Skip to main content

Friday... It is just so easy at this time of the year.


Friday... It is just so easy at this time of the year. It really is.

We look around and see all that our neighbors are able to give to their kids or we look under the tree at the presents that have our name on them. It is so easy to compare and it is so easy to envy.

Proverbs 23:17a (NLT) says, "Don't envy..." But it is so easy to long for what others have or what they can do.

I look back on My Christmases and I see so many different things. When I was a child, I many times would just get one present. It was all that my parents could do. There was another time that there were two Christmas trees with presents under them for 11 of us. It took over 3 hours for us to open them all. It was unbelievable. But I don't remember one present that I got from that Christmas but I do remember the gifts that my parents gave out of sacrifice and love for me as a child.

Yes it is so easy to envy at this time of the year.

Now the verse goes on. It says in verses 17 & 18, "Don't envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed."

The Message says, "Don't for a minute envy careless rebels; soak yourself in the Fear-of-God - That's where your future lies. Then you won't be left with an armload of nothing."

Yes we can envy what others have and what others can do but we really don't know what they really have. They may not have the hope that you have in a relationship with God which carries over to the relationships that you have and into a hope that will not disappointed and you will not be left with an armload of nothing.

I love to give because I love the ones I am giving too and I love the One whose birthday we are celebrating. There is no envy there but love. And love is the greatest gift that you can give and that ever has been given. And that too can be easy at this time of the year. 

2 John 1:7 (NLT) says,  "Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ - the Son of the Father - will continue to be with us who live in truth and love." Yes, yes! #todaysbeinning


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Friday... So what is it that you really fear?

1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT), "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." Friday... So what is it that you really fear? Yes, fear holds us back. It seems to take hold of us so that we can't even really enjoy living. Now I have found that one of the best ways to handle fear is to solve the problem of what we fear. Let's say that death is what we really fear. Everyday we wake up afraid to get up because we are afraid to do anything because we are afraid to die. And that is so understandable. Now I have found the solution to fearing death. I have through faith taken care of my fear to die. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NLT) says, "But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ." Verse 22 (CEV) says, "Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us." Death was not God's plan. Adam was created for an eternal life but he and his partner, Eve blew it and sin a...
Post a Comment
Read more