Day 2122 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.


Psalm 81:11-12 NIV

We talked yesterday about not listening to the haters. Truth is that we can't possibly please everyone. There are so many people down here that have so many different requirements and expectations. They want us to be like them, to agree with whatever they say is right, and go along with what they tell us to do. But we need to be focused on listening to God alone because He is the only One that knows what's right.

Easy to see that this messed up world rarely does! People are so comfortable in their sin and selfishness that they just stop listening to reason. They only hear what they want to hear because it helps them keep convincing themselves that everything they do is okay. Justification of poor choices is easier to find than the courage and strength to do better. And the world will always choose what's easy over what's right.

Here's the problem, God will let us. He will let us choose what's easy over what's right. He will allow us to listen to the voices around us instead of His. He gives us the free will to choose who and what we follow and pay attention to. It's on us to make the right choice. We have to be the ones that take that freedom to choose and use it to do what we know in our hearts is best.

Following the world and listening to the peanut gallery will never get us anywhere. It will only leave us lost and disappointed time and time again. If anyone claims they know the way to peace and happiness but their map doesn't point to Christ, then they're full of it! He is the way, the truth, and the life. That truth stands in stark contrast to every message that we so often hear from those around us. 

The world preaches money, fame, possessions, power, control, popularity. Christ teaches humility, love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. Oil and water my friends! The wants and desires of this world are empty. They fade, change, and shift all the time, yet so many blindly follow after them because they're told to. Again, be different.

Don't listen to what the world says is right or important. Don't buy the things that everyone says you need to be happy. Don't keep trying all the different paths blazed by thousands that only lead to disappointment. Listen to God, follow His truth, trust in His plans and I promise that you will never end up lost or hopeless ever again!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 2016 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Image
Matthew 6:20 NIV Yesterday I posed a very big question: have you ever thought about the vastness of eternity? I'm just afraid that so many people are living for these lives only, and that's going to lead to quite a shock when we reach the end of this leg of the trip only to find that something else really does come next. So I just want to encourage everyone to take today's verse to heart. This is one that my mom likes to quote and share quite often. And it's really a very important lesson that everyone needs to learn and always keep in mind. While we're surrounded by all kinds of messages, things, wants, and desires, we need to always keep our priorities in line. We can't afford to let ourselves become distracted by all the wares that our world offers up. The thing that I think we've fallen for is this idea of value. We're told that all this worldly stuff is highly valuable. Now if that's the case, then we automatically think that having it or going
Read more

Day 2018 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Image
Luke 6:27 NIV I was presented the chance earlier today to experience one of those amazing opportunities to realize that I'd been wrong. You see my family and I had bought some Bibles to send to a couple of people, and we just hadn't gotten around to sending them yet. Since the time that we bought them, we kind of had this weird and unfortunate falling out of sorts with one of them. And I'm embarrassed to admit that it had me second guessing whether or not to send the gift.  Seeing as how this difference of opinion has gone, I had gotten it in my mind that I didn't want to send something to someone only for them to throw it away. But all along, my mom has been there saying no, we need to send it anyway. And today, we finally got them boxed up and sent out. But if anything, I may have ended up getting the biggest gift out of everyone involved. We don't get to decide who is worthy of our kindness. We don't get to pick and choose who we're going to do good thing
Read more

Day 3362 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Image
Matthew 15:8 NIV It seems as though perhaps the distance from our heads to our hearts is, at times at least, much the same as the separation we so often feel between here and hope. For though our lips are geographically close to the hearts which pound inside a craving for more than we can say we need, say we know, yet sadly despite their being so near to our knowing what we need, we find that our mouths and our hearts are existing as if in two foreign places. Because while our heads may hold lips that let on that we know we need Heaven's hope as having come in Christ, our hearts remain among the ultimate deceivers as they lead us daily back into the brink wherein we break away all over again into disbelief as designed inside a heart’s desires kindling fires forsaking that faith which yearns only for a fellowship with He who is everything we could ever need. Indeed, it seems to matter not what our tongues here confess as our hearts head us always into following the path our mouths c
Read more