Tag: Food For Growth

¹¹ A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. ~ Proverbs 25:11

A word fitly spoken, or in other words, a word spoken at the right time and in the right context is like apples of gold in settings of silver. In other words, it’s beautiful. The right word at the right time will work wonders. It will turn a bad situation into a good outcome. It will smooth over those rough words that proceed.

Why add fuel to the fire? Why not douse the flames with water and out the fire? Words can be smooth as silk, while others are sharp and abrasive and can cut to the bone. Those are the words that we want to keep away from, and instead, use the smooth as silk ones.

Words are triggers. Just one word can change the whole atmosphere from something beautiful to something ugly. Just one word can bring about division, hard feelings, and insults. Remember that our enemy is the prince of the power of the air. If he is the prince of the power of the air, and our words travel across airwaves, would it not be reasonable to believe that he has the power to manipulate words?

I believe that is the reason why so many arguments break out for no apparent reason. Maybe he somehow manipulates the airwaves, and it comes across as excessively aggressive when it was really intended for the opposite. That is why one of the first reactions is to say, “That’s not what I said.” Or, “That is not want I meant.”

Facial expressions, I suppose, have a lot to do with it as well. Smile when you talk, and the smile will reflect in your voice and in your words. Endeavor to present a pleasant face at all times in all situations. Train yourself in these things because the Scriptures say that it’s by practice that we develop our gifts. And if we develop our gifts by practice, would it not be reasonable to say the fruits of the Spirit are the same? Yes, it would be the same. So, if joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and it is, should we not make an effort to cultivate that fruit? Surely, the fruits of the Spirit does not just appear, they must be cultivated. For just like a physical fruit does not appear in someone’s garden, neither does the fruit of the Spirit just appear in someone’s life; it has to be cultivated.

So, let us strive to cultivate harmony with each other and live in peace with both God and man.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Son Jesus, who died for me, and thank You for Your Holy Spirit that sows the seeds of the Spirit in my soul for me to water, cultivate, and grow. Help me to nurture and grow these gifts so that I might be pleasing in Your sight. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ~ Philippians 2:3

Wow! I would say that is a hard teaching to grasp. To consider others more significant than ourselves, meaning that other people are more important and we are less important; who thinks like that? Well, true Christ followers do. Paul was instructing the Philippians how to gain even more traction in their Christian walk. He said, first of all, don’t have selfish ambitions because selfish ambitions lead to disregard for your fellow humans. It will become all about you no matter the cost to others. When selfish ambitions play the main role, people get hurt because they are used as stepping stones to achieve that person’s goal or objective.

Conceit is the same because it is driven by pride, and Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction…” Those are very strong words. Not just a mishap, mind you, but Proverbs says destruction. Pride will tear a family apart, divide close friends, and ruin even the most close of relationships. That is why Paul was encouraging the Philippians to stay away from self-ambition and conceit. Then, he advised them to act in humility. We are to do everything in humility, so much so that we even count or value others as more significant than our own selves.

When you measure that against eternity, it is not as hard of a concept as it first appeared. This life is only a very short term when compared to eternity. Nothing that is done here on this earth can even compare to what God has in store for those who love Him. We don’t need to look out for number one, God Himself will look out for us, and will reward us accordingly.

So, let us start today by refusing to do anything out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but to value others more significantly than ourselves, which means that we don’t always have to be right. We don’t always have to win the argument. We don’t always have to be the one who comes out on top. We don’t always have to dredge up past hurts or other’s past failures. Leave the past in the past and press on toward the goal that is in front of us. And you know what? You will be the happier for it.

Dear Heavenly Father, please help me to think like this. Help me to consider others better than myself. Help me to resist selfish ambition or vain conceit. Help me to live a selfless life for You, in Jesus’ mighty name, I pray, amen.

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¹⁶ Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? ¹⁸ And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ~ Matthew 23:16-19

The word sacred is actually the word for sanctified. Therefore, we can understand that to be sanctified means not only that we are set apart, but we are set apart because we have been welcomed into the Kingdom of God. We no longer dwell in the world but in the arms, the hands of the Almighty.

This is why there are goats in the sheepfold. They accepted salvation, but they didn’t allow Christ to sanctify them because they refused to be set apart from the world and their own sin, taking up their cross and following Christ. Therefore, allow the LORD to sanctify you and set you apart. Salvation is more than just belief and acceptance. Salvation has to be held on to. The race set before you has to be run. Battles have to be fought. Strongholds have to be torn down. Salvation is only acquired through faith, but it is kept through our actions.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Have Faith And Works.

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³⁷ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ~ Matthew 10:37

One of my favorite TV shows as a child was Avatar: The Last Airbender. During the series Aang is told by Guru Pathik that he has to let go of his earthly attachments in order to allow the cosmic energy to flow through him from the universe. Now, I don’t want you all to misunderstand; I don’t believe in allowing cosmic energy to flow through you and connecting with the universe. However, I do believe there is a lesson here though. See, like Aang, I didn’t understand what Guru Pathik was saying. It sounded like he didn’t know what he was talking about, but today, randomly, it came to mind, and I think I understand what he was saying.

We aren’t supposed to just throw people away. No, as Christians, we’re called to love people and let the Light of God shine through us. I believe he was saying we have to learn to let go of attachments. Our relationships with people shouldn’t affect our salvation. They should never affect our peace, joy, and especially not our love. We have to learn to separate ourselves and let go so that the main relationship we are worried about is our relationship with Christ.

See, so many of us allow our relationships with our fathers, mothers, mentors, pastors, teachers, siblings, or friends to affect our relationship with God. When we view certain relationships with others in such high esteem that it begins to negatively affect our relationship with God, then our relationship with this person has become more important than our relationship with God. We have to build our relationship with the LORD on His love for us and our love for Him. It can’t be built on anything else. We have to grow that relationship with the LORD separately from our other relationships so that they don’t have any weight on our relationship with the LORD.

This is what Jesus is telling us in these verses. Our relationship with Christ should thrive and grow regardless of what is going on in our other relationships around us because our relationship with Christ is based on His love for us and our love for Him regardless of what is going on in our lives.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look At Your Relationships.

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¹⁶ yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. ~ Galatians 2:16

So, is it works or no works? Should we be concerned with works at all since it doesn’t profit anything? Woe! Just hold up a moment. Paul did not say that works profited nothing, he said that we are not justified by works. Meaning that we cannot achieve salvation by doing something.

We receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and our believing that He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. But it goes a little deeper than just that. Once we have accepted Jesus as LORD and Savior, then we must start living for Him. We must build a relationship through prayer and worship and learn about Him through the reading and the studying of His Word.

Think about this, if you walked into one of Walmart’s stores and begin bagging, that does not make you a Walmart employee, you would not even get paid. Matter of fact, management will probably ask you to leave the establishment. But if you filled out an application and went on an interview and you were successful and therefore hired, then you would become a Walmart employee, and then you would be allowed to bag groceries or whatever else Walmart patrons would purchase. It is the same with Jesus.

You do not become a Christian by doing good things, no matter how good the works are; if we are not doing the good works through Jesus, then it does not count towards salvation. But once we are saved through faith in Jesus, then we are expected to do good works, and if we do not do good works, then we will be in trouble and may even be in jeopardy of being disqualified from the race. Because it is a race and not a spectator’s sport, we cannot sit on the bench; we must participate; we must run the race.

Heavenly Father, please forgive me of my sin, and help me to live for You from now on by doing good works. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

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39 He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again. ~ Psalms 78:39

Many people believe in some form of reincarnation. The belief is that if you don’t get it right the first time, you’ll get another chance, another opportunity to do better. Many cling to this belief because it gives them a false sense of security.

It’s like building your house on the sand and expecting the foundation to not be moved when the rains and the floods come. The LORD alone is our firm foundation. And according to our firm foundation, we only get one chance at this life. We only get one opportunity to get it right and run the race set before us.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Watch What You Build On.

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¹² Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. ~ Exodus 20:12

Paul said that this is the first commandment with a promise. The promise is that if you will honor your father and your mother, your days will be long in the land. Now, this is not to say that you will have a “Can’t Die Young” card, so you can do whatever you want without the consequences. It simply means that God will honor you as you honor your parents.
Here are some practical ways to honor your parents:

• Pray for your parents
• Spend time with your parents, even after you are grown and have a family of your own. Set time aside to visit and spend quality time with your parents. Listen to their stories and memories of days gone by, even if you’ve heard them a thousand times
• Ask their opinion and take their good advice. Parents are wiser than you think
• When they are aged, care for them and attend to their needs. Let them know that you appreciate what they have done for you
• Don’t rough them up or be short-tempered with them, but speak kindly and positively to them and let them know that they are valued

Pick up the phone today and call your parents; let them know how much they mean to you. Let them know that you appreciate all that they have done for you. As you honor your parents, you honor God.

Father, help me to love and honor my parents the way you intended. Bless my parents, in Jesus’ name, amen.

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¹⁴ For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹ For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ~ Matthew 25:14-30

In the parable, Jesus contrasts the kingdom of God with a man going on a long journey. The man called his servants and handed them each a portion of His property according to their own ability. He gave one five talents. To the other, He gave two. And still the other He gave one talent.

The one with five immediately went and doubled his money. The one with the two talents did the same. But the one with the one talent went and hid his master’s money in the ground. After a long time the master, who represents Jesus, came back and wanted to settle accounts with them.

He called the five who now had ten and He was proud of him calling him a good and faithful servant. Then He gave him ten cities of his own to be over (Luke 19:17). The same with the one with the two talents. He was given five cities. Seems like Jesus grades on the curve, which is good news for us.

But the one with the one talent who went and dug a hole, wrapped the coin in a handkerchief and buried it, with him the master was not pleased. Jesus labeled that servant a wicked and slothful servant. He not only threatened, but He carried out His threat as well. Taking his mina away from him represents taking away his place in eternity and assigning him a place with the unfaithful.

Our life on this earth is temporary. It’s a very short trip compared to eternity. So, don’t allow anyone or anything to distract you from building the Kingdom of God while you’re here. While you still have time. We’re each given a gift so that we might further the Kingdom of God. Don’t waste that gift. Don’t waste the time you have left to share with your loved ones, friends, and co-workers.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Multiply Your Talents.

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¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ~ John 3:16

Jesus did not die for a chosen few, as some advocate, and leave the others to burn forever, those who were unfortunate enough not to be selected, but rather, Jesus died for whomsoever will. Let him come. Let her come.

If you are willing to come, come. God will in no way turn you away or ignore you. He desires Satraps, Ambassadors, and Emissaries. Why? So That He Might Not Suffer Loss—the loss of another soul He loves choosing to perish instead of choosing Him.

Jesus loves you. He died for you. He’s knocking at the door of your heart beckoning you to Him. Jesus did all the heavy lifting; all you have to do is call on His name and believe. Then, you will be saved.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Choose Him.

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