God Receives the Glory

 

As Believers, we never make our plans and ask God to bless them. God receives no pleasure from our religious activities, which He did not inspire.

Using our gifts and talents for our own advantage is hollow and vain. We may receive personal acclaim for our skill and accomplishments, but the effects of these commendation will not last for eternity.

God calls us to walk in His Spirit every single moment of every day (Galatians 5:15-25). He only blesses our efforts birthed in His will.

As we listen to His Spirit, God directs our every task, every decision, every opinion and every thought. This way, we have much less stress and many more blessings in our life.

Think about it. Christ dwells within us and He has to be a part of everything, which we think, say and do. We grieve God's Spirit more often than not by our behavior and choices (Colossians 1:27; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 4:30).

Our body is the temple of God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 3:6). He embodies our life and lives His life through us, touching lives in more ways than we could ever imagine.

We simply ask, and receive His guidance, wisdom and strength to accomplish with our life everything, which He pre-ordained for us to do (Matthew 7:7; Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 2:10).

Prayer:

Father God, we want You to receive the glory for all of our words and actions. As we abide in Your presence, our countenance will glow with Your radiance of the Lord shining through us. We want to walk in Your His presence every moment of every day (Exodus 34:29).

Your Spirit is transforming us into the likeness of Christ in stages of maturity and perfection (Exodus 34:33; 2 Corinthians 3:18). We look forward to seeing Christ work in and through us throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:

We discover the true potential for all of our talents and human abilities only as we surrender them to God's will. - Romans 12:1-2

Perfect Children

 

As a parent, we dream of well-behaved children, who share our goals and dreams for their life, listen to our Godly wisdom and live according to Biblical principles. This is rarely the case, however, except in a few situations. Most of the time there are no perfect children, just like there are no perfect parents. We all require discipline.

Since God cares enough about us to discipline us, we need to care enough about our children to discipline them (Hebrews 12:5-6). This discipline is only for direct disobedience, not for childish behavior, which gets on our nerves. Children need to be children and to run, jump and play. If we do not give them opportunities to expend their energy at the park or outside in the yard, they will do it in the house at the least appropriate times!

God challenges us to encourage our children's individuality, which He creates in them. We pay attention to God's will for their life and we do not push them in the direction of our own aspirations for them. We discover the areas where our children excel and discover what their passion is. God places a call on each life and He has His plans for us before we were ever born (Ephesians 2:10).

Discipline allows children to feel safe and proves that we care about them and love them (Psalm 3:11-18). Consistency is the main ingredient whether we use a few swats on their rear, time out or the loss of some cherished item for a short period of time. God's discipline is for our good, not His own; and we discipline our children for their good, not our own. This helps them to grow up as self-disciplined individuals.

Prayer:

Father God, we thank You for Your Word, both Old and New Testament, in order to make us wise in this secular world and to use to raise our children according to Your nurture and admonition (Ephesians 6:4). Help us to proclaim Your Word to our children and to the world around us, through Your Spirit, bringing healing and salvation to them all because of Christ who abides within us (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:14-21).

Thought for the Day:

God's Word, taught from infancy, makes us wise individuals.

- 2 Timothy 3:14-17