Daily Archives: July 16, 2012
Don’t Compromise
by Joyce Meyer – posted July 16, 2012
Oh, how great is Your goodness, which you have laid up for those who fear, revere, and worship You, goodness which You have wrought for those who trust and take refuge in You before the sons of men. —Psalm 31:19
God is good to everyone, but I do believe He reserves special rewards for those who are bold and never compromise their faith when they are with unbelievers. Our verse for today says that He has goodness wrought for those who take refuge in Him before the sons of men. We must be sure that we don’t live one way in front of our Christian family and friends and then another way in front of our unbelieving associates.
Our calling as believers is to be lights in dark places. We must maintain our integrity at all times and never compromise our moral standards. However, if we desire the approval of men we often do whatever it takes to feel accepted by them, even at the cost of displeasing God and going against our own conscience.
It is much better to please God than to please men. The apostle Paul stated that if he had wanted to be popular with people he would never have become an apostle (Gal.1:10). He would have missed the privilege of serving God as he did. It is tragic how often people say “no” to God in order to say “yes” to men. We must obey God rather than man (Acts 5:29).
When we follow God we have peace, and we experience the rewards of God in our life. I encourage you to take a stand for what is right in your life. Don’t let the fear of rejection pressure you to sin against your own conscience.
Love God Today: Do you want God’s goodness stored up for you? Live your Christian faith openly in front of the people around you.
From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2011 by Joyce Meyer. Published by FaithWords. All rights reserved.
Rest In Hope
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; moreover my flesh also will rest in hope” (Acts 2:26, NKJV)
TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Osteen
So many people today live with stress, anxiety, pressure and worry, but that’s not God’s plan for your life. He wants you to live in peace, confidence and rest in hope. Think about that for a moment. How can you rest in hope? It’s sort of like when you’re watching the replay of your favorite ball game. You already know the outcome. You don’t have to worry about what’s happening, you just enjoy the plays. The same is true in life. When we know God’s Word, when we obey His commands, then we know the outcome for life. We know that He is always for our good. We know that He has plans to prosper us, not to harm us!
Today’s scripture tells us what to do while we are waiting to see His promises come to pass — we should let our tongue be glad. In other words, we should be speaking the victory. We should be declaring His goodness. We should be filled with His joy. When your mouth is aligned with God’s Word, when your heart rejoices, then you can rest in hope knowing that victory is on the way!
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father God, thank You for victory that overcomes the world. Thank You for giving me hope in my final outcome. I choose to cast my cares on You today, I choose to rejoice, I choose to speak Your Word as I celebrate the good things You have in store for me in Jesus’ name! Amen.
— Joel & Victoria Osteen
© 2012 Joel Osteen Ministries
Speech Study
READ: Proverbs 18:1-15
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth. — Ephesians 4:29
Dr. Deb Roy, a researcher and cognitive scientist with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recorded the first 3 years of his child’s life to learn how humans acquire language. He and his wife rigged their home with recording devices, which they used to collect over 200,000 hours of audio and video footage. Amassing, condensing, and editing the recordings enabled them to hear baby sounds like “gaga” evolve into words like “water.”
If someone wanted to conduct a research project at your home, would you participate if you knew that your every syllable would be recorded and analyzed? What would the study reveal? Proverbs 18 offers insight about some unwise speech patterns. The writer notes that foolish people express their own opinions instead of trying to understand what others have to say (v.2). Does this characterize us? Do we sometimes provoke fights with our words (v.7), or speak impulsively and “answer a matter before [hearing] it”? (v.13).
We need to become students of our speech. With God’s help we can identify and transform destructive dialogue into words of encouragement that are “good for necessary edification” and that “impart grace to the hearers” (Eph. 4:29). —Jennifer Benson Schuldt
Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King;
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages for Thee. —Havergal
Our words have the power to build up or tear down.
Copyright © 2012, RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI 49555 USA
I Am Lady Fab 