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But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness Gal 5:22 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for collecting daily manna), make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Thursday, August 3, 2017
Today's Passage : Today's Passage: Subject:Do Not Love the World Bible Verse:1 John 2:15-17 (ESV) "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. " Message:
In Matthew 6:19, Christ told us not to lay up our treasures on earth, where moths corrupt and thieves may steal, but to lay up our treasures in heaven, instead. Today, John takes a slightly different angle in presenting the same truth.
He names three types of “things of the world.” The first could be called appetites. We eat and we may enjoy it; we may enjoy our intimate life with our husband or wife; we enjoy resting when we are tired. And these are good, gifts of God for us to use in their place, for it is how the world He created runs.
B
ut we cannot love them, in the sense of making them our goal, giving them great importance in our lives, for they will lead us into death. Food and drink are the means to sustain life, not the reason to live. We must eat to live, but we should not live to eat. We may look forward to our dinner, time alone with our spouse, our leisure time; but if we make them the center of our lives, there will be no room for God.
The second is consumerism, the desire of the eyes. Our clothes, our furniture, our cars — these are just stuff. We need stuff to live, but we don’t need to love it, because it will always disappoint us. Atheists decry the existence of God, but the real illusion is that shiny new car we crave but don’t need, or that expensive new dress or jacket.
These are guaranteed to be utterly gone and forgotten in the wink of an eye; in 30 or 60 years that shiny new car will be a pile of rusted metal; fashionable clothing will sit in our closet, be given away, become house rags and, soon enough, dissolve into the dust whence it came.
And our pride! It can consume us. Politicians sell their soul to be a senator or legislator; but they are soon enough forgotten by the earth, sometimes in five years, sometimes in five thousand. And they will die, and what profit will there be in it?
We have a gift that will never perish and will never turn to dust, for love of God leads us to something eternal. That is the promise of Christ and Christianity, and we must decide every day whether we believe it or not. For if we truly believe we will have eternal life and joy, the baubles of this world will appear as they really are: pretty, meaningless baubles, that will long be gone when God's elect have found true and timeless happiness.
Meditation : Prayer : May it please you, my good Lord, that there may come a day when I can repay a little of my great debt to you. O Jesus, strengthen my soul, you who are good above all good; and since you have inclined my soul in this way, show me how I may act for you, whatever it may cost, O Lord. Here is my life, my honor and my will; I have given them all to you and they are yours: use me to do whatever you want.. Amen |
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