3/15/2019 0 Comments New LifeSpring is supposedly right around the corner. We can hardly wait for the warm sun, new leaves on the trees, and flowers coming to bloom. New life takes shape. Winter will come around again all too soon, but we can make every day like spring. Celebrate your salvation! Praise God every day with new songs that tell of His love and new life! Be intentional every day to be renewed. Make it a priority to become deeply acquainted with God. Learn something new about Him every day!
1. Are you willing to allow God to do something new in your life? 2. Are you willing to allow God to use your life to bring ‘new life’ to others? Challenge: In your Bible concordance, find the words ‘new’, ‘life’, and ‘resurrection’ and look up their verses. What did you learn about God?
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3/14/2019 0 Comments Take It or Leave ItUnlike yesterday’s example, we need to also know when to take criticism to heart and when to leave it. Sometimes well-meaning people offer important feedback in an inappropriate way. Unfortunately we aren’t always able to see the true motives behind our critics. You can start by asking yourself some questions. Does the person criticizing have a history of truthfulness? Is it just a matter of opinion? If it’s a sin issue, it will be harder to identify as we are often blinded by our own sin. When someone criticizes you, humbly ask God to reveal to you if it’s something He is wanting you to take to heart, and make changes if necessary.
1. What are some kind responses you can use when someone criticizes you? 2. Why do you think people are critical of others? Challenge: Think of a time you were criticized, was it something you learned from? Or something you had to let go? 3/13/2019 0 Comments Graciously WiseNobody likes to be criticized. Listening to how you are doing something wrong is never easy. However, a wise person takes criticism graciously, they understand that they probably don’t know everything and there are always ways they can improve. The text even says a wise person will love the observer for it. We can learn to look at criticism as a loving way for others to help us better ourselves.
1. How do you handle criticism? 2. Are there relationships that have been broken because of the way you have taken criticism? Challenge: Be reminded of our verse for today as others show you areas you need to work on. 3/12/2019 0 Comments Adding More LightDaylight savings time results in an extra hour of light being clipped from the morning and added to the afternoon, so that in the early days of daylight savings, we get to enjoy going home and still having some sunlight to enjoy. Just that alone uplifts the spirit. Adding more light in our lives can be a phrase we use to describe Gods mercy on us. Mercy can be viewed as a spiritual Daylight Savings, except it does not have to steal light from one part of our lives to add to another. His mercy lights up areas of our lives that were formerly dark.
1. What’s an area of your life that’s been formerly dark? 2. How has the light of Christ overcome your darkness? Challenge: As the days get longer, list some of the areas of your life overtaken by God’s light. 3/11/2019 0 Comments Beware of CriticismThe average Christian is the most harshly critical individual known. It is a seemingly ordinary activity, but in the spiritual realm nothing is accomplished by it. It makes you vindictive and cruel. Jesus said that as His disciple you should cultivate a personality that is never critical and beware of anything that causes you to think of yourself as a superior person.
1. Do you often carry a measuring stick for other people? 2. What could be a personal reason you would feel critical towards someone? Challenge: Remember, the person you usually feel critical about always has at least one more fact in their story you know nothing about. 3/8/2019 0 Comments Birds?What do we have to complain about? We think we have it so bad that all we do is work and get nowhere. Well, God is taking care of us. After all, he takes care of the “birds of the field and we are much more than that.” Take a minute to step back and look at all the things that God has done in your life. You will realize that you have received many more blessings than you thought. You will experience some windy, snowy or barren fields, but trust God and he will provide.
1. How does it make you feel to know that God takes care of the birds of the field and you are worth much more than them to God? 2. Do you have the faith to give it all to God and let Him provide for you? Challenge: Trust in God this week and do not complain about what you do not have, or what you are experiencing. Give God the glory, and walk in the peace of knowing that God is caring for you. 3/7/2019 0 Comments TrustIt seems that in the world today there are all sorts of conspiracies. I hear people say they’re afraid the government is doing this or covering up that. The JFK shooting has been studied over and over - trying to find a conspiracy. I have heard that the moon landing is a conspiracy. Isaiah is saying we do not need to dread or fear a conspiracy, we must fear the Lord, then we’ll find peace in His holiness. As Christians, we do not need to fear what the world fears, we must trust the plan that God has for us.
1. How many conspiracies have you heard in the last month? 2. Do your fear the things of this world, or do you fear the Lord? Challenge: Put your fear in the Lord this week and do not dread the things of this world. 3/6/2019 0 Comments Future“Life stinks; there is no way out; the world is against me!” Stop! Although we like to complain all the time, we have hope. We have God on our side. He is fighting the battle for us. He has plans for our future to make us better and help us succeed. So the next time we start complaining, we should stop and know that God has a plan for our lives. If we follow God’s plan, the road may not always be the easiest, but it will be the road that God will use to help us live a full and satisfying life.
1. Are you following God’s plan for your life? 2. What are you doing to make sure you are following God’s plan? Challenge: Start each day with some quiet time with God and seek His plan for that day. 3/5/2019 0 Comments TrialsIt seems that, in my life when I experience struggles, I always want to complain. I want to blame someone else for my problems. I have had some interesting trials in my life lately. At first, I asked why. “Why do I have to go through this?” But I have come to realize that our bodies are human and they are prone to give out. The cool thing is that the only way to get through this time has been to give it all to God. I have had to slow down, trust Him, and let God take care of me. He has been faithful and answered me in ways I could not have even imagined. So as James says, “let endurance have its perfect result.”
1. Are you ready to let God be in full control of your life? 2. What trials are you experiencing now? Challenge: No matter what challenge you are facing this week, know that God is by your side. Give Him the battle. 3/4/2019 0 Comments ComplainingWhy do we complain? Is it because we feel like we are owed something? Is it because we feel like we have been wronged? Are we just selfish and inward looking? Jeremiah says that “we should not complain in light of our sins.” We have the peace of knowing that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins; all we have to do is believe in Him and ask for His forgiveness. So, let us not complain, for we have been given the best gift of all - salvation through Christ.
1. Why do we feel so entitled? 2. Do you have salvation through Jesus? Challenge: Stop complaining and give thanks to God for the salvation you have received through Christ. |
AuthorThis devotional is written every week by Hillcrest members. Archives
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