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Ecclesiastes 2:10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labour; and this was my reward from all my labour.
Can you imagine what it would be like to have as much money as you could ever imagine? What would you actually do with it all?
What about working so hard that you actually accomplished all you set out to do? What would be the cost of having to work that hard?
We like to think that we could do more, have more, spend more, enjoy more, but when it comes down to it, the only rewards we see for all the stuff we do is what we get out of it.
If we want more than that then we need to trust God who can supply more than the physical!
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Solomon 2:15 Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.
Foxes may look beautiful, especially baby fox cubs, but they are very mischievous creatures and sly to go with it.
There are going to be those who run amongst us in the same manner: they will look beautiful but they will be mischievous and lead us away from God.
Be very wary of the people who say things which do not agree with God’s Word because they are the foxes in our lives.
Trust God to lead and not man.
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Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
One of the worst feelings we can have is when someone throws doubt into our minds and makes us doubt something we have believed in for a long time.
This is why it can be hard to get through to some people about the Gospel – because they have believed a lie for so long and trust in that lie.
But being able to open someone’s eyes and ears to the truth is very rewarding as they realise the truth for themselves.
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Mark 2:27 Then he said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
God made the Sabbath for us and for a reason. He did not have some spare time to take a day off; God started the Sabbath for our good.
Working your socks off to try and make a success of your business or to earn more money is not going to be good for your health; it may fill your pockets but at the cost of your wellbeing!
God knows this and so made the Sabbath so we would take time off to be closer to Him. He did not make it just so we would take time off but so we would enjoy our time off with Him!
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Luke 13:15 The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?
Where do you draw the line about what you do or do not do on your day or rest? I know many church leaders cannot rest on Sundays because they are so busy with organising services and things so they should be taking another day off somewhere.
God has given us 6 days in which to do what needs to be done with another day as a day of rest. But that does not mean life coming to an end every week!
We need to continue living and allowing people to see that we love God and serve Him, even on our day of rest.
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Mark 3:5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
Each time Jesus faced the religious crowd, this time in the synagogue, He had to contend with them and their version of the laws.
Jesus wants us to know His law but to apply it properly into our lives; this is why He personally said that the most important laws were to love God and people.
Not doing something just because someone else says it is frowned upon does not make it right. Following God and His ways is what we should be focusing on.
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Psalm 145:8 The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, Slow to anger and great in mercy.
The Lord’s grace and mercy go far beyond what we can imagine and certainly do not stop where ours fail and crumble!
He puts up with a heck of a lot from us; which is in itself a sign of just how gracious and merciful He is.
He takes great pity on those who do not yet know Him and sends out His messengers far and wide to proclaim the Gospel.
If you are being asked to do that, make sure you answer God’s calling…
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Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
How many times have you given to a beggar on the street, or given to a homeless person? If you run out of fingers then you have done well compared to most of the world!
It is a sad thing we find when we compare ourselves to God and His ways; we are nothing like Him!
But never let that put you off because we are all still learning to live with God within us.
Let us never forget our enemies either because that are in need just as we are…
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Leviticus 25:35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you.
What would it be like to have love and respect in every household in your family? I’m not just talking about the ones you know and love but the ones who fight and don’t seem to care!
God wanted people to be able to live with each other and not against each other. He wanted His people to behave as one big, trusting and respectful family.
It did not mean they all had to agree, but that they would be respectful and uphold God’s rules!
Just one aspect would be looking out for each other at all times!
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Proverbs 14:20 The poor man is hated even by his own neighbour, But the rich has many friends.
How many of us have shied away from another person just because they are poor or because they don’t look like us?
The opposite works as well – when we shy away from the people that look rich or wealthy just because they are different.
We need to put aside our prejudices of each other and learn to love one another as human beings!
God teaches us to live with others and to love others; we choose to do things differently because we don’t like what we see.
God sees reality because He looks inside your heart!
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Psalm 41:1 Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
When Jesus told us that whatever we do to others we do to Him, it was with reference to scripture like this He was eluding.
We need to make sure that we always do look out for the people who are not as fortunate as us, be it with money, housing, worry, health or anything else where we are well!
God wants us to love our neighbours fully and not by half measures.
Don’t let the world get to you and drive you down when you can stop and pick someone else up instead!
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Acts 10:2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.
How would you like to be describe as being like this? This is not something that should be extraordinary but something that should be the normal!
God has called us to be devout, God fearing, generous and always willing to pray.
But if you think that is just a bit much to get on with, take one thing at a time. Start with the praying, each and every day…
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Ephesians 6:18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints
We have been taught in the previous verses to put on the whole armour of God so that we may survive in this world surrounded by evil.
Just as Daniel and others before us have demonstrated, that time with God’s protection should be spent in prayer, demonstrating to others our dependence on God.
Prayer needs to be a part of everyday life. Prayer needs to be constant. We must not give up on prayer just because we don’t see and answer immediately.
Be persistent. Be persuasive.
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Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
After Jesus had ascended into Heaven, the disciples withdrew for a time of prayer. They did not go off alone and sulk but came together with the women to pray.
It was not as if one of them suggested prayer and the others came along not to be ashamed; they all came together with one mind and that was to pray.
Have you got the idea that pray is important yet? This is what Jesus taught and how the disciples listened. We ought to as well!
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Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
How do we really know when something is going wrong or when we are on the right track or even the wrong track?
We get ideas in our heads that sometimes take us away from God because of doubts and worries.
This is why God wants us to talk to each other and discuss things and mull things over. Being ‘right’ in your own head does not always mean being right.
Talk it over with someone and make sure it is right.
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Mark 11:24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Don’t be put off thinking that this is just something that Christians say to each other to lift up our spirits… This is what Jesus said!
Lift up your prayers with confidence. Know that He is listening. Know that He answers prayers. Know that He has promised us this.
Yes I do take great confidence in verses like this, but I take more from looking back and seeing how many prayers God has already answered for me.
Thank Him now for all His answers!
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1 John 5:15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
There is no way God is not going to listen to Himself! I know we talk to ourselves at times and we may not even listen when we do talk… but God does because His words are truth.
So when we do know that the Holy Spirit is praying for us, we know our prayers are reaching Him, not just our own, but His as well!
We have a great history through time written down in our bibles showing us that God honours prayers – so start asking with confidence!
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Romans 8:27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
We may know the next verse better than this one, but it is because of this verse that God knows about us and about our own wishes.
Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit would be with us and He would care for us and comfort us.
Part of loving and caring is praying for each other in earnest! If we truly love someone we will find it very easy to pray for them constantly.
God really does love us and the Holy Spirit will always pray for us!
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1 Peter 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honour to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Sometimes people ask me why I do things for others or why I am so kind to others…
To me it is quite simple: This is what God teaches me.
I do try to live according to God’s wishes and how I see Him leading me. It does not mean I get it right all the time because I know I fail.
But I also know God loves me and I show Him my love by caring so deeply for the people I know He loves.
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Psalm 89:47 Remember how short my time is; For what futility have You created all the children of men?
Sometimes we do feel far from God; not because we don’t know that He is real, but because our lives are not going according to our ways.
If the Lord is trying to get you to change your ways or to change what you are doing, then don’t waste time by trying to continue your same old ways.
God is real. God is here. Listening may be hard but we must do it. And doing God’s will is what counts.