August 2020 week 1
Friday August 7
Friday, 7th
Topic: God has a plan for us.
Jeremiah 29 :11
For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. They are plans for good and not disaster, to give give you a future and a hope.
In order to benefit from the wonderful plans that God has already formed for us, we must abide constantly in his presence to lead us on the path of our success, the path that he already has laid out for us.
Thought for the day: Success is the process not really a destination. The more we advance with God, the more our success emerges.
Thursday August 6
Loving is not easy but necessary
Luke 6: 27-28 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you
It is far more easy to love those who love us than to love our enemies but we must do just that if we are to be Christ like. Most of us find ourselves getting angry with our enemies and resorting to name calling and other uncivilized behavior. We must learn to separate the person from the actions which is not easy. We must learn to condemn the actions but show patience and kindness to the individual. In an environment that can be toxic, we are to be the light of the world and exemplify the love of Christ.
Thought for the day: How we treat our enemies can be an example to others who are watching what we do and say and call ourselves a Christian.
Wednesday August 5, 2020
Why do you do what you do?
1 Corinthians 13: 1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
1 Corinthians 13: 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Do you ever do anything and then ask yourself why did you do it? Do you love to go to work or do you hate your job? I used to think that if a person did not like their job then they should find another job but the truth of the matter is that if you do not like what you are doing now you will not like the next job either because it is not the job but you. I suggest that one will be much happier if they find some reason to love what they do. It does not mean that you will love everything about the job but that one thing that you love will drive you to do the best that you can do. A good teacher may not like grading papers but truly love their students and that love is what makes them a great teacher. Without love nothing else matters and you will soon lose interest in what you do.
Thought for the day: Two men were laying bricks. They asked the first person what he was doing and he said he was laying bricks and making 10 dollars per hour. They asked the second man and he said he was building a cathedral. Which are you?
Tuesday August 4
Why are most people not happy?
Philippians 4: 11-12
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to [a]be abased, and I know how to [b]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
There was a comedian who made a joke that he was happy as long as he stayed home but when he went to the neighbors house he came back home sad. He was content with what he had until he saw things that his neighbor had. Then he was no longer happy. Too many people allow their happiness to be determined based on their situation or possessions. One will never be happy if that is the reason for the happiness. Situations change quickly and possessions can also quickly lose value.
Find true happiness in God and it will never lose value and infact it will be more valuable every day.
Thought for today: Why are you happy?
Monday, 3rd
Topic: Humility
Philippians 2:3-5
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Considering our interests is not the problem, it becomes a big problem when, in order to consider our interests, we ignore those of others, crush and despise them.
Thought for the day: Let us be humble in serving others with an attitude of champion while having in our minds that we are rendering service to a member of the body of Christ.