the �desperately wicked� heart of man (Jeremiah17:9) twists the �glory of the uncorruptible God� (Romans1:23) into every vile image possible, �Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever� (Hebrews13:8). Since God is holy, you and I can trust Him without reservation or doubt. �For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen� (2Corinthians 1:20). Since God is holy, we can be totally confident that our souls are secure in God, �with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning� (James1:17). HMM III ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christianized Karma by Katherine Britton “…but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you…”– 1Peter 3:15 Christians give really good hugs during trials and tragedy. As my own family has experienced recently, the body of Christ has long arms to embrace those in need, easing the burdens of bad times. The church at work offers silent – and strong – evidence ofgrace when we pick each other up off the ground. Now, imagine for a moment that your community didn’t provide any support during a trial. Imagine that instead of offering encouraging words and providing meals or other support after a tragedy, the whole community pulled away. Imagine if they acted likeyou were a disease they didn’t want to catch while you shouldered the burden alone. And not only that -- they believed that your problems were your own fault, pure and simple. That’s karma at work. And it’s a lonely road. A missionary couple recently visited our church before heading to London, where they planned settle in an immigrant community that’s mostly Hindu. The wife expressed her desire to see people set free from the bonds of karma. That caught my interest. I’dslipped into viewing karma through an Americanized lens, as a pseudo-Christian philosophy of reaping what you sow (Galatians6:7). Faithfulness and selfishness often have their rewards in this life, after all, and good deeds are often repaid with a smile and expression of gratitude if nothing else. Karma may not be the full picture, but it seemed like an innocuous truism tome. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Prepared for Betrayal Luke 22:1-13 We’ve all experienced or witnessed betrayal at some point. And no example in the Bible illustrates the pain, guilt, and shame caused by that sin more clearly than the story of Judas. Chosen as one of the twelve, Judas was privileged. John 12:6 says that he was even granted the responsibility of maintaining the disciples’ money box. But that same verse reveals an important truth about Judas—he was a thief. John indicates greed was Judas’ weakness. After Mary had anointed the Lord’s feet, Judas complained, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” (v. 5). The following verse, however, clarifies that he wanted the moneyonly for himself. One can safely assume that if Judas had reached the point of stealing cash from Jesus’ supply, then his greed had gone unchecked for some time. That hidden sin was all Satan needed to interfere with his life. And once the Enemy stepped in,the disciple began “seeking a good opportunity” to betray Jesus (Luke 22:6). First Peter 5:8 says the Devil is like a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” And in Judas, Satan found a willing victim. If we’re honest with ourselves, each of us has a natural tendency toward sin. Daily communion with God keeps hidden sins from becoming greater problems. Left unchecked, the “roaring lion” will also come after us, no matter what our weakness may be. Ask the Lord to reveal any sins you need to confess. Deal with them today—don’t let sinlead you down the path of Judas. -------------------------------------------------------------- The First Day of the Week “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached untothem, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” (Acts 20:7) Given the fact that everything about God’s Word was specifically inspired by its Author, it is appropriate that this important phrase, “the first day of the week,” occurs exactly eight times in the Bible. The first six of these (Matthew28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19) all stress the fact that it was on this day that the greatest event in history (since the creation) had taken place. The creation of the universe had taken place on the first day of the week, and now its Creator had conquered sin and deathitself on that day. In the Bible, of course, the number “seven” represents completeness, so “eight” represents a new beginning—a new creation, a resurrection. The last two references tell us just how the early Christians remembered this day. Our text verse tells us this was a day on which the disciples assembled together, had a preaching service, and then “broke bread.” This was not a special assembly called justfor Paul, for he had already been waiting there six days (see the previous verse). This was about 25 years after the resurrection itself, and the Jewish believers were evidently still observing the seventh day as a rest day, but then they also observed thefirst day of the week as the time to commemorate the Lord’s death in “breaking of bread” to celebrate His resurrection and especially to hear the preaching of His Word. The final reference tells us one other vital thing they did: “Upon the first day of theweek let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him” (1 Corinthians 16:2). The first day of the week should always be a time of rememberingHim in these joyful ways, for He is our living Lord and Savior. HMM ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Being Salty By Debbie Holloway You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men (Matthew 5:13). I think sometimes we get so used to our familiar metaphors, we fail to let their significance really sink in. What Christian hasn’t proclaimed brightly: "We're salt and light!"? And yet, do we really think about the significance of that imagery? In a faith tradition where we have so many great metaphors and allegories, let's remember to ponder this one that Jesus coined. What does it mean to be "the salt of the earth"? Salt Enhances As we know too well in our sodium-filled modern world, salt makes things taste better. But condiment connoisseurs will make sure to explain that salt, when used properly, brings out the flavor already present in the food itself. Unlike pepper, which wasused in ancient times to mask distasteful rotting and souring in foods such as meat, salt only enhances what’s there. As Christians, we aren’t here to blot out the colors and flavors around us. We're not here to ignore or destroy what we see and replace it with something else. Rather, we are to be (tasty) ambassadors of Christ on a mission to draw out and display goodness.God made a good world, and, though fallen, it's still good! We still have the breath of life from God inside us. So let's remember to point to the truth and be the people who enhance and brighten wherever we go, not overpower our surroundings like too muchpepper. Salt Preserves Before the age of refrigeration, how did people preserve perishable food? That's right: salt. Something about packing meat with salt slows down the process of decay, making it easier to store, transport, and save meat without it going rancid right away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The God Who Forgives Matthew 6:9-13 Jesus Christ gave His followers a pattern for prayer that includes seeking forgiveness daily. The invitation to regular repentance is not a means of renewing our salvation, but rather a maintenance plan for our fellowship with the Lord. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, our sins are forgiven forever. The stains from our past, present, and future wrongs are wiped from our record; however, we're a fallen people sowe do continue to commit sin. With the exception of Jesus Christ, no person is perfect. Sin is simply a fact of human life. The Lord's payment for our transgressions means that we can look forward to an eternity spent in God's presence instead of getting the punishment we deserve. Onthis side of heaven, though, we still have to contend with our tendency to do wrong--and we must also deal with the consequences. The Lord's admonition to seek daily forgiveness is a reminder to confess our sins and turn away from them because we are forgiven. God's grace is not a license to sin; instead, it's a reason to pursue righteousness. Bad attitudes, thoughtless actions, and unkind speech do not fit who we are as children of light. We're new creatures in Christ, bought for a price and set free to liveas partakers of His grace. Salvation makes a way for us to enter God's presence, while regular confession and repentance keep the pathway well maintained and free of obstruction (1John 1:9). The so-called "sinner's prayer" need be said only once, but a saint will tap into God's forgiveness every day of his or her life. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Living Savior “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hathraised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9) There is a popular Christian song whose chorus ends with these words: “You ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart.” This may sound spiritual, but this is not how we know He lives! We are saved because of the objective fact that He died for oursins and then rose bodily from the tomb, triumphant over sin, death, the curse, and Satan, alive in His glorified body forevermore. It is this which we must believe in our hearts and confess with our lips. For Him to rise bodily from the grave means that Heis nothing less than God, the very Creator Himself. It is only because of who He is that He could do what He did, and this is what we must believe in our hearts. There are people who believe that Buddha lives in their hearts, or the spirit of “the gods” indwells their hearts, or even that “the Christ” is in their hearts, but “the heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah17:9). We can believe many things and feel many things that are not so. We know Jesus Christ is a living Savior not because we feel His presence in our hearts but because He rose from the grave on the third day and “shewed himself alive after his passionby many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days” (Acts 1:3). The gospel of our salvation does not rest on our feelings, nor on someone’s teachings,but on the objective, proven, certain facts of history. Jesus Christ is alive, whether anyone feels Him living in their hearts or not, and He is at this moment bodily in heaven at the right hand of the Father (e.g., Romans 8:34). “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).HMM -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Taking God for Granted - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul. �Psalm 106:15 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/taking-god-for-granted/- Listen Even on foot, it doesn�t take 40 years to go from Egypt to Israel. So why did the children of Israel wander in the wilderness for four decades? It took that long because they weren�t learning the lessons that God wanted them to learn. So they effectively went around and around in circles. Even so, they had it madein the shade. The Lord provided them with food every day, which was called manna. The Bible describes it as �angels� food� (Psalm 78:25). But it wasn�t very long until they started complaining. They said, �We remember the fish we used to eat for free in Egypt. And we had all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions,and garlic we wanted. But now our appetites are gone. All we ever see is this manna!� (Numbers 11:5�6 NLT). They started crying out to Moses that they wanted meat, so God gave them what they asked for. It literally rained quail, and the people caught as many as they wanted. The problem with the Israelites was they had forgotten how miserable they were back in Egypt. They had forgotten the sting of the Egyptian whip and that they cried out toGod for someone to deliver them. Then the Bible tells us, �While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was aroused against the people, and the Lord struck thepeople with a very great plague� (verse 33 NKJV). Offering commentary on this event, Psalm 106:15 says, �And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul� (NKJV). Let�s not take what God has done for us for granted. Let�s not look over our shoulders wanting to go back to the old life again, because the first step to going back islooking back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fix Your Focus - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. �Let�s go at once to take the land,� he said. �We can certainly conquer it!� �Numbers 13:30 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/fix-your-focus/- Listen The Israelites had arrived at the very brink of the Promised Land. Poised to enter in, they sent 12 spies to check things out. When the 12 spies returned, 10 gave a discouraging report. But two spies, Joshua and Caleb, gave an encouraging report. The problem with the spies who gave the majority report was that they didn�t see God for who He is. They only saw problems. God, however, had promised He would give themthe land�a land flowing with milk and honey. But they ignored what He said and put their eyes on circumstances, on obstacles, on challenges, on giants, and ultimately on defeat. They had a small God, thus they hadbig problems. They focused their attention on the obstacles rather than on their objective. They said, �But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!� (Numbers 13:28 NLT). Then there was the minority report from Joshua and Caleb. They saw the same obstacles, the same challenges. But they also saw opportunities and great victories if they wentinto the land. It all comes down to how you look at things. Obstacles are frightening when you take your eyes off the objective. When you fix your attention on the obstacle rather than on the objective, fear always will eclipse yourfaith. Instead, remember what your objective is. Take your eyes off the obstacles and put them on the opportunities. We all face problems. We all face obstacles and challenges. And we all face giants. But can we see them in the light of who God is? Don�t look at God in the light of your problem. Look at your problem in the light of God. He is bigger than what you�re facing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Openingthe Ear �Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offeringhast thou not required.� (Psalm40:6) That Psalm 40 is primarily a Messianic psalm speaking mainly about the work of Christ is evident from its quotation as such in Hebrews 10:5-10. The psalm is prophesying particularly of His incarnation, as He says: �Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it iswritten of me� (Psalm40:7). Burnt offerings and sin offerings had indeed been required from God�s people under the law, but these were not an end in themselves. These sacrifices were meaningless unless they were offered out of a willing heart, obedient expressions of submission to a forgivingGod. That was the implication of the �opened ear,� a symbolic expression indicating one�s willingness thenceforth to hear only the voice of his master and to submit to His will in all things. If a freed bondservant �shall plainly say, I love my master...I will notgo out free: Then his master shall...bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever� (Exodus21:5-6). This was the testimony of the coming Messiah, as reported in our text. Then note its application as recorded in Hebrews 10:5: �Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.� That is, the phrase �mine ears hath thou opened� is translated by the HolySpirit as �a body hast thou prepared me.� The perfect submission of the Son to the Father required that He become a man, with a very special human body prepared by His Father. Then Psalm 40:7 becomes (in Hebrews 10:7): �Lo, I come...to do thy will, O God....By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all� (Hebrews10:9-10). HMM ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Acceptedin the Beloved �To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.� (Ephesians1:6) This wonderful verse assures that all who have been saved by God�s grace have been �accepted� by the Lord. However, this is not just a marginal acceptability. The Greek word occurs only one other time in the New Testament, and there it appears in the wordsof the angel Gabriel to Mary. �Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women� (Luke1:28). That is, we are not merely accepted, we are highly favored by God! This is not because of our own personal merits, of course. It is because God sees us as in His Son; He loves us because He loves Him, and we are in Him. Although Christ is called God�s �beloved Son� seven times in the New Testament (each time directly by the Father Himself), there is only one other time when He is spoken of simply as �the beloved.� This is in Matthew 12:18 (quoting Isaiah 42:1), �Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him.� The love of God the Father for His beloved Son is the root source of every other love in the universe, for it is the one love that is eternal. �Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, whichthou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world� (John17:24). This is what it means to be highly favored in the beloved! This was the prayer of Christ on His way to Gethsemane the night before He went to the cross. We who are in Him are predestined to be with Him in glory, to behold His glory, and forever, as redeemed sinners saved by grace through faith, to be �to the praise of the glory of his grace� (today�s text). HMM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High Infidelity by Alex Crain "�you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God." Romans 7:4 NASB Usually, we think of "having faith" as simply "trusting, believing." And while that is true, it can be incomplete if we forget that, as Christians, we are also joined to Christ as our Bridegroom. In other words, there is a real relationship with Him�the living Christ�that is at stake. It is not just a matter of possessing correct content of what we believe about the person and work of Christ. And although we never have a legitimate cause to do so, we often break faith with and betray our faithful Bridegroom. Francis Schaeffer talks about this in chapter seven of True Spirituality where we continue our journey with him this week. Citing the passage above, he notes that since we have been rescued from the tyranny of the devil and placed safely in the arms of the Lord Jesus Christ�we are now positioned to bringforth His fruit. Schaeffer expands upon the simple, yet remarkably powerful word picture in Romans 7:1-4 to make the point plain: "Imagine a married couple both of the one color of skin. Suddenly the wife brings forth a child clearly of another race [sic]. All the world would know that she has been unfaithful to her proper mate. So it is with us." When we do not bring forth His fruit�love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (per Galatians 5:19)�but bring forth immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities,strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these (Galatians 5:19), it is because we have broken faith with Him and are in the state of infidelityof the highest order. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Learning from Failure Luke 22:31-34 The disciple Peter was a man of great faith and bold action. But as readers of the New Testament know, his brash style sometimes led him to make humiliating mistakes. More than once, this disciple had to wear the labelof "miserable failure" rather than that of "obedient servant." We can all relate when it comes to falling short of expectations. Obedience to God is a learning process, and failure is a part of our development as humble servants. When we yield to temptation or rebel against God's authority, we realize that sin has fewrewards, and even those are fleeting. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Facing Obstacles with Faith - by Greg Laurie � www.harvest.org Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fearthem. �Numbers 14:9 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/facing-obstacles-with-faith/- Listen Have you ever been so discouraged that you wanted to die? That�s how the Israelites felt as they were poised to enter the Promised Land. They said, �If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!� (Numbers 14:2 NLT). These people had lost perspective. They were allowing their fear to overwhelm them. But Caleb and Joshua told the people, �Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them,and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them� (Numbers 14:9 NKJV). God doesn�t want us to run from our giants. He wants us to attack them. For example, let�s take the giant of addiction. Let�s say you have a problem with drugs or a problemwith drinking. Recognize you have a problem. Bring it into the open, into the light of day. Make yourself accountable to someone and realize that you cannot do this in your own strength. Call on God and pray for His power. But don�t just face your giants; defeat them. Don�t leave any backup plan to go back and do that thing again. Deal with your giants.Don�t let them conquer you. Faith and worry cannot coexist because when faith walks in, worry walks out. And when worry steps in, faith walks out. They don�t get along. In fact, they cancel each otherout. Someone has wisely pointed out that when you trust, you don�t worry, and when you worry, you don�t trust. So we want faith in our lives, not worry. Every Christian will face difficulty. The Christian life is not a cakewalk; it�s a conflict. The Christian life is not a playground; it�s a battleground. So let�s face theobstacles that are before us with great faith. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trained to Discern Hebrews 5:11-14 In today's world, impatience is all too common a trait. We want food, help, and information fast. Just waiting for the computer to boot up or the "next avail-able agent" to answer our call can cause frustration. But the Lord specializes in slow, steady work.He's more interested in a quality outcome than a speedy process. Nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of spiritual discernment. When we become Christians, we aren't instantly wise and knowledgeable. It takes a lifetime to grow to maturity. Some believers, however, don't seem to grow up at all. They get older,but their understanding of God's Word never goes very deep. This lack of godly wisdom is caused by ignorance of the Scriptures, apathy and complacency about spiritual things, and a failure to apply biblical truths. Discernment requires time and effort. You can't simply move through life, thoughtlessly reacting tosituations yet never learning from them. Take time to reflect on your responses and observe the consequences of your actions and choices. If you feel convicted by what you notice, let that motivate you to begin a lifelong pursuit of the Lord and His ways.Start reading the Bible regularly. And as you do, ask the Lord to open your heart and mind to understand what He's saying. But just reading God's Word isn't enough. Without applying what you've read, all you'll have is head knowledge. Obedience trains us to discern good and evil. Through practice, we learn wisdom and develop spiritual maturity. If you'll begin today and patientlypersevere, in time discernment will come. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Being Quick to Listen in a World of Talk by Mike Pohlman Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.� �James1:19-20 We live in a world of talk. Talk, talk, talk. Speak, speak, speak. Ours is the age of talk radio (news talk, sports talk, money talk, self-help talk, car talk, I-just-want-to-talk talk), podcasts and cell phones. Everyone, it seems, wants to be heard. Speaking of cell phones, the other day I was in line at one of my local Starbucks and the gentleman in front of me was ordering a caramel macchiato while talking to a buddy on his iPhone. The barista was more than gracious as the customer stopped and startedhis order apparently not able to put his other conversation on hold (I like what one coffee house in Bellingham, Washington has done by posting a sign that says, "We'll serve you once you hang up the phone"). But it's not just at Starbucks. After arriving home recently from a business trip, I left Los Angeles International Airport in one of those shuttle vans. I shared it with seven other passengers that were making the 40-mile trip north. While most of us werequiet, preferring to read or look out the window at the sea of cars that had us moving at a crawl, there were two college-age men who had to talk. They made call after call on their cell phones to chat with friends about all the amazing things that must havehappened during their several days away. I got to hear about the party later that night, the car that broke down, the lonely girlfriend and the overbearing parents. Let�s just say they were conversations I didn�t need to be a part of. We have become a culture full of talking heads regardless of where we find ourselves. And the chatter is deafening. Into this noise come the words of James: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak. This exhortation is almost unintelligible to a culture intent on talking. We have it backwards: we are quick to speak, slow to hear. But God would be the primary voice heard in the universe. He is the One who has much to say. He speaks, in the Bible, of the riches of His mercy in Christ. He broadcasts His forgiveness and love. He heralds the wonder of redemption. He calls us to repent and beckons us to draw near. Am I listening? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Following God's Schedule Romans 11:33-36 Most of us enjoy feeling in control of our own schedule and grow frustrated when things don't go according to plan. Yet if we truly desire to walk in the center of God's perfect will, we must become willing to cooperate with His time frame. Consider how you pray about situations in your life. Without realizing it, you may be demanding that God follow the schedule you've constructed according to your very limited human wisdom. Yet if we believe He is who He says He is, how can surrendering toHis way not be to our benefit? Think about His unique, praiseworthy qualities: •His all-encompassing knowledge. Unlike us, the Lord has complete awareness about our world and the details of every individual life--past, present, and future. •His complete wisdom. God understands man's every motive, whereas none of us are able to accurately discern people's intentions. We make choices based on partial information, whereas He has the wisdom to take action based on truth. •His unconditional love. Our Creator is always motivated by love and constantly has our best in mind. Unless we trust His heart, our view of reality will be distorted. •His perfect sufficiency. At just the right time, God will provide us with everything we need to carry out His plan. Submitting to God's timetable requires faith and courage. Believe in the goodness of His heart and His plans--and determine to wait until He gives the signal to move forward. Then, as you follow His schedule, you'll experience the joy of watching Him make all things beautiful in His timing. VISIT: PROPHECY WATCHER WEEKLY NEWS: HTTP://PROPHECY-WATCHER-WEEKLY-NEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM